“Now?” Zane asked, looking surprised.
“Yes, now.”
He stood up and held out his hand to her. “Your wish is my command.”
She got up on her own, crossed her arms in front of her chest and walked out of the suite feeling irritated.
It was true she risked exposing all her thoughts and memories to Zane should they hook up via the MLink—all her clientele and contacts. Even though she didn’t know much of Athar’s secrets, she knew enough to cause damage. Was it worth it? Could she really trust him? She knew he was purposely goading her, but what he said made sense. She’d be tied to him for life. It was worse than getting married. She would have to find out more about the MLink before making the decision.
Nirvana stewed in silence and led the way to the port where Marian usually docked. She activated the ramp with her handprint and entered the ship. She stood in the middle of the cockpit and waited for the rest to enter.
“All yours.” She gestured to Zane.
Zane took off his glasses and removed one of the temples. Holding on to one end, he slowly rotated the other end with the earpiece and pulled, revealing a very long metal needle attached to it. Placing the rest of his glasses into his pocket, he headed to the door and pushed the needle through one of the screws.
Nirvana heard a few people suck in breaths when the screw popped up. Zane pocketed the screw and walked past the cockpit into the cargo compartment.
With a great deal of speed and dexterity, he did the same to the screws on the panel controlling the lights and communication in the cargo compartment. He pulled out the panel to reveal the motherboard attached underneath.
He used the needle to pry a microchip from the motherboard and held it out. “I installed the program in this chip.”
“When?!” Ramsey asked with his eyes so wide that they looked like they were going to pop out from their sockets. “How?”
“I just showed you how. I did it when you went to check on one of the door control panels I messed with.”
“It was…” Ramsey frowned as he tried hard to recall. “The door registered as faulty in my system but when I went to check on it, I couldn’t… You… Damn!” He punched the air in frustration. “Sorry Captain!”
“We will do well to learn from this lesson.” Nirvana patted Ramsey’s back. “We placed our focus on the cargo and too much confidence in our cockpit’s security. I want that chip destroyed,” she ordered Zane and gave him a warning glare.
Zane shrugged, “Ramsey will need to spend a lot of time reprogramming a new chip. The tracker I put in this one is only accessible via my glasses. No one else will be able to use it. You might want to use this first until Ramsey finishes programming another one.”
“How did you program it in such a short time?” Ramsey asked, looking perplexed.
“I made a blank chip with my tracker program insider. I just copied the contents over from your chip onto the blank one and replaced it.”
“With what?”
“A gadget I left back in Chikara. I couldn’t bring too many things with me.”
“Another gadget you invented?” Nirvana asked.
“Modified.”
She made a conscious effort to freeze the expression on her face so that she wouldn’t show him how impressed she was.
Yes. She would risk exposing her mind to look into his. It would be a fair trade.
Chapter 29
“You can do it, Eryn. The MLink came with the implantation program. Load it into our surgical equipment and let the machines do the rest. You just have to oversee the whole thing and monitor their stats.” Ching reached out to pull Eryn’s hand away from her mouth and intertwined his fingers with hers. “You’re going to chew off all your nails at this rate.”
“It’s the first time I’ve supervised a brain operation.” She tried to jerk her hands away from him. “Two, in fact! Before, it was just organ repairs or broken bones.”
“The brain is an organ,” he said nonchalantly.
“Not the same!” she yelled at him in exasperation.
“It’ll be fine,” Ramsey interrupted them. “I have the program loaded up in Zane’s kick-ass glasses too. If the machine breaks down, I can take over. Those glasses of his are dope! I tried repairing a jet yesterday wearing his glasses, and I don’t even know anything about engineering!”
“I’ve never tried operating on anyone using the glasses,” Zane mumbled.
“Seriously Zane, your invention is out of this world. Why didn’t you market it? You’d have been a billionaire by now!” Ramsey shook his head.
“My father preferred weapons of destruction.” Zane shrugged.
“Your father is… You know what? You and I, when your mission is over, we’re going to manufacture and sell them to a niche market. Just like the MLink.”
“I can help fund it. You can make Athar your manufacturing base,” Ching offered. “It will be extremely profitable.”
Nirvana watched them from the side as they made their post-mission plans excitedly over dinner. Zane was clearly uncomfortable with all the praise everyone was heaping on him, but she had to agree with them. It was a brilliant invention.
She’d asked him earlier about his glasses, and he told her he made them for his own use. He did show them to his father but was scoffed at. Hayashi had destroyed Zane’s confidence totally, so he kept it to himself. He had improved on the design over the years and still tinkered with them every now and then.
Despite confessing his misdeeds, the crew, even Ching, seemed to have taken to Zane rather quickly. There was something about him that made people lower their guards—his entire demeanor, perhaps. His self-deprecating jokes, his shyness, his general lack of confidence, or maybe it was that melancholic expression he often wore on his face.
It was hard to convince herself that everything was just an act from him. But no matter, she wouldn’t need to second-guess him after the operation. She would know all his secrets, and he would know hers.
They scheduled the operation for early in the morning the next day. Nirvana decided they would make further plans for the mission only after the operation. No point cracking their brains if their brains were cracked.
After dinner, Ching went off with Eryn to make some preparations while the crew entertained Zane with tales of their exploits over drinks. Zane was soaking everything in. His fascinated expression and that twinkle of delight in his eyes just spurred the men on to keep going.
She tried not to think too much about the look of pride on his face when the stories involved her, but she couldn’t deny how good his approval felt. She had never needed affirmation from anyone other than her father, but now, she had to stop herself from basking in Zane’s open admiration.
Nirvana decided to stay at the lodge that night because she was too tired for the ride back to the yurt. Besides, it was a faster commute to the infirmary. The crew’s suite only had rooms enough for the six men since she usually stayed at her own yurt, so she had to get another room. She hesitated a little when she was asked if she wanted one or two rooms, and if she preferred twin beds. Some alone time would welcome, especially after that day’s emotional roller coaster.
In the end, she decided to go for the honeymoon suite as it was the only room with a Jacuzzi. Her desire to have a relaxing bath outweighed everything else. She was pretty sure Zane wouldn’t be complaining. She sent a message informing the crew of her room number and checked into the room first.
The moment she entered the suite, she made a beeline for the bathroom.
The view was breath-taking. The windows beside the Jacuzzi opened up to a full view of the majestic mountain ridge of Athar. She’d been to the lodge many times, but she had never tried the honeymoon suite before. She was told that there was only one such room in the lodge. This was truly a hidden gem.
She pressed the buttons on the control panel beside the tub to open the windows and started the Jacuzzi. While the tub was filling up, she opened the small bot
tles of bath oils and smelled them before deciding which ones to pour in. Satisfied, she was about to undress herself when she realized that Zane was standing at the door with a stupefied expression on his face.
“What’s wrong? Did you want your own room?”
“No,” he said quickly. “Of course not.”
She was about to ask him what the problem was when she realized she really couldn’t be bothered. The tub was beckoning. She was too emotionally drained right now, and the world could go fuck itself.
Nirvana got into the tub and moaned in delight. This was so much better than the hot stones bath she had planned earlier. She settled in between the water jets and let them soothe the tension in her muscles.
“May I join you?” Zane asked.
“Mm.”
She felt him get into the tub, the water rising to her chin.
“Now that Ching knows the truth, are we still going to pretend to be in a relationship?”
Nirvana sighed. While she enjoyed his attention, she knew she was not in the same place as him with regards to their feelings for each other. “We’re naked, sitting in a hot tub together. Don’t you think we’ve gone past the pretend stage?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to assume. So, are we in a relationship? For real?” he asked, sounding very unsure.
“I suppose we can try to work something out, but I can’t promise you anything. I’m not exactly an easy person to have a relationship with.”
Zane huffed. “You can’t be worse than me.”
“We’ll just take one day at a time and see how it goes.”
“I’m worried about the MLink.”
“I’ve browsed through the instruction manual. We can shut each other out. It’s not a big deal. The memory leaks happen only once in a while, and it gets better as we get better at controlling the chip. I’m not worried about the future, Zane. My top priority right now is this mission’s success. Alright, stop talking. I’ve had enough shit for today.”
Zane settled in between the jets and closed his eyes. For the first time since they’d met, Nirvana saw serenity on his face. The weight of hiding the truth had been finally lifted off his shoulders.
She leaned back and looked out of the window, admiring the beauty of Athar. The sun had already set but the moons of Gebo lit up the forests with a magical glow. A myriad of stars covered the purple sky, stretching into the vast universe. She remembered looking at the sky at night when she was little, wondering what it would be like to fly into space, to see the different planets.
Then, her father came and changed her life. She had been moving from planet to planet, traveling between galaxies, but her thirst for exploration was insatiable. She always wanted to see more.
She didn’t want to commit to Ching because she couldn’t imagine herself being confined to Athar. Besides, what would she do after she married Ching? Probably become domesticated; she shuddered at the thought.
What would Zane want?
“What would you like to do after the mission?”
“Haven’t thought about it. I never planned to live very long.” He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Until you came along.”
She smiled and toed his leg. “So, think about it.”
“I’d like to be with you,” he said shyly. “If you’d have me.”
“Wherever I go?”
“Wherever you go.”
“What about your plans to help your people?”
He shook his head. “It’s an entire planet, Nirvana. It’s not just one country. What I can do this time, is stop my father from destroying more planets. He’s like a plague,” he said with a look of disgust.
An idea suddenly popped into her mind. “Maybe I can help you.”
Zane sat up. “You can?”
Nirvana liked that sparkle in his eyes. She liked it even more that she was the one who put it there. Deciding that she had spent enough time in the tub, she ran her toe higher up his leg to this thigh.
He caught her foot quickly with a small splash, and gave her a slow, smug smile while his thumb started massaging her sole in small circles. She sucked in a breath and bit her lower lip as he gradually moved up to that magic spot around her ankle.
“Have you had sex in a tub?” she asked, feeling the pressure between her legs as he pushed with a little more force with his thumb.
“Yes.” He reached out for the other leg and pulled her in to straddle around his waist. “But I prefer a place with more room for expression. I suppose you’ve had enough of the tub?”
She giggled and gave his deliciously firm bottom a hard squeeze. “I don’t know if I’m attracted to you or shiatsu magic. The L-word that I can definitely commit to right now is ‘lust.’”
He squeezed hers back and said, “Lust is good enough. Let’s see if you’ve put enough muscles on me to lift you up.” He made a strangled sound and heaved them out of the water.
Nirvana tilted her head back and laughed. She knew he was trying to jerk her chain. Zane might not be muscular in the bulk department, but he was definitely stronger than he looked. She’d been watching him while he worked. It was his whole posture and that slight hunch he had that gave people the wrong impression.
He looked over her shoulder to make sure he could see where he was going. It was a good thing the tub was sunken, so it was easier to get out. Carefully, he climbed out of the tub. Nirvana reached over to the panel to switch the Jacuzzi off and close the windows.
“Nirvana,” Zane said huskily. He wriggled his body a little to make sure she could feel a very stiff part of his anatomy while her beaded nipples rubbing against the planes of his chest. “I don’t think I’m going to make it to the bed.”
“Put me on the counter.” She licked his earlobe seductively. “We can take the edge off first and go slow later.”
Zane pulled a towel from the rack and placed it on the cold stone countertop before he lowered Nirvana onto it. He pressed his forehead against hers and said raggedly, “I’m sorry. I need a moment to…”
She closed her fingers around his bulging member and gently guided him towards her. He clenched his jaw and pushed in slowly. He was so hard that the veins around his penis had popped out.
“We can go slow later.”
He hooked his arms under her knees and plunged wildly into her. The harder she gripped his hair, the harder he rammed. Suddenly, he pulled out and flipped her onto her front before she could react. He bent his knees a little to her height, clamped her hips with his hands and shoved himself back in.
Nirvana lifted her head as she gasped from the sudden intrusion and caught a glimpse of their erotic reflection in the mirror. Zane’s muscles were rippling with his movements and the dark gaze of his eyes locked onto her butt. She’d never felt as good about her butt as she did now.
She felt his thumbs deliberately applying pressure to two spots above her butt cheeks and started to get excited. The sensation from the pressure created at the tailbone traveled all the way down, and as he increased the pressure, the rising intensity brought out all her goosebumps.
It kept accumulating until she arched her back to claw at his thighs frantically for reasons unbeknownst to her, and her throat was making weird, high-pitched yelping sounds she’d never heard before.
Zane slid his palms up to cup her breasts, pulled her against his chest and roared as he gave one final thrust that brought them over the edge. It was heavy panting and a series of jerks against her butt as he emptied himself. He gave her shoulder a gentle kiss and leaned his head against hers, cock still pulsing inside her.
Nirvana’s legs were numb, inner thighs tingling from the intense orgasm he had just given her. She’d had good sex before but this was mind-blowing. She turned around and nipped his ear. “Tell me, how are women not flocking to you with skills like this?”
He gave her a crooked smile and said, “My father’s courtesans are paid good money to teach us how to have a good time and how to give women a good time.”
He led her into the shower stall, adjusted the temperature on the shower control and shielded her from the water with his body until the temperature was just right.
“So, it’s only been with them?” she asked as he ran his palms up and down her thighs to clean her up.
“Yes. Got forced to lose my virginity to the head courtesan, then after a few times with some others, I stuck to just one.”
“You must have had a lot of practice to reach this level of technical expertise.”
“On the contrary, I had a lot of difficulty getting it up.”
Nirvana sputtered and wiped the water away from her face. She closed her fingers around his hardening dick, which had been poking at her butt while they were showering and looked up at him with incredulity.
“I don’t know how my brothers do it, but I can’t just get it up with any random woman, which was why I stuck to just one later on.” He switched off the water and activated the dryer.
“Are all Chikaran men this skilled?” she moaned as his fingers dug into her shoulder blades.
“Just the Hayashi men,” he said as he kissed his way down her neck. Scooping under her butt, he lifted her to straddle his waist. He secured her legs around him and started digging into the spots above her butt cheek again.
“Damn.” Nirvana clutched his shoulders and squeezed her thighs as she felt the tingling sensation at her core. “It’s like you’re fingering me.”
He walked them to the bed, laid her down gently and rested his forehead against hers. “I love you,” he said thickly and pushed into her slowly.
“I love your cock and your shiatsu skills. Is that ok?” Not the appropriate thing to say but her head was severely lacking in blood flow right now.
“It’s still love.” He chuckled and made love to her.
Chapter 30
Zane woke up before Nirvana this time.
He roused her from her sleep by peppering her with kisses and rubbing his body against hers. He was feasting on her nipples until she moaned and pulled his hair to stop him.
Fatal Extraction Page 15