“I am Ambassador Reid,” Reid said, throwing his voice with sexual confidence. The tone had melted women easily in the past. To his amazement, she stayed upright, not giggling or swooning. In fact, she wasn’t even smiling.
“I know, I saw your speech,” she answered.
She glanced over his body. Reid grinned. Oh, yeah, Mrs. Dr. St. Claire was definitely checking him out.
“Ah, honey,” Rick said. “What do you want with Reid? I’m sure I can help you. I’m the brains of this operation.”
“Don’t listen to Rick,” Lucien immediately put forth. “He’s just a pilot. I’m the one with communication skills. Talk to me.”
“Oh, don’t—” Viktor began.
“Enough!” Jarek ordered, holding up his hand. He shook his head, grinning. “Why don’t you guys go make sure all our supplies are on board the ship so we can take off? Reid, why don’t you help the lady out?”
Reid grinned and nodded at his brother. Oh, he’d help her out all right. He’d help her out of that dress and then he’d help her to straddle his waist as he...
“Thank you,” Mrs. Dr. St. Claire said to Jarek, bowing her head slightly. Jarek smiled. She didn’t return the look. Her face stayed blank.
Jarek placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, patting it lightly as he moved to follow the grumbling crew. When they were alone, Reid motioned toward a chair. “It’s not fancy, but would you like a seat?”
“No, no thank you, Ambassador,” she said.
“Call me Reid.”
“Ah, all right, Reid,” the woman said. “Reid.”
Reid grinned. He shrugged out of his jacket, knowing he’d give her a better specimen to look at if he took the stuffy thing off. “Do you mind? It’s hot in here.”
“Oh, no, no,” she said. “Actually, Ambassador—”
“Reid.” Reid threw his jacket over the chair, amused by how she kept her eyes turned to the side.
“Reid,” she said, as if the word caused her pain.
“And you are?” he prompted.
“Mrs. Dr. St. Claire,” she said, her brow furrowing slightly.
“That’s a mouthful, fea,” Reid answered, again dipping his voice to see if she’d shiver. She didn’t. “You got something smaller?”
“Oh, Jasmine. You may call me Jasmine.”
“Jasmine.” Reid rolled the name slowly on his tongue. “It’s almost as lovely as you are.”
The woman actually frowned. It wasn’t the response Reid was used to getting to his charm. He stiffened, watching her closely. What exactly was going on here? For a woman who’d come to invite him to bed, she didn’t seem all that inviting.
Jasmine eyed the strange ambassador before her. He was even more handsome up close. Dark stubble shadowed the man’s chiseled jaw, matching the long black hair that spilled down over his broad shoulders to his waist. He was perfectly built. When he moved, it was with a liquid, streamlined grace. There was something slow and seductive in the way he carried himself—like a hunter crouched, ready to attack, stalking their prey. Too bad she was immune to such things, to him. Her appreciation of his form was like what she’d feel for a beautiful painting, or a sculpture. He was lovely to look at. That was all.
Black leather bands with silver studs gripped tight to his biceps, tautly secured on both of his arms. His shirt appeared to be one piece of material, with two narrow straps over the shoulders. The shirt material was held together by black cross lacing beneath his arms, leaving his sides and waist exposed. She could see dark muscles hidden there. It was as she suspected. This man was strong. He’d be perfect. Now, she only had to convince him to help her.
“I have need of your services, Ambassador.” Jasmine bit her lip and hurriedly corrected, “Reid.”
He smiled. It really was a roguish look. She wondered if he could help himself. Her heart beat wildly in her chest and she had a feeling it wasn’t good for her to be this worked up. First, she felt the flutter in the conference hall and now her heart was racing. Maybe it was time to ask Chad about upping her dosage. She’d been on the same level of medication for four years, ever since he diagnosed her heart problem.
His voice low, silky, he inquired, “Do you?”
“Yes,” Jasmine said. “I’ve actually won the door prize, which is fantastic in itself since I’ve never won anything, and have instructed the servants to load it onto your vessel. I don’t know if you’re aware, but it’s a brand new medical booth. Top of the line. They just came out with it.”
“You’re just giving us a medical booth?” Reid asked. His brow rose skeptically on his handsome face.
Jasmine swallowed, nervous. It was odd standing alone with a man who wasn’t Chad. She began to sweat, doing her best to meet his magnetic eyes.
“Why don’t you take your jacket off and sit down?” he asked, motioning to a chair. “You look flushed.”
“Thank you.” Jasmine nodded. She didn’t feel well at all. Being anxious didn’t help. Without thinking, she undid the clasp and slid her overdress off. The cooler air helped some.
“Sacred Cats,” Reid whispered. “What happened to your arm? Were you combat sparring?”
Jasmine glanced down to the fading bruise. It covered a good portion of her shoulder. She’d forgotten all about it. Sliding her jacket back on to hide it, she latched the overdress.
“Why don’t you try out the medical booth and get it fixed?” Reid asked. “Come on. We have an older model on board and it should take care of that. We get banged up sparring all the time and the settings are pre-programmed for healing such things.”
“No, thank you,” she said. “It’s nothing. I had the lights off and hit a wall. The reason I came was—”
“It looks old. It shouldn’t take long.” Reid eyed her arm, as if he could see it through her dress. She shivered at his obvious concern. It made her uncomfortable.
“No, really, I’m fine. I’ll take care of it later.” Jasmine took a step back, trying to calm her shaky voice.
“You should take more care when practicing hand to hand combat,” Reid said, studying her. His voice dipped with sexual innuendos, as he added, “Though, if you like, I’ll show you a few moves. I should like to see what you can do.”
“What?” Jasmine asked. Was this man crazy? Was he actually offering to fight her? She glanced over his broad, muscular frame. There was no way a small thing like her could take him down.
“Although, I think there is a reason most women do not fight.” He stepped closer. “You’re softer and not built for it. Women were meant to be protected.” His eyes flickered over her body. “Taken care of.” His gaze again met hers and he whispered with meaning, “Pleasured.”
Jasmine took a deep breath, choosing to ignore him as she tried to get the conversation back on topic. “Ambassador, I’m giving you the new booth because I wish to commission your services.”
A smile again lit his handsome face, making his dark eyes sparkle. When she looked at him, she sometimes swore his eyes were dark brown and at other times they looked almost black. Whatever the color, they were gorgeous.
“Ambassador again, is it? You like men in power?”
“Ah.” She shook her head. This man was impossible!
Reid tilted his head to the side and leaned toward her. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was trying to kiss her.
“I need a ride,” Jasmine stated, pulling back. “On your ship. Off this planet.”
She suppressed a moan of disgust. That wasn’t the most elegant phrasing, but already she’d spent too long in the docks. Chad would be wondering where she’d gone off to. And when Chad began to wonder, things got bad—real bad.
“Sorry, fea, but we aren’t a shuttle service. Why don’t you ask one of these rich doctors? I’m sure they’ll have accommodations more to your liking. Besides, wouldn’t you be more comfortable with other women on board the ship?”
Jasmine felt as if her heart dropped, which really wasn’t a good thing in her c
ase. She swallowed, trying not to shake. She couldn’t ask anyone else. There was no one else. Anyone else would tell Chad. She was desperate. Who knew how many more years would pass before an opportunity like this came up? Dabbing her sleeve on her forehead, she said, “I can’t ask anyone else. I want to commission you. Please, if the medical booth isn’t payment enough, I do have—”
“Listen, Jasmine.” Reid lifted his hand, moving as if to touch her arm. She artfully shifted her weight, staying out of his reach. His hand fell to the side. “Can we be blunt here?”
Jasmine nodded, feeling a sense of relief. She preferred blunt. It was so much easier, not always possible, but easier.
“I know you’re getting around to asking me to bed you.” Reid winked audaciously.
Jasmine’s relief left her until all she felt was the raw sting of apprehension, which in turn became utter and complete dismay. Could this primitive really be that arrogant?
“I’m fine with that. In fact, if you like, I’ll arrange for some privacy on the ship for us. I can be very discreet. But that’s all I can offer, fea. I’m not taking you with me. I’m flattered that you’d think to like me so much that you’d want to come away with me for an exotic flight of pure, rapturous pleasure, but I’m not the commitment type. So, what do you say? Want to go have sex real quick and—?”
Jasmine felt the blood drain from her face at his words. He was serious. Hissing between her teeth, she hotly declared, “I do not want to have sex with you!”
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Sapphire (Galaxy Playmates 1) Page 5