Defending
Hippotigris
an
Interstellar Alliance
novella
T. L. Smith
This book is a work of fiction. All characters, places, organizations and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances are entirely coincidental.
Defending Hippotigris
Copyright© 2013 by T. L. Smith
All rights reserved.
Cover Design by T. L. Smith
Cover Art contributing artist/photographers:
Spectral-Design/Getty Images
Shmeljov/Getty Images
Icholakov/Getty Images
ISBN-13: 978-1494455804
ISBN-10: 1494455803
Acknowledgements
There are so many people to acknowledge, I have to keep it simple.
A huge thanks goes to my mother, Patsy, who never discouraged me from going after whatever I wanted, even if secretly she thought I was crazy for wanting to be a writer. And yes, Chuck, I am writing at 3am.
Another thanks to the rest of my family and friends, who cheer me on as I stumble over each hurdle. The kids-Denita, Adam, Devion, Jayden and Kullen. Rick and Brenda, my movie night buddies, and my brother Bill, who introduced me to Science Fiction.
A special thanks to all my writing friends, particularly Gini Koch, the Wyked Women Who Write and Dr. Bruce Davis, for helping me learn to do my craft better and who make Cons a blast. And my dear friend Sandra Bowen. Love our editing sessions over long lunches, or is that the other way around?
And always, I have to thank thereaders who want to share in my insanity. Read on!
.
Want more from
T. L. Smith?
Check out her other books.
Scent of Treachery - an Interstellar Alliance novella
Jayda Maldonado exiled herself from humanity, but even a distant space station isn’t far enough to escape the attention of a charming freighter captain and a conspiracy that can kill everyone aboard.
The Thing Down the Road
Be wary of road-side freak shows. You may not like what you find.
Or visit her at:
http://www.tlsmithbooks.com
CHAPTER ONE
U.N. Space Alliance – 2198 CE
Remy leaned closer. “Are you all right, Shara?” He whispered in my ear, though it was more of a shout over the noise in the bar. The official reunion was several days away, but we’d come in early for the week of bar-hopping and ‘remember when’ tales.
“You look bothered.” He stroked my leg. “Lizzy’s stories never irked you before?”
I laid my head back on his arm to gaze into his big brown eyes. His long eyelashes still got my heart beating when he fluttered them at me. “I don’t know, just tired. Think anyone would mind if we left?”
There they went, flutter-flutter, thump-thump. A smile glistened against his creamy latte skin. “We’re on leave.” His lips brushed against my ear and out came his Euro-Spanish accent. “I can show you more R&R.”
His hand slipped up the inside of my thigh and I grabbed his wrist.
“Lizzy!” She had her audience enraptured with another story, making it twice as hard to get her attention. Remy made it even more impossible. I couldn’t pull his hand away without being obvious, and I was beginning to not want to. “LIZZY!”
“WHAT!” From the wicked glint in her eyes she heard me the first time.
Remy slid out of the booth and pulled me with him. “Sorry to break up the party, but Shara’s just off temporary duty and she’s fighting jetlag. You’ll excuse her?”
“Jetlag. Right...” Lizzy wagged her finger at us. “Girlfriend, if I just came home to a stud like Remy, I’d jump his bones too. You know, Remy, Shara and I shared everything growing up. Did she ever tell you about sophomore year at ASU?”
My face turned all the hotter. That was a story I hadn’t shared and I couldn’t get Remy out of the bar fast enough, followed by cat calls before the doors closed.
Remy looked back through the window as Lizzy threw him an obscene gesture. “She sells children’s books with a mouth like that, and what about ASU?”
I refused to look inside, knowing all too well what Lizzy was capable of. “I’m beginning to wonder how we stayed best friends.”
Remy swung his head around to look at me. “Wow! Seriously? You two have been attached at the hip since first grade.” He tightened his arm around my shoulders. “I’m beginning to worry about you. All these TDYs are taking a toll. You’ve been… distracted… and something else I can’t put my finger on.”
“Give me a few days and I’ll be fine.” Being a head shorter than Remy, I was able to huddle into his side as a cold evening breeze blew.
Framed between the buildings of downtown Colorado Springs, was a nearly full moon. With the brilliance of its glow, I could see a spider web of lights from our home, the Peary Moon Base. The first solid accomplishment of the U.N. Space Alliance.
Odd, how we’d been there long enough to think of it as home, though I spent half my time traveling. A shiver ran through me. “I’m tired and cold.”
“Well, I’ll take care of cold first.” Remy grinned down at me. He tugged me into the hotel’s entrance and across the tiny lobby to the elevators.
Though we’d stayed here often over the years, I couldn’t resist looking around. The hotel boasted late 22 nd century amenities, but they’d tried to recapture the old-world elegance of early 20th century art-deco. Bronze-hued mirrors, gold streaked black marble and red mahogany wood paneling covered every surface, adding warmth to the lobby the holographic fireplace failed to accomplish. Even the elevator’s walls reflected back that finely aged comfort as the doors opened.
For a few seconds I admired the craftsmanship, until Remy whipped me into his arms and kissed me. After his escapade in the bar, I eagerly wrapped my legs around his waist. Thankfully the elevator was modern and the height of the building modest, otherwise we might have given security more to see before the fake-ancient bell announced our floor.
I clung to Remy as he carried me the few doors down to our room. A couple steps past the door, he leaned me against the wall to rip my shirt open. His kisses were hard and deep, and from the feel of his hips grinding against me,
