Read Online Finding Lara (Distant Worlds Book 3) by Kelly Lucille - Free Book Online Page A

like.  “After you, my lady,” he said, sweeping his hands before
him in a bow.
    She looked from one seedy
rundown bar to the other and then picked the one farthest to them, which had
him raising his eyebrow in question.  She shrugged her dainty shoulders and
smiled.  “I don’t care for the feel of that one,” she said in explanation, which
explained nothing really.  But he followed her lead, at least he went where she
directed, stepping up beside her to warn off any male who might make a try for
the lovely lady thinking she was alone and unprotected.  It would be
interesting to see how the lady interacted with the dregs here on Rindel.  He
was not expecting much; high ideals or not, ladies with her breeding and looks
tended to either keep their distance, looking down on the great unwashed, or
order them about as if everyone beneath them in status was born to serve.  He
did not expect that from the Lady Lara.  He figured it would be the first as
she looked around with wide eyes.  Should be fun , he thought snidely in
his own head.
    An hour later, he was
still watching her with astonishment as she chugged a third glass of beer. 
When she ordered the native brew, he warned her it was probably not up to her
usual tastes, but she just gave him big serene eyes and ordered it anyway. 
When she asked the traditional consumption ways in their own language, the men,
about a dozen dirty miners, and only one other woman, the harried waitress in
the tiny skirt, all offered to give her whatever lessons she wanted.  She did
not seem to pick up on the sexual innuendo or bold looks that had Barnos
stepping closer to her back, his hand on the butt of his blaster.  Instead, she
clapped her hands together and smiled big and cheery.
    “Splendid,” she said,
sending her sincere smile to everyone there.  “I will buy the next round shall
I, and you can show me how it is done.”
    Barnos leaned over her
shoulder and said doubtfully, “Pretty sure you just drink it, sassy, no need
for lessons.”
    She turned her head and
looked at him all serious and sure.  “No,” she shook her head.  “Every culture
has their own traditions.  It could be chugged, or sipped, or have something
you add to it, or a food you eat with it, or . . .”  Barnos laid his hand over
her lips and chuckled, stopping her flow of words.
    “I get it,” he said. “You
want to drink it like a native, not like a tourist trying something new.”
    She smiled behind his
hand and he felt the rub of her soft lips as she formed that smile.  He pulled
back his hand slowly, enjoying the feel of her skin against his palm. 
    “Yes, exactly,” she said,
her eyes going a little serious while she looked at him. He could drown in
those brown pools quite easily.  Then a tankard was set before her and she
turned back to the audience with a little jump and a laugh.  The bartender
started filling more of the tankards and passing them around to the men who
were all bellying up to the bar for theirs.  Barnos hoisted her up on the stool
in front of her, ignoring her little surprised squeak at the move.  She did
send a slightly unsure smile back over her shoulder at him.  Barnos smiled
back, a much slower and more knowing smile than hers.  She looked away again
and he stepped up to her back so that the line of his chest was pressed against
the line of her back.  He felt her stiffen slightly and then toss a questioning
look over her shoulder at him.
    Barnos winked at her, and
she narrowed those big brown eyes in suspicion.
    “Behave yourself,” she
said low with a warning, adding a spark to her eyes.
    Barnos threw back his
head and laughed.  She’s a taking little thing, he thought.
    Then she turned back to
the bar of horny miners and saluted her new friends.  They showed her the
traditional way to drink the native brew, which was apparently to chug it as
fast as possible and order more.  By the third drink, she looked around at all
the men with eyes that