Page 53 of Space for More

Eden: Sounds great!

I close out the chat and flop back down onto the bed as Mezli emerges, her long hair wrapped in a towel but otherwise completely nude. She does a salacious eyebrow wiggle when she sees me still on the bed. “I thought you were getting dressed.”

“You’re one to talk,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Just figured I’d see if I could tempt you one more time before I have to head out.”

“As much as I’d love to, I need to scan through those files. Uh, Phelix asked me to meet him at the conference. If there’s no evidence of the schematics in the data, then I’ll use the time to talk you up. If there is…well, I guess I’ll do the same, but with Operation Honey Pot in mind. After all, we still need to find out when the meeting is happening. If there even is a meeting. Ugh, I hate this.”

“Damn, all that work this morning, and you’re back to worrying about Phelix the second I stop making you come. You’re going to make me jealous.”

I sigh, shrugging. “There’s nothing to be jealous of. Phelix is your mate and I’m just… I’m a temporary diversion.”

“Oh, sweet Eden. That’s where you’re wrong. Even when you leave, I’ll think of this time we’ve spent together for a long, long time.”

Hope flickers inside me at her words, but they still contain the irrefutable reality of things. Mezli cares for me, but I’m leaving. “Same. I’ll think of you, too.”For the rest of my boring, lonely life.

Mezli smiles softly and touches my cheek. “Well, I’ll let you get dressed! I hope you don’t find what you’re looking for in the data. I hope you’re right about Phelix.” Her smile flickers, the only sign that she’s worried too. “But if you do, I know you can handle this. You’re a certified badass spy babe now, after seducing the target and serving as a distraction while I got the files. By the end of this week, we’ll be teaching those agents a thing or two about covert operations.”

“Yeah, we’ll teach them not to recruit unqualified civilians to do their dirty work,” I grumble.

She nods emphatically. “Exactly! Just remember that. They’re the idiots who are making us do this. If we fail, it’s not our fault. Sure, potentially lives are on the line if we screw this up…” Her expression sobers. “Fuck, we better not screw this up.”

Mezli’s grim reminder helps bolster my resolve as she heads out and leaves me to peruse the files. Enough screwing around—literally and figuratively. It’s time to focus and make sure we don’t fail this mission.

28

Conference goers mill around between lectures as I weave my way toward the entrance of the conference hall, uncertain of how my meeting with Eden will go. Nerves kick up inside me as I wait for her, scanning the stream of aliens coming and going on the walkways for her telltale figure. My hand reflexively goes to the datapads in my bag, unable to repress the urge to check and re-sort them. My fingertips slide against the familiar cool metal and for a moment, the tension starts to wane. Then my thumb catches on a dent on the datapad closest to my body.

That’s not right. I’d put that one on the other side the last timeI sorted them.

Tension ratchets up as I attempt to recall the last time I did this ritual. It was before I left to go to the nightclub, and I could’ve sworn I left them the same as always, but I wasn’t in the best state of mind.

The unease at finding things not in their perfect place doesn’t fade as I fix the datapads. Seeing Eden approaching in a cute black jumpsuit that matches her springy curls, I do my best to shove my distress aside and wave to her. Her eyes light up once she sees me, and that does a lot to set me at ease.

I’d worried that after last night things would be awkward, but she smiles at me, a beaming ray of sunshine that warms my heart. “Phelix! I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

“No, not at all.” I extend a hand in the human greeting. “Good to see you again.”

She bypasses the hand and wraps her arms around me instead, setting me ablaze with the press of her lush body against mine. My mind flashes to her lying on top of me as she came over and over on my cock, and when she pulls away, her cheeks are flushed, making me think it brought back a similar memory for her.

“Sorry, just happy to see you again!” she says sheepishly.

I’m baffled by her need to apologize for granting me the chance to feel her body against mine again, but shrug. “I’m happy to see you as well.”

She touches my upper arm and her eyes meet mine, conveying a strange mixture of emotion I can’t parse. “I know I’ve already missed too much of the conference, but I was wondering if maybe we could speak somewhere less crowded.”

“Is everything alright?” I ask.

She smiles, but that same strange emotion lingers in her gaze. “Yeah! I just wanted to talk to you about something…sensitive.” She looks around and leans in to whisper, her warm breath against my neck and her intriguing scent making me shiver. “Medical stuff.”

That wasn’t what I was expecting. Is she injured? Dammit, I should’ve been more careful. The thought of causing her pain makes me feel ill.

I try my best to remain calm as I respond. “Of course. Whatever you need.”

We find a small seladin bakery with a secluded courtyard for customers, and Eden insists on treating me to a pastry. I want to argue that I should be the one to pay, but that would negate her kind gesture.

When we sit, she gives me another inscrutable smile, and I can’t help feeling like she’s trying to soften me up before a blow.

---