Nikki waited breathlessly at the staff commons cabin.

She knew it was unlikely that Indiana would be finished with the game for hours, but she had planned to meet him here and was too amped up to be with her friends.

She had brought a book with her, but it sat abandoned on a picnic table as she paced the screened room, looking out onto the lake and the bit of lawn she could see from her vantage point.

The moonlight was just right to allow her to see one wall of the cottage on the island in the middle of the lake. A trick of the water’s reflection made it seem as if there was a light coming from one of the windows.

The sight gave her a little shiver of dread. It was only a silly ghost story, she knew, but things seemed less silly when you were alone in the dark on top of a hill.

She decided to light a couple of candles. There were several left over from the last staff party.

Once the cabin was lit from within, the outdoors disappeared and it felt cozier inside.

Nikki forced herself to sit down with the book.

No sooner had she immersed herself in it, than the sound of footsteps roused her.

“Nikki,” Indiana said excitedly as he came in the door. The reverberation of his deep voice in the still night made her tingle.

“Hey, how’d it go?” she asked.

“Pretty well,” he said. But the flash of his eyes told her he was being modest.

“Did they talk numbers?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“Well, I guess if they mentioned any specific stocks it’s a good place to start,” she said.

“No, they didn’t talk about the stock market at all,” he said.

Well, she could hardly have thought he’d be so lucky as to get real information at a public poker game. She had only been hopeful because he looked so happy.

“That’s okay,” she told him. “I may never be able to get anything on Travers, but it means a lot that you tried.”

“Nikki, he invited me to the real poker game,” he told her.

“What are you talking about?”

“He said that the game they play at the pavilion is just for fun,” Indy explained. “There’s another game, with real stakes and serious players. It’s held at the Crow’s Nest.”

“His own quarters,” Nikki mused, marveling at the idea. Of course Travers wasn’t dumb enough to talk shop with all the old men on the pavilion.

“I think he may be more likely to talk when he feels he’s really in a private place,” Indy said, echoing Nikki’s own thoughts.

“How on earth did you get him to invite you?”

“I caught someone cheating,” Indiana said. Suddenly the cocky look disappeared from his face.

“Who was it?”

“A man called Flanders,” Indy said. “He felt really bad, said his wife just lost her job before they came here and he needed the money.”

“Did Travers let him off easy?” Nikki asked, already knowing the answer.

“No, he told him he had to take his family and leave immediately. It was ten o’clock at night,” Indy said sadly.

“Well, we don’t know if Flanders’s story was true,” Nikki offered. She hated to see Indy so upset.

“It was my fault he got caught,” Indy said.

“You’re trying to help catch Sam Travers, stop him from doing bad things to all kinds of people,” Nikki told him. “Besides, cheating is wrong. And Flanders knows it.”

She could see the wheels turning in Indy’s head.

“That’s true,” he said. “Flanders could have asked for help if he needed money.”

“Exactly,” she said. “So are you going to go to the real game?”

“Of course,” he replied, winking down at her.

Nikki had her arms around him before she knew what had come over her.

Indiana was still for a moment.

Then she felt his arms tighten around her too.

Nikki rested her head against his chest. She felt so small and safe against that solid wall of muscle, the thud of his heartbeat like the bass line of a rock ballad.

He buried his face in her hair, kissed the top of her head.

His breath made her shiver again.

He pulled her closer still, until it felt like they might be one creature, with one body.

She heard his heart beat faster, but not as fast as her own.

“Nikki,” he crooned into her hair.

She smiled, knowing he could feel her cheek pressing against his chest.

“Nikki, so beautiful, and mysterious,” Indy crooned on.

She lifted her head to look up at him.

“So sexy in the moonlight,” he whispered.

She became more aware of his body against hers. The way her nipples pulsed and ached against him. The rigid length of him pressed to her belly.

There were literally a million reasons to pull away.

But Nikki couldn’t think of a single one at the moment.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” he whispered.

She stared up at him, unable to reply.

He bent his head and slowly pressed his lips to hers.

His kiss was slow, almost lazy. But it made Nikki feel wild. She felt as if her spirit might leap out of her body.

He pulled back slightly to gaze down at her again. His eyes were hazy with lust.

“More?” he asked.

She nodded and he bent his head to kiss her again.

This kiss was more insistent. He cupped her cheek with one big hand, thumbing her jaw open, caressing her tongue with his.

Nikki felt her whole body respond, as if she were carbonated and he had shaken her, sending all her little bubbles flying to the surface at once.

He slid a hand down her ribcage, cupped her ass.

Nikki pressed herself closer still.

Indiana left her mouth to kiss an invisible line from her jaw toward her neck.

Nikki sighed and tilted her head slightly to make it easier for him.

He nibbled her earlobe, then licked it into his mouth, sucking it gently.

She let her head fall back as he left a trail of kisses down to the base of her throat.

I’ll let him kiss my neck. I won’t let him go any further, she told herself.

But when he tugged at the top button of her shirt, she couldn’t seem to find a reason to stop him. She watched his big hands working as he deftly unfastened every button.

When he was finished, she held her breath, waiting for him to push the shirt off her shoulders, to feel the cool night air against her skin.

He paused though, until she looked up at him.

“I can stop now,” he told her. “You can button your shirt back up and say I’m your friend and I’ll keep helping you.”

“Oh,” she said.

“But if we keep going, I’m not going to stop until you scream my name,” he said. “Do you understand?”

“I’m… not ready,” she whispered.

“Not ready for what?”

“I can’t be your mate for life,” she told him. “I’m not ready for that.”

He chuckled.

“Not ready is better than no,” he told her.

She knew she should argue, but somehow it was impossible to correct him. It was true that she wasn’t ready to say yes.

But suddenly she realized that she wasn’t ready to say no either.

And it had nothing to do with the pleasure of feeling his hands on her body, and everything to do with the intense pleasure of sharing her secrets and her mission with someone. Especially when that someone was smart and funny and brought a fresh perspective to her life.

“I’ll tell you what, love,” Indiana whispered, peeling his t-shirt over his head. “Why don’t I give you a sample? Everyone loves a free taste, right?”

“A sample,” she echoed him helplessly. She was already weak-kneed at the sight of his chiseled body.

“Yes, a sample of what it might be like to be my mate,” he crooned.

She was unable to answer.

“Here’s what we’ll do,” he suggested. “I’ll let you taste the pleasures I was created to bring to you. But you cannot touch me.”

“Why not?” she managed to ask.

“Because if you do, I’m afraid I’ll click with you permanently,” he told her, more seriously. “And the last thing you want is a lovelorn alien following you around blowing your cover for the rest of your life, right?”

Nikki giggled a little at that idea.

“You’re giggling now, but when you’re about to catch the head of a big crime ring and I burst in begging you to marry me, you won’t be laughing,” he teased.

She smiled up at him, bit her lip.

“Do we have a deal?” he asked.

She nodded slowly.

“Excellent,” he said.

There was a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Before she could try to figure out why, he was sliding her hands up against the column she leaned against.

Then he knotted his t-shirt around her wrists, binding her to the column.

She gasped. But she wasn’t frightened. There was something thrilling about the situation.

Indiana stepped forward to embrace her.

“We both know you could pull out of that at any time,” he whispered into her ear.

His hot breath sent tingles of awareness down her spine.

“But if you do that,” he continued, “I will stop what I’m doing. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Do you understand?” he growled.

“Yes,” she said, shocked at the sultry note in her voice. She sounded so confident, as if she did this sort of thing all the time.

“Good girl,” he whispered. She could feel his smile against her neck.

Then he was kissing his way down her neck again, his rough jaw abrading the tender flesh.

When he reached her breasts he slid a finger down her cleavage to pop open the front clasp.

She looked down at his hands peeling the satiny cups away.

Her breasts bounced as they were freed, her nipples dancing in the candlelight.

She knew from Indiana’s quick intake of breath that as smooth as he had been, he had never done this before.

The idea was a revelation.

She watched, spellbound, as he gazed down at her breasts in wonder.

Then he bent his head and licked one nipple into his mouth.

“Oh,” she moaned, the pleasure so intense it almost hurt.

She had forgotten about her own pleasure she was so wrapped up in his enjoyment of her body.

It had seemed like a small sacrifice to agree not to touch him, but now she longed to explore his warm skin. She tugged at her bonds.

He stopped instantly.

“Do you want me to stop, Nikki?” His lips were swollen from their kisses, his eyes so dark.

She shook her head.

“Then you’d better behave,” he told her.

His wicked half smile made her want to kiss him again. But she was his to command, and he was already returning to her breasts.

This time he took the other nipple in his mouth and teased and tugged on the other with his hand.

Nikki felt it all the way to her core. Waves of pleasure washed over her and she whimpered and arched her back for closer contact with his hands and mouth.

But Indiana smiled against her breasts and traveled down to her belly, pressing his lips to her navel as he tugged her shorts and panties down to her ankles.

Nikki’s whole body was alive with excitement. She closed her eyes, trying to regain some sense of composure.

Indiana knelt between her legs and gently pressed against her calves.

She moved her feet apart, until her panties were taut between her ankles.

Then she felt his lips against her thigh and had to open her eyes again.

Just as she did, he slid a hand up her other thigh and cupped her sex.

Nikki gasped, feeling herself swell open as the satiny moisture beaded just inside, preparing for her mate.

“So warm,” Indy whispered. “The well of life.”

It was an odd idea, but his reverence was catching. And Nikki felt like a goddess, her body the bringer of life and pleasure. Some quiet voice inside her intoned that it was right Indiana should worship at the font.

He explored her slowly, his long fingers parting her, gliding across her opening, leaving a sparkling trail of ecstasy behind them.

Nikki was paralyzed by the exquisite sensations.

She wanted to let her head fall back, but the column behind her forced her upright.

And she couldn’t help gazing down at Indiana’s dark hair, gleaming in the candlelight as he penetrated her with a long finger at last.

She felt herself squeezing around the digit, and couldn’t help but imagine his cock in its place.

He groaned and she knew his thoughts were the same as hers.

But he didn’t give in to his own need, instead exploring her thoroughly with that buried finger.

Nikki absorbed the sensations quietly until he hooked his finger slightly and touched a part of her that made her toes curl with ecstasy.

She gasped and he massaged it carefully, slowly as she felt her whole body go tight with need.

He began to toy with her clitoris with his other hand and she lost the ability to think at all.

She barely noticed when he leaned his head against her groin.

But when his tongue joined his finger she cried out, tilting her hips out for more without even meaning to.

He growled and redoubled his efforts.

Just as she was about to shatter he pulled away.

Nikki whined and felt her body pout and grow wetter still.

“Too quick, my love,” he scolded her, his hands on her hips. “Let’s take our time.”

He applied his tongue to her once more, this time with a slow and steady rhythm.

Nikki moaned gratefully, but it wasn’t enough. He was giving her just enough to make her wild, but not enough to ignite that spark.

On and on he went, until at last she knew the slightest touch would be enough to send her over the edge.

“Please,” she whispered, her thighs trembling with tension.

But he stopped instead and covered her thighs with kisses as she moaned and threw her head back against the column.

When he licked his way back to her sex once more she was practically frantic.

He slid a finger snugly inside her and she saw stars.

“Indiana,” she cried out when he touched her clit again lightly with his tongue.

He curled his finger to stroke that part of her she hadn’t known existed until tonight, suckling on her clit while his tongue danced over it.

Nikki floated for an instant in a cloud of anticipated pleasure. Then the crushing spasms of ecstasy consumed her and she lost track of her own sounds as she came apart on his tongue and fingers.

She was in a trance of exhausted pleasure when at last her tremors ceased and Indiana removed his t-shirt from her wrists, lifted her in his arms, and cradled her against his chest, pressing his lips to her hair.