Free Dawn Autumn by Interstellar Lover Page A

“Ready?”
    “What? I’m not going in there! Are you crazy?”
    Steady as a rock, he looked at her with implacable calm. “I want you safe, and my place is much better than here. Security has been breached, and this place is going to be crawling with technicians and officers soon. You need to rest, and you won’t be comfortable in a hotel.”
    “I need to work tomorrow.”
    “I’ll call in for you.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and gently pushed.
    She moved forward a few feet and then resisted. “I agreed to stay the night here, not in some...wherever it is you live. I thought you lived here.”
    “Think of this place as my office.” His hand slid down lower and caressed her behind. “Did I ever tell you that you’ve got a luscious …?”
    “Hey!” Jay jumped forward and turned, keeping her hinny protectively out of his reach. Unnerved by the purposeful way he eyed her, she backed quickly away. “That doesn’t belong to you.”
    “That’s debatable.” Unholy humor lit his eyes as he stalked her. “I think you like it.”
    “You—” She took that fatal step too far and blinked as dazzling light blinded her. The smell of chemicals assaulted her nose.
    Fred’s hand closed around arm, steadying her as he moved her forward.
    They exited at a skewed version of an airport. Lines of travelers stood at various portals as the attendants checked their identification and permits before allowing them to move forward. A few of them glanced idly at Fred and Jay as they stepped through, then lost interest. There wasn’t a line waiting to go through to Earth’s portal, and the tall octopi who greeted them seemed supremely bored. Fred nodded to the green attendant, and then took Jay’s slack arm as he towed her on.
    Dazed, Jay let him, too busy staring around the huge building to protest. It looked like they’d dropped in the middle of a Star Battlefield convention, though she doubted the pointy ears on the bug-eyed, warty blue midget were of the stick-on variety. Only waist high, the creature bounced by, wearing only a brown loincloth and clutching a matching satchel.
    Fred shook his head. “I wonder if her parents realize she’s wandering loose.”
    Bewildered, Jay just looked at him, but his attention was fixed on a door across the room. Slipping his sunglasses in his pocket, he assumed a bold expression and slid his grip down to twine with her fingers. “Just play along.”
    Before she could ask any questions, he strode through the door and surveyed the room. Subtly, his attitude changed. A lethal swagger replaced his usual stride as he prowled up to the desk of a cool blue lady with coal black hair. “Lezza.”
    Lezza raised a peaked black brow at his seductive purr. Twisting her pen slowly in her fingers, she looked skeptically over the top at him. Her eyes flickered to Jay, then back to him. “What is it this time, Kutlazx? Another stray you want me to shake up papers for? Can’t you find your sweet-tarts in a respectable sector for a change?”
    Fred smiled toothily. “She’s a witness. The papers will facilitate matters.”
    Lezza gave him a sour smile and reached for her computer keys. “You’re such a bad liar.”
    Triumphant, Fred glanced at Jay, sobering a fraction at her suspicious, edgy expression. When she glanced at Lezza, he knew the reason why. Adopting an innocent expression, he reached for Lezza’s comm and dialed for transportation.
    The machine behind Lezza spit out some papers. Reaching back, Lezza tossed them to Jay, along with a pen. “Sign it, make your mark, whatever.”
    Jay’s brows lowered ominously. “What is it?”
    “Necessary,” Fred said, handing her the pen. “It’s like a passport; nothing major.”
    Distrusting his smile, she slowly signed her name where he indicated. The papers were whisked out of her hands as he quickly signed, then handed it back to Lezza, who eyed him with dark amusement. Tapping her pen against her lips, she asked,