“Well, hello there,” V’rex rumbled. “Having a good time?”
“It’s all right.” Penny glanced up at him again. “It could get better,” she added meaningfully.
“Could it, now?” V’rex took a step closer, his eyes catching hers and holding them. “And how would that happen, do you think?”
“You could buy me a drink,” Penny murmured. “Um…” She cleared her throat, breaking character. “I’m not quite sure where to go from here,” she admitted. “I’m, uh, not much of a flirt in real life.”
“You need a reason to touch me,” V’rex advised her. “Whatever I say, laugh and touch my chest. At the same time, you’re reaching for my pocket. Go.”
“Okay. Um…” Penny looked up at him again. “Like I said, you could buy me a drink.”
V’rex gazed at her intently. “I’ll be happy to buy you a drink, sweetheart,” he rumbled softly, looking into Penny’s eyes. “But you’ll have to pay me with a kiss.”
“Oh, you…” Penny laughed flirtatiously and put a hand on the big Hybrid’s broad chest. At the same time, she reached for the stick in his pocket and slipped it out with a twitch of her fingers.
“Did you get it?” V’rex asked her, breaking character himself, though he was still looking into her eyes.
“Sure did.” Penny held up the flavor stick triumphantly.
“Good. You know, I’ve never seen anyone catch on so fast,” V’rex remarked. “You sure you weren’t a thief in your past life? Because you just stole my heart.”
Penny groaned.
“Ugh—that’s a terrible line!”
V’rex grinned. “Yeah, what can I say. “I’m not as smooth with the ladies as I am with my fingers, I guess.”
“I have a hard time believing that,” Penny said skeptically. “Especially the way you were acting with me earlier.”
“That wasn’t acting.” V’rex was suddenly serious. “I was being completely honest—you’re fucking gorgeous, little girl. And you still owe me a kiss for the drink I bought you.”
“But you didn’t actually—” Penny began, but then she was in his arms and V’rex was leaning over her and tilting her chin up so that their mouths met.
Heart thumping, Penny gave in to the kiss. She couldn’t help herself—V’rex was so big and strong and he smelled so good. Even the fear she still felt of the big Hybrid only seemed to add to her excitement.
Despite their earlier intimacies, this was their first kiss and she found out quickly that V’rex was an excellent kisser. He didn’t ram his tongue down her throat like an overeager boy, as Garret used to when they were dating. Instead he kissed her gently—but with passion. Closed mouth at first but, when he lapped gently at Penny’s lips, she opened them eagerly to let him in.
His mouth was warm and slightly sweet, from the fruit juice they’d been having with dinner as he sucked teasingly on her tongue. Penny found herself thinking he tasted as good as he smelled as she pressed closer to the big Hybrid, wanting more…more…
God, I shouldn’t be doing this! she told herself even as she deepened the kiss. I’m getting in too deep! It’s one thing to let him suck the nectar out of my breasts and pretend to breed me. But kissing is too intimate. I can’t let myself fall in love with him—he’s dangerous!
The memory of the silver blade thunking into the bloody butcher’s block rose to her mind and she broke the kiss abruptly, pulling away from his seeking mouth.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” V’rex brushed her hot cheek gently, just as he had earlier when he was showing her how to do the “flirt-pick.” “God, I wish I knew what you were thinking,” he murmured, more to himself than to her.
“I’m thinking we shouldn’t be doing this,” Penny whispered, hoping she wouldn’t make him angry. “I mean I know there are…certain things we have to do here out of necessity,” she added, glancing up at him and then back down again. “But, well, we’re going to go our separate ways after…” She glanced up at the ceiling and was glad to see the red light was off. “After we get out of here, right?”
V’rex frowned. “I guess you’ll want to get back to your life on Earth, huh? And a big-ass Hybrid with a bad rep probably wouldn’t fit very well into your routine.” He grinned, one corner of his mouth quirking up. “Unless you’d rather hang around with me for a while and explore the universe.”
Penny bit her lip.
“V’rex, please. It’s not that I don’t find you attractive because I do. God, I really do—way more than I should,” she admitted, her heart thumping. “But, well, you’ve got your life and I’ve got mine. I’m working for the Kindred of the Mother Ship right now—”
“The same ones that declared me an outlaw. Right.” The smile turned into a frown.
“There is that,” Penny admitted. “But also, we’re in a really difficult situation here. The Compound is basically forcing us together. And I’m just not sure…” She cleared her throat. “Not sure you’ll still, uh, feel the same way about me once we get away. Also, we haven’t known each other very long so maybe we shouldn’t…”
“Shouldn’t kiss?” V’rex rumbled, raising his eyebrows. “So it’s okay for me to suck your sweet nipples and pretend to breed you but you don’t want us to kiss?
Penny shrugged helplessly, feeling her cheeks get hot again.
“It’s just…kissing is too intimate. It’s—”
“Too much like falling in love,” V’rex finished for her, softly.
“I…we hardly know each other,” Penny protested. “And both of us are under the influence of all kinds of hormones and chemicals. I mean, who knows what we’ll think if we ever manage to get out of this place?”
“Oh, we’re gonna manage,” V’rex promised her. He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “But hormones and chemicals or not, I’m still going to want you, little girl. Still going to feel for you when we get
