The walk to the damn hotel had been almost impossible.

We were in a strange place, for all I knew, infiltrated by Hunters, hell, even common street thieves.

But all I could do was watch Nadira’s legs and ass as she walked in front of me, damn pieces of fabric moving and sliding over her, promising at what lay underneath the concealing leaves.

Now she stood frozen, lips parted and eyes wide, her gorgeous body exposed to me.

I stepped towards her and she teetered back slightly on those ridiculous heels.

Another step, and I gripped her arms, pulling her close enough that her tightly puckered nipples pressed against my chest through the fabric of the stupid shirt.

“Don't run,” I growled. “I’ll only chase you.”

Her hand dipped between us, stroking my painfully hard cock through the pants. I stood, rigid, fixed to the floor with her every move.

“But what if I want you to chase me?” She licked her lips and while I was too stunned at her words to move, she slid out of my grip and dashed across the suite.

I sprang across the room, tearing the shirt off as I ran. Nadira laughed as she wove through the columns, whipping around one to change directions, dancing behind the low-slung stack of pillows.

Rather than go around, I leapt over it. I could hear her heartbeat, smell her arousal, and I craved the taste of her skin on my tongue.

She darted away again, but I was done playing. I crashed into her, caging her in my arms as I rolled with her across the floor.

Face down in the thick carpet, she squirmed against me, each wiggle of her body against mine spurring me further into madness.

The fucking pants were in the way, but I couldn't get to them, not when I had her silken skin under my hands.

“Mine.” I lifted her hair away from her back, and when I bit the sweet juncture of her neck and shoulder, she gave a deep groan, curving up from the floor just enough so that I could reach her breasts. Pinned beneath me, the tension coiled through her body as I sucked and bit at her throat, kneading her breast, then pinching the tight buds.

Her breath came in hitches as I slowly kissed down her spine, sliding lower until I knelt between her spread legs.

I shoved my pants down, then pulled her hips up, ground her ass against me.

“Ronan,” she panted. “Please…”

“Please what, babe?” I slid the head of my cock through her hot entrance, teasing her, but with her first twitch, I couldn’t stop.

Hands practically embedded into her hips, I slammed into her center, her moans driving me on as I picked up speed, spearing her deeper with each thrust.

A deep shudder racked her, and I wrapped one hand to her mound, fingers grinding into her clit until she clenched around me, shattering with a shriek.

I roared as I emptied into her, then collapsed to the side, cradling her to me as I fell.

* * *

In the morning, Nadira lay sprawled against me, tangled in the sheets, soft and relaxed.

I played with her hair, watching it fall between my fingers. “We’re going to stay in hotels all the time.”

“I don’t think I’d survive.” She pushed up on one elbow. “I did like that dress, you know.”

I pulled her back down to me. “Then program up another one. Hell, make two. Just realize, if you wear them out, you’re going to get the same result.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She wiggled out of bed. “I’m going to run through the shower. No!”

She turned back, palm held out. “Don’t join me! If you start up again, we won’t get to Thantorn before they close today.”

It was no great hardship to watch her while she selected a new dress from the fabricator.

“I’ll need a new shirt,” I reminded her. “Something less…” I waved my hands in the air, at a loss for the right description, “fluffy would be nice.”

“We can manage that.”

When the shower jets started, I headed to the small seating area and flipped through the food options.

Too many dishes I’d never heard of, things that didn’t look particularly interesting, things that looked downright weird.

I flipped to the end. Eh, it would work.

When Nadira emerged from the privacy room wrapped in a thick robe, her hair twisted up in a towel, she made a beeline for the table.

“Curried noodles. Perfect. Just glad I waited to dress.”

We planned while slurping. “About our visit to Thantorn. I’m going to be a total bitch again. Sorry about that. Just keep looking bored and annoyed at everything, and you’ll fit right in.”

I grunted. “If all the people on this deck are like the idiot downstairs, bored and annoyed won’t be much of a stretch. Would have been better to have a droid.”

“Nixie said Thantorn Corp had blocked their buildings from external taps. We’re betting that getting data out will be easier than getting in.”

“Hell of a bet.” I drained my bowl, sat back. I didn’t like this.

“Yeah, but it’s what we’ve got. We just need to get close to a comm, leave the bug, and get back.”

Sounded simple. Should have been. But, of course, it wasn’t.

I was pretty sure the bitch act was just that, an act. But if I hadn’t known her before, I sure wouldn’t be interested in meeting her this way.

The dress of deep wine skimmed over her curves, the dark gold trim matching the decoration on my own green shirt and charcoal jacket.

Despite the modest cut and line, I wanted to tear it from her body, so maybe my reaction last night wasn’t entirely the fault of the leafed dress.

Hair teased and re-smoothed into a blonde tower, drops of crystal swinging from her ears, she slid through the hotel lobby like one of her own scalpels.

Then, with a wink, there was my Nadira again, just dressed up in costume.

And it was time for the play.

A short flitter ride from the hotel deposited us at the branch office of Thantorn. We could have walked, but a quick glance at the empty streets killed that idea. Nobody bothered to use their own muscle here.

The driver stood at the door, waiting, while Nadira pulled a small compact out of a wristlet colored to match her dress and checked her makeup.

I smothered my laugh and went around to her side of the flitter to help her out.

Where the hotel had been designed to be cold, glossy, Thantorn Corp. emulated some historical vid. Dark wood panels lined the walls, with lighter hued half-walls breaking the space up, topped with broad-leaved twining plants.

Thick rugs covered the floors and polished warm metal softly reflected the subdued lighting. It even smelled vaguely musty, like something dredged from the past.

A young man, light hair pulled back into a short tail, rose from a desk that faced the front door.

"Thank you for visiting Thantorn Corp, Ms. Tannu," he beamed. "How may we be of service today?"

"I'd like to check on the balance of my account, make some transfers, you know, the things people usually do here."

Nadira’s gaze passed through the man, whose smile faltered for just a moment then resumed just as brilliantly as before.

"Of course. One of our associates will be right with you. We'd been informed of your arrival, of course, thank you so much for visiting while you're on-”

“Please find someone soon,” Nadira cut in.

I almost felt sorry for the kid as he swallowed hard and backed away, the dazzling smile looking a little brittle now.

He must have been wired for sound. He hadn't made more than four scraping steps back when an older woman with an air of command about her came striding across the chamber.

She stretched her arm out for a handshake but managed to pull it back to her side almost gracefully when Nadira left it hanging.

“Miss Tannu, I’m Vice-President Panier. If you’d accompany me?”

Her gaze flicked over me, but she didn't ask, and we didn’t offer any further information.

In a smaller room that was just as decadently decorated, Nadira reclined in a gray overstuffed chair across the table from Panier. A table, not a desk, not set up for any sort of business. I kept an eye on things, trying to look bored as my thoughts raced.

Nadira was from the Capitol, but why the special treatment? Something was missing here. Something she hadn’t told me.

Dammit. She should know by now secrets were never a good thing.

But we’d have to deal with it later. A low chime sounded and one of the wooden panels slid to the side, revealing a younger woman carrying a tray with a steaming teapot and three delicate-looking cups.

As Panier poured the tea, she asked “How may we assist today?”

“I want to check my account.” Nadira took the cup, but didn’t drink. I stood behind her chair. Maybe that wasn’t bored-looking enough, but something felt off. “I’m thinking about making some purchases.”

Panier tapped a section of the table before her, and the wood became transparent. Huh. More practical than I’d thought.

“Your current balance is 3.8 million credits, disbursed between-”

My fingers twitched at the number, and the fragile cup cracked in my hand. I knocked it back so as not to spill it everywhere, but no one else seemed surprised at the amount.

“That’s fine. I’d like to withdraw it all now.”

And that made Panier blink. “Oh, well, I really don’t think...”

“Is there a problem?”

“Well, it’s simply not safe to carry such an amount with you. If there are purchases, we’d be happy to facilitate any transfers you needed or-”

“Bunny?”

It took me a second to remember that was me. “Yes, darling?” My voice oozed, but hopefully not as much as the hotel attendant’s had.

“What do you think a good spread of spikes would be?”

By the time Panier and I came to an agreement as to the number of spikes and the credit distribution on each, she seemed a little more settled, but still not happy.

“I’ll leave you two here while I make arrangements.” She slid out of the room through the hidden panel.

Nadira pulled her compact out again, but it fell to the carpeted floor. “Bunny, would you?”

“Of course.” From under the table I could see an exposed corner of the hidden comm unit.

I opened the compact, pulled the tiny black receiver from the case, and stuck it to the corner. Might not be perfect, but it was the best we were going to get.

When Panier returned with a padded case, credit spikes all safely nestled inside, I took it from her, checked the contents, and nodded to Nadira. “Ready?”

“More than.” Her fingers drummed on the strap of the wristlet, but we didn’t dare check to see if the bug had infiltrated yet. Not until we were safe on the Legacy.

She glided through the lobby, Panier at her heels. “Once you’ve completed your transactions, I do hope you’ll consider returning your investment to us.”

Nadira didn’t bother to answer, and I just shrugged. “Never know what’s going to happen, right?”

Outside, the driver stood by the door to the flitter, and I helped her slide in and handed her the case of credits.

Before I could get to the other side, the flitter tore away, with Nadira trapped inside.