A Touch of Lilly (5 page)

* * * * *

Lilly
stood on the sidewalk, leaning through the passenger window of the
luna cab. She flashed the Drikspa behind the controls a nice view of
her cleavage and overpaid the fare by one hundred credits. It’s
not as if she needed to, she’d touched the alien’s
shoulder while giving him directions and pushed her energy output up
a couple of notches while they were traveling. She had no doubt, the
driver’s squirming had nothing to do with his satisfaction over
her generous tip and everything to do with his raging hard-on. Lilly
wanted to be sure if anyone asked the driver about her that he’d
remember every detail of where he’d dropped her off. She almost
felt bad for him as he readjusted himself again.

Strutting
her way toward the stylish restaurant, Lilly watched the reflection
of the vehicle in the large window as it pulled from the sidewalk.
When it was completely out of sight, she turned back the way she’d
come and walked the three blocks back to the tavern. She hadn’t
expected to get waylaid from her job. Or was it more like just
laid
?

Her
body warmed at the thought of Dallas. She could still smell him on
her. Still feel the heat of his body pressed to hers. Still taste the
sweetness of his mouth. But she shook off the memory. It wasn’t
as if it were real. Nothing about her sexual relationships had been
real for a very long time.

Lilly
had been only sixteen the first time it had happened. The horny
tingling of lust she’d felt when her first boyfriend had kissed
her had warmed her from the heart out. She figured that’s how
everyone felt with their first love. But the more passionate his
kisses became, the hotter she’d burned. The boy’s tender
touches evolved into a painful mauling as he’d lost control.
Her protests had been loud enough to alert her mother, who’d
managed to gracefully step in and send the boy home with his dignity
still intact.

It
had been another year before her mother had explained the gift her
genetics had produced and another four years before Lilly had figured
out how to control it. And up until six months ago, it had been a
secret she’d kept close to her heart.

The
heels of her boots clicked a staccato cadence along the brick
sidewalk. With her emotions so high, the energy pulsed around her,
attracting the attention of every male she passed. Lilly worked to
get it under control, but it was difficult with the emotional
memories swirling around her. The encounter with Dallas had unleashed
the loneliness she fought so hard to control.

She’d
spent her college years living the celibate life of a nun, allowing
no man to touch her. But the isolation had been too much. When she’d
entered the state police academy in Illinois, she’d allowed
herself to date, but there had been nothing more than friendly
banter. Her classmates believed she was a lesbian and that had
allowed her to become one of the guys. It turned out to be a
wonderful compromise.

By
the time she was working her way up the ranks of the Chicago PD,
she’d found comfort in fleeting vacation rendezvous that lasted
only a few days. But her time off was infrequent and the time between
human contact too long. In desperation, Lilly dared a liaison with a
stranger in a nearby Chicago suburb. The evening had satisfied her
need for human interaction and the man definitely had no complaints
when she’d left him quite exhausted in the morning. By the time
she’d earned her detective’s badge she had the one-night
stand down to an art form.

Though
they weren’t aware of it, every male who slept with her did so
without the knowledge that they had no control over their lust—but
neither did she. Lilly had built walls around her heart and convinced
herself it didn’t matter, she could live on one-night stands
and quickies with strangers. But Dallas seemed to have shattered that
pretense. For a moment she thought he hadn’t been under the
influence of her seductive gift. When he’d turned from her,
ignoring the desire caused by her energy flux, she actually believed
she’d found someone who might be immune to the one part of her
she couldn’t change. Unlike the pitch of her voice or the
strawberry birthmark on her thigh, no chemistry or cosmetic surgery
could remove this albatross from her neck.

She
wasn’t sure why she gave a damn. Dallas was no different than
every other man she’d encountered. He’d failed the second
test in the street when she’d come on to him. He’d rushed
her into the alley and fucked her to his own satisfaction. Not that
she hadn’t enjoyed it. Dallas had actually held off his own
gratification to satisfy her needs first. But her tiny bubble of hope
that it had meant something to him burst as he’d counted out
the credits he owed her and tucked her into the cab without a
backward glance.

Lilly
growled her frustration at the night, startling a Znedu couple
enjoying a late-night stroll. Smiling, she moved on, angry at herself
for letting the human contact get under her skin. She needed to get
her head back in the game.

The
second moon was visible through the blue haze of lights lining the
street. Lilly wasn’t late, but if she didn’t hurry she
wouldn’t be settled in place, looking the part of a woman on
the prowl, when her mark arrived. If the horny informant she’d
spoken to two days ago had given her the correct intel, and that was
a big
if
in his lust-fogged state, then the alien she was
hunting should have arrived from Reigis Alpha several hours ago and
should be making his way to the tavern any time now. Lilly cut down a
side street, saving herself only a couple of minutes.

Unlike
the alley where Dallas had taken her, this narrow passage had no
windowed stores. No other souls walked the muted shadows. Only the
back-door stoops and heavy ductwork of businesses on the main street
broke the monotony of the stone walls. Pulling the tiny fur coat
tighter around her waist, Lilly quickened her steps. Years on the
police force had taught her how to defend herself, but it wouldn’t
do for a working woman to be seen turning down business. The whole
lady-of-the-night getup worked for catching felons off guard, but she
hadn’t meant for Dallas to think of her that way.

Sheesh,
she needed to forget the man and focus on the job ahead of her.

“
Well,
look what’s tripped into my hold.” The gravelly clicks
and pops translated in her ear as an Ickbata slithered from a
shadowed doorway. Pulling up to his full height, he blocked her path
and stared down at her.

She
forgot how big they actually were. “
Wisc thek, schont fral.
”
Good evening, sexy male.
Another one of those sentences she
could say in multiple languages. Silently, Lilly cursed. She’d
had her mind wrapped around that damn human, not focused on her
surroundings. A very dangerous thing for a human female. The energy
sluicing off her was high, but she focused it in her hands and
reached out to touch his bare chest. “I was just headed to the
tavern.” The soft scales rippled beneath her palm. “
Kal
auct ral tsk, pa?
”
Buy me a drink, stranger?

“
You
look good enough for business.” He stepped closer, the thick
scent of leather filling the heated air between them.

“
Actually,
it’s been a long day and I was hoping to relax a little before
doing more business,” she said, hoping his translator would
pick up her sultry whisper. The large nostrils at the end of his
snout flared, scenting the air laced with her heady aroma. The
temperature of his skin rose and Lilly focused the current to her
palm. Even in the muted light she could see his eyes widen and the
skin below his abdomen swell. “A drink with a good-looking
Ickbata would be the perfect ending.” Another push of energy
and the soft scales of skin fluttered beneath her fingers.

The
Ickbata, drunk on the endorphins coursing through his veins,
compressed until she could look him in the eye. “We think you
like us very much. Happy we make you.”

“
Of
course you will.” She wanted to laugh at his reference to his
cocks as separate parts of himself. She hoped that was his ego
talking and not an effect of the hormone overdose she was producing.
But it couldn’t be helped. She didn’t have much time to
mess with this alien. One more push of energy and the Ickbata
stumbled back to the wall and slid down the bricks, his appendages
falling limply at his sides.

“
Tsk
phleg ronk tsk tsk.
” He slurred the words out of his mouth
before his eyes rolled back in their sockets. His head fell to his
shoulder, a crooked smile curling under his snout.

“
Enjoy
your wet dream, buddy.” Lilly patted him down, a habit borne
from years on the police force. She wasn’t surprised to find
the Treljon laser tucked into the waist of his trousers, but the
Ba’alkin dagger strapped to his walking appendage caught her by
surprise. Not street legal but definitely an effective weapon. She
slipped the dagger up her sleeve and the laser in her other boot.
“Thanks for the extra weapons, buddy. And remember to seek
medical attention for an erection lasting longer than four hours.”

With
one last touch to his snout, she made sure he was breathing before
heading down the alley to the tavern. If all went well in the next
few of hours, she’d take down Venair Grebetz just as easily and
collect her reward for his bounty before the third moon set.

Chapter Three

Dallas
hoped his posture gave the impression he was a man who just didn’t
give a shit—exactly the opposite of how he felt. Leaning on the
bar with one elbow, his boot hooked nonchalantly on the brass pole a
foot off the floor, he worked to tamp down the slow crawl of nerves
over his skin. He wasn’t sure what was making him edgy, but
he’d learned a long time ago to trust his instincts. And his
gut was definitely operating at yellow alert levels. Running his hand
over the scruff of his chin, Dallas spoke quietly into the
communications unit at his wrist. “Gamma Team, check.”

He
downed his third shot of gall’s blood while one by one his men
responded in his ear with the all-clear sign. Grebetz should be
arriving shortly. With the two Drikspa in the surrounding alleys, the
Xerick on the roof across the street, out of sight of the arriving
Znedu, the Braugtot on the roof of the tavern and him and Thaegan
inside, Dallas had no doubt they were ready.
Routine
. Yeah,
that’s what he believed about all missions. Even the ones where
people got killed.

He
motioned to the bartender. “Another gall’s blood and
Regeant’s ale and make them both double.” The Xerick
nodded one of his heads while the other carried on a conversation
with a Ka’al female two stools down. He didn’t even want
to imagine how they’d manage
that
hookup.

“
I
think you might want to go easy on that stuff.” Thaegan stepped
up next to Dallas, speaking low and keeping his eyes facing the
mirror behind the bar. In the noise of the crowded tavern, they both
knew no one heard. Thaegan signaled the bartender. It wouldn’t
look good if he didn’t order something. “Whiskey neat.”

Dallas
raised an eyebrow. “Do as I say not as I do?”

“
You
Earthlings make alcohol that wouldn’t get a Ka’al
baby
drunk.”

“
And
I could say the same for alien swill.” Though they both knew
the alcohol content of the local brew had nothing to do with Dallas’
ability to drink anyone under the table.

The
bartender dropped off their drinks.

“
Here’s
to bad guys getting justice and the good guys getting just ass.”
They lifted their glasses, quoted team gamma’s motto and downed
their respective drinks.

Thaegan
motioned for another drink. “You know nothing’s going
down tonight.”

“
It’s
a dry run.” Dallas took a long pull of the ale.

“
We’re
going to get a look at Grebetz. Run the team through their paces.
Have a couple of drinks. Get laid. And do it all before the rest of
the world wakes for their morning coffee.” Thaegan laughed,
downed the second shot of whiskey and slapped Dallas on the back hard
enough to make him cough. “Relax, you’ve got half of that
crossed off your list already, my friend.” He melted back into
the anonymity of the crowd.

But
the Ka’al’s words hadn’t convinced either of them.
Dallas felt Thaegan’s apprehension as surely as his partner
sensed his. The last two years had tested their friendship far beyond
normal bonds. Dallas expected he knew things about Thaegan even the
alien’s ex-wife hadn’t known. Thaegan felt the
restlessness as much as Dallas. It was no doubt why the Ka’al
had stopped over. But it seemed neither of them could pinpoint the
source of that apprehension.

He
checked his watch. Another twenty minutes and Grebetz should be
arriving. Another hour after that, if nothing unusual happened, he’d
call it a night, head back to the hotel room and leave a couple of
his men to tail the alien.

Dallas
sipped his ale. It wouldn’t look right for a human to keep
pounding down the Regent’s without showing the effects. It
would surely call attention, and that was one thing he didn’t
need tonight.

“
Gamma
one reporting.” The voice hummed low in his ear. “Heads-up,
boys. It’s showtime. Gamma four reporting. The mark is coming
in. Repeat. Mission is a go.” The alien on the roof across the
street ran through the team’s check points. “Gamma three,
do you have him?”