Assassin (2 page)

A low growl rumbled in his chest and Zeric ground his teeth, locking his stare on the closing doorway through which the Xolotlan had disappeared. He had to keep his anger in check. He couldn’t do to let it get the better of him. Not tonight, not ever, no matter how much he wanted to. It wasn’t—

“Fucker’s locked the door.”

Jak’s mutter jerked Zeric’s stare from the closed entryway to the red light glowing above it.

“Do you think we should knock?”

Zeric cast his partner a quick look, knowing his glare told Jak now wasn’t the time for jokes. “Lyso knows we’re coming. He arranged the location, remember?”

Jak cocked an eyebrow. “Kick the door in then?”

The growl rumbled in Zeric’s chest again, far less human than it should be and he sank his nails into the palms of his hands. “Deactivate the lock, Thorson.”

Jak pulled a face, stepping around Zeric to flip open the door’s control mechanism. “You’re no fun anymore, Arctos.”

His fingers moved over the exposed circuitry with fluid ease before, with a clunk and a whirr, the door slid open.

As always, Zeric was the first in. In the time it took him to blink, he’d taken in the dimly lit sex-den and the situation unfolding within it and the knot in his stomach turned into rolling disgust.

The Raavelian slave-girl Jak had so quickly declared undying love for was on her knees, her luscious mouth wrapped around the Bliss dealer’s grotesque cock, her head bobbing up and down as she pleasured him with oral sex. The Xolotlan had his meaty hands tangled in her thick red hair, holding her head in place, a satisfied smirk on his round face as he watched her through heavy-lidded eyes.

Zeric ground his teeth, even as he forced his expression to remain indifferent.
Damn, Jak isn’t going to like this.

Jak? It’s not making you want to smile, either.

Psy Lyso raised his attention from the woman at his feet and gave Zeric an indolent smile, his bloodshot gaze flicking over Zeric’s form. “Ho, Terran.” He removed a hand from the Raavelian’s hair and held it out, palm upward in a melodramatic show of welcome. “Come, join the entertainment.”

Sickened anger coated Zeric’s mouth and he curled his fingers around the butt of his gun just as Jak stepped into the den. Lyso’s bony eyebrow ridge shot up. “Two of you?” He turned his smirk to Jak. “A Yrathian Master Pleasurer at that? My, won’t this be fun.”

“Lyso.” Jak pushed past Zeric, the muscles in his arms and shoulders bunching. His distaste emanated from him in tangible waves and Zeric gripped his gun tighter. If Jak decided to shoot the fucker’s head off there and then—and it was entirely possible—their mission would be sunk. Zeric couldn’t have that—as much as he liked the idea of Psy Lyso’s existence obliterated from the planet.

He shot another look at the Raavelian. For a brief moment the overwhelming desire to rip her from Lyso’s cock, wrap her in his arms and take her away to some place safe burned through him.

A scowl creased his forehead.
Get a grip, Arctos. Saving slave-girls isn’t your job.
Grinding his teeth, he returned his attention to the Xolotlan. “Sorry to interrupt you while you’re busy. Maybe you should have locked the door.”

Pink, beady eyes drilled into him, Lyso’s stare far too thorough for his liking. “Funny,” the Xolotlan said. “I thought I did.”

Zeric shook his head, meeting the Bliss dealer’s gaze. “You have something for us, yes? Or did you just ask us to meet you here for the show?”

Lyso grunted, shifted his hips in the oral-pleasure chair and let off a flat fart. The female paused for a second, finely-muscled shoulders growing rigid. Another fierce wave of protective desire rolled through Zeric, unnerving him but he shoved it aside. If he didn’t
he
would pull his gun and shoot Lyso before Jak got a chance to even draw breath. He glared at the drug dealer. “Well?”

“Possibly. Depends on what you’re after.”

Before Zeric could open his mouth, Jak stepped forward, his face a mask of controlled rage. “We’ll take the Raavelian.”

Lyso’s eyes narrowed. “She’s not for sale.”

Jak tensed, but before he could reach for his gun, Zeric took charge of the situation. They were posing as Bliss buyers—pulling a weapon when a fuck-wit wouldn’t sell his slave wasn’t part of the cover. “Get the Raavelian off your prick and cough up the product, Lyso. We haven’t travelled to this shit-hole of a planet to stand here and watch you get a blow job.”

That same intense, thorough stare drilled into Zeric again and he ground his teeth. Something felt wrong.
Like you’re being played?

“I tell you what, Terran,” Lyso said, flashing his teeth in what Zeric assumed was meant to be a smile. “While you and I do business your Yrathian hothead friend beside you can entertain himself with the bitch in another den. How’s that sound? Save us all the distraction?” He slid his gaze to Jak, giving him a smutty sneer. “Be warned though. Master Pleasurer or not, she’ll suck your dick right off if you’re not careful.”

Jak snarled and Zeric shot him a warning look:
You can fuck him up later. Play along for now.
He turned back to Lyso, not even trying to hide his disgust for the Xolotlan. “Deal,” he said. “Now let’s see the product.”

“Excellent.” Lyso smacked his palms together over the Raavelian’s bare back. “I knew you boys would be smart business.” His smile stretched wider and again, a dark sense of foreboding rippled through Zeric. Something was definitely up. He gave Jak another quick glance, letting his apprehension show in his eyes:
Be careful.

With a rough shove, Lyso dislodged the Raavelian from between his legs. “Get off, slave,” he barked, giving her hair a hard yank. “Go show the Master Pleasurer how it’s really done.”

The female stood, eyes downcast, long red hair hiding her face. Zeric’s gut twisted again, something about the situation telling him something was not right. But what? He quickly flicked his gaze over her slim, nubile body, searching for a weapon. Where she would hide it dressed as she was in typical slave attire—short, diaphanous loin cloth and nothing else—was beyond him, but something was making him uneasy and it had nothing to do with the unexpected, powerful desire to run his hands over her naked breasts, down her torso and over her belly to the sweet heat between her thighs. If she
did
have a weapon hidden there, Jak would be the one to find it, not him. He knew his partner well. Jak would search the slave all over—from head to toe—just to be sure before he did anything else.

An image of Jak doing just that flittered through his head, his partner’s palms cupping those gloriously heavy breasts, his fingers skimming up the length of those smooth, toned thighs and for a split second, hot jealousy stabbed through Zeric. He jerked his gaze from the Raavelian, giving Jak a level look instead, hoping to Jezu Jak could keep his lust under control. “This won’t take long,” he said with a sharp nod. “Have fun.”

* * *

Jaienna Ti followed the tall Yrathian down the grimy corridor to the next vacant den, anger simmering through her. The blowjob hadn’t been long enough to achieve anything. Psy Lyso, the vile piece of excrement, had been too caught up in his power trip to let her tongue work its magic. If she’d had another minute though... She’d felt his mind weakening as the swollen head of his cock pushed against the back of her throat. Another minute would have been all she needed to plant the suggestion.

Fuck it. She’d have to finish the job later. Besides, when he wasn’t preoccupied trying to flaunt his power in front of the Terran and Yrathian, she’d have a better shot of getting in his mind. So far the Xolotlan had been too focused on his up-coming Bliss deal to be too worked up about her but that wouldn’t last. If tonight’s transaction went the way he wanted it to, she suspected she’d be chained to the nearest whipping post with that hideous blue cock of his rammed between her thighs before she could blink. As sickened as the thought made her, it was exactly what she waited for. One short orgasm from Lyso was all she needed. Just one. In fact, she preferred the idea of not having his dick in her mouth again.

She turned her attention to the Yrathian leading her to another sex-den.
His
dick in her mouth, on the other hand… She let her gaze roam over his broad back, liking what she saw. His blood-red leather jacket did little to hide the smooth, strong muscles that rippled as he walked, and the snug black pants only emphasized how tight his butt was.

She rolled her neck and licked her lips, noting the sculpted muscles in his arms. Hmmm. Appealing. She should say thank you to Lyso. The very act required to bury a suggestion in the Yrathian’s mind meant she’d have a whole lot of fun. It had been a long time since she’d partaken in any kind of sexual activity for fun. A long time. Not since Raq Tornada—

Jaienna killed the thought before it could take hold of her heart and make her truly angry, returning her focus to the Yrathian before her. She
was
curious about who he and his partner really were. Nothing either of them could say or do would make her believe they were Bliss dealers, no matter how convincing their act, and if they were interested in Psy Lyso she was interested in them.

An image of the Terran popped into her mind—tall and dark, with strangely golden eyes and a hard body made for killing. A pulse in her neck fluttered and she drew in a short breath, her pussy pumping with a sudden warm rush of lust.

Her steps faltered and she bit back a soft curse. Since when did she get all hot and horny over some male? She didn’t. Not anymore.

Shaking her head, she shoved the Terran from her mind. She was used to lethal games—it was her old job, after all—but something about
that
man sent a shiver down her spine. There was something frightening about him. Something…hidden.

Something exciting too.

“Here’s an empty one.” The Yrathian’s smooth voice jerked her back from the disturbing thought. Like all male Yrathians, his cheeks bore the scars of his adolescent sexual initiation, an ancient tradition which marked a boy’s coming of age—the more complex the pattern, the greater sexual prowess. The scarring that marred
his
cheeks not only marked him as a Master Pleasurer, but was the most intricate she’d seen. Finding out his true identity was going to be
very
enjoyable. Another ripple of excitement threaded through her. Her sex contracted in anticipation but before she could take a step into the vacant sex-den, an image of the disturbing Terran again flashed through her head again.

“I won’t bite.”

Jaienna started, her pulse racing. She blinked, confused. “I’m sorry, sir?”

The Yrathian stood waiting at the den’s dark entrance, a worried expression on his face, clear grey eyes studying her. “I don’t know how that bastard treats you, but I promise I won’t hurt you.” He gave her a warm smile, scars glowing like mercury on his utterly handsome face. “In fact, I’d like to do the complete opposite.”

Jaienna frowned. “Which is what?”

Perfect white teeth glinted in the corridor’s dim lighting as he smiled. “Why don’t you let me
show
you.”

* * *

Zeric watched Lyso withdraw a small portable holo-box from the voluminous folds of a coat thrown over the back of the oral pleasure chair, the sour stench of old sex curling through his nose. It made him on edge, and for reasons he didn’t want to examine conjured the memory of the Raavelian slave into his mind. For a split second he wondered if Jak already had his tongue buried in her sex and another shard of acrid jealousy stabbed into his chest. He ground his teeth, capturing the growl in his throat before it could make a sound.

What the fuck are you doing, Arctos? Focus.

He pulled in a deep breath, forcing his energy back on the mission. Their orders from Boundary Command were simple: take out Psy Lyso. Once Lyso revealed the drug Zeric would neutralize him and bring him in for interrogation. If the Xolotlan didn’t cooperate the Boundary Command white-coats would be called in to extract the location of his supplier from his brain and Zeric and Jak would have a new target. How the white-coats went about extracting that information Zeric didn’t really want to know. As long as it was extremely painful his conscience could live with it.