Salvaged Destiny (18 page)

“I’ve been thinking more about something I’d like to do
tonight. If you’re agreeable, that is. And if you aren’t, I understand, of
course.” Now she felt like her peripheral vision was disappearing. Lazlo kept
looking at her—friendly, kind and entirely unaware of what she was about to
propose. If she could manage to get the words out.

“Sure, what would you like to do, Del? I have some new
entertainments loaded and there’s the new nodule Trixie mentioned. We could go
there. It has to be pretty dull watching me mess around with these things.” He
lifted the microspec lens from his eye and smiled at her again.

“I’d like to, tonight, I’d like…” Del trailed off. For some
reason, the philosophy of making bold choices and living her life was hard to
articulate in front of a man you wanted to have intercourse with.
Time to
pick a spot and hit it.

“What?” Lazlo watched her with good humor glowing in his
brown eyes. “What would you like tonight?”

“To be with you,” Del whispered quickly, finally getting it
out and sure she was going to collapse with embarrassment right into the plate
of miniature bot components in front of her.

“You are with me,” Lazlo replied obliviously, but then must
have noticed her blushing because he was suddenly very still and wasn’t
wiggling bot parts anymore. “Be with me in what capacity?”

“In an intimate way. Or in whatever way you’re comfortable,”
Del managed to say. She hadn’t been very explicit, but at least she was still
talking to him and not running for the door.

Lazlo put the broken wall-walker down on the dinner plate
and moved the whole mess away from them by pushing it under his sofa. He looked
hard at her and she quivered, blinking. Del could tell from the glow in his
eyes and the tiny smile on his mouth that he was starting to understand what
she was having a hard time saying.

“I’m a comfortable sort of person, Del.”

“I know. You’re very comfortable to be around and that’s
rare for me to find. So that’s why, since you’re leaving, I wanted to try…while
I have the chance.” She was only slightly babbling.

“Just so I understand—you want to be with me, tonight,
intimately, because you’re comfortable with me and I’m leaving soon?”

Del nodded, that was pretty much her whole strategy, other
than the potential vagueness of “be with”. A platonic sleepover wasn’t really
what she wanted, but she’d take it if that’s all Lazlo offered. “I wasn’t
suggesting we have some full-blown affair. I know we aren’t interested in that.
Neither one of us. I’m busy with work and you’re going away. I was just hoping
for tonight. But I understand if you can’t.”

Lazlo took a breath and shifted closer to her, his long legs
stretched out near hers. He reached out and caught up her hand and she shivered
with the potential of that touch. Maybe she should draw back now before it was
too late. Go back to being uninvolved Del Browen, just her and her rocks,
unemotional and interesting. No reckless intimacies.

“Just tonight?”

Del nodded, stroking his hand since she couldn’t seem to
bring herself to stop. “Forget I suggested it.”

Lazlo shook his head. “Maybe I don’t want to forget it.”

He shifted even closer, one of his heavy thighs pressing to
hers as he circled his strong fingers around her palm. Del tried to look in his
eyes but was distracted by the warmth of his body. “Intimate physical
interaction, correct?”

“Yes,” Del breathed out, suddenly feeling lightheaded and
nauseated. Lazlo was going to start laughing now. What big, smart, nice man
would want to roll around with a grubby little trash picker like her?

“I think it could be good,” Del ventured, watching his face
for any sign of amusement, not taking a deep breath now. Lazlo was very focused
on her and she didn’t see any humor in his expression, only concentration.

“I think it will be great.”

Just as Del processed what he had said and started to feel a
thrill of possibilities, Lazlo reached out for her and she clutched his hand as
he pulled her close. He circled his arms around her and she slid her free hand
up all of the hard swells of his biceps and deltoids. Her whole body was at
least ten degrees hotter.

“Would you like to?” Del managed to ask as she stared into
his eyes.

“This is a strange seduction,” Lazlo replied and circled one
hand behind her head, staring at her and looking very serious.

“I know. I’m strange.”

“You’re fascinating.” Then he slowly lowered his face nearer
to hers and Del felt swoony, his fingers on her back, his thighs pressed to
hers, his warm scent dancing into her brain like really good anesthesia. But
this was her idea—she needed to kiss him before he reconsidered the whole thing
and politely escorted her to his door and said goodbye.

She sucked in a shaky breath and caught his mouth with hers
and something popped in her brain. He was light and cautious and tasted better
than anything. Del felt a moan rising up she tried to repress but Lazlo just
kept kissing her, testing where her curves were, nudging her lips a bit farther
apart, tightening his hold on her as his tongue touched hers and her whole body
jerked.

Somehow Lazlo was lifting her and she was moving her legs to
sit in his lap, panting as Lazlo kissed her cheek and nuzzled her ear. Del
found his cheek with her fingertips and moved him back for another kiss, this
one slow and soft and so much like Lazlo that she melted against him, her body
anxious to fold into all of his angles and stay for a while.

With a few more tastes of her mouth, he eased back and
looked at her. Del was sure she looked flushed and drugged, since that was how
her whole body felt.

“Well, that was compelling,” Lazlo rumbled, not looking
particularly nice anymore, more determined and warmed up than anything else. All
Del could do was nod a few times and hold on to his shoulders. Somehow her legs
had wrapped around him and most of her awareness was located where her body was
straddling him.

“Right. I agree. So are we in agreement?”

“Were we arguing?”

“No, I’m just trying to be clear.” Lazlo was thwarting her
efforts to reach a conclusion since he was busily investigating the fastenings
on her clothing. Not undressing her, merely locating and noting them as if he were
going to disassemble something complicated. Which was a promising idea. When
his fingertips moved over her waistband, Del shivered and tried again. “Lazlo,
what do you want to do?”

“Keep finding out how compatible we are.”

“Ah, so, right then. Just for tonight.” Del blinked at him,
his face close to hers, and she sighed with relief. He wasn’t going to reject
her—in fact, he was holding on tightly. He pulled off the microspecs and tossed
them on to his sofa.

“Just for tonight.”

“Should we stay here, or…?”

Lazlo grinned then, his normal, happy and friendly grin and
Del felt herself smile in return. Despite how entirely aroused he was making
her, between his bunchy muscles, good smell and fantastic kisses, this was
still Lazlo, the man she’d tromped around with in the sand, shared water with
and survived with. They had fought to save each other.

One good night, that was all she wanted or expected. And she
had sudden faith he would give that to her.

“I vote ‘or’.” He lifted her up over his shoulder and
carried her back to his bedroom, the bedroom she’d slept in once, where she’d
felt safe the whole night. The only night she’d felt safe in so long.

Lazlo was dizzy with lust and disbelief. Despite his
complete certainty Del wasn’t attracted to him, here she was, clinging to him
after some hot kissing, allowing him to bring her into his bedroom and deposit
her on the bed, smiling and reaching for him as he drew back to look at her.

Del seemed too small somehow, too fragile for what he wanted
to do with her, and he tried to calm down, ignore his inner compulsion to strip
her and dive in. He wanted to be as patient and kind as she deserved. But Del
seemed to be interested in something else. She followed him as he moved away
and grabbed his arms tightly.

“Where are you going?”

“Just giving you a little space.”

“I don’t want space. I want you.”

“Oh but—” Then she was kissing him, her mouth hot and wet,
and he let her, reveling in the way his body tightened and hardened and
everything else faded away—only Del was there. She pressed against him and he
couldn’t reach her clothes, so he tried to start removing his own, only to have
her pull back and whisper.

“Here, let me. This was my idea.”

“This isn’t a job, Del. It’s supposed to be fun.”

“Oh yes. I’m having fun,” Del assured him as she vigorously
unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it down around his arms. She’d neglected to
unbutton his cuffs, so now he was entangled and she grunted as she pulled at
the tight fabric at his wrists. It was actually stimulating. Maybe she would
tie him up.

“It works better if you unfasten the sleeves first.” Lazlo
laughed, enjoying Del’s typical determination in such a new and exciting field.
If she was like this for the rest of their time together, he was going to need
a lot of rest later. Hopefully much later. He could catch up on his sleep on
the transport to Weave tomorrow.

“I know that now,” Del grumbled, fumbling for buttons. “Sorry,
I’m a little out of practice.”

“What, in taking off clothes? I would have thought you did
that every day,” Lazlo teased, bending to kiss her quickly on the neck as she
stared at his shirt. She tasted delicious.

“I do. I do take off clothes every day.
My
clothes. Every
day.” With a triumphant flourish, she pulled his shirt free and flung it in a
distant corner of the room. “I just don’t undress a man every day.”

“I can put the shirt back on if you want to practice,” Lazlo
offered and she shook her head vigorously as she pulled at his undershirt. Determined,
his Del.

“Don’t you dare.” She looked fierce and he decided to kiss
her again as a reward for her hard work.

“Tell me what you like. We only have tonight. I want to do
this right,” Del whispered after stopping one slow, soft kiss with a little
grunt and wriggle. Lazlo retaliated by pushing a hand up under her shirt and
touching the soft skin of her back as he’d wanted to ever since that bastard
Avo Kirk had stepped on her. At his touch she curved against him with a full-body
shiver.

“I liked that,” was his answer as he carefully maneuvered
her across the bed, looking at her bright eyes and open mouth. This was already
better than all the fantasies he’d tried not to have the past few weeks. Del
was glowing and he couldn’t look away.

“Do you like doing anything else?”

“I like everything. Nearly everything,” Lazlo amended,
remembering a long-ago encounter with an outwardly shy and proper woman who
wanted him to scream obscenities at her while she rubbed her hair on his feet.
That had been an unexpected and unpleasant request. Somehow, he didn’t think
Del was going to initiate anything similar. She seemed to be pretty
straightforward in her approach.

“Good. Me too.” Del went to work on his waistband, taking a
break every few seconds to pull his undershirt up and nuzzle at his chest,
which was enticing enough for him to reach down and pull the obstructing
garment off, throwing it and wondering if it landed anywhere near his shirt.

With a happy chuckle at the newly exposed expanse, she
stroked her fingers along his chest and nibbled at his body, working her way
from one side to another, sucking his nipples as her lips encountered them. Blast,
that felt fantastic. He pushed his fingers into her soft hair and reveled in
the sensation.

Del turned her attention back to his trousers and before he
realized it, they were unfastened and tugged down around his ankles, which
meant he had to clear his head enough to kick them off and then he could return
to Del, who was wriggling against him, still fully clothed, hot mouth slick on
his skin, fingers pulling along his arms.

“What about you?” he managed to gasp after she sucked on his
neck.

“I’m good,” Del replied and ran her fingers up his thighs,
her palms warm and fingers tickling through hair. Grabbing her wrists, Lazlo
stopped her from driving him insane. He caught her gaze, her gray eyes dark and
half-closed as she panted.

“No, you’re great. But there is some inequity here.”

“I know you’re bigger than me. I’m trying to cover as much
territory as I can—” She smiled at him and he felt his heart turn over. This
was Del, in his bed, touching his nearly naked body, making him hard and hot
and happy. And making a joke.

“No, Del, I mean the clothing.” He tugged at her shirt
gently and she nodded.

“You want to see me.”

“Yes, and touch you too.”

“I’m warning you, I don’t have the best body. And my chest
still looks like a horror.”

“Let me find out.” Lazlo took matters into his own hands and
began to work at all the buttons and fasteners he’d already mapped out.

Del lay back as Lazlo knelt over her, concentrating on her
clothing with a little frown. She tried not to look at his undershorts and what
was clearly happening in them, and tried not to think about how disappointed he
was going to be when she was finally naked. Maybe she could turn off the lights
before he removed her shirt.

No, too late. He’d slipped it off and was now kissing her
shoulder and neck, which felt magnificent enough that she didn’t think about
her scars or undernourished frame for a few minutes. Then she was breathing
harder and was supremely grateful her trousers had disappeared and his big
fingers were so light on her skin, so light they felt like whispers.

“Lovely Del,” Lazlo whispered and he gathered her up and
pulled her to him and she let go of everything. All of her anxiety and modesty
and desperation floated away as Lazlo came to her. Holding on to his hard
shoulders, she moved any way he needed her to allow the rest of her clothing to
be slowly peeled away, listening to him breathe, taking in his warmth and scent
as if he were a fire on a cold night.

Sitting together, he cautiously reached for her unimpressive
breasts. They easily fit in his big hands as he cradled them with gentle
squeezes. He kissed her as he touched, both sensations swirling in her until
she was rocking in his arms. Then he laid the very tips of his fingers against
the pink scar from Avo Kirk that burned between her breasts and he apologized
quietly, his face tight with regret.

“Not your fault,” Del tried to reassure him, smoothing her
hands over his cheeks, touching his hair, watching him relax with her touch. He
looked at her and she smiled at him, accepting now that this was going to be
good, this wasn’t some impulsive mistake due to one too many drinks and one too
many sad songs. This was her friend Lazlo.

“Closer,” Lazlo murmured.

She rose to her knees, catching his dark eyes as she slid
one leg over his, settling herself against him, scooting closer, pressing his
hard length to her, sighing with the pressure and anticipation.

With a tiny growl he leaned back, pulling her down on top of
him, his thighs tucking against her bottom to press her tight, still holding
her breasts as her nipples pushed hard against his palms. Del felt wild, skin
flushing hot, arms quivering, so very wet against him that she couldn’t think,
except to move up and reach down for him.

Pulling at his stretchy undershorts, she managed to lower
them a little, but it took his cooperation to finally remove them and allow her
to caress him. Lazlo released a breast and met her hand as she grasped him,
anxious for more.

“Are you ready? I haven’t even—”

“Please, I can’t wait,” she begged, shivering at the feel of
him in her hand, compelled to have him by some part of herself she’d been
ignoring. She rose and they both eased him to her, Lazlo’s fingertips drifting
along her folds as she slowly sank down, taking him in, shaking with the
sensation, her groan matching his.

Moving her hips slowly, she balanced herself with her hands
on his broad chest, his big thumb somehow right where she needed it, beginning
to breathe in time with him. All the shivery energy in her body began to build
fast. She rocked, finding a good rhythm, watching Lazlo tense and tighten under
her, his face rapt as he watched. Then Del couldn’t think anymore. Cool fire
was pouring through her, shudders of complete pleasure taking her away from
everything but him. He held her as she arched over him, holding still for her.

Clutching at him, Del fell and discovered Lazlo was the
best, most solid thing in her world. While she was gasping out her final
climaxes, he shifted his grip on her and rolled so that he was angled over her,
pushing in even more deeply, and she let out a loud moan of surprise.

Easing back, Lazlo rasped out, “Oh Del, sorry.”

Shaking her head from side to side, she reached for him
weakly, her arms finally functioning again. “No. Come back, please, Lazlo.” She
missed his skin already.

Taking a deep breath, he carefully maneuvered himself back
to her, Del assisting as she could, arching with happy satisfaction as he found
her again, moving again.

Gripping her hip with one hand, he held his weight on his
other arm, his muscles swollen and hard with the effort. She circled her arms
around him, touching his cheek and his side as Lazlo began to thrust hard.

Del moved her hips, anticipating the steady repetition of
his body. Concentrating on his tense face, Del felt a surge of pride as Lazlo
lost himself in her, shaking and shouting out her name as he collapsed.

Trying to calm her breathing, Del shifted under his weight
and he moved away with a deep sigh, his big arms still around her, keeping her
tight to him—which was exactly where she wanted to be. Curving her legs over
his, she enjoyed the warmth still rushing through her tingly body. So that had
been Lazlo Casta blasting through all of her notions and ideas about how it
would be.

At a loss as to what to expect next, she decided to wait
quietly. But instead of falling asleep as she’d anticipated, Lazlo instead made
a satisfied sound and curved against her, kissing her cheek while he studied
her.

“How are you?” he rumbled, his expression relaxed and nearly
lazy.

“Well, and you?” How absurdly polite for two people who had
just moaned, groaned and thrashed naked against each other. His thick hair was
wildly disarranged, his skin was flushed and he was the handsomest man of her
experience. Rather atypically, she did not want to move, clean herself up, put
on clothing and run out the door.

“Better than I ever anticipated,” Lazlo said, running his
fingertips along her arm, circling the ticklish parts of her elbow until she
shook and pressed against him.

Del watched his warm brown eyes as a satisfied smile quirked
his lips. “So you anticipated this?”

“Of course I did. Many times and in all sorts of scenarios.”

“I didn’t expect this.”

“No? I’m surprised.”

“I’m surprised too. I never expected you to be awake afterward.
I thought you’d fall right to sleep. In all of my fantasies, you were snoring
right about now,” Del teased and he laughed.

“You’re full of spice.” Lazlo turned his fingers to her hip,
tracing up and down the curve then spreading his palm possessively over her
buttock with a slight squeeze. Del shivered again and he smiled at her
involuntary response, leaning over to kiss her neck and squeeze again.

“How long can you stay?” he asked against her skin and she
breathed deep, inhaling his scent and wondering how she’d ended up here. Her
initial request had been incredibly awkward, but the results had been splendid.

“You need to pack,” Del offered him the opportunity to send
her home with a horrible pang, terribly sad again he was leaving. “I should go.”

“You should stay and help me,” Lazlo countered, now slowly investigating
her shoulders after gently pushing her arms down onto the bed. Breathing more
rapidly, Del tried to think of a good reason why she shouldn’t stay any longer.

She’d had her wonderful experience with him. She’d been the
lucky recipient of more than enough pleasure to dwell on in the long months
ahead, so it was probably best to go while she could. Go while it was less
painful.

But her whole body was opening to him again—muscles
loosening, knees relaxing apart, softer, warmer, wetter for him. His bedroom
was quiet except for the sounds of their whispers. She could pretend they were
as alone here as they’d been in the Outlands, no one noticing anything they
did. No one being hurt, no one leaving.

“Help me pack. Later, that is, not right now.”

“What are we going to do right now?” Del managed to ask
before he kissed her again, lips firm against hers, then sliding apart to suck
and nibble at her, light and sure and far too appealing to resist. So she didn’t.

He hummed against her cheek and the tiny vibrations echoed
into her blood. Del pressed against all of his big naked body, fitting her legs
around him, clutching with her arms, pressing her breasts to his firm chest,
the hairs there tickling her enough to make her squeak.

“It’s too early to go to sleep. I guess I don’t want to
tinker with my bot anymore tonight. I think that new compound is hopelessly
glitched—”