Free Paired Pursuit by Clare Murray

away, a couple was getting busy against the wall, oblivious to their audience. Several people watched the action from couches, nursing their drinks as they leaned against high, circular tables. Somewhere in the shadows, a woman hit orgasm and let out a loud shriek of pleasure.
    Mari jumped as someone placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. She smelled stale body odor, accompanied by the stink of beer breath.
    â€œYou alone, li’l lady?”
    â€œI’m otherwise engaged,” she replied coolly.
    â€œDoesn’t look like it.” The man kept his hand on her shoulder, looking her up and down. “You’re like steak in front of a dog, walkin’ in here. How do you expect me to resist?”
    â€œI once owned a Labrador who loved prime rib. But he wouldn’t take anything off my plate without my say-so.” She turned to glare in his face. “And if you behave worse than a dog, you might as well give yourself up to the Barks outside.”
    Mari rested her fingers on the butt of the Glock, wrenching out of his grasp. Behind the man, she caught the waitress’s smirk of approval, but she didn’t wait around, striding quickly for the door. It had been a mistake to come in here at all.
    She crossed the threshold, the sounds of a scuffle following her. Without pausing, she continued on through the streets, trying to visualize where she was. She only vaguely recognized this area, having rarely been allowed outside their tiny family dwelling after dark. But she could see the wall in the near distance, so she turned to head there, retracing her father’s steps.
    Footsteps pounded behind her. Her eyes widened—had the man come after her? She pulled the gun, whirling, and came face-to-face with—
    â€œFinn?”
    â€œThank God we’ve found you.” He ignored the gun and crushed her to his chest, one hand cradling the back of her head in such a comforting gesture that she briefly let herself relax against him, letting him tuck the gun back into its hidden holster.
    Then she wriggled. “You were looking for me? Why? I intended to leave without you seeing me in there.”
    â€œYou nearly succeeded. Gareth’s back there… remonstrating with that man. And yes we were looking for you,” he practically shouted. “We were worried sick! When we didn’t find you at the Wanderer, we searched the entire City, even searched outside the walls.”
    She swallowed, disconcerted. “Oh. You looked for me. I thought…”
    â€œThat gaming hall was the last place we thought we’d find you,” Gareth said, having unexpectedly prowled up behind her. “Good thing we went full circle.”
    â€œHey, I followed you in there.” She tried to fold her arms, but the men boxed her in, gently but firmly.
    â€œWhy did you run?” Finn’s sincerity disarmed her.
    â€œI—because…it clearly wasn’t going to last between us.” In their intoxicating presence, all clarity of mind seemed to disappear. She felt addicted to their smell, their voices.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Gareth asked.
    â€œYou’re both on male birth control, for heaven’s sake,” Mari said. “For all I know, you make it a habit to seduce women aboard trains.”
    Finn went slack-jawed, and Gareth made a slight sound. “The facility we come from doesn’t permit us to leave without first taking a birth control injection,” Finn said. “Does that put your mind at ease?”
    Mari tried to step away, shaking her head, not in denial but in bewilderment. “But…then you were flirting with that train driver. I thought it best to leave without further complicating things.”
    â€œYou mean you thought we would dump you? That’s the silliest thing I ever heard.” Finn reached to smooth her hair, as if he couldn’t help but touch her. “We definitely weren’t flirting with that driver, by the