Storm and Lightning began on the 13th January. Catch up here: week one, week two, week three, week four

On a mining colony planet a long way from Earth, bandit Jedd Lightning dreams of making enough money to get off the planet for good. When a robbery at a high-class brothel goes wrong, he meets gorgeous rentboy Storm and is instantly smitten. But Storm has a few surprises up his sleeve, and when Jedd helps him escape, he realises he might have taken on more than he can handle…

JL Merrow and Lou Harper are once again my fabulous beta readers – any remaining mistakes are my own.

But now, on with the story:

The handyman was still outside fixing the damaged door panel when Storm’s reflection began to shimmer. He gripped onto the edge of his dresser with both hands, willing his face to stay the way Jedd had pictured it. For a few seconds he thought he might have beaten the change, but then T’almaki features formed before him, like the wind blowing away the concealing sand from a particularly ugly rock formation.

He didn’t need to turn around to know who had entered. This was how Madam Bitch-features saw him: voluptuous and pouting, just like the most sought-after of the native girls here. Quite like herself as well, although about twenty years younger and with an even more impressive beehive hairdo. He sighed at his reflection. He looked nothing like this really. Even the eyes were like Tavkel’s—hard chips of jet staring back at him.

“Fuck!”

“My thoughts exactly,” Tavkel said, her deep voice quivering with rage.

He turned to look into her glittering eyes, absent-mindedly picking up a silky scarf to wrap around himself so she wouldn’t get too distracted by his body, although she was probably too wound up to be thinking about sex. Made a pleasant change.

“So, what exactly has been going on?” Bossy-britches spat out. “You realise that’s one of our best clients now lying in the medi-bay with a sore head?”

“That’s hardly my fault.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Divine. I’ve seen the feed. You were all over that Earthish low-life scum.”

“Well, if you’ve seen the feed then you’ll have seen him threatening me with his weapon.” Storm thought it wise not to mention the other weapon he’d felt poking into him while they kissed. It had been a long time since he’d felt that aroused by anyone. Maybe the fact that there was no financial transaction, no booked time-slot, had made it all the sweeter. Or maybe it was the danger. Hard to tell, really, as he had no basis for comparison other than the men who had first captured him.

Sweet wasn’t a word he’d have applied to them under any circumstances. Dangerous, yes. Greedy…

Storm shivered and raised his head to give Madam Tavkel an ameliorating smile. Yes, she might be a controlling diva who ran the place with relentless efficiency, but at least she kept him safe from being gangbanged by groups of lust-crazed mercenaries. “Did the guards catch him?”

Please say no.

The way Madam Bossy-boots spat on the floor was answer enough, even if Storm hadn’t been able to sense her outrage sparking off the edge of his psy-field. He tried not to look too smug. “Oh, pity. But he didn’t get away with much—and the Senator will be okay, won’t he?”

“Oh yes, he’ll be fine—he always is. That man’s skull’s thicker than a sand pig’s hide.” She made a dismissive gesture and Storm fought back a smile. She couldn’t stand the Senator’s Earth-appeasing, liberal agenda, but had to suck up to him royally as one of her richest, most powerful clients. But of course, she hadn’t finished. “This place will go to the coyotes if Thrublet talks. We’ll lose trade. No one wants to dip their wick somewhere there’s a chance it could be cut off by vicious bandits.”

“I hardly think Jedd would have done that.” Storm wanted to claw the words back the moment he saw the glint in her eyes and felt the flare of interest licking at his consciousness.

“Oh, so it’s Jedd now is it? You two have something going on I should know about? Plotting together, were you?”

“I’ve never met the bastard before in my life, and how the fuck am I supposed to have done that anyway? You’ve got me locked up so tight I can’t even send a poxy dat-mail to anyone outside.”

“What on T’almak would you want to do that for? They’re a bunch of criminals and idiots out there. You much better off with me keeping you safe.”

“Keeping me prisoner, more like,” Storm muttered, but she was probably right. He had some pretty obsessive clients, and it was a relief he didn’t have to communicate with them outside of their allotted hours. He had a datapod of his own—she’d allowed him that much—and could surf through the network of information out there until his head felt ready to explode—it was just locked to incoming data feed only.

Madam Stupid-hair fixed him with a warning glare, her anger sparking off his psy-field. Rebellious urges clamoured inside him, but Storm fought them back down again. He needed to stay on her good side for a while. Lull her into thinking him compliant while he waited for Jedd’s promised rescue. Because Jedd would come, wouldn’t he? He had to. Storm scrambled to make amends. “I could give the Senator a special session. Do some of the things he’s asked for that are outside my normal remit. Would that help?”

“He doesn’t want to mark you, does he? I won’t have my best whore ruined.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Storm shuddered. “He just wants me in restraints while he fucks me.”

Tavkel cocked her head to one side and her heavy earrings jangled. “You wouldn’t freak out, would you? I don’t want you scaring him.”

“I don’t think so. No, I’m sure I wouldn’t. I trust him.” About as much as he could trust a T’almaki, anyway. The Senator had been kind to him, in his own way.

“Perhaps if we had a guard in the room to keep an eye—”

“No! No one else. That would make it worse.” That would bring back the events of his capture, and that long week before the mercenaries had had their fill of him and sold him on to Tavkel. A spike of pain lanced through his head—real, or just a memory, he wasn’t sure. “Please, only one at a time. You promised.” He tried not to sound like he was begging.

She stared at him for an eternity before nodding curtly. “Okay, I’ll let him know what’s in store for him if he’s discreet about what happened. We’ll make space for him on Fiveday.”

Storm gulped down the rising panic. “Okay. Now please, can I rest for a few minutes before my next client?”

Tavkel swept out of the room on a cloud of perfume and silk, leaving Storm sweating and shivering. Fiveday. Today was Eightday. That gave Jedd just seven days to rescue him from here. The Captain had better be good for it, and not just feeding him a line. Otherwise he’d… he’d write a really bitchy poem about Captain Jedd-ridiculous-name-Lightning and circulate it among the other whores.

Storm sighed. Yeah, great idea. That’d be the kind of epic revenge the bards would write about in the far distant future. Pathetic.

It wasn’t until he turned back to the mirror that he realised Tavkel hadn’t touched him. Now her psychic influence had waned, he could see himself as he’d been at his last forced body-shift.

The face Jedd desired stared back with bright green eyes.

Storm blinked back a threatening tear. He wasn’t going to break down. Not now, not ever. Things weren’t quite so bad after all. Now if only he could find a way to stop anyone touching him until Jedd arrived…

But that was impossible. No point pining about unattainable things. Storm clenched his jaw and set himself to memorising the reflection before him in every last little detail, running his hands over his chest and shoulders to reassure himself it was real. He was holding this form, even if only for a few stolen minutes.

***

Will Jedd make his rescue before Storm has time to write a cutting poem about him? Tune in in two week’s time for another thrilling installment of Storm and Lightning! (I’m having a little blogging holiday next week as it’s half term and I have family visiting)

Storm and Lightning – © Josephine Myles, 2012. No part of this serial fiction may be reproduced elsewhere without prior permission of the author. Thank you!