“Thank you, Mr. De-Acker.” Jadon Pierce, Chief of Facility Defense for the intergalactic spa, New Eden, took the pass card from the manager of the ritzy hotel. The cyborg in charge tilted his head to the side. Mr. De-Acker’s eyebrow inched mechanically toward his plasticine hairline as if to say, “You do remember the rules associated with this bonus, don’t you?”

Jadon rolled his eyes. “I promise to be out of the loft by eleven in the morning.” In other words, he wouldn’t overstay his welcome or the bonus he’d been given for finally cleaning up the thievery which had run rampant at New Eden before he’d taken his current position.

“Your compliance is appreciated. The spa is booked far in advance.” The cyborg’s head clicked back into an upright position. “And again, congratulations on receiving your bonus.”

Mr. De-Acker stepped back and turned with precision on the heel of his fashionable dress shoe. Would have been nice if I’d gotten a raise, too. Still, the idea of spending a night in a posh space loft complete with all the cable vidi-channels he could watch and room service at his beck and call was a welcome respite. A smile crossed his features. Almost as good as a raise.

“Are they letting you off early, too?” Karen Michaels, his coworker, asked.

Blowing out a breath, he walked back into the def-ops area. He took in the multitude of monitors affixed to the walls with the slash of his gaze. “We work for the Vacation Counsel. The chance of us taking two minutes off requires divine intervention.”

“Yeah, and a note from God,” Karen said on a giggle. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly. Swiveling her chair around, she eyed him. “I gotta ask; are you taking someone with you to the quote-unquote Paradise Found Loft tonight?”

If Karen wasn’t so in love with her husband that seeing the two of them together made him physically ill, he’d have thought she was making a pass at him. Jadon chuckled. “As a matter of fact, I do have a date.” Gazing at the monitors one more time, he shifted his eyes to the clock. Fifteen more minutes.

“Couldn’t be that really cute Torellian you’ve been seeing on the sly,” Karen responded with a broad grin. “Don’t worry.” She held up her left hand when he leveled his glare on her. “Your secret is safe with me. Personally, I think the rules regarding the sentient workers of New Eden Space Hotel and Spa not dating are stupid.”

“Tell me something I don’t already know.” In the employee script, it said this was to protect the hotel from potentially damaging and costly sexual harassment lawsuits. It was a joke, and even the cyborg in charge knew it deep down in his servo-processor. It was to keep the sentient beings working at New Eden constantly on their toes and keep their minds on their jobs.

Cyborgs weren’t programmed to understand that sentient life forms needed to have contact with others of their kind. Jadon shook his head. “Let’s hope tonight is quiet.” Cause I’m tired of copping feels with Ta’Sha and having quickie sex in the maintenance closet.

God, he had to have her for more than a few minutes. He frowned at his cock’s reaction to the notion he was going to have eight hours with the petite Trollian. The crotch of his pants grew tight, and he fisted his hands.

He intended to explore every inch of her body with his hands and mouth.

The one thing the lack of privacy and time had provided them was he knew Ta’Sha better than any other woman he’d ever fucked. Their clandestine meetings involved something Torrelians put great stock in: sharing private fantasies with their partner. At first, despite his embarrassment, he’d given her credit for her imagination and all the lewd little dreams she whispered to him.

Tonight, he intended to play one out with her. “God, please, no trouble tonight.”

“I’m not expecting any problems.” Karen swiveled her chair back around and pulled up the occupancy report on the console. “Lots of Earthlings celebrating Valentine’s Day seems to be the majority of guests.” She flashed a smile. “They’ll probably have dinner, and then go to their room for a nightcap and you know.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Not a lot of risk with this group.”

“That’s good news.” Jadon peeked at the clock again. Gritting his teeth, he forced the tension from his frame. “I’m leaving the loft docked to the mother ship so if there is any problem…”

“Nah, enjoy your bonus. Drift out into space and make it one hell of a night for you and Ta’Sha.” She heaved a dramatic sigh. “Sheesh, men,” she muttered under her breath. “Don’t know when to romance a woman and when not to.”

Jadon chuckled at his coworker. Tonight he was determined to romance Ta’Sha until she screamed his name. “Thanks, Karen—I owe you one.” He’d owe her even more if she switched off the cameras in the space loft.

T-minus ten minutes and counting.