The smell was intoxicating, dizzying, and crushing. It reminded Nox of the public consummation ceremonies. Reminded him of home.
Perhaps not the best of Cinder, but an aspect of her nonetheless.
Across the sea of potent stimulation, Rayne met Nox’s eyes with a primal craving in her gaze. And it wasn’t carnal. No, Nox found this element of Rayne far more intriguing.
Violence in her stride, she crossed the arena. The Luk behind the bar watched Rayne go with a smirk, mistaking her intentions. Nox recognized the storm in her eyes, and as Rayne waded nearer through the sea of sex and onlookers, Nox felt their heart racing.
Her or him? Which one’s chest had started the pounding anticipation? And why was Nox more aroused by the potential between them than the entire vice arena?
Rayne stopped within inches of Nox and let him see it.
He glanced around, taking in the space and all the strange coincidences lately. It made him smirk as he mused, “Do you ever feel the universe is trying to send you a message?”
Rayne smiled like a predator with sharp teeth. “That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.”
“That’s Dagger.” She turned and waved to the Luk, who returned the gesture while she said, “He won’t let me up the elevator without paying a price.”
With a shrug, Nox reached for his stash of credits. “It’s not a king’s ransom, but I can pay…”
Without turning back to face Nox, Rayne shook her head. Her voice was nearing Atramentous. “He wants something he has no right to ask.”
Thunder cracked overhead, drawing the attention of a few onlookers.
“Did he accost you, your majesty?” Nox was careful to keep his lethal response in its cage and out of his voice.
Now Rayne faced him, searching his eyes before saying, “For you. He asked me to be with you here, or he won’t let me up.”
Nox chuckled. “Is the price so high, your majesty?”
Frustrated, she swatted his arm. “You know that’s not—Ugh.” Rayne rubbed her shoulders with a groan, not happy about her next confession. “If it were ever to happen between us again, I’d want us to be alone and not in this place.”
Nox’s stare was hard and confounded. Did Rayne… did she just admit to wanting him? Or occasionally considering it? Enough to determine the circumstances under which their pairing would take place?
That was enough for Nox.
He gave Rayne’s bicep a gentle squeeze as he headed for the bar. The Luk—Dagger—looked less intrigued with the turn of events and more ready to press his panic button. Sometimes Nox’s intimidating build proved beneficial.
“I didn’t realize you and the Rayne Tribute knew each other.” Dagger shrank behind the bar the more he talked. “My bad. But didn’t it make my offer more inviting?”
Rayne leaned against the counter, keeping her eye on the sexed-out customers.
Nox slapped a stack of credits on the bar, saying, “You take this, apologize to her, and let us up the elevator.”
Dagger was prey.
His panicked glances between the two combined with the sharp smell of fear. Higher-pitched, Dagger’s voice lost its counterfeit elegance as he said, “I did nothing to her worth apologizing for, but fine. I’m sorry, darling.” He gave Nox all the wide-eyed contact as Dagger trembled with his next words. “But I won’t—cannot—let you in that elevator.”
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“Nox.”
At the hardness of her tone, he turned and—
Ah.
Rayne and Nox stared out at the arena as naked customers emerged from the pit, armed and ready for combat.
Her voice shook with nervous laughter as she said, “Well, I never imagined this kind of fight in store tonight.” She met Nox’s eyes and grinned radiantly. “You up for this?”
Was the euphemism intended? Nox returned the grin and faced their attackers, so he didn’t see Rayne’s face when he said, “I’m always up for this with you.”
Rayne’s laughter was full of affection for his absurd remark. After which, she said, “Try non-lethal force—”
The first throwing knife hit Nox’s nanite shield, upgraded to stop any projectile faster than 20mph. With his construct abilities learned from Rayne, he reconstructed the blade in his hand and threw it back into the crowd. “So much for non-lethal, your majesty.”
But Rayne was already charging into battle with an endearing cartwheel kick, uppercutting into some naked opponent’s chin. She’d held back, too, because the human’s head didn’t explode.
Nox’s next comer grappled his Caprent-bent arms with Nox’s. Slippery. This one had been in the oil pit. In a lock, the Caprent loaded up for an acid spit. The former King of Cinder snarled as he tried repeatedly to get a grip on his slick, naked opponent and lost. Thinking with his head, he bashed it into the Caprent’s face, cracking his skull, before they both slid to the floor.
Two—No, three more fighters jumped on Nox’s back. Mud rained down on him as he flipped and crushed them. Fortunately, the vice fighters came here to copulate and weren’t well armed—
Nox growled from the familiar lance of a blade in his side. He grabbed the muddy bastard by the arm and pulled until Nox heard the wet socket suction of a dislocated shoulder. When the limb fell loose, Nox’s appetite was satisfied. Only then did he recognize the black hair and brown eyes of his own kind.
The Icarus stared up at Nox and something close to recognition clarified the agonizing daze. “Your… your majesty?”
“This is a bad dream. Go to sleep.” Nox pressed his thumb against the young male’s carotid until the Icarus fell unconscious. Possessed with guilt, Nox popped his former subject’s joint back in place, to speed along the recovery.
Covered in caked mud, Nox flipped back onto his feet—
Not for long.
A female Lamia plowed into Nox with a high-pitched battle squeal. He let them fall over, using her momentum to flip her off him into a hot tub. Nox grabbed her by the hair and punched her once in the face, knocking her out without breaking her nose. He even laid her on the side of the tub to keep her from drowning.
Non-lethal.
It was taking more time than simply executing them. Rayne could blind them all with one sweep of her magnesium field, but it was too signature and easily recognizable by their enemies.
At a time like this—a naked battle in a vice den—Nox could do with some of Korac’s humor. And perhaps some of Xelan’s awkward zeal.
Present company suited just fine.
Rayne in combat was a waltz of grace and vigor. Twirling kicks, swirling throws, and all the while, bone crunched and shattered. Blood, in all colors, was sprayed across her face, neck, and breasts. Her eyes flashed brighter, almost to Atramentous, and her skin glowed with her ethereal vitality.
Not even remotely breathless, Rayne asked mid-punch, “Did you swap contact frequencies with her?”
A human and a dwarf in each hand, Nox knocked their heads together and answered, perplexed. “What are you on about?”
Rayne swept a Lamia’s feet out from under him and stomped him unconscious, saying, “The gorgeous Lyriki bartender downstairs.”
With a flip over his opponent’s head and a blow to their kidneys, Nox considered her question.
Oh.
He didn’t even notice at the time but… “She was interested in me?” He felled the next Icarean naked fighter, covered in cake icing, with a toss into the nearest wall.
Rayne’s laughter was incredulous as she let two of her combatants run into each other. Knocked out cold, but her laughter was for Nox. “Are you serious? She was captivated, mesmerized, ready to take you to the nearest dark corner and—”
“I comprehend your point perfectly clear.”
The number of naked fighters was dissipating, thankfully, and Nox was happy to continue the battle. Unfortunately, the direction of the conversation affected him. What did Rayne want from this?
As if reading his thoughts, she said, “Well, maybe we should date?”
Nox spun to avoid a perfectly executed drop kick and backed against Rayne in the center of the vice arena. They glanced at each other as her words sunk in. They should date—
“Other people, I mean… We should try to find dates and interact like normal people.”
Nox was busy enjoying the moment with the only person he wanted to interact with, but perhaps this was Rayne’s point. Even after spending six months apart, they still relied on each other for contact, for engagement. Maybe they should test the waters a bit.
So he thought, at first.
But the moment Nox imagined Rayne dancing with anyone but Sagan, laughing at their jokes, touching their face—
A fist collided with his gut, and the feeling was synonymous.