Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
“No.”
“No way!”
Dathan’s heated refusal rolled off Malin. But Xander’s quietly whispered word sent shivers down her spine. She turned slowly to look at him. His eyes were glowing green.
“You want the Antikythera back, right?” she said.
“Yes. But you will not set foot on Rhage.”
“It’s the best option.” She tilted her head. “Besides, what do you care, anyway?”
“Mal, I know you’ve helped with a few hunts before, but this is a bit beyond a simple hunt,” Niklas said.
He wasn’t protesting outright, just using logic and facts to try and get to her. Classic, Nik.
“I want to help Centax. I’ve visited there many times and I like it. I consider Traxan from the salvage yard a friend. Besides, if I can do anything to help Centax’s women, I will.”
With the sound of gum popping, Lala strolled forward. “Well, girl, I think you’ll need to borrow some stuff from my wardrobe because according to those images, coveralls or cargo pants are not going to cut it.”
Mal spun and saw the new images BEll had displayed. Her throat went dry.
They looked like images captured by people’s personal Syncs. Candid. Not all in focus. A huge crowd gathered around a sunken pit. In the center of the pit were two fighters stripped to the waist with muscles bulging, one with blood smeared over his ridged abdomen.
But it was the women who caught her attention.
They were wearing…very little.
Filmy fabrics and microscopic skirts. A few were naked except for beaten-gold metal jewelry wrapped around their necks, biceps, and wrists. Skin. Skin and more skin. And from the looks of them, most of the women were happy to show their wares and cheer on the brawling fighters.
She closed her eyes for a second. What had she just agreed to do?
She could pull out, just head down to the hangar and get back to work stripping apart her engines.
When she opened her eyes, Xander was in front of her. She hadn’t heard him move.
“I won’t let you do this.”
Anger shot through her like a supernova. “You don’t get to make that decision. This is a Phoenix treasure hunt now.” She saw that muscle in his jaw working again.
He drew in a deep breath, his chest rising and falling.
“You’ll have to go in solo. They don’t let spectators or entourage on-planet without prior arrangement.” Dathan didn’t sound happy about it. “We’ll monitor you from the ship.”
“Cool,” Lala said. “I’m up for a trip.”
“You’re not coming. You’ll be here. Doing your schoolwork with BEll watching over you.”
Lala wrinkled her nose. “Come on, Dathan. I could help.”
He stared her down.
With a put-upon sigh, she subsided. “Fine. Fine. I’ll stay here and do boring schoolwork.”
“And I’m going to have Sel drop by and check on you.”
Lala opened her mouth to complain but closed it again. “Sel’s not bad.”
Mal rolled her eyes. Sel was a shop owner from Souk. He also dealt in gray market weapons. He and the teenaged bomb maker got on like a starship on fire. They’d probably swap explosive formulas or something.
Nik stood. “I’ll get the Infinitas fueled.”
Lala grinned. “Man, Zayn is going to be pissed you’re taking his ship out without him.”
A former Strike Wing fighter pilot, Zayn was protective of his ship. Still, he was on his honeymoon and Mal suspected even the Infinitas came a distant second to his new wife.
Dathan followed his brother. “I’ll make sure all the other supplies we need are on ship.” He glanced at Xander. “Eos can help you find whatever clothing you need. We have a few boxes of…” He waved his hand.
“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 me.
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 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, with 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?”
Her nervous question knocked Xander back to reality.
“You do look like a pleasure worker.”
She winced. “Thanks. That fills me with confidence.”
“I prefer you in your cargo pants.” And he realized he did. He particularly liked the way her pants hugged the line of her bottom.
Something in her face softened.
He continued, “You cannot go out looking like that.” Especially not on 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.”
He 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.”
He 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.
He 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. He 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 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.”
She 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.
Her gaze raked his face, something in her expression softening. “Yes, it pleases me.”