"Talk about melting amber," he whispered.
He moved in the shadows, turning them both so that he was the one sitting in the passenger seat. Somehow she was astride him.
She could no longer see anything at all through the Spectrum's windows. It wasn't just the thick mist outside that limited the view. The glass itself was seriously fogged on the inside.
So much heat. Exhilaration and urgency made her shiver in Cooper's arms.
His hand moved between her thighs. Everything inside her was growing tighter.
She reached down and unfastened his trousers. His rigid erection surged into her hand.
He gripped her hips, cupping her buttocks in the palms of his hands. Positioning her where he wanted her, he slowly, carefully eased her downward.
When she felt the size of him, her body tensed involuntarily against the sensual invasion. Her fingers clenched around his shoulders, and she froze.
"Open for me," he whispered, his voice husky with need. "Got to be inside you. Waited so damn long."
She felt herself precariously balanced on the bright line between pain and pleasure.
"This may not work," she gasped.
He took one hand off her thigh and did something to the delicate, exquisitely sensitized little nubbin between her legs. Without warning her climax rolled through her, stealing her breath and her voice.
"It'll work," he said.
He took advantage of the delicious distraction that he had created to thrust deeply into her. Her body accepted him fully this time, thrilling to the intense sensation. Gloriously satisfying contractions throbbed through her.
Cooper uttered an exultant, half-muffled groan. His release roared through him in heavy, pounding waves that she could feel deep inside.
For a short eternity Elly could not envision anything of importance existing beyond the realm encompassed by the front seat of the car. Everything she needed was right here, she thought. She could live in the vehicle for the rest of her life so long as Cooper was with her.
Eventually it dawned on her that Cooper was no longer moving. The realization brought her back to full awareness with a start of anxiety.
"Cooper?"
His head was resting against the back of the seat. She could see that his eyes were closed. His breathing was steadying rapidly.
First the burn and then the crash, she reminded herself.
She had to get him inside before he went out like a de-rezzed light. She eased herself away from him, wincing a little. Her entire lower body felt tender. The muscles of her inner thighs were jelly.
"Cooper?" She shook him, gently at first and then with more force. "Wake up, Guild Boss. We have to get you inside. I told you that you couldn't sleep out here in the alley tonight. It's just too dangerous."
"Huh?" His dark lashes lifted slightly. His sleepy smile was the essence of male satisfaction. "Can't remember the last time I had car sex. Going to have to do this more often."
"Out." She reached across him and pushed open the door. Chilly, damp air spilled into the vehicle. "Move, Boone. There's no way I can carry you."
"I'm fine right here." The words were slurred. He closed his eyes again.
"I'm not going to leave you out here, and that's final."
When that reminder elicited no response, she climbed awkwardly over him and got out of the car. Her sweater was still hiked up over her breasts. Hastily, she yanked it down.
The light over the back door of the shop barely reached the Spectrum. On the positive-rez side, she thought, if any of her neighbors were still up they might not notice her getting out of a strange car with her clothes in disarray and a near-unconscious man in the front seat. Not that folks here in the big city paid attention to that sort of thing, she assured herself. This wasn't a small town where everybody loved to gossip.
"You know," she said to no one in particular, "I never had problems like this back in Aurora Springs."
"Neither did I," Cooper mumbled.
"At least you're not completely asleep yet."
She leaned back inside the car, gripped his right arm, and tried to drag him bodily out of the vehicle.
"Out," she said in her sternest tones, trying to cut through the veil of heavy sleep that she knew was crashing through him. "Right now."
"Nag, nag, nag."
But Cooper rolled slowly out of the front seat and actually managed to stand on his own two feet, although he had to lean heavily on her and the car door to do so. It said a lot for his stamina that he was still able to move at all under his own steam in this condition, she thought.
She got him up the step and through the doorway. Rose tumbled toward her in an agitated manner.
"He's okay," she said. "At least, I think he is."
Cooper opened one eye. "That's it. I'm inside. I'm going back to sleep."
His knees buckled. She couldn't hold his weight, but she was able to control his collapse to the floor so that he did not hit anything important on the way down.
She went back outside to secure the Spectrum. Suddenly remembering her missing panties, she opened the passenger door and checked the front seat. The little triangle of red lace dangled off the gearshift. She snatched up the underwear and locked the car.
Cooper hadn't had an opportunity to hang a ghost on the license plate. She could only hope that the expensive vehicle would still be there in the morning.
She hurried back into the shop and rezzed the new lock. Cooper was still sprawled, faceup, on the floor, eyes closed. He did not stir when she shoved a pillow under his head and covered him with a blanket.
When she was satisfied that she had done all she could, she de-rezzed the light, collected Rose, and climbed to the upper floor. A heady mix of weariness, astonishment, and nervy excitement hit her full force halfway up the stairs.
What had she just done?
She'd had sex with Cooper Boone, that was what she had done. In the front seat of his car, no less.
When she emerged from the bathroom a short time later, having showered and changed into a nightgown, she went into the kitchen. Rose was sitting on the windowsill next to the little vase that held the strange green flower.
Her mother had given her the vase. Evelyn St. Clair had found it years ago while working as a tangler para-archaeologist for a private exploration team.
There was no way of knowing if the small, gracefully shaped vessel had been intended to hold flowers, of course. As was the case with virtually all of the alien artifacts, its original purpose remained a mystery. But it worked very well as a vase. It also functioned as a dim and slightly eerie night-light. Like all green quartz artifacts brought out of the catacombs, the stone emitted a faint, residual glow after dark.
Elly went to stand at the window. Rose sidled along the windowsill, getting closer to her hand. Taking the hint, she petted the dust bunny gently somewhere in the vicinity of the top of her head. Together they looked out at the view of the green-tinged fog.
"The thing I have to keep in mind here is that nothing that happened tonight can be considered normal," Elly said to Rose. "I definitely should not make any assumptions about the future based on what just occurred down there in the front seat of the Spectrum."
Rose rumbled softly. Elly couldn't tell if she was agreeing or not. Rose appeared to be a fairly worldly dust bunny. Nevertheless, it was unlikely that she understood much about the potential emotional ramifications of human passion.
"Melting amber always hits a hunter hard, you know," Elly explained. "And that was a for-real blue ghost that Cooper de-rezzed tonight. There's no knowing exactly how that kind of psi drain will affect him. It's quite possible that, come morning, Cooper won't even remember having hot sex with me."
Rose made another vaguely comforting noise.