He jabbed his fingers through his neatly cropped hair and turned his thoughts to M277-CZ-398 in her plain white jumpsuit. The leader of GreenPiece was an even-featured woman without any of the curves Erica Gibson-Booth possessed. She did not make his pulse hammer with desire or his senses shimmer with excitement. The thought of her cooled his fever almost instantly.
He could only assume this physical intensity was a facet of sexual attraction, something he’d never experienced because nothing in his time was even faintly alluring. Combined with devotion and affection, it would be a powerful force.Love, he supposed, finally getting an inkling of the emotion referred to by the ancients. It was an all-encompassing kind of caring – something Sean could imagine feeling for a woman, even beyond the urge to mate.
Everything about this era seemed geared towards mating. Most of the huge signs he’d seen were at least subtly sexual in nature, and some were utterly blatant. Females and males in their prime wore seductive clothing that showed enticing curves or strong muscles. Women wore their hair long and flowing. Sensual. Lots of men let their facial hair grow to different lengths, from slightly scruffy to full beards. Primal.
People here had names, not cold, dry numbers that brought no individuality, no personality to their bearers. Sean felt a palpable energy here, and he realized that the lack of verve and liveliness in his own time was due to the loss of sexual drive. And they would never know what they were missing.
At least, not until he dealt with Andrew Gibson-Booth, preventing him from inventing Fusion XJ. The future wouldchange significantly, but Sean had no doubt it would be a much more interesting future than what was in store for them now.
It took a few minutes before he was finally able to exit the vehicle. He glanced around once again for the man Erica was worried about, but the fellow wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Neither was the neuro-science lab that Andrew Gibson-Booth’s mother was supposed to have run, according to the sketchy information they had about her. She had been a scientist, that much was certain. But there was no documentation indicating that Erica had also been a dancer.
Taking one last glance around the area, Sean saw no one suspicious, so he went inside through the same door Erica had taken. The sound of hard, driving music hit him the minute he entered the building – a heavy drumbeat, shrieking chords and a hoarse, male voice carrying a discordant tune. There was very little light in the back corridor, but the air was full of something – some kind of smelly smoke, but nothing seemed to be on fire.
He went further in, noting two closed doors on either side of the hall. One of them flew open, and a man burst out of it, arguing with a half-dressed woman, who also came out.
Half naked was more like it. She wore heavy paint that accentuated her facial features, but Sean’s attention was drawn to her full, swaying breasts.
Fortunately, the two were so caught up in their argument that they did not notice him gaping. He tried not to stare, but it was all too weird. Nothing had prepared him for such a sight, and in spite of her nearly complete nudity, he found the woman surprisingly unappealing. Pure, physical sexuality was not that interesting.
He pushed past them towards the front of the building where the music was loudest, and looked for Erica.
Another shock. He found himself in some sort of theatre, with a circular, elevated stage in its centre, surrounded by cheering spectators. The walls were black, and the audience sat at tables in the dark fringes of the large room. Sean couldn’t see where the music emanated from, but colourful lights were focused on the stage where he saw two women, each one wearing nothing but a tiny strap of cloth between her legs. The barest essentials were covered, but nothing else.
They twisted and turned their bodies to the beat of the drums while the men in the audience cheered and tossed money to them.The entire scene before him was far more lascivious than anything his Deviant brain could have imagined. And suddenly the music changed tempo, the two women danced away, and another one appeared.
Erica.
At least she was wearing clothes. She climbed the steps to the stage and the cheers became louder. Men started whistling, and calling, “Mona! Mona!” Sean looked at the faces of the avid spectators and suddenly realized what was about to happen. He stood frozen in place, and watched as she moved in a sultry, sexual dance to the rhythm of a heavy drumbeat.
She remained expressionless until her eyes lit on him, then she focused on him as she danced, removing one article of clothing at a time and tossing it away. She danced as though he were the only man in the room, as though she was undressing just for him. Sean felt his knees go soft, but the rest of him hardened considerably. His mouth watered and he swallowed hard, watching her undress.
Never would he have believed this if someone in his time had told him about it. Her movements were incredibly erotic, but he suddenly remembered what she’d said in the car. She wasn’t accustomed to this kind of work.She was being paid to do this.And probably didn’t like it.
She was down to one thin layer of some soft, shimmering white undergarment. All but the tips of her breasts were visible beneath the filmy white cloth, and they bounced deliciously as she moved.
Her narrow waist flared to beautifully rounded hips, and her long legs were encased by some sheer, white, amazingly enticing stocking, which rose only to the tops of her thighs. He felt an extremely powerful surge of pure, male possessiveness. And when she let one of her straps drop over her shoulder, Sean knew he couldn’t let her go through with it.
He was onstage in one leap, lifting her and carrying her off, quickly taking her to that back hall where he’d come into the building. He carried her into one of the closed rooms, set her on to her feet and looked into her stunned eyes for only a second before taking her mouth in a searing, all-encompassing kiss. She belonged to no one but him.
He breathed in her scent, felt the smooth, soft give of her skin. She pulled him tightly against her, grinding her hips againsthim. He felt her shudder with pleasure just before she pushed him away.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Sean,” she whispered. “I’ll lose my job!”
“Forget this job,” he replied, his voice a harsh rasp.
“I can’t!”
They heard footsteps, and she grabbed his sleeve. Pulling him through another doorway, she closed the door behind them and locked it. “Mitch will be after you –us- in another second. You’ve got to get out of here.”
“I’m not leaving you in there. With all those . . .”
She rose up on tiptoes and kissed him lightly. “I talked to Mitch. I know you’re not the bodyguard he hired.”
“No, but I—”
“I don’t care who you are,” she said, her voice quiet and urgent. “I . . . I’ve never . . .” She bit her lower lip and Sean felt a quantum leap in the intensity of his arousal. She was killing him.
Sean heard a man bellowing somewhere nearby, “Erica!”
