Stark Pleasure; the Space Magnate's Mistress (The LodeStar Series) Read Online Free PDF

brandy lingering on her tongue. She nodded. “It’s good, thank you.”
    He looked quietly satisfied. “So tell me how you came to be a barista at New Seattle space port, Kiri te Nawa.”
    She glanced at him and away. Like he really wanted to know her sad story. But she could play the social game. She waited while their waiter set a graceful tray on the table, full of delicate sprays of green leaves, a swirl of creamy filling centered on each one, topped with a single berry. She picked one up carefully and slipped it into her mouth, chewing with relish. Hmm, delicious, whatever it was. Creamy, smooth and tart. She chose another.
    “I didn’t start out to sell coffee,” she told him. “But after I left trade school, I got a job at a one of the big MoonPenny stands. Then I realized I was spending all my credit just getting by. I wanted something of my own, where I could keep the profits and invest them back in my business. So I worked second jobs here and there, and saved until I had enough to lease my space.”  
    Then she’d had the encounter that changed her life and started her funneling credit to a far more serious pursuit—her search for what the slavers had stolen. But she was hardly confiding in him about that on first acquaintance.
    “Kiri’s Kaffe,” he said.  
    She grinned. She never lost the thrill of pleasure at hearing her kiosk’s name. “An ancient people here on Earth II spelled coffee that way. It’s stardusty, I know, but everyone remembers it.”
    “I think it’s the owner they remember.”
    Kiri picked up her drink. Quark, but that look made her self-conscious, and hyper-aware of him as a man—an extremely virile one.
    “Some of them, I guess. Got that bar right across the concourse. Guys sit in there and drink, start thinking they’re the galaxy’s gift to womankind.” She grinned at him over her glass. “I usually talk them into buying an after-drinks coffee and send them on their way.”
    Stark chuckled. “So you don’t generally date your customers?”
    “Not often,” she said. “Kinda awkward for repeat business.”
    With free vaccinations for STIs and for pregnancy, hooking up with relative strangers was safe—unless one picked a creeper. But even when dates culminated in sex, none of those men had ever had this effect on her.  
    His face creased in that attractive smile, but he sobered quickly. “Wise. There are some very ugly men—and women—out there hiding behind attractive facades.”
    “That’s for sure,” she muttered. “I’m pretty good at reading people. If a guy gives off any creeper vibes, doesn’t matter how golden he is, I tell him I’m with someone—or that I prefer other girls.”
    She laughed at the look he gave her. “Yeah, that one never works. Men can’t believe a woman could possibly prefer a lover without—um, certain equipment unless they see the evidence for themselves.”
    Stark raised his brows in silent inquiry and her cheeks heated. She took another hasty drink, avoiding his gleaming gaze. “No. Haven’t and don’t.”
    “There are those who enjoy both.” He calmly picked up another hors d’oeuvre, the green leaf delicate against his large, muscular hand. Wow. Did he mean he sometimes…?  
    “So, um…your skin is tanned,” she blurted. “You spend time in the sunlight somewhere? Must be on another planet. Not safe to spend too much time outdoors here on Earth II. Of course in New Seattle the heavy clouds shut out the sun anyway.”
    He glanced at his hands, accepting her change of subject. “This would be the remnant of my last visit to Frontiera,” he answered. “In general I visit the medical booths.”
    She nodded. Anyone with credit could receive regular metered dose of faux sunlight to stimulate vitamin production. She wore a vitamin patch, herself. Not as expensive as the booths. Just slap it on the midriff somewhere and leave it until it fell off, the vitamins having been absorbed by the body. Real sunlight