Well find out the location of the auction tomorrow, then make our move.
Until then, she needed rest. The taxing day had left her feeling strangely raw.
In short order, she found them a nearby lodging that looked relatively decent. As she and Kell approached the desk, the manager smirked at them.
A room for you and your pleasure slave? the manager cackled.
She nearly rolled her eyes. Of course, word about her would spread through the streets of Beskidt By faster than an olej spill. Gossip and rumor were prime sources of information here, everyone wanting to know everyone elses business to find an exploitable angle.
Theres extra cred for you if it has a nice, big shower. She fixed the manager with a piercing glower. A real shower, with water. Not a UV stall. She had enough of that on her ship, and, though she loved being on the Arcadia , some planet-bound delights were too good and rare to pass up.
The managers thick eyebrows rose. Gonna cost you.
Give her what she wants. Kells voice edged with the possibility of violence if he wasnt obeyed.
She shivered with awareness.
The manager gulped. For the night, or by the hour?
The night. Her words were heavy, ripe with possibility. She resisted looking at Kell, knowing that if she did, hed read her intent plainly. Too plainly. Her desire for him scared her a little. She couldnt remember being so hungry for a particular man, and she wondered if that meant she was weak or vulnerable. Both qualities she tried to avoid.
The manager finished checking them in, not without receiving a substantial deposit first. He slid the key chip across the battered counter, and she scooped it up.
Take the lift to the top. He smirked again. Nuptial Suite.
As if anyone on Ryge ever made the mate commitment. Maybe some had multiple wives or husbands. That seemed more likely.
The room itself wasnt palatial, despite its grand name. Kell prowled it, studying everything.
Someone, presumably not the manager, had make token gestures toward decoration, with wide swaths of warm-hued silks hanging on the walls and from the ceiling. Suspended lamps in jewel tones cast flickering light, illuminated by simucandles that turned on when they entered the room. Neither she nor Kell missed the enormous bed that took up most of the room. She turned away from it to continue her examination of the suite. True to the managers word, the hygiene chamber had an actual water shower. Definitely worth the expense.
Why Kell began, but stopped when she held up a hand.
She moved toward a ventilation grate. I suppose this room will do. Dont forget to turn down the bed the way I like. Ill want extra pillows. She spoke loudly as she removed the grate. Inside the ventilation shaft, she found exactly what she expected, and held it up to show him.
He scowled at the tiny surveillance bot. Yes, Mistress.
With a few quick adjustments, she powered the bot down before replacing it in the vent. And I want my kahve hot first thing in the morning. Black. No sweetener.
I know, Mistress. He stalked the room, then plucked up another surveillance bot from beneath a lamp. Instead of shutting the bot down, he crushed it between his fingers.
They found one more bot, this one hidden in the hygiene chamber, and deactivated it.
Back in the main room, he turned to face her. Everything clear?
That should be it.
Good. He prowled closer, darkly intent. You couldve told those idiots I was your partner, not your pleasure slave.
They know me too well. If I said I had a partner, it would have set off all kinds of alarms.
He kept coming nearer, shoulders wide, arms tight and hewn, and she found herself backing up,
caught in the strange net of desire and apprehension.
I could have been your mate. He looked dangerous, a man on the verge of losing control. Not your slave.
She couldnt tear her gaze from his lips, watching in fascination as he shaped the suggestive words.
Theyd believe that even less. She sounded breathless, and, indeed, her lungs struggled to take in air as the wall came up to meet her. Trapped. Im toostrong willedto be anyones mate.
He stopped his pursuit, yet left only a few inches between their bodies. Heat surged from both of them. His face was all hard angles and shadows, his eyes dark and burning. He planted his hands on the wall, one on each side of her head. Caging her. Yet she knew with absolute certainty that if she pushed him away, or ducked under his arms to break free, he would let her go. Giving her the choice.
Not smart. Buying a pleasure slave without sampling the merchandise.
What do you suggest?
A test flight. Then he lowered his head, his mouth met hers, and she went up in flames.
The kiss theyd shared in the cockpit had been the barest hint at the desire that blazed between them now. Kell took her mouth, as she took his, and they consumed each other. An incendiary, shared devouring. He had firm but supple lips, audaciously confident in the way he tasted her, shaped her, as if her mouth, and everything else she had, belonged to him and him alone.