Mission (4 page)

“I have to change for practice. Do you want to remain out here or come in with me?”

It took half a second for her to decide. “With you. The guards want to take me.”

He looked around and nodded. “I do not think you are wrong. Raffix, if anyone tries to grab Jewel, even the guards, please intervene.”

“I don’t think they are going to grab her with you standing there.”

“They will try when I am not.”

Raffix looked around. “Right. Fair enough.”

Jewel followed Stormyo into a changing area where he removed all his clothing with efficient movements.

She had to use her own calm as she watched the flat plane of his belly flex when he bent to unlace his boots. As he peeled off the snug trousers, she fought the blush that rose in her cheeks, drawing on the calm that was so much a part of her.

This was not a position she had ever found herself in. Normally, a male came on to her and she shut down. It was a practiced response. With Stormyo keeping her close but not pursuing her, it gave her a chance to react, and her body was starting to wake up. That had never happened before.

He hopped as he slid into a skin-tight uniform. It was a one-piece bodysuit that he accented with knee-high boots and some heavy wristbands. The colours were gold and black.

When he finished, his neck appeared even thicker and his horns had widened at the base. He grinned. “Shall we go for a workout?”

Jewel smiled shyly. “Me?”

“You mentioned you were a peacekeeper. You have training in hand to hand, don’t you?”

“I do. Won’t they make fun of you for fighting with a girl?”

He chuckled. “I am willing to risk it.”

“If you don’t mind, I would enjoy it.”

“Then, come this way and choose a weapon if you wish to.”

She was almost hopping with eagerness. She followed Stormyo onto the sanded floor of the practice arena, and she went to the weapon rack, pulling two eighteen-inch batons out and twirling them for balance.

Jewel turned back and smiled at Stormyo. “Are you sure you want to do this? You have a fight later.”

He nodded. “I do. It will just be a little light sparring. Five-minute time limit.”

Raffix started the clock. “This looks tremendously unfair.”

Jewel looked at Stormyo and she inclined her head. He did the same and then charged her.

She sidestepped and tripped him, sending him skidding across the floor. She brought the sticks down on his back as she twisted.

He stumbled and turned on her, gripping her wrist and twisting. She hissed and brought her other baton down on his inner elbow, breaking his grip. They stood back and she charged him. He grabbed for her, and she went to her knees between his legs, elbowing the back of his knees and dropping him to the ground. She came behind him and braced the batons across his neck, but he pulled her forward, flipping her over his head and into his arms.

The kiss shocked her more than the sudden change of position. Her eyes were crossed with the proximity, and she tried not to open her mouth when his tongue teased across her lips. He stroked a hand down her spine and the small gesture stopped her panic. She enjoyed the touch and parted her lips to find out what happened next.

Raffix whistled sharply and Stormyo lifted his head. He got to his feet, setting Jewel on hers as he faced the incoming men.

She checked and her batons were still surprisingly in her hands. She squared her shoulders and watched as five fighters entered the practise area and approached them.

Raffix wandered over and casually stood next to Jewel. The five men broke from their formation and moved off in two teams, sparring with each other.

“What was that about?” Jewel broadcast calm throughout the room and the fights began to lose enthusiasm.

“Trajus and the others keep trying to catch Stormyo off guard, and he was very off guard for a minute. You might want to keep your sexual interaction to a more private and secure venue.”

Jewel blanked her emotions.

Stormyo sighed. “I believe that might be sound advice. Let’s go to the simulator and I can continue my workout there.”

Raffix sighed. “I suppose I have to come along and watch your back.’

“Please.” Stormyo grunted.

“You owe me for this.”

“Yes, yes, I do.”

Jewel sighed and let her escort direct her around the fighters’ area for two hours until Stormyo had to get dressed for his fight.

While Stormyo got dressed, Raffix shocked her by fussing with her hair. “Why are you doing that?”

“You will be the focus of attention. You need to be calm, poised and stunning. So far, you have all three going without any trouble. Keep it that way.”

He looked her over from head to toe. “You would be better in a red gown.”

She changed the colour of the uniform to a deep burgundy. “Better?”

“How are you doing that?”

“Stormyo spared no expense.”

He grinned. “Well done. Now come with me. I will get you situated in the fighters’ section.”

She surprised Stormyo by kissing his cheek while he did up the cuffs of his brighter, fancier uniform. “I will see you afterward. If you need healing, make sure that you tell them to get me.”

He winked. “Stay calm.”

She sighed. “Like I have a choice.”

Jewel came to the conclusion that Stormyo had either been very distracted or had been taking it easy on her. He moved at dizzying speeds and struck with enough force to send his opponent flying back against the wall. Jewel kept her calm to herself, and she watched the audience to see how far her radius extended. She only affected one row in any direction.

Vid cameras did hover around her a bit, but when her expression didn’t change and she didn’t glare at them, they flew off to take images of the crowd.

The fight lasted twenty minutes and both men were sweating, grimacing and panting. Blood dripped into the grit of the floor but it wasn’t Stormyo’s.

When the fight was over, she looked for Raffix, but he was nowhere to be found. Stormyo came into the crowd and held out his hand to her. There was nothing subtle about it.

She got to her feet and headed to the aisle where he waited. Jewel took his hand and let him lead her through the audience of his adoring fans with the vid cameras watching him place a hand at the base of her bare spine as they walked through to the guarded fighters’ entrance and into the hidden portion of the station where folk actually lived and worked.

The moment they passed from the public area into the training area, Jewel heaved a sigh of relief and let her calm ripple outward.

Stormyo chuckled. “You held it in very well.”

“I know. It kind of hurt.” She wrinkled her nose. “You did well. I thought for sure that that Dhemon had you when you squared off.”

He snorted. “Hajcik is no match for me, as I proved.”

Jewel smiled. “Yes. So, you were taking it easy on me.”

He ducked his head and kept his arm behind her, the skin-to-skin contact warming her spine.

His horns were stained with blood and he was stuck with sweat and sand, but he still looked gloriously ready for battle.

Jewel’s brain informed her that he was still kinda hot.

“Do you have to go to medical for anything?”

“No, I heal quickly when it is not a slice. If it is just a bruise, it will be gone by morning.”

“So, my services are not required today.”

He shrugged. “I believe I could use a neck rub if you are so inclined.”

She chuckled. “I can manage that.”

They walked through the station to his quarters, and when they were inside, he triggered the opacity and sighed. “I am off to have a shower and then a hot soak. You can join me at any time.”

She gave him a four-minute head start before following him into the bath. He was still showering when she entered the bathing room, so she peeled off her clothing, folded it and walked into the tub after knotting her hair up.

She leaned back against the churning waves of water and unclenched her back and arms.

Jewel looked up as Stormyo entered the bath, and she thanked the warm water for already bringing a blush to her cheeks. His fawn colouring was natural and from head to toe. Not one area was darker or lighter than any other, including the erection that thankfully disappeared below the waterline.

When he settled in the water, she cruised behind him.

He raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“I believe a backrub was requested, and since it doesn’t interfere with my schedule, I thought to work on you now.”

He shrugged and there was a soft smile playing around the corners of his mouth. “Whatever you like. Thank you.”

Jewel stroked a few easy passes over the thick muscles of his neck and shoulders, getting a feel for any knots or twinges. When she had done her recon, she went back in with enthusiasm, working her thumbs and knuckles into the knotted muscles and working them loose.

He began to groan softly, and she continued her work with all the enthusiasm she normally saved for an opponent. When her skin stuck to his, she poured some bath oil onto her fingers and her hands slid easily over his back.

She worked down his spine and ran her thumbs down and back up the grooves of muscle.

The noises he was making were happy murmurs. She kept going until her wrists and fingers ached. Finally, she tapped his shoulders. “Scoot down and rinse off.”

He bent and moved away from her, turning and facing her. He was a little bewildered. “How did you learn how to do that?”

She shrugged. “I took a course. I thought if I could touch people, I would be able to get closer to them. It didn’t really work out that way, but it is a handy skill to have.”

Stormyo was staring straight ahead, and when she realized that she was standing with her breasts above the water, she bent her knees and scooted to one side.

He followed her.

Jewel watched warily, and she jumped a little when he reached behind her and loosened her hair. He was close, very close.

Stormyo pressed his mouth to hers softly, waiting for her to respond. Jewel blinked when she realized that he was going to wait for her to react. He simply held his lips against hers until she turned her head and flexed her lips into responding to him.

Trying to figure out what she should be doing became less of an issue as she began to let herself react to the sensations that he was starting.

She couldn’t tell if the heat between her thighs was the water or herself until he stroked his hand up her inner thigh and pressed two fingers against her opening. She shivered as he dipped inside.

He parted her lips with his tongue, and she opened her mouth to let him in. She groaned when his fingers slid into her just a little.

Stormyo stood up and carried her with him. He lifted his head. “The bath is no place for a first time.”

“It is in Terran romance novels.”

He licked her cheek. “It increases friction which is fine for a quick session, but I have no urge to hurry things along.”

She shivered at the mention of friction. “Why not quick?”

He grinned. “If you have to ask, then I really need to show you.”

He stopped under a heat lamp, and they dried in seconds. He continued into the outer rooms and, from there, into his bedroom.

He settled her on the bed and stretched over her, bringing his body into slow and complete contact with hers.

She felt a shiver run through his body, but she was caught up staring into his eyes. He did a strange push-up motion on her and stroked her breasts and belly with his body. She shivered in her own right and reached up to touch his skin.

His body had the same feel as soft suede, but the muscle under it was carved oak. Jewel stroked his body with care, running her hands up his sides and over his back. Tension filled him, but her calm couldn’t ease it. Jewel wasn’t even sure that she was trying to project it.

He moved against her again, the rolling stroke of skin to skin. Stormyo wasn’t in a hurry and that made her nervous.

She parted her legs when he nudged his thigh to her knees. There was no sound in the room but their breathing, and hers was far more ragged than his.

As he settled between her thighs with his cock pressing against her folds, he leaned in and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and participated enthusiastically, sure of what she was doing in this particular matter.

He pulled his mouth from hers, and he started to work down her neck, carefully shifting his head to avoid scratching her with his horns.

His tongue was hot, wet, smooth, as he stroked her neck, worked across her shoulder and down to her breasts.

He spent what seemed like hours, suckling, nipping, smoothing his tongue across her skin until she was sure that her flesh was on fire and she was happy to burn.

He moved down her body, but everywhere his mouth had been, she burned. Flames licked along her nerve endings and it finally came to her that he had a sure-fire seduction technique that did not require his lust to be aggressive to create a seduction. He was a man that had chemistry on his side.

She twisted as he licked at her belly and the fire followed. Her nerves hummed, and when he impishly licked the inside of her forearm, her fingers clenched in the locks of his hair.

Who knew that there were so many nerve endings on the inside of her elbow?

The surge of moisture that her body produced at the light flick of his tongue surprised her. He leaned back and stared at her. “How charming.” He returned his head to that spot and licked again.

She squirmed. She felt her thighs flex on either side of his hips.

He must have noticed it, because he moved lower and continued to lick his way toward her aching channel. He parted her sex with his tongue and a low moan broke from her throat.

Tingling spread from the small opening that he slid his tongue into and rippled through her body. He nosed her clit lightly and continued his detailed exploration.

Jewel felt her legs tense and her muscles tried to clamp down on him. She twisted, she rocked her hips and she moaned in a low exhalation as the heat flared and her orgasm struck.