Page 9 of Space for More

“Wouldn’t the vibrator’s buzzing impede listening in on someone?” Eden asks with a giggle. The laughter lights up her whole face, momentarily stunning me with how pretty she is.

My own laughter echoes off the walls of the hygiene room. “Riiight. This is why you’re the brains of this operation. I’d say I’m the beauty, but you have that covered too.”

Eden looks away with a nervous smile on her lips and my mating hormone-addled brain finally clears enough for me to worry that I’m being inappropriate. “Sorry, Eden. I’m not usually this flirty. Well, no, that’s a lie. I am. But I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. So please tell me to quit it if I’m bothering you, and I promise I’ll stop babbling about how pretty you are.”

“N-no!” Eden looks back up at me, the flush traveling to her ears and neck, her hazel eyes sparkling with interest. “I don’t mind. Though…I doubt you’d be saying these things if it weren’t for the hormonal surge you experienced being around your mate for the first time in four years.”

My eyes narrow, assessing her words. “Is that your professional opinion? Or do you seriously not think you’re attractive? Because yes, I’m incredibly horny right now, but that doesn’t affect who I think is hot. I’d much rather spend tonight getting to know you better than be around my terrible mate. Goddess, not that I mean I want to ‘get to know you’ right away. Unless you’re interested… Shit, sorry! My hormones reallyaretaking over. Let’s start with a conversation.” I head over to the sink and dab some cold water on my neck to try to cool off my overheated senses.

Eden places a hand lightly on my shoulder and my skin sizzles with pleasure where it makes contact with my bare skin. Her touchseeps into me, sending a wave of comfort that rivals a Fina hug, and I have to keep myself from leaning into it.

“Conversation and a drink would be perfect!” Eden says, patting me once before removing her hand. “I’m already feeling overwhelmed from being the only human here, so I won’t complain about waiting longer to wade into the thick of the conference.”

Her words shake me further out of my lust fog, reminding me of how awkward Fina and Paul felt being surrounded by aliens when they first came to Spire. Here I am, hitting on my spy partner and she’s still trying to process being the only human at the convention. I thought I was in over my head getting conscripted into this mission, but Eden? She’s probably already close to drowning. She needs someone to keep her afloat, not someone to fuck her.

“You know what might be even better? Let’s go back to my place.” I say gently, turning to smile reassuringly at Eden.

Her eyebrows raise so high they look like they’ll merge with her hairline. “Not to fuck or anything!” I clarify with an urgent wave of my upper hands. “To let you decompress. My best friend, Fina, is human and I remember how hard it was for her when she first came to Spire. The last thing you need is some pervy aliens gawking at the ‘exotic human’ while you’re trying to relax. And I swear I can contain my pervy side, even though it may not seem like it at the moment.”

She relaxes and gives me another brilliant smile. “That sounds perfect. Thank you, Mezli.”

“Of course!” I go in for a hug, but realize we’re not at that level of friendship and touching her will probably set off my horniness again, so I lean in to whisper theatrically instead. “Anything for my new sexy spy partner.” I pull back and gesture toward the hygiene room door. “Now let’s get out of here before people start to gossipabout the hot human doctor and the cute nexxit who spent all night in the hygiene room.”

Eden giggles again and we finally exit the small space. I can’t resist winking at an attractive seladin who raises an intrigued brow at me as we leave together. On any other night, I’d be heading over to chat them up, but I’ve got a mission to plan and a spy partner to comfort.

7

“So how the heck did you end up getting roped into this whole mess, anyway?” Mezli hands me a mug of hot, spiced tea and sinks down onto the chair across from where I’m bundled up in a blanket on her worn but comfy couch. Apparently, nexxit like to keep things much cooler than humans. A few minutes of shivering lead to Mezli wrapping me up in a blanket and rubbing her lower hands along my arms in a playful manner that I found far too exciting.

Sitting here cocooned in a blanket that holds her soft floral scent only heightens the way I feel around her. I almost asked her to warm me up in a different way, but there’s no way I’m bold enough to do that. Sure, she flirts a lot and seemed interestedback at the conference hall, but that was the mating hormones talking. I’m not about to throw myself at my spy partner and make the rest of my week awkward.

God, even just thinking about the fact that I’m on a spy mission with an alien makes my head spin. Thinking about the past six hours makes me even dizzier. It’s a wonder that I’m even able to stay upright, and haven’t collapsed into an overwhelmed heap on Mezli’s couch. According to my parents, I’m great at being flexible and adapting to new situations, but they think I’m good at everything. I’ve never had to adapt so much, so fast. This is alot, even for me.

So if I’m using a crush on the pretty alien who is my only lifeline in this bizarre turn of events to distract myself from freaking out, who cares? Her skin is my favorite shade of dark pink and her black eyes draw me in with a promise of mischief and fun that seems to always sparkle in them. When I touched her, I felt the strangest zing of energy that made my heart beat a little too fast and my core clench with arousal. Maybe it’s just some weird alien thing, but it felt special.

I’d say I’d never felt anything like it before, but when Phelix shook my hand, I got the same tingles. Ugh, I’m reading way too much into things as always. I’m just a touch-starved virgin, and it didn’t mean anything. How could it? He and Mezli are mates. Of course the two hottest aliens I’ve met are fated to be with each other.

It felt like the stars were aligning in a twisted way when the agents told me their target was Dr. Nafar. I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t the same one I’d corresponded with about a year ago. A member of nexxit nobility wouldn’t take the time to help out some backwater medic looking for advice on jury-rigging outdated medical equipment to assist with higher risk pregnancies. Butwhen I saw Phelix, something inside me knew it was him—the nexxit doctor I laid awake at night thinking about, imagining him inviting me to Nexxa Itat after seeing how brilliant I am and falling madly in love with me once I arrived.

He didn’t recognize my name, though. Just looked at my tits a bit too long, then acted like he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. Yet another example of my ridiculous romantic imagination getting the better of me.

I focus on the soothing aroma wafting from the tea and close my eyes for a moment to clear away those depressing thoughts. No point dwelling on some guy who is apparently a real piece of shit and a potential criminal. I’d never have imagined that the doctor who seemed so passionate about helping patients would willfully endanger lives. Goes to show how good I am at reading people.

I take a sip, wincing as I burn my tongue, and glance over at Mezli to find her waiting for me to say something. Right, she asked me a question. “I’ve wanted to attend the medical conference on Spire for years, but never had the funds. I would’ve leapt at any chance to get off of Europa 3, but this trip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Or at least it was supposed to be. I saw a posting about the Xi Consortium sponsoring a human to attend the conference this year to ‘facilitate ongoing relations between the Consortium and the human Coalition’. Turns out there was more to the deal than advertised.” My mouth twists into a rueful smile. “I was thrilled when they accepted my application. A whole week with nothing to do but learn from the best medical minds in the galaxy and explore all the delights Spire has to offer! It was finally my chance to get lai–uh, my chance to get some life experience.”

Mezli’s mouth quirks but she doesn’t comment on my almost confession. “Then Agent Tysea showed up at the docks when I arrived and told me I had to help them in exchange for them payingfor my trip. It seemed like a simple decision. I’d get to attend the conference and help stop dangerous medical tech from falling into the wrong hands. But the agents took one look at me and realized there was no way I’d be able to handle this on my own.”

I don’t mention the conflict I felt when I heard Phelix was the one they suspected. I don’t know if I can trust Mezli to not tell the agents about my connection to Phelix, and they’d certainly send me home if they found out.

“That definitely sounds like Agent Asshole,” Mezli says with a scowl.

I snort at the rude nickname, but tense, looking around the room. “What if they’re monitoring us?” I whisper. I don’t think they bugged us but who the heck knows with alien tech?

Mezli chuckles and waves a rude hand gesture in the air. “If you perverts are watching us, kindly fuck off. Don’t let that jerk make you feel bad. It’s absurd they thought you’d be okay on your own. No one new to Spire would be, let alone someone not even from a Consortium species.”

I sigh, relieved that she gets it. There’s an excited flutter in my chest at how supportive she is. “You’re right. I felt embarrassed at first, but after tonight I’m so glad I’m not alone in this. That I have you as a partner.” My eyes linger on where her soft lips meet the rim of her mug, and an image of her mouth on my neck, alternating between sharp nips and caresses of her tongue fills my mind. Another mouth joins hers, sliding a path up my inner thigh as I imagine Phelix kneeling between my legs. I burn my tongue again as I take a sip of my tea to push my dirty thoughts aside.

“You’re thinking awfully hard over there, Eden. Hopefully, that’s because of me and not the shitty situation you were put into. Because I’m glad you’re my partner too,” Mezli says, giving me a wink.

---