Page 7

At an ungodly hour the next day, Julia sat in the navigator’s seat in the cockpit of Andethor’s ship. The navigation was all automated, of course, so all there was for her to do was try not to constantly sneak peeks at the Bellarian as he flew the ship.

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous.

She’d also be lying if she said she wasn’t excited about it.

Helping the Bellarian spy with his mission felt so much like the adventure novels she’d become obsessed with as a teenager.

Living dangerously, doing something for the good of the Alliance…

that felt like what she’d done in her years as a soldier.

And, if it meant having to pretend to be Savis’s ditzy little plaything… well. At least the male playing Savis was the type of male she felt like she’d happily take orders from.

And that, right there, was dangerous. She would have to constantly remind herself they were on a mission. It would be too easy for her, even as level-headed as she was, to get caught up in the moment with him.

It wasn’t long before their destination came into view, and she took a deep breath. She was pretty sure she heard Andethor do the same.

“ Okay. Before we leave the ship, we should both change,” he said, and she nodded, fidgeting a little.

When she’d gotten home the night before, she’d looked up images from the planet they’d be visiting…

and then quickly went through every single article of clothing she owned to find something revealing enough.

After going through clothes she hadn’t even thought about in years, she’d found that she had a surprising number of things that might work.

She wryly thanked all the times she’d assumed the burden of keeping a relationship going fell on her, that she must have needed to “spice things up” to keep a man who was beneath her.

At least it would help this little adventure. And then she’d likely recycle all of them when she got back to Asterion Station.

“ You okay?” Andethor asked quietly, and she looked at him to see him watching her, a serious look on his face. Focused, intense. She wasn’t used to this side of Andethor. This side that could be quiet and serious, not flirting or joking.

It only made her like him more.

“ I’m okay,” she promised. “Just nervous. I don’t want to somehow mess up your cover.”

He smiled then. “You won’t, Jules. You’re gorgeous and curvy. Just the kind of woman Savis drools over.” He met her gaze for a second, then faced forward again. “The only thing I have in common with that bastard is that we’d both be all over you in half a second if we were able to.”

All she could do was look at him. It wasn’t the compliment. She knew he was attracted to her. It was the bitterness he talked about his alter ego with. And now she felt like it was her turn to reassure him.

“ I know Savis is an act, Andethor. I know you,” she said quietly, and he turned to look at her. “Whatever you say or do when you’re in character, I know it’s just that.” She smiled. “It’s a pleasure resort, right? We’ll be expected, as a couple, to spend a lot of time in our cabin having fun.”

He nodded. “If I didn’t have to keep an eye on my target to find a chance to get him alone, that’s all we’d be doing.”

Of course, those words didn’t elicit thoughts of sitting around with him playing cards or watching movies, which is what they’d usually done when they got together with Maggie and Xarek.

“ Right. But there will still be times, and in those times you’ll get to be Andethor again and I’ll get to be the pain in the ass bartender who likes messing with you.”

He laughed, offering her a wink. “I like when you mess with me Jules.”

She shook her head, looking straight ahead as he pulled into the hangar and got the Hendrix situated in the docking bay.

Once that was done, he looked over at her and gave her a nod. She gave one back, then stood up and patted his shoulder, heading to the rear of the ship. She grabbed her bag along the way and closed herself inside the small washroom.

It only took her a few minutes to transform from the person she usually saw in the mirror to one Savis Eletath would have on his arm.

She swapped her usual comfy clothes for an almost indecently short black skirt and a sleeveless black top with a plunging neckline and almost no back to it at all…

not the type of thing you could wear a bra under, and her girls bounced free and happy.

The look was completed with strappy stiletto heels. She took her dark brown hair down and let it flow a little wild around her face. Her makeup took the longest. Smoky eye makeup and dark red lips.

She nearly laughed as she looked at herself.

She looked damn good. And unlike every other time she’d worn these clothes, there wasn’t a single sense of guilt or stress or disdain involved.

She chose this. And she was looking forward to whatever came next.

She was taking it as her own personal challenge, to play this role to perfection, and still be able to be friends with Andethor after.

Julia gave herself a nod in the mirror, then closed her bag and stepped out of the washroom. The sight that met her eyes was… not what she’d expected.

Andethor stood awkwardly near the table where they’d eaten, and it was only the fact that she knew his face well that kept her from thinking a totally different person stood in his ship.

Gone were the concert t-shirts from Earth and other planets.

Ditto the denim or leather-look pants. Even his hair was different.

The long, thick dark blue locks she’d thought more than once about dragging her fingers through had been swapped out for a bright green, short style, tall and poofy on top.

He was probably wearing at least as much eye makeup as she was, and his pointed ears were adorned with enough metal, clanking and dangling, to make her wonder if it hurt.

He wore a flouncy top that brought to mind old pirate movies she’d watched as a kid.

Over that was a flowy, bright purple topcoat that almost looked like a bathrobe.

Skin-tight white pants, the same color as the flouncy top, and tall black leather boots completed the look, along with flashy rings on his fingers and a thick chain around his neck.

She’d been so absorbed in taking in the difference that she hadn’t even noticed the way he stared at her. She finally met his gaze, and he gave a small shake of his head.

“ Stars, Jules,” was all he managed, and the want, the almost painful craving in those two syllables cracked something inside her that she’d kept solidly frozen since her last relationship crashed and burned.

“ Hi,” she said, laughing softly. “Pick your jaw up off the floor, spymaster. Savis Eletath has had all kinds of women to play with. I’m just one more in a long line.”

She watched as Andethor took a breath, and then she watched with interest as another transformation took place.

Andethor’s entire posture changed, from that sleek, powerful stance she usually associated with him, to a slumped, lazy, somehow slimy looking posture, his body almost snake-like in its movements as he fell into character.

Even the expression on his face changed.

A leering, haughty, petulant mask fell over his features.

If she’d seen Savis Eletath in the Mars Lounge, she would have immediately wanted to punch him in the face. And she would have kept an extra eye on the other servers and bartenders, just to make sure he wasn’t harassing them.

“ Wow. I hate him already,” she said, and it earned a laugh. But not Andethor’s usual deep, rich laugh. This was more like a high-pitched cackle.

“ Come, pet. Pleasure awaits and I expect you to please me,” he said in a snide, careless voice, and only the look in Andethor’s eyes, almost pleading could reassure her that her friend was still there, buried deep in the persona he hated. She gave him a small, hopefully reassuring smile.

“ You’re good at this,” she whispered, and then went for her own transformation, trying for a blank, ditzy expression and wrapping her arm around one of Andethor’s. “Yes, sir. Let’s go play,” she said in a bubbly voice, and she heard him groan.

“ Killin’ me, Jules,” he muttered as he grabbed their bags and started walking off of the ship, pulling her with her.

He tossed the bags carelessly at a porter who was waiting there, and she had to hide her surprise when she got a look at the Hendrix…

which had undergone a transformation of its own.

It was now the same bright blue as Savis’s hair and had a very prominent, very busty trio of naked women on the side, of different alien races.

“ Paradise” was painted in bold, flowing letters under the trio of naked women, and she had to bite back a laugh.

When Andethor played a role, he clearly played it all the way.

He started moving through the port in that lazy, sinuous way, and she kept a hold on his arm, walking by his side, looking all around.

They’d talked about that before, that it would be more than okay for her to play a wide-eyed, ditzy woman getting her first glimpse of the pleasure planet.

At least she wouldn’t have to pretend not to be surprised by the things she’d likely see there.

“ Stop gawking and touch me,” he demanded in that snide voice. People were looking at them as they moved through the busy port, and she obeyed, moving one of her hands from his arm to trail along his body, caressing his chest and stomach, his lower abs openly as he walked them toward the exit.

She tried very, very hard not to think of all the rigid muscle she was rubbing as they walked. “Yes, Savis. I’m sorry, baby.”

“ Don’t forget again. This isn’t a free trip for you, toy. I expect your constant fucking attention,” he said, and oh she would make him pay for that petulant tone later.