acknowledgement.
He pulled Sukeza down a wide hallway lined with cubbies, most of which had their privacy screens on. Noticing that all were filled, he stopped at one and keyed in the code that most people didn’t know. The screen dropped and the threesome inside shrieked with dismay and anger. Unmoved, Stryker jerked his thumb over his shoulder in dismissal. One of the women continued to spew invectives which he couldn’t hear over the music, but the man gathered clothes and toys quickly, eyes downcast while he pushed the two women out of the booth and around Stryker.
When the place was clear, he waved Sukeza in. She stared at the wide, C-shaped seat with dubious eyes until he touched a small receptacle, pulling out a sani-wipe and handing it to her. With what looked like suppressed humor, she took it from him and nodded gravely, wiping while she made her slow way into the booth around the small table in the center. Smothering a grin, he slid in the other side.
She set the used wipe and the flail down on the table with exaggerated care and he studied her face in the smoky atmosphere. Was she feeling the Haze? She had to be. He felt a twinge of concern and reached over, touching her chin to lift her gaze to his. Her eyes were a little glassy, but other than that she looked all right. A little shell-shocked but basically all right.
“Okay?” he mouthed and she nodded.
Satisfied, he was about to activate the privacy screen when a man appeared. Her overeager whipping boy. Stryker stiffened, feeling the hackles rise on the back of his neck, but the man held up his hands and smiled disarmingly at them both. Stryker was about to send him packing anyway when he noticed Sukeza edging closer to his side.
Interesting
. He considered the man’s engaging smile and sat back, putting an arm across the seat behind Sukeza. They had a few minutes and he was frankly curious to see what she’d do with the guy this time.
Sukeza shook her head, but the man seemed to be taking his cue from Stryker. He sat down, a charming smile still on his face even while she shook her head more vigorously. He lifted his eyebrows, looked pointedly down at the flail and back to her face, ducking his head like a chastised boy, before coming up with a wolfish grin and hungry eyes. He slid closer.
Sukeza almost climbed in Stryker’s lap.
While this was a very pleasant turn of events, Stryker could see that the other guy thought she was open prey, at the very least a shared treat for the two males. Time to end the game. Stryker leaned forward slightly, catching the other man’s attention. Then he tipped his head toward the passageway. The man tried a silent entreaty, but Stryker didn’t relent. Looking crestfallen, the man slid out of the booth slowly, giving Sukeza a hot, regretful glance before he disappeared.
Sukeza seemed to go boneless with relief, her body sagging into the seat, her head flopping back onto his arm. He activated the privacy screen, shutting out most of the noise. There was a faint ringing in his ears and his voice sounded muffled when he asked, “You okay?”
“You just had to pick this place, didn’t you?” she responded in a hoarse voice, her eyes closed. Then she looked at him, her mouth curving in a small, wry smile. “I’m never going to be the same, thanks for asking.”
He blamed it on the smile later, the first she’d ever given him. Or maybe it was her eyes, heavy with Haze and bright with humor. Or the feel of her soft body pressed all along his side and the fact that she didn’t move away. She wasn’t afraid of him and it went to his head like a drug.
He lowered his mouth to hers. Right about then, his world turned over. She gasped, inhaling his breath and then giving it back to him on a sigh. He breathed her in, soaking in her sunshine smell like an addict as he brushed his lips over hers. Her mouth was so soft, lips pliable and giving under his, at first cool then moist and hot under his kiss.
He pulled Sukeza down a wide hallway lined with cubbies, most of which had their privacy screens on. Noticing that all were filled, he stopped at one and keyed in the code that most people didn’t know. The screen dropped and the threesome inside shrieked with dismay and anger. Unmoved, Stryker jerked his thumb over his shoulder in dismissal. One of the women continued to spew invectives which he couldn’t hear over the music, but the man gathered clothes and toys quickly, eyes downcast while he pushed the two women out of the booth and around Stryker.
When the place was clear, he waved Sukeza in. She stared at the wide, C-shaped seat with dubious eyes until he touched a small receptacle, pulling out a sani-wipe and handing it to her. With what looked like suppressed humor, she took it from him and nodded gravely, wiping while she made her slow way into the booth around the small table in the center. Smothering a grin, he slid in the other side.
She set the used wipe and the flail down on the table with exaggerated care and he studied her face in the smoky atmosphere. Was she feeling the Haze? She had to be. He felt a twinge of concern and reached over, touching her chin to lift her gaze to his. Her eyes were a little glassy, but other than that she looked all right. A little shell-shocked but basically all right.
“Okay?” he mouthed and she nodded.
Satisfied, he was about to activate the privacy screen when a man appeared. Her overeager whipping boy. Stryker stiffened, feeling the hackles rise on the back of his neck, but the man held up his hands and smiled disarmingly at them both. Stryker was about to send him packing anyway when he noticed Sukeza edging closer to his side.
Interesting
. He considered the man’s engaging smile and sat back, putting an arm across the seat behind Sukeza. They had a few minutes and he was frankly curious to see what she’d do with the guy this time.
Sukeza shook her head, but the man seemed to be taking his cue from Stryker. He sat down, a charming smile still on his face even while she shook her head more vigorously. He lifted his eyebrows, looked pointedly down at the flail and back to her face, ducking his head like a chastised boy, before coming up with a wolfish grin and hungry eyes. He slid closer.
Sukeza almost climbed in Stryker’s lap.
While this was a very pleasant turn of events, Stryker could see that the other guy thought she was open prey, at the very least a shared treat for the two males. Time to end the game. Stryker leaned forward slightly, catching the other man’s attention. Then he tipped his head toward the passageway. The man tried a silent entreaty, but Stryker didn’t relent. Looking crestfallen, the man slid out of the booth slowly, giving Sukeza a hot, regretful glance before he disappeared.
Sukeza seemed to go boneless with relief, her body sagging into the seat, her head flopping back onto his arm. He activated the privacy screen, shutting out most of the noise. There was a faint ringing in his ears and his voice sounded muffled when he asked, “You okay?”
“You just had to pick this place, didn’t you?” she responded in a hoarse voice, her eyes closed. Then she looked at him, her mouth curving in a small, wry smile. “I’m never going to be the same, thanks for asking.”
He blamed it on the smile later, the first she’d ever given him. Or maybe it was her eyes, heavy with Haze and bright with humor. Or the feel of her soft body pressed all along his side and the fact that she didn’t move away. She wasn’t afraid of him and it went to his head like a drug.
He lowered his mouth to hers. Right about then, his world turned over. She gasped, inhaling his breath and then giving it back to him on a sigh. He breathed her in, soaking in her sunshine smell like an addict as he brushed his lips over hers. Her mouth was so soft, lips pliable and giving under his, at first cool then moist and hot under his kiss.
Similar Books
