by Zoey Draven
And he had a lifetime of it to look forward to. If only his stubborn little female would trust him.
In the morning light, Dravka realized that they hadn’t spoken of her dinner engagement. He’d meant to ask but something told him that she wouldn’t speak of it.
It doesn’t matter, he thought. She won’t have to worry about the Larchmonts much longer.
With a deep, chuffing sigh, Dravka rose from the bed. He was still naked from the night before—still hard, too—but his skin was sticky with the pre-cum that he’d tried to wipe away.
He left his room to bathe quickly, intent on finding Valerie. He was loathe to wash her scent from his skin, but he figured it couldn’t be helped. Soon, she would be all over him, her scent mingling with his own, until they were both covered in one another.
When we get off Everton, Dravka thought, rising from the bathing tub, drying his body off. He marveled at the determination rising in him and a hope that he hadn’t felt in years.
He’d been a fool to wait this long. He’d been a fool to not leave with Khiva a few months ago and drag Valerie with him, despite her protests.
But he would do right by her now.
Once he exited the washroom, he found Ravu and Tavak in the sitting room.
Ravu tilted his chin up when he saw him, his eyes sliding to the door of his bedroom.
“Was Valerie here last night?” Ravu asked, his eyes glinting with…amusement? “I thought I heard her.”
Dravka stiffened. The possessive Keriv’i in him didn’t like that his female had been sleeping so close to other unmated Keriv’i. Then again, it couldn’t be helped.
When we are on Dumera, I will build us a house far away from other males, he promised, feeling a little of his possessiveness drain at the thought. He couldn’t help it. Keriv’i were singularly jealous creatures when it came to their chosen mates. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for Keriv’i males to mark their females’ necks in their teela, especially if they would be around other males.
He ignored the question, knowing he would have to put off locating Valerie for a little while longer. The three Keriv’i had matters they needed to continue discussing.
“On Jrika,” Dravka started and Tavak’s head whipped up from the Nu device, “I heard rumors about you, Ravu.”
Jrika had been the backwater colony that Madame Allegria had found them all on. A seedy one, only good for drinking away sorrows and perhaps fucking them away as well. Unlawful merchants, space pirates, bleary-eyed miners, criminals, thieves from all over the universe frequented the colony. And those unfortunate enough to live there?
Well, there was a reason the Keriv’i had chosen Everton, after all. Jrika had been a hellish place to call home.
Ravu’s gaze narrowed. “What did you hear?”
“That you ran with space pirates and scrappers,” Dravka told him. “That if they needed stolen tech unlisted, if they needed data extracted, then you were the one to find.”
Ravu exchanged a small look with his brother, his lips pressing together. Then he shrugged, a human gesture they’d all seemed to pick up over the years.
So Tavak had been selling sex and Ravu had been helping to sell stolen goods off raided vessels. Dravka didn’t blame them, didn’t judge them.
Hell, Dravka had sold himself once or twice on that colony when he needed to eat. It had been surprisingly easy, that first time. And he had turned a blind eye to some goods that had passed through his hands. It had been a difficult life back then. They’d done what they needed to do to survive.
It had been why all of them were so unwilling to follow Khiva and Eve to Dumera, after all. Because of the memories of Jrika, the fear that all neutral colonies might be the same.
“Celine Larchmont’s visit with you is tomorrow night,” Dravka said. “I told you that Valerie mentioned Celine hates Madame Allegria. That she doesn’t want this marriage to happen.”
That word…marriage. It felt like acid on his tongue.
“And what does that have to do with what I did on Jrika?” Ravu questioned softly.
He was protective of Celine Larchmont. A part of him cared for the older woman. They’d all had clients that they cared about—and though those feelings weren’t romantic, there were still clients that had shown them kindness.
Then again, there were always the clients that were the opposite. Clients whose visits left them feeling used and…lesser.
It wouldn’t be a feeling he would miss once they left.
“Are you able to get copies of the records downstairs? From the main Nu terminal in the basement?”
Copies of business records. Copies that Valerie had once tried to take to an Earth Council member and had gotten punished for it…her back whipped and raw.
Sometimes, Dravka swore he could still feel the warmth of her blood dripping across his hands as he lasered her skin closed. Sometimes, he could still feel that burning hatred and self-loathing for not saving her from this. Sometimes, he still felt that nausea churn in his belly whenever he thought of it.
“It will help incentivize Celine Larchmont,” Dravka said. “If she has blackmail over Madame Allegria, it would give her control back. She doesn’t want this marriage to happen. This would ensure that it doesn’t.”
“And what makes you think that Celine could do anything with that information? Look at what happened to Valerie,” Ravu argued, though his eyes were narrowed—as if he was already working through how he’d extract that information.
“Because unlike Valerie, she has money and power here on Everton,” Dravka said. “Valerie said the Larchmonts are one of the wealthiest families on the New Earth colonies. Richer than Madame Allegria by far…and thus, more powerful. She could do something with that information if she chose to, get it into the right hands, but you’d probably have to wipe her name from the records first.”
They all knew money meant power. It was why they’d been left powerless for so long.
Tavak said, “You’ll need a Nu device to access the terminal.”
He held the slim device out to his brother, who took it slowly.
“I would also need a Coms upload wire link of some kind,” Ravu said quietly. “And something to store the data on. A microchip would work but I’d need a processor. A Blue Light drive would be better.”
“We can check downstairs at Valerie’s desk and in the back office,” Tavak said. “There has to be something you can use.”
Ever since he’d learned of the firestones, Tavak had been more determined to leave Everton than he’d ever been before. Because now they all had tangible proof of a better life. Maybe for the first time, all the Keriv’is were imagining better ones.
They all looked at one another for a long moment, realizing that…this might work.
“What are we waiting for then?” Tavak asked, rising from his seat.
Chapter Nineteen
Though she knew she shouldn’t, Valerie took the staircase up to the Cluster that night.
It was a quiet night in the brothel since Valerie had cancelled all the clients once again. Tomorrow she was planning to inform all of them about the brothel’s closing.
The chandelier made the staircase glimmer as she slid her hand over the solid bannister. She was nervous, she found. Her belly was curling and fluttering with anticipation, just at the thought of seeing him again after last night.
Things were falling into place. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders after she was lucky enough to make contact with Eve on Dumera. The Keriv’is would have a home, a place to belong once they left Everton. They would have jobs. They would work with Khiva on these firestones she’d heard about. Eve had promised her that.
Even still, there was a profound sadness in her that night, mingling with the sweet anticipation and nerves and excitement she felt.
When Valerie reached the Cluster, the sitting room was dark and quiet. Tavak and Ravu were nowhere to be seen, but Dravka…
He was standing at the window in t
he Cluster, his strong, bare back to her. The scars that adorned his flesh there were light in color, slightly raised. When Valerie had first come to the brothel, her aunt had liked to take Dravka down to the basement level the most, as if she’d known even then that Valerie cared for him.
The thought sobered her and she approached him quietly.
He regarded her over his shoulder, those eyes tracking her in the dark. When she reached him, she leaned her forehead on his back. When her arms came around his front, he gripped her wrists.
She inhaled his warm scent. Memorizing it, though she’d had it committed to her mind years ago.
“Where have you been all day?” he asked quietly in the darkness, stroking his long fingers over her forearm.
She shivered and couldn’t resist pressing small kisses to the scars on his back. Some of them had been because of her, after all. Because she’d loved him and Madame Allegria had known that.
Dravka’s breath hitched when he felt her kiss.
“Val?” he asked, before turning, cupping her cheek and turning her so she could see him.
“I’ll tell you,” she said, licking her lips, still nervous. “After,” she added.
His eyes darkened as a lengthy silence drew out between them. His voice was dark and husky when he asked, “After what?”
“I need to wash,” she whispered, her heart hammering in her chest. “Will you join me?”
Valerie heard his audible, thick swallow.
He told her last night that he wouldn’t have sex with her on Everton. But maybe they could…do other things. Last night, Valerie had realized that she might not ever get to explore him otherwise.
And she thought she might scream if she never touched him the way she wanted. After last night, she couldn’t stay away. She didn’t want to anymore. She didn’t have the willpower to stay away.
Not now.
Her heart was a thundering mess as she waited for him to reply.
In the end, he didn’t say anything. He only led her to the washing room, closing and locking the door behind him, and then they were encased in that cool, dark, small space.
This bathroom was like most in the brothel. The bricks were painted a matte black. The sink and washing tub—Keriv’i sized—were gold. The floor was marble, though an Old Earth rug adorned it to keep the chill out. A round gilded mirror sat above the sink counter and in it, in the dim light from the single sconce on the wall, Valerie saw her eyes were wide and her cheeks were flushed.
In the darkness, it felt intimate. It felt like just the two of them…and it was a place in the brothel that they’d never been together before. It felt new.
Dravka was next to her. He came behind her, running a hand through her hair. He turned them so they were looking in the mirror and the sight stunned her. Because she’d never seen them standing together, side by side.
He was so much taller than her. So much larger. His skin looked bluer against her flesh.
And for the first time, she saw the way she looked at him. Wide-eyed, a little dazed, but happy. She looked at him like they shared some great secret, just the two of them.
She supposed they did.
In the mirror, Valerie saw—and felt—his hands trail down her front, the sides of his palms skimming over her breasts, just barely, just enough to make her breath hitch, before coming to rest on her hips.
“Look how beautiful you are,” he rasped in her ear, crouching down so their faces were next to one another’s. “Vauk, I’ve loved you since I first saw you.”
Valerie’s lips parted, her heart freezing in her chest at his sublime words. He’d never said them before, though it had always been unspoken. Of course, she knew that he loved her in some capacity.
But up until this last week, she hadn’t known for certain it was like the way she loved him.
“Tell me what you’re thinking, mellkia,” he murmured.
Valerie didn’t think she could make her tongue work if she wanted to. His eyes were burning into her through the mirror, dark and teasing and wanting.
Last night, he’d pointed out just how silly her fears were about intimacy with him. Though he might not want sex now, she still wanted to show him how much she desired him, no doubt the cause for her nerves that night. She feared she was running out of time to show him.
And she wanted these memories to last her a lifetime. Because they would need to.
Valerie turned her face, saw a flash of those dark eyes, and then she was kissing him. Fiercely. Possessively. She wanted to show him what she was thinking because she didn’t think she was capable of words.
Dravka growled, his hands squeezing around her hips, and his tongue flicked out, darting between her parted lips. A sharp intake of breath whistled between them when she sucked on his tongue. Opening her eyes, she met his and saw they were narrowed. The wicked promise that gleamed in them was enough to make her whimper.
Suddenly, she was up on the counter, her back pressing into the mirror. Dravka stepped between her thighs and her legs wrapped around his waist. Sometimes, Valerie forgot just how strong Keriv’i males were. How quick. He’d flipped and lifted her up like it was nothing.
Valerie’s hands squeezed into his shoulders, dragging him closer as their mouths connected again. Dravka bit at her bottom lip, sucking and nibbling, as he pressed closer, until she could feel the way his cock fit perfectly against the junction of her thighs.
Valerie did whimper that time, rocking her hips ever so slightly against him.
“Vauk,” he hissed out, tearing his mouth away. Then he was licking and sucking at her neck, steadily making his way to her ear. “The moment we’re off Everton, mellkia, I’ll give you everything you want. I promise.”
Desperation made her hands slide to the waistband of his pants. Hot desire curled in her belly. This had taken too long. Why had they waited so long to do this?
“I’ll give you everything,” he rasped in her ear, making her moan. “I’ll give you my cock and my teela until you can’t take it any longer. And then I’ll give you more. If you’ll wait, I’ll make it so good for you, I promise.”
Valerie swallowed.
He didn’t want to have sex, she knew. He’d told her as much last night. She could respect that, even though it made her want to cry in need and frustration.
“No sex then,” she whispered into the darkness, feeling him kiss the sensitive lobe of her ear. Her scalp felt tingly and she felt a shiver run all the way down to her tailbone as he kissed her there. “But I can still touch you tonight.”
Dravka stilled, his palms splayed flat on the counter on both sides of her thighs. As if he didn’t trust himself to touch her?
The thought made her wiggle on the cold marble, trying to get closer.
“How about I touch you tonight?” Dravka whispered, his breath threading through her hair.
“I want to touch you too,” Valerie said, pulling back to look at him. His expression was almost…apprehensive. Conflicted. She leaned forward, brushing her lips over his own, and she felt his cock throb against her. “Won’t you let me?”
A strained laugh tore from his throat. “If you touch me, mellkia, I might lose control when you’re already making me lose my vauking mind.”
His words gave her a flush of pleasure. His hand came up to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing her lips. He groaned when she caught the tip of it between her teeth, when her tongue flicked against it.
A flood of wetness rushed between her thighs.
“You’re going to make me come in my pants again, mellkia,” Dravka growled, a warning.
A smile crossed her lips when he abruptly pulled his thumb away.
“Veki,” he murmured, seeming to make up his mind about something. “The moment you touch me, you’ll end me. I’ll touch you tonight only.”
Disappointment almost made her pout but she would do everything she could to change his mind.
A gasp tore from her throat as he tugged her thin dress off—one of her nic
er ones, made of a silky, light material, one she’d worn just for him—and dropped it to the floor of the bathroom.
Her breasts were bare, her nipples pebbled and tight. She only wore underwear, if it could even be considered that, considering it was barely more than an inch of material that covered her there.
“My mouth has been watering for these for years,” he voiced, dropping his head. “I won’t wait any longer.”
And Valerie was wholly unprepared for his mouth and his tongue on her breasts, flicking one of her nipples before drawing the tight peak between his lips and sucking. She cried out, her hips bucking against him.
He growled, pressing closer, releasing her breast with a wet pop before turning his attention to the other. Her hands clutched at his back, wanting to keep him in place, as her sex throbbed between her thighs. It was almost as if she could feel his kiss on her breasts everywhere. That wicked, flicking, wet, hot tongue. The gentle scrape of his sharp teeth. The way he soothed his little bites with his kiss.
“Dravka,” she whimpered, heat shooting through her blood, making her feel restless.
When her hands dropped to the waistband of his pants, he growled, pushing her hands away and dropping to his knees in front of her.
His eyes burned into hers when he wrapped his arms around her thighs, pulling her to the very edge of the bathroom counter. In another moment, he snapped the tiny string holding her underwear together and tossed it away near her dress.
Oh!
Then he held her gaze as he dove forward, as his tongue pressed against her sex, as he gave one long, deliberately slow, and wicked lick.
A ragged gasp echoed in the small bathroom. Dravka’s own eyes shut briefly, a shudder racking his body.
When his eyes opened again, those twin opals were on fire. “Vauk, your taste, Val.”
Her lips parted, suddenly worried. “Is…is it bad?”
A strained laugh came next.
“I’ll never get enough of it,” he said. His voice sounded different. Deeper. Rougher. Darker. “I’ll need this every night to be satisfied.”
