Snowburn

by E J Frost

  darkens with each pass, until it’s as black as

  mine, if I let it grow out. The result is eye-

  catching. The black stubble makes the long

  blonde bangs framing her face brighter.

  Against the black hair, her skin glows like

  pearl. Her bare neck looks twice as

  vulnerable. I lift an admiring eyebrow and

  Kez smiles at me in the mirror. “Better?” she

  asks.

  “Fuck, yeah. C’mere.”

  She puts the brush down and moves into

  my arms. Breathes a minty breath up at me. I

  smile down at her before I claim that clean

  mouth. Kiss her deep. Her fingers drop to the

  towel around my waist; she gives it a tug.

  I break the kiss. Lift her onto the counter

  and pull her thighs around my hips. “Quick

  and on the counter now, or slow and in a bed

  later?”

  Kez tilts her head to the side. “Is both out

  of the question?”

  “Nope, but this is gonna be real quick.”

  Between the unrelenting ache in my balls and

  the fact that either door might open

  momentarily, we might be counting this one

  in seconds rather than minutes.

  “Quick is good.”

  “Not if you don’t come.” I slide my hand

  up her thigh. Rub my thumb over her labia

  and find her slick with more than moisture

  from the shower.

  “I’ll do my best.”

  She does, and I hold out for seven

  minutes, and we’re back in the shower by the

  time Ape pokes his head through to door to

  tell us that lunch is ready.

  Chapter 29

  After lunch, we sit on Kez’s bed,

  surrounded by rabbits, with the latest black

  box between Kez’s knees. I pet Ronnie, who

  is upside-down in my lap, paws in the air,

  tooth-purring hard enough to shake the bed.

  Petting the bunny keeps my hands off Kez,

  who is pressed warmly against my side. She

  probably doesn’t want my hands off her,

  given that she’s been trying to entice me to

  fuck her again since about five minutes after

  our last go-round. And I’m going to oblige

  her, once we deal with Tyng and get rid of

  the fluffy swarm, because the quickie on the

  counter may have taken care of my ball-ache,

  but it did nothing to relieve any deeper need.

  “United front,” I remind her, tipping my

  chin at the black box between her knees.

  She shivers and works her hand between

  my back and the headboard until she can put

  her arm around my waist. “Where should we

  hold the meet?”

  “Let him pick. Anywhere on neutral

  ground.” The beauty of my plan is that it gets

  the knives into any meet with Tyng,

  anywhere. If Doc Gray does a good job with

  the sheaths, I should even be able to pass a

  full security scan.

  “Okay.” She leans forward and fiddles

  with the side of the box. A holodisplay pops

  up, with a red eye across it. Kez has turned

  off the vid again. Smart kitten.

  The response is instant. “Miz Kerryon.”

  She bows her head and tucks herself

  tighter against my side. “I’ve finished the

  two runs.”

  “So I understand. At some personal cost,

  or so my watchers tell me. For your

  companion at the very least. Are you quite

  recovered, Mister Snow?”

  “Recovered enough,” I grunt. Perceptive

  bastard.

  “Very well. Payment was made this

  morning as arranged. I trust you are

  satisfied?”

  “Yes,” Kez says. That musta been part of

  what she was talking about with Gig, or she

  wouldn’t be agreeing without checking first.

  She’s very careful about getting paid, as she

  should be. She also owes me forty percent,

  but I don’t mention it, and I won’t. She’ll be

  as careful about paying as she is about

  getting paid. She’s a good businesswoman,

  my kitten.

  “Then we can finish this distasteful

  business,” Tyng says. “Two hours, at the

  warehouse where we first spoke.”

  Kez stirs against my side, and I clamp

  down hard on my impulse to interrupt. This

  is still her show.

  Kez clears her throat. “I’m sorry, but I

  had to trade another run to get us off the

  Clouds. I need two days.”

  There’s a long silence from the holodeck.

  Kez squeezes my waist. I turn my face to

  nuzzle her ear. “Hang in there,” I whisper to

  her.

  “Very well,” Tyng says finally.

  “Midnight tomorrow.”

  Kez glances at me for confirmation. I’d

  feel better if Tyng had given us the full night,

  but I sense that’s stretching his patience. I’ll

  have to be quick carving the knives. I nod.

  “Thank you,” she says.

  “I’m looking forward to meeting you in

  person, Miz Kerryon. At last. And to

  collecting the debt you owe me.”

  “Yes, sir.” Kez shrinks into herself even

  more if that’s possible.

  “I’m lookin’ forward to meetin’ you,

  too,” I say, when it doesn’t look like Kez is

  going to mention me.

  “Ah, Mister Snow. I was going to suggest

  that Miz Kerryon’s brother accompany her,

  since it would not be appropriate for her to

  meet me unchaperoned. If you would prefer

  to take his place, since I understand you have

  recently become connected with Miz

  Kerryon on a number of levels, I have no

  objection. I trust you will report our meeting

  to Mister Kerryon faithfully. And you will

  understand if I am also accompanied to the

  meeting.”

  “Seems only fair you bring someone if

  Kez is.” I put the emphasis on one.

  “Even so. Until then.”

  “Yeah.” I lean over and flick off the

  holodeck. Sit back and put my arms around

  Kez. She evicts Ronnie and climbs into my

  lap. I stroke her head into my neck. Hold her

  tight. “You still don’t want me to kill him?”

  “No,” she breathes into my skin.

  “If it comes down to him or you?”

  “I agreed . . . I said I’d give him flesh.”

  “Yeah, but that’s not what he’s gonna

  demand. He’s gonna break you. That’s not

  part of the deal.”

  She shakes her head against my neck.

  “If it comes down to him or you, I gotta

  know you’re behind me.” I tip her chin up so

  I can look into her eyes. They’re dry. Pupils

  contracted so tightly they’re just pinpoints in

  a sea of blue. I can feel the trembling she

  tries to control. She’s letting fear eat her up.

  “I gotta know you’ll forgive me if I kill him,

  kitten.”

  She puts her arms around my neck. “I’ll

  forgive you anything.”

  “Then we do what’s gotta be done.”

  “Okay,” sh
e sighs. “Okay, but you have to

  let me try first. If he demands something I can

  give . . . even if it’s really bad. I have to . . .

  will you let me try?”

  “Yeah, I’ll let you keep your word if you

  can.” I know how important it is to her. And

  there will be fall-out if I kill Tyng. Bad fall-

  out. For me and for Kez. I understand that.

  But none of that is more important than her

  sanity. She may not know it, but there are

  worse things than dying. Worse things than

  what Tyng has threatened her with. I’ve had

  some of them done to me, and I’ve seen

  more. I’m not letting any of that happen to

  Kez. It would destroy the beauty that makes

  Kez so essentially . . . Kez. “He doesn’t get

  to torture you. No rapin’. No skinnin’.

  You’re not agreeing to anything like that.”

  She swallows hard and grips my neck.

  “I’m not going to argue with you.”

  “Good.”

  She snuffles into my neck. Chokes. I feel

  the moment she lets fear overwhelm her.

  Feel the wetness on my skin. The trembling

  that shakes the whole bed. I don’t try to stop

  her. Two days ago, I would have. But now I

  know better. She needs to let it out;

  otherwise she lets it build until she explodes.

  So I hold her tight, rub her back, kiss her

  forehead, and let her cry it out.

  The rabbits huddle around us. Ronnie

  tries to climb into her lap, but she’s curled

  too tightly against me. He ends up between

  my knees with his front paws on her hip,

  butting her with his soft nose. She reaches

  out absently to pet him, and then the others

  when they butt her hand. Looks like this isn’t

  the first time they’ve comforted her. Maybe

  it’s the first time she’s had anyone other than her rabbits to comfort her.

  She finally reaches out of our clutch to

  pull a wipe out of the dresser drawer. She

  blows her nose. I chuckle.

  “What’s funny?” she asks indignantly.

  I cup her face in my hands and kiss the tip

  of her swollen, red nose. “You’re beautiful.”

  “Oh, right.” She waves the wet tissue at

  me. “Really beautiful.”

  “You’re beautiful. Snot and all.” Would

  Marin ever have let me see her blow her

  nose? Would Mouse? I lived in a four by six

  cell with Mouse for months and I never saw

  her blow her nose. I never saw her cry. I

  only saw her use the damn zap can a couple

  of times, usually while we were on

  lockdown. She was careful to hide those

  sorts of things from me. At the time I thought

  she was trying to maintain some privacy. But

  now I realize it was because Mouse didn’t

  want to let me in. She was afraid of me, no

  matter how gentle I was with her. She’d been

  hurt too bad to ever trust anyone completely.

  Kez has trusted me from the start. I can’t let

  anything happen to her that would damage

  her sweet trust.

  “You’re insane,” Kez says, drawing me

  back to the here and now.

  “Absolutely,” I agree. “Now you want to

  call your rat friends and set up this run so

  you and me can have some real alone-time?”

  She nods. Snaps together her viewie

  without uncurling from my lap. She scrolls

  through picture after picture until she finds

  the furry face of Rat-Wisdom. Taps it up and

  waits.

  When she doesn’t pick up after a dozen

  rings, Kez sighs. “She might be sleeping.

  They’re nocturnal.”

  “Real rats are crepuscular,” I say.

  “Creepy-what?”

  I chuckle. “That, too.”

  “So are rabbits. But as soon as I let ours

  have free run of the house, they adjusted to

  our schedule. They nap a lot, though.” She

  finally takes pity on Ronnie, spreads her

  knees and makes a lap for him to wriggle

  into. He flops across her thighs with enough

  force to shake the bed.

  “You are a big fucking lump,” I tell the

  bunny, just as Kez’s viewie connects with a

  soft chime.

  The picture’s of Rat-Wisdom, but it’s

  Acker who appears on Kez’s viewie as the

  call connects. “Lightfoot,” he says, his deep

  voice resonating in Kez’s small room.

  “Acker.”

  “Has something happened?” Alpha Rat

  asks. The little tech is good. No doubt Acker

  can see Kez’s red eyes and swollen nose.

  Kez shakes her head. “We’re ready to do

  the run.”

  “The food will be in Nock at dawn. I’m

  sorry, I cannot arrange it any sooner.”

  “That’s okay,” I say. That gives me and

  Kez the night together, which suits me fine.

  “Have it dropped at Nock Port, berth

  SM2662. The Pack know we’re coming?”

  “Yes. Diamond has given me the

  following message: Swift Wings.”

  Kez nods. “I know that entrance.”

  “They will be waiting for you. They have

  the . . . items you have asked for.”

  I arch an eyebrow at Kez.

  “I put the message on the K-Net board as

  soon as we cleared the Cloudline,” she

  clarifies.

  “We do not trade in human parts,” Acker

  growls. “I want this understood.”

  “Loud ‘n’ clear,” I say. “Remember what

  you said about the measure of a man?”

  “Yes,” he says slowly.

  “That’s why I need them.”

  Expression is hard to read on Alpha

  Rat’s furry face, but I think he looks

  surprised. “Very well,” he says. “I will . . .

  trust you in this.”

  That must have been hard for him to say. I

  nod in acknowledgement. “So, when’re you

  comin’ to Nock?”

  “I . . . have not yet made any plans.”

  “Dinner. Next fiveday. I’m cookin’.

  Bring whatever you want to drink.”

  Kez knocks me with her elbow. “Snow.”

  I give her a squeeze. “If it’s a date we

  can’t keep, I’m sure Acker will give us a

  raincheck.”

  “Indeed, I will,” Acker says. “May I

  bring my Wisdom?”

  “Yeah, anyone you want is welcome.”

  “Thank you,” he says slowly. “We will

  . . . look forward to it.”

  I nod into the viewie before Kez taps it

  off. She leans her head against my shoulder.

  “Do you really think we’ll be able to keep

  that date?”

  “I think if we start livin’ like there’s

  nothin’ beyond tomorrow, then Tyng’s

  already won.”

  “He scares me so much,” she whispers.

  “I know, kitten.” I hug her close. Rub her

  back. I can’t promise her it will be all right. I

  don’t want to lie to her. But I give her

  everything I can. “You’re not gonna face him

  alone.”

  She wraps her arms
around my neck and

  hugs me fiercely. Which makes the rabbit

  getting crushed between us wriggle

  indignantly. We break apart laughing.

  With her backpack at the bottom of the

  bay, Kez has to resort to another of her black

  nylar bags for her equipment. I stretch on her

  bed, in the middle of a sprawl of rabbits.

  Most of the rabbits are watching her pack,

  probably hoping for the appearance of

  something edible. A couple are sleepily

  licking each other, while Ronnie has flopped

  on his side along my forearm and is

  alternatively licking my wrist and his own

  paw. I scratch him behind the ear. I’ve never

  been around animals that weren’t predators

  before. Kez’s rabbits are very peaceful. Very

  cuddly. Wholly relaxing. But when one of

  them climbs up and settles in the small of my

  back, I object.

  “Get the bunny off my back.”

  “Helas, shoo!” Kez admonishes, looking

  up from folding some clothes into the bag.

  There’s no change in the weight on my

  back.

  “That is a fucking heavy rabbit,” I

  observe.

  “Females get that way. Particularly after

  they’ve finished breeding. Helas, I mean it.

  Get off.”

  The rabbit doesn’t shift.

  “You realize this is a challenge,” I tell

  Kez.

  “Oh, I know. She’s asserting her

  dominance. If she starts humping your butt,

  you’re her bitch for life.”

  “If she starts humpin’ any part of me,

  she’s stew.”

  Kez chuckles, then reaches over and

  removes the bunny, depositing the large

  white ball onto the floor. “Ow, bad rabbit.”

  She sucks on one of her knuckles.

  “She bite you?” I ask, watching the rabbit

  disappear through the hatch in Kez’s door,

  kicking her back feet at us in indignation.

  “Yes, and damn if she doesn’t have sharp

  teeth,” Kez mutters around her knuckle. She

  returns to her packing, pulling a box from

  underneath her bed. I lift an eyebrow at the

  contents. She’s got more equipment in the

  box than I’ve used in all my escapes put

  together. She takes two coils of snake chain

  and loads them into the nylar bag. Then a

  collection of straps and D-rings which look

  like they might be useful for some bedtime

  activities as well as whatever she’s

  planning. When she takes out a flat fabric

  circle, twists a tab on the side and it pops up

  into an impact helmet, I raise an eyebrow.

  “You know the drop off in Kuus?” At my

  nod, she says, “It’s exactly that. A drop.”