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  “Night, Maggie.” He dropped a soft kiss on the top of her head and stared up at the glass ceiling, wishing he never had to let her go.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Hargous, the asteroid where the implant house was located, was the largest one of the cluster that made up the Dragon’s Mouth. Consequently, the junket docked there first. Apparently implants were even more popular than body modifications, though Maggie was sure you couldn’t tell it from watching some of the slaves on the large asteroid. She saw plenty of female slaves with three, four, and even more breasts. One even had a double row of breasts, almost like the utters of a cow.

  But it wasn’t just breasts—some of the women had been modified to look almost like animals. Maggie saw one with pointed ears like a cat and a long swishing tail to match. Her eyes were huge too and she had a long set of whiskers that twitched as she sniffed the air. Honestly, Maggie wasn’t sure which kind of body modification was the worst—each slave she saw seemed more bizarrely modified than the next. And all of them shuffled along behind their masters, passing silently through the crowded streets.

  Of course, maybe the streets just looked crowded because they were all located underground. Maggie hadn’t wanted to go at first when they disembarked from the large junket. The covered, atmosphere-sealed walkway that extended from the big ship had led straight down into what looked like a black mining pit. Maggie—who had been claustrophobic since she was little and her big brother had locked her in a closet—hadn’t liked the look of it at all.

  Finally Kor had coaxed her down, promising to keep an arm around her the entire time, but she still had a horrible, tight feeling in the pit of her stomach as they walked through the dimly lit tunnels carved into the solid rock of the huge asteroid.

  Or maybe that tight feeling is unfinished business, whispered a little voice in her head. Maybe it’s because you’re starting to care for him and you can’t admit it.

  Maybe the voice was right, Maggie acknowledged miserably. She knew it was stupid to let herself fall for the big warrior, but she couldn’t seem to help it. She tried to keep Donald in mind and the promise she had made to him, but her fiancé just seemed so far away…so distant and unreal. And Kor was right here beside her—warm and caring, watching over her.

  Maggie loved the sensation of being so thoroughly guarded. The hard wall of muscle that was Kor’s chest was at her back, shielding her from harm. His hand was on her shoulder, guiding her through the maze of corridors and his intense eyes watched her every step lest she trip in her high black boots. He was there for her—present and protective in a way she could never remember Donald—who was constantly preoccupied with his work— ever being.

  Watch it, Maggie! You’re getting in pretty deep here. The little voice in her head was absolutely right but somehow Maggie just couldn’t help herself…her emotions were overcoming her good sense.

  It’s just the implant, she told herself desperately. Except, she wasn’t exactly sure of that anymore. It was true the implant made her crave Kor’s touch but could it really make her fall in love with him? Could it really—

  “Well, here we are. The House of Denethor.”

  Kor’s deep voice behind her snapped Maggie out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw a discretely lit sign that advertised “Implants for the Discriminating Gentlemale.”

  “Looks like a reputable place, at least,” Kor muttered, staring at the sign. “Better than those hack and slash implant places we passed on the way in.”

  “I suppose so.” Maggie nodded. Honestly, she’d been too busy looking at the bizarrely modified slaves and thinking about her increasingly complicated feelings to take notice of the different shops they’d passed.

  “Well, let’s go.” Kor held open the door for her and they stepped inside the small, dimly lit shop.

  “Yes?” A little, wrinkled gnome of a man who was probably shorter than Maggie was sitting on a high stool at a work station at the back of the shop. He had dark blue skin and a shock of bright pink hair like a swirl of cotton candy. Other than his skin and hair color, though, Maggie thought he looked remarkably human.

  The shop itself appeared to be completely bare except for a few glass or crystal cases set up around the perimeter which housed small, blinking jewels attached to long, thin, trailing feathers. “Can I help you?” the little man asked, frowning.

  “Yes.” Kor stepped forward, leading Maggie by the hand. “Are you Hobbs?”

  “I am.” The little man frowned. “State your business, please.”

  Kor gestured at Maggie. “I need an implant removed.”

  “From her?” The grizzled little man frowned down at Maggie from his perch behind the work station. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong—I want it removed and I believe it originated here.” Kor frowned impatiently. “Can you take it out?”

  “Let me have a look at it. Come closer, youngling.” The little old man beckoned to her and Maggie stepped forward. She was wearing her leather slave girl outfit again and she was even more aware than usual that her nipples and pussy were on display. The little old man didn’t seem to even notice her near nakedness, however—he focused solely on her naval where the ruby implant blinked slowly.

  “Well?” Kor asked after a long moment. “Is it one of yours?”

  “Yes indeed. The Denari Eroticus—our top of the line model,” the little man muttered. “In fact, this one looks a lot like a model I shipped off to the Yonnie system—Yonnie Six, I believe it was.”

  “That’s it, then,” Kor said, nodding. “That’s where she was implanted.”

  “And the implantation seems to have taken hold well,” the little man muttered, continuing to stare at Maggie’s belly button. “The host is healthy. Let me just…” He hopped down from his perch and came over to them, reaching out a hand to Maggie.

  Only his hand wasn’t just a hand, she saw with sudden horror. The fingers and thumb were hideously elongated and tapered to long, thin filaments at the end. They waved like incredibly thin needles as he moved his fingers and they were getting closer and closer to her unprotected midriff.

  “Ugh!” she exclaimed and took a step back before he could touch her.

  “Hold still, girl—hold still,” the little man said testily. “Haven’t you ever seen finger mods before?”

  “No.” Maggie shook her head. “And I don’t want to, either. Those look sharp.”

  The little man blew out a breath in frustration. “They are sharp, my girl. So sharp you won’t even feel them. I had them grown especially so that I could work at nano-level. Now hold still—this won’t hurt a bit.”

  Maggie bit her lip and forced herself to stand still as those long, thin needle fingers came at her again. As they got closer and closer, she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to watch.

  “I warn you,” Kor growled at the man. “If you hurt her—”

  “She won’t feel a thing. Now if I can just…there. There we are.”

  Maggie opened her eyes and saw to her surprise that the needle fingers were penetrating her skin, poking into the flesh of her abdomen all around the implant. Just as the man had said, it didn’t hurt a bit. But it was very disconcerting to watch. She closed her eyes again and reached for Kor’s hand.

  “It’s all right, blondie,” he murmured, squeezing her fingers reassuringly. “I’ve got you.”

  “Ah yes, here it is. Well everything appears to be in order,” Maggie heard the little man say. “I can find nothing wrong—the organism is well seated within its host and the biological and mechanical components are synchronized and working together seamlessly. So what seems to be the problem?”

  “The problem,” Kor said, sounding dangerously impatient and pissed off. “Is that we want the fucking thing out. Now can you do it or not?”

  “Do it?” The little man stepped away and Maggie opened her eyes in time to see his long, thin fingers sliding out of her. They didn’t leave so much as a pinprick or a single drop of blood.