.”
“Really, that’s all.”
“If you wanted a conversation, why did you make an appointment with him? You must have known he didn’t let you into his lair to get chatty.”
“I didn’t make an appointment exactly.”
Katarina blushed as she told him what she thought, that the medics at the clinic had made the request on Katarina’s behalf as a practical joke. None of them had betrayed any glee when she’d walked in this morning, and she didn’t dare bring it up, but she was still sure it had been one of them.
When Katarina explained she thought she’d been sent to doctor a hurt street vendor, Braden burst out laughing. Women throughout the market turned and searched longingly for the source of that incredible laugh.
“Oh gods, that’s priceless. You thought you were going to use a hypo on an ailing vendor, and then Calder…”
“It’s not funny. I realized my mistake very quickly.”
Braden held his brawny arms across his stomach. “Man, I wish I could have seen that.” He laughed a little longer then wiped his eyes. “Tell me more, Katarina. You interest me. Why are you, a pretty highborn lady, working in a slum clinic in Pas City?”
Katarina hesitated but it seemed fine to open up to him, to let him draw the words out of her. She told him that she wanted to do real good with her medical degree, not simply doctor women worried about getting too many wrinkles. “I hadn’t realized I’d be inoculating Shareem though.”
“Lucky us. Most highborn women won’t touch us. Forbidden fruit.” He winked at her, his smile sinful—and suddenly Katarina wanted him.
Her interest in Calder was no less strong, but she had the abrupt, overwhelming desire to crawl under the table, unlace Braden’s leggings and put her mouth over his cock.
She wanted him to bend her over the table and screw her right there, no matter how many people watched. It was not an emotional longing, it was pure physical need. Lust in its rawest form.
The blue of his eyes widened, swallowing the white. Need crawled through her, hotter than the Bor Nargan sun, making her just as sweaty.
“You see?” Braden asked, voice soft. “You look at us, you want us, and we have no problem fulfilling our function.”
Katarina pressed her thighs tightly together, her body craving climax. “Please, stop doing that.”
“I’m not doing a thing. You do it to yourself. I’m a level three—like Calder—which means I’d like to tie you down and have you be a true submissive to me. That’s Calder’s specialty too. Women are terrified of him and beg him for it at the same time.”
Tighter, tighter. Katarina drew a sharp breath as excitement laced through her, followed by a warm sensation and the feel of cream between her legs.
“Careful,” Braden said, glancing over his shoulder. “Don’t let the patrollers think you’re enjoying yourself. I might get arrested.”
Katarina looked up to see two women wearing sand-colored overalls and carrying stun pistols, watching Braden with narrowed eyes.
“Why would they arrest you?” she asked, trying to catch her breath. “You’re unnerving me, but that’s not illegal. Is it?”
“All you have to do is call for help and they’ll come running to throw me into the cells. They’d love to do it.”
“That’s terrible,” Katarina said.
“It’s life on Bor Narga. Home sweet home.” Braden grinned at the patrollers and gave them a cheerful wave. They returned the look grimly.
“I’m sorry, I should go then. I don’t want to get you into trouble.”
Braden gave a short laugh. “Apologizing to Shareem. No woman does that, unless she’s in bondage at the time.” He gave her another allover look that said he’d love to see her in the position to apologize to him. “Don’t go yet, baby. I’m fascinated by your need to talk to Calder.”
“Do you think he would see me if you asked him? It’s very important.”
“I don’t know. Calder is with a woman once and once
Learning to Kill: Stories