Page 28 of Stealing the Star Stone
They’d been wined and dined.Well played, Orien.
“I must say, your presence is a welcome change,” Orien said, striding along as his men ushered them to who knew where.“And sure to boost my funding once word gets out of your patronage.”
“Of course.”Her smile was strained.
Eli bowed his head.By now he should be used to people using him, but this was life and death.He’d handed himselfandNova into the hands of a madman.“Our absence will be noted.”
“Pfft,” Orien said.“You’ll attend the premiere.We all will.”He grinned.“But if you thought I’d let you take advantage of my good heart, then you’re sorely mistaken.You,” he pointed at ‘Nova,’ “destroyed years of research in seconds.And you,” he gestured to ‘Thorne,’ “thought you could charm me to forgive and forget the disrespect your ‘nobody’ showed me.I must admit, your credits saved your backside.For that alone, you won’t be harmed.I want publicity without the law digging their dirty noses in my business.”Orien paused.“Let me be clear.You’re my guest.She isn’t.”
They were marched along a wide passage, white-clad staff hugging the sides as they passed.Glassed labs, canteens, and offices preceded the living quarters.Well, at least they wouldn’t be in some sort of cell or strapped to gurneys.They halted in front of an unmarked door.
His heartbeat paused.He held his breath.The door slid open, and they were nudged to enter.A double bed dominated the left, a bathroom leading off.To the right was a small living room.His luggage and their packages sat next to the coffee table.By a wall of windows looking out to space was a table with two chairs.Sheer luxury was in every inch from the lighting to the fabrics to the furniture.The colors were in beige and navy blue, a vase of real flowers adding a little joy.
“What?”Orien smiled.“I’m not a monster, and besides, you asked to share a suite.My team will assess you soon, Blake.Be ready.”
The door shut, leaving them alone.
Nova bolted for the bathroom.
Not a bad idea since a pinch-and-pull pressure built in his groin—soon he’d need to pee.Eli wasn’t eager to learn how to do that.Men just did a little tap-tap, and they were ‘clean.’Women didn’t do the same, did they?With how long they were in the bathroom, he supposed they just waited for the dripping to stop.Damn.Time wasted, in his opinion.They could use toilet paper and wipe.To speed up the process, y’know.
He searched their room, hoping to find some sort of screen he could use to call Graham.He gave a cry of victory when panels slid aside and revealed…nothing.Whatever had been there was gone, ripped from the walls.How long before Graham worried?Would Captain Harolds say anything other than Eli took his things and disembarked?Shit.He should’ve taken the time to update his manager.Now he was trapped with no one coming to rescue them.Their one chance was at the premiere.With Eli ‘missing,’ Graham would be in a panic.
He found himself outside the bathroom door.“Nova, you okay?”
“Oh my word,” she cried out.“I’m never eating cheese again.”
“Cream and milk, too.”He leaned against the wall.“It will pass soon.”
“Wonderful,” she snarked.“Might as well shower.Do you mind choosing something to wear?”
“Sure,” he said, grinning.
She was about to wash his body.What would she think when she soaped and rinsed every inch of him?He dipped his chin to his chest, curious about her curves.In the changing booth, her breasts covered in white had tempted him to ogle.He hadn’t.He’d taken pity on her sheer panic.Like he’d never see her naked?
It took minutes to unpack his luggage and her new things.And when the shower switched on, he gathered a change of clothes.He didn’t do underwear.Neither would she.He chuckled.They hadn’t gotten him a negligee, so he took out an old T-shirt.
“I didn’t look,” she said, emerging from the bathroom with a towel around the waist.
“You can, y’know.”Nudity in his films weren’t commonplace, but they did happen.So half the galaxy had seen him naked.Except Nova.He watched her expression for any reaction.
She huffed.“No, because you’re not looking either.Mybody, Thorne.Remember that.”She waved a hand at him.“You’re just borrowing it for now.”
“Fair enough.”He had every intention of disobeying.It was silly when it was unavoidable.“I left you jeans and a T-shirt.”He waltzed past her and shut the door in her face.
The mirror was rimmed with steam.He faced it and peeled away her uniform, mesmerized by her white-encased breasts and the way her panties hugged her hips and ass.Her ripped abs truly surprised him.He’d half-expected to find a beautiful softness to her belly.Off went her bra, easy enough for a man too used to disrobing women.Shimmying out of her panties stilled his focus.He forgot to breathe.
This…Thiswas hiding under her uniform?
“I knew it,” he whispered, spinning to admire the curve of her back into firm butt cheeks.Something caught his attention, and he narrowed his focus on it.
She had a tattoo… In an unknown language that was almost alien-like.Pretty, and familiar somehow.
He eyed the toilet, sank onto the seat like he was going to have a shit, and waited.Not sure for what, though.Like magic, his bladder released.The relief was instant.When it trickled to a few drops, he started counting, wanting to know how long in general he needed to ‘drip dry.’
The wetness down there didn’t fade.He scowled.
“This is bullshit,” he muttered, leaping away from the toilet and spinning to flush it.
