Salvaged Destiny (21 page)

There was a small surge of people streaming past him,
greeting each other as little porterbots laden with luggage followed them. Lazlo
asked an older couple what ship they’d been on and when they said the
Baltimore
Honey
, he made his way toward the gate. He didn’t want her to feel as if he’d
forgotten her.

The audio fountain eased out a soft tone as he walked past
and he spotted her ten meters away on the concourse, looking determined as she
pulled along her case, scanning people walking her way. Del looked up and
recognized him and a big smile lit up her face. For a second Lazlo wondered if
she would dislike his new beard. Concern about his appearance disappeared as he
rushed to her and pulled her to him tightly.

Lazlo tried not to spill coffee on her as Del burrowed in to
his chest, her thin arms tight around him. He bent his head, smelled her hair
and felt as if his whole body was burning. Stars, he wanted both hands free for
her. Looking around, he thrust the coffee cup out to a passing porter, which
obediently stopped and held it in a grasper. Then he could touch her and move
her head up so he could kiss her, but Del had already anticipated him and was
kissing him, needy little sounds in her throat as her lips slid along his.

Several very good moments passed before Lazlo pulled away to
take a breath and look at her. She was crying and breathing hard and he wanted
to pick her up and carry her to the cart outside.

“Hi,” Del managed to say and then laughed, wiping at her
tears and looking for her case. The porterbot that had been clasping her coffee
had already collected her case and was holding up the cup in a helpful manner. It
must have scanned the two of them as one person, picking up Del’s case as if it
were Lazlo’s own.

“Hi. I got you a coffee,” Lazlo said and then she was
kissing him again, slower this time, pushing her body in to his, her desire
clear in every movement. He really wanted to get her to the cart since sex
seemed to be a factor now.

“Thanks,” Del whispered against his mouth. “I guess missed
you.”

“I missed you too. Would you like to look around at the
shops or do you want to go?”

“Yes. I want to go.”

“Are you feeling well after the jump? I know sometimes
people get disoriented. If you’re all right we could go for a drive, look at
those mountains, or get something to eat,” Lazlo offered, not wanting to
suggest the hotel and seem like a raging beast. Del was visiting a beautiful
planet. His hormones shouldn’t deprive her of a chance to see some of it.

“I’m feeling weak. I need to lie down,” Del replied, looking
at him with hot-gray eyes, and he grinned at her.

“Of course. Let me get you to your hotel.”

* * * * *

Del managed to keep Lazlo’s clothes on him until the porterbot
dropped off her luggage and left the room, then she was intent on his shirt,
pulling and tugging as he laughed and helped her.

She caught only glimpses of the room around them as she
pressed close to him. The room seemed big, with blue walls, natural light and a
very soft carpet underfoot. But Lazlo’s naked skin emerging soon captured her
attention and she fell on him with a groan of relief, tasting him and allowing
herself to enjoy his unique flavor as he led her to the bed, their feet
stumbling into each other’s, finally falling across the mattress with thumps
and sighs.

Del wanted to slow down, but the burn of lust was too much
to control. She struggled with Lazlo’s belt and trousers, finally pushing them
down and cupping her hand around him over his undershorts. He was heavy and
ready against her and she nearly shouted with excitement.

“Let’s slow down, Del. We don’t have to rush,” Lazlo said in
a strained tone and she looked up at him, his brown eyes dark and attentive on
her, a slight smile on those lips that should be on her body.

“We only have a few hours.”

“Twenty-one, give or take.”

“Exactly.”

“Let me.” Lazlo slowly pressed her arms back against the
mattress, moving back from her and kicking off his trousers, then leaning her
way to slowly unbutton her shirt. Del reached to help and he shook his head
once, placing her hands down to rest on either side on her head, the blanket on
the bed soft and fuzzy against her skin. Breathing slowing, she finally
relaxed, allowing him to lift her top away, his every movement slower than she
would have liked.

“I’ve been thinking about you, about this, for days,” Lazlo
admitted as he unlaced her boots, pulling them off and neatly placing them
beside his own against the wall. When had he removed his?

Del stopped thinking when his fingers traced under her tank
to pull the hem from her waistband. His fingers touched her too lightly to
cause so much heat. He caressed the skin of her belly and she jumped and
reached for his shoulders, but then fell back as he shook his head.

“I’ve been thinking about you too,” Del replied, arching her
hips up to encourage him to get her trousers down, but he started to touch her
bare arms instead, making her shiver and really hate that he wasn’t wanting her
to touch him.

“Tell me what you were thinking,” Lazlo said, smiling at her
as he ran his fingertips across her palms and along her wrists as he leaned
over her, his body tantalizing and close.

“I’m thinking I want you so much I can’t remember to
breathe. Your chest is beautiful and you smell better than anything. I want my
legs around you. I missed you so much, you’re wonderful to be with and I…” Del
stopped, her voice cracking as he leaned down and nuzzled her neck, his newly
grown short beard prickling her skin and making her shake.

“And you what?” he buzzed against her throat.

“I need you. I need you to touch me and have me. Please,” Del
begged, all sense of control and decorum lost to his mouth on her.

“I need you too. Stars above, I do.” Lazlo groaned and pulled
at her trousers, moving faster and letting Del help him. He pushed Del’s legs
apart as quickly as she could move them.

Exhaling and watching her intently, Lazlo reached down to
ease his way and pushed in as Del curled up, her heels pressing in to his
buttocks. She buried her face in his neck as her body contracted around him,
crying out as he did at the contact.

Breathing out encouraging words, Del shifted against him,
wanting to increase the pressure and tension that was shuddering through her.
Lazlo thrust deep and she pulled him tight.

It was just movement then, both of them working to help the
other find that moment to fall. His breathing was rough as Del dug her fingers
into his tight shoulder muscles. His body was shaking with each thrust and
knowing how close he was made her flare with physical joy.

Del shook and cried out, everything in her pulsing hot and
cold. Lazlo tensed and moaned, pressing his cheek to hers, his beard rasping at
her skin as she took his earlobe in her mouth and sucked, wanting to keep him
close.

* * * * *

After washing Del off while taking his time and enjoying her
little shivers and the glimpses of pink between her shifting legs, Lazlo pulled
her tank off, wanting her breasts to be out where he could monitor them. Warning
her not to cover up, he went to the bathroom to attend to himself and then
returned from the suite’s bathroom with a glass of water for her, which she
drank quickly as he rolled in next to her and started to touch her again.

“Why are you growing a beard?” The bright, clear light of
morning filled the hotel room—no shadows, no concealment. And the radiant woman
he missed for longer than he could remember was right there beside him,
reaching up to brush her fingertips against his stubbled chin. Lazlo couldn’t
imagine how his day could be better.

“I just wanted some way to mark the time. Don’t you like it?”

“It’s different. It tickles.” Del reached out to run her
fingertips up his cheek, stroked his temple with her thumb. Lazlo watched her
as she looked him over.

“I’m glad to see you.” Her pretty breasts, her slender legs,
but most of all he was happy to see that she was glad to see him. All of his
worries and insecurities about how this meeting would transpire had disappeared
as soon as he’d entered her body as she’d urged him on.

“I’m glad to see you too.” Del stroked along his muscles and
he wanted to purr like a cat as she moved against him. “Do you have any marks?”

“A couple, from when I was younger and more impulsive.”

“Where are they?” Del asked, frowning with concentration as
she inspected him more closely.

“You didn’t notice them before?”

“No I didn’t. The first time was too dark. And today was too
fast for looking.”

That was true. They hadn’t really spent much time together
in bed outside of actual intercourse and exhausted sleep. That would change
today. Lazlo had nothing planned other than to be with her.

“You’re going to have to find them,” Lazlo teased her,
rolling onto his back and stretching out his arms as she crouched over him,
looking lovely in the light streaming in the windows, soft hair swirling around
her, pleasure relaxing her body into pliant curves.

Del grinned at him and surveyed him, moving his hands and
fingers and arms. “Are they big or small or ultra or holo?”

“I’m not giving you any hints. You’re the one who goes out
and looks for tiny little rocks in the Outlands. You can certainly locate a few
marks on me.”

“Why did you get them? I don’t have any,” Del offered as she
ran her fingertips along his torso, as if he were a rock she was deciding
whether to keep or toss. Despite their agreement that this was all for fun,
Lazlo wanted her to keep him. At least
want
to keep him for a little
while. Del could put him on a shelf in her little house and look at him
whenever she wanted.

“I noticed you’re bare. But there aren’t any body shops on
Sayre, so I’m not surprised.”

“Sometimes entertainment ships have shops on board. It’s
just something I never contemplated. I didn’t think you looked that closely.”
She stopped staring at his forearm to peer in his eyes, brow crinkling up with
skepticism.

“I’m very observant even when I’m engrossed in something
else.” Lazlo laughed when she poked his side with a finger.

“There isn’t much of anything on Sayre. I think there was
more to see and do in the arrivals terminal here on Weave than there is on my
whole planet.” Del slid down his body in a most wonderful way as she went to inspect
his feet, ankles and calves. She tickled his instep quickly and then bounced
away with a laugh when he jumped.

“Roll over.” Despite her order, Lazlo gestured to his upper
thighs and groin, which remained unexplored. Shaking her head, Del laughed and
pulled at his arm.

“No. I’m saving that for last. Roll.” So he rolled and she
took a seat on the small of his back, little curls tickling, warm thighs tight
on his hips as she started to investigate his back. Her cool hands pressed on
his skin.

Lazlo groaned with pleasure as she stroked his muscles,
sliding along them with strong hands, lightly scratching with her fingernails. She
stilled and tapped one of his marks with her finger. It was the holo he’d
gotten after graduation while he was out with friends, celebrating. Not too
embarrassing—a translucent golden eagle perched on his shoulder, most visible
in the dark.

“Why did you get this one? What is it, a lizard?”

“No, it’s an eagle. It was my class mascot at the Academy.” Lazlo
pretended to be insulted, but Del’s naked body on his was so delightful he was
sure he sounded giddy.

“Now I can see it, almost. Did it hurt?”

“Not much,” Lazlo replied and Del leaned over and kissed his
mark. Stars, he wondered if she was going to do that with every one she found. She
shifted again and he relaxed even more, liking the feeling of the weight of her
body moving lower, hearing her chuckle when she discovered the mark on his
lower back, over his hip, which she kissed more slowly, tonguing his skin and
making him shift a bit.

“So what is this one? A box or bag or what?”

“It’s the pip for my first promotion—a corporal’s bar.”

“A nice achievement, but hard to interpret as a bodymark.” Del
stroked her fingertips across his ass and he sucked in a breath, more aroused
now. He needed to shift his thigh to relieve the pressure as blood began to
rush again. “Do I need to look closely at these muscles, or are you clear
there?” Del asked quietly as she placed her palms against his rear.

“Clear there, but you can look if you don’t trust me.”

“I trust you, but there’s no reason not to verify.” Then she
was exploring him with her fingertips and he pressed his face into the bed and
exhaled hard, aroused and shaking as she pressed on him, allowed her fingertips
to dip in between his cheeks and trailed her fingernails along his more
sensitive areas. Lazlo moved his thighs farther apart, wanting her touch,
begging without words. And she did, pressing her thumbs into the curve of his ass
and thigh, lightly pinching his skin and muscles.

“Del, I can’t—” Lazlo groaned and she moved away. He was
relieved and disappointed. Curving her hands around his thighs, she stroked
down, tickling the backs of his knees, squeezing his calf muscles, stopping at the
outside of his right calf.

“Is this a flower?”

“No, it’s a Trainer bloom. Very deadly.”

“Exobiology isn’t really my specialty, but even I know
blooms are flowers.”

“Trainer blooms have poisonous darts.”

“Intimidating. So why do you have this plant part on your
leg?”

“Got it when I completed survival training there, my platoon
and I.” That had been a wild few months. He’d never seen such dense vegetation
before and most of it seemed to want to kill them. Vines with suction cups,
leaves that released a viscous epoxy on contact, even a tree that dropped
sharpened spikes from above—all of it part of their survival training. They
were lucky Trainer had no native animal species or he knew they wouldn’t have
survived for ten minutes.