What To Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection Part Two (71 page)

Taking down a criminal, she’d learned, required little brawn, plenty of brain and a whole lot of her body. But timing her approach was everything. From her visits to the tavern over the past few days, she knew the best way to see everything was from the bar or the dance floor. Having no desire to fend off would-be clients happy to buy her a drink, Lilly chose the latter.

Filled with species and sexes of every variety, the dance floor offered both anonymity and a view of the front door. Lilly undulated her body, blending in with the crowd and smiling invitingly when bodies brushed against hers. She needed to look as if she belonged. With one eye on various wandering appendages and the other on the entrance, Lilly hoped the information she had about the Znedu was accurate.

Her fears were allayed when the door opened and the alien she wanted glided in. If he hadn’t been wearing his trademark satin robe, she wasn’t sure she would’ve been able to tell this male from every other Znedu in the tavern. Their muddy skin, elongated necks and triangular heads with their prominent black eyes made it difficult to tell them apart. But this one, she was sure, was the alien who would net her a tidy sum of credits.

Grebetz made his way to the bar, greeting several aliens along his circuitous route through the tables. With a little male backslapping, the groping of a waitress or two, and the obligatory pressing of flesh, he finally bellied up to the bar. He greeted the Xerick bartender like an old friend and turned, surveying the patrons as if they were his loyal subjects. A mark with an attitude. The cocky ones were always the easiest. This takedown would hardly seem like work.

By the time the bartender delivered the Znedu’s drink, a group of two or three aliens had gathered around him. Maybe they were bodyguards. Maybe they were thugs in training. Either way, Lilly wasn’t concerned. She wasn’t leaving the tavern without Grebetz. Separating him from a crowd was problematic, but not impossible.

The Znedu pointed to a dark corner over Lilly’s shoulder. Perfect. He was going to work his way right past her.

Closing her eyes, Lilly let the riffs of the saxophone flow over her. Already on a low hum, it wasn’t difficult to pull the energy up from her core, letting it swell and heat her blood. Lifting her arms, she swayed with the languid clarinet rolling through the jazz melody. Her mind traveled back to happier times on Earth when all that mattered was her job on the Chicago force and good times with friends, back when she believed she could actually have a relationship with a man who didn’t think of her gift as a curse. But all that had been blown out of the water by an asshole with an agenda.

Enough of that.

Without missing a beat, she brushed through the swaying bodies to the edge of the dance floor. Her timing was flawless. With one last peek, she turned her body just so and her breasts slid across the shelved chest of the Znedu. As if she were off balance, her hands came down on his shoulders, sliding gracefully down his torso. A giddy giggle, a flirtatious apology and the alien became putty in her hands.

“A problem not for me.” The singsong buzz of his language translated in her ear.

Lilly batted her lashes for effect, but she had no doubt the flow of energy had already put the Znedu under her spell. “
Nral arrarnc, thraschne?
”
Buy me a drink, stranger?
she asked in his native tongue. It was the final nail that sealed his fate.

“Join us. I’m sure I will be happy to.”

Having others around would make her job more difficult—not impossible—just more difficult. Tonight, with her nerves still raw from her encounter with the human, she wasn’t up for that challenge. Rubbing her body against the Znedu, a smile slid over her lips as she trailed a finger along his pointed jaw, her other hand still planted in the center of his chest. “
Rrarck schrall rectnine fragtre.
”
I’d rather be alone with you.
The words hummed over her tongue.

With barely a flick of his head, he dismissed the disappointed aliens who no doubt felt the sexual flux of her current. Slipping a lanky arm around her, Grebetz guided Lilly to a shadowed table along the front wall. The location worked well for her.

Easy seduction. Easy departure. Easy bounty.

She slid into the booth, the alien’s lithe body gracefully slipping in next to her.

“What drink have you?” His large eyes dropped to her cleavage. Lilly shifted so her blouse opened wider, offering him a better view.

“Regent’s ale, but I can wait for the waitress.” Lilly dropped her hand to his thigh, grateful that every species of male she’d encountered in deep space had their genitals positioned in their lap. She focused the energy in her hands. The way her own sexual levels were rising, she had no doubt the male was feeling the effects. “I’d hate for you to run off.”

“There’s nowhere for me to be.”

A Xerick stepped up to the table. His blue cheeks were painted a mottled purple and his bubble eyes were averted to the floor. Lilly suspected he’d pay later for this interruption. “Excuse me, sir, but it’s important.”

Angry words of frustration hissed from Grebetz in a singsong garble that the translator didn’t manage to pick up. Whatever he said, she echoed the sentiments. This had been a long evening already and Lilly was ready for it to be finished.

One head of the Xerick leaned in, speaking quietly to Grebetz, while the other looked everywhere but at her. Lilly pressed closer to the Znedu, but couldn’t catch the exchange. The Znedu dismissed his minion, who gratefully melted back into the crowd. Obviously horny males of any species weren’t kind to their underlings.

“Business I must transact.” He smiled down at her. “But no time will it take.” Pulling a palm-sized communicator from his robe, Grebetz’s six fingers worked the buttons and an encrypted hologram appeared. A Braugtot in its natural form hovered over the communicator. Though the garbled message didn’t make any sense to her ears, from the quick push of buttons and low hum of the Znedu, Lilly knew this guy was higher up on the totem pole.

She hadn’t really done enough research into the history of the alien next to her to know who else may be involved in his nefarious activities. But kidnapping and drug smuggling had been enough to put a bounty on Venair Grebetz’s head. It was the kidnapping charges that had brought this alien to her attention. Through him, she hoped to follow leads to other criminals.

The submissive posture of Grebetz and the wild gesturing of the Braugtot in the hologram told her that this alien no doubt had a bounty on his head as well. Decoding the audio signal going to her translator would take time. But bounty hunting wasn’t about rushing a takedown. It was the slow, precise, detail-oriented part of her work that had made her such a kick-ass detective back on earth and now would guarantee her success as a bounty hunter in deep space.

Focusing on the hologram, Lilly noted every nuance of the Braugtot. Criminals believed they were smarter than everyone and often made mistakes. No doubt her species and gender had the Znedu believing he didn’t have to hide trade secrets from the blonde bimbo looking to get laid. It’s what made her job so damn easy.

Another garbled exchange, a rapid pushing of buttons and the Braugtot hologram was swallowed into the communicator. When the alien turned back to her, Lilly dazzled him with a smile, further confused him with a hungry gaze and topped it all off with a tempting press of her breasts to his body. Her sexual invitation was as obvious as the Znedu’s arousal.

“We were where?” The glazed fog of lust narrowed the alien’s eyes, his breath a soft sigh across her cheek.

“I think you were saying you’d like to go somewhere more private,” Lilly pressed her cheek to the side of his face, purring the words, hoping she was near sound organs that would catch the sultry seduction in her voice. But she didn’t need to fake the desire humming in the air. Between the encounter in the alley and the energy thrumming hot through her veins, she was feeling the effects of the energy flux.

Grebetz leaned down, the soft bump of his face caressing her throat, the subtle scent of vanilla filling her lungs. The delicate wisp of air tickled her neck as he inhaled her scent. Her body vibrated with desire.
Damn, she really hated this part.
She needed to get him out of the tavern, turn the Znedu over to the authorities, collect her credits and get back to her hotel to relieve the heavy pounding of need building in her blood.

“I really would like to go to my hotel room,” she whispered.

His hand slid up her belly and cupped her breast, the sharp nail of his finger grazing her sensitive nipple through her shirt. “I think a private meeting would be quite nice.” The buzz of his words tickled along her ear. His hand slid down her belly, fumbling with her skirt.

This stage—when the energy connected her so completely to the male and overrode her logic—was the most difficult to control. All it would take is one touch of his long fingers to her clitoris and the orgasm that lay just out of her reach would be hers. Lilly breathed deep, focusing herself away from the sexual need. Away from the screaming tension in her loins. Away from the reality that the Znedu’s desire had been created by forces out of his control.

This was a job. A job meant credits. Credits meant survival.

Inhaling deeply once again, Lilly filled her lungs with resolve, refocused and pulled the Znedu’s fingers from her thigh. She brought his hand to her mouth and kissed the triangular palm. “Not here. I prefer my
parties
in private.” With his hands off her, she was able to focus not on the needs of her body, but on the job at hand.

“I have place not far.” The singsong buzz translated in her ear.

“Let’s go.” She nudged his side, encouraging him out of the booth. His annoying contingent jumped to their feet as well.

His body trembled when she stood up next to him.
No one understands what you’re going through better than me, Dude.
Lilly pressed her body against him. The energy pulsed through her, pushing him beyond all sense of reason. “I want to go alone.” She dragged out the last word and the Znedu waved off his sidekicks again. They dropped into their chairs, the confusion obvious on all their faces.

“You lead the way,” she said.

He turned and she put her hand on his back. He walked stiffly, no doubt trying to hide his erection. Too bad for him. He’d be jacking off in some jail cell within the hour while she was back in her hotel room, putting new energy crystals in some of her latest toy acquisitions, relieving the stress of her job.

Unlike her, Venair Grebetz had no idea what was in store for him.

This couldn’t be happening. QAL had planned every minutiae of this mission down to who would wipe the guy’s nose if he sneezed. To have some two-bit streetwalker waltz in and gum up the works just didn’t fit into his plans.

Dallas had watched Lilly from the moment she’d strutted into the bar. The woman was good at her job. He had to give her that. Despite the number of females filling the joint, when Lilly had drifted onto the dance floor, her body swaying with the slow croon of the music, every guy in the place had turned to admire her. And it wasn’t because she was the only human female in the joint, though he suspected that did factor into the drooling equation. The woman’s body oozed sex. Combine that with the slow roll of her hips and the graceful movements of her hands, she was a visual hard-on.
Shit
.

When she’d scoped out the joint and her gaze nearly found him, Dallas had done a quick duck and cover, tying nonexistent shoelaces on his cowboy boots. But it appeared she was looking for someone else. He nearly gagged on his ale when she culled Venair Grebetz from the crowd. That little sway and shift as she bumped into the Znedu accidentally had been right out of the QAL handbook.

Thaegan cussed about the situation as she plied her wares in the booth as if Dallas wasn’t also watching her mooning over the alien. As his fist clenched and unclenched and knots wound in his gut, he couldn’t be sure whether it was the team leader worried about the mission or his male ego jealous over another’s attention on this woman. Either way, there was no way Grebetz was leaving this joint with Lilly. He didn’t care if he cost her another trick, if indeed she was some high-priced streetwalker—which he was beginning to seriously doubt.

It wasn’t until the pair stood and she positioned herself behind the rigid Znedu, that he knew she held some kind of a weapon on the alien.

“Sawyer, you getting this?” Thaegan’s incredulous voice sounded again in his ear.

“Roger that, gamma two.” Dallas shifted, keeping Lilly and Grebetz in view. The two continued to move awkwardly through the crowd. Even Grebetz’s henchmen had backed away.

Yeah, this woman definitely had plans for the alien that didn’t include screwing his brains out. Without Grebetz, the meeting with Jones couldn’t happen. Without the meeting with Jones there was no taking down the Znedu’s suspected boss
Hij’Rozhod
. And after months of planning and the shit that had led up to this moment, there was no way Dallas was going to let that happen.