Sighing, she rubbed her forehead. Her lips pressed together in a thin line as the first throb of another headache pulsed through her skull. Ryol’s money had tempted her. It had been a mistake. This would be her last trip with passengers, ever.
“My business is perfectly legal. I’m a respected merchant, well-known on many worlds.” Ryol looked smug as he ran a hand through his thinning hair.
“What is your business?” She leaned forward, surprised by the harsh tone in her voice. This man made her more nervous than she’d realized.
“That’s what I’m about to tell you, captain, if you’ll let me proceed.”
Ange bit back an apology. Alarm bells rang in her head. Just her luck to get two misfits for passengers. In his own way, Ryol was as strange as his sexy brother. He was far too rich to be traveling on a beat-up ship like the Hawk. He could buy three ships like hers with the price of the blood-red ruby blazing on his little finger. Legal or not, something was off-kilter with this whole trip and she didn’t like it. Both of them were men with secrets.
“Go ahead.” She kept her tone neutral.
Ryol arched a black eyebrow at her. “I want to bring you up-to-date on my plans before we land. Are we on schedule?”
“We are.” Ange took pride in the speed she’d managed to make despite the Hawk’s age. She knew how to nurse the last ounce of thrust out of her engines.
“Splendid. I must commend you on meeting my rigorous schedule. I promised a bonus if we got to Kyffin by Federation Date Beta Fifteen. You’ve earned it.”
Ange glanced at the doorway to the galley. In the control room just beyond, the dim gray of ’Tween space filled the forward screens. Soon they would emerge back into normal space and Kyffin’s blue-and-white surface would blaze in the viewports. It was an ocean planet with a smattering of small land masses. She wondered why Ryol was interested in this abandoned world. He spoke in the cultured accents of the upper class on Tau Delta, one of the hub worlds of the Second Federation. But she heard the melodious suggestion of another tongue when he grew excited. He’d grown up somewhere else—perhaps on Kyffin. His desperate need to reach that world within a certain timeframe was another oddity. Kyffin was an abandoned world. She’d checked the Federation records while they hurled toward it at top speed. No one from civilized space had landed there since the collapse of the First Federation over sixty years ago. What could possibly be so urgent that she had to risk burning out the Hawk’s engines?
Questions, too many questions.
“I’ve earned a double bonus, putting up with two brothers.” She smiled to let him know this was a joke, but his thin lips pressed together with irritation. Her stomach tightened, warning her of trouble ahead. Not for the first time, she regretted her lack of contact with men since her adolescence. She knew so little about how to judge them.
She took another sip of her coffee to hide her nerves. Men! She should have thanked Blane and fled into her ship before he had a chance to open his sexy mouth. Too late now. At least they’d reach Kyffin a day ahead of the deadline he’d set for her when he’d booked her ship. She prayed their business wouldn’t take long. She’d count the days until she could dump them back on Tau Delta and hightail it to some other planet.
“The bonus is yours. Cash as I promised.” Ryol reached into his pocket and pulled out a small purse. The gold shimmer around its edges told her it had its own protective energy field. This was a man who trusted no one. He touched it and a small opening appeared. His thin fingers groped inside, pulled out a wad of credits. “Here you are.”
Smiling, he handed it to her. She thumbed through the bills. Two hundred decicredits as they’d agreed. A weight lifted from her shoulders. With this money, she could make long-needed repairs to the Hawk.
Ryol got to his feet and snagged two cups from a counter at the back of the galley. She watched, puzzled, as he opened the thermo storage and pulled out a narrow dark bottle of Arturian wine he’d brought aboard. The seal popped as he broke it. Returning to the table, he set both cups down. As he poured the liquid into the first cup, he whistled a merry tune. “I insist we have a drink together to celebrate.”
Pondering her passenger’s sudden friendliness, Ange slipped the decicredits into her pocket. She didn’t trust the man, hadn’t since the first moment he’d come aboard. Not that she trusted any man, but her instincts told her this one was dangerous. He’d kept a friendly look on his face as he poured her drink, but his eyes stayed the same. They never changed. Set deep under thick, dark brows, they were as black and as cold as the empty space between the stars. His thin lips, narrow chin and angular face added to his sinister look.
He handed her a cup and poured another for himself. “To secrets!”
Ange frowned at the strange toast. “To secrets!” she agreed after a moment’s hesitation and took a swallow. She coughed but managed not to choke as the liquor scalded her throat.
Ryol took a deep gulp from his cup, and then set it down. “I like your service so far, captain. I had my doubts when you promised we’d reach Kyffin in time.”
“No problem,” Ange said, although it had been a big problem, one requiring all her skills in navigation. To keep her promise, she’d taken risks and skirted the edges of dangerous areas of space, places where pirates were known to lay in wait for the unwary. Risks were part of the game, though, the adrenalin edge helping to make her otherwise empty life bearable.
Ryol leaned forward, his eyes gleaming. Ange paused with her cup half way to her lips. Was the merchant coming on to her at last? She expected him to make a sexual overture at some point. Men always did. As hard as she tried to avoid the brothers, she knew her scent must be all over the ship. She’d expected she’d have to fight one or both of them off eventually.
That male reaction was as certain as sin. Twice it had escalated into attempted rape. The first time she’d fought off her attacker. The second time Blane had saved her. Now she was paying the price for his help. Passengers! She didn’t want them. Jake was company enough, even if he was only a basic android with limited routines.
A smug expression settled over Ryol’s sharp features. She braced herself to listen to the usual babbling paean of praise to her beauty and tried not to think of the first man who’d ever spoken to her that way. She’d been fourteen, her body just starting to transform from girl to woman. The man had been an engineer on one of the starships she grew up on. She’d blushed when he told her that her hair was spun sunlight and her eyes were emeralds. Then he’d pushed her into a dark corner and forced his passionate kisses on her.
“Are you listening?”
Ange heard Ryol’s voice from a distance as her memories overwhelmed her and she relived her struggle to break free from the engineer. He hit her across the face, stunning her, but she wiggled away and ran screaming down a corridor.
“Captain Bennett?”
Her screams echoed in her memory as she blinked at Ryol. She took control of her breathing and unclenched her hands. “Yes?
Ryol aimed a crafty look at her. “I’d like to hire your ship full time. I need someone who can keep quiet about my business on Kyffin. I’ve had investigators looking into your background. Family gone. Apparently no friends. Private. In short, the kind of person I need.”
Blane! Ange suspected he was the one who’d looked into her background. She stiffened, resenting his spying. But a childhood on crowded starships had taught her to keep her emotions hidden.
“I fly my ship and mind my own business,” she said, maintaining control with an effort. She lifted her cup to her lips and took a deep drink of the wine, welcoming the relaxing warmth that flooded her body.
“Exactly. If I can ask, is your family completely gone?”
She blinked at this intrusion into her privacy. “The only relative I’ve ever known was my mother. She died in a docking accident three years ago.”
“No male friend anywhere? Hard to believe a woman so beautiful has no one.”
Giving him
a cold stare, she put her cup down. “Listen, just because you’re paying me—”
He lifted a hand, palm outward. “Sorry. What I am about to tell you is known to very few. And it’s the reason we’re headed for Kyffin at top speed.”
The galley door opened and Blane stepped inside. Ange’s heart did a little somersault at the sight of him. His eyes widened in surprise as he looked from her to her brother. An angry look appeared on his face. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Quite all right.” Ryol gestured to the chair beside him. “Have a seat. I was about to tell the captain the purpose for our trip.”
Blane hesitated, glancing from Ryol to Ange. Scowling, he sat down and hooked his thumbs in his belt. He studied his brother’s face. “I thought you wanted to keep your business on Kyffin a secret.”
“I’ve decided to take the captain into my confidence. I’ll need a ship and a pilot.”
Blane turned to Ange and arched an eyebrow. “And you’re for sale?”
She stiffened at his tone. “I’m willing to listen to what your brother has to say.”
A gloating smile appeared on Ryol’s lips. He reached into a side pocket of his richly embroidered robe and drew out a small glass bottle covered with exquisite etchings. Inside, a golden liquid glimmered.
“This is what has made my fortune,” he murmured. “It’s a perfume. Perhaps you have heard of it. I call it Scent of Magic.”
Ange shrugged. “Can’t say that I have. But I spend most of my time in deep space alone. Not much use for perfume there.”
Blane leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “Come on. You know about Scent of Magic. Ryol gave you some to wear.”
Her eyes flashed green fire. “I don’t know where you got that idea. I never wear perfume.”
“And I don’t give away Scent of Magic.” Ryol’s fingers caressed the etched glass of the bottle. “It’s far too valuable to waste a single drop.”
Ange folded her arms and glared at Blane. “So what is it? Besides something that smells good, I mean.”
“It’s magical…powerful beyond belief.” Ryol whispered the words. His eyes glowed as he stared at the bottle in his hand. “The rich and powerful pay me a fortune for one of these vials. It’s as rare as the nectar of the gods and twice as costly. It’s also a powerful aphrodisiac, more powerful than any ever known, and those who wear it can have the heart of whomever they please.”
“Good for them.” Unease pricked at Ange, lifting the small hairs on the back of her neck. More sensual scents. Although she discounted much of what Ryol said. No perfume was that powerful. She shifted in her seat and eyed Blane. His gaze hadn’t left her face since she’d denied ever wearing Ryol’s concoction.
“This bottle is worth more than your ship,” Ryol said. He turned the small vial in his hand.
She lifted her chin at that. “At least Hawk’s Flight is good for something. Besides seducing innocent people, that is.”
Blane laughed. “You surprise me, captain. I thought all women loved perfume.”
“Not me. I like my natural scent.” She turned to him, with a half smile. If he only knew what she could do to him with her scent, he’d run for cover. She didn’t need any help from Ryol’s perfume. One whiff of her and those incredible violet eyes would darken with passion. Had darkened. But he’d thought it was Ryol’s perfume. He didn’t realize it was her. She shivered, remembering the way his hands had scorched her skin. Better not to think about that.
“Perhaps I need to convince you of Scent of Magic’s power.” Ryol narrowed his eyes and licked his lips in anticipation as he pulled the stopper from the bottle. Leaning forward across the table, he waved it under her nose with a triumphant smile.
Her heart stopped. If desire had a smell, this was it. A fierce yearning flooded through her. The air shimmered with the delicate scent of roses scattered over silk sheets, ready for a night of love. Her head spun. The forest seemed to rise up around her, rich and dark and full of passion. The call of the wild earth echoed in her blood. She imagined Blane’s strong arms around her as the arousing scent of a lover’s body enveloped her.
Blane! She glared across the table at him where he sat with his arms folded watching her. This was his scent, the scent of everything she’d ever longed to smell. She’d thought Blane was like her, that he shared her strange affliction. But no! His smell came from this bottle. She drew in a desperate breath, seeking more of the elusive aroma, even as anger surged through her.
Tears blurred her eyes. A shining nimbus seemed to surround Blane. The strong planes of his face glowed with a fierce attractiveness. Gods, his mouth was full and sexy, demanding her kisses. Her mouth went dry and her cheeks flushed. A wave of liquid heat washed over her body. A fierce hunger surged into her consciousness—the hunger for a man to hold her, to caress her. The private place hidden between her thighs grew wet and began to throb as she stared into Blane’s eyes. In another moment she would turn to liquid and melt away, pooling into a puddle at his feet.
Ryol’s cough startled her out of her mounting erotic daze. The merchant looked triumphant as he shoved the stopper back in the bottle. “You only got the slightest whiff, captain. The effect should wear off in a minute. Perhaps you see why I’ve become rich. The wealthy are willing to pay any price for a bottle of this perfume.”
Ange pushed the wine aside. She was already drunk enough. She grabbed her coffee cup and lifted it to her mouth with trembling hands. She inhaled the strong aroma of the coffee until the rush of passion died away. Trying to hide her panicked fear, she took a drink and put the cup back on the table.
“The scent creates uncontrollable desire. People will do anything to please the one who wears it.” Ryol sounded amused.
Ange pressed her hands against her thighs to keep from reaching for Blane. Her heart thumped in her chest like that of a young girl with her first crush. A moment ago wild fantasies had burned in her mind, thoughts of dragging him back to her cabin, of kissing those sensual lips, baring her breasts for his touch.
And all because of a perfume called Scent of Magic. At least she knew Blane’s secret. She could stop obsessing over him. Yet her body still hummed with lust.
Goddess, help me, she prayed. She’d spent years corking her sensual longings in a bottle, unable to trust any man to control himself and quiet them, but one sniff of Scent of Magic had unleashed her unsatisfied desires full throttle. Her body throbbed with need, a need that could only be quieted by the throes of orgasm.
“Are you all right? You look flushed.” Blane leaned toward her, concern in his eyes.
I’ll be all right if I can ever stop thinking about getting you into my bed. Ange shivered, envisioning herself pinned beneath his muscled body as he slid into her. Her muscles clenched with desire. She tried looking at Ryol instead, but his gloating expression turned her stomach.
“I trust you felt the power of my perfume.” His eyes narrowed to slits. She could almost see the calculations spinning in his brain. “Don’t worry. I’m not about to use it on you to entice you to obey my commands. I’m more than willing to pay for your services. I only show you the perfume to assure you that I am serious about reaching Kyffin.”
She ran her tongue over her lips and fought to steady her voice. She couldn’t let Blane suspect the flames of erotic desire burning in her inner core. At least her flight jacket hid the way her nipples had hardened to tight little nubs of longing. “Kyffin has something to do with the perfume?”
“Its essential ingredient is found only there. It’s our home world, you see. Blane and I are returning after ten years away. I need more of that ingredient. In the past few years my perfume has become tremendously popular among the elite of the Federation. Due to the increased demand, I need to plan on coming back to Kyffin often.”
Sensual need throbbed through Ange’s veins, making her hands twitch with the urge to touch her aching flesh. Jumping to her feet, she moved around the two brothers. Blane grabbed for her as she
went by, but she easily eluded his grasp. She glared his way as she reached the doorway that led to the control room of Hawk’s Flight. She’d be safe there.
Moving around the control room helped to dissipate some of her torment. Jake sat in the pilot’s chair, monitoring the computer that ran the ship. She glanced at the screen that charted their course. They were headed for a five-planet system around a dull red sun. Kyffin was the third world out.
She inhaled air into her lungs and fought to regain her sense of control. The powerful lust that had swept through her at the merest whiff of Scent of Magic frightened her. She made it a point to repress her sexual longings. There was no way to release them except in fantasy and the stroking of her hand. That had satisfied her before, but now it only reminded her of how alone she was—of how much she craved the touch of Blane’s warm fingers.
She heard Ryol’s footstep behind her. His voice spoke from the doorway. “I need a ship to take me to Kyffin on a regular basis—piloted by someone who can keep a secret. You are an ideal choice. I’ll pay you well.”
She whirled and found herself altogether too close to him. She backed away until her buttocks pressed against the main controls. Ryol did not follow after her, but his eyes flared with sudden interest. Gods, no! She didn’t need this man pressing his unwanted attentions on her. His brother was all she could handle and more.
“Fine,” she said to keep him away. “It’s a deal. I’m your girl.”
Her words spilled out. Jake turned his head and looked at her. She could almost hear the electrons spinning in his artificial brain. “Is something wrong, captain?”
“No, Jake. Carry on.”
Ryol rubbed his hands together, a satisfied look on his face. “Good. By the way, we may face a few rough moments when we land on Kyffin. The colonists will have to be dealt with for one thing—if any of them still survive.”
Scent Of Magic Page 4