Page 56 of Salvation for the Alien Mercenary
"Brokers always make you wait," she said, keeping her voice low. "It's about anticipation. Basic negotiation tactic."
His lips quirked into that half-smile that made her stomach flip. "You sound like you've done this before."
"I've played enough strategic negotiation sims," she said with a slight shrug. "Same principles in games as in real life."
His hand slid higher on her thigh. "You okay? After last night..."
Her face went hot. "I'm fine. Just a little sore." Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "You're not exactly small."
His eyes darkened as he leaned closer, lips brushing her ear. "You seemed to take all of me quite well. Especially that last time, on your hands and knees."
"Not here," she warned, glancing around nervously. "People are watching."
"Let them," he murmured, strong fingers tugging her chin around. Before she could say anything, he'd claimed her lips. His mouth was hungry and demanding, hard on hers with a possessiveness that melted her insides.
She broke away, her breathing ragged. "We're supposed to be meeting a broker."
"He's late," he reminded her, leaning in to nibble kisses down her neck. "We're just passing the time."
A throat cleared directly in front of them.
Her heart about stopped. She pulled away from Davis and stared up at the broker they'd been waiting for. He had to be nearly seven feet tall, and his silver-blue skin shimmered with a metallic quality. Four arms emerged from a torso that tapered to an impossibly narrow waist, and his large, multifaceted eyes reflected their faces back at them.
"If you're quite finished," the broker said in a liquid voice that made her want to shake her head like she had water in her ears. "I believe we have business to discuss."
Davis pulled his hand from her thigh. "You're late, Thexus."
The broker inclined his head. "Traffic." He offered nothing more, simply gesturing with one of his lower arms. "Follow me."
They rose from the bench. Davis placed his hand at the small of her back as they followed Kraatt through the crowded concourse. The touch burned through her jacket. She felt eyes tracking them as they walked across the main concourse.
"We're being watched," she murmured to Davis, keeping her gaze forward.
His fingers pressed more firmly against her back.
"Three observers," he whispered close to her ear. "Dravoran by the fuel depot, wearing the blue vest. A T'renar near the currency exchange. That's the guy with the implants. Someone else lurking in the shadows by the maintenance hatch, but I can't make out what species."
She resisted the urge to look, the concourse layout already in her mind. The areas he was pointing out… he shouldn't have been able to pick out those details, not at this distance, and not with the station crowds between them.
The broker led them down a narrow side passage, and the foot traffic around them thinned. Glancing up and down the corridor, he stopped at an unmarked door recessed into the metal wall. One hand pressed against a biometric scanner while another tapped a complex code into a small panel. The door slid open in front of them with a hiss.
"Please," Kraatt said, extending one arm into the room while another gestured for them to enter.
She stepped through the doorway, looking around the room as she did. It was small, with only a metal table and four chairs bolted to the floor inside. There were no windows, no visible surveillance that she could see anyway. Overall, it was the perfect place for discussions no one wanted recorded. Davis followed her, his body radiating heat like a furnace against her back.
The door sealed with a heavy thunk, cutting off the station's noise beyond. Kraatt folded his lanky frame into one of the chairs, all four hands splaying across the metal tabletop.
"You seek information on K’ell," the broker stated, his eyes reflecting the dim light from overhead, indicating the seats opposite.
"What's your price?" Davis asked, voice carefully neutral.
Thexus's gaze flickered toward her, then back to Davis.
"Information exchange," Kraatt said. "First, explain what happens to you." His upper left hand rose, one long finger pointing toward Davis's face. The broker's finger moved in a circle around his own eyes. "This… Not human normal."
Davis's leg tensed beneath her palm.
"Our business is finding K’ell," Davis replied, each word precise and cold. "Not me."
