Promise

by Yolanda Sfetsos

  As tempting as this offer was, and as much as she’d love to spend countless hours naked with this man, Alex couldn’t say “yes”. She didn’t want to be tied down or feel suffocated. No, that wasn’t the problem. I can’t lie to myself. I just don’t feel the same way about him, do I?

  She shook her head, turning back to face him. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t.”

  “Forget I said anything.” He released her hands. His chiseled jaw went rigid, darkened by the stubble. “Go on. Take that piece of crap out into space, and return to my bed whenever you’re in need of a good fuck, since that’s all you seem to want me for.”

  She opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off.

  “Don’t look so shocked. It’s the truth, and you’ve just proven it.”

  “Ulric, I thought you and I were looking for the same thing.”

  “We were, but somewhere along the way, something changed for me. I guess it didn’t for you.” He looked away. “That’s okay. You’ll learn to feel the same way soon enough. I’m sure of it.”

  Alex didn’t particularly appreciate the comment. Did he hope to manipulate her into falling in love with him, or was he just hoping it would happen eventually? Either way, she didn’t respond well to manipulation. It always reminded her of her scheming mother.

  “Well, as long as you’re still open to being lovers, you know I’ll be back.”

  His eyes darkened with desire. “Babe, with a body like yours, and the things you’re able to pull off in bed, you’re more than welcome to return whenever you want. No matter what, I’ll always be ready to get into your pants. Or get you out of your pants.”

  She laughed. “You know I’ll be back.” She might not appreciate bold attempts of manipulation, but she had no problem being easily led into his bed.

  “I’m hoping you will.”

  Alex offered Ulric a smile. She looked at him, and for a few silent moments, they gazed into each other’s eyes. Maybe he was challenging her to read his mind, or was trying to figure out what she was thinking. Either way, she felt a little saddened by what had just happened. She was pretty sure things had changed forever between them, and she wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not.

  “This delivery shouldn’t take too long. I should be back in a few days, so keep the bed warm.” Was she suggesting he take up another lover in her absence? She didn’t know what she meant, but she also didn’t want to waste any time analyzing it. The thought of him being with someone else never roused any jealousy in her. Whatever he did when she wasn’t around didn’t concern her, as long as she didn’t have to see any of it.

  Ulric nodded.

  She made her way across the room, picked up the blaster still in its holster, and strapped it around the top of her right thigh, before grabbing her bag and jacket from the armchair. She slung both over her shoulder, now more eager than ever to get out of this room.

  Alex took one last look at Ulric’s stunning face, the shiny brown hair he kept short, and his luscious body, before turning toward the door. She always liked to remember what he looked like just before she left for a delivery. Actually, stopping by between jobs had become a habit. Now, she wondered if it was a good idea.

  “See ya next time,” she said with a wink over her shoulder. A feeling of foreboding washed over her, causing her gut to tighten.

  “Yeah, next time.” Ulric ran a fingertip over his exposed abdomen suggestively. “If you change your mind, I’ll be right here, all alone, with no one else to satisfy me.”

  Alex turned away, wondering if he was telling the truth.

  What’s it matter to me? It was none of her business. She’d just turned down a once-in-a-lifetime offer from the richest and most powerful playboy this side of the galaxy. She knew not many women, if any, could boast about something this big.

  She pressed the button on the side wall, and the metallic door opened wide in front of her.

  “Alex,” he called.

  She looked at him over her shoulder, curls falling over her eyes. “Yeah?”

  “Be careful out there, okay?”

  “I’m always careful…out there and in here,” she returned. No sense leaving him to think she was a vulnerable idiot, ready to answer his every whim. Though, her insides quivered at the thought of leaving him alone with an erection. Maybe he’d choose to relieve himself. The imagery caused a flush of heat to crawl up her cheeks. Even if it wouldn’t be the first time she’ d watched him do that to himself, it never failed to make her hot. Her physical reaction to this man was always so intense, so raw. No wonder she kept coming back for more.

  She closed her hands into fists. Keep moving.

  As Alex stepped out into another large, open area in the Cale quarters, she ignored the tiny part of her begging for her to reconsider. She kept moving, willing her legs forward. The nagging feeling might be making it that much harder to walk away from him, but she knew this was the right decision.

  No, it’s the only decision, a smarter side of her added. Don’t look back, don’t think about him, and I’ll see him again soon enough.

  First, she needed to sort through her own feelings. What did she want from Ulric? Would a collection of convenient trysts really be enough to satisfy her in the long run? It had worked out so far, but now that he’d changed things between them, she couldn’t help but wonder how it would affect her.

  Before returning to his bed, she had some things to figure out.

  Chapter Two

  “Where’s the cargo?”

  “Waiting for you at Loading Dock E,” Sackor replied with a seedy smile, which wasn’t a small feat for a crustacean. “Now that we’ve dealt with business, what do you say we enjoy a nice drink together?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Come on, Alex Wales. Surely you can spare a few moments for a drink with an old friend?”

  She nearly choked on the suggestion. Old friend? She couldn’t stand this asshole, and his intentions weren’t in her best interest. This guy only cared about himself and the credits he accumulated at the expense of others.

  Alex looked around the crowded bar, anything to prolong having to look at him. Sackor always made her cringe.

  The smoky haze, tinted red by a machine behind the bar, gave this place an even seedier feel than it already exuded. An alien band stood on the small, triangular stage on the far side of the vast room. Three little Greys were performing a haunting lullaby through their tiny mouths. Rather than using instruments, each produced a different soothing sound resulting in a disturbing, yet tender, song. Personally, she didn’t like the somberness of their music, but it seemed to fit the misery and desperation surrounding this particularly sleazy hangout.

  Those who dared venture in here were usually looking for cheap thrills: easy ways of earning a living, some poor sucker to hook up with, or were simply trying to drown out whatever problems hounded them. This shithole was frequented by the desperate and the degenerate.

  Just because it was located inside the same space station Ulric owned, didn’t make it more respectable. This level was a long way from his private, lavish hideaway. There were more than enough pristine and fashionable establishments in the higher levels for the majority of the population.

  The lower regions of the Anteris Space Station, just above the garbage dump, were home to those without an ounce of class. The refined population hardly cared about these regions, unless they wanted to slum it for the buzz or were curious about how the other half lived. She’d served as a tour guide for such a group once, as a favor to Ulric.

  When he first spotted her on one of her many stops here, he offered her a large amount of credits to escort a group of rich folk to this very bar. At the time, she hadn’t realized Ulric had other intentions for her, but Alex hadn’t shied away from a paying job. The perks of eventually becoming his l
over had extended to a free stay in his private quarters starting the day she accepted his persistent advances, but he never hired her, again.

  Still, the few hours she’d spent chaperoning a group of wide-eyed, wealthy people—as they experienced an atmosphere very different from their own—had probably been the easiest job she’d ever taken. Of course, it had come with a few problems. Like the stupid man who’d brought his impressionable teenage daughter with him. She’d behaved during the tour, but Alex hadn’t missed the way Michaela’s eyes lit up when some of the sleazy patrons checked her out.

  The girl had been lost to this seedy underbelly shortly thereafter. The teenager’s father hired Alex to search for her during her last stay, when Michaela had been missing for over a year.

  She managed to locate the girl, but Michaela had refused to return home. Her pimp shot at Alex, and she’d decided it just wasn’t worth the risk. She’d told the father she couldn’t find his daughter. Lying had secured her payment, but she’d handed the credits to a small family starving in this squalor. She couldn’t bring herself to accept payment for a lie.

  “We’re not old friends,” she finally said to Sackor, who she found staring at her with an amused look on his crusty face.

  Alex looked away again, and spotted Michaela across the room. The young girl was so high, she probably didn’t even notice the guy pimping her out to whoever was willing to pay for her, was planning to sell her to the brute busily squeezing her breasts as if he were checking for ripe fruit.

  Damn that stupid little girl. Now, I’m going to have to do something about it before I get out of here.

  In spite of feeling more at home in the slums of the desperate and criminally inclined, she still despised wrongdoings to the innocent or stupid.

  All kinds of alien and humanoid races frequented this joint. It was the best way to score work. Most of the time, the pay wasn’t great, but it was enough to accrue the credits she needed to survive on her ship. One of these days, Alex needed to take some time off to visit one of those tropical planets advertised in almost every space station across the galaxy.

  Stopping by Anteris for a little loving wasn’t as relaxing as it used to be. Especially when her lover had suddenly developed expectations.

  A vacation would have to wait. Promise was in good shape for an old ship, but time could be very cruel to spaceships. The older they got, the harder and more costly maintenance became.

  Her father owned it for 20 years before she inherited it from him, and he kept it in great shape. She was determined to do the same.

  “Alex Wales, I hope you’re daydreaming about me,” Sackor said, interrupting her reverie.

  She had no choice but to turn away from the stupid teenage girl and focus on her latest customer. As far as her clientele went, this guy was one of the scummiest breeds. On the other hand, he always managed to come through with both cargo and credits. She suspected Sackor had some sort of sick fascination with her, but she did her best to ignore his advances.

  Sackor was also a piece of crap and would screw anyone over to get a better deal.

  Alex met his glossy eyes. Creepy.

  His four long, spiky fingers were lined with cheap, silver jewelry. On top of his head sat a fake crown, with two thin antennas sticking up from the inside. He even wore a red cape to fuel his delusion of having royalty in his blood. The only thing in his blood was filth. Everyone knew that only humanoid races had any sort of established monarchy.

  Given the chance, she would love to squash this giant insect, but not while he still provided a steady stream of cargo. She didn’t know what he moved from this space station to nearby planets, but it had to be some sort of liquid, because it was always inside barrels.

  She must have already moved more than a hundred for him.

  Besides, it wasn’t her business to ask questions. Just deliver the cargo, receive her credits, and move onto the next job. Or back here for a little physical action.

  Ah, Ulric. Stop thinking about him! The bizarre offer still bugged her more than she wanted to admit. They’d been playing this game of pleasurable sex for several years, and he’d never shown any desire to have it turn into more. Most of the time, when she returned, Alex had to pry some other hussy’s hands off him so she could have her turn at some fun. Ulric had even suggested having company in their bed several times, but Alex didn’t swing that way.

  She was only into men, humanoid men.

  So, what had changed, or was Ulric trying to manipulate her into something she wasn’t aware of yet?

  “How about that drink, huh?” Sackor asked. His thin lips spread into a grin, making him look downright scary.

  Alex plastered a tight smile on her face. “I don’t think so. I really have to get going. There’s someone else waiting for me after I get your cargo across.” Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try and play the charm game with insect-man every now and then. Her female charm got her pretty far in this business. A low-cut top and tight pants mixed with a seductive smile had scored her more than one repeat customer. This guy, ugh. Just being this close to him made her skin crawl, even with a small table between them.

  “Oh, come on. I’m a king, you know?”

  “So you’ve mentioned a thousand times before.”

  “That doesn’t impress you?” Those big, black eyes looked like oversized goggles on his dark and shiny face.

  She shrugged. “Not into royalty.”

  “No, you’re into scum like Ulric Cale.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. Now, this was interesting—a lowlife like Sackor was calling Ulric scum? “What makes you call him that?”

  A raspy sound, vaguely resembling a sigh filled the air between them. She caught a sniff of his rancid breath. It smelled like a corpse permanently resided inside his stomach. Maybe one did.

  Alex shook her head and exhaled to clear his stench.

  “Everyone knows the guy’s into some very bad things. It’s why he can afford to sit on his ass all day and still be one of the richest pricks in the galaxy!” Sackor said every word with obvious dislike. Hell, it sounded more like hate.

  “He inherited this space station and everything else—”

  “Spoken like someone who’s fucking him.”

  “How dare you!”

  “What? You don’t think your affair’s a secret, do you?” Sackor laughed, making her skin crawl, again. His tiny teeth were all spikes inside that big, rigid mouth of his.

  She wasn’t stupid, knowing a lot of people were aware of her on-again-off-again thing with Ulric never bothered her. Yet, she suddenly didn’t like the idea of every scumbag in the galaxy judging her because of it. Did they laugh behind her back or just assume she was an easy lay who’d eventually weaken and let them in, too? It sounded disgusting to even think about it, but sex and love could make or break a person’s entire life. Reputations were made and ruined after one-night stands with the wrong people or if the performance didn’t live up to the expectations.

  What the hell was she thinking? Sackor would say just about anything to try and snare her into his web. It’s never going to happen.

  Alex took a deep breath. “It’s not meant to be a secret.”

  “Of course not. Fucking the owner of a space station can only work for your rep. It doesn’t mean you have to stay exclusive to him, does it? I’m more than equipped to deal with satisfying a humanoid female.” Sackor licked his lips and slowly extended his spiked tongue to insinuate exactly what he was offering, if she chose to accept the challenge.

  The gesture had the reverse effect on her. Alex cringed at the thought of his putrid tongue anywhere near her body. “I’m a one-guy-at-a-time kinda girl,” she lied.

  She had to stop this exclusive arrangement she’d set up for herself with Ulric, especially now that she knew he was getting confused. If something
came up on—or off—this space station, Alex would take advantage of the situation. She couldn’t continue to mull over his offer and risk eventually taking him up on it.

  A distraction’s what I need.

  “You’re lying. I know all about your other lovers.”

  “I don’t have other lovers,” she snapped back.

  “I’m growing tired of your resistance, Alex Wales.” Those black eyes peered into hers. “One of these days, you’re going to have no other choice but to accept at least one encounter with me.”

  She doubted that day would ever come but chose to keep her mouth shut by biting down on her tongue. Just because she didn’t want to have sex with Sackor didn’t mean she had to jeopardize their working arrangement. “Who knows? Stranger things have happened.” She offered him a wink.

  A smile teased the edges of those very thin, hard lips as his eyes shone. “Yes, they have…but for now, I’m going to have to be happy with keeping this strictly business.” He patted her left hand with his.

  It took all of her willpower to keep from dragging her hand away from his grasp. The feel of his harsh insect skin made her want to vomit.

  “The cargo’s ready to load and needs to be delivered within 24 hours.” Sackor held her hand steady under his. “As soon as it’s signed for, the credits will be automatically deposited into your personal account.”

  “I know the procedure.” Alex pushed the tall stool back and stood up. His skin against hers made her itch all over. Insects had this effect on her, no matter how big or small they were.

  He didn’t budge when she made a move to pull her hand away.

  “Alex, I may even be able to add a little extra to the usual fee, if you meet me back here in 48 hours to fulfill your promise of intimacy.” The excitement made his shell glossy with moisture.