Page 4 of Caught By Menace

“We did once,” she reminded him. There was such hope in his voice. She didn’t have the heart to add that it had gotten weird and awkward so fast. Afraid this might be their last meeting ever, she stepped close and wound her arms around his waist. Rising on tiptoes, she pressed their lips together in a gentle, lingering kiss. “Good night, Danny.”

“Night, Naya.” He caressed her face and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Be safe.”

“I’ll try.” She couldn’t promise anything else.

“I’ll catch up with you in the colonies.” He rubbed her earlobe between his forefinger and thumb. “I can’t decide if you’re incredibly brave or just really stupid.”

Laughing softly, she pecked his cheek and started to walk away. “Probably a bit of both.”

Out in the cool night, Naya kept to the shadows again. Her mind raced as she cut across Connor’s Run. She tried not to focus on how badly things could go wrong. The alderman might be unsuccessful in his quest to switch numbers. Or, even worse, he might sell her out to the authorities as a political dissident to curry favor with someone higher up the food chain.

Even if she made it into the Grab, either she or Jennie could be snatched up by one of the Harcos warriors. If Jennie were caught, Naya would have to let herself be taken so they could stay together and escape at some point. Getting off one of those warships wouldn’t be easy but Naya had gotten out of trickier scrapes.

The very thought of being caught made her shiver with fear. There were few things that truly scared Naya. Being dragged to one of those Harcos sky ships was one of them. She’d heard the stories of how they treated their wives. She figured there were some embellishments tacked on to those stories—anything she heard via gossip typically had something salacious added to it—but they all began with a seed of truth. It was the possibility of truth that scared her.

What went on in Harper’s Well and Willow’s Tears was bad enough, but up there? Oh, hell no. They put collars and leashes on their women and forced them to do all sorts of perverted things. They were abusive and cruel to their wives.

And huge. She’d never seen such big men. The massive giants of the Harcos race stood seven feet tall on average and weighed hundreds of pounds. They were solidly built men, all lean muscle and brutal strength. Most had pale hair and eyes, but she’d seen the occasional dark-haired man among them.

The face of one of the men, the only one she’d ever spoken to, flashed in her mind. His pale-green eyes and white-blond hair left her shivering—but not with fear. With need. With desire.

She still didn’t understand it. Their chance meeting nearly three months earlier had shaken her. Apparently he’d been on a mission to find flowers. For a friend? For a woman he loved? She didn’t know. Somehow he’d ended up at Jennie’s flower stall in the open market. By chance, Naya had stopped by and the giant Harcos warrior hadn’t seen her approaching. He’d turned so quickly he’d knocked her off balance and into the street, where she’d almost been crushed by a rolling cart.

To say they’d exchanged some furious words was an understatement. The look on his face when she’d told him to fuck off had been priceless. No doubt he’d never had any woman speak to him in such a way. For the briefest of moments, she’d been sure he was going to snatch her right up, toss her acrosshis lap and spank her backside. Instead he’d tossed a handful of coins at Jennie, grabbed his bouquet and stormed off in a huff. Naya had laughed so hard at the sight of the massive warrior flouncing off and clutching his bouquet of fragile flowers to his chest.

He’d started plaguing her dreams that night. Of all the men who crossed her path day after day, why did it have to be him? He was everything she loathed and nothing she wanted. Yet so many nights she’d bolted upright in bed, ripped from the wildest dreams and hovering on the verge of climax. It stunned her that a few moments with an intimidating stranger could have such an astounding effect on her. In real life, she rarely came close to having an orgasm.

But she couldn’t think about that now. She had to focus. She couldn’t risk overlooking even the simplest step in the plan.

Finally reaching her shop, Naya took the alley stairs up to the second-floor apartment she shared with Jennie. She let herself inside the small place and found Jennie sitting on their lumpy couch. Hugging her knees, she glanced up, her eyes red from crying. “Well?”

Naya locked the door and smiled. “It’s done, Jennie. We’re getting out of here.”

Chapter Two

Menace stepped offthe elevator into the med bay of theValiant. He checked his watch again to make sure he still had time. The last week he’d been swamped with weapons shipments and inventory. Twice he had rescheduled his medical clearance for today’s Grab. Even now, he was cutting it close. Only his rank and his reputation as a man who shouldn’t be crossed were going to save him from being struck off the list.

He caught sight of Vicious, his close friend and theValiant’s highest-ranking land corps officer, leaving a private exam room with his wife Hallie at his side. Vicious held her hand and tenderly swept his fingertips down her cheek. Not wanting to intrude on a private moment, Menace dropped his gaze. He had a feeling their visit to the med bay had to do with her inability to conceive but Menace didn’t dare ask. He and Vicious had been friends since childhood but there were some things that even friends didn’t discuss. This was one of them.

“Menace,” Vicious called to him as he walked Hallie to the elevator. He smiled knowingly. “Sneaking in at the last moment for your med check?”

“Of course.” Menace nodded in Hallie’s direction. “Ma’am.”

She grinned up at him, her smile warm and friendly. “I hear you’re running today. Good luck, Menace.”

Vicious chuckled. “If the women running today are anything like Hallie, you’re going to need it.”

She smacked her husband’s chest. “Be nice.”

He feigned injury and rubbed the spot his wife had whacked. “Yes, Kitten.”

Menace still couldn’t believe how gentle and sweet Vicious was with her. Vicious was one of the most feared of their kind, a true warrior who had proven himself in some of the worst battles of the war and their constant skirmishes with alien life forms. Somehow Hallie had wrapped him around her little finger. As far as Menace could tell, Vicious had never been happier.

Hallie stepped into the waiting elevator. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

Vicious nodded. “I’ll call if I’m running late.”

Menace wondered at the domestic scene before him. As little as six months ago, he would have been repulsed by such a sight. Now he yearned for these little moments of sweetness Vicious shared with his wife. All the long, hard years of unending war had taken their toll. He was tired of the loneliness and the bachelor quarters. He wanted a real home. He wanted someone to protect and love. He wanted a woman to support and love him back.

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