* * *
Blane folded his arms across his chest and waited while Ange Bennett gave him a thorough once-over. The woman looked spooked by something. Of course, almost getting raped probably did that to a woman, but he already knew she was someone who didn’t spook easily. He’d spent the past few days investigating her, learning about her history—doing the dirty work for his brother Ryol as usual.
Ryol wanted a ship to take them back to Kyffin. Blane smiled at the irony. For once, what Ryol wanted and what he wanted were one in the same. Ever since his unwilling departure from Kyffin, he’d been looking for a way back. And now, Ryol was offering it to him—demanding it of him. There was a price, naturally. There was always a price with Ryol. But he’d demanded his price, too. Quid pro quo. The ancient exchange of favors. He’d give Ryol what he wanted, and in return, Ryol would help him rescue those he’d been forced to abandon.
But first they needed a ship. After some discrete questions around the spaceport, he’d decided Hawk’s Flight would be perfect for the job. Only, its captain was something of a mystery.
He narrowed his gaze, caught the flush mounting in her cheeks. He knew why. She was confused, shaken by overwhelming desire. The breeze was blowing toward her—she’d caught his scent. He knew the effect he had on women. Not that it meant anything. It was chemical, biological, hormonal, anything but real. The desire flaming to sudden life in her eyes was empty, meaningless, nothing more than her hormones going into overdrive. In his younger days he’d taken full advantage of his body’s strange ability to lure women, but the lust only made the loneliness more painful in the end. These days he preferred to stay alone, locked in his studio, creating his sculptures. No woman would ever love him for who he was—only for what he smelled like.
He drove the thought away. Tonight his aberration might work to his advantage. If his scent enticed Ange Bennett, so much the better. Ryol was desperate to find a pilot willing to fly into the Abandoned Zone at once, so they’d reach Kyffin in time for the double moon rising. He’d even lent Blane his car and his driver for the trip to the spaceport.
Ryol and his obscene wealth, money made from the same enticing aroma that cursed Blane’s life.
Ryol would expect Captain Bennett to jump at the fee he was authorized to offer. But Blane knew she would be hard to convince. He’d heard enough about her reputation in the past two days to expect a tough cookie, and she’d been putting up a pretty good fight when the car had landed. What he hadn’t expected was a tough cookie with blonde, curly hair and eyes the deep green of a sun-warmed tropical sea.
Steady, boy! Blane shook his head as he contemplated her unexpected beauty. He had a sudden impulse to close the distance she had put between them and sweep her into his arms. That was the last thing he needed—to get close to a woman. Especially a woman he’d be spending weeks with in space. He was here on business. He wanted to go to Kyffin as much as Ryol did—although for different reasons.
Still, she made a lovely picture standing on the ramp, silhouetted against the sky. He admired the proud way she held her head, her tawny curls ruffled by the breeze, her green eyes watchful as she took his measure. With her unruly head of hair and her defiant stance, she looked like a warrior princess out of some holoflic. She wore baggy pants tucked into scuffed black boots, a plain, gray tunic and a bulky jacket that hid the shape of her body. But she couldn’t hide the delicate bone structure of her heart-shaped face or the soft fullness of her lips. His breathing quickened as he took in her beauty and he amended his mental description—she was more like an elfin princess than a warrior. She made him think of the magical women in the Fa’erie tales in his childhood.
With an effort, Blane forced his mind back to business. As much as he might enjoy standing and ogling Ange Bennett all night—and she seemed equally engrossed in staring at him—he’d come to the spaceport for a reason. He smiled and turned on the charm. “Let me explain my presence here, Captain Bennett. I want to hire your services.”
Her eyes widened and she backed up a step. Her tense posture made him think of a wild animal leery of a trap. The attack must have unnerved her more than he’d realized. He wanted to take her in his arms, hold her, and comfort her. But that was impossible. He couldn’t get that close without arousing her. Maybe it was a good thing she was so skittish tonight.
Blane kept his smile pasted on his face, but his conscience chided him. It didn’t matter what Ange Bennett wanted. He intended to hire her. His informant said she was close to broke with no new work in sight. A few days of paying the docking fees at this spaceport and she would be in danger of losing her ship.
Ange Bennett needed work bad.
And he had a job for her to do.
She wiped her hands against her pants. “Hire me for what?”
“I’ve been told that you sometimes fly into the Abandoned Zone.”
She lifted her chin. “There’s no law against that.”
“Certainly not. But very few captains are willing to take the risk anymore. However, that’s where we want to go. To Kyffin.”
“We?” She frowned at him.
“Myself and my brother. Ryol Llewelyn. You may have heard of him. He’s a wealthy businessman.”
“I’m sorry.” She shook her head with real regret in her eyes. “I could use the money, but I don’t take passengers. You’ll have to find someone else.”
Blane planted his hands on his hips. She must be bluffing, angling for more money. After all, she was fairly desperate for cash. Well, Ryol could afford it. “Money is no problem. We’ll pay you whatever you ask.”
“Sorry.” Her kissable mouth set in a firm line. She lifted a hand, palm outward. “I only deal in cargo. The answer is no. Period.”
She was a stubborn one, all right. He liked that. A woman with backbone. But he had a job to do. The chance to get back to Kyffin wouldn’t come again soon. Time to entice her with a whiff of his scent. He took a step closer.
Alarm flared in her eyes. “Keep back!” she snapped.
“Sure.” He stopped. The breeze was blowing her way. He knew his scent would soon work its magic. Meanwhile, she made an enchanting picture. His informants had said she was a strange one, a loner. He’d read her file again just before leaving for the spaceport. She’d been raised on various spaceships by her mother, a ship’s engineer who had died in an accident three standard years ago. She’d bought Hawk’s Flight with the insurance settlement, but pickings were slim for independent spacers and she was barely getting by. She made enough to keep the Hawk in space by being willing to fly places no one else dared to go.
No family, no boyfriends, no ties. Hard to believe someone so young and so lovely could be so alone.
And no passengers. Ever.
A smile appeared on Blane’s lips. He liked a challenge. “Why no passengers?” He kept his tone light.
She looked away and for a moment he thought she would refuse to answer. Instead, she shrugged. “I doubt you’d understand. Let’s just say I don’t get along with men.” She gave her head a little shake, making the curls of her blonde mop bounce, and stared at the shadows under the ramp where Sean had thrown her to the ground. “Tonight is a prime example.”
He laughed, and immediately regretted it when she threw him an angry look. “Oh, come on,” he said, trying to recover. “How often does some man attempt to rape you?”
A blush darkened her cheeks. “That’s none of your business. And my ship is my ship. I’ll do as I wish with her. Please leave.”
“If you insist.” He forced a pleasant smile to his face. What had happened to his invincible charm? He’d expected her to be all over him by now, clinging to his neck, kissing his mouth, inviting him to her bed. They always did. He had to get closer so the scent would hit her, but she seemed determined to put even more distance between them. She started up the ramp, her head turned to keep a wary eye on him. In another moment, she’d be inside, out of his reach.
He had to play his trump card. Ryol
would be livid if he failed. But more importantly, there were people on Kyffin who needed what Ryol would bring.
“We’ll meet again, captain.”
She tossed a glare at him over her shoulder. “How so?”
“When you lose your ship to your debtors and she’s mine, I’ll hire you on as part of the crew.”
She froze with one hand on the railing, the other clenched into a fist at her side. Fear flashed across her face, followed by anger. She narrowed her eyes and examined him with distain. “I’m not going to lose Hawk’s Flight.”
“You will if no one hires you soon. Not only is my brother wealthy, he’s also quite influential. He can see to it that no one does.”
At that, she whirled around to face him full on, her body braced as if for battle. “Why would you do that to me?”
“Because we need you to fly us to Kyffin. Look—” he summoned up his best boyish grin. “I don’t know what your problem is with taking passengers, but I promise we’ll stay out of your hair.”
Her hands curled into fists. “I don’t like being blackmailed.”
“And I don’t like blackmailing people. Besides, I’ve got nowhere to park a spaceship. So let’s make it easy for both of us. My brother will pay you an outrageous sum of money and we’ll stay out of your way for the whole trip, if you take the two of us to Kyffin.”
Her mouth quivered at that. He’d almost gotten her to smile. “I tell you what, you name the price,” he added.
She caught a tawny curl between thumb and forefinger and played with it as she eyed him. Gods, she was gorgeous. And as skittish as a Managastian wild cat. Maybe she had good reason to be leery of two strange men on her ship.
“I promise we’ll stay out of your sight. You won’t even know we’re on board.” He poured sincerity into his voice. “My brother’s something of a hermit anyway. So am I, for that matter.” He shrugged.
Her eyes sparked with interest. “What’s your business on Kyffin?”
Blane let out a breath and relaxed. “It’s Ryol’s business, really. I’m just his gofer. He’ll explain it to you.”
Footsteps rang on the concrete pavement and Ryol’s driver reappeared.
“I turned the man in to the guards,” he said to Blane. He nodded his head to Ange. “They’ll probably be stopping by tomorrow to get a statement from you, captain.”
“I guess I owe you something for that.” Ange bit down on her lip. “Okay. But there’ll be some strict rules. You’ll have to agree to stay out of my control room—and anywhere else I declare off limits.”
“That’s no problem.” Blane held out his hand but she backed up another step, clearly unwilling to touch him. He frowned. Had someone hurt her that badly? Well, they’d have two months in space together on the trip to Kyffin. No matter how diligently she tried to avoid him, a spaceship was only so big. He made up his mind to find out more about Captain Ange Bennett—much more.
Chapter Two
Ange repositioned the panel cover over the rear drive controls and rocked back on her heels to listen to the low rumble of the ship’s engines. They were a month and a half out from Tau Delta and Hawk’s Flight had never sounded better. Determined to stay far away from her two passengers, Ange had spent most of her waking hours on this trip in the control room or the engine room.
She tightened the panel in place and rose to her feet. The past few weeks had been tough, but Blane and Ryol had kept their promise to stay out of her sight. She was relieved about that, of course, yet a perverse part of her wanted to know more about Blane. Until their meeting on Tau Delta, she’d thought her problem was unique. But apparently he, too, gave off a scent that lured the opposite sex. Could he possibly understand the lonely life she’d led? The thought gave her hope, but then she would imagine getting close enough to him that he could catch her scent—and his eyes darkening with mindless lust like all the others. No, she didn’t want that.
Stretching her arms and yawning, she glanced at the chronometer over the main panel. According to ship’s time, it was three in the morning. Good. Both passengers should be sound asleep. She decided to head for the lounge, gulp down a tube of food, and go to bed.
After stowing away her tools in the engine room, she secured the hatch and stepped into the main passageway. Hawk’s Flight had once carried a crew in addition to its captain. Four cabins lined the short corridor between the engine room and the forward galley and control room. She had passed the first two when a door slid open with a soft whoosh of air and Blane stepped in front of her.
“Well, hello.” He raised a surprised eyebrow and stopped. She stopped, her heart racing with alarm. At times during the past few weeks, she’d caught a trace of his potent scent in the corridor. Each time, it had started her blood burning and filled her head with erotic fantasies. Fantasies of finally closing the gap between them. Of his fingertips tracing the curve of her cheek. Fantasies of strong arms holding her with gentle strength instead of the ravenous lust she’d always known. Fantasies of a soft, tender kiss.
She knew that could never be. But she’d come to treasure the fantasies. The last thing she wanted was to face him in the flesh. Maybe if she held her breath and hurried past, he’d have no effect on her. Her head started to pound, but that was probably lack of oxygen.
Ahead lay the galley and beyond that the safety of the control room. But he stood unmoving in front of her. Surely he wouldn’t dare to block her way. His eyes held an impish sparkle as he faced her. He didn’t look sleepy, either, despite his tousled hair. Had he purposefully stayed awake in his cabin, waiting for her to pass by?
Blane cocked his head to one side. “I haven’t caught as much as a single glimpse of you in the past week or two, captain.”
“That’s the idea—and our agreement.”
He held up a hand. “I respect our agreement. I’m headed to the galley for a middle-of-the-night snack. And you?”
She frowned. “I was going to get something to eat, too. Go ahead if you’re hungry. I’ll eat when you’re finished.”
Blane kept his hand up and braced his feet in a wide stance. As she’d feared, his solid body blocked the way. Ange couldn’t help notice the sexy shadow of stubble on his cheeks and the brown curls peeking out over the edge of his v-necked, sleeveless tank top. Tight thigh-high shorts hugged his narrow hips and muscular thighs and left little to her imagination about his male attributes. Her cheeks burned despite the fact that the ship’s temperature controls were dialed down for the night.
“Isn’t that a little silly?” Blane lifted a hand, palm up in invitation. “The galley is big enough. I can keep at a distance from you and we can both eat. I wouldn’t mind a bit of company.”
Ange rubbed her cheek. She appreciated his willingness to respect the limits she’d set, but she was puzzled by this sudden show of friendship. “You’ve got your brother for company.”
“Ryol and I are not that close.”
“He sent you to hammer out the deal for the ship. I assumed you were partners.”
Blane shook his head, his smooth brown hair swinging with the motion. “No. Ryol has his reasons for returning to Kyffin and I have mine. For now, we share the same goal—getting there. When we arrive, though, our interests will diverge.”
Narrowing her eyes, Ange pondered this surprising news. Why was he telling her his family secrets? Something in his tone suggested that it was important information.
“I hope that won’t be a problem,” she said. “My agreement is with Ryol, after all.”
Blane had negotiated the contract, but Ryol was the one who’d signed it and paid the first half of her fee. He was older than Blane by several years, and true to his word, he had retired to his cabin the moment Hawk lifted off. Since then she’d only caught two or three glimpses of his tall figure, dressed in the rich robes of a merchant.
Blane flashed a grin at her. “Shouldn’t be. Especially if we get to know each other better. Say you’ll unbend a little and join me.”
&nb
sp; Without waiting for her answer, he turned and walked to the door that led to the galley. It opened and he stepped through, gesturing for her to follow.
Curiosity pricked at Ange. This was the man who had rescued her from a violent attack and commandeered her ship with his forceful personality. More than that, he was a man who could seduce women with his smell. Was there some connection between his ability and hers? Maybe it was worth investigating. Surely, it couldn’t hurt to learn a little bit about him.
Every instinct warned her that she would regret following him through that door. But her mind’s eye refused to consider anything but the sight of his broad shoulders and tight ass as he vanished into the galley. Cursing herself for a fool, she followed him and took up a position at the opposite end of the galley. She might not be able to resist the temptation to spend a few minutes with Blane, but years of bitter experience had taught her to keep a safe distance where men were concerned.
Blane’s eyes sparkled as he pulled two food tubes from the storage bin and tossed one at her. She caught it and yanked off the tab. A thick brown paste oozed out. The stamp on the side of the tube informed her it was supposed to taste like roast beef. Not that she’d ever tasted real beef. But the government guaranteed it was safe and nutritious. And it was lightweight and cheap.
“Hope you haven’t found the rations too boring,” she said, swallowing some of the paste. “I’ve never been able to afford real food. Anyway, I grew up on this stuff, so I guess it’s not fatal.”
“Doesn’t bother me.” Blane licked at the paste brimming over the edge of his tube. Ange shifted uneasily. Maybe this was a bad idea. The sight of his tongue sweeping in slow, sensual circles over the tip of the tube stirred erotic sensations deep in her belly. She imagined it gliding over her skin, imagined its damp warmth and how its rough surface would tickle her. She took a cautious sniff of the air, alert for any hint of wild, dark forests.
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