“Fine!” she says. “Stop! Stop, you’re right.”
“About what?” I demand. I’m not falling for any tricks. I want her to admit what I’ve known all along.
She sucks in a breath as her eyes grow serious, and I loosen my demanding hold, my touch turning worshipful instead of teasing. Lor pushes into me, molding her body to mine as she tips her head back. My breath catches at her willing vulnerability when she places one hand on my bare chest, right over my racing heart.
“We’re perfect for each other,” she whispers.
Her eyes are intent on mine, a flicker of uncertainty in their depths. I hold her gaze, keeping it strong and steady as I nod once, then crash my lips to hers, sealing the words between us. I yank our bodies together as our lips blaze with heat, keeping her tight against me for a long moment before pulling back and letting her see that I’m right there with her, only I don’t have any doubts.
“Damn right we are,” I say.
Her insecurity dissipates in the light of my confidence in us, and a small smile touches her lips. I grin in return and spin her around, snagging my pants off the floor.
Then I march us out to the kitchen for some much needed sustenance.
“You came through,”the hacker says a few days later, surprise lighting their voice as they peer into the cloth sack Lor sets on the table in front of them. “Successful on all accounts, it would seem.”
Their warm brown eyes flick to me as they cinch the sack closed, and then they focus on Lor again. They tilt their head, eyeing her up and down where she stands across the table from them.
“You’re different than I thought,” they say.
Lor glares at them, her entire body tense and ready to lash out, but they don’t seem perturbed by her outward hostility. If anything, they relax even more as they rise with languid grace and step back from the table.
“I’ll take care of them,” they say with a solemn nod.
It takes me a moment to work out what they’re saying as they lift the sack, give Lor a respectful nod, then turn and stride out the back door of Tempo.
Lor stares after the hacker, the door closing behind them and bringing what feels like a finalizing silence down between us.
“Well, that was…” I say, unsure what to make of it. “Something?”
Confusion flickers in Lor’s eyes as she flexes her hands in what I’m assuming is an attempt to let them leave with the stardust. Or perhaps to let them leave with her secret.
I can’t believe she did that for me. My heart leaps in my chest when I think about the risks she took, and I vow to never again put her in that position.
She sucks in a breath, holds it for long moments, then exhales in a gust as her shoulders slump and she turns to me.
“Yeah,” she says. “That was weird.”
Finn pokes his head in the door to the back room before I have a chance to ask if she’s okay.
“Hey, you guys good? I gotta open soon.”
Obviously, I’ve been replaced after not showing up for weeks, but I don’t mind. Working this job isn’t conducive to the future I have planned for us, anyway.
“Yeah, we’re good.”
A few minutes later, I’m munching on fries and my eyes are fixated on Lor’s lips. They’re forming a perfect O around a paper straw as she sips on a fountain drink, and I can’t help but remember when her lips sucked on my dick like that.
Lor snaps her fingers in front of my face and I startle. She glares at me and points at her eyes, but then hollows her cheeks as she drinks.
Torturous little star-chaser.
“Lor,” I growl in warning. “Keep it up and see what happens.”
One side of her mouth tilts up, but she releases the straw and I blink, finally able to inhale. The breath in my lungs freezes though, when she slowly licks her tongue across her top lip. I clench my jaw and my gaze darts to hers. I wouldn’t be surprised if my eyes were glowing again; I want her desperately.
Confidence suits her.
