Page 112

“Thisisn’t a life for me.” I gestured at the diner. “I’m just killing time here.”

He’d straightened things up, except for our benches and the table that had once gone between them. I’d always thought these seats were terribly uncomfortable, but drunk crews didn’t care. Not that I had the money to buy replacements anyway. But at the moment, I felt perfectly cozy. Thalan was very warm.

Finally, my mind cleared enough for me to ask important questions. “How did I get clean?” I asked. “And did I pass out from an orgasm? Not that I’m complaining.”

“I cleaned us.” He said it simply. “It was my pleasure.”

“Well, it was all very much my pleasure too. And that final orgasm?”

“A…gift. A trait of my people.”

“A mind-bending orgasm to finish off your partner. That is a pretty good gift.” I squeezed his hand. “Tell me why you left your squad. I want to know.”

“It is a long story, better suited for another day.” His chin came to rest on top of my head, the pressure light despite his size. “I will say that I could no longer abide their ways, even if it meant my death. I chose the way of a coward and ran.”

“A coward wouldn’t have risked their wrath. A coward would have stayed and done what his squad demanded without questioning.” I didn’t push for more detail. I had nightmares of my own I did not want to share. “Take me with you, Thalan.”

For a long time, he didn’t speak. I didn’t like the silence. I had learned to read silences. This one did not bode well.

But I did have one more card to play. “You owe me three thousand credits,” I said sharply. “The law says you pay for your meals.”

“I see no law here,” he said.

I couldn’t read his tone, and when I tried to crane my neck to see his face, he held me still.

“I’m the law in this diner.” I pointed to the wall—not the mirrored wall, which I’d never be able to look at again without seeing us fucking in it. I indicated a metal plate bearing an official seal hanging crookedly to the right of the doorway to the kitchen. “See that? I’m deputized to protect my establishment.”

“I find it difficult to believe that I did not pay my debt. You screamed a great deal. Came many times. Called my name again and again.”

I shrugged. “You certainly made a valiant effort. I did warn you it would be nearly impossible to pay for double the cost of your meal in work-in-trade. You owe me three thousand credits. And that still doesn’t include my tip.”

His chest shook. I realized he was laughing.

“Why is that so funny to you?” I demanded. “You laughed last time too. You’re lucky I didn’t deck you for it.”

“What is ‘decking’?”

I huffed. “It’s what I’m gonna do to you if you don’t explain the joke.”

“I gave you my tips,” he said, very seriously. “Both of them. Quite large tips, as you discovered—and said so, many times.”

I blinked at him, bemused. “That’s the joke? A dick joke?”

“Indeed.”

I drew him to me for a long kiss. When he raised his head, I skimmed my fingers along the ridge that ran down the side of his neck. “I want you to fuck me like that every morning and every night,” I told him. “Until you pay off your debt, or we decide we don’t like fucking each other anymore.”

“Do you think we’ll stop wanting to fuck each other?” His question seemed sincere.

“Honestly?” I shrugged. “I don’t know. But if so, not for a long time. I like your cocks a hell of a lot.”

“I like your mouth, your pussy, and your ass a hell of a lot.” He said the last part awkwardly, as if he’d never used that expression before. And maybe he hadn’t.

“Well, then it’s settled.” I rested my hand on his bare leg. “It’ll take me ten minutes to pack and empty my savings. You start your ship’s engine and I’ll meet you at the airlock. We’ll make a fast getaway.”

I started to rise, but he held me still. “It will not be a pleasant journey,” he warned. “You will be hunted with me. We may never find safety and peace.”

“Or we might,” I countered. “I’ve been searching for safety and peace all my life. I didn’t find it here. Maybe I’ll find it somewhere else with you.”