On a Rogue Planet (8 page)

“Disguises,” Eos added helpfully. “Everything from assassin’s robes to…well, CenSec uniforms. And we’ll have to come up with something to hide your implants.”

He gave her a terse nod, but then he was looking at Malin again. In a way that made her certain there was plenty of emotion under his implants. She felt a swirl of reaction in her belly. Why, oh why, did she have to be attracted to inappropriate men? From charming salvage dealers who were scum of the galaxy to an emotionally-stunted cyborg completely dedicated to his planet.

“Lala, come on.” Mal waved a hand. “I need to see your wardrobe.”
Stars help her.

As she left the room, Mal felt the weight of that green-gold gaze on her back.

***

The gentle hum of starship engines was almost soothing beneath Xander’s feet.

But he didn’t feel soothed.

He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his gaze on the stream of stars outside the cockpit window. The Phoenix brothers’ salvage ship was, not surprisingly, very modified and much faster than any salvage ship he’d ever seen.

They were only hours away from Rhage.

He’d spent the last few hours in a cabin with Eos and Niklas Phoenix, having them share everything they knew about the pit-fighting world and perfecting his disguise.

He was no longer a clean-cut CenSec.

He was a down-and-dirty pit fighter.

All he wore were well-worn black leather trousers that molded to him in a disturbing way. Not synth leather, but the real thing off some long-dead animal. His chest was bare and all he wore on top were chainmail sleeves that tied across his shoulder blades and hid his mechanical arm. Eos had spent over an hour creating temporary tattoos over all his implants, incorporating the silver into the design.

Added to that, she’d shaved his hair.

He ran a hand over it. It was very short and unlike anything he’d had before. CenSecs didn’t wear their hair too long or too short. It made him feel…naked. He wondered what Malin would make of it.

Xander was pretty sure his CenSec team would not recognize him. His second-in-command, Xenia, who had somehow retained a good deal of emotion despite her heavy enhancements, would no doubt laugh at him.

Behind him, down the corridor, he heard female voices. Arguing.

“I can’t go out in public like this. I need trousers.”

“Mal! Did you see any of those women on Rhage wearing trousers?” Lala cried.

“Yes. That one tall one.”

“She was a
pit fighter
.” Lala made a strangled noise. “Girl, you’re there to show skin and look beautiful.”

“I’m not beautiful.”

That made Xander frown. He thought Malin was extremely beautiful.

“You are.” Eos entered the fray. “And you definitely look…eye-catching.” It sounded like she was trying to hide a laugh.

“I look like a pleasure worker.” A disgruntled note in Malin’s voice. “You two go, let me…adjust to having my ass hanging out all over the place.”

A snicker from Lala. “Come on, Eos. Let’s go tidy up your kick-ass makeup supplies.”

Malin’s light footsteps got closer and Xander turned.

And nearly swallowed his tongue.

He knew Malin Phoenix wasn’t tall. She barely reached his collarbone. His sensors told him she was five feet, three inches tall.

But right now, all he could see was a mile of slim leg.

He started at the bottom and worked up. Black boots with high, high heels slicked up her calves to her knees. Then smooth skin was bared for all to see until it met a tiny black strip of sparkly fabric he assumed someone would generously call a skirt.

Her midriff was bare, some sort of silver stone twinkling in her navel. Gauzy silver fabric was tied over her shoulders and breasts in a way that made a man think he could give it a tug and it would unravel, leaving her…

Xander snapped his advanced filters into place and gritted his teeth.

He forced his gaze to her face. She’d been heavy-handed with the makeup. Her eyes were smoky and dark, making their beautiful purple color stand out in her fine-boned face. Her lips were nebula-red. Someone, he guessed Lala, had tousled and styled Malin’s short hair in some sort of spiky design.

“What do you think?”

Malin’s nervous question snapped Xander back into reality.

“You do look like a pleasure worker.”

She winced. “Thanks. That fills me with confidence.”

“I prefer you in your cargo pants.” And Xander realized he did. He particularly liked the way the pants hugged the line of her bottom.

Something in her face softened.

He continued, “You cannot go out looking like that.” Especially not a wild, rough, pit-fighting world where men fought for women and bartered them like possessions.

Everything soft in her face fled. “Hey, tough guy.” She snapped her fingers. “I’m supposed to look like a pleasure worker. Besides, this outfit is way less revealing than most I’ve found on the vids. You know, naked seems to be popular.”

Xander’s jaw tightened to the point of pain. He wasn’t having her naked. No way.

Suddenly he realized Malin had gone silent. And was staring. At him. “Malin?”

“You…you…” She shook herself. “You look…so different.”

He couldn’t argue with her.

Her gaze skimmed over him, lingering on his new temp tattoos over his chest. Xander had an insane and completely unfamiliar urge to waste energy on the inefficient pastime of fidgeting.

She moved closer, studying Eos’s artwork. So close he could feel her warm breath against his skin. Instantly, he felt his body respond.

He’d never had so little control over himself in his life.

Her hand moved, like she was going to trace the tattoos. Before it reached him, it dropped away.

“Malin…you may touch me.” Even to Xander, his voice sounded strangled.

“Why would I want to do that?” Her voice was tart.

“Your hormone levels have increased and you appear to want to touch me. Earlier you wanted to kiss me.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you completely clueless?”

“No. I have very high intelligence coupled with advanced implants that—”

“Xander. Shut up.” She was shaking her head. “Kissing. Touching. That’s not going to happen.”

It really was better that they didn’t indulge this need. He had to focus on his mission.

But with her standing there, all smooth, creamy skin and smoky eyes…he was unable to stop himself. “I want to kiss you.”

She hissed in a breath. “Listen, tough guy, earlier you told everyone you don’t feel anything for me. That isn’t conducive to making a woman interested in kissing.”

Xander processed that. “I’m sorry. I have no experience with dealing with women in a…personal way.”

“Wait, what?” Her eyes widened. “Are you a virgin?”

“No.”

“But you said—”

“As part of my CenSec training, I was required to have sexual intercourse with a female CenSec. To experience the act and catalogue the experience.”

Malin’s mouth dropped open. “They make you have sex?”

“Yes.”

“Did you…did you enjoy it?”

“That was not the purpose of the exercise. But parts of it were stimulating.”

“Jesus.” Malin ran a hand through her hair. “Answer a question for me. Do you feel anything when you’re with me?”

Xander told himself not to answer. To keep quiet. Not expose a weakness.

But her purple eyes were irresistible.

“I feel, Malin.” He reached out and touched her hair. Felt the silkiness of it. “I shouldn’t. I have a mission, I’m not supposed to feel anything, I—”

“Shut up, Xander.” She pressed her hand to his chest, her fingers tracing the black designs that circled his implants.

Her touch felt like a laser searing his skin.

She reached up, her lips brushing against his jaw. “Lower your head,” she whispered. “I’ve decided it’s time for that kiss.”

Xander felt a tremor rock through his body. Instead of leaning down, he swept an arm around her and pulled her firmly against his chest, holding her off the ground.

They were face-to-face.

“That works.” Her hands cupped his cheeks. She nipped at his lips.

Xander got the tiniest hint of her taste. Cherry. She tasted like cherries.

Then her mouth pressed to his.

Xander stayed still, absorbing the sensations, as her lips moved against his. As her tongue traced the seam of his mouth.

“Open your mouth, Xander.” A ragged whisper against his lips.

For once, the CenSec used to giving orders, enthusiastically followed one given to him.

Her tongue slipped inside his mouth, stroking, exploring. Sensation was a roar along his nerve endings. Amazing. He absorbed every move of her lips and tongue. Catalogued. Learned. Experienced.

Then he kissed her back.

She gave a low moan, her hands clutching at his shoulders. Xander drove his tongue into her mouth, wanting to discover every part of her.

Conscious thought slipped away. Xander heard a groan, and was shocked to realize the sound came from him. He hauled her closer, felt her legs were wrap around his thigh, and he slid one hand down to cup her bottom and hold her in place. Her small, compact body felt…perfect.

Voices echoed down the corridor. Coming closer.

Slowly, Malin pulled her head back. Reluctance was written all over her face. She licked her lips and Xander felt another pulse through his body.

Desire. It was an extraordinary feeling. Exciting, exhilarating, frustrating.

He wanted more.

“I want to experience more.”

Malin gave a laugh. “Really, tough guy?”

“I shouldn’t. I cannot allow it to interfere with my—”

“Your mission. I got it.” She wiggled and he let her feet hit the ground. “Centax is your number one priority.”

He thought he heard bitterness in her tone. He gripped her chin and lifted her eyes to his. “When we get back from Rhage, I want more than a kiss.” He paused. “If it pleases you to show me more.”

The voices had almost reached the cockpit.

Malin’s gaze raked his face, something in her expression softening. “Yes, it pleases me.”

As Dathan and Nik strode into the main cabin, Mal reluctantly pulled away from Xander.

Holy stars, her entire body was vibrating.

Simply from a kiss.

She could not believe the transformation in him. No way would she pick him as an emotionless CenSec now.

His bare chest was oiled and shone under the cockpit lights. The amazing temp tattoo covered the left side of his chest. Eos had outdone herself. It was an interlinked design of cogs that incorporated and hid his implants. It snaked up his neck, right up to his temple.

He looked so hot.

Mal dragged her gaze off him and looked at her cousins.

“Right, we need to—” Dathan came to an abrupt halt. “Holy hell, Mal.”

Mal shifted uneasily and held her arms out to the side. “I’m thinking of making this my new salvage yard uniform. How do you think it’ll look with a tool belt?”

Dathan blinked. Niklas was frowning.

Lala sashayed in with Eos. “Sexy cyborg, you look deeeelish.” Lala shot Xander a wide grin and licked her lips. “Hubba hubba, where were you hiding all those muscles?”

Dathan and Nik pulled their gazes away from Mal to frown at Lala. She shot them an innocent smile.

Eos bustled forward. “Okay, let’s talk plan of attack before we hit orbit around Rhage.”

Dathan reluctantly moved toward the holo-table. “I’m thinking Mal needs a coat.”

Mal scowled at her cousin.

“As do I,” Xander added.

Her head whipped around to face him, her scowl deepening.

“Stop it, all of you,” Eos touched the holo-table. “Malin’s a grown woman. Get used to it.” Eos tossed her long braid over her shoulder. “Now, let’s talk about what you need to do once you set foot on Rhage.”

“Prime objective is to find out who has the information on the Antikythera,” Xander said. Mal noticed his gaze was locked onto her bare legs, and she suppressed a smile.

“You’ve been scheduled to fight later in the night,” Niklas said.

Mal growled. “What do you mean, fight? He can’t fight!”

His gaze flew up to hers. “I won’t lose.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m more worried about you being hurt.”

He blinked. As though no one had ever expressed worry for him before.

She shook her head. “No. We need to get the information and get out
before
your fight.”

“I agree with Mal,” Eos said. “I think it’s a far better option to avoid the pits. Dathan, you found some info on who might know where the Antikythera is.”

“Yep.” Dathan leaned a hip against the holo-table. “Informant came through about the head honcho of the Rahl. Guy called Gurion.” Dathan wrinkled his nose. “Not a nice person. Highly volatile, big anger-management issues.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Mal worried her lip.

“I will deal with him,” Xander said.

“Nope.” Dathan shook his head. “My informant recommended we steer well clear of Gurion. He’s prone to challenging people to fight in the pits on a whim. And he’s never lost.”

“Never?” Mal squeaked.

“Never. I believe the words ‘fair fight’ don’t feature in the Rahl’s vocab.”

“Very true.” Eos tapped the holo-table, reading the display. “From what I can find about their pit fighting, there are no rules. Or rather, there may be rules, but they aren’t followed or enforced. For example, supposedly there are no weapons allowed in the pits, but if you manage to sneak one in and use it…” she shrugged. “No one cares.”

“Win, in whatever way possible.” Xander made the statement like he understood the sentiment.

Mal guessed CenSecs liked getting the job done as efficiently as possible.

“So, you want to avoid Gurion.” Dathan tapped the screen. “Instead you need to find this man.”

An image flashed on the screen. Definitely a Rahl but older and smaller. Nowhere near as tall and muscled as the mercs Mal had seen on Centax. His hair was a crazy cloud of gray and his eyes were different colors—one amber and one pale green.

“He’s called the Taskmaster. He schedules all the Rahl’s mercenary jobs.”