Six
Despite her teasing and cajoling, Pace refused to stay in their room and get naked. It wasn’t that he didn’t look interested. Lola had seen his eyes follow her, watched his hands twitch when she bent over to retrieve a jacket from her bag. He seemed to have an appreciation of her physique, for which she was grateful, but he was also damned determined they get to know each other better before exploring each other’s bodies. A novel approach for two people dating. Not that Lola was very experienced.
She’d had exactly two short-lived relationships. One with a supervisor at the mines, a situation that ended when his transgression of copulating with an apprentice had been discovered. He’d been immediately transferred, and she’d never seen him again. Her second might have been someone she could have eventually accepted as a mate. They were relatively compatible in bed. But he was un-stimulating, mentally, and had pushed too hard and too fast to make things permanent. Lola wasn’t ready for that. She relished the freedom to be who she wanted, when she wanted, and to give that up had chafed her.
Now she was considering an off-planet relationship, but she had yet to tell Pace the special circumstances around what being with her would mean. She wondered how he would take it. The thought made her nervous. She needed to cement their bond with some fucking before she dropped her bomb.
“Come on. Let’s go.” Pace walked to the door after having used the facilities. Lola sat, poised on the bed.
“Are you sure?” She gave him one last opportunity.
He gave a huge huff and shook his head. “I’m not changing my mind,” he told her, holding out his hand. “Now, join me or stay here by yourself.”
That was no choice at all. Lola sighed. Rising, she took his hand. “Lead on.”
Her fingers tingled when they met his. She looked up into his face, seeing his jaw clench and his eyes lustful. Hah! So he is feeling it, too. Good. If it weren’t for her peculiar…circumstances, which she’d have to reveal to him later, she’d be enjoying the build-up of sexual tension. Ah, hockstad. Why not? She let go of her trepidation, eager to allow the carnal pressure’s escalation.
Lola rubbed her thumb over the pulse point on Pace’s wrist. “Where to first?” She raised on tiptoes and leaned in to breathe the masculine scent of his neck. If lucky, she’d disturb the small hairs, which would give him goosebumps.
Pace snorted, but sure enough, his skin pebbled. She hid her satisfaction, knowing his male nimples would be hard as diamonds.
“Did you just sniff my neck?”
“Checking out your pheromones. Do you not have such things on your planet?” She blinked innocently, knowing that almost all living beings had the chemical substance to attract mates.
“We do.”
He became quiet as he led her down the hall to the open, and empty, elevator. Once the doors slid closed behind them, he crowded her into the back corner, using the bulk of his large body to hem her in. He brought their joined hands to the wall above her head.
“And pheromones ignite hormones, which leads to…” He leaned down and ran his nose from her earlobe to her collarbone.
She shivered. Her nimples responded instantly, and Lola couldn’t help herself. She lowered his hand, placing it over her eager hillock and finished his sentence. “…physical manifestations in the erogenous centers of the torso.”
He didn’t take his palm away, but gave a gentle, appreciative squeeze. “And a lovely torso it is.”
Lola’s lids drooped and she raised her head, certain they were about to have their first kiss. Pace gave a long look to her lips, but instead of meeting her eager mouth, he dropped a quick buss on the end of her nose before stepping away and breaking their contact altogether.
“But you can’t sway my decision,” he stated with finality. His breathing was erratic, so she knew he wasn’t unaffected.
Lola pouted, which made him laugh.
“You’re pretty transparent right now, my lady.”
“Hmph,” she chuffed disgruntledly. “That’s a silly thing to say. You cannot see through me.”
He chuckled. “Maybe not your body, but your motives are obvious.”
She straightened and made a show of brushing off the hillock he’d touched. “And you’d better get used to it,” she told him with an amused, yet calculating look. “Because I plan on testing you many times today.”
“Which will be my pleasure.” When he grinned, his twin dimples popped out on either side of his mouth, partially hidden by his intriguing stubble.
Lola raised a finger to sinuously trace first one indent, then the other. “I’ll be licking these before the day is over.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll make sure to keep them tucked away.” He led her from the elevator and into the lobby.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” she teased, keeping easy pace with him. “I’m going to make you grin at every opportunity that becomes available.”
“Why do I have a feeling you’re fully capable of that.”
“Because I’m extremely amusing,” Lola quipped back. “As well as vastly intelligent.”
“I have no doubt.”
She kept up a running commentary of her positive attributes as they headed out of the hotel and walked back to the main square. “You’ll find me reliable, loyal, conscientious, shrewd, bold, ardent…” She glanced over to see how he liked that one.
“Ardent is good,” he allowed, attempting to keep a straight face.
She upped her game. “I’m nimble, incredibly agile and very direct.”
A cough escaped him. “I’ve already figured out the direct part,” he agreed. “And I look forward to testing your agility.”
“And even though I’m a bit impertinent…”
Did he just choke back a laugh?
“…I’m extremely dutiful.”
“Dutiful?” He couldn’t hold back his laughter, his dimples coming out in force. “Lola, I’ll give you all the other things you’ve declared about yourself, but dutiful is a bit much, don’t you think?”
“What?” She let herself appear puzzled, goading him. “I perform my duties to perfection. Not one of my bosses has ever had a single complaint against me.”
He pulled his conversalist out of his back pocket and began punching buttons with his thumbs.
“Who are you calling?” A puzzled frown crossed her face.
“I’m not calling anyone,” he told her. “This is my q-phone, and besides letting me converse with people, it also allows me to look up definitions.” He paused. “Ah. Here we are. Dutiful. Synonyms are obedient, respectful, compliant.” He raised an eyebrow in her direction. “Humble, polite and…submissive.” He gave her an exaggerated leer.
“Submissive, huh?” She certainly wasn’t put off by that term. “I can do submissive, if that’s what you like. I enjoy a little bondage and some...discipline. But be warned. I also like my turn at being on top.”
He choked on his spit. “That’s, uh, good to know.” He turned bright red, and Lola took that as a lovely opportunity to continue.
“I don’t have very many hard limits,” she informed him. “Ask me anything.”
Pace shook his head. “Maybe I won’t. Some things need to be discovered. Damn, Lola. This has to be the strangest first date ever.”
“Why? Because I want to know what pleases you?” She turned the tables. “All right then. If you don’t want to hear my list, how about giving me a clue about yours? Do you like your pike sucked? Your nimples tweaked?”
“M…M…My what?” he yelped.
“Your nimples.” She shook her head and zeroed in on the lovely little nubs just visible through his shirt, giving them both a slight pinch.
“Hey!” He backed up and held both hands in front of his chest. “We’re in a public place here.”
“Okay. So no TSA, uh…town square antics. I get it. I’m mixed on the subject of touching in front of strangers, so I don’t mind if it’s off your list.”
“It’s not… I can’t…” Pace paused and cleared his throat, gathering himself. “Would it be okay if I just tell you you’re moving a little fast?” he informed her. “On our planet, it’s usually the male who makes all the, uh, initial suggestive moves. Not that I’m opposed to the female doing it, but can we sit and get some calories in us while I think about how to answer?”
“Sure,” Lola agreed enthusiastically. “I’m pretty hungry.” She’d tested the waters and was pleased to find Pace open-minded as to gender roles. They could move on to something mundane like eating. She looked around. “Do you see anything that interests you? I can recommend a few things.”
“How about you just warn me if something I’m headed for is slimy or raw.” His grin came back as he regained his equilibrium. “Those are both fairly hard limits for me.”
Lola laughed. He was funny. That was her number one criteria in a partner. She didn’t want anyone too serious, someone unable to laugh at themselves. “I think I have just the thing for you,” she told him. “We’ll avoid the gruggle since the twelve eyes can get a little…gooey, but…” She wrapped her hand around his lower arm and tugged him toward a busy booth. “I think you’ll love a Mertha-meat clutch.”
“A clutch?”
“Yeah. Food you can pick up with your hands because it’s surrounded by cooked dough we call bread.”
His smile nearly took her breath away. “We call it bread, too.”
“Excellent.” She positioned them at the end of the line. “This is bread filled with shaved meat and melted cheese…” Oh. Do they have cheese on earth?
“Cheese is good,” he nodded enthusiastically.
“And it’s smothered in pungents.”
“If I’m guessing correctly, I’d say those were like our onions and garlic. Things grown in the soil that add flavor when cooked.”
“That sounds right.” They reached the front of the line. “Do you mind if I order for you?”
“Feel free.”
She requested two clutches with crisps, with a large order of washsnaps on the side.
“Uh, Lola? How do we pay,” Pace asked, stepping up, clearly wanting to take care of the bill.
How sweet.
“If you want to take make the purchase, just hold out your planetrome and the vendor will scan it. The chits you accumulate will be tallied and you’ll pay them at the spaceport when you leave. The Lords take all currency from all planets, so there’s no need to exchange for indigenous tender.”
“That’s handy,” Pace grunted. “But I still don’t like that these things monitor our every move.”
“You’ll get used to it.” Lola shrugged. To her, the benefits far outweighed any invasion of privacy.
After paying, they picked up their food and found an empty table. Pace attacked his clutch immediately.
“Mmph. This is good,” he told her with his mouth full. She took a bite and nodded. They both chewed appreciatively.
“The potato chips I recognize, but what are these?” Pace pointed to the washsnaps, which were little nuggets fried to a deep golden brown. Lola reached out and popped one into her mouth.
“Don’t judge until you try them,” she said, then swallowed. “All I can say is it’s a plump weed that grows in the wash.”
“Wash, meaning ocean,” Pace muttered to himself, then brightened. “So maybe…seaweed?”
“I don’t know. Is that something you eat?”
“Sure. I like seaweed, but I’ve never seen it cooked like this.” He boldly picked up a large, round morsel and thrust it into his mouth. His eyes immediately lit up. “This is good.”
“I wouldn’t have—”
She was cut off by a sudden alarm sounding in his pocket. His face hardened and he reached for his… What did he call it? Q-phone?
“Yeah, Calamity?”
Lola watched as Pace listened, clearly growing upset.
“How long were they at it?” he snarled, then paused. “Uh-huh. Listen, double your security protocols and engage the horn. Next time, blast them with a wall of sound if they get close… Yup… I know.” His demeanor lightened as he took a deep, calming breath. “And, Clam, good job. I’ll be back first thing tomorrow morning.” He hit a button and put the device back into his pocket.
“Trouble?” Lola asked.
He shrugged. “A little, but Calamity knew how to deal with it.”
Lola let an amused smile creep over her face. “You mean Calamity was programmed to deal with it.”
He ran a hand through his thick hair and chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose that’s technically correct. But we’ve been together so long, I think of her as autonomous.”
“Should I be jealous?” she asked, smirking.
“I don’t think so.” He took another bite and chewed. “She’s not quite…submissive enough for my taste.”
Ah, so they were flirting again. Lola liked that.