“What did that guy ever do to you?” I asked Elle as I sank into my seat.
“Those two were the bastards that dragged me here,” she replied, her narrowed eyes darting toward the airlock with murderous intent. Clearly, no one had really walked her through the whole thing before she ended up here. And here I was, thinking that to be approached by a pair of lawyers during a party was bad enough. “If you’re worried about him, don’t be. He deserved it.”
“I’m not going to argue with that.” Shrugging, I started prodding the wall beside my seat until I found a movable panel. I pressed down on it gently, and it slid to the side to reveal a fully-stocked bar. I grabbed a pair of glasses and a bottle of that amber liquid that Elle seemed to like.
“Who the hell’s paying for all this?” she muttered, her fingers brushing over the expensive leather armrests. She eyed the bottle I had placed on the table and pursed her lips. “An entire station, a private ship, and a one-month stay on a resort planet…I mean, these things can’t be cheap.”
“The Jorkan have money,” I said.
“And what exactly are the Jorkan all about? Are you some kind of financial predator aliens who travel the galaxy, looking for women you can marry and planets you can auction off?”
“First off, I’m not an alien, you are.” Smiling, I poured some Scotch into our glasses. “And no, we’re not exactly the financial type. The Jorkan have always been known for their military. Aside from the ones that focus on the administrative side of things, most of the Jorkan my age are in the military.”
“Then how are they paying for all this?”
“Like I said, we have money,” I replied. “We keep the Rippers at bay and protect most of the civilized planets on this side of the galaxy. In exchange, those we protect keep us well-funded.”
“Except for Earth.” She took a sip of her Scotch, her eyes peering at me over the rim of her glass. “Earth pays you with women.”
“It isn’t like that.” Frowning, I leaned back on my seat. “We don’t do slavery, trafficking, or any of that shit. This deal we signed with Earth was only made to ensure the Jorkan—”
“Don’t go the way of the dinosaurs, I get it.”
“What exactly is a dinosaur?” I asked, not sure if she was getting my point. “Anyway, we do this just so we can survive...and most people want the Jorkan to survive, you know? Without us, there really is no one that can keep the Rippers from laying waste to the entire galaxy.”
“Sounds like you approve of the protocols.”
“I really don’t care,” I admitted, shrugging. “I know it’s necessary, sure, but I never thought I’d end up as part of the program. You don’t have to worry, though. The last thing I want is to have a miniature version of myself running around. Of course, that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun.”
“So, you’re a military grunt,” she continued, changing the conversation.
“I’m not a grunt,” I said, annoyed that she had ignored the last thing I had said. She didn’t want to make things easy for me, it seemed. “I’m a Colonel, as you well know. I’ve told you already: I lead my own tactical team in assault operations.” She didn’t sound particularly impressed with that, and so I decided to change gears. “What about you? You’re a lawyer, right? What before that? Were you some sort of stripper?”
She hesitated before replying, our seats rocking gently as the latches keeping the ship in place finally let go. We both looked out the viewport, to see the station shrinking in size, the ship slowly drifting toward the pitch-black emptiness of space.
Finally turning her attention back to me, Elle shook her head. “A stripper, really? Is that what you think I am?”
“You look the part,” I said, and the frown that appeared on her face quickly turned into a scowl. “I mean, you look even better than most strippers I know, and you dress in a classier way. Unfortunately.”
“You do know that women can be more than strippers, don’t you?”
“What? Get out of here, that’s not—”
Immediately, she sunk back into her seat and raised her right leg. Before I could do anything about it, she pressed her heel right between my legs, and she didn’t do it in a nice, pleasurable way. Instead, I felt as if she was about to crush my balls.
“I was just fucking around,” I said, holding my hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, alright? I know that you’re a respected lawyer or whatever. Besides, I’ve fought alongside female soldiers, and they were as capable as any men.”
“Of course.”
“Anyway,” I continued, clearing my throat. “You like being a lawyer?”
“I do,” she finally replied. “And I’m a damn good one, if you need to know. I was about to make it to the top, right before those two assholes dragged me out of my apartment. I don’t know if the Jorkan have lawyers, but—”
“We do.”
“Name partner is a big deal,” she continued. “It’s everything I’ve been working for. I’ve spent years of my life trying to reach that goal.” Her voice dipped into an excited whisper as she spoke, and I was reminded of the way I used to speak back when I was just a rookie. Back then, I had wanted nothing more than to lead my own team one day. “I can almost feel it now. It’s going to happen. Unless these thirty days away screw things up, I mean. It doesn’t bode well for a lawyer to disappear off the face of the Earth without letting anyone know about it.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I said, raising my glass in a toast. This was the second time she was telling me about her career, and I was pleasantly surprised—Elle was so much more than a pair of long legs and a set of firm breasts. She was smart, fiery, and ambitious. Even though we were different, we were also alike. “Here’s to your promotion, Elle Ashby.”
“Thank you.” Touching glasses with me, she didn’t look away as she drank. From there on, the conversation flowed easily, and the four hours of flight passed in a breeze. When the intercom system announced our impending arrival, I could barely believe the way time had flown.
In a way, I felt like I could just keep on talking with her for hours on end, and that...well, that was a first. There were a lot of things I was good at when it came to women, but none of them involved long conversations.
“After you,” I said as I removed my seatbelt.
“What a gentleman.” With a bright laugh, she slid from her seat and started walking down the aisle. For a moment, I didn’t move. I just stared at her, watching her walk toward the airlock. When I finally rose, a single thought burned bright in my mind.
No matter what it took, I was going to make her mine.
Even if only for a month.
Elle
For now, I held my peace, content with my decision to cooperate with the program, at least superficially. I had an all-expenses-paid vacation, complete with a man to tease. Just for fun. I could either choose to be grumpy or choose to let my hair down. I shook my ass a teensy bit, just for Kazan. Not enough for him to know I was doing it, but surely enough to catch his eye.
At the bottom of the stairs, two Jorkan employees were waiting to place flower chains around our necks. They reminded me of Hawaiian leis, but were such strange flowers I couldn’t place them at all in what I already knew. The employee assigned to me delicately laid the chain on me, being careful to spread the chain around my cleavage instead of letting it get caught between. The employee next to me had to reach up and hand his chain to Kazan.
“What the hell do I do with this?”
A third employee answered. “It’s an Earth custom, picked out specially to help our human guests feel at home. When they travel to tropical islands, the resort owners there decorate them with flowers of the planet to let them know where they have traveled.”
The way these Jorkan had tried to think of everything to soften the kidnapping blow was endearing. “See,” I pointed to my own chain. “You wear them like this.” I twirled in a circle to accentuate their lightness. I was havin
g fun being a wild, flirty flower child version of myself.
Kazan blushed, but went along with the ritual. He lowered the flowers onto his neck and did his own twirl. You’d think his size would make him clumsy, but he had the agility of a warrior. I imagined he might even make a good dancer.
The blue Jorkan clapped. “Oh, I am so glad you’ve decided to have a good time. I’m a gigantic fan of Earth culture.”
“You are?” I asked.
“Let me introduce myself. I am Yilap and I’m an assistant at the Red Moon Resort. I have been assigned as the liaison between you, the Jorkan government program, and the resort here. Any questions you have about how much time you have to spend together, what to do, what’s paid for, you can direct them to me. Everything you need to know, I’m your man.” He flashed the first toothy grin I had seen from a Jorkan. I could tell he was desperate for us to like our experience and like each other. If they were going to take me from my home, the least they could do was bend over backwards.
“You look very dashing in your flowers.” I smiled at Kazan, knowing where I was leading him. Yilap clapped and smiled again.
“Let me show you to your quarters.” We followed Yilap to a path surrounded by dunes. The sand was a sparkly tone, not unlike sand from Earth, but a color I had never seen. I listened for the ocean and could hear a light sound. In a few minutes, the beach was before us, a deep cerulean blue lapping up against the sparkly sand. Of course, water was still blue on another planet. What was I expecting?
A quaint resort cabin rose up from behind a turn and a dune. Walking down the steps was yet another blue Jorkan, shining in the sunlight (could I really call it sunlight? I’d have to ask.) He was a little taller than Yilap, but not so tall as Kazan. Where were all the Jorkan women, I wondered, curious about what they looked like. Probably pretty similar to me, if Kazan was attracted to me.
“Hello, welcome! Welcome Elle, welcome Kazan,” boomed the blue Jorkan, a hint of a golden tooth showing in his smile.
“This is the resort owner, Alzon!” said Yilap. “Alzon! What are you doing here? Usually you let me do the introductions.” Yilap stopped walking and leaned back to whisper excitedly to us “You guys are in for a real treat.”
“I thought I would give our special guests the star treatment. Did you know, Yilap, we have a Colonel and a lawyer joining us.”
I was happy to have my career mentioned.
Yilap’s eyes smiled, “Of course I knew.”
“Will you just show us around already?” Kazan asked sharply.
I gave Alzon a vulpine smile. “What he said.”
“Come, come, let me show you the cabin.”
Alzon walked back up the stairs and waited on the porch which was covered with a fabric awning. “This porch wraps all the way around, so you can sit here facing the resort, or sit facing the beach. I know you two lovebirds will want to make use of the privacy of looking at the serene beach waters.”
Alzon was charismatic, but it took me a while to warm up to him. I never really liked these host types, and I always felt cautious around those who oozed charm. I much preferred the boardroom games and manipulations than having someone trying to please me.
Kazan let me walk up the stairs first, and we followed Alzon through two bay doors.
“Here you have a sitting and relaxing room, with a holovid set with all twelve thousand channels from across the solar systems, for those very occasional rainy days, or for curling up with a movie. Can’t be all sunshine and fun!”
I marveled at the gorgeous room, all tans and browns, with a splash of tropical dark green for accent. The ceiling was covered with a gauzy fabric draping towards the center, showcasing a light that gave a soft glow to everything in the room. In the main room, there was a couch large enough for Kazan to lie down on and then some, and a lounge chair on either side.
“Through here is the hallway to the master bedroom. There’s a closet here, so you can move things right in, like home.” He pointed to a linen closet as if it were made of gold. “Of course, we have already provided you with a few sets of clothing, all free of charge.”
We followed him into an impossibly soft-looking bedroom, everywhere I looked draped with woven fabric in earthy colors. It was the perfect neutral base for whatever we wanted to get up to. “Through here is the bathroom. Take a peek, why don’t you?” Kazan hung back, unimpressed, but I took Alzon up on the offer. The room was decadent, with chrome and white tile and a shower and an even larger bath than in the hotel room. “We’ll leave you to explore.”
And with that, he bowed and left the cabin with Yilap in tow.
Kazan stared at the door for a long moment after they’d left. “Something about that guy I don’t like.”
“It’s the schtick,” I said as I started to explore the room, opening drapes and fluffing blankets. “The kind of salesman who never lets you read the fine print.” I opened the closet and sighed. A whole row of strappy shoes, sandals, and heels stared back at me. “Look, they’ve thought of everything.”
I grabbed a pair of black strappy sandals and threw off the drab shoes they had stuck me with from the ship. I sat down on the bed and started tying them on.
“Aren’t you going to explore this place?” I asked Kazan. “See what kind of things they brought here just for you?”
“I already know who they brought here just for me,” he replied, narrowing his eyes at me. A small grin started spreading across his lips. “And I gotta say…I like the sights.” He was turning a burgundy color, standing still and trying to keep himself composed.
“How charming,” I taunted him. “Here, help me with this shoe.”
“How?”
“Kneel down and help me tie this shoe.”
He knelt down and, with great dexterity, he tied tiny knots all up my leg. He even undid my haphazard knots on my other foot and redid them. They were gladiator-style sandals with a sturdy wedge heel, the perfect marriage of form and fashion.
I crossed my legs to admire my feet, brushing against Kazan’s chest.
“Thank you.”
He blushed somehow even darker, every moment being this close to me torture. He made to get up and I put my hands on his shoulders.
“No, really, thank you.” Our faces were mere inches apart. I breathed shallowly, so he could feel my breath on his mouth. Finally, he could stand it no longer and leaned in for a kiss.
At first, gentle pressure, just touching his lips to mine. Then he pushed forward, wanting more and more, opening his mouth and taking my tongue with his. He held the small of my back with his strong hands. I slid my hands down his shoulders, feeling every muscle.
Just as the kiss was deepening, an awkward cough came from the doorway. It was Yilap, thankfully looking down and away from our close bodies.
“Your reception party is about to start,” he said. “Let me lead you there.”
Kazan
Reception party? What the hell was that clown talking about? He stood in the doorway with the forced smile that seemed to be the uniform around this place. I turned my eyes back to Elle, still just inches from my face.
“Well,” she said, “looks like we’re just going to have to bookmark this one, aren’t we?” She reached behind herself and unclasped my hands from the small of her back, then gently pushed me away until I was resting on my heels. She rose in one fluid motion, eased past me, and left that tantalizing scent of hers trailing behind.
“Are you coming?” Those green eyes flashed over her shoulder, and she swayed over to the door. Elle was one hell of a tease, and I wondered if the dope in the doorway was enjoying the eyeful she was offering us. He probably saw it all the time.
“I guess,” was all I could grumble and I clambered to my feet. I thought this place was all about mating? So far, we hadn’t had a moment alone to do the very thing they all seemed to be aching for us to do.
That kiss was hanging heavily on me, and the bulge in my pants wouldn’t go away. There was only one cure
for it, and everyone who worked at this resort seemed to want to interrupt us before we could really get down to business. I felt pretty sure Elle caught a glimpse of that bulge before she turned to follow our new best friend.
As we made our way to the party, I really had the time to appreciate her choice in shoes. The elevated wedges were doing wonders for her ass, and I’m pretty sure she knew it. She had to know where my eyes were riveted, because she was putting a little more sway and bounce into her step than I had noticed before.
Watching her as she walked, I kept thinking that these next thirty days might not be so bad, if we could finally get past the activities portion of this whole thing. A party was nice and all, but I had other pastimes in mind. Judging by the kiss, Elle had the same ideas.
“We have one of these parties every day,” our guide, Yilap, was yammering to Elle.
“Really?”
“With new arrivals landing constantly, we try to make sure there’s always a party to get people started. Not everyone is as… enthusiastic as you two.”
He cast a naughty smile over his shoulder to me, and it had the delightful effect of making me want to punch him in the throat. I mimicked his phony grin.
“Good thing we broke it all up to go to a party then, hunh?”
I hoped that would shut him up, but he went right back to rattling away at Elle, and I resumed watching her ass. We came to an open door with music pouring out, and our guide stepped to one side and gestured with his arm like he was trying to sell us a used cruiser unit. Where did they find these guys?
“I think this is going to work just fine.” Elle was already beginning to bounce with the music, and as I stepped up beside her, my eyes were drawn to the effect it was having on her breasts.
Kazan Page 6
