“We’d like a ship,” he said, needing to control the conversation. He didn’t like way Raphael was talking to her, much less looking and fucking touching her. “As soon as possible. Before this song is over would be fantastic.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, my metal man, let’s not be rude now. Come, have a drink.” Raphael laughed as one of the angels poured liquor in a couple of glasses.
“Or I can hold a gun to your head and we can get down to business.”
The angels went rigid, and Zeph was certain they carried weapons in their costumes.
Raphael slowly smiled at him, but the glee in his eyes was now gone. Their host turned back to Janet. “Is that what you want, lovey?”
Janet flicked her hair and canted her head. “Actually, a drink does sound nice.”
“Janet,” Zeph warned.What are you doing?
“Oh stop. Raphael is just trying to show us a good time.” She turned her glorious attention back on him. “It would be rude for us say no.”
Their host’s overly loud laughter drowned out the music. “Listen to her, Cyborg. She’s the one with the brains.”
He didn’t want to listen to her, nor did he dare imagine submitting to any of the humans around him, but something passed between him and Janet in that second, as she accepted a glass from Raphael, that had him relenting.
Her smile turned sly, almost seductive as he leaned back in his seat, but it wasn’t aimed at him. She pretended to take a sip of her drink.
Zeph ran his hand over the guns under his jacket. “As you wish,” he said, feigning reluctance. “One drink.”
Janet clapped her hands and crossed her legs. “Yes!” The flash of her honeyed thighs made his cock jerk. His jaw ticked, knowing Raphael and his minions saw it too. He hooked his arm around her upon the back of her seat.
The music morphed into something with a little less bass, something a little catchier.
“Enjoy.” Raphael raised his glass. He and Janet lifted theirs in unison.
19
She flirted like her life depended on it, finding an unwanted sense of normalcy in the situation they were in. It hit her the moment she caught sight of their host across the club. She knew plenty of men just like Raphael back home.
Men who knew or had things she wanted. Men who thought they were gods when they were really nothing more but a means-to-an-end. They were everywhere, like a disease, and she’d almost forgotten their existence since spending nearly every waking moment for the past month of her life in the company of Zeph and Netto.
Janet twirled a loose strand of her hair with her finger, leaning forward as their host ranted and raved over inane things that she couldn’t care less about, but continued to smile and respond at all the right moments.
The tips of Zeph’s fingers touched the bare skin of her back. She tried to remain unaffected, but he made it difficult with each measured stroke.
“Janet, my love, you look tense.” Raphael sat forward. “Let me help.”
“Back off,” Zeph warned.
“No, you’re right,” She addressed their host before Zeph decided to kill him. “I’ve never seen or been to a place like this before. It’s all so…”
“Overwhelming?” Raphael cocked a brow.
“Yes!” Janet smiled. The music abruptly changed and she glanced at the dancefloor. “Almost too overwhelming.”
Android and human couples came together to grind against each other, their movements fluid and enthralling. She envied them for their freedom. The music slowed slightly to a repetitive drum, and the scene became erotic and mesmerizing, yet sad at the same time. Fake women, real men. It made her nervous, although the rhythm made her covetous. She tapped her thumb against the stem of her glass to the beat of the song.
Zeph’s caressing fingers moved up her back, exciting her.He’s here.He reminded her that she wasn’t alone. Far from it actually. She pressed her legs together as a knot formed between her thighs, making her sex clench.
“It can be,” Raphael said, “but for someone like me, who was born and raised in this city—I find silence and darkness overwhelming.” He waved his hand. “Would you like to dance, love?”
Yes!Janet licked her lips.Maybe.If she was being selfish.I’d like a ship more.
“Can I?” she asked Zeph.
