Kazan

by Starr Huntress

  Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to resist me once we got physical, I took one step forward, intent on closing the distance between us. I was only a few inches away from her when I bumped against something invisible. The shimmer of a force field rippled across the bedroom, splitting it in half.

  “What the…?” Frowning, I brought one hand up and reached forward with it. My fingertips touched the invisible barrier once more, a translucent hue flooding the room as ripples of light revealed its extent. Once I was no longer touching it, the force field disappeared. “This is fucked up.”

  “Goodnight, illustrious guests,” a disembodied voice said, its artificial tone the hallmark of an AI system. In the background, a jazzy music accompanied the voice, much like the beginning of an erotic holovid. Not that I’m a fan of those, mind you. “It’s a pleasure to welcome you to Pluto Station, where you’ll spend the night before embarking for Tarkun IV. There’s an assortment of drinks available for you, and you’re also free to order room service throughout the night. You can also control the room’s climatization system by—”

  “What the hell is this?” I asked, once more raising my hand to touch the force field. “Why is there a force field here?”

  “A mating bond often reveals itself when the two mates surrender themselves to the sheer delights of physical intimacy,” the AI voice continued happily, almost as if it was explaining to a rapt audience the mating habits of exotic birds. This entire thing was getting weirder by the minute. “Yet, our findings reveal that delayed gratification often leads to a stronger bond. As such, we have set up a force field in your accommodations, all to ensure you won’t succumb to your physical urges. A strong bond takes time to develop, after all.”

  “You’ve gotta be shitting me,” I muttered, doing my best not to let my frustration show. It was almost impossible. These bastards dragged me across the galaxy so that I could mate with a human, and now they put up a force field between the two of us? And I thought the Rippers were good at mind games. This was some next-level shit. “Turn it off.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

  “Hunh.” Folding her arms over her chest, Elle hesitated, then mimicked my experience, raising her fingers to touch the force field. Once more, its shimmer appeared momentarily, only to disappear a fraction of a second later. “Who’d have thought? Seems like you’ll have to keep your hands to yourself.”

  “You think this is funny?” I asked her, still trying to keep some dignity about me. I didn’t want to look too desperate. After all, there was nothing quite like desperation to turn a woman off. Not that I was desperate. Sure, Elle was one fine specimen, but I was more than capable of surviving the night without touching her. Hell, if I wanted to, I’d be able to go the entire month without touching her.

  “You just sounded so confident in your seduction skills,” Elle continued, a smile spreading across her lips. She was enjoying this, the damn witch. “Don’t worry, though. Force field or no force field...nothing would’ve happened between the two of us tonight, I can assure you.”

  “Of course it wouldn’t,” I said. “Just because you’re good looking, that doesn’t mean I’m dying to—”

  “Oh, I know,” she cut me short, her smile widening. “You’re not desperate, I get it.” She stretched her back then, and I felt a knot take over my throat as the swell of her breasts strained against her dress. Immediately, I felt warm blood rushing to between my legs, and I had to coil my tail around my waist, all just so I could stop it from whipping around with excitement.

  Focus, you horny bastard, I told myself, then grabbed the bottle of Scotch and poured myself another glass. When I looked back at Elle, she had already turned her back to me. I watched as she kicked off her shoes, opened the shower booth’s glass door, and turned the water on. Almost immediately, a thin cloud of steam started rising from the tiles on the floor.

  “I think I’m going to have a shower,” she announced, looking back at me over one shoulder. “You don’t mind, do you? If it’s too much for you to take, I can do without it. I don’t want to add to your suffering.”

  “Who said I was suffering?” I threw back at her, although the swelling in my pants wasn’t exactly pleasant, especially considering I couldn’t act on it. “Go on, have your shower. I don’t care.”

  “No peeking then,” she said, and started getting undressed.

  That’s when the real suffering began.

  Elle

  On the short walk here, I’d considered the facts. A large enough portion of my suppressed anger and panic soothed by the rather corny presentation. It reminded me so much of sitting through a timeshare pitch at a second-rate conference center that I almost couldn’t help but relax.

  The chance these aliens, and my own government, would go to the trouble of concocting some elaborate scheme to get me to go along with—what?—was nil. First, the expense involved must be considerable. Second, they’d gone to the trouble—if I accepted the official’s word—of constructing a plausible story for me so I could return to work. Third . . . if they had intended me harm, at any point they could have had their way, so to speak. What could I do to stop them?

  “I meant what I said,” Kazan said, interrupting my thoughts. “The whole way they played this is bullshit. You just say the word.”

  He hadn’t bothered to lower his voice, but he spoke with a quiet firmness that let me know he was serious. It was almost cute. At the same time, I began to feel as if I had an ally, even though he’d made it clear that his agenda was for us to end up in bed together. Well, I couldn’t really blame him—the thought was front and center in my mind, along with the opportunity, and I couldn’t deny I was attracted, as well. I wasn’t ruled by my lust, though—I would stay in charge of the situation.

  “Thank you,” I said, one kind of tension replaced by another. “But I think I’m good. I’m starting to look forward to this whole foreign concept.”

  “Mating?”

  “No, vacationing, all expenses paid.”

  I felt his gaze caress my skin now. There was no way he wasn’t going to peek—I knew that, but I still didn’t let that stop me. In fact, to know that he’d be unable to peel his eyes away from me was part of the excitement.

  Slowly, I opened the clasps keeping the dress in place, and bit on the corner of my lip as I felt the fabric sliding down my shoulders. A gentle sway of my hips, and the dress fell down my body, only stopping once it was all bunched up around my ankles. A quick flick of my right foot, and I sent it flying to the corner.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I muttered under my breath, reaching behind my back to unhook my bra.

  As the cups droped from my breasts, I felt my nipples harden, a pleasant warmth spreading all over my body. I was torturing Kazan, and I was loving every second of it. There was something about him, maybe his brash confidence, that made me want to play.

  He believed I was going to be easy prey, maybe another notch he could add to his bedpost, but I was hellbent on proving him wrong. Even though I should still be fuming about this whole mating thing, I couldn’t help but want to make the most out of it. If I had to spend thirty days in outer space playing house with some sexy alien, then I sure as hell was going to enjoy every single minute of it.

  Throwing my bra over one shoulder, I glanced back at Kazan.

  “No peeking, remember?” I taunted, enjoying the slack-jawed expression on his face. Knitting his eyebrows together, the red skin on his face became even redder, he looked away from me and stared at his own feet. Turning on his heels, he grabbed the bottle of Scotch with one trembling hand. “Good.”

  Taking my time, I let my hands run down the side of my body and hooked my thumbs on my thong’s elastic band. I bent over slightly as I pulled it down my legs, fully knowing that Kazan’s eyes were locked in on me once more, and felt my skin prickle as I imagined the effect all this was having on him.

  Fully naked, I finally stepped into the shower, the warm water caressi
ng my body. I threw my head back and closed my eyes, running my fingers through my hair as my body started to relax. Slowly, the steam kept on rising, adding another layer between Kazan and me. Even if he tried to look now—which I knew he would do—he’d see nothing but my silhouette, my naked curves caressed by the steam. In a way, that was even better, it allowed for his imagination to run wild.

  Why am I doing this? I thought as I soaped myself up. My entire worldview had been turned upside down, and the only thing I could think about was the seven-foot monument of muscles standing on the other side of the bedroom. Could there really be something about that genetic-mates thing? Could that be the reason I felt so damn attracted to Kazan?

  No, of course not, I thought, continuing my inner debate. You’re just out of it, Elle. This entire thing has been a shock, and you’re just focusing on something that you know and can control: a man. Or at least, a male.

  That made sense.

  Besides, I was enjoying the way Kazan stole glances at my naked body. His gaze caressed my skin, and a shiver went up my spine each time I looked at him, forcing him to pretend he wasn’t paying any attention to my impromptu striptease.

  In a way, the force field wasn’t such a bad idea. God knows what might have happened if we hadn’t had it between us. Sure, I’d played it cool so far, but there was no denying that Kazan made me feel weak in the knees. If that force field hadn’t materialized when it did... God, would he have tried to kiss me? Yeah, I knew he would’ve. But then, what would I have done? Would I have kissed him back, or would I have kicked him in the balls?

  Both options sounded good.

  “I needed this,” I whispered as I turned the water off. I stood there with closed eyes for almost a minute, my body dripping, and only then did I reach for the towel hanging from the wall behind me. I dried myself off as the steam started to fade, then wrapped the towel around my body, tucking it in right above my heart.

  “I didn’t peek,” Kazan grunted the moment I stepped out, much like a young child lying about how he didn’t eat the mysteriously missing candy. Men—if they were any more predictable than this, they’d be a financial report.

  “Then continue not peeking,” I said, trying to be as casual about it as I could. Placing both hands in my hips, I looked at my discarded clothes on the floor, and pursed my lips. I tried the wall-embedded drawers on my side of the bedroom and, lo and behold, they were crammed with clothes in my size. That was a pleasant surprise, although I had to admit it was slightly creepy, as well. How the hell had my measurements been taken?

  It was better not to dwell on such things.

  Hiding a grin, I picked out a set of red lace lingerie and let the towel drop to the floor. Moving as slowly as I could, I put on the lingerie, and only then did I turn around to face Kazan. This time he didn’t even pretend: he stared at me as if he were a deer in headlights, his mouth hanging open. The tip of his tail tapped the floor in a steady rhythm, and I wondered if that had anything to do with his state of mind.

  “What happened to not peeking?”

  “That only applied to the shower,” he replied, somehow remembering to pick his jaw up from the floor. He cleared his throat and, perhaps only then noticing his erratic tail, wrapped it up around his waist once more.

  Straightening, he looked down at his feet for a second, almost as if he was thinking of something, then he smiled. I glimpsed an emotion I wasn’t expecting in that smile, a spark that said ‘game on’. “Well, we’re going to have an early morning, so I think I’m getting into bed.”

  Without waiting for me to say something, he used his tail to help him out of his shirt, and my heart tightened inside my chest as I took in the chiseled muscles of his torso. From his pectorals to his abs, it seemed like someone had cloned Leonardo da Vinci and forced the poor fellow to chisel Kazan’s chest into existence.

  He didn’t stop with his shirt, either.

  Looking straight into my eyes, he kicked off his boots and pulled his pants down. My heart turned into a rattling machine gun. Only his boxer briefs covered him now, hugging his body so tightly that very little was left to the imagination.

  Holy shit, I thought, making a mighty conscious effort not to stare at the massive shape hiding under the fabric of his underwear. I felt my cheeks heating up, and the pleasant warmth I had experienced in the shower soon became a scorching heat conveniently focused on that sweet spot between my legs.

  Aware that I was starting to lose my mind, I sat on the bed and slid underneath the bedspread, pulling it all the way to my neck. Grinning, Kazan did the same. It was odd—we were sharing the same bed, sheets and covers, but that invisible barrier remained between us, ensuring that absolutely nothing of interest could happen tonight.

  It was maddening.

  One thing was clear: soon enough there would be no barrier between us, and this insane attraction we both felt would be acted upon. That was a fact of life I couldn’t deny. Still, that didn’t change things in the slightest. I didn’t intend to embody the archetype of a pregnant barefoot woman, nor did I want to be hooked up by some space barbarian.

  “Listen up,” I said, turning on the mattress to face him. He did the same, arching one eyebrow as he looked into my eyes. “There’s no escaping this. We’ll be together for thirty days.”

  “I guess someone paid attention to the briefing.”

  “Just listen to me, will ya?” I continued. “We’re here, so we might as well enjoy this paid vacation. We can have our fun, but there’s a rule we’ll both need to follow, no ifs or buts.”

  “A rule?”

  “Fun is allowed,” I replied, and made a slight pause before I finished my thought. “But feelings aren’t.”

  “I like that rule.”

  “Then it’s settled.”

  Kazan

  “Damn it.” Frowning, I poked the force field. Like clockwork, the shimmering barrier appeared between the two of us once more. The holographic clock on the viewport told us that it was morning already, but it didn’t seem like whoever ran the station intended to lower the force field. At least not yet. “These guys mean business.”

  Sitting up in the bed, Elle pulled the sheets against her breasts, and arched one eyebrow.

  “What did you expect?” she asked. “You really thought they’d go to the trouble of installing a force field only to get rid of it in the morning? Besides, don’t think that I want the same thing as you. Just because I agreed to having fun, that doesn’t mean I’m down with everything.”

  “Right,” I drawled, crossing my arms as I returned her gaze. She was playing coy, but I had seen the look on her face the previous night. She wanted me just as much as I wanted her, no matter the words coming out of her mouth. I mean, why would she have done that torturing stunt in the shower if she wasn’t interested? I guess women are the same everywhere—there’s nothing they love more than not making any sense.

  Stretching my back, I swung my legs off the bed and collected my clothes from the floor. I got inside them as quickly as I could, then watched as Elle slid from the bed, the way her red lingerie hugged her curves enough for me to start salivating. Not wanting to make the walk between our room and the ship with a hard-on, I looked away from her and tried to focus on the holographic information cascading down the viewport.

  According to what was in there, our ship was scheduled for departure in about thirty minutes. The trip to Tarkun IV would take about four hours, all thanks to conveniently located wormholes between Pluto Station and the resort colony, so we’d arrive there with enough time to enjoy the rest of the day.

  “I’m ready,” Elle announced after a couple of minutes, and I felt as if someone had punched me in the gut once I laid my eyes on her. She had found a casual red dress inside one of the drawers, the fabric stopping right above her knees, and there was quite a lot of cleavage on display. She looked absolutely stunning. “Shall we?”

  “I figure.” I hesitated as I started to stride the length of the room, then fro
wned as the force field didn’t stop me. Of course—now that we were about to leave the bedroom, the damn thing finally disappeared. How annoyingly convenient.

  Together, we walked out of the room to find a holographic arrow blinking in the corridor. Elle and I exchanged a glance. We followed the arrow, making our way through the station’s curved corridors. After a couple of minutes, we finally arrived at our destination, a large airlock connecting the station to the interstellar ship that would take us to our destination. Beside the airlock stood the Jorkan official who had briefed us last night.

  “I trust you had a pleasant night,” he said in that soothing tone of his, and I immediately felt like headbutting him. Unless his idea of a pleasant night was having a tent pitched in your boxer briefs for hours on end, then I couldn’t disagree more with what he had said. Still, I kept my mouth shut. The sooner we left the station, the sooner I could start having some real fun. “I hope you enjoy the month ahead.”

  With a theatrical bow, he stepped out of the way and waved us ahead. As we stepped forward, the airlock shut behind us, and we found ourselves staring at the closed entrance to the ship. We waited for a couple of seconds, and then came the inevitable hiss of hydraulics as the door slid open. Standing on the other side were a pair of humans in black suits.

  “It’s nice seeing you again, Miss—”

  Before the man could finish his sentence, Elle walked toward him and placed both hands on his shoulders. He stopped talking, surprised, and Elle showed him a wide smile...right before she brought her knee up hard into his balls.

  “Nice seeing you, too, Agent Krasinski,” she said, and walked past the two men as if they were nothing but a pair of annoying mosquitoes. I had no idea what that was all about, but I nodded approvingly. Elle didn’t take any shit from anyone, and I liked that.

  I followed her down the aisle, and we settled on two seats facing each other, a table between them. Unlike most commercial ships, this one seemed to be top of the line. From the spacious seats to the attention paid to the finishing details, everything had been built with luxury in mind. It helped that, aside from the two idiots in back, we seemed to be the only two persons aboard.