Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Special Agent Sky’lar, for her part, was examining the array of weaponry.
“Hmm…let me get a 580 pulse pistol blaster with an extra charge pack and a stun-stick,” she said after a moment. “Oh, and a holster, of course.”
“Of course.” The attendant behind the counter nodded and picked out the weapons Sky’lar had ordered. Then she went to the back and returned with a thick leather belt with holsters on either side.
Torin wasn’t sure if he ought to watch or not as Special Agent Sky’lar strapped the holster low over her full hips and arranged the weapons. Everything she did felt like some kind of peep show due to the damn mesh uniform. Did it really not bother her to know that anyone could see her full breasts and ripe nipples? Even the slit of her plump little pussy was visible between her legs!
She had the figure of an Elite—a female the Goddess had blessed with extra curves—and it was damn hard not to notice. Still, he strove to keep his expression neutral and his eyes above her neck as she fit the weapons she’d requested into their respective places on her belt.
“I don’t know what your culture is like, but around here it’s considered rude to stare at someone you just met the way you’re staring at me,” she remarked, jerking him out of his contemplation.
“Fuck!” Torin muttered—feeling his face get hot. “Sorry—didn’t mean to.”
“I can’t be that out of the ordinary for you,” she went on, not acknowledging his apology. “You must see Kindred females all the time, right?”
Torin shook his head.
“Actually, no. As I was telling your Captain, we’re 95% male and most of the females of our kind elect to become priestesses to the Goddess. They stay in the Sacred Grove which isn’t someplace the average warrior visits very often.”
“Priestesses?” Sky’lar made a low, melodious sound that ended in a hissing noise. After a moment, Torin realized it was a kind of laughter—probably the same kind she heard from the Serpentines who surrounded her.
“Yes, that’s right, priestesses,” he said, trying to keep his eyes above her neck and fixed on her sharp, pretty features instead of her lush body. “Do you find that funny?”
“I find it pathetic,” Sky’lar said bluntly. “Why waste your life serving a mythical deity when you can actually be doing something?”
“The Goddess is very real, I assure you,” Torin said, frowning. “What deity do you serve?”
“Most Serpentines pray to The Great Serpent Mother.” Sky’lar shrugged. “I don’t myself, but there is a shrine to her in the Deep Desert where she is served by the Priestesses of Ahh-ohh—the keepers of The Book Which Writes Itself.”
“Sounds like a fascinating artifact,” Torin said dryly.
“I wouldn’t know—I’ve never made a pilgrimage.” She shook her head, her long, silky black hair swishing against the small of her back. “Are you ready to go? You’re probably going to have to hunch down to fit into the public transport tube but there’s no other way to get to Region Twelve.”
“I’ll manage,” Torin told her. “Lead the way.”
“Fine.” She shot him an unreadable look and walked out of the station, not waiting to see if he would follow.
With a sigh, Torin followed her. He might finally have access to a crime scene made by the elusive killer, but it was clear his new partner didn’t like him, which was going to make things difficult, he could tell.
FOUR
SKY
Sky took a sharp right out of the Peace Keeper Station and headed back for the tube terminal. Behind her, she could feel Commander Torin following along. He was quiet for such a large male, but she swore she could feel his eyes on her as she walked.
Why did he keep staring at her that way, she wondered, feeling irritated. What was his problem? She was dressed perfectly acceptably—like every other Peace Keeper in the Station—and yet his molten gold eyes hadn’t followed any other officers the way they followed her.
Maybe it’s just because he’s not used to seeing females of his own kind—he admitted that they’re rare and mostly hide themselves away in some grove, she speculated.
But it wasn’t just the fact that the huge Kindred was looking at her—it was the way he was looking at her. His golden eyes got half-lidded as they followed her every move. Sky couldn’t read his expressions well enough to understand what that meant, but for some reason the way he was looking at her made her feel itchy and hot under her black mesh uniform.
It was almost as though he was hungry and she was some delicacy he wanted to eat, Sky thought. Which didn’t make any sense but that was the idea that popped into her head when he looked at her like that.
Well, she would teach him a lesson—about looking at her that way and butting into her case, she decided. Not to mention being too damn tall. Taking a left, she went down a small alleyway until she found what she was looking for.