Forbidden World: Ambrax

by Bernadette Gardner

  After a moment, Lea sat up. She rubbed at the small dart wound on her thigh, grimacing. Then her gaze fell on Troy. "My God, he looks awful."

  Damen resisted the urge to reach out and help her up. He kept his voice neutral to hide his relief that she seemed to be all right. "You said he used to be a bailer technician--"

  "Yeah, until my father fired him for inappropriate conduct with my sister."

  "Well, based on that, his survival skills probably consist of keeping the fuel flow regulated and getting to the chow line on time. A few more months out here and he'd probably starve to death. Do you think you can walk?"

  Lea eyed him skeptically. She managed a curt nod and hauled herself to her feet with a groan.

  Damen took a deep breath and lifted Troy. Mostly unwashed skin and bones, he didn't weigh much, but the tranquilizer still coursing through Damen's system made the task of carrying the other man that much more difficult. He didn't spare Lea another glance, just set his sights in what he hoped was the right direction and started walking. "Try to keep up. I want to get us as close to the protected zone as possible before nightfall."

  * * * *

  It took more than an hour for Troy to fully recover from the effects of Mojar's tranq gun, and when he did, he fought like a wild cat to free himself.

  Lea raced up to where Damen stood, reaching him just as he dropped Troy onto a spongy patch of moss. She couldn't believe the difference in her sister's husband. Troy's once handsome face twisted in rage. He screeched and rolled on the soft ground, biting and tearing at the strips of cloth Damen had used to bind him.

  She reached for him, certain she could soothe him with a touch or a word, but Damen grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "Don't get too close."

  "But he'll hurt himself. We have to calm him down."

  "You're right. All this racket is going to attract other converts." Damen knelt next to Troy's writhing body and before Lea realized it, he'd rendered their prisoner unconscious with a swift blow to the back of the head.

  She gaped. "What did you do that for?"

  Troy's head lolled and now Damen allowed her to crouch down beside him. She pushed matted hair away from his face and shuddered at the condition of his skin and the feverish feel of him.

  Damen rose and stepped back. Lea felt his disapproving stare boring into her back, though she didn't turn to look at him. "I can't carry him if he's struggling, and I doubt we could convince him to follow us on his own. He's out until I can find a place to secure him for the night."

  Lea sighed. She hadn't planned on spending a night in this terrible place. "Aren't we getting close to the protected zone?"

  "Not close enough. We flew about ten kilometers past the tree line before we landed the first time and probably another three at least after that."

  "Well never get out of here." Lea allowed herself a glance at him now. He crossed his arms and widened his stance, if nothing else, asserting his dominance over their hopeless situation.

  "You and I will get out of here, Cherry. I don't know about him. If he becomes too much of a burden, I'm leaving him behind."

  Lea rose, sparing him a dubious sidelong glance. "Now that we've found him, I don't know how I feel about leaving him behind. He needs help, and I can just--"

  Damen pushed past her and dragged Troy's limp body up from the jungle floor. "You'll feel pretty damn good about it if there's no other choice. Now, let's get moving. I don't like it, but we're going to have to find some fresh water if we want to make it through the night."

  He started off, his long, determined strides carrying him out of earshot before Lea could manage to form a few choice curses. At least he hadn't abandoned Troy yet, but she harbored no illusions that he wouldn't, at some point, leave her brother-in-law behind without an ounce of regret.

  After hours of walking, Lea thought her legs would simply fall off. Dusk had settled by the time Damen finally slowed his pace. He'd chosen a clearing bordered by half a dozen enormous trees. Their twisted root systems rose nearly a meter above ground, forming strong latticeworks. It was against one of these natural cages that he secured Troy, leaving him relatively safe from the elements.

  "I don't think we'll find anything dry enough to use for kindling," he told her while he paced around the perimeter of the clearing.

  She perched on a moss-covered rise, near enough to Troy to monitor his shallow breathing. He'd begun to awaken again, but this time, either pain, exhaustion or the cold realization that Damen wouldn't hesitate to knock him out again, kept him silent and still.

  "How cold do you think it will get at night?" she asked. Sweat dripped from her. A cool breeze would have been welcome.

  "Temperature isn't the problem. A fire would keep the other converts at bay and hopefully scare off any predators. I don't think there's much in the way of big meat eaters in this region, but you never know.

  Lea tried not to imagine what might constitute a "big meat eater" in the Braxan jungle. She hadn't seen many animals during their trek, but weren't the most dangerous creatures usually nocturnal?

  "Here." Damen interrupted Lea's thoughts, thrusting a folded leaf into her hands. The makeshift cup held about an ounce of clear water. "It seems to drip from the upper leaves. A couple of these should be enough to hold you over for the night."

  The single swallow did little to slake her thirst, but at least it calmed the raw feeling in her throat. A dozen more wouldn't have been nearly enough to fully satisfy her. When Damen showed her where to collect more, she toyed with the idea of drinking her fill of the slightly sweet-tasting liquid. Unfortunately, he seemed to be reading her mind and took her leaf cup away from her after only three more swallows.

  "Not too much. Whatever sets off the transformation is in the water and the plants."

  At this point she didn't care. Those few gulps had served to remind her not only of her thirst, but that she hadn't eaten since Tak brought her the small container of protein cubes. She wondered if the plump, cup-shaped leaves they drank from might be edible. "What about Troy?" He needed a lot more than a few sips of water, but they had to start somewhere in their attempts to bring him back from the brink of death.

  "I'll get him some. Don't get too close to him. If he should manage to get free, he'll hurt you."

  Lea cast a glance across the clearing. Troy lay unmoving beneath the curving bower of twisted roots, but his eyes were open. He met her gaze, and she could have sworn there was recognition in his bloodshot eyes.

  "How are we going to get him back to the skimmer?"

  "We can't carry him across the protected zone. Our only chance is to flag down a patrol ship." Damen tipped a few more drops of dewy liquid into the leaf he'd taken from Lea.

  "Do you really think a Braxan will help us? Mojar's probably told everyone that we converted."

  "I wasn't counting on help from the Braxans. Just the use of a ship."

  "You mean hijack one?" She met his bottomless gaze and despite the humidity, she shivered.

  Damen rose with the teacup sized leaf balanced on his palm. "You have a better idea?"

  He didn't wait for an answer, just strode across the clearing and with surprising gentleness, gave Troy a swallow of the tainted Braxan water.

  * * * *

  When darkness fell completely, it seemed to close in around them like a shroud.

  Damen had tamped down an oval-shaped indentation in the moss at the base of the tree next to the one where he had secured Troy.

  He'd given the convert more to drink than he'd allowed himself and Lea because the effects of dehydration were more deadly than those of the transformation. Forget a few months, the man would likely not survive another week in the jungle. His torn flight pants hung on his thin body, attesting to the fact that he'd probably cut a much more robust figure when he arrived on the forbidden world. The pelt that had begun to grow over his exposed skin was patchy and shedding heavily. The skin beneath the tawny fur was scratched raw in places and mottled with bruises and
scabs.

  At least now, he'd given up struggling against his bonds. He'd lain quietly for a while, but his eyes never left Lea as she moved around the edge of the clearing, searching the lowest branches in the underbrush.

  "Come here and lie down," Damen ordered after she'd made two full, fruitless circuits. With the shadows growing, he didn't trust the jungle and he didn't like Troy watching her movements so closely. He needed her near him where he could protect her and assert his dominance so the other male would understand this lone female belonged to him.

  He shook off the primal thought and tried to challenge his fuzzy brain with something technical.

  "I'm starving. There are some berries over here. Maybe if we show them to Troy, we can tell if they're safe to eat." Lea's voice carried too loudly in the evening quiet. He didn't want her attracting any attention.

  "I said come here. You'll eat tomorrow when we're back on the skimmer."

  She turned that beguiling blue gaze on him. "If we don't eat something, we'll be too weak to do anything tomorrow. We have to at least try to--"

  Damen rose from his comfortable position and stalked across the spongy ground. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her back toward the indentation he'd made for their bed.

  Troy's glittering eyes followed them and he let out a low, jealous moan.

  "Let go!" Lea yanked her arm free of Damen's grasp. "I said I'm hungry."

  "So am I, but I'd like to keep my brain working for another day if possible. Look at him." He grasped her shoulders and whirled her around. "He's been here for what, two months? That didn't happen to him gradually. The transformation occurs overnight. It starts with rage, an itchy feeling in your gut like there's something in there trying to get out. You feel like everything is closing in on you and you have to run. You're ready to kill anything that gets in your way--in fact you're eager to."

  He shook her a little but kept her body pointed at Troy who writhed and strained at his bonds. "You want to run until you drop, and you want to be naked and you want to fuck until your heart stops racing around in your chest like a bee in a jar. I saw the men from my crew succumb to it, dozens in a matter of days. I wanted to go with them, I wanted to run into the jungle, too, but I forced myself not to." Now he let her go and paced away to keep from shaking her again.

  "The Braxans told me the converts had found freedom and enlightenment, that they deserved this life because they were brave enough to accept the calling. Believe me, Cherry. The last thing you feel when your hands are aching to tear apart another living creature so you can eat it--the last thing you feel, is brave. Now come over here. Lie down next to me and go to sleep."

  Lea held her defiant posture for half a minute, then her shoulders sagged and she turned to him. She knelt on the carpet of moss, then lay down and curled her nearly naked body into a tight ball.

  Damen stared at her for a moment, wishing he could talk himself out of the hard-on that had set his groin aching the moment he'd touched her. He wanted her, wanted the convert to watch him claim her. Those primitive desires tangled in his gut and made him hate himself and Ambrax and everything.

  Determined not to let the forbidden world take him, he climbed into the oval hollow with her, turned his back to her and closed his eyes.

  Sleep took him over instantly, sparing him the shame of reaching out in the dark to ravage her. Exhaustion closed over his senses like a black sheet, blotting out his hunger, his thirst and his arousal.

  He slept unaware for what might have been eons, until the soft cadence of her voice brought him back to consciousness.

  Sore and disoriented, he pushed himself up on one elbow before prying his leaden eyelids open. Gray light filtered down from above. It was dawn and she wasn't beside him.

  He ignored the sudden flash of panic and followed her voice across the clearing to where Troy still lay bound to the tangle of roots. Lea crouched beside him, speaking in a light, soothing voice. Was she singing to him or praying over him?

  It didn't matter to Damen. He'd warned her to stay away from the creature and she had disobeyed him.

  She needed to be punished.

  He didn't want her near the beast, couldn't stand to see her reaching out gentle fingers to brush strands of filthy hair from its eyes or listen to her speaking soft, reassuring words as if she cared about the pathetic creature that was his prisoner.

  Anger carried him across their makeshift camp, but it was jealousy that made him grab her slender wrist before she could touch the convert again. Her curious glance galvanized him. She didn't even realize what she was doing was wrong or that it enraged him.

  "Leave him alone." He forced the words out with a supreme effort. His tongue had become leaden and dry in his mouth, and forming the proper sounds taxed his thoughts.

  Her confused gaze flicked back to the beast before she rose to confront him. The convert's rheumy eyes followed her hungrily, and Damen's fingers instinctively strayed to the hilt of his dagger.

  "I think he understands me. Maybe talking to him will--"

  "No." This was not the time for talking. Damen wanted her away from the beast now. He wanted her beneath him, her hands and her voice only for him, her body only for him.

  She gasped when he whirled her around and snaked an arm around her waist. He liked the feel of her compact body against him. Her earthy scent excited him, increased his arousal and the urgency he felt in his gut. His instant erection strained against the constricting clothing and he pulled her hips tight against his to help ease the ache.

  Like a cat in heat, she raised her ass, rubbing against him, teasing his senses and testing his strength. He growled in her ear and pinched her breasts with eager hands.

  * * * *

  Now? He wanted her now? Some still-coherent part of Lea's brain protested, but the overlying fog that had ruled her senses since the night before quickly obliterated logical thought.

  Her body took over from her brain and she sank against him.

  "Now," he said, and she trembled at the command, allowing him complete dominance as he walked her toward the narrow trunk of a young tree. He guided her hands above her head, placing her palms flat against the rough bark for support.

  Visions of their first time in the cargo compartment of the skimmer flashed through her brain. Would he do that again? Fuck her with his hands? No. That had been to teach her something, to prepare her for this. Now he would use her as she was meant to be used, and she welcomed it. She welcomed the fact that Troy would watch, and she imagined the eyes of every creature in the jungle would be trained on her while he put himself inside her and took what was his.

  The tumultuous thoughts both excited and shamed her. Shouldn't they be trying to get away from Ambrax, trying to save Troy and Darya? A small voice in the back of her mind protested, even as her body ripened beneath his touch. She needed this now. She wanted his cock in her, and she moaned with anticipation when he pulled her pants open and pushed them down below her quaking knees.

  She gripped the tree trunk and spread her legs. Her pants tumbled to her ankles and she kicked them aside, reveling in the rush of damp air against her aching clit. Behind her, Damen tore open his pants. Lea smelled his arousal and her mouth watered for the flavor of his skin, his cum.

  She arched her back, presenting herself to him, and he accepted. The velvet soft head of his penis nudged her pussy, spreading her open to him. She purred with pleasure.

  A moment later, he grabbed her hips and impaled her with a sudden, swift thrust that took her breath away. Wantonly, she tossed a glance over her shoulder at Troy who struggled against his bonds, wide-eyed and enraged.

  As if spurred by the convert's frustrated howls, Damen pumped feverishly. His fingers dug into her flesh to draw her closer and his ragged breath hissed against her ear, hot and insistent. Each thrust sent shock waves of sensation through her body, igniting an orgasm that buckled her knees and tore a startled scream from her dry throat when he slammed his cock against her G-spot.

>   Both rigid and weak at the same time, Lea sobbed in time to the inner spasms that drew him up, deep into her. She would have fallen, panting to the jungle floor, but he held her up and continued to pump until a second orgasm began to build.

  She wouldn't make it. Her knees would give way if she came again as hard as she just had. Her arms shook from the effort to hold herself up and she no longer had the strength to meet his thrusts. Exhausted, she tried to pull away.

  "Please...please. Let me rest." Or at least lie down, she added silently. Her sweaty palms slipped along the rough bark and the pain sparked a new set of sensations. Adrenalin clashed with the sex hormones that had her rutting for him like a bitch in heat and her body convulsed, hot and cold at the same time.

  She twisted out of his grasp, reluctant to break their intimate contact, but exhausted from their exertions in the drenching humidity of the jungle. She sank to her knees and held up her hand to him. "Easy...enough. I need to--"

  He was on her before she completed her sentence. Gripping her upper arms, he pulled her toward him, rage twisting his lips into a sneer, his pupils huge. He pushed her down and mounted her, pressing her body into the soft moss that lined the jungle floor.

  A stab of fear cleared her head instantly of the sultry desire to be soundly fucked. She was done now, even if he wasn't.

  "Stop, Damen...slow down. You're hurting me!" She struggled to push him off her, but his strength seemed to have doubled. She couldn't even budge him.

  Relentless in his quest for completion, he clawed at her shirt, tearing it open. His nails raked across the soft flesh of her abdomen and blood welled in the thick scratches. Lea screamed.

  Across the clearing, Troy yowled and strained at his bonds. Terrified that he might manage to free himself and join Damen in ravaging her, Lea kicked viciously at her former guardian. She grabbed for the dagger still sheathed along her thigh, but Damen locked his large hand around her wrist and forced her arm up over her head. While she struggled, he fought to capture her other hand. Only luck enabled her to elude him. He was stronger, but tired as she was, she was still faster. She brought her free hand up fast and raked her own jagged nails across his cheek.