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Another Night, Another Planet
Copyright © 2013 by Jessica E. Subject
ISBN: 978-1-61333-541-3
Cover art by Mina Carter
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Also by Jessica E. Subject
Never Gonna Let You Go
Made for Her
Another Night, Another Planet
1Night Stand Stories
Celestial Seduction
Beneath the Starry Sky
Unknown Futures
Satin Sheets in Space
Sudden Breakaway
Elatia
An Unexpected Return
The Edge
The Power of Three
Crash Landing
Alien Lover
Another Night, Another Planet
A 1Night Stand Elatia Story
By
Jessica E. Subject
~Dedication~
To First Loves
Chapter One
Ava hit send on her application to the 1Night Stand dating service. No time to wait for a reply. She shoved her tablet computer into her carry-on, slung the bag over her shoulder, and rushed out the door. With the Star Spirit scheduled to leave Earth in two hours, she had to zip through town to clock in before liftoff. She hoped Madame Eve would find her perfect match during her six-month tour.
Sure, she’d met many men in her travels between the Milky Way and the Belvarian System. But most looked down their noses or other appendages at the woman who cleaned their room. Those who showed an interest wanted a quick fuck before sending her away with their trash and dirty sheets.
She longed to find a guy to wine-and-dine her, to share conversation rather than a roll in the hay. Not that she’d complain about having sex with the guy Madame Eve chose for her during their guaranteed one night together. But she wanted to leave the date satisfied, mentally and physically.
Buzzing through the heavy traffic on her hover bike, Ava reached the spaceport in record time. Perfect. She found a parking locker in the cold, dank underground lot to squeeze her bike into then dashed toward security. If she could pick up a faint signal, maybe she would have a chance to check her email one last time before takeoff. Unlike the guests on board her mother traveler, she couldn’t afford to connect her tablet to the wireless system, not since she’d paid for her one-night stand. She used her once-a-week employee video call to speak with her mom and dad.
Raised by middle-class parents she’d had little chance of furthering her education past what the government paid for. When her father had received a pink slip from his employer of twenty star cycles, any hope she’d held of going to college flew out the window. Without an advanced degree, she found nothing but meaningless jobs paying her less than the effort she put into them.
Bags checked, Ava dashed down the plain white corridors of the employee level, pausing for the vacuum seals to release on doors along the way, until she reached her room for the duration of her stay. After thumbing the security pad to open the door, she crashed on the bed to the left, the right one belonging to Michelle, her best friend, who had convinced her to apply to housekeeping aboard Star Spirit. They interviewed together, starting space training the very next day.
Four star cycles later, she enjoyed a quick moment to rest before venturing out on her seventh tour. Though she didn’t have much of a life traveling through space, she received better pay than she would find anywhere on Earth. Providing her basic needs of food and shelter while on-board, the owners of the ship also compensated her well enough to split her earnings between her parents and her savings account when she returned home. She couldn’t let the people who had raised her suffer because she’d found an opportunity they hadn’t.
Yanking her tablet from her bag, she flicked it on, connecting to the Internet. Finding a faint signal, she logged onto her email account, praying her application went through. She scanned her new messages, deleting game requests, jokes from her friends, and e-flyers as she went. There, at the very bottom of the list, sat a message from Madame Eve.
She clicked it open, her heart hammering in her chest as she read.
Bonjour Ava,
Thank you for your application to 1Night Stand. I will do my best to find a man who will meet your desires. Your scheduling circumstances have been noted. As soon as your date has been arranged, I will let you know.
Bon voyage,
Madame Eve.
She blinked at the screen, her stomach in knots. Would the woman find a man for her, or would she be deemed an impossible match? She wasn’t the typical 1Night Stand client, having had to pinch pennies in order to pay for the arrangement. Her parents would be so disappointed if they ever found out she spent so much money on one date.
She shut her tablet off as the door slid open.
Michelle tossed her luggage onto her bed with a grunt. “Damn security.” She spun around, staring at Ava. “What are you still doing here? We’re supposed to be up in the concourse for lift-off.”
“Well, hello to you, too.”
Michelle grimaced. “Sorry. The ass in Security searched all my bags, again. He won’t give up. If he didn’t have my job in his hands, I’d thump him right in the balls.”
Ava laughed, tucking her tablet back into her bag. “Now, you won’t see him for another six months.”
“Thank heavens.” Her friend frowned. “But I have him to look forward to when I return. I’ll get another ‘Since you’re back home, baby, why don’t we go to my house for some fun?’”
Ava hoped to have something more exciting to come home to. A date. More than fun. One night of pure pleasure. She grabbed her ID card then headed for the door. “Let’s go before we’re late.”
She coul
dn’t spend the entire cruise wondering whether Madame Eve would come through for her. She had work to do. But during the next six months, when she crashed on her bed during her off hours, she would imagine all of the possibilities.
***
“Run, Nate, run!”
Natazekiel, well aware of the stupid remark he’d made, bounded out of the pub behind his friend. As he rushed past, he toppled tables and chairs on their sides to slow his pursuers. Slamming into the doorframe, he lost his footing. He spun around, catching sight of the burly, blue-skinned Otarians lumbering after him, veins throbbing in their thick necks.
Regaining his balance, he scrambled down the street. He spotted Wyn ahead of him, rounding a corner. But the men he’d pissed off remained on his heels. If he followed his friend, they would chase him, too. If Wyn reached their star cruiser first, Nate hoped he would find a way to rescue him.
A beam of red light slammed into the road in front of him, blasting chunks of concrete all around him. Shit!
He faked to the right, pretending to follow his friend. Then he weaved left. The cursing from behind made him pause, but he valued his life too much—even if no one else did—to turn around.
Ornate stone pillars decorated the front of the tall, posh building ahead of him. An Otarian man stepped out of the entrance, and Nate raced to catch the door before it slammed shut. Inside, he glanced down the long hallway—lit by lavish sconces—at the multitude of doors lining either side. Would he find a way out behind any of them?
With his heart pounding, he grabbed each large brass-colored handle as he rushed by. None of the doors opened for him.
“There he is. Shoot him!”
Nate glanced back to see multiple laser guns aimed at him. Crap, he needed to escape. Fast. He slammed his shoulder into the next door. It flew open, revealing a luxurious suite full of silks and tapestries from the planet Earth. Not a suite he would ever receive an invitation to visit. He darted into a smaller room, finding a slender Otarian woman, naked save for a thin strip of cloth across her breasts and between her legs.
She drew a finger along her delectable blue curves. “Are you my date?”
“Date?” How he wished.
“Yes, did Madame Eve send you?”
For a second, he considered saying yes. Too much time had passed since he’d gotten laid. But with the barbarians after him, he wouldn’t have the chance to satisfy her the way any honorable man should. “Um, no. He’s a lucky man, though. Sorry to intrude.”
He sidestepped to the lofty window, yanking it up. Propping himself on the ledge, he somersaulted through the opening then, dropping farther than he’d expected, crashed to the ground. He didn’t have time to survey his injuries, as a beam blasted the frame above him, sprinkling bits of mortar on his head. Poor woman to have those brutes in her room.
Jumping to his feet, he glanced back and forth down the alley he’d landed in. He raced away from the busy street at one end into darker, unfamiliar territory. Best not to have his pursuers blast innocent bystanders.
After rounding another corner, he ducked behind an immense steel bin, expecting to have lost the bulky, determined men chasing him. A few moments passed in silence. Nate peeked around the edge. Nothing. He’d lost them.
Ready to get the Claustrum off Otaria, he crept farther into the darkness. Even with the sun high in the sky, very little light permeated this space. Pipes from the buildings and holes in the ground released steam around him. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, stinging his eyes. He wiped the moisture away then picked up his pace. A radiance shone ahead. Freedom? Once he returned to the main streets, he would locate Wyn, and their ship.
A beam shot past his head, singing the tip of his ear. Too close. He shot off again, bursting into a cluster of Otarians. He skidded around the next corner toward the open port. His ship was supposed to be there, but the dock where he’d parked it lay empty.
Shit. Where is Wyn?
He searched the skies, spotting the star cruiser barreling toward him. What in Claustrum? His friend would kill him and everyone on the streets. Nate continued running to the field and a line fell from the ship. His chest tightened. No way! I have to climb that? Yeah, right. He didn’t do stunts.
Dirt shot up around him as more blasts came from the men wanting him dead. Guess I have no other choice. Time to be a daredevil. He darted toward the dangling rope, praying to the gods Wyn’s stunt would work. Lifting his arms, he reached for the knot at the end and grabbed hold, asking for the strength to maintain his grip.
In an instant, he lifted off the ground, clinging to the lifeline. A few more laser beams shot past. All at once, the burly men below lowered their guns, staring at him. And his denims rested around his ankles, exposing him for all to see. Well, that explains the sudden breeze.
“Told you mine’s bigger than yours,” he shouted.
When another beam burnt a hole through his pants, he pulled his knees up, trying to save his vital organs. He spun around, hanging on tight while Wyn circled back, racing him away from danger.
Beyond the docks of the port, Nate dropped the line. He yanked up his still smoking jeans, waiting for Wyn to land. Once the door to the ship opened, he rushed inside.
“Go, go, go.”
He swung into the second seat, his heart hammering, as he helped program a course out into space.
“Why do I always wind up catching you with your pants around your ankles every time we go out?”
Nate grinned as the vessel shot out of Otaria’s atmosphere. “Because you like to see my cock. Admit it.”
Wyn jerked the ship starboard, tossing Nate out of his seat and onto the floor.
“Fucker. What’d you do that for?”
“Nothing. Wait ’til you do something.”
He punched his friend in the arm then scrambled back into his chair. With Wyn busy flying them to their next destination, Nate decided to connect to the uni-web. The woman he’d burst in on back on Otaria had stroked his curiosity. He typed Madame Eve and date into the browser, waiting for the results to pop up.
A few seconds later, he stared at the screen, unable to believe what he’d read. He clicked on the first link. 1Night Stand? A dating service? He thought the woman he’d seen too attractive to need someone to find her a date. If she’d found him half an hour earlier, she could have had him for the night. But no matter how much the idea flabbergasted him, he couldn’t stop reading about Madame Eve’s magical matchmaking abilities. Could there really be someone out there for him? He shook his head. Maybe for one night, but not for a lifetime. That bridge had come and been stolen away from him, never to be crossed again. Of all the people he’d met in his life, Wyn remained the only person who stuck around. Yet, Nate believed one day he would lose him, too. Last star cycle, Wyn had a serious girlfriend, Carlotta. She’d forced him to choose between her and Nate. He’d almost cried when Wyn showed up at the star cruiser the day he’d set to leave. No one had ever chosen him before, his own parents dropping him off at the spaceport on Earth, never to be heard from again. But then he’d done the same thing to the one girl who’d ever mattered. He winced. If he hadn’t been forced to leave the planet, he might still be with her.
Nate shook away the memory, returning his attention to the screen. He snorted when he read the cost for one of the arranged dates. Sure, he had the money, but on Rolox, he could get five women to spend the night with him for the same price. Though on that planet, he might leave with any number of diseases and other nasties. He clicked the form for fun, and whistled at the hundred or more questions on the application. This Madame Eve seemed thorough in learning about her clients.
“What are you lookin’ at?” Wyn leaned over the side of his chair. “You? A dating service?”
He chuckled, his cheeks warming. “No. I just heard a woman mention it when I escaped through her room. She’d apparently used this service and was waiting for her date when I barged in.”
His friend stood behind him, clasping hi
s shoulder. “I’m surprised you didn’t take advantage of the situation.”
“Didn’t have a chance.” Yet, he wouldn’t have. He refused to pretend to be someone else. A woman had to want him for him. He would no longer hide what he was.
“You should give it a try.”
The comment came like a kick to the nuts. Spinning around in his chair, he faced Wyn. “You’ve got to be joking. This woman sets people up on a one-night stand, but according to her clients, more often than not, the relationship lasts well beyond one night.”
“Exactly. You’ve spent all this time zooming around space, searching for someone. I think it’s about time you stop to find her.”
He clenched the arms of the chair. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m fully capable of finding my own dates.”
“C’mon. The women you find are willing to fuck anyone who asks. It’s all a ruse as you search for the one woman you’re pining over.”
“You think I’m looking for love? Yeah, right.” That ship had sailed a long time ago. Best friend or not, Wyn had pushed the boundaries of their camaraderie. Nate rose to his feet and shoved past him. “Stay out of my business.”
“If I did, you’d be dead by now,” Wyn shouted after him.
Nate slammed the door to his cubby behind him and pounded his fist against the wall. The fucker was right, Nate would have been killed numerous times if Wyn hadn’t come to his rescue. And perhaps he was lonely, always yearning to run into his one true love. But she resided on Earth, a place he could never return. He stripped off his pants and slumped onto his cot. The darkness helped to soothe his anger.
He thought of 1Night Stand. Am I ready to settle down? Is there really another woman out there for me? Madame Eve guaranteed one night. He huffed out a breath. No harm in trying. Yes, as soon as Wyn retired to his bunk, Nate would fill out the questionnaire.
Another Night, Another Planet (1Night Stand Series) Page 1
