Rebel (15 page)

She giggled. “Think we should go down to lunch like this?”

His chuckle made his cock quiver delightfully. “Roncas would probably spill the stew.” He gave her a quick kiss. “I really hate to do this, but—” Hugging her against his chest, he lifted her off his cock.

The loss was such a shock to her system, she almost cried out in protest.

Turning around, he sat her on the side of the bed. “Be right back.”

She watched him walk to the door, thinking that a picture of his perfect ass belonged in a museum somewhere. He returned a few moments later with a wet washcloth and a towel. Pushing her onto her back, he parted her thighs and wiped her clean, then dried her with the towel. He helped her put on her slacks, then sat her up and dropped her tunic over her head. After donning his own clothing, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the lift. The doors closed and their descent began.

“D’you suppose anyone missed us?” she asked.

He shook his head, smiling. “I doubt it. Roncas wouldn’t leave Wings for a second, and Rashe and Jatki are probably still asleep.”

“They might wonder if they see you carrying me, though.”

“Oh, I’ll put you down, but not before I have to.” His expression sobered. “I’m so glad I found you—for so many reasons.”

“Me too.”

For
so
many
more.

“I’ve got good news and bad news,” Val said as Onca and Kim entered the kitchen.

Jatki and Rashe were already seated at the table. Roncas flitted around the stove like a frantic moth.

So
much
for
keeping
our
little
tryst
a
secret.

Rashe’s bland expression gave nothing away, but Onca knew better. Noting Kim’s wobbly gait, he put a hand on her back to steady her. “Let’s hear it.”

Val spun around on his barstool to face the others. “The good news is—I couldn’t find any indication that any girls have been sold recently.”

“And…?”

“The bad news is—I couldn’t find any evidence that they weren’t.”

Kim’s mouth flew open. “What? I don’t get it.”

Damn.
“He means he couldn’t hack into the system at all.”

Val nodded. “Which proves they definitely have something to hide.”

Onca pulled out a chair for Kim and helped her to sit before scooting it up to the table. “So we can assume the girls are there?”

“Maybe not those
particular
girls,” Val said. “But with firewalls like these, I’m guessing they’ve got a whole bunch of ladies who need rescuing.”

Roncas ladled out a bowlful of stew from the smaller of the two pots sitting on the stove. “Are you sure all that security isn’t there simply to protect the identity of their customers? Plenty of our clients at the Palace didn’t want anyone to know they’d been there.”

Rashe snickered. “Didn’t want their
husbands
to know, you mean. This place could be locked down for that same reason.”

“The original system at the Palace was adequate defense against all but a determined search,” Val said. “This goes way beyond what I set up for your scheduling logs.”

Roncas set the bowl on the counter next to Val and gazed up at him with adoring eyes. “And we never had another problem after that.”

She was practically cooing. Unfortunately, Val didn’t appear to notice she had served him first.

“Do you think you could hack into the system using their equipment?” Onca asked.

“Not sure,” Val replied. “The trick would be catching them with their files open.”

“Yeah. That would be a trick, all right.” Rashe shook his head. “Especially since we may have to risk crashing the gates.”

“We
do
have the Darconians on our side,” Onca pointed out. “But I still think I could get in as a client. At least we’d have some idea what was going on.”

Roncas twittered right on cue.

Onca held up a hand. “I know what you’re going to say, Roncas. We’ve been through this before, and it won’t happen. I have no intention of fucking a bunch of helpless women—whether they want me to or not.”

“Yes, but if you’re inside and there’s a raid, you’d look just as guilty as the other clients—and being a brothel owner yourself kinda destroys your credibility as an upstanding citizen.”

“Maybe, but the odds the cops would raid the place on the same night we’re there are astronomical—and even if they did, they certainly wouldn’t catch me in the act.”

To be honest, he had an idea he might never be capable of offering sex on demand again—at least, not without Kim nearby. For Jerden to imprint on Audrey’s scent had taken years of intimate contact. Kim’s potent aroma had done it to Onca in a matter of hours. He could have pinpointed her precise location in the room with his eyes closed.

Had Kim been anything other than Zetithian that wouldn’t pose a problem—at least, not for her. She could have gone her merry way and perhaps fallen for one of Jack’s boys while Onca ran the risk of never being aroused by another female again.

But she
was
Zetithian, and if they remained together much longer, neither of them would ever respond to the scent of anyone else. Would she resent the fact that she had become mated to him before she met another Zetithian male? With his education, Onca should have had a clearer understanding of the biology involved, but he’d never dreamed the bond could develop so quickly. Would Kim accuse him of taking advantage of her ignorance?

Maybe.
Although there was some consolation in knowing she couldn’t be stolen from him by Larry, Moe, or Curly.

Deeming it best to move on to another topic, he asked, “I don’t suppose we’ve received any replies to the deep space coms I sent out?”

“Only one,” Val replied. “Lerotan Kanotay says he’ll get here as soon as he can, but he’s a long way off.”

“Which means that Jack and Dax are even farther away or they would’ve responded by now.” Onca glanced at Rashe. “Sure we can’t recruit the twins? We could confuse the hell out of the enemy with them.”

“I dunno,” Rashe said. “They’re real wusses when it comes to laying their lives on the line. Not sure we could trust them not to turn tail and run.”

“Okay then. I’ll go in as a client—they take walk-ins, don’t they?”

Rashe chuckled. “Yeah, dude. They aren’t quite the high-class place yours was.”

“I’d like to see this brothel of yours sometime,” Kim said. “You say it’s full of trees like your bathroom?”

“Yeah, only a lot bigger, with sections of the floor that float up into the trees. I still haven’t decided whether to sell it or lease it. Considering its location, a brothel is about all it could ever be. This district isn’t exactly the greatest spot for a home for street kids.”

Not unless he wanted a business as shady as the Den. Besides, the pheromones in the air down there would have the kids fucking each other in a heartbeat—not exactly a huge drawing card. Well…it might be for some, but certainly not all of them. Kim and Jatki had good reasons for avoiding that region in favor of the lower-end commerce district. The subliminal advertising there only made you want to buy the cheap stuff, not fuck anyone in sight.

Roncas gave him a push toward the table. “Sit down, Boss. Your soup’s getting cold.”

Seeming to take this as a hint, Val picked up his spoon. “Smells great, Roncas.”

“Thanks,” Roncas snapped. “I made yours with nuts instead of meat.” Apparently Val was a tad late with his compliment. Even her subsequent coo held a trace of annoyance.

Onca knew the feeling. Nothing was quite as frustrating as unrequited love—unless it was not knowing what was going on in the mind of the object of your affections.

Right now, Kim was simply eating her lunch. Was she thinking about how much taller she might have been if she’d had sufficient food while growing up? Or was she still lost in the afterglow of sex? He knew a couple of Mordrials who could tell him precisely what her thoughts were—not that he would ever have the guts to take that route.

Talk
about
something
that
would
piss
her
off…

He picked up his spoon and tasted the stew, which was almost as good as what he made himself. “This is really good, Roncas. Thanks.”

“My, my,” she drawled. “For once, you’re displaying a tiny smidgen of tact.”

A retort had almost reached his lips when he turned it into a grin. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

***

Kim let the banter between Onca and Roncas pass by without comment, enjoying the hum of the voices around her. So far, this had been one of the best days of her life. She had already learned to read a little better, she’d had a marvelous time with Onca, and the stew was filling her stomach quite nicely.

If she hadn’t been so worried about her friends she would have said she was…

Happy.

Most people took that kind of happiness for granted. Kim savored every moment of it. Her only regret was not fucking Onca for the stew he’d given her yesterday, which would have made her even happier.

Maybe.
A lot had happened since then. She had even eaten enough to make the distinction between Roncas’s cooking and Onca’s. His stew had tasted better. She would never tell Roncas that, of course. She was a little surprised Onca hadn’t.

He seemed to have mellowed—more so than a good night’s sleep could explain. Jatki seemed different too. She was acting, well…
normal—
like she’d grown up in a home where she felt safe and protected and had never lived on the street.

Kim studied Onca out of the corner of her eye. His hair was beautiful and he was very handsome, but even that didn’t explain why watching him chew and swallow was so fascinating or why simply sitting beside him made her feel so good. She longed to put down her spoon and smother him with kisses.

Am
I
in
love
with
him?

That was one explanation. Two days ago, she wouldn’t have given up food for anything, especially a kiss.

But two days ago, she hadn’t met Onca. He hadn’t rescued her—or Jatki—yet, and sex with anyone was something to avoid rather than crave.

And she did crave him. Too bad she had to be content to sit beside him instead of sitting
on
him with his lovely ruffled penis buried deep inside her. The stew was tasty, but Onca was better.

The comlink dinged and Val spun around to check it. “Looks like a hail from the
Jolly
Roger.
”

“Thank God,” Roncas said. “Now we’ll get some decent help.”

“You keep saying that like the rest of us are completely worthless,” Onca said. “Rashe, Wings, and I could probably handle this by ourselves.”

The look Roncas gave him said otherwise. “Before you guys go off half-cocked, let’s hear what Jack has to say, shall we?”

Val tapped the link. “They must be closer than we thought. It’s a video com.”

Onca shot Roncas a quelling look. “Do not say
anything
.” He was practically growling at her. Kim couldn’t blame him for that. Roncas picked on him every chance she got. Clearly, she had never fucked him or she wouldn’t feel that way.

Val passed the link over to Onca, which at least gave Kim a better vantage point.

A woman with short dark hair appeared on the viewscreen. “Hey, bucko, how’s it hanging?”

Onca chuckled. “Just fine, Jack. We weren’t expecting to get more than a text message from you.”

“You reckoned without Larry,” Jack said with undisguised pride. “That boy’s a whiz with a comlink. So, what’s all this about a rescue mission involving a Zetithian girl? Have you found her yet?”

“Yeah. Actually, her friends are the ones we need to rescue.”

Jack scowled. “You lied to me, bucko. You know how much I hate that.”

“Would you have come if I’d said we were trying to find a Levitian, a Davordian, and an Edraitian?”

“Maybe. What happened to them?”

“Kidnapped and sold into slavery,” Onca replied. “At least, that’s what we think.”

“I’d have come anyway,” Jack declared. “Can’t stand that shit. So where
is
this Zetithian girl?”

“She’s here at my house.” Onca angled the viewscreen slightly—away from Kim.

That gesture along with his tone of voice put Kim on the alert. He seemed evasive for some reason.

“Glad you’re keeping her safe,” Jack said. “Makes you wonder how many others are out there, doesn’t it?”

“Sure does.”

“I hear you gave up the sex business.”

Narrowing his eyes, Onca lifted his chin. “That’s right.”

Definitely
defensive.

“Glad to hear it. You’ll live longer. So tell me about this girl—or let her tell me about herself.”

Onca hesitated, his posture becoming more rigid by the second. Taking in a deep breath, he blew it out slowly as his gaze slid toward Kim. “She’s right here. Talk to her.” He tilted the viewscreen again, this time in the other direction.

Kim’s first direct view of Jack caught her just as her jaw dropped.

“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” she exclaimed. “You really
are
just a kid.”

Kim was about to call on Captain to vouch for her again, but Onca spoke first. “She’s small for her age.”

Jack snorted. “Small for what, a fifteen-year-old?”

“She’s twenty-two,” Onca snapped. “And I can prove it.”

Onca only
sounded
pissed. Kim’s blood was beginning to boil. “I can’t help it if I’m small.”

“Maybe not,” Jack conceded. “But that’s unusual for a Zetithian. Might be a genetic defect of some kind. We’ll have to get that checked out before we pair you off with anyone.”

Kim was really ticked now and would have shouted a retort if Onca hadn’t intervened.

“Aw, lighten up, Jack,” he drawled. “She’s had a tough time of it—not enough food or anything else for most of her life. I’m sure her genes are perfectly normal.”

Jack shifted her focus back to Kim without missing a beat. “Twenty-two, huh? Good age for my older guys—or even Tisana’s. Hers are sixteen and mine are eighteen. I’m sure you’ll like one of them.”

Kim was prepared to hate them on sight. “We’ll see about that. I mean, I
do
have a choice, don’t I?”

“Of course you do,” Jack said. “We aren’t talking about arranged marriages. That shit doesn’t work with Zetithians anyway. I just want you to know you have options.”

A young Zetithian male with long black hair appeared behind Jack and peered at the viewscreen. “Don’t make her mad, Mom. She’s really cute.”

Rashe laughed. “That’s what I told Onca.”

“Onca?” Jack’s eyes widened in frank disbelief. “He’s too old for you, kiddo—aside from the fact that he probably won’t ever settle down. You’d be better off with someone else.”

“I’m not
that
old,” Onca protested.

Apparently Jack disagreed. “Onca,
sweetheart
—you might not be too old for a twenty-two-year-old Terran, but in case you hadn’t noticed, Kim isn’t human, and you’ve got fourteen years on her.”

“Have I missed something?” Kim asked.

“Humans age faster than Zetithians,” Jack explained. “Do you really want to hook up with a guy old enough to be your father?”

Kim barked out a laugh. “Beats having a fourteen-year-old father. But enough about that. We need help finding my friends. We think they’ve been kidnapped and taken to a brothel called the Den where they’re either being used or sold as sex slaves. Will you help us?”