Total pages in book: 175
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Messing with Bethiah is absolutely in the code, though.
I sit at the table across from Jamef, eating another bowl of his delicious sweet noodles and watching as he checks the “trail” he’s set out for Bethiah. From what I understand, it’s a series of signals that will indicate that she’s tapping into databases and looking for a blonde human for sale. So far, though, Jamef’s leads haven’t turned up anything. I still haven’t told him that she didn’t intend on selling me. It feels like a betrayal of my friend, so I keep quiet. It feels wrong, though, because Jamef has been a good friend, too. He’s different than Bethiah, but kind in his way.
I can see why Bethiah is obsessed with him.
“What’s she doing today?” I ask, my chin propped on my hand as he taps away. “Any signs that she’s looking for me?”
“No. Either she’s on to my plans or there’s another aspect I haven’t considered.” He doesn’t seem frustrated though, just fascinated. As if trying to figure out Bethiah’s mind is a delightful puzzle for him. “She hasn’t left the station, though. Hasn’t refueled, so she doesn’t plan on going anywhere soon. Hasn’t taken any new bounties. That means she’s preoccupied with something. I’m betting it’s you. I’m just not clear what her next move is.”
I try not to preen at the “betting it’s you” comment. I like the thought of being important to Bethiah far too much. “So what happens if she doesn’t access any of the flags you’ve placed in the station database?”
“We set up a DNA trail. Leave a few strands of your hair in public locations to throw her off and then have someone broker a meeting. She’ll think she’s buying from a szzt when really, we’ll be lying in wait for her.” A hint of a smile curls the corners of his mouth. “And then we trap her and retake my ship.”
This really is like flirting for them. Sometimes it makes me feel like a third wheel. I don’t ask what happens to me after Jamef retakes his ship. He’s made it clear that he’ll help me do whatever I like, but I somehow don’t think it involves staying with him and Bethiah aboard the Pleasure Spot, or whatever we’re calling it now. I’m a little unsettled, as if I’m helping them with their romance, but I’m not sure what it means for me in the end.
I’m trying not to think about that right now. “All right.”
He grins to himself, getting to his feet. “I think we’ll set up the DNA trail tonight. I’ll establish a protocol in the station cameras that will ignore my presence and I’ll plant the strands to direct her to us before she gets distracted or bored. You up for that?”
I nod.
“Great. I’m going to shower, then.”
“All right.”
He heads to the far side of the small apartment. Jamef is very clean, and he’s showered twice a day since I arrived. It was a little unnerving at first, considering that his flat is very much intended for just one person, and the shower itself isn’t very private. Even now, I watch as he strips off his clothing and steps into the tiny cubicle that acts as a sonic cleanser, since water showers are far too impractical on a station. I’ve seen him naked several times now, and while he always looks away when I shower (or focuses on his tablet so I can have privacy), I watch him.
I tell myself it’s because I’m still figuring out the missing part of my brain that has my sexuality memories.
I tell myself it’s a test, too. A test to see if I like the sight of his male body more than I like the memory of Bethiah’s teasing kiss. And maybe there’s some switch in my head that doesn’t toggle, because I like his body. I like the lean strength of it, and the tightness of his limbs. I like the scars on him, and the way his arms move with strength, even the cybernetic one. I’m fascinated by the way his tail slowly flexes back and forth.
I’m especially fascinated by the thick hang of his cock, and the piercings that stud all the way up his length to the small protrusion just above the base.
So…yeah. I like Jamef’s body. I like his kindness and his sense of honor. And I like Bethiah’s kisses and her wildness.
And I’m not sure where that puts me. Am I just looking for any safe port in a storm? Or can I truly be attracted to two very different people…who are attracted to each other and not me?
Twenty
BETHIAH
For some reason, realizing that whoever stole Dora is playing a game with me doesn’t sit well.
Normally I love a game. Keffing adore it.
But the fact that Dora is in danger changes things. It makes the game not fun at all and turns it into something that both enrages me and makes me feel helpless. She’s a keffing fluffit, and someone’s endangering her to lure me out. I want to choke the bastard that thought this was funny. So each time I run across an obvious tracker in the station’s systems, or a bit of Dora’s DNA left in a conspicuous place, I’m even more convinced that it’s a game. They’re toying with me and expecting me to take the bait they lay out.