Daggertail (3 page)

The hologram shimmered, her slender hand gesturing to the doorway. “If you'll just step inside, I'm certain this will be quite painless.”

Tavish followed Doc's odd voice through the sliding doors of the medical wing. She'd heard all manner of holographic images speak, but Doc's electronic voice sounded more human than the others. She could only imagine the credits spent on such a program.

“If you'll just disrobe, I can begin the initial scanning process.”

She glanced around. Doc had led her into a semiprivate cubicle. She could still see the larger laboratory area with its softly whirring machines bleeping in time with a myriad of flashing colors. Beyond that, the medical wing seemed to be an endless maze of rooms like any hospital.

The expression on Doc's face, if you could imagine a holographic image to have an expression, was patient. With a soft sigh, Tavish dropped her bedraggled topaz dress to the floor.

The cool air raised instant gooseflesh on her body. The hair on the back of her neck lifted, and she became aware of another presence in the room. Her nipples snapped into hard peaks, and she crossed her arms over her chest to keep them under wraps.

Doc's eyes lifted to acknowledge a massive man who looked mean enough to melt granite with one scowl. His bleached hair was cropped close on the sides, darker at the roots and white-blonde at the ends, which stuck up as though he styled them by repeatedly stabbing his fingers through them. He stared at her from beneath dark brows with emotionless metallic eyes that swept her nude body from head to toe.

Tavish attempted to cover both her breasts and the narrow strip of short pubic hair between her legs at the same time. The electronic scanner leads found purchase on her skin, one just over her heart to keep track of her pulse, and the other a prick on her left arm to take blood. She gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to lash out. One look at the man's bland expression showed his amusement at her bid for modesty.

Why did people assume that just because she sold her body for credits, she was comfortable being ogled any time or place? And she thought Xave was a smug bastard.

“And you are?” She notched her chin a bit higher.

“Warrick Stone.”

How nice. She was buck naked in front of the owner of Stone Cold Bondsmen. One of the most feared and respected men in the galaxy now knew the color of her pubic hair.

The machine beside her squawked. A robotic arm descended from the ceiling and did a quick scan of her extremities. Doc's demeanor shifted slightly, her form taking on a reddish hue.

“Results as expected, Doc?” Warrick asked in his smooth, emotionless voice.

“Precisely.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Tavish snapped. “Did you expect I'd be some intergalactic petri dish of STDs? I get scanned once a month for that shit. I'm clean!”

Warrick shifted stance, crossing his arms over his massive chest. “To use an old cliché, I wasn't born yesterday. I'm aware of the regulations governing the care of prostitutes in Alliance-occupied sectors.”

“Then what did you expect? What standards did I fail to meet?” She hated the insecurity in her voice, hated feeling less than human, as if she deserved nothing better than to be fucked and tossed aside like waste ready to be jettisoned into dead space.

Warrick's expression changed, a subtle shift she would never have seen had she not been so used to reading body language. “Were the skin grafts monthly as well?”

“What?”

“The scans show uncounted skin regens on various portions of your anatomy.”

She pulled her lower lip into her mouth and bit down, hard.

“Damaged goods don't sell.” Warrick's voice was dreadfully soft. “Skin regens can hide abuse and injury from sight, but nothing hides from a full med scan. That's what I meant when I said 'results as expected.'”

Years of suppressed anger whirled inside her until her head pounded with the pressure of a million thoughts unspoken. Emotions seethed unchecked. Her face flushed hot, and her skin twitched. The scanner gave a shrill
bleep
as her heart rate skyrocketed. “Did you have something else to add?” Warrick's cool, detached tone made her want to clip the scanner leads to his balls and turn the machine to high. But she'd been biting back her opinions for so long that her brain no longer attached words to the things she felt inside.

“No, sir.”

“Doc will attend to the bruise on your ribs. Lola should have returned by then. She'll show you to your quarters. There will be fresh clothing and food waiting for you.”

It killed her to say it. “Thank you.”

Xave grunted and continued to clean the blood from his whip. The silver daggertail was one of the deadliest weapons in his arsenal, as well as a personal favorite. But cleaning bloody tissue from the links was a hell of a job.

“I suggest a more explanatory response, Xavier.”

“If I hadn't taken her with me, they would have killed her.”

“I see.”

Xave lifted his gaze from the serrated links. “She got caught trying to help me.”

“Help you?”

“Mendez was running. She made herself into a human trip wire.”

Warrick made a noise in the back of his throat that could've been interpreted as anything. Though Xave had been with Stone Cold Bondsmen for what he considered a lengthy period of time, Warrick was still an enigma. The man was totally unreadable. The calmer he seemed, the more likely he was to be irritated. And the things Xave figured would totally piss him off seemed not to faze him in the least.

It was damned aggravating.

“Doc is tending to her bruised ribs,” Warrick said.

Xave bit back a string of curses. He couldn't ask about her. He had no desire for Warrick to read too much into his obvious interest in her welfare.

Besides, the last thing she needed was a guy like him. The poor kid had to be young, to say nothing of the kind of life she'd led tied to a place like Fat Louie's. He could hardly deal with his own demons on a daily basis; she didn't need him dumping his battered psyche in her lap. He couldn't even reason out what drew him so forcefully to her in the first place.

Warrick crossed his arms and leaned against a locker full of neatly stacked rows of electrocartridges. “What did you propose to do with her once you brought her to base?”

“I dunno.” Xave reached past him and grabbed a few cartridges to replenish his supply. “You've got connections on Hyperion 4. Find her a job somewhere.”

“That's where you're confused, Xavier. This is not my problem. This is your problem.”

“Who's got a problem?” Lola asked as she strode through the doors of the armory.

Xave wanted to groan out loud.

Warrick passed her a meaningful look. “Is Tavish settled in?”

“As well as can be expected.” Lola chuckled. “She sure as hell didn't know what to make of you, Warrick. Doc's the hologram. Try to remember that next time.”

Xave began to get the feeling he was being blindsided somehow. He stifled the urge to pelt Lola with questions and checked his supply of flash grenades instead.

“I assume you're going to continue tracking Mendez?” Warrick prodded.

“I consider this no more than a detour.”

“Our intel indicates he's still somewhere on Janus 5.”

“Gee, that narrows it down.” Xave just managed to keep his lip from curling in disgust. “Why is the Alliance so interested in this guy? He looks about as dangerous as a basketful of kittens.”

“As I recall, kittens scratch. But in this case the danger comes from his talent as a communications whiz. Mendez intercepted transmissions on the Alliance network.”

Xave contemplated the oddity of the kitten comment coming from some like Warrick. But kitten or tiger, his point still stood. “None of that merits the price on his head.”

“He intercepted extermination orders that authorized the wholesale slaughter of nearly two dozen colonies. We both know there were more, but this proof is a place to start searching for the truth.”

Xave froze, blood pounding in his ears. “He kept a record of the transmissions?”

The heat of Warrick's gaze burned right through Xave's skin. This was what had brought him to Stone Cold and Warrick in the first place, the proof he'd been tracking through the systems his whole life, and he'd let it slip through his fingers because of Tavish.

“This is why I want him brought in
alive
, Xavier.”

“I understand.”

“Drake and Fulton are standing by. They'll deploy on your order.”

“I work alone.”

Warrick's face twisted with smug amusement. Xave didn't even want to think about why.

Satisfied with the contents of his pack, he pulled on his duster. The dark, synthetic material helped him blend into the shadows. He could've used his Image Interrupter Device to alter his appearance any way he wanted, but the IID wreaked havoc with some of his heightened senses.

“Are you heading out now?” Lola's long braid shifted as she tilted her head.

“No need to waste any more time than I already have.”

Warrick reached out and blocked the doorway with an arm. “Aren't you forgetting something?”

Xave realized where the conversation was headed. “Forget it, Warrick. I just told you I work alone. If I didn't want Drake and Fulton slowing me down, why the hell would I want a woman?”

“You were going to leave without her?” Lola demanded.

Warrick's lip curled into what would've been amusement in any other man's expression. “It doesn't matter what he intended, Lola. Xavier is taking her with him, whether he wants to or not.”

Xave ignored the satisfied look on Lola's face, swung the pack over his shoulder, and left the armory. Damn her and her precognitive
feminine intuitions
. No doubt she'd been telling tales on him to Warrick.

He didn't care. Lola could think what she wanted. This attraction to Tavish was nothing more than the basic needs of a man who'd gone too long without burying his cock in a willing pussy. It had nothing to do with emotions and feelings and all that crap Lola constantly harped on.

Of course, if that were true, why hadn't he taken her up on her offer? Why hadn't he taken her up on the freebie?

He reined in his lustful thoughts. Tavish had been through too much in her short years already. She was off-limits.

He turned down the corridor a few yards away from his room in the bondsmen's barracks. Still arguing with himself, Xave didn't notice the distinctive scent until he was only two doors away.

One of these days, Lola would push someone too far with her meddling.

Xave inhaled deeply. One of the first things he'd noticed about himself as a child was his uncanny ability to perceive, separate, and identify smells. Some of them had stuck with him for years. This particular scent had burned itself into his brain after only a few hours.

She smelled sexy, sweet, and maybe a little bit wild, like the exotic hybrid lilies his mother had grown in the hothouse behind their homestead. People said scents had labels, things like roses or mint, ginseng or lemon. Xave's heightened senses didn't work like that. He could distinguish between things like courage and cowardice, hunger and fear. Even a lie had a certain smell to it.

He ignored the urge to knock on his own door. Pushing it open, he ducked inside and tossed his pack on the floor to the left of the entrance. Glancing around, he noted the remains of a meal tray on his desk. He caught a whiff of avocado and tomato with tempeh. There were also remnants of salad greens. Apparently Lola liked her. With most of their specialty fruits and vegetables shipped in monthly from the Helix system, Lola tended to be stingy with the good stuff. He found mostly brussels sprouts and cabbage on his trays.

“Oh! It's you.” Tavish emerged from the tiny bathroom with one of his towels wrapped around her head and another barely covering her from breasts to buttocks. Water still beaded on her creamy skin, sliding into her cleavage and disappearing from sight.

His cock stirred to life beneath the buttons on his dark pants.

“You don't sound happy to see me.”

She reached up and unwound the towel from her head, using it to wring water from her thick hair. “It's not that. I just never expected to see you again.”

He took several steps toward Tavish. The way her breasts jiggled beneath the towel each time she dabbed at her hair drove him daft. His cock strained against his pants, throbbing in time with his increased heartbeat. He had to resist the urge to reach down and palm his erection into a better position. He didn't want to draw any more attention to that part of his anatomy than he had to.

Sudden realization dawned on her face. “This is your room.”

“Yes.”

“I'm sorry, Mr. Kovuchenko. Lola said it would be fine to shower. I know the water on Hyperion 4 is rationed, but she said not to worry about it.”

Mr. Kovuchenko? So she wasn't going to let him forget his slipup? So be it.

“Just give me a minute to change into my clothes. Lola must've misunderstood or something. I'll ask her to assign me a new room. Sorry. I know I'm… You're staring, and it's making me nervous.”

Her scent said as much. He inhaled lightly. Sweet, sultry Tavish, with a hint of something new, something beneath the nerves.

Arousal?

Heat suffused his body. The only thing standing between them in the small room was the bed.

He stepped around the side of the bed, heading in her direction. She sucked in a deep breath, and her breasts rose, nipples peaking against the worn fabric of the towel. The threadbare white material almost allowed Xave to see the dusky hue of each puckered areola.

“Did either you or Warrick have any ideas about a place I might find work around here?”

Xave barely registered the fact that Tavish was still talking. “You won't be working around here.”

“Why not? There have to be a few brothels around somewhere.”

“There are more than a few.”

“Then what's the problem?”

Xave didn't answer. He was too preoccupied with her body. The way her endless legs joined gracefully to the soft flare of hips that peeked around the edges of the too-small towel. The way her perfect breasts swelled into the svelte curves of her shoulders and neck. Xave noticed a tiny mole beneath her right earlobe.

The rational side of his brain fought to be heard over the clamor of his cock. He knew a reason he wasn't supposed to touch this woman. Something to keep him from this beautiful creature who looked and smelled like his perfect match.

Her scent shifted. He couldn't have said why, but everything about her changed in that instant. Her curves softened. The hands patting her damp hair began to move languidly. She tossed a stray lock of hair behind her back. Her fine-featured face eased into a warm smile, invitation glittering in her brilliant green gaze. She'd gone from uneasy and nervous to blatant sensuality. Her arousal permeated everything in the room, soaking into his very skin and making him burn with an intensity he'd never experienced.

“Thought you didn't want a freebie, Mr. Kovuchenko.”

“Xave,” he said on an exhale, closing the last inches separating their bodies. “Call me Xave.”

Tavish reached up and released the towel. It puddled at her feet.

Xave released the air in his lungs. The woman was incredible. Taut, dark, rose-colored nipples hardened into tiny buds before his eyes. Each tipped a beautiful, rounded breast made for pleasure.

Reaching out, Xave took their perfect weight in his hands, kneading the warm flesh until she arched her back. Lowering his head, Xave took one nipple into his mouth. The soft, salty taste of her sent another stab of lust through his body. Xave tempered the urge to throw her on the bed and mount her without preamble.

Suckling hard, he drew the heavy weight of her into his mouth until she grasped the back of his neck with her hands and scored his scalp with her nails. Xave growled, laving his tongue into the valley between her breasts and giving equal attention to her other nipple.

Her clever hands made short work of the buttons preventing his cock from leaping out of his pants. When the heavy length sprang free, she took a tiny step back and glanced down.

Xave would have been loath to admit it. But her indrawn breath nearly made him come then and there. The idea that she found the mere sight of his erection arousing was incredibly erotic.

Her knees hit the floor before Xave realized her intention. Both of her soft hands wrapped around the base of his cock. Looking upward, she focused her green-eyed gaze on his face. The crown of his cock disappeared into her mouth.

Xave hissed, the muscles in the backs of his legs going rigid to keep him upright. Reaching down, he stabbed fingers through her dark red locks and pulled them aside so he could watch her suck his cock.

She suckled noisily, taking as much of his length into her throat as she could before pulling back and using her saliva-slick hands to pump his shaft. Running her tongue over his length, she tickled the flange and lightly sucked a drop of precum from the hole at the tip.

Xave groaned, his knees threatening to buckle.

A smile lit her face, and she ran her tongue along the underside of his cock to his tightly drawn testicles. She took them in her mouth with surprising gentleness. Her tongue flicked across the sensitive skin before popping them from her mouth and swallowing his cock once again.

Liquid fire seeped through his veins. His buttocks drew tight. Muscles in his back twisted as he forced himself to remain still when he wanted nothing more than to grab her head between both hands and fuck her face until he sprayed the inside of her throat with hot semen.