Galaxy Girls

Galaxy Girls continued 2

Liss’s fingers loosened from Phyrne’s forearm, falling off, but the imprint of her fingers remained. The phantom grip strengthened Phyrne’s resolve. She smiled at the men.

Neither smiled back. One was tall and gangly, about five Earth years older than her twenty-five turns. His clothing hung on his lanky frame and he slouched. A man trying to look smaller, not like the men of Kergeron, who would climb on their mothers’ heads to look taller. But despite his poor posture, the coldness in his pale eyes told her he was the man in charge.

Her gaze switched to the second man, older and shorter, lines etched around his eyes and mouth. Though his body looked like it was carved out of a meteorite, his aura was a lighter red than the taller man’s, tinged with a normally friendly yellow that simmered instead of seethed.

She was going to take him down like he was a pet udzo.

“Give us the money.” The shorter man’s voice didn’t waver, but his gaze was all over her.

Good. The seduction had begun and she hadn’t released one volley of pheromones.

“Why do you want our money?” As though she was an observer, she heard the purr in her voice and noted the change in her walk. Her hips swayed, her breasts jutted, her mouth stretched into a seductive smile she knew was predatory.

Inside she changed, too, pulsing, heating, moistening. Getting ready to suck the life out of either man. Both, if need be. Taking the best they could give her. Anything to get what she wanted as she automatically assessed them, seeing which would make the best sperm donor for a future child.

With her mind, she knew she didn’t want either one. But her body... A Kergeron woman’s body didn’t listen to her mind, not when it was ovulating.

“Don’t come any closer. I’d hate to ice a babe.” The shorter man motioned with his gun. “We know you cheated. We don’t know how, but you’ll tell us.”

Phyrne stopped, her feet apart, the wind blowing back her hair. Deena’s voice trembled in her mind. “They want to know why we did it so they can stop other people from doing the same thing.”

“Would you believe my aunt had a dream?” Phyrne asked.

He laughed. She looked at the other man. His expression hadn’t changed. Despite his soft skin, he’d match Argon in lack of emotion.

When she got through with him, he’d be a mud puddle of emotion.

Then she looked at his eyes and despite the warming inside her, the coldness of a Kergeron night stole into her bloodstream.

“We know your IDs are fake,” the shorter guy said. “I hope you didn’t blow your wad on them. The boss said a blind man could see through them.”

“Then why did he give us the money?” Liss stepped next to Phyrne.

“C’mon, you know the answer.” The shorter guy must’ve been the designated talker while the taller one was the designated scarecrow. “If he’d kicked your asses outa there, you never would’a spilled how you cheated the house.”

“Enough yakking.” The taller man hardly moved his mouth as he spoke. “Throw the money on the ground, then start talking. Do what I say and nothing will happen to you.”

He’s lying. Deena’s voice in Phyrne’s mind was pitched high with fear. He wants to hurt us. As a warning to the rest of us. They think we’re Gypsies because of the color of our skin. Maybe I could scream in his head. That would scare him.

Phyrne’s gaze flickered to Deena, slim and defenseless and breakable. No! That would make him shoot you. Let me take care of it. Tell Liss and Ki that I’ll handle it.