A Touch of Lilly (6 page)

“
Check.”

“
Gamma
two?”

“
Ready,”
Thaegan said from the corner where he’d settled in.

“
Team
leader?”

“
Ready
on your go.” Dallas spoke softly before turning. Leaning his
back against the bar, his foot still propped up, and the stein of ale
in his hand, Dallas looked like any red-blooded human male checking
out the female patrons.

But
he’d chosen this spot not for the view—though the sensual
sway of the female Ickbata on the crowded dance floor certainly added
to the scenery—but from his vantage point at the corner of the
bar, he could just see through the revelers to the door. So when it
opened, he nearly choked on the ale he was drinking.

That
sure as hell wasn’t a Znedu sashaying through the door, looking
to quench his thirst.

* * * * *

The
inhabitants of Garalon Five certainly enjoyed their nightlife. The
tavern had been busy before she’d left with Dallas, but the
crowd appeared to have doubled in the time it had taken Lilly to
screw the human, take a useless cab ride around the city streets and
take down an Ickbata. And all before she did some major bounty
hunting.

Lilly
maneuvered through the crowd, pleased she slipped past the males with
barely a glance. After the encounter with the alien in the alley, it
had taken some real effort to bring the energy down to a manageable
level. Of course an explosive orgasm or two would have completely
dropped her levels, but Lilly had made two promises to herself when
she’d discovered what genetics had given her. Never physically
hurt anyone with her gift. And never—no matter how bad her
nipples ached and her body thrummed—
never
satisfy
herself in public.

Sex
with someone else? Now that was another story.

It
pissed her off that her gaze skimmed through the crowd in search of
the man who’d left his stubble burns on her breasts, even more
so when a mop of brown hair at the bar made her heart rate jump. But
when she glanced back to the spot, there was nothing but a Ka’al
female flirting with the bartender. Dallas wasn’t here. The man
had gotten what he wanted and no doubt wasn’t mooning over her.
She
really
needed to get her head in the game. The twenty-five
hundred credits Dallas had given her wasn’t going to be enough
to buy this month’s groceries. Her empty wallet depended on
bringing in this bounty.

Taking
down a criminal, she’d learned, required little brawn, plenty
of brain and a whole lot of her body. But timing her approach was
everything. From her visits to the tavern over the past few days, she
knew the best way to see everything was from the bar or the dance
floor. Having no desire to fend off would-be clients happy to buy her
a drink, Lilly chose the latter.

Filled
with species and sexes of every variety, the dance floor offered both
anonymity and a view of the front door. Lilly undulated her body,
blending in with the crowd and smiling invitingly when bodies brushed
against hers. She needed to look as if she belonged. With one eye on
various wandering appendages and the other on the entrance, Lilly
hoped the information she had about the Znedu was accurate.

Her
fears were allayed when the door opened and the alien she wanted
glided in. If he hadn’t been wearing his trademark satin robe,
she wasn’t sure she would’ve been able to tell this male
from every other Znedu in the tavern. Their muddy skin, elongated
necks and triangular heads with their prominent black eyes made it
difficult to tell them apart. But this one, she was sure, was the
alien who would net her a tidy sum of credits.

Grebetz
made his way to the bar, greeting several aliens along his circuitous
route through the tables. With a little male backslapping, the
groping of a waitress or two, and the obligatory pressing of flesh,
he finally bellied up to the bar. He greeted the Xerick bartender
like an old friend and turned, surveying the patrons as if they were
his loyal subjects. A mark with an attitude. The cocky ones were
always the easiest. This takedown would hardly seem like work.

By
the time the bartender delivered the Znedu’s drink, a group of
two or three aliens had gathered around him. Maybe they were
bodyguards. Maybe they were thugs in training. Either way, Lilly
wasn’t concerned. She wasn’t leaving the tavern without
Grebetz. Separating him from a crowd was problematic, but not
impossible.

The
Znedu pointed to a dark corner over Lilly’s shoulder. Perfect.
He was going to work his way right past her.

Closing
her eyes, Lilly let the riffs of the saxophone flow over her. Already
on a low hum, it wasn’t difficult to pull the energy up from
her core, letting it swell and heat her blood. Lifting her arms, she
swayed with the languid clarinet rolling through the jazz melody. Her
mind traveled back to happier times on Earth when all that mattered
was her job on the Chicago force and good times with friends, back
when she believed she could actually have a relationship with a man
who didn’t think of her gift as a curse. But all that had been
blown out of the water by an asshole with an agenda.

Enough
of that.

Without
missing a beat, she brushed through the swaying bodies to the edge of
the dance floor. Her timing was flawless. With one last peek, she
turned her body just so and her breasts slid across the shelved chest
of the Znedu. As if she were off balance, her hands came down on his
shoulders, sliding gracefully down his torso. A giddy giggle, a
flirtatious apology and the alien became putty in her hands.

“
A
problem not for me.” The singsong buzz of his language
translated in her ear.

Lilly
batted her lashes for effect, but she had no doubt the flow of energy
had already put the Znedu under her spell. “
Nral arrarnc,
thraschne?
”
Buy me a drink, stranger?
she asked in
his native tongue. It was the final nail that sealed his fate.

“
Join
us. I’m sure I will be happy to.”

Having
others around would make her job more difficult—not
impossible—just more difficult. Tonight, with her nerves still
raw from her encounter with the human, she wasn’t up for that
challenge. Rubbing her body against the Znedu, a smile slid over her
lips as she trailed a finger along his pointed jaw, her other hand
still planted in the center of his chest. “
Rrarck schrall
rectnine fragtre.
”
I’d rather be alone with you.
The words hummed over her tongue.

With
barely a flick of his head, he dismissed the disappointed aliens who
no doubt felt the sexual flux of her current. Slipping a lanky arm
around her, Grebetz guided Lilly to a shadowed table along the front
wall. The location worked well for her.

Easy
seduction. Easy departure. Easy bounty.

She
slid into the booth, the alien’s lithe body gracefully slipping
in next to her.

“
What
drink have you?” His large eyes dropped to her cleavage. Lilly
shifted so her blouse opened wider, offering him a better view.

“
Regent’s
ale, but I can wait for the waitress.” Lilly dropped her hand
to his thigh, grateful that every species of male she’d
encountered in deep space had their genitals positioned in their lap.
She focused the energy in her hands. The way her own sexual levels
were rising, she had no doubt the male was feeling the effects. “I’d
hate for you to run off.”

“
There’s
nowhere for me to be.”

A
Xerick stepped up to the table. His blue cheeks were painted a
mottled purple and his bubble eyes were averted to the floor. Lilly
suspected he’d pay later for this interruption. “Excuse
me, sir, but it’s important.”

Angry
words of frustration hissed from Grebetz in a singsong garble that
the translator didn’t manage to pick up. Whatever he said, she
echoed the sentiments. This had been a long evening already and Lilly
was ready for it to be finished.

One
head of the Xerick leaned in, speaking quietly to Grebetz, while the
other looked everywhere but at her. Lilly pressed closer to the
Znedu, but couldn’t catch the exchange. The Znedu dismissed his
minion, who gratefully melted back into the crowd. Obviously horny
males of any species weren’t kind to their underlings.

“
Business
I must transact.” He smiled down at her. “But no time
will it take.” Pulling a palm-sized communicator from his robe,
Grebetz’s six fingers worked the buttons and an encrypted
hologram appeared. A Braugtot in its natural form hovered over the
communicator. Though the garbled message didn’t make any sense
to her ears, from the quick push of buttons and low hum of the Znedu,
Lilly knew this guy was higher up on the totem pole.

She
hadn’t really done enough research into the history of the
alien next to her to know who else may be involved in his nefarious
activities. But kidnapping and drug smuggling had been enough to put
a bounty on Venair Grebetz’s head. It was the kidnapping
charges that had brought this alien to her attention. Through him,
she hoped to follow leads to other criminals.

The
submissive posture of Grebetz and the wild gesturing of the Braugtot
in the hologram told her that this alien no doubt had a bounty on his
head as well. Decoding the audio signal going to her translator would
take time. But bounty hunting wasn’t about rushing a takedown.
It was the slow, precise, detail-oriented part of her work that had
made her such a kick-ass detective back on earth and now would
guarantee her success as a bounty hunter in deep space.

Focusing
on the hologram, Lilly noted every nuance of the Braugtot. Criminals
believed they were smarter than everyone and often made mistakes. No
doubt her species and gender had the Znedu believing he didn’t
have to hide trade secrets from the blonde bimbo looking to get laid.
It’s what made her job so damn easy.

Another
garbled exchange, a rapid pushing of buttons and the Braugtot
hologram was swallowed into the communicator. When the alien turned
back to her, Lilly dazzled him with a smile, further confused him
with a hungry gaze and topped it all off with a tempting press of her
breasts to his body. Her sexual invitation was as obvious as the
Znedu’s arousal.

“
We
were where?” The glazed fog of lust narrowed the alien’s
eyes, his breath a soft sigh across her cheek.

“
I
think you were saying you’d like to go somewhere more private,”
Lilly pressed her cheek to the side of his face, purring the words,
hoping she was near sound organs that would catch the sultry
seduction in her voice. But she didn’t need to fake the desire
humming in the air. Between the encounter in the alley and the energy
thrumming hot through her veins, she was feeling the effects of the
energy flux.

Grebetz
leaned down, the soft bump of his face caressing her throat, the
subtle scent of vanilla filling her lungs. The delicate wisp of air
tickled her neck as he inhaled her scent. Her body vibrated with
desire.
Damn, she really hated this part.
She needed to get
him out of the tavern, turn the Znedu over to the authorities,
collect her credits and get back to her hotel to relieve the heavy
pounding of need building in her blood.

“
I
really would like to go to my hotel room,” she whispered.

His
hand slid up her belly and cupped her breast, the sharp nail of his
finger grazing her sensitive nipple through her shirt. “I think
a private meeting would be quite nice.” The buzz of his words
tickled along her ear. His hand slid down her belly, fumbling with
her skirt.

This
stage—when the energy connected her so completely to the male
and overrode her logic—was the most difficult to control. All
it would take is one touch of his long fingers to her clitoris and
the orgasm that lay just out of her reach would be hers. Lilly
breathed deep, focusing herself away from the sexual need. Away from
the screaming tension in her loins. Away from the reality that the
Znedu’s desire had been created by forces out of his control.

This
was a job. A job meant credits. Credits meant survival.

Inhaling
deeply once again, Lilly filled her lungs with resolve, refocused and
pulled the Znedu’s fingers from her thigh. She brought his hand
to her mouth and kissed the triangular palm. “Not here. I
prefer my
parties
in private.” With his hands off her,
she was able to focus not on the needs of her body, but on the job at
hand.

“
I
have place not far.” The singsong buzz translated in her ear.

“
Let’s
go.” She nudged his side, encouraging him out of the booth. His
annoying contingent jumped to their feet as well.

His
body trembled when she stood up next to him.
No one understands
what you’re going through better than me, Dude.
Lilly
pressed her body against him. The energy pulsed through her, pushing
him beyond all sense of reason. “I want to go alone.” She
dragged out the last word and the Znedu waved off his sidekicks
again. They dropped into their chairs, the confusion obvious on all
their faces.

“
You
lead the way,” she said.

He
turned and she put her hand on his back. He walked stiffly, no doubt
trying to hide his erection. Too bad for him. He’d be jacking
off in some jail cell within the hour while she was back in her hotel
room, putting new energy crystals in some of her latest toy
acquisitions, relieving the stress of her job.