He shook his head. “At least, you didn’t hurt or kill anyone. You only struck back at those who betrayed your sister, avenging your family.”
“But you, Mr. Perfect, would never do such a thing.”
“Oh, I don’t know anymore. It would depend on the circumstances. I was lucky I never had reason or opportunity.”
“Assuming we get out of here alive, what will you do with the rest of your life?" Rhonda prayed he wouldn’t avoid the question.
“I want to meet my son, Liam, get to know him. I sure don’t want to work for Duran anymore. These corporate bastards have no loyalty.”
“Would you settle down?”
“Maybe, if I found the right person." He paused, eyes downcast then glanced up at her with a glimmer of hope. “What about you?”
“After my sister died, I inherited the family estate on Banoi. That’s where I wanted to spend the rest of my days, painting and listening to music.”
“A medic and an artist?”
“Art is my true passion. I received a substantial offer for several paintings just before my sister died..." Rhonda forced a smile in an attempt to erase the sad thought. “With the right man, who knows? I might even want children.”
Cole’s intense blue eyes lit up at the word. “Are you sure that kind of life would be enough for you? You have such fire.”
“I’ve been dreaming of that life for years now." As she gazed up at him, her smile came easily. “I noticed your choice of music when I called you early that morning. You have excellent taste." It felt like weeks ago instead of days.
“I enjoy the small pleasures of life. Good food, good wine, good music." He laughed. “None of it here tonight. But the good company makes up for the rest." His quiet smile told how much he appreciated her being there.
Rhonda had never felt so close to anyone. This man, who had irritated her to no end since she joined the Garrison, now seemed to understand and accept her like no one ever did. She moved closer to caress his cheek. He stroked her hair gently, and she laid her head on his shoulder.
“This could be the last time we enjoy human warmth,” Rhonda whispered. The thought made her shiver. No matter the repercussions if they survived this ordeal, right here, right now, she wanted to bond with him. She looked up into his deep blue gaze then touched his lips with a light finger. “What are you thinking?”
“If I tell you,” his arm tightened around her waist, “you sure we can live with the consequences of what I have in mind?”
“If we do live through this, I couldn’t care less about the consequences." She snuggled closer to him. “Do you?”
His chuckle stopped when she kissed the base of his neck. He lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes then took her offered mouth with a hunger she’d never suspected in him. She felt transported by his ardent kiss and clung to him with the same desperation.
As he pulled back, she murmured, “Don’t stop now."
“I don’t want to rush it,” he whispered in her ear.
Neither did she. “But we may not have much time.”
It would take much willpower to contain the flood of desire rushing through her. She carefully opened the top of his full body long johns and caressed the scar on his upper right chest. It felt smooth under her fingers and it looked pink and healthy. She deposited a string of soft kisses around it.
As Cole shuddered and reclined on the mattress, Rhonda knew his moan didn’t come from pain.
She stretched out next to him and let her hand roam on the hard muscles of his smooth torso. “How do you keep such a perfect tan living underground?”
He chuckled. “It’s permanent. A side-effect of several generations raised on Upsilon Three.”
“I like it.”
“Glad you do, kiddo,” Cole said tenderly. He rose on one elbow and fumbled with the top of her scrubs like an adolescent on his first date. She’d never imagined him to be shy or clumsy and found it endearing in such an otherwise accomplished man.
She suddenly realized Cole called her kiddo to let her know he cared. She kissed his bare shoulder. “Are you nervous?”
“Ouch." He’d pricked himself with the pins closing the tear.
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, hell." He grabbed the torn edge of the scrub top and ripped it all the way from shoulder to waist, the dry sound filling their small space.
Rhonda laughed with delight. “Impatient? I like that in a man." She could hardly contain her own urge to see all of him.
He stared down at her naked breasts. “Would you look at you!”
Rhonda never thought of herself as an exceptional beauty, but Cole’s unbridled admiration certainly made her feel like one. She reveled in the glow of his worshiping gaze. “You like it?”
“I want it all." He cupped her breasts firmly and engulfed one nipple into his warm mouth, tormenting it with tongue and teeth.
Rhonda arched under the wave of lust washing over her. But she yearned for more. She wanted to forget that they would soon die a horrible death. She needed to drown herself in passion and pleasure. She craved Cole, and if they died here tonight, by God she would be in his arms at the height of passion when it happened.
She felt the erection swelling his long johns and feverishly peeled them down from his waist. The image of the Greek god she’d glimpsed in his bathroom returned to her mind, and she beamed in the knowledge that this magnificent man wanted her. She would be his last vivid moment of bliss and he would be hers. Her fingers dug into his firm buns and she felt his whole body tense in response.
A moan escaped his full mouth. Forsaking the nipple, he plundered the base of her throat with nips and kisses while his strong hand tugged at her scrub pants. She wanted to cling to every inch of him, melt and pour herself inside his skin to remain close to him forever. There, she might finally feel safe.
“Hold me tight,” she whispered.
His grip strengthened around her waist, fusing them together in a strong embrace. Rhonda could barely breathe and loved it. She relished the full contact of his body and shuddered at the hardness of his warm member against the skin of her thighs. The heat generated at her core demanded immediate fulfillment.
When his mouth covered hers, she closed her eyes and welcomed the invasion of his impetuous kiss. The lack of oxygen fogged her brain but she welcomed that, too. She didn’t want to see or think, only feel. Her body flushed with warmth and nothing remained in her mind but the imperative need to mesh with him and feel him inside her. Their shelter could collapse any minute, and she wanted to experience all of him at least once before they both died.
“I want you now,” she whispered in his ear, opening her thighs and straining against him. “We may not have much time.”
As if he’d waited for her signal, a floodgate seemed to open, unleashing Cole’s wildest instincts. His hands slipped to her hips and held her in a steadfast grip. He wedged one thigh between her legs and crushed her mound. The sensation made Rhonda moan and want to squirm, but she realized his hands pinned her down. She felt deliciously trapped under him, yearning for release.
She gasped when Cole’s powerful fingers penetrated deep into her and caressed her inside, exacerbating her need further. She tightened around his robust fingers, seeking a stronger contact. “I want you now,” she begged, at the brink of losing control.
She felt the emptiness when his fingers slipped out, but the contact of his body and his powerful penetration maddened her, eliciting a cry of delighted surprise as he filled her completely. Caught under his strong body, she accepted him fully.
Cole took her mouth in a greedy kiss. Each forceful thrust brought forth incredible pleasure and her screams reverberated through both their bodies. His sustained lovemaking brought her to the brink of delirium.
Screaming and moaning like a feline in heat, with no desire to come up for air, Rhonda gladly rode the tidal wave of their passion with the desperation of those who know they will soon die. She drowned herself in the mome
nt, clinging to Cole like to a life raft during a shipwreck.
Finally, when she knew she couldn’t take much more of this overwhelming bliss, she felt Cole swell inside her and quicken his tempo. His unrestrained roar as he exploded delighted her, and his quivering release, shook her more deeply than the tremors of the disintegrating planet.
As Rhonda, exhausted, struggled to catch her breath, Cole rolled off her gently and cuddled against her, holding her close. For a few minutes, neither spoke and only their ragged breathing filled the small arched shelter.
“You, too, are full of surprises,” she finally uttered between labored breaths.
“Glad you liked it.”
“Liked it?" She giggled. “This was the most extraordinary experience of my life. Is it always like that for you?”
“Uh-uh." He nuzzled her neck. “Only with exceptional partners.”
“Exceptional?”
He grinned and pressed his new erection against her side. “Very exceptional.”
Amazed at his stamina, she hesitated. “Such strain can’t be good for your healing wound.”
Cole winked. “If we die here in a few hours, kiddo, it won’t matter a bit.”
“I see your point." Besides, Rhonda hadn’t had quite enough of him, yet. “I’ll give you a few minutes, then we can make love again,” she whispered, knowing this might be their last tryst, the very last pleasure before their lives ended abruptly at the peak of their vitality.
Chapter Twelve
Cole jumped, shaken out of a blissful slumber, and banged his head against the slope of the arched wall. The ground rocked and metal bars moaned and creaked under the quake’s pressure. On the mattress beside him, Rhonda still slept. She looked beautiful in the nude, with her thick auburn curls framing her relaxed face and athletic shoulders.
She awoke with a questioning stare. “What was that noise?”
On each side of their shelter, the infirmary seemed to fold and unfold like a crinkled ball of cardboard. Durancrete panels snapped and collapsed, crashing in a jangle of metal clangs and splintering glass.
“Get dressed." Cole immediately regretted the firmness in his tone. Memories of their desperate joining brought delightful shivers to his body, but he had to overcome the distraction and keep his wits about him. He pointed at a widening vertical fissure high above, to the side of the blocked door. The mound of rubble made it accessible. “We may be able to squeeze out through there. This could be our only chance to avoid getting buried alive." He steadied himself against the arch as the ground shook for a few seconds of aftershock, then he grabbed his uniform from the stack of survival supplies.
Rhonda started to dress as well. “The double walls are breaking down? That’s not supposed to happen." Fear lurked in her deep brown eyes.
Cole cinched his belt and snapped on his holster. “It could be our salvation." Somehow, the good news made him uneasy. If they weren’t going to die, he wondered how he would cope with their highly irregular relationship. In the heat of the moment, Cole had surrendered to his overwhelming desire, but now he doubted he’d made the right choice. His concern for Rhonda could impair his judgment and complicate things.
As he slipped on his boots, Cole realized how much he hated unorthodox situations among guards. To make things worse, he’d initiated this one. On the positive side, he felt no pain from the surgery, and his body seemed to have mostly recovered.
The clangor of the quake faded, but echoes of voices somehow reverberated inside the infirmary. Checking his compad, Cole saw no red dots to indicate convicts anywhere near the medical ward. He pointed to the high-vaulted ceiling above the door, where many conduits and wide maintenance ducts gaped open. “The sound must be traveling along those broken pipes from another part of the facility." Stepping closer to the bottom of the rubble pile, Cole examined the cracked wall. They’d have to climb to reach the fissure. “We can only take what will not slow us down.”
Rhonda enumerated the objects as she made two piles. “Phaser, water canteen, emergency rations." She paused holding up a floodlight.
Cole remembered how scared she was in the dark tunnel and nodded.
Rhonda seemed greatly relieved as she clipped one on her belt and set one aside for him. “Safety cable?”
“Good thinking." Cole saw her stuff various medical supplies in her deep cargo pockets but did not comment. The fact that Rhonda followed regulations in such dire circumstances commanded his respect. He suppressed a smile as he tucked his own gear.
Rhonda looked up to him with embarrassment. “I lost my knife on our way here. I noticed you had a spare.”
Decidedly, her intelligent concern for their safety kept surprising Cole. He pulled his straight dagger out of one boot, keeping the yataghan. The curved blade required specialized training Rhonda didn’t have. “Use it well. It saved my life many times.”
Rhonda nodded then sheathed the dagger in her boot.
“Ready?" Cole stepped out of the protected archway and ventured onto the unstable mound of rubble that blocked the door and lay against the fissured wall. Carefully, he found his footing, testing each step.
He glanced back at Rhonda who grabbed onto protruding beams and heaved herself up through the debris with the agility of a professional climber. Once again, Cole couldn’t help but admire her lithe body and had to push away lusty thoughts.
When he stood on the summit of the rubble pile against the cracked wall, Cole reached for a handhold along the fracture line of the vertical fissure. Something clanged above them and he looked up. “Watch out!" Shoving Rhonda against the wall, Cole flattened himself upon her to shield her body.
The large module fell from the ceiling and crashed on the top of the pile, less than half a meter away. A clicking robot, whose circuits sparked and smoked, still clung to the module. Apparently, a ruptured maintenance duct on the ceiling had dumped its mechanical occupant.
Cole exhaled the breath he’d been holding. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine." Rhonda still held on to him.
Cole relished the contact of her warm body, but he pulled away. He suddenly realized Rhonda hadn’t talked much since their indiscretion. A highly unusual thing for the Rhonda Alendresis he knew. Was she having second thoughts about last night as well?
Facing the wall, he found a solid foothold, pushed out, and cautiously climbed toward the wider part of the fissure. As he reached it, his hope vanished. The breach only affected the inside wall. The double wall on the outside remained intact. They were still trapped!
As Cole wondered how to tell Rhonda about this disheartening discovery, a loud bang on the door pierced the stillness. Cole dropped down next to Rhonda and turned on his compad but it showed no one there. In a loud thump, an upper section of the door panel caved inward then fell inside the infirmary.
Loud voices cheered. They came from behind the door. The thick metal chunk tumbled down the pile of debris to crash on the floor below. How could anyone have pierced the half-buried security door? It would require heavy equipment. Hope grew as Cole wondered whether some kind of civilian help might have come to rescue them.
“Friend or foe?" Rhonda dropped and crouched behind the large fallen module that had almost smashed them. Obviously, she had the same thought.
Cole hid as well and watched the door intently. From his vantage point above and to the side, he observed with growing dismay as Tomar himself crawled through the narrow opening and emerged from a wide gap between two metal beams. Wasn’t Tomar dead? Killed by Rhonda?
The Monack sniffed around. “They are here. This whole place reeks of them. Find them.”
Seven or eight convicts followed the Monack inside the infirmary. Cole checked his compad, and only confirmed that none of the inmates inside the infirmary registered on the pad. Somehow, they had disabled or removed their locator chips. Damn Tomar’s cleverness!
Cole glanced questioningly at Rhonda but brought one finger across his lips. She looked baffled and shrugged
, seemingly horrified. With Tomar alive, their hopes of ever escaping pursuit quickly vanished. The shape-shifter would never give up.
Tomar and his gang disappeared into the supply room, where they rattled shelves and cleared debris in their frantic search for the guards.
Cole pulled out his phaser, set it on kill then motioned Rhonda to follow him. As quietly as he could, he descended the side of the rubble heap. When his foot broke some glass, he stopped, waiting for a reaction from Tomar’s gang, but they didn’t seem to have heard it among all the noise they created.
As he reached the opening in the door, Cole peered through the gap. Two Juzzaar, probably too big to squeeze through the hole, stood guard outside. Fortunately, they kept their bleeding backs to the door. Cole signaled with two fingers to Rhonda. She nodded and pulled out her phaser.
The correct timing would decide Cole’s success or failure. If he acted too slow, the gang inside the infirmary would rush out and overcome him and Rhonda. Silently, Cole slid outside the door feet first.
He stood up just as the two Juzzaar reacted to his sudden appearance. One rushed him and Cole fired his phaser. The Juzzaar fell, but his comrade yelled and charged.
Rhonda’s phaser fire through the opening stopped the Juzzaar’s attack and strangled his battle cry. As she emerged from the hole in the door, Cole helped her out. Then he delivered another lethal charge to each fallen Juzzaar.
“Quick,” Rhonda whispered as she found her feet. “Tomar is coming.”
Setting his phaser on burst, Cole stepped back and aimed at the high ceiling above the door. He fired as the first convict struggled through the narrow hole. The explosion brought down several tons of durancrete and conduits and buried the unfortunate bastard, along with the two dead Juzzaar and the infirmary door, under a heaping mound of debris.
A feeling of triumph gave Cole new strength as he motioned to Rhonda, and they started along the corridor in search of a viable exit. Even the heat of the main floor didn’t dampen his optimism. But he must control his emotions to keep a clear head.
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