“Are those your warriors?” Alana asked, shading her eyes with one hand as she squinted toward the cliffs.
My raiders had descended to the planet first, each horde ship sending its crew in waves and keeping a small complement on board. Even though Laurinia assured us that she had excellent aerial defenses, we did not take chances with security. I’d waited until Svar had returned from his time on the surface to leave the warbird in his hands, so I could truly indulge without worry.
“I would assume so. We paid the madam handsomely for exclusive access.” Although I saw dark hair and broad backs, I didn’t look closely. I needed to serve with my raiders after they’d had their fill of females and fun. On other pleasure planets, our activities were usually confined to private chambers. On Laurinia, there seemed to be nothing private. The Vandar were not known for being modest about our bodies, but we also did not regularly fuck in open view of superior officers.
“I don’t get it. Aren’t Vandar raiders known for pillaging and raping? Why would you ever have to pay for women?”
I bristled at the comment. “Vandar do not rape. That is what the empire wishes you to believe. We pay for services we require, and we only pillage from the empire.” I waved a hand at the gleaming city rising up from the pristine beach. “This is not the empire.”
“I can see that,” Alana muttered. “The Zagrath are way too uptight for this. They’d probably never remove their helmets.”
I gave her a side-eye glance. “You have been with many of these helmeted fighters?”
She wrinkled her nose as we walked toward the sand. “Definitely not. Imperial soldiers have never been my thing. Too uptight.” One corner of her mouth quirked. “I prefer my guys less restrained. And with less clothing.”
I suppressed a grin and the rumble building in my chest. “I’m glad you do not have a fetish for helmets.”
A pair of nearly identical females with pink skin and a long platinum hair crossed the sand in front of us hand in hand with a Vandar warrior whose battle kilt hung off his hips at a precarious angle. His expression was dazed, and his dark hair tousled as the females led him to a nearby cabana and laid him onto the bed. I looked away as one of the alien females dipped her head under his kilt while the other straddled his face.
“You weren’t kidding when you said this pleasure planet was different from the others. This is nothing like the dodgy one near Jengon 5.” Alana readjusted her hand in mine as we walked down the steps onto the beach. “I’m glad you decided to bring me with you.”
“It was unfair to treat my crew to a respite from the ship and not you.” I spotted the Laurinian female standing at the edge of the sand near a staircase cut into the alabaster rock. Instead of being barely dressed, she wore a white robe that reached her feet and had an attached hood she pushed back at our approach. “At your suggestion, I have made arrangements for us to sample what the city has to offer.”
She swung her head to me. “I thought you weren’t into sharing.”
My boots faltered in the sand. “Sharing?”
“You did say sample, right?”
I looked up at the cliffs. “The environments and villas. Not the pleasures.” I squeezed her hand. “I thought we agreed that we would not be in need of the female pleasurers?”
“I guess another guy would be out of the question?”
I scowled at her before seeing her teasing expression.
She let out a low whistle. “Note to myself. Vandar don’t even like to joke about sharing their women.”
“No, we do not.” Even the idea of sharing her with another male made a growl escape my throat.
Alana laughed. “You aren’t going to throw me over your shoulder again, are you?”
“Do not provoke me,” I said, but gave her a half smile.
The Laurinian female bowed as she joined us at the base of the stairs, her white robe swirling around her legs as she moved. “You must be Raas Bron. We are grateful for your patronage.” She handed me a flat disc. “I think you will be pleased with the penthouse villa we’ve prepared for you and your…” Her eyes shifted to Alana briefly, “companion.”
“Thank you.” I inclined my head at her, taking the disc and memorizing the directions she gave me to the top of the cliffs.
Alana tipped her head back. “The penthouse?”
“It is not as difficult a walk as you might imagine.” The Laurinian smiled at us, prodded us to step on the bottom step and then touched her hand to a shiny white post to one side.
Suddenly, the steps—which had appeared to be cut into the stone—began to move. I wrapped an arm around Alana for balance as we were propelled up, twisting back and forth across the rock face as we rose higher. When we’d reached the top, the moving steps deposited us before a clear door.
I glanced at the disc in my hand, then noticed that a circle in the transparent door glowed blue. Pressing the disc to the circle, I watched as it hummed and flashed a series of lights before the door swung open.
Alana stepped inside and sighed. “I get why your guys like pleasure planets so much.”
The inside of the villa was as gleaming white as the cliffs, with shiny floors topped with fluffy rugs. A round, glass table held an array of glistening fruits—most of which were unfamiliar to me—and a bottle of something chilled in a clear bowl piled high with ice.
There was little furniture, but a large, flat,
