A Touch of Lilly Read online

  A Touch of Lilly

  Nina Pierce

  Copyright © 2013 by Nina Pierce

  Smashwords Edition

  Published by Nina Pierce of Maine. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. (www.NinaPierce.com)

  Email

  [email protected]

  Cover Artist

  Dar Albert

  www.WickedSmartDesigns.com

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Glossary

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Reviews

  Excerpt from Healer’s Garden

  Reader Thank You

  Author Bio

  Other Books by Nina Pierce

  A TOUCH OF LILLY

  Ex-Chicago detective LILLY D’ANGELO has a secret she doesn’t share with anyone. A master of the one night stand, she’s given up ever finding a soul mate and thrown herself head first into her career. That is, until she captures the wrong alien. Kidnapped and sold into the sex slave trade, she’s shipped into deep space. Barely escaping with her life, Lilly now travels the galaxy working as a bounty hunter using her secret talents to bring down criminals and seeking revenge on the one male who ruined her life.

  Agent DALLAS SAWYER works for deep space’s version of the FBI. After a disastrous mission that left several of his team members murdered, a president executed, and Dallas near death, he’s determined to take down the assassin targeting government officials. When a sexy human female gets between him and his goal, Dallas and his alien partner find themselves on the receiving end of a passionate night they won’t soon forget and a proposition that may very well blow up in their faces.

  Because in deep space…true love can happen with just a touch.

  §

  * Praise for A TOUCH OF LILLY *

  5 STARS and a TOP PICK Night Owl Reviews ~ An excellent combination of Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Erotica … I didn’t want to put this book down.

  5 STARS Siren Book Reviews ~ Nina Pierce did a great job of creating new futuristic worlds with new creatures and weapons…The plot twists keep the pages turning. If you like your stories with some science fiction and romance mixed together then this is a must read.

  §

  * Praise for NINA PIERCE *

  The Romance Studio ~ Nina Pierce writes a scorcher…I will absolutely be picking up another and another and another. There is romance, intrigue, mystery…

  Amazon Reader ~ I love this author! I can't wait for next book by her. She never disappoints.

  Amazon Reader ~ Great book and this is one of the reasons I love the author!!!!! Can't wait to read another one by her!

  Dedication

  To Alan, my husband and soul mate, whose belief in my dreams keeps me going even when I can’t remember how important dreams can be.

  I love you with all my heart.

  Chapter One

  Lilly D’Angelo wasn’t expecting a trip down memory lane when she sauntered into the dingy tavern, but the acrid stench and gruff hum of the Friday night crowd carried her back to one of the seedier establishments on Chicago’s south side nonetheless. Except for the clientele, the owner had managed to replicate nearly every detail right down to the blue haze of cigarette smoke and the soft crooning of a jazz band on the corner stage.

  Pushing the sour thoughts of home from her mind and focusing on the job at hand, Lilly morphed her features into her sexiest vixen pout and moved gracefully toward the long bar on the other side of the room. Her voluptuous breasts, spilling temptingly from her silk blouse, led the way. The eyes watching her leather-clad ass sashay around the battered tables were clustered on various life forms—none of them human.

  Yeah, definitely not Chicago. Hell, this wasn’t even Earth for goodness’ sake.

  “Regent’s ale, straight up, hold the brenic.” Lilly ordered the local brew in English, hoping the two-headed alien behind the bar had a cochlear translator in one of those eight holes that passed for ears. Satisfied when one head nodded, she settled on a stool, making sure her fur jacket and blouse parted just enough to offer a seductive view of her cleavage. She shifted, allowing the black leather skirt to ride up her thigh and expose a little more silky real estate. The reflection she saw in the mirror behind the liquor bottles was every inch a working woman on the prowl. She wasn’t trying to attract anyone in particular, just hoping to mislead the locals into thinking she was some female making a living with her body—which was true—just not as the human streetwalker she impersonated.

  Undercover work was what kept food in her belly and a roof over her head. But it was the cold-hearted need for revenge that had driven her to flaunt her feminine wares on distant planets. Walking among low-life criminals—most of them of the non-human variety—was a small price to pay for the opportunity to avenge the calamity that had become her life.

  Lilly wasn’t a xenophobic bigot by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just that six months in deep space, working as a bounty hunter in these kinds of joints, wasn’t really long enough to become accustomed to the scenery. The Nebulae Galaxy’s spaceports overflowed with aliens of all sizes and genders; from two-headed Xericks, like the bartender, to the gangly-limbed Znedus and oversized Ka’al with their mahogany skin and flat noses. The twelve planets of this galaxy had become a melting pot of sorts for all types of aliens.

  Only that wasn’t really a fair term here in deep space.

  Alien inferred the life forms didn’t belong. On the contrary, it was humans who were invading their territory. The treaties of 2253, signed well over forty years ago, had guaranteed the safe travel of humans in deep space. After the snafu of ‘34, which saw the first major battle over territories since light travel had been achieved, humans had insisted on protection for their species. They’d formed some bullshit board of security, guaranteeing humans could run roughshod over the universe like everywhere else. Though they were technically called Q’orstan Aerlheit Lunivarsium, most people referred to them as QAL. Lilly nicknamed them the alphabet mafia. At one point in time, she’d actually considered working for them. Then they’d discovered who she was—or more specifically what she was—and she’d had to detour from that career path. It didn’t matter. They could all go take a flying leap into the lava pits of Beta Mrenn for all she cared. Just because they didn’t appreciate her gift, didn’t mean Lilly couldn’t use her talents to bring down the bad guys.

  Of course in deep space, bad was a relative term.

  There was the kind of bad that got a person lost on the polar ice caps of Dallas Eight without a backup plan. Or the bad that forced someone to stow away in the engine room of a Drikspa alien tanker bound for unknown destinations, praying not to get caught. Or the bad that got a human female imprisoned as a sex slave on the mining colonies of Krystallos Three, hidden from even the long arm of the QAL. Lilly shivered at that one. Even her talents wouldn’t free her from that kind of torture.

  She was just happy to b
e here on Garalon Five where bad meant nothing more than crossing paths with every brand of space pirate, ex-con or fugitive looking for a new start. As one of the more recent colonies in the Nebulae Galaxy, the G-5 government turned their collective back on past offenses on other planets and allowed anyone to start a legitimate business. It’s what had actually brought her here to the dark planet.

  Well, that and the incident on Reigis Alpha. That spaceport had netted her a broken arm, three bruised ribs, a close encounter with a Treljon laser, her first big payoff and one hell of a lesson. She flexed her fingers around the foaming stein the bartender dropped in front of her and sipped thoughtfully. Thank goodness for modern medicine. They’d fixed her up in less than two weeks and sent her on her way.

  With a couple of hours to kill and nothing to do but wait, Lilly savored a long swallow of the cool brew and turned her attention to one of the televids on the wall. Nearly everyone in the tavern ignored the news feed of the new Commander-elect, Ambassador Antonio Tervoss. Few species believed the human’s campaign promises for a safer galaxy would change anything in deep space.

  Besides, it seemed aliens preferred making their deals on the shady underbelly of corruption. They’d been living that way for too many centuries to see regulation of trade as being advantageous. But it had been Tervoss’ strong commitment to race equality that had finally tipped the scales for enough voters, alien and human alike, including Lilly, to get the man where he was today.

  In a little over a week, Antonio Tervoss would be inaugurated as the first human to become Premier Commander of the Nebulae Galaxy. Overseeing twelve planets, nine presidents and countless government officials was nothing compared to regulating the forty-seven luna crystal mines on Krystallos Three. The mines not only supplied both energy and clean water to all ninety-eight trillion life forms scattered throughout the galaxy, they also supported the largest underground sex slave trade in the known universe.

  No ambassador had attempted to clean up that caustic nightmare.

  “Yeah, good luck with that task, buddy!” Lilly lifted her stein in mock salute to the man.

  “Happy you make with human leader?”

  Lilly wanted to laugh at the ridiculous interpretation the translator had made of the alien’s come-on line clicking and popping in her ear. She smiled over at the Ickbata’s hopeful expression as he slid onto the stool beside her. They weren’t bad little aliens if one didn’t mind the smell of leather.

  In her relaxed state, her energy had filled the air. And though she wasn’t looking to hook up, especially with an Ickbata, she could use a little distraction and the televid certainly wasn’t providing it. “Kal auct ral tsk, pa?” Buy me a drink, stranger? It was a question she could ask in the sixteen most common languages of the Nebulae Galaxy.

  “Several. If that’s your wish,” the Ickbata clicked, moving closer. One of his soft appendages snaked along her thigh-high boot. “If your body was sexy, press me against it?” It was the contact males craved when they were near her. She consciously dialed back her energy. Some innocent flirting and couple of drinks would solidify her image as a streetwalker in the eyes of the patrons, but there was no sense leading the alien some place she didn’t intend to take him.

  Lazily, he trailed a three-jointed appendage down her arm. The flesh of the limb rippled and the Ickbata’s jade eyes glazed as the heat of sexual need coursed through him. He leaned in close, the soft warmth of his snout brushing her cheek. “Two cocks for me. Happiness for you,” he whispered. The skin below his deep navel swelled.

  Damn. This was the first Ickbata she’d encountered on Garalon Five and the male’s instant response to her proximity took her by surprise. Normally, tamping down her energy was enough to keep any male’s lascivious thoughts in check. “Thanks for the offer, but how about we just share a couple of drinks and see where that takes us.” She wrapped her hand around the appendages snaking their way into her hair and firmly guided them back to the black lacquered surface of the bar.

  Undeterred, the Ickbata’s gaze dropped to their joined hands, skittered to her plentiful cleavage before settling on her mouth. He inhaled deeply, absorbing her presence with all of his senses. “I think out we should go. Very happy we make us.” A lower appendage moved higher to caress her inner thigh while a third one snaked around her back to roll discreetly over her breast. “Just a faster copulation.” His rough tongue darted out to rasp along the shell of her ear and she worked not to recoil at the intimate contact.

  “Extra credits for two tsk nok,” he purred.

  She had no idea what that meant and Lilly had no intention of finding out. She hadn’t planned on attracting any of the locals when she’d entered the tavern. But short of kicking the Ickbata in the proverbial balls—which wouldn’t fit her working girl cover—it looked like she was going to have to escort the horny male out of the tavern before ditching him in the busy streets. “Let me just finish—”

  “Hey, Babe.”

  The brawny arms hauling her from the Ickbata’s grasp took Lilly by surprise. But that action was nothing compared to the crush of one set of very soft, very male and very human lips pressing urgently against hers. Lilly opened her mouth to protest and her cry was silenced by a velvet tongue sweeping in to tangle with hers and flood her mouth with the man’s sweet taste. Fighting the urge to melt against the hard wall of muscle jammed against her breasts became an impossible feat. The heat of human contact overwhelmed her senses and buckled her knees. Only his strong embrace kept Lilly on her feet.

  The man’s mouth broke from hers and she nearly groaned at the loss.

  “She’s waiting on me, buddy. Sorry if you thought she was available.”

  Lilly ripped her gaze from the chestnut eyes staring down at her, and looked back at the Ickbata. Thankfully, with all contact broken, the alien had once again regained control over his senses and no doubt regretted his very public sexual display. “Ghec tung dksk.”

  The Ickbata’s words didn’t translate, but the spittle flying with his indignation required no interpretation. Wrapping his four appendages tightly around the swollen flesh of his abdomen, the alien deflated in size and slinked away, melting into the crowd on the dance floor.

  The human released her and Lilly fell clumsily back onto the stool.

  “No thanks necessary.” The man shrugged absently and signaled the bartender. “Shot of gall’s blood and a Regent’s ale, heavy on the brenic.”

  Even through her haze of confusion, Lilly understood this man believed she couldn’t take care of herself. “What?”

  He smiled at her, a rogue dimple framing the right side of those full lips that only moments ago had wreaked havoc on her common sense. “It’s what I do.” His assessing gaze traveled down her neck, stuttering at her heaving chest before continuing its journey over the tiny black skirt to the tops of her boots. “No working woman should have to put up with unwanted advances.” Like fingers lazily roaming over her skin, his gaze dragged hotly back to her face, leaving a sparking trail of awareness in its wake. “That leather alien obviously wasn’t taking no for an answer.”

  He was right of course, but it pissed her off he’d pulled the macho-hero routine and was now gloating about it. “Maybe because I hadn’t given it.” Her annoyance over extricating herself from the alien switched to anger at this man’s arrogance and Lilly let the emotion roll through her. If he thought she was a prostitute, she could play the part. “You idiot. You’ve completely ruined my chance of making a boatload of credits.” She slugged back a good portion of her ale. “Why is it that all you chivalrous types think you can come charging in to play the white knight even when the damsel isn’t in distress?”

  He tipped his head to the side and shrugged. No doubt, it was his Neanderthal form of an apology. But the man’s sexy half smile and dimple couldn’t quite hide his amusement. “Because, m’ lady, ’tis the noble thing to do.” He captured her hand and feathered his lips across her knuckles. “These are dangerous times.”<
br />
  Energy flowed from her and for a moment, panic gripped Lilly at the unexpected release. With her emotions jumping, she had less control over the current snapping over her synapses. But really, this situation was his fault. He’d touched her first. Granted, the guy had come to her rescue and she hated to admit that his timing couldn’t have been better. Still, it was irritating he hadn’t allowed her the opportunity to save herself.

  He leaned into her, his stubbled cheek against hers, his lips a whisper from her ear. “There’s no need to thank me.” Her breasts pressed into his biceps and she felt the heat of current surge once again. But now, it was her own libido causing the flux. “I was more than happy to come to your rescue.”

  He dropped her hand and turned back to the bar.

  She stared at him, confusion binding her tongue. No male, human or otherwise, had ever broken contact with her first. Lilly stared at her hands. She tingled with the heat of her power, her body temperature rising with the endorphins pulsing through her blood. With her desire this high, there was no doubt the fool working to blow her off had an iron will—and an ego the size of California. She wasn’t sure what pissed her off more, the fact he could ignore the lust pumping through his body, when every muscle of hers was thrumming with need or that he thought she couldn’t take care of herself. If six months alone in deep space hadn’t given her skills, then her training back on earth would have been sufficient to keep her safe.

  “Like I said, I didn’t need rescuing.” She threw back the rest of the ale and slammed the stein down on the bar. “The Ickbata and I were just discussing terms.”

  The bartender set down the human’s drinks and walked away. The man tipped back the shot of gall’s blood, not even wincing as the acidic liquor slammed into his gut. “And what, besides a swift kick to his reproductive organs, were you trying to negotiate?”