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  Mace flashed a smug smile at Devin. “They are entertaining enough.”

  He waited for her annoyance to show but instead she blinked and pushed her lower lip out in a sexual pout.

  “But, Sir, I’ve been trying so hard.” As she spoke, she pulled her shoulders back, opening the edges of her jacket. The slick lining seemed to glide across her skin until her nipples were almost revealed.

  His dick bounced in his jeans, pressing against his zipper with a sharp ache.

  “I think I need to be punished.”

  She said it with the right amount of submission and eagerness and he could almost imagine that she really wanted it, if it hadn’t been for the mockery in her eyes.

  Two could play like that. “I agree.” He glanced at Vanessa. “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all.” Her gaze grew slumberous and sexual. And she licked her lips in anticipation. Mace held back his own grin. He’d fucked Vanessa a few times. She was good fun but Devin was his focus tonight.

  He turned his attention to her and watched the light of reality invade her eyes. Oh this is going to be fun.

  Fuck. Devin crushed the curse in her throat. She’d gotten herself into this, taunting Mace. Now she couldn’t brush it off, not without breaking their cover. And it had been her command that they blend.

  “Bend over, hands on the table.” Mace’s low, penetrating voice filled her core and made her pussy clench.

  She swallowed but it made no difference to the lump in her throat. A quick glance toward Cayl did nothing to calm her. He stood a few feet away, observing, his clever mind obviously recording everything. God, please don’t let him ask questions.

  Taking a breath, she leaned forward and placed her palms on the table. She lifted her head and met Mace’s stare. The challenge in his eyes shot through her body. She could handle this. It was just a simple spanking. Or at least that’s what she thought he had in mind. Vanessa hummed softly, the sound mocking. Whether it was directed at Mace or Devin, she didn’t know. Didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to let some Elvira wannabe laugh at her or Mace.

  Devin took the noise inside her and used it to power her resolve. She pushed her ass out and lowered her eyes.

  “Please, Sir.”

  “Very good.” Mace accompanied the words with a slow caress to her ass, his fingers measuring the curve. “Nice,” he said, his voice low, intimate. “I’m just going to warm your ass a bit, then finish when we get home. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Her fingers curled against the wood despite the fact that she couldn’t grip the smooth surface. She wasn’t afraid of being physically hurt. She didn’t think Mace would actually beat her and her skirt would protect her from the sting but still the thought of being spanked, in public, made her heart race.

  She waited, the anticipation almost too much before she felt the first strike. As she’d expected, the material of her skirt muted the sensation. She could do this. He’d smack her ass a couple of times and then they’d move on.

  “Mace, Sir…” Cayl’s voice broke through Devin’s calm. “If I understand physical punishment, there should be some discomfort. Would it not be better to strike her bare skin?”

  Her gasp resonated against the wood desk.

  “Why, Cayl, I believe you’re right.”

  No, no, no. He couldn’t be serious.

  “Help me pull her skirt up.” Two sets of hands tugged on the hem of her skirt. Cool air rushed across her skin as they pulled the material high, forcing her to shift to draw it up to her waist. She did a mental flip through her morning and tried to remember what underwear she’d put on. Please don’t let it be the cotton granny panties. Not the granny panties. She remembered having them in her hand but couldn’t remember if she’d actually put them on or—

  “Ooh, our slut is showing off for us today.”

  Damn, the fluorescent-pink bikinis.

  She shivered as warmth slid across her skin, Mace’s large hand cupping her butt cheek. He gave it a little squeeze. The heat in his hand sank into her pussy and it was all she could do not to press back against him. No, this wasn’t good. She had to—a faint hum, high, like a question, filtered through the air. And another hand settled on her ass, covering her other cheek, testing, following the curve.

  “Nice.” Mace asked, giving her backside another squeeze.

  “Yes.” Cayl mirrored the action. “Again, strangely compelling. Similar physical reaction to the sight of her bare breasts.”

  His hand slid down, fingers dipping between her legs. Devin crushed a yelp. His fingertips traced the line of her panties, a breath away from her pussy. Her mind raced with the fact that she was wet, really wet and if he touched her he would know. And he would probably announce it to the world.

  “Not so fast, slick.” Mace’s voice halted Cayl’s fingers. “We want to make sure her pussy is nice and eager before we give her any relief.”

  “Hmm.” That masculine, assessing hum told her Cayl had put the concept into his memory. From what she’d read of his world, he wasn’t likely to forget. Cayl’s fingers slipped away. “Now you will punish her?”

  “Almost.” A tug on her panties made her shift, giving Mace a little space as he pulled down her underwear, leaving it stretched tight across her upper thighs. “Now, she’s ready.”

  She heard other voices in the background and realized they’d drawn an audience. Devin gulped and forced down the panic—and the foreign flutter in her pussy. Damn, she couldn’t like this, right? Not bare-assed in front a group of strangers, waiting to be—

  She heard the smack to her backside seconds before the sensation jolted her—a sharp pain followed by a slow burn.

  “That’s a good girl,” Mace murmured a heartbeat before he spanked her again. The strokes were hard but not unbearable. Each tap zipped through her body and teased her pussy. She’d been wet before but now… She squirmed as his palm made contact again, needing something more, needing to feel something in her cunt.

  “That’s it, honey. Your ass turns a lovely shade of pink,” he whispered, his breath teasing her hair. Then he straightened. “Just two more.” She braced for the blows but still gasped when they came. Her body seemed to move without her permission, her back arching and pushing her ass out.

  Mace’s hand curved around her ass once again. “Just right. A little warmth but not too much.” She whimpered when Cayl’s hand joined Mace’s, stroking.

  “Yes, there is some heat to her skin now. Will this be uncomfortable for her?” Pure curiosity lingered in his voice.

  “She’ll be fine, won’t you, Devin?”

  Irritation returned. She’d forgotten for a moment that they were here on a mission and that mission wasn’t spanking her ass.

  “Yes, Sir,” she replied though her answer was spoken through clenched teeth.

  Mace laughed and gave her another tap, just for being snotty, she was sure.

  “You can stand up. I’ll beat the rest of it out of you later…when you can thank me properly.”

  Fire burned through her chest at the thought and settled deep in her core, enflaming the fires his spanking had ignited.

  With legs wobbling more than they should, she straightened, yanked up her panties and tugged her skirt down over her backside. The woman behind the table—Mistress Vanessa—smiled at her, her eyes glowing with a hunger Devin wasn’t about to acknowledge.

  “Very nice.” Vanessa looked at Mace. “Does she play?”

  “Only with me.”

  Vanessa clicked her tongue. “Too bad. I could do wonders with that attitude.”

  Devin’s spine straightened. She didn’t have an attitude problem. Well, maybe a little one.

  “I’ll consider it.” Mace’s voice rang with sexual laughter but his hand tightened on Devin’s hip as if to reassure her that he wouldn’t be loaning her out.

  It took all her strength not to jab her elbow into his gut.

  Instead she stood patiently as he took her hand
and led her forward. This time, Cayl didn’t grab her other hand. He followed but his gaze tripped across the room, bouncing from one visual to the next. The sights were impressive, even for so early in the evening.

  A few steps inside the club and they stood before a small stage. Devin stopped, surprise not letting her progress forward.

  In the middle of the raised platform sat a woman, her sheer blouse open, her hands squeezing her breasts, long, sensual fingers tugging on her nipples. A man knelt between her legs, his face buried between her thighs. The woman’s hips rocked back and forth in tiny pulses as if the man was fucking her with his tongue. A spark settled in Devin’s already heated pussy. Her body hadn’t recovered from the spanking and now this—sexual and hot and purely wicked.

  Cayl drew closer, the warmth from his body radiating into Devin’s. Mace returned and joined them. She was surrounded by hard male bodies watching a sex show and her pussy was already soaked. The center of her stomach fell away and another rush of moisture flowed into her sex.

  From the aisle, Devin could see glimpses of his tongue as he lapped at her pussy. The woman on display groaned and shifted, spreading her legs wider. The man growled and went deeper. She tipped her head back, a long, low groan erupting from her throat, arching her hips and pressing up against his mouth. Devin’s body moved in sympathy, her ass rocking back and forth, shallow pulses to match the rhythm.

  A large male hand settled on her ass. It had to be Mace’s. The gentle squeeze of his fingers eased and made the need worse at the same time.

  “She seems to be in a fair amount of discomfort,” Cayl announced.

  “Huh?” His voice jolted Devin out of her fog. She smiled weakly. “Actually, she’s enjoying herself.”

  “Those are pleasure sounds?” Devin nodded. “Have you made noises such as this?”

  “Not recently.” She couldn’t quite keep the sigh out of her voice.

  “I can change that,” Mace murmured. She might have been able to ignore the comment if he hadn’t leaned in and brushed a kiss right beneath her ear. A shiver raced down her spine and her breath caught.

  “You know how to draw these sounds from a female?” Cayl asked. The curiosity Devin had heard in his voice earlier was blended with a rough, husky tone. She glanced at Cayl’s face. His gaze was locked on the pair before them. His tongue scraped the inside of his lips as if imagining the taste and feel.

  I could show him. No, don’t go there. Don’t even go there. It’s bad. He’s a client. He’s an asshole and he’s an alien.

  But he’s a really hot alien who seems to be intrigued by sex. And wouldn’t he look yummy in my bed. Particularly with a side order of Mace.

  The nerves in her body seemed fine-tuned to her thoughts and she pressed her lips together to keep from whimpering.

  “I’ve made a woman scream a time or two.”

  Mace’s arrogance should have been a turn-off but damn if she didn’t believe it was true.

  “Fascinating.”

  “You have no idea,” Mace murmured. Even without looking she could tell he was smiling.

  “I assume that he is sucking on her clitoris and that is why she is moaning.”

  A garbled moan came out of Devin’s throat.

  “Well, that’s part of it, but there’s so much more to licking pussy.” Mace’s voice dropped, laughter gone, and she knew he was no longer talking to Cayl. He was speaking to her, his lips teasing her neck. “You’ve got to taste her, lick her, learn every slick fold, slide your tongue into the—”

  “Okay. Enough!” She spun out of Mace’s hold.

  The casual discussion about oral sex was beyond reasonable. She had to take control or Mace would end up describing the whole process and she wasn’t sure she could take that, not without melting into a pile of goo right there on the club floor. Cayl looked surprised that she’d interrupted. Mace opened his eyes in a look of shocked innocence. Then he batted his eyelashes at her.

  She glared and turned around to face Cayl, cutting Mace out of the conversation. Or trying to but he pressed close, his front to her back, his hand on her hip. She could hardly brush him off without someone in the room noticing and damn, it would be hard, uh, difficult, to get her body to do it anyway. He felt good pressed against, strong, tight muscles, heat. And damn, the hard ridge of a growing erection.

  It was all she could do not to rock back against him.

  She shook her head and tried to focus on Cayl and their purpose for being here.

  “So, how do we find this guy?”

  “I simply need to cross his path and I will recognize his trace elements.”

  “Okay, let’s walk around.” She glanced over her shoulder and considered telling Mace to stay put but somehow she didn’t think he’d listen to her command and why not? They could probably use him. “Can you just take us around?”

  “Trace elements?” Mace asked.

  She tried to hide her wince. She’d kind of hoped he hadn’t heard that.

  “English isn’t Cayl’s first language.”

  “Uhmph,” Cayl grunted. “It’s barely a language at all.”

  Mace looked at Cayl then back at Devin. “Nice friend.”

  “He’s an acquired taste.”

  “He’s also standing right here.” Cayl leaned in. The smug superior look on his face did nothing to endear him. “So if you are going to use sarcasm—that was sarcasm wasn’t it?” Devin nodded. “Mayhap you would be so good as to wait until I am out of earshot.”

  “Sorry,” Devin said.

  “Mayhap?” Mace stared down at Devin. “Who talks like that?”

  She grimaced. “I told you it wasn’t his first language. Now could we please move? We’re attracting attention.”

  “And we are supposed to blend in, are we not?” Cayl asked, his chin lifting. He stared over Devin’s head to Mace. His eyes challenged the other male.

  “Sure. We’ll blend.”

  Mace walked away, taking Devin’s hand and pulled her through the growing crowd.

  Cayl watched for a moment, his own fingers twitching with the need to reach out and touch. The few moments of warmth when she’d had her hand pressed against his had been most intriguing, but many of the sensory perceptions had fascinated him. Particularly the visual of Devin—her bare breasts, her bare ass, pushed out and slightly pink. Cayl didn’t understand it but the body he was inhabiting seemed attracted to the female form.

  He knew how human reproduction worked. He’d flipped through the previous reports and investigations but somehow he hadn’t understood the physical compulsion.

  Realizing his escort was fast moving out of his view, Cayl hurried to catch up. There were other females and males around him but his form seemed particularly compelled toward Devin’s.

  He reached out and grabbed her fingers. She tightened the grip and pulled him forward. Noise rose around them as they moved from room to room. Cayl kept his focus on the search for Harken’s trace elements but the human scenarios developing around him scratched at his attention. There was a couple seated deep in a corner. Her blouse hung open, her breasts bare. The male was bent over and sucking her nipples.

  Cayl remembered the sight of Devin’s breasts. His anatomy review told him she would have nipples as well. Perhaps tight round nipples that needed sucking just like this other female.

  He glanced to his left. Devin stared at the couple in the corner, her eyes wide, her breath deeper than before. Those were signs of arousal, he was sure.

  She blinked and gave herself a shake then turned, nudging Mace, their guide, forward. Hmm, mayhap she wants someone to do that to her.

  The idea kept his attention until they turned the corner and came to another small stage. There was a female bent over, a male behind her, sliding his shaft into her, hard and deep. The intensity of the action shocked Cayl. He’d imagined a methodical, rhythmic act. This was powerful and strong, the woman crying out each time the male entered her. The beat became as steady as a pulse. Hard, rhyth
mic. Cayl’s body responded, wanting to move with the same beat.

  A faint gasp echoed beside him and he looked at Devin. Her mouth hung open just a bit, the wideness in her eyes had grown and once again her breathing had become fast and shallow.

  Cayl’s mind did a shift and he inserted Devin into the picture before him. She obviously wanted that. But it didn’t seem right. Then he changed the male, placing himself in the scene as well. A strange pressure built in his groin. He looked down. A bulge pressed out on the fly of his jeans. He had an erection. Hmm…

  He was moving his hand toward it when Mace leaned into his shoulder. Cayl met Mace’s intense stare and comprehended the silent question.

  “Uh, no. I mean, I don’t think so.” He scanned the area around the couple, trying to ignore the panting and moaning, and the sounds of bodies slapping together. None of Harken’s telltale elements lingered. “No.”

  “We’re wasting time then,” Devin announced. The tone of her voice had changed, still out of breath but with a firmness to it. He stared at her face. Her cheeks had turned a delightful pink, similar to the shade of her buttocks when she’d been spanked. His memory told him she might be feverish but she didn’t seem inclined to leave for a doctor. “We should keep looking.” The sound was brisk and conclusive. With one final glance at the couple, she turned and marched away.

  “Damn, I need to get that woman in a pair of handcuffs,” Mace murmured, almost as if speaking to himself. He didn’t look at Cayl, just followed Devin.

  Handcuffs? Cayl knew what they were—the name described the function after all—but why would Mace wish to put Devin in them? Cayl accessed the collective memory and found uses for handcuffs. They were mainly used by police. Mental pictures flipped through his brain, of prisoners, hands bound behind them. Cayl put Devin in a similar pose. It would open the flaps of her jacket and reveal the naked, round breasts beneath and perhaps then he could see her nipples.

  Yes, he quite supported Mace putting Devin in handcuffs and hurried after the pair, not wanting to miss if or when it occurred.

  Chapter Three