The Two Towers (17 page)

He collapsed on top of her and buried his face in her hair. After a moment, he became dimly aware he was probably crushing her. He rolled over to give her a chance to breathe and looked down at her.

Her skin was flushed from their lovemaking and she had a small smile on her face. Her eyes were closed and he was struck once again by how stunning she was. He bent down and kissed her softly. She wrapped her arms around him in response.

He felt a faint stirring inside him already and was mildly surprised at the reaction she evoked from him. He pulled back and asked, “Kayla?”

“Hmmm?” she replied, and lazily opened her eyes.

Carl propped himself up on his elbow, worried he'd been too rough. In the heat of the moment, he'd forgotten about her injuries. “Are you all right?”

She lifted her hand to touch his face and murmured, “Mmhmm. I’m better than all right. I feel wonderful.”

Carl lightly brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. “Get some rest, sweetheart.”

She closed her eyes and snuggled against him. He wrapped his arm around her and held her while she slept.

Several hours later, Kayla woke up with Carl’s arm draped over her. Warm and content, she cuddled up next to him and watched him sleep. He normally kept his dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, but it fell loose around his face while he slept. She definitely preferred it down.
He looks so relaxed and peaceful
. She lightly traced her fingers along the contours of his face.

His brown eyes opened and she offered him a smile. He pulled her closer to him and she kissed his neck, teasing the sensitive areas with her tongue. She felt him shiver and she hid a smile against his skin, loving the effect she had on him.

She continued kissing his neck before moving down toward his chest. His hands found her waist and he pulled her on top of him. His voice was husky in her ear. “Your kisses are driving me crazy.”

She straddled him and ran her fingers down the course of his firm chest. His hands moved across her skin and he cupped her breasts, rubbing his thumbs against the hardened buds. He sat up to take one of her nipples into his mouth and she felt the pull in her core. She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him close to her.

His comlink flashed and beeped, interrupting them. Kayla felt a moment of annoyance but ignored the call, going back to kissing his shoulder. She ran her hands down his muscular arms and he cursed when the comlink beeped again. He reached over and glanced at the communication device before hitting the button to enable audio. “What is it?”

Cruncher’s voice came over the com. “Sorry to bother you this early, Boss, but Xantham says we’ve got two riders approaching.”

“Thanks.” He cut off the call with a sigh.

Kayla sat back. “You have to go?”

He cupped her face and kissed her deeply. She melted into his embrace, disappointed when he pulled away.

“I can’t tell you how much I wish I didn’t. But Cruncher wouldn’t have called me if it wasn’t important.”

She slid off his lap. He stood up and grabbed his clothes off the floor.

“Do you know who it is?”

He pulled on his clothes and tied his hair back from his face. “I’m not sure but I suspect it’s the representatives from OmniLab.”

She groaned. “So the impressive Omnis actually decided to come down from their lofty towers and slum it with the rest of us.”

He held out his hand for her and helped her up. He pulled her close once more and lowered his mouth to hers. “I’d rather be here right now than anywhere near those lofty towers.”

Her stomach fluttered at his words and she smiled at him. She grabbed her shirt off the floor and pulled it over her head. “I’m going to go take a nice long shower and think about all of the things I want to do to you when I get you alone again.”

Carl stared at her with a mournful expression. “You’re an evil and cruel woman, Kayla.”

Kayla laughed and pulled on her shorts. “Go take care of your guests. I’ll see you a bit later.”

* * * *

Once he was gone, Kayla poked her head out of her private quarters. Most of the other privacy dividers were still enabled, indicating they were still sleeping. She pulled out some clean clothes and headed to the lavatory.

She was feeling much better. The soreness from her injuries was barely noticeable. After checking in the mirror, she decided the bruises had pretty much completely disappeared. She went through her morning ritual unhurried before wandering out to the common room. Xantham and Arlisia sat at the table eating breakfast and chatting.

“Good morning,” Kayla called out as she walked over to the food preparation area.

Xantham grinned at her. “It’s always a good morning when you’re around. Want to join us?”

She returned his smile. “Yeah, one sec.” She programmed the computer to heat her food before bringing it over to the table.

Xantham patted the chair next to him and she slid into it. Arlisia gave her an annoyed look before going back to her meal. Determined not to let Arlisia’s attitude bother her, she asked politely, “How are you, Arlisia?”

The blonde girl stiffened slightly but replied, “I’m fine.”

“Glad to hear it.” Kayla took a bite of the rehydrated prepared food and considered Arlisia. The girl stared down at her plate with a dour expression and picked at her food. Her blonde curls were pulled back in a high ponytail away from her heart-shaped face. Her skin was fair and her eyes were a pale blue color that Kayla thought was rather nice.

Aware that Kayla was watching her, Arlisia looked up and snapped, “Don’t you have anything better to do than to stare at me?”

Kayla raised her eyebrows in surprise. “No harm meant. I was just thinking that you had rather pretty eyes.”

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at Kayla.

So much for playing nice. Kayla leaned back, considering her options. If she were back in Leo's camp, she'd have already smacked Arlisia down. Since she suspected that wouldn't go over well, she'd have to call her on her bullshit instead. “You know, I think this is the first time I’ve sat in the same room with you for more than five minutes. I’m just wondering how long it’ll take before you stop looking at me like you wish I’d go ruin diving without a cable.”

Arlisia pursed her lips. “We should both be so lucky. Obviously, Carl’s personal ministrations last night have you feeling much better.”

Xantham’s eyes widened. “Oh, man, if you two are going to start a catfight, let me know. I’ve gotta’ get a video of this.”

Kayla took another bite of her breakfast and shrugged. Inwardly, she agreed. It was hard not to feel much better, thanks to Carl's “personal ministrations,” but she wasn't inclined to discuss that with Arlisia. Although, the look on her face might be worth it.

“If a catfight is what it's going to take for Arlisia to get this out of her system, I’m down. But she doesn’t strike me as the type.”

Arlisia gave her a look of disgust and stood up. She dumped her plate into the recycler. “I don’t know what Carl sees in you. You walk in here and act like you own the place and everyone starts swooning over you. You’re unreservedly pathetic, crude, and even Carl thinks you’re reckless and irresponsible.”

Kayla stood up and leaned over the table. “Watch it, Arlisia. I don’t usually get into a battle of wits against the unarmed, but I might be willing to make an exception. Right now, I can empathize with what you’re going through, but if you keep walking down this line, you’ll find out how much of a bitch I can be.”

“I think I’ve already figured that out,” Arlisia replied, and strode out of the room.

“Damn,” Kayla muttered, and sat back down, poking at her breakfast.

Xantham gave her a sympathetic look. “It’s okay. She’ll eventually get over it.”

Kayla shook her head. “No, not that. That was a damn classy exit. I hate not getting the last word.”

Xantham roared with laughter. Kayla grinned at him and took another bite.

“Did I miss something?” a voice asked. Kayla turned to see Cruncher standing in the doorway watching them.

“Nah,” Kayla said dismissively.

Cruncher shrugged. “Kayla, if you’ve got a minute, Carl’s meeting with two representatives from OmniLab. Couple of strange characters, if you ask me. They want to meet you though. Carl thought you might be interested in joining him now since they’re going to start negotiating on the items you scavenged.”

“Fun stuff. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Thanks. Come on into Carl’s office when you’re done.”

Xantham let out a low whistle. “Omnis here? This is turning out to be one strange week. I’ve gotta’ go outside and check out their bikes.”

He jumped up and practically ran toward the entrance. Kayla couldn’t blame him. If she thought she could get away with blowing off the Omnis, she'd do it. With a sigh, she dumped her plate and headed to Carl’s office. She pressed the button on the wall and the door slid open.

Carl looked up as she entered. He smiled at her in greeting. “Thanks for coming. I’d like you to meet Director Borshin and Master Veritan from the OmniLab Towers. Gentlemen, this is our newest recruit.”

Director Borshin was an older man, shaped a little like a barrel. He was completely bald with a smooth polished dome and gray eyes that regarded her with polite interest. He was dressed in UV protective gear that looked similar to the equipment Carl had acquired from OmniLab. The Director could possibly pass as a trader or as someone on a trader’s crew, but the other man was a different story.

Master Veritan appeared to be a few years older than Kayla, but he had a commanding presence. He was tall with fair skin and blue eyes. His golden blond hair fell neatly to his shoulders. He wore a long white tunic over a pair of white pants and several pieces of gold jewelry. Kayla thought he was a little too polished, but couldn’t deny he was an extremely attractive man.

He sat in a chair next to the Director and two of his fingers tapped against the Director’s wrist. He watched Kayla with open fascination as she stepped into the room.

For some reason she couldn’t name, Kayla felt uncomfortable. Few things bothered her, but her senses went on alert the minute she stepped through the doorway and Master Veritan’s eyes met hers.

“A pleasure to meet you,” the Director offered. He turned to Carl and joked, “I wasn’t aware scavengers were so lovely. Perhaps I should consider replacing Ramiro personally.”

“Nice to meet you both,” she said, and the Director smiled at her. Master Veritan gave her a polite nod but kept silent and continued to study her.

Carl cleared his throat and pulled out the lockbox from under his desk. “We’ve already negotiated on some of the other pieces we’ve obtained,” he explained to Kayla. Turning to the other two men, he added, “These other items were found by Kayla in the past few days.”

He pulled out the jewelry and carving she collected and spread them on the desk. He then reached into a bag and brought out the two toys and jewelry box. Kayla leaned against the wall to watch. Carl had promised her a percentage of whatever she scavenged and she was curious to find out what kind of money they were talking about.

Director Borshin leaned forward and began to sort through the items. “These pieces are very well preserved.”

“Open at ten thousand. No more than twenty thousand credits total for the jewelry and the box.”

Kayla started at the sound of the voice in her head. She was sure she'd heard someone, but it didn’t appear as though anyone had spoken. Her eyes were drawn to Master Veritan’s fingers still resting on the Director’s wrist. Something about it set off her internal creep-factor alarm.

The Director cleared his throat. “I’m prepared to offer ten thousand credits for the jewelry and the box.”

Carl frowned. “These pieces are in excellent condition. I’d say they are definitely closer to being worth fifteen thousand.”

“Very well. We have an agreement at fifteen thousand.”

Kayla’s jaw dropped at the Director's formal announcement. She had no idea the profit that traders made from their excavations was so high. She wondered how much Warig had gotten from the Aurelia Data Cube.

“Open at eight thousand. The limit is fifteen thousand for the toys. The doll is unusual.”

Goose bumps broke out on her arms at the sound of the mental voice. Kayla struggled to maintain her composure, but she was freaking out inside. Her eyes were drawn to Master Veritan's fingers again as they rested on the Director's arm. Was there some strange Omni ability that allowed them to communicate through thought? If so, why was she able to hear it and Carl couldn't?

“I’m prepared to offer eight thousand credits for the doll and the music machine.”

Kayla's gaze darted to Carl as he considered the offer on the table. It might be foolish but she couldn't let him agree. Not when she was due a percentage of the take. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I’ve been scavenging for awhile now. I’ve never seen a doll like that before. I think, oh, say, fifteen thousand credits would be far more reasonable.”

Carl gave her a sharp look but didn’t contradict her. Instead, he turned to the Director and asked, “Your thoughts?”

The Director nodded. “We have an agreement at fifteen thousand credits.”

Woohoo!
Kayla did a little mental victory dance.

“Interesting,”
the voice mused.

Kayla's exhilaration faded and she swallowed hard. Master Veritan was staring directly at her. Carl and Cruncher seemed oblivious to the exchange and instead waited patiently for the Director to offer on the next item.

“Open bidding at five thousand credits for the dragon carving. But accept up to twenty thousand credits.”

What the hell is a dragon?

Master Veritan gave her a startled look. The Director cleared his throat and bid on the final item. “I’m prepared to offer five thousand credits for the carving.”

Carl rubbed his chin. “I’m surprised. The material seems rare. It seems to be worth closer to ten thousand credits.”

Kayla bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying anything. Master Veritan leaned forward in his chair, not taking his eyes off her. He almost seemed to be daring her to speak up. She shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Would you mind waiting a minute before you come to an agreement? I’ll be right back.”