As Rick Roberts headed into the hotel's pool area, he spotted the woman lying on a deck chair. It was hard not to notice her, since she was completely naked.
Her body glistened from a coating of suntan oil. Her long red hair shimmered like rubies in the warm noonday sun. Her breasts stood out on her chest, large but clearly not fake due to the sag as they dropped over her sides. Rick let his eyes wander over her curvaceous body; not fat, but not slender either.
Once he took his eyes off her body, he drank in the beautiful lines of her face. She wore no makeup, and she was one of those rare women who didn't need it. She had a natural beauty with plump lips, rosy cheeks with a dusting of freckles, large eyes, and a delicate nose. It struck him not only as beautiful, but also familiar.
As he stared at her, her eyes opened and looked at him with soft pools of brown that twinkled with an inner light. Yet in that moment when their eyes met, Rick recognized her. And by the look on her face, he could tell that she recognized him.
Her face immediately screwed up into an angry scowl. "Rick Roberts."
He returned her scowl. "Summer Moon. Didn't expect to see you here. Certainly not this much of you. I wasn't aware this was a nude beach."
Summer tilted her head to one side. "Welcome to Europe. They're not as hung up on the human body here as they are in America. The body isn't something to be ashamed of. It's a gift from the Goddess."
He slowed down as he walked by her chair to openly stare at her breasts, now heaving faster from her quickening breath. "Looks like the Goddess gave you a bonus gift. Please, don't stop on my account. What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be out hugging trees or something?"
"I'm here for the International Energy Conference. Just like you."
Rick swore under his breath. "Don't tell me you're planning to protest again. It didn't work last year, and it won't work this time."
"I'm just here to enjoy your wonderful presentation. We have something special planned for it. It's about Maximum Petroleum and South Ukima."
Rick masked his bewilderment with calm disdain. He had no idea what she was talking about, but didn't want her to know it. "Looking forward to it. Oh, and tell your buddies to start cutting back on the weed so they can save up for a lawyer. Maximum is planning a lawsuit for that little stunt Earth's Crusaders pulled in Brazil."
"Bring it on. We're more than happy to go to jail for our cause. Enjoy your blood money."
"Enjoy your pot." Rick walked away, feeling good about how he had handled himself, but irritated that they had the exchange at all. He didn't like playing the bad guy, but to Summer he would always be the bad guy. Wherever Summer Moon went, trouble followed.
Rick cast a glance over his shoulder. A scrawny young man with a long beard and a cigarette dangling from his mouth shuffled up to Summer and slumped into the chair next to her. The two kissed passionately. Jack knew him as well - Fauntelroy "Font" Mason, the leader of Earth's Crusaders. With the two of them in town, things just went from bad to worse.
Rick felt a twinge of jealousy that his lips weren't on Summer's instead of Font's. That guy looked like a skeleton with a beard, way too grimy for her. He had met Summer quite a few times, but never seen her nude before. Her tie-dyed shirts and flowery clothes always gave him a hint of the voluptuous body that lay underneath, but he had no idea it would look that good. Despite his anger, Rick found himself savoring the memory of her naked form like a piece of Filet Minot in his mouth.
No, he told himself. Don't think of her that way. Her and her kind had made his job a thousand times harder than it needed to be, and could very well kill someone. There was no way he would allow himself to fantasize about a woman like that.
--
As she watched Rick Roberts walk away, Summer Moon couldn't help allowing her eyes to slip down to the seat of his swim trunks and check out his ass. Just as firm and toned as the rest of him. Summer had managed to cover her shock at the sight of him, not just by the fact that Rick was in her hotel, but that he wore only a swimsuit. In all the years they had tangled together, she had only seen him in tailored suits. While he had filled out his suits nicely, Summer would never have guessed how built Rick turned out to be. His powerful arms, clearly defined six-pack abs, and bulging pecs had made it even harder for her to focus on their argument. Not that his face was any slouch either. He had eyes as gray and hard as steel, smooth black hair always cut perfectly, and lips that seemed made to be kissed.
Yes, Rick Roberts was a very attractive man. He was also, she reminded herself, pure evil.
Still, she couldn't deny that she had felt a certain thrill knowing he saw her nude. Rick seemed to have enjoyed it, too.
A kiss on her cheek drew her to a lean man that dropped into the deck chair next to her. He leaned in to give her a kiss, and she shuddered a little at the body odor wafting off of him. Font didn't always shower every day. She could also smell an acrid smoke in his beard, answering her question of where he had been and what he'd been up to. Still, she closed her eyes and returned the kiss, even allowing him to probe her mouth with his tongue.
"Who was that?" Font murmured as he settled back.
Summer looked back at his retreating form. "Rick Roberts."
"Who?"
Summer looked at Font, wondering if he was kidding. He wasn't. "Font, I told you about him. I ran into him last year in Kyoto. He's an executive from Maximum Petroleum."
Font scowled. "Oh, yeah. Fascist. What's he doin' here?"
"Apparently, he's staying in this hotel."
Font grunted and flipped his sunglasses off his forehead over his eyes.
"Did you get a hold of Icepick?"
Font nodded. "Sure did. Got the press creds and the documents. When the plan goes down, Earth's Crusaders end up on the map, and South Ukima gets released from the chains of the planet's oppressors."
Summer smiled. Watching his face light up as he talking about the environment reminded him why she stayed with him. And sometimes, she needed reminding.
--
Rick walked over to the chair where his girlfriend Tanya Milan reclined. Tanya wore a bikini, but didn't fill it out the way Summer did - or the way Summer would have if she had been wearing a bikini. In fact, compared to her, Tanya looked positively bony. Tanya was a beautiful woman with olive skin and almond eyes that spoke of her Italian heritage. But she didn't have the natural beauty that Summer had, and she wore enough make-up for herself and Summer combined. She carried the slender form of the supermodel that she aspired to be with teacup-sized breasts and long limbs. She wore her black hair short instead of long like Summer's. Tanya was on her cell phone - no surprise. Rick thought that if she had the cell phone surgically attached to her ear, it wouldn't change her lifestyle a bit.
Tanya looked up at him through enormous sunglasses. Rick thought they looked silly, but she said it was the latest thing. Their generation gap was one of the pitfalls he faced dating someone ten years younger. "Who was that?"
Rick sat down next to her. "Summer Moon. She's one of Earth's Crusaders."
Tanya's nose wrinkled. "Ew, those eco-terrorist whackos? Didn't they blow up one of my Daddy's ships or something like that?"
"Not quite. They used some ships to block an oil tanker off the coast of Brazil from reaching port six months ago. But we do believe they were behind a bombing that hit one of Maximum's ships in Alaska. Just don't have any proof."
"Gross." Tanya frowned at Summer. "I thought she'd be uglier."
Then her face lit up and she grabbed his arm. "Hey, baby, good news. I got an invitation to Anabella Gisierro's party tonight."
"Tonight? Honey, you know I can't go to a party. I have to prepare for my presentation tomorrow."
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