“So if we can’t poison them all, what are you proposing?” Studoc asked.
“First, I go in the back entrance again. I will remove the antidote and add a new formula to the water. It will enhance the poison and weaken them so that they won’t be able to fight.”
“Each person’s chemistry is different,” Grabon said. “You can’t be sure that everyone will be helpless.”
“No. That where part two comes in. After the drug has had a chance to affect them, I can release a sleeping gas. They would be unconscious when the rest of you showed up. When they wake up, we will give them a chance to abandon the project. If they do, I can give them an antidote and send them on their way. If not…” She bit her lip remembering Grabon’s accusations. “If not, then we don’t let them leave and they will be there when the destruction begins.”
“Bombs? Tell me we’re going to set off bombs.” Studoc said eagerly.
“No, I don’t want to do that. I’m not sure what will trigger the planetary weapon. This will be a chemical reaction. It will melt everything it encounters.”
There was a moment of stunned silence.
“You can do that?” Ultana asked finally.
“Um, yes.” She looked around at their faces. “So what do you think?”
“Even if you do get the drug in the water,” Grabon said skeptically. “Won’t they get suspicious when they start getting sick? The logical solution would be to call for help.”
“Yes, I’d thought of that. I’m going to deploy a communications blocker—no messages will go in or out of the facility while it’s active.”
“You keep fucking saying, I will do this, and I will do that.” Athtar growled.
“Of course. I don’t want to involve any of you more than necessary and I don’t need any help with the first part. But once everyone is unconscious, I will need help getting them together and guarding them. I thought you could drop me off at the back entrance and come back a few days later after I deploy the gas. Since no one goes back there, I should be fine in the tunnel.”
“If you think for one fucking second that I’m dropping you off on that fucking planet all by your fucking self, you’ve got another fucking think coming,” he roared.
Oops. When he was driven to that level of swearing, there was usually a spanking in her future. It had only happened one other time on the voyage—when he discovered her about to fall down the stairs with an armful of glass beakers that she’d borrowed from the med lab. At the time the spanking had been exciting, and she’d come so hard she’d almost passed out, but she’d definitely sat a little cautiously the next day.
“I don’t want to put anyone in danger,” she said soothingly, but it didn’t seem to work. His glare intensified, so she lifted her chin instead. “It’s only logical.”
“You and I are going to have a long discussion about fucking logical tonight,” he promised, and she actually felt herself dampen.
“If I can interrupt your current discussion for a minute,” Ultana said dryly, and Faith forced herself to drag her eyes away from Athtar to study the other woman. “Aren’t you forgetting something? The emperor is going to send his Fleet, and probably sooner rather than later. Why don’t we just let them take care of it?”
“Do you trust the Empire?” Faith asked. “Back on Earth, I wouldn’t have trusted this kind of weapon to anyone.” She sighed. “It may already be too late. Once a scientific discovery has been made, there always seems to be someone else who achieves the same thing. But maybe this will be the time when no one else discovers it. I hope that if nothing else we can delay it.”
“No, I suppose I don’t trust them,” Ultana said slowly. “They would tell themselves they needed to know how it was done so they could prevent it happening again.”
“Exactly. We have a saying about not being able to put lightning back in the bottle. I’m hoping that it hasn’t already escaped and we can destroy the bottle before it does.”
Ultana shook her head but smiled at Faith. “All right. I’m in.”
“As am I,” Kanithe said. “If for no other reason than to prevent a tragedy being carried out in Napisten’s name.” Then she grinned her slightly terrifying smile. “And I always love our little adventures against overwhelming odds.”
“Why not?” Studoc said. “You only live once.”
“I will come,” Thynmirr said. “Even though I am not a fighter.”
“That leaves you, Grabon.” She turned to the big alien and held her breath. She knew he didn’t like her or trust her. He sighed and shook his head and her heart sank, but then he spoke.
“Yes, I’ll come. Because I know that Athtar is going to go and I will always have his back.”
“You agree?” She turned to Athtar last of all.
“No, I don’t fucking agree,” he growled. “But since I’m sure that if I don’t fucking take you, you’ll find a way to go anyway, I’m going to have to fucking come along so I can make sure you don’t get yourself fucking killed.”
Damn, her plan had come together. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Thank you, all of you. I know I can’t change what I’ve done in the past but at least I can try and make sure it never happens again.”
There was moment of awkward silence, then Ultana cleared her throat. “I’ll plot the course for Hothrest. The sooner we get there the better, especially if the Fleet will be coming.” She left and the rest of the crew drifted out, leaving her alone with Athtar.
“About that discussion we were going to have,” he said, advancing on her. Damn, he was sexy when he got all growly and demanding.
“Do we have something we need to talk about?” she asked innocently.
“You’re fucking right we do. Did you really expect me to drop you off on a fucking ice planet and leave you there alone?”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” Actually, she was more than a little nervous about the idea. She’d never admit it, but she would be delighted to have him accompany her.
“No, it would not be fucking fine. You can barely make it around the fucking ship without hurting yourself.”
She winced, knowing he was right. “So you’re going with me?” she asked, a little more hopefully than she intended.
“You bet your sweet little ass I am.” He lifted her out of her seat with his usual effortless ease and she automatically wrapped her legs around him. He was holding her at face level, and she couldn’t resist stroking her hand down his hard features and tangling her fingers in the soft strands of his beard. With a muffled curse, he responded, closing his mouth over hers. She had expected one of his usual passionate, demanding kisses, but instead he nibbled gently at her lips, teasing the seam with his tongue before coaxing her lips apart. Even then, he kept the kiss slow, thorough, and achingly tender. She was on the verge of tears when he finally listed his head.
“That was… nice,” she said, running an unexpectedly shaky finger along his mouth.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Faith,” he promised, his eyes deep blue and solemn, and she absolutely believed that he would do anything he could to protect her. Despite his bluster, she didn’t think anyone had ever cared so much about her safety.
“Thank you,” she whispered, and hugged him, burying her face in his neck before he could see the tears in her eyes. He hugged her back, strong arms wrapped around her, and they stood there in silence for a long moment before he raised his head. The sparks were back in his eyes.
“But I still have plans for this sweet little ass.”
Chapter Twelve
Athtar carried Faith back to their cabin, but to her surprise—and if she was honest, her disappointment—he didn’t spank her. Instead he spent a long time with his head between her legs, teasing her with that incredible talented tongue of his, but he didn’t let her come. Instead he rose up over her, lifting her hips up on to his thighs and pulling her against him. This was one of her favorite positions, her pussy lips parted around his massive dick so she could feel
those incredible vibrations against every part of her slit, while he sucked and tugged on her nipples, and she could have cried with disappointment when he lifted off of her again without letting her climax.
“I think we need a change,” he said thoughtfully.
“No change,” she said quickly, trying to tug him back down, even though she had no more hope of moving him than she did of moving a boulder. “I liked what we were doing.”
“I did, too, but we don’t want to get complacent, do we?”
“Complacent?” She stared at him. Her clit was throbbing, her nipples were swollen and needy, her pussy was aching, and he was talking about complacency?
“Yes.” He flipped her over with his impressive strength and smacked her ass. “I think I want to focus on this luscious ass for a while.”
“Are you going to spank me again?” She couldn’t even pretend that she wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea.
“Not this time.” He caressed one of her buttocks, then slid his finger between them, stroking down until he reached her back entrance. Instead of moving on, he began circling the tiny entrance. “Has any man been here before, sweetheart?”
“No. And no man is going to go—” He hit something that sent a ripple of excitement up her spine. “Ooh, do that again.”
“Up on your hands and knees,” he ordered, and she obeyed. There was a moment of silence and she started to feel self-conscious until he spoke.
“Fuck, that’s a beautiful sight.” He grabbed her hips with his big hands and pulled her back. To her shock, she felt his tongue dip briefly into her needy pussy before swiping up to probe her bottom hole.
“Athtar! What are you doing?”
“Getting better acquainted with this perfect fucking ass,” he mumbled. His tongue circled and stroked, awakening nerve endings she never even knew existed, before prodding delicately at her pucker. It felt wet and dirty and amazingly good, and she quivered.
“That’s my girl.” He pulled back and before she could protest, his finger replaced his tongue, pushing slowly but implacably into the tiny opening. Her body resisted, then opened, and he slipped inside with a burning stretch that made her wiggle uncomfortably.
“Easy, baby.” His other hand was at her clit, teasing the hard little nub. The stretch morphed into something else, something pleasurable and undeniably erotic, and she slipped over the edge into an unexpected orgasm. Her muscles tightened and she clamped down on the intruder, the fullness adding to the pleasure as she shuddered.
Athtar watched in satisfaction as Faith trembled beneath him. Fuck, she was beautiful when she came. Her ripe little ass clamped down on his finger, unbelievably hot and tight. He could only imagine how it would feel around his cock.
“I’m going to fuck you here, sweetheart,” he growled, working his finger slowly in and out while she was still shaking from her climax. He slid his thumb into her sweet little cunt, thrusting in unison.
“What? No, you can’t. You’re too big.” Her voice was slightly panicky, but he felt her grow even wetter at his words.
“Not today,” he agreed, although his cock was dripping at the thought. She wasn't ready and he would never hurt her. “We’ll have to work up to it.”
“What if I don’t want to work up to it?” she protested, but she was already thrusting her hips back to meet his hand. He was too impatient to wait any longer and moved his thumb away, grinning when she moaned at the loss, but immediately replacing it with his cock and pressing into her. She was always tight but his thick finger in her ass made her that much tighter and he had to work his way inside. His balls were already drawn up, the base of his spine tingling, but he was going to make her come at least once more before he lost control. His cock was thrumming rapidly and he could feel it pulsing against his finger. Once he was buried to the hilt, he resumed the slow strokes, pulling in and out of her ass as she gradually softened around him.
“That’s good, baby. You look so fucking perfect taking me like this.”
Her whole body was flushed and trembling and he knew she was ready to come again. He gave her fully exposed clit a demanding stroke, and as soon as he felt her tighten, he slid a second finger into her ass. She wailed and came hard, the pressure around his cock and fingers almost unbearably tight, and he gritted his teeth trying desperately to hold on until she softened, until he could finally release his control and thrust once, twice, and erupt inside her in long shuddering waves.
Her legs gave out and she collapsed down on the bed with him right behind, trying to retain enough control to keep his weight from crushing her. He landed a little to one side, their faces close together, and he watched as she opened her beautiful eyes and smiled at him.
“Damn, Athtar. You just keep getting better and better. Is it always going to be like this?”
“Fuck, yes. Always,” he said without thinking. They both froze as the words penetrated. How could he have forgotten that there was no always. This was temporary.
“I mean…” he started to say, but the words wouldn’t come.
“I know what you mean,” she whispered, and closed her eyes.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. He reluctantly pulled free and seeking refuge in action, he fetched a cleansing cloth and came back to clean her gently. She didn’t respond but he knew she wasn’t asleep. For a fleeting second, he thought about leaving her alone in his bed, knowing that staying only added to the illusion that he could keep her, but he couldn’t fucking do it. He climbed back into the bed and pulled her into his chest. She resisted for a moment, then sighed and snuggled back against him. With a grateful sigh of his own, he wrapped himself around her, buried his nose in her hair and tried to forget about tomorrow.
The trip back to Hothrest passed both too quickly and too slowly. Too quickly because Athtar was always aware that, assuming Faith’s plan worked and they destroyed the lab, he would have to take her somewhere and leave her. Too slowly because he hated waiting to implement a plan. They made one stop along the way at a disreputable trading station that was close to their route and unlikely to be frequented by official vessels. He wanted cold weather gear and Faith needed supplies for her part of the plan. He flatly refused to let her accompany him onboard the station.
“Why not? I want to see what it’s like.”
“Not a lot of women out here, especially beautiful little scientists. I don’t want to have kill every fucking man that looks at you.”
She blushed but shook her head. “I’m not that special. And what if you don’t get the right ingredients?”
“They’re fucking basic supplies. I’m not going to fuck it up.” He shook his head. “Who knew that bleach and fertilizer could be used to wreak destruction?” Her face clouded over, and he could have kicked himself. Hastily changing the subject, he leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “I won’t be gone long. I have more plans for that sweet little ass of yours tonight.”
Her face was scarlet now, but her nipples pouted at him and he noticed that she didn’t object.
Athtar usually enjoyed stopping at trading stations, even ones as seedy as this, but this time, all he could think about was getting back to Faith. He strapped on his weapons harness, added a coat, and then strapped more weapons on top of that.
“Expecting trouble?” Grabon asked as they prepared to disembark.
“No, and I don’t fucking want any.”
“Some men would see that array of weaponry as a challenge.”
Athtar bared his teeth. “Then they’ll fucking lose.”
Grabon sighed and fastened on an extra set of weapons as well. As they walked through the station, the other customers did indeed give them a wide berth. Faith’s supplies were quickly located and purchased, then sent to the docks to wait for their return. The outdoor gear was harder to locate but they finally found a dusty looking shop with an array of survival equipment. He purchased thermal layers for himself and Faith and then added enough outerwear for the entire crew. Everything was a little ragged looking, as
was the ancient proprietor, but it should be sufficient for their purposes.
“Do you have any survival kits?” Grabon asked.
The shopkeeper nodded eagerly, already excited by the size of their purchase and hobbled off to the back of the store.
“I don’t need a fucking survival kit,” Athtar muttered. “We’re only gonna be on the surface for an hour.”
“You hope,” Grabon responded grimly. “What if the female makes a mistake?”
“You’re a fucking paranoid idiot. Why the hell do you think she’d do that?”
“I don’t know.” He sighed and his wings fluttered. “I do not wish to think ill of her, but she is dangerous, and I do not know if she fully considers the consequences of her actions.”
He thought of telling Grabon the number of times Faith had agonized about her plan, but he wasn’t going to discuss his woman’s doubts. “She fucking considers them,” he growled instead.
“Even with the best of intentions, accidents can happen.”
The proprietor shuffled back with two worn containers. “Everything you need here, sir. Keep you alive for days these will.”
Grabon raised his eyebrows and Athtar scowled and gave in. “Add them to the fucking bill.”
Chapter Thirteen
Three days later they were in a high orbit over Hothrest.
“How’s it look?” Athtar muttered to Ultana.
“It’s hard to tell since the cloud cover is always so predominant but I think there’s a storm approaching.”
“Could be good news. Easier to fucking hide in a storm.”
“And quicker to freeze to death.”
“Thank you for that helpful fucking advice.”
“I try.” She hesitated. “Are you sure about this, Captain? Why don’t Grabon and I go with you? I can cover you from a distance and he’s handy to have in a fight.”
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