Driven Read online

Linna looked at him with an inscrutable expression. "You're tired, too. It's big enough for both of us."

  "Not when--" You're naked, he was about to say, but changed his answer.

  "One of us has to keep watch."

  Her brow furrowed and she looked around the small room. The quirk of her brow told him she wasn't fooled. "From what?"

  "Oldcity is dangerous."

  "We don't have anything to steal, Del. And between the two of us, I'm pretty sure we can take anyone who tries."

  He couldn't deny she was right, but he still tried. "You sleep on the bed. I'll take the floor."

  Linna wrinkled her nose. "On that floor? I don't think so. That's an infection waiting to happen."

  Del looked at the sagging, lumpy bed and imagined the torture of lying next to her again. "I'll be okay."

  She gave a loud, put-upon sigh. "Why do men always have to be so stubborn?"

  He didn't like being lumped in with all the men she'd ever known. "Do you really want me to sleep next to you?"

  Linna put her hands on her hips and met his eyes squarely. "I understand your reluctance. But this bed is the only one we have. It's only for a few hours. And, sad to say, it might be the most comfortable bed we have for who knows how long."

  "Knowing what spacer berths are like, you're probably right."

  She nodded. "You need a good sleep as much as I do. Maybe more. You need to get off that ankle for a while. And besides, Del, it was your protein bars that got us this room. You're the one who found us a way off this planet. If anyone deserves the bed, it's you."

  He looked at the floor, which was pretty disgusting. "But you're not offering to sleep on the floor."

  She grinned. "Hell, no."

  He gnawed his lip for a moment, trying to think of a way to accept without sounding too eager. She didn't give him the chance. She just took his hand and shook it up and down a few times before letting it drop.

  "We're both adults, Del. And...I know there could be awkwardness about this. So, I promise I won't touch you."

  "Bed that small, you won't be able to keep a promise like that."

  She looked over her shoulder at it. "I won't touch you with intent then. Is that better?"

  It was a damn long way from better, but he nodded anyway. His palm tingled from her touch. He looked at the bed, then back at her, clad only in the skimpy towel.

  "I guess I'll promise the same thing."

  Her gaze flickered for a moment and her smile thinned before brightening again. "Then we have a deal."

  "Yeah. Which side do you want?"

  "I'll take the right. Let me just rinse out this thing," she indicated her soiled jumpsuit. "and hang it up to dry. Want me to take care of that stuff?"

  He looked down at his own grubby shirt and pants. She wouldn't want to lie next to a man who smelled of sweat and grime. "I'll take care of it. I want to wash up anyway."

  When she had finished in the bathroom, Del went in. He ran the water in the tub, glad it was hot, but thinking he'd be better off with cold. He got in, scrubbed his important parts and sat back. His legs were cramped, pushed up toward his chest, but the warm water felt so good he didn't want to get out.

  And hell, who was he kidding? He was avoiding going back into the room with Linna. The deal they made...he shook his head. He must be out of his mind to agree to it.

  There was only one way he'd be able to make it bearable and even that wasn't guaranteed. It was worth a shot if it kept him calm enough to keep control.

  His cock was already half-erect from just being around her, but now it lengthened in his palm. He stroked it lightly, aware of his lack of real privacy. The artiwater, hot but not wet, splashed as he moved, and he slowed his movements.

  Torture, but a sweet one. He thought of her nipples between his lips as he pumped his dick slowly, imagining Linna's hand, her mouth, her pussy, in place of his palm.

  He bit back his guttural moan. Desire coiled in his belly and tightened his balls. He was going to come quickly. He only hoped it would be enough to slake the constant surges of lust he felt around her.

  His climax exploded out of him and he rode it, eyes closed, Linna's face the only thing he could see.

  The towel was useless and her jumpsuit wasn't dry, so Linna slid beneath the worn sheets naked. Not a good way to start their deal, but there was no hope for it. Besides, Del had already seen her without her clothes on, and she'd be an idiot to think that a thin layer of material would actually matter. No, when it came right down to it, only their minds could control this attraction that insisted on flaring up between them.

  Linna had a lot of will power. Marriage to Daniel had meant there were many times she'd had to bite her tongue to keep the peace. Her life after becoming mecho had been a study in determination, first with the work needed to get used to her new body, and after, the patience needed to support herself with her new career.

  Linna had will power and determination in abundance, but she wasn't stupid enough to think she'd be able to keep her part of the deal without a little preparation. Being close enough to smell him would drive her mad with wanting, unless she took the edge off first.

  Her pussy was already moist with desire from his presence, her clit a hard nodule she found easily with the tip of one forefinger. She rolled her finger lightly on the stiffened flesh, then dipped between her folds to pull up some slickness to hasten her arousal. She was close already just from the thought of Del's mouth on her and the way he'd rocked her against his belt buckle in the dark, abandoned building. She had to smile at the realization she was going to come again, after so many months of frenzied copulation with no orgasms at all.

  How things changed. Linna lifted her hips slightly, mindful that at any moment Del could come out of the bathroom and find her diddling her twat like a horny schoolgirl. The thought made her finger move faster, harder, not necessarily because she was really afraid of him catching her, but because the thought of him watching her stroke herself to climax was incredibly arousing.

  Linna bit her lip to keep from groaning aloud. Her finger moved faster between her legs, while her other hand crept up to play with her nipples. They were hard, too, as hard as her clit. She remembered Del's mouth on them and her clit leaped beneath her hand.

  Her pussy ached to be filled, and though they were a poor substitute for Del's prick, she slid two fingers deep inside herself. She clenched her inner muscles, imagining doing the same to Del's erection. Her clit buzzed and throbbed.

  Her pleasure grew and grew and she gasped, trying her best to be quiet, but not quite able to keep the final groan from stuttering out of her throat when she came.

  Heart pounding, she took a deep breath. Her clit pulsed in jerky spasms against her palm, and she held herself like that for a minute, wishing it could be Del's hand and angry with herself because she did.

  Then the anger faded and passed as useless. There was no sense in beating herself up over things that couldn't change. She'd accepted a long time ago that she was going to live her life alone. That shouldn't have changed.

  Unfortunately, it had.

  The hostel owner's "boy" turned out to be an ancient, rusting servbot. The top half of its body was vaguely humanoid with a torso and three segmented arms, while the lower half was made up of two pieces of metal tread flexible enough to handle the rough Oldcity terrain. The bot clicked and whirred at them, its single ocular port glowing blue.

  Linna laughed and bent to touch the bot's pocked metal head. "How cute."

  The bot beeped at her. The hostel owner grinned. "He likes you. That's good. He won't take you to the wrong place."

  Del lifted one brow and glared at the hostel owner. "Don't even think about sending us off on some wild chase, man. I'll come back here and--"

  The hostel owner raised his hands and backed away. "No, no. My boy will take you where you need to go. The hangar. Ask for Captain Lunavoss. Tell the captain that Mickgilroy sent you. You'll get a berth."

  Linna stood and