drawled, rolling up the map again. "Speaking of brilliance, turn a little of yours toward Six, huh? The girl, not the sector. Bren seems to think she's trustworthy, but maybe he's not seeing clearly. Dragging Wilson Trent back here for her to kill doesn't fit my definition of a courting gift, but his idea of flirting might be as twisted as his sense of humor."
"Does everything have to be about fucking?" Lex straightened with a shrug. "Maybe he just wanted to do something nice for her."
Both of Dallas's eyebrows swept up, but a moment later he was grinning at her. "You beautiful, bloodthirsty bitch."
"Mmm. Remember that when you think about pushing my buttons." Lex brushed against him as she leaned over to put out her cigarette in the ashtray. He was warm and solid, the kind of hard that came from working and fighting in equal measure. "Your place, this time tomorrow. I'll bring my list."
She got the satisfaction of hearing his breath catch, but he managed his warm, easy drawl. "I'll clear my schedule."
"Hell yeah, you will."
Ace
Jared's loft might have been wall-to-wall bare brick and exposed steel beams, but it was the swankest place in Sector Four that didn't belong to an O'Kane, and the only place outside of the compound that Ace had ever felt at home.
Sprawled on the expensive leather couch, he eyed the new sculpture of a frolicking couple that dominated one corner. It wasn't bad, for a post-Flare carving, but more loving detail had been given to the man's undeniably impressive cock than to the rest of him. The woman was a masterwork of tits and ass, with a rapturous look on her face that skated close to being comical.
Not refined enough for Jared's tastes, which could mean only one thing. "New patron's giving you gifts already, eh?"
"She's eager to please." Jared handed him a whiskey on the rocks. "But then, she'd never had an orgasm before."
So few of the women in Eden had, even the ones who moved in less elite circles than Noelle once did. Ace took a sip before gesturing to the statue with his glass. "If you put that look on her face, I'm not surprised she's buying you presents."
"Better." Jared dropped to sit in the chair opposite the couch. "I taught her how to get there herself, too."
Which was one of the many reasons he was a more successful whore than Ace had ever been. Ace's artist-in-search-of-muse shtick had opened plenty of pocketbooks and parted more than his share of trembling Eden thighs, but Jared's reputation as a connoisseur of female pleasure earned him mindless devotion and gifts that pushed him past well-off and straight into obscenely wealthy.
There'd been a time when Ace had envied his friend that success, a time before he'd fallen in with the O'Kanes and learned to untangle sex from competition and desperation. "You and Lex should exchange pointers. Have you seen what she's got Cunningham's daughter doing on stage at the Broken Circle?"
"Not yet, but I heard it was positively stunning."
Stunning was a pale word to describe what Noelle and Lex got up to. "If one of Eden's angels making Lex scream for mercy turns your crank, hell yeah. You should come around next week and watch."
"And get the hard sell on signing up with the O'Kanes?" Jared shook his head. "I'm not a joiner, Ace. I don't play well with others."
He waved a hand. "Don't worry about Dallas. Didn't you hear? He finally collared Lex. We've all got a month, minimum, before he even comes up for air."
"Really now?" Jared swirled the ice in the bottom of his nearly empty glass. "Is he still interested in information about Councilman Woods?"
The question brought a pang of guilt. He came to hang out with Jared because he enjoyed the man's company, and had spent years ignoring Dallas's increasingly pointed suggestions that he leverage that friendship into a source of information. But asking about Woods hadn't been a suggestion, it had been an order.
Even Ace didn't ignore orders. "Yeah," he admitted. "Full disclosure,
"Does everything have to be about fucking?" Lex straightened with a shrug. "Maybe he just wanted to do something nice for her."
Both of Dallas's eyebrows swept up, but a moment later he was grinning at her. "You beautiful, bloodthirsty bitch."
"Mmm. Remember that when you think about pushing my buttons." Lex brushed against him as she leaned over to put out her cigarette in the ashtray. He was warm and solid, the kind of hard that came from working and fighting in equal measure. "Your place, this time tomorrow. I'll bring my list."
She got the satisfaction of hearing his breath catch, but he managed his warm, easy drawl. "I'll clear my schedule."
"Hell yeah, you will."
Ace
Jared's loft might have been wall-to-wall bare brick and exposed steel beams, but it was the swankest place in Sector Four that didn't belong to an O'Kane, and the only place outside of the compound that Ace had ever felt at home.
Sprawled on the expensive leather couch, he eyed the new sculpture of a frolicking couple that dominated one corner. It wasn't bad, for a post-Flare carving, but more loving detail had been given to the man's undeniably impressive cock than to the rest of him. The woman was a masterwork of tits and ass, with a rapturous look on her face that skated close to being comical.
Not refined enough for Jared's tastes, which could mean only one thing. "New patron's giving you gifts already, eh?"
"She's eager to please." Jared handed him a whiskey on the rocks. "But then, she'd never had an orgasm before."
So few of the women in Eden had, even the ones who moved in less elite circles than Noelle once did. Ace took a sip before gesturing to the statue with his glass. "If you put that look on her face, I'm not surprised she's buying you presents."
"Better." Jared dropped to sit in the chair opposite the couch. "I taught her how to get there herself, too."
Which was one of the many reasons he was a more successful whore than Ace had ever been. Ace's artist-in-search-of-muse shtick had opened plenty of pocketbooks and parted more than his share of trembling Eden thighs, but Jared's reputation as a connoisseur of female pleasure earned him mindless devotion and gifts that pushed him past well-off and straight into obscenely wealthy.
There'd been a time when Ace had envied his friend that success, a time before he'd fallen in with the O'Kanes and learned to untangle sex from competition and desperation. "You and Lex should exchange pointers. Have you seen what she's got Cunningham's daughter doing on stage at the Broken Circle?"
"Not yet, but I heard it was positively stunning."
Stunning was a pale word to describe what Noelle and Lex got up to. "If one of Eden's angels making Lex scream for mercy turns your crank, hell yeah. You should come around next week and watch."
"And get the hard sell on signing up with the O'Kanes?" Jared shook his head. "I'm not a joiner, Ace. I don't play well with others."
He waved a hand. "Don't worry about Dallas. Didn't you hear? He finally collared Lex. We've all got a month, minimum, before he even comes up for air."
"Really now?" Jared swirled the ice in the bottom of his nearly empty glass. "Is he still interested in information about Councilman Woods?"
The question brought a pang of guilt. He came to hang out with Jared because he enjoyed the man's company, and had spent years ignoring Dallas's increasingly pointed suggestions that he leverage that friendship into a source of information. But asking about Woods hadn't been a suggestion, it had been an order.
Even Ace didn't ignore orders. "Yeah," he admitted. "Full disclosure,
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