Free Dawn Autumn by Interstellar Lover Page B

“How long should I issue the papers for? Two weeks is usually your limit, isn’t it?”
    His teeth appeared in a shark-like smile. “Sign the papers, Lezza. I’ll take care of the dating later.”
    Her brow quirked, but she half shrugged and made a quick scrawl. Her mouth turned up in a sardonic smile as she glanced at Jay. “Have a pleasant stay.”
    Fred snatched up the papers and quickly folded and tucked them away. “She will.”
    Jay didn’t appreciate being towed behind Fred—or whatever his name was—at a near jog. It was also a nasty shock to remember she was still dressed in her pajamas and shoes with no socks. No doubt her hair was a wreck, too. As they neared the glass doors to the exit, she noticed that the light looked like mid-morning. Unfortunately, her body still said it was the dark side of four AM. She was tired, crabby, and she felt whining coming on. “Where are we going?”
    “My place.” He held the door for her as she trudged through. A sleek orange hover car was waiting for them at the curb. Handing her in, he tossed her stuff beside her and joined her in the backseat. “Complex Seven,” he told the driver.
    Edgy, increasingly irritable, Jay watched as the car rose and jetted toward what looked like a royal traffic jam. “This is not where I planned to be this morning.”
    Head up, eyes on the traffic, he spared her a look. “You’d rather be serving stale biscotti and third rate coffee to a bunch of grumpy yuppies?”
    “The coffee’s not third rate.” She glanced back at the rapidly diminishing transit building.
    “Forget it. You’re on vacation. For the next few days, all you have to do is have fun.”
    “I’m going to loose my job.”
    “You don’t even like that job.”
    “It pays the bills,” she said stubbornly.
    He just looked at her.
    “I can’t just run off and ... and ....”
    He kissed her, cutting off her tired tirade. Since they weren’t alone, he reluctantly eased back after a bare moment. “You’re tired. Think about it all later. Rest now,” he whispered against her lips. Settling her against his shoulder, he kissed her hair, then went back to watching traffic.
    It was an old habit, one that had saved his life more than once.
    The city flashed by, and he glanced at Jay, wondering how she was seeing her first alien metropolis. She was fast asleep. With a grin, he returned to watching for assassins.
    * * * *
    Jay stirred sleepily as Fred helped her out of the cab and then swung her into his arms. Too tired to care if they were making a spectacle, she let him carry her past the fish-like doorman, across the lobby and to the elevator before she stirred. “Put me down,” she said fretfully.
    He smirked, but complied as the large rodent who’d served as their cabbie set her gear inside the elevator. Fred paid the creature, then hit the button for the top floor. As soon as the doors shut, he pulled her into a long, hot kiss, plastering her limp body against his hard length. Only when her knees went limp did he ease back. “Still want to walk?” he whispered against her lips.
    A muffled grunt was the best she could do. Easing away, she retrieved her guitar, allowing him to carry the rest. The doors slid open onto a tiled hallway. Doors of rich, gleaming wood ran up and down it; four doors in all. Fred led her to the on the right and palmed the lock. He then keyed in a code, took her hand, and placed it over the plate. The computer hummed, beeped, and went black.
    “Now you’re in the computer so you can come and go,” Fred explained. “I just got this place a couple of weeks ago. Tell me what you think.”
    Jay blinked as he opened the door on a softly lit, roomy suite. She’d expected something stark, maybe all chrome and spacey, but his apartment was filled with comfortable furniture in warm, spicy tones. The walls were a relaxing cream with oak trim, and the terracotta tiles on the floor were warm as she slipped off her shoes.
    Fred left her