The man grunted, squinting up at him. “Don’t carry that. You’ll have to keep looking.”
“Sure.” Haze started to leave, but Vi had picked up one of the items and was measuring it in her hand.
“Master, this is very pretty. For me?” She had a very cute expression on her face, all needy and beggy.
He moved on to the next table.
Vi again picked up a trinket with a little sparkle on it and said. “Master, is very pretty. For me?”
As they left the vendor, he whispered, “Knock it off, Vi. You’re supposed to be my slave, not my wife.”
She whispered back. “You do realize they aren’t going to help you out until you buy some of their crap.”
He was about to argue when he sighed. Of course. Where was his head today? …Looking at her…
At the next vendor table, he pulled Vi to him and ran a hand up her side.
She pressed into him and almost purred. Very convincing.
Heck, suddenly he had to get something for her, regardless.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much there. Haze grabbed a small, shiny bauble. “This, please, for my treasured slave.”
“That will be twenty gardenos.” The purple-skinned Latoran alien gave Haze a smirk.
Haze cocked his head to one side. “Five gardenos.”
The merchant shook his head. “Fifteen.”
Haze looked at it again, then said forcefully. “Nine.”
The merchant shook his head.
Haze reached to put it back, but Vi leaned into him again, rubbing at him with her shoulder, looking up at him with a sweet face.
How could anyone say no to that face?
He dug out currency from his ‘for show’ wallet, the one they could rob him of without causing too much discomfort. “Twelve,” he said as he counted out the bills, holding them out to the merchant.
The merchant studied Haze a moment, then nodded.
He’d gotten completely taken, and they both knew it. Haze plunked the money down. Vi scooped up the bauble and turned it over in her hands like it was buried treasure, then held it to herself. Haze acted as though he would step away, Vi’s body held pressed against him, but turned back at the last second.
The merchant was eyeing Vi, up and down, lustfully.
“Honored merchant,” Haze broke in, “could you direct me to the location of the engine merchants?”
The man tore his gaze from Vi. “One block over, two up, on the left. That store’s probably your best bet. Actually…” The man licked his lips and shifted. “Did you bring any wares with you? Is this one only for show?”
Involuntarily, Haze's hand tightened around Vi’s waist. He collected himself quickly and tried to look regretful as he shook his head. “Next time I’ll be sure to bring an extra or two. We have several on board that might do.”
The merchant nodded his head. “If this is your sample, I think you could do good business here. Be sure to tell your captain.”
Haze nodded. “I will.”
She pressed into him as they walked, and Haze felt an answering tightening in his loins. He adjusted, nonchalantly. “You’re killing me, slave,” he muttered.
“It’s too fun,” she said, smiling up at him. She whispered, “I feel like I’m in a Cleopatra movie or something. I’ve decided you don’t beat your slave as she’s too good to you when she’s happy. Instead, you spoil her and can’t bear to be too far from her.”
He looked down at her as she sauntered next to him. “Still, you might want to tone it down. These men don’t exactly have a lot of options here, and I’d rather not have to take out the entire village to keep you as my property.”
She froze mid-step. “Right. I forgot.” She glanced around as though reality had hit her hard.
“It’s fine. These men are not worthy of concern.” He glanced about scornfully at the lazy, untried men around him. “Besides, they will wish to keep the rest of the slave traders on my ship happy. Let’s get to that shop he mentioned; see what they’ve got for me.”
She seemed to relax but stepped a little more carefully with less show.
He bent down slightly and whispered in her ear. “You are cute though. You’ll have to walk like that for me more often.”
“You wish,” she said, but she seemed to regain a little of her nerves.
“Okay, should be this one down here,” he said as they rounded the block. “Maybe walk a bit to the side again, so I can keep you in my peripheral, but leave me more movement if I need it. Let’s see how it goes.” He shifted Tiny back to his shoulder.
He swung open the door so that Vi could walk in first. He followed, and she took up a position to his right and offset. She had good instincts where they counted.
He took a quick survey of the place, but it was quiet, filled with only a few customers that took one glance at Tiny and vacated the premises.
As he entered, a large, muscular guard covered in brown fur whispered in the shopkeeper’s ear, never taking his gaze off Haze or Vi. The shopkeeper nodded as the guard moved back against the wall.
The blue-skinned merchant settled his four arms on the counter: two hands held a tablet and stylus, ready to take notes; the other two were folded in front of him, in a patient demeanor.
“Welcome to Grassum Vendor 113, my good sir,” the merchant said with a smile. “I am the Merchant Yarda. With what may I interest and assist?”
Merchant Yarda was dressed a little too well for this rock. He was certainly fairly high up on the local food chain. The man flicked a quick glance over to Vi.
Haze winced internally. The man had probably been briefed on the ‘negotiation’ job he’d completely failed at for Vi’s trinket.
Haze nodded as he closed the gap to stand before the counter. “Thank you. I’ve heard that you might deal in engine parts. I’d like to see what you have. We have a few other things that we’d like to purchase while we’re here, but I thought I’d take the heavy stuff on my initial run.”
“Sure, sure. I can see that. Might as well take care of the most necessary items first.”
Haze shook his head. “This settlement is convenient is all. We had a layover with a pleasure boat a few clicks back, so we were stopped anyway. Our engineer is always mouthing off to get more parts. He’s capable, so the captain thought we might check here, see if you have anything that suited us. If not, there’s always the outpost in the next quadrant over.”
17
Violet
Vi’s dress was dirty. The entire place was filthy. It made New Jersey seem like a crystal palace.
The flight down to the planet had been interesting. Haze was a capable pilot, but it was definitely not his strong suit. Not so bad on the trip out to the planet, but the landing had her gripping her seat for sure, grateful for the seat belt. He looked so darn proud too when they’d landed in one piece.
But in the negotiations with the blue-skinned, four-armed merchant, Vi was growing impressed. Haze had managed to downplay the necessity pretty well she thought.
Vi, for her part, tried not to give anything away by looking as uninterested as possible and taking some time to bobble with the sparkly junk Haze had bought her.
Her first ‘present’ from tall, dark and handsome.
The merchant laid some data cards on the counter, and Haze leaned forward to inspect them, his tail twitching back and forth. Vi tried not to stare at the merchant’s extra hands, still holding the tablet. It must be so weird to be controlling so much things at once, or maybe it was just like walking and chewing gum?
She scooched down to look at the display cases, to give herself something to do and prevent herself from asking about it. Unfortunately, she tended toward blurting things out once the curiosity got the best of her.
Finally, Haze tapped the counter a few times, selecting the ones that would suit him.
“I shall see what I can do for you,” the merchant finished. “…Mister?”
“Gosa. Vradelle Gosa.”
“Mister Gosa.” The merchant acknowledged. With one set of hands, he tapped notes into his tablet. With the other hands, he scooped up the data cards and put them back in their container. “I’ll reach out to my contacts to see what portion we have on hand and what can be procured for you and in what timeframe.”
“My crew has a schedule to keep, so we would like this handled as speedily as possible.”
“That can be arranged. However, with certainty, it could not be finalized until tomorrow. Have you quarters arranged for your stay tonight?”
“No.” Haze glanced down at Vi. His gaze burrowed into hers. He reached down to pull her up to stand beside him. Vi had a quick flash back to when they were on the gym floor. Together.
“But we’d appreciate a rec. You have something that would do us?” Haze’s face froze for a moment, and he looked back at the merchant.
The merchant’s gaze flicked to Vi and back to Haze. “Certainly, sir.”
Haze seemed to falter, but he continued. “It’s been a long day for me. I’m quite tired and out of sorts from all the noise. If you can point me in the right direction?”
“Sure, it would be The Carvada House. Two streets over.” He pointed out of the store. “Away from the central trading area. It’s absolutely the best in the neighborhood for you both.” His eyes flitted to Vi and back to Haze.
Haze scoffed and inclined his head to the merchant. “Thank you, I’m obliged.” Haze sauntered down the aisle, snapping his fingers back toward her.
Vi hurried to follow him, trying to hold her hands behind her back in what felt like a slave-like pose.
Haze barely looked at her as they exited. Vi tried to look meek to Haze’s sudden mood change. Something had gone wrong or something was up.
As they walked down the street, she whispered, “Is something wrong?”
“Fraska. I think I blew it,” he muttered. “The whole thing.”
Vi followed him, wishing she knew what to say. Haze came up short in front of a very nice hotel. It was beautiful, completely wrong for this place, possibly the entire planet.
Haze swore again as he carefully studied the almost gilded entrance, then glanced back the way they’d come. He scratched his head like he was deep in thought. “Let’s just…” He leaned away from the entrance. “This way.”
He gestured past The Carvada to a shabby hotel that peeked out from the street. “Let’s try this one. Hmm. It probably doesn’t matter now, but try not to say too much. I’ll get us into a room.” He hesitated. “We’ll have to stay together.” He looked down at her for permission.
“Of course. Whatever you need to do.”
He smiled, swiped a few settings on his gun, and hooked it into a large holster in the pouch on his back. “Good. Follow me. Same routine as before.”
The lobby was kitschy but relatively clean, especially compared to the common merchant area a few streets over. Vi hung back as Haze approached the attendant and arranged their room.
As Haze headed for the elevator, he gave her a slight nod to follow him.
When the elevator doors closed, his shoulders relaxed slightly. He scratched his nose, a grin on his face.
“Is everything okay?” she whispered. “Will we not get the engine parts after all?”
“Oh, we’ll get them all right. Right up the ass.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Not going to lean in our favor, is all.”
“Huh?”
“We are about to get taken for everything we can spare and then some. I’ll be lucky if I’m not an indentured servant by the end of it.”
Vi grimaced. “Well, crap.”
He reached over to push a lock of her hair behind her ear. “You did good today,” he said.
She felt a blush come to her face. “I thought I must have given us away somehow?”
“No. I forgot the pitch for a minute. Right at the end, too.” His tail flicked against the elevator wall. “That’s more than enough with someone like him.”
The doors slid open. He straightened and walked down the hall. “We should be right… here.” He turned his key in the lock.
“So, what do we do?” Vi asked as Haze flicked on the lights.
“I’ll figure something out.”
“It really wasn’t me though?”
“Nah. I said ‘we need a room’, among other things. Slavers wouldn’t really use ‘we’ to describe accommodations for themselves and a slave.”
“You can play that off that you’re a bit smitten with me. I mean, really, who wouldn’t be?” She shrugged her shoulders. “You did buy this thing for me, after all.” She waved the bauble at him.
He took it from her hand. “Yes. It was a good call to buy something.” He tossed it up in the air and caught it.
“Hey, don’t break my shiny treasure,” she said, scooping it back from him and holding it close.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said with a warm smile.
“Okay, well, I feel gross. I’m going to steal the shower if you don’t need the bathroom right now?”
Haze scooped his pack off his back, so Vi dug her rolled-up cotton shorts and t-shirt from out of the bag.
The shower made absolutely everything better. How could a place be this dusty and smelly?
Vi came back into the room with her hair still wet but feeling like a million bucks by comparison.
“Hey, you,” Haze called over, smiling affectionately. “I thought I’d order us some food. You interested in anything in particular?” He squinted at her. “Right. Human. No idea what any of this is. Let me try and guess at something for you.”
She smiled as she sat down next to him, running a hand through her wet hair. “Thank you. Yes, that’d be great. Probably something without meat. I don’t know… I’m afraid of what they might eat here or whether it was in good condition when they killed it. I probably sound like a snob, but… Or, actually, didn’t Seban pack something for me?”
“Yeah.” He stretched around her to grab the pack, his muscled body hard and warm against her leg. He dug out a small, clear container of mush. He bent up in front of her which sent a ripple of heat through her.
“I believe this is the one you tried on the ship. I didn’t get the feeling you liked it all that much?”
Vi inspected the packet and handed it back to him. “Yup. Good call. Better save that for dire straits time.”
Haze leaned away from her to grab a tablet from the table next to the bed, again giving Vi a good view of his hard body. He scrolled through the options. “This might be good. No meat. I’ll call it in.”
Instead of putting it back on the nightstand though, he put it down on the other side of her, so he crossed in front of her again. He paused and looked at her, his hand resting a moment on her hip.
Vi felt the heat rise up in her again as his magnetism pulled at her insides. Holy hell was the guy hot.
He reached up to touch her hair as he leaned closer, cupping her face. As their lips touched, sparks flew from her belly and leaped across their bodies, connecting their energy.
He pulled away, his arms glowing.
“I love kissing you,” he said.
She pointed at his arms. “So, you’ve got some crazy tattoo action going on there. You never said before, why do they glow?”
He looked down at himself. “Something we got from our fathers, the Mahdfel. Our skin glows when we get frisky or think about getting frisky.”
She smiled, tracing a hand up his arm, loving the way his expression grew serious and his eyes hooded with desire for her. Vi caught her breath.
The glow spread up his arms, following her hand like a bio-luminescent star-field. “Is that what we’re doing? Getting …frisky?” Her voice broke on the last word as he leaned toward her.
It was like the universe collapsed. Her stomach lurched in need as he sunk down to kiss her and she rose up to meet him. Their lips played a hungry dance, until he groaned softly, pulling her tight against him.
&nbs
p; He played with the edge of her shirt, then grasped her waist tight, scrunching the material in his hands. She helped him pull her shirt over her head. He reached for his own, quickly pulling it off. His hands cupped her face, pulling her to him in feverish kisses.
He leaned her back upon the bed, continuing to kiss her. “I want you. Let me have you.” His lips ran down her neck, making the heat rise from her body.
She panted as her heart raced. She reached up to unhook her bra, and he leaned back as her bra came loose. He stared at her breasts, rubbing them and making her nipples hard. “So beautiful,” he said.
His lips worked their way down her chest until they circled her breast, his tongue making languid circles around first one nipple, then the other.
She gasped, and he smiled wickedly and bent down to circle them with his tongue and scrape at them with his teeth.
Panting, Vi held his head to her breasts, feeling her breasts come alive and needy.
He circled them again with his tongue, languidly, before pulling back. He played with the waistband of her shorts, seeking permission.
When all she did was arch her back in anticipation, he slid a hand up her shorts, touching the hem of her underwear and the naked skin of her thigh. His tail wrapped around her arm. Heat lanced across her body.
He leaned back on one arm. “I’ve never seen a woman before,” he commented. He played with her nipple. “A hint of thigh maybe.” He pushed her shorts up to reveal more of her flesh, grasping her thigh and making her pant. He bent down to kiss her where her neck met her ear, making her lean into his deep voice and sending shivers through her. “I want to see all of you,” he whispered in her ear.
She pulled his face to hers and traced a tongue along his lips, slipping it inside. His tongue met hers.
He pulled back. “I take it that’s a yes.”
She smirked. “Oh, god, yes. I just enjoy hearing you beg for it.”
“Oh, really?” he asked, leaning back on his arm again.
He traced a hand along her waist, skirting the edge of her shorts. “You want me to beg for it?” His hand slid over her shorts until he rubbed against her mound. Vi jerked against his hand in response.
Haze (The Telorex Pact Book 2) Page 7
