A Galactic Holiday

by Stacy Gail, Sasha Summers, Anna Hackett

  She rattled off a list of things she needed. Wrapped in blankets, they searched the building. Although Brinn kept getting distracted by Savan.

  He’d just wrapped a blanket around his hips, his chest gloriously bare. She noticed things she’d missed during their furious lovemaking. The wars had left their scars.

  Three jagged lines ran down his left side. Some sort of blade wound. High on the right side of his chest was a circular burn mark. There was a matching mark on his back. Energy-pulse rifle.

  She wondered why he hadn’t had them removed. Rendarians had the technology.

  “I wanted to remember.”

  She looked up into his unsmiling face.

  He rubbed a hand over the scar. “These remind me why I work so hard as a negotiator. I don’t ever want to go back to what I was before. To watch people under my command die.”

  She walked over to him and traced one long scar on his side. Then she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the rifle scar. “I don’t like pretty boys with perfect skin.” She stared hard into his eyes. “I like to see a man who’s lived.”

  He kissed her. Not a wild, passionate kiss like they’d shared earlier. Something softer that explored and soothed all at once.

  She pulled back. “Um, let’s get our Yule started. I need you to get me a block of ice.” She held her hands apart. “About this big.”

  He left with a nod. But the kiss left Brinn unsettled. She rubbed her palms up her arms.

  She realized that she wanted to know more about Savan. Everything about him. She wanted to wake beside him again, share a meal with him, argue with him. He was much more than she’d ever guessed, and the more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to know about him.

  Shaking her head, she searched the cupboards. They both needed some fuel to replace what they’d expended escaping in the snow. Not to mention what they’d burned off in their little nest in front of the fire.

  Tingles ran through her. She hoped to burn a bit more energy yet.

  She found some plas-cans of stew and some jars of spices. It would do. Miraculously, she also found some unopened bottles of ale. With a smile, she went through the spices. Yep, she had what she needed make a passable Yule ale.

  Savan was gone a while, but just as she started to worry, he entered the room carrying a small block of ice.

  “Where do you want it?”

  “Up here.” She gestured to the kitchen counter. “Can I borrow your laser knife?”

  He handed it over. “So, this will be the Yule log?”

  With a nod, she leaned over and went to work. “A tradition of the first colonists. They burned the log on the fire on Yule’s Eve. On their home world, they used wood. Here, we use ice. It’s supposed to bring luck.”

  He frowned at the strange marks she carved into the ice. “And these markings?”

  “Runes. We don’t know much about them. Historians say they were the language of the colonists’ ancestors.” She carved the last symbol. “But each represents good luck, good fortune, health—” she looked up at him, “—and love.”

  Savan’s gaze traced over her face until she felt heat rise up her neck and into her cheeks.

  She waved at the ice. “You can do the honors.”

  He lifted the log and together they crouched in front of the fire. He set it on the flames. As the log started to melt, the flames hissed and danced.

  “Happy Yule’s Eve, Savan Bardan.”

  He turned her to face him, his big hands cupping her cheeks. “Happy Yule’s Eve, Brinn Fjord.”

  * * *

  Savan sat cross-legged on the floor, savoring the fragrant, hot stew and watching the firelight flicker on Brinn’s pale skin.

  He’d never felt more relaxed and content in his life.

  “This is delicious.”

  She snorted. “You are sadly deprived if you think this is delicious. You should try my mother’s Yule ham...that’s melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness.”

  If Kolar had seen Savan now, his mentor would have laughed until his sides split. On Rendar, sitting naked on old blankets in front of a fire—a real fire with smoke and ash—would not rate high on the experience scale.

  Savan looked at Brinn as she ate her meal with delicate sips of her spoon. Her hair was dry now and framed her face in a fall of straight gold. Her pale blue eyes looked warmer in the light. She dripped a small bit of stew on her finger and her tongue darted out to lick at the errant drop.

  His cock tightened. Man, he had it bad. When had watching a woman eat ever turned him on? He’d watched the courtesans of Rarvis Prime dance and not felt this kind of need.

  Brinn looked up. When she saw him staring, she smiled. He smiled back. An automatic gesture that made him feel good.

  “Try the ale.” She nudged a bottle his way.

  He took a swig of the drink and let the spicy flavor burst on his tongue. “What would you be doing if you were with your family right now?”

  “Eating Mom’s Yule ham and the rest of the feast she’ll have prepared. Drinking my stepfather’s ale, which is much better than this.” She held up her own bottle before taking another sip. “My brothers will be at the piano, singing carols. After we’re stuffed full of food, we exchange gifts.”

  Her eyelids fluttered closed and she sighed. Again, Savan felt a sharp regret that he was indirectly responsible for her missing this special holiday with her family. “I’m sorry you aren’t there.”

  She sighed again. “We still buy a gift for my father.” She lifted one bare shoulder. “He’s been gone four years, but we light a candle for him and leave his gift by the tree.”

  Savan’s gut clenched. The father she’d lost because Savan had helped block Perma from the Guild. “You miss him.”

  She nodded. “Every day. He was a planetary trader. Traveled all over Perma.”

  She’d followed in her father’s career path. No wonder she blamed Savan.

  “He was my hero.” Her smile was sad. “He even saved my life once. I fell through the ice while skating on a frozen lake.” She shivered. “He pulled me out of the freezing water and carried me home. I’ve never skated again.”

  Compelled, Savan leaned closer and gripped her hand. “I’m really sorry you lost him, Brinn. If I’d ever stopped to think about the lives that might be lost because of delaying Perma’s membership...” He wasn’t sure what else to say. He couldn’t go back, no matter how much he might wish it.

  She turned her hand over so her palm pressed against his. “I know now you didn’t do it out of callousness or greed or arrogance.” A sheepish look. “I’ve said quite a few nasty things about you and your planet.”

  “We deserved it.”

  “No.” She looked to the window facing the lake. The snow had stopped falling and Perma’s two moons had risen. The paper-thin ice window gave a beautiful view of the moonslight reflecting off the frozen water. “If we’d rushed into the Guild, I think we would have made mistakes. We’d have aerial vehicles for sure. We could have damaged our environment irreparably.”

  They sat in silence for a moment. Lost in the past, pondering the future.

  “I think—” she dragged in a deep breath, “—I think you made the right decision to delay us.”

  He gripped her hand tighter. He wasn’t sure anymore, but he knew that the next time he made a decision to delay a planet’s membership, he’d give it a lot more thought. “I’ve made plenty of bad decisions in the past.”

  And they all still haunted him. His men, the B’naari. No matter how hard he worked, he couldn’t seem to outrun the memories.

  “Once we close our trade deal, I’m taking over as Rendar’s head negotiator.”

  Her head snapped up. “Kolar’s retiring?”

  “Yes.”

  Her face
was carefully blank. “Well, you’re certainly most qualified for the job. And it would be the success you said Rendarians live to achieve.”

  Yeah. So why didn’t Savan feel more excitement? He studied the lines of her face. He wanted to see her smile again.

  “Do you sing?” he asked.

  “What?” She blinked at him.

  “You said your brothers play music and sing. Do you?”

  “Not very well.”

  He leaned back, resting his back against the couch. “You said you’d show me Yule. Sing for me.”

  She ran a self-conscious hand through her hair. “Okay, but I warned you.”

  She’d lied. She had a good voice. Solid and sure. The song she sang was a haunting melody about a silent night and a mother and child.

  As she sang, Savan wondered if this was what it meant to have family. To have someone beside you, sharing things with you, making you smile. To simply sit together and feel content.

  With a grin, she broke into another song, this one a jaunty ditty about some creature called a reindeer with a shiny nose.

  When she’d finished, he applauded—a gesture he knew on Perma showed appreciation.

  She took a long gulp of her ale and gave a mock bow of her head. “I haven’t sung for a long time.”

  “You’re good at it.”

  “Hah. You’re just trying to charm me again,”

  He reached behind him for the small item he’d made while he was out getting the ice for the Yule log. “I wasn’t, but I might give it a try now.” He held up the small item wrapped in a small bit of colorful cloth he’d found in the warehouse.

  “What’s this?” She took it from him.

  “A gift. Yule is a time for giving, right?”

  “You made me a gift?” Her smile melted away to shock.

  He suddenly felt exposed. Like everything inside him was on display. “Open it.”

  With precise moves, she opened the cloth and lifted out a small bit of ice. He’d used the laser blade to carve the small figurine.

  It was a couple entwined under mistel.

  “It’s beautiful.” She turned the tiny piece of ice, studying all the small details. “When did you find time to do this?”

  “When I went out to get the ice.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck, wondering why he felt like a rookie at his first trade. “Carving ice with a laser blade is a lot quicker than wood with a metal blade.”

  “How did you learn to carve like this?”

  “In the war. Sometimes you do a lot of waiting.” Waiting for the coming battle where your men would fight and many would die. Carving had kept his mind steady during the interminable waits. “One of the worlds I fought on was a jungle planet. Plenty of wood.” He watched her continue her intense study of the figurine. Did she like it? He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I realize it’ll melt but—”

  “I love it.” She ran a finger over the mistel. “I saw a can of nanocoating in the kitchen. I’ll cover it to stop it melting.” Her liquid gaze met his. “Thank you, Savan.”

  His chest swelled. Now he understood why the Permans gave gifts. Watching someone else’s joy coming for something you’d given them was a great feeling.

  The people of his world had lost so much in their rush for personal indulgence. “You’re welcome.”

  “I don’t have a gift for you.” She set the figurine on a small side table, then looked back at him. “Actually, I just thought of something you might like.” She stood, the blanket falling away from her, leaving her naked. “Me.”

  Chapter Seven

  The air in Savan’s lungs rushed out.

  She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.

  Brinn moved closer, her walk sensuous, her eyes filled with heat. He couldn’t move. He was caught in her spell. She called him like the sirens of the Moessa moons lured doomed spacefarers.

  She pressed against his chest, maneuvering him away from the couch until he lay back among the blankets.

  With a hum of pleasure, she leaned over him, her hands pushing away the blanket at his hips. Every muscle in his body went taut, his hands gripping the fabric beneath him.

  Her fingers skimmed over his chest, down his sides. She dipped one nail into his navel, circling. Then she moved lower.

  Hell. His mind blanked of all thought.

  As she bent her head, her hair fell forward. When he felt her hand circle his cock, the muscles in his stomach locked tight. Then her tongue flicked over the sensitive head, and his hips jerked up.

  She made another erotic little sound and swallowed his cock into her mouth.

  Savan threw his head back. Pleasure was too mild a term to describe the incredible sensations roaring through his body. She worked him with her mouth and hand. He looked down, and the erotic sight of her taking him in her mouth, offering him pleasure, ratcheted him closer to sweet oblivion.

  She glanced up his body and their gazes clashed. She dragged her mouth off him until the head rested on her lips. With a small smile, she took him back in.

  He wasn’t going to last. He wanted this insane pleasure to go on forever, but he was skating closer to losing all control.

  With a growl, he surged up and grabbed her.

  She tossed her hair back. “I’m not finished.”

  He pulled her on top of him and spun her until her legs rested either side of his head. She gave a shocked laugh and worked a hand down his cock again.

  “I like the way you think, Bardan.”

  As she sucked him back into her mouth, he almost forgot why he’d changed her position. But then he saw the beautiful sight above him. Taut belly, bare mound and swollen, damp pussy.

  Wrapping his hands around her thighs, he pressed his mouth to her.

  She jerked, but then relaxed into his assault. He lapped at her, circling her clit with his tongue, stabbing inside her. He sensed the build of tension in her quivering thighs. He felt the answering tension in his own trembling body.

  She exploded above him, her body shaking. He kept lapping at her until he felt all her muscles go lax.

  He let his head drop down, satisfied. Watching her respond to his touch, find pleasure from his caress, was very satisfying. Then she flicked her tongue hard along the underside of his cock.

  His hips rose up, but she held on, sucking him deep. Working him in a rhythm meant to send him falling.

  Seconds later he felt the need in him meld into a hot mix that exploded. His release roared through him.

  When he could think again, Brinn still lay on him, her head snuggled against his belly and her long legs beside him.

  He sat up and kept her head resting in his lap. Contentment was written on her flushed face. He smiled. “Best Yule gift I ever received.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it the only Yule gift you’ve received?”

  He brushed some strands of hair off her cheek, fingering the golden silk between his fingers. “It wouldn’t matter if I’d received hundreds.”

  He leaned down and kissed her. A long, slow kiss. He wanted to breathe her in, to memorize everything about her. Her scent, the softness of her lips, the taste of her.

  When they broke apart, they stared at each other. Did she feel the same hot fusion of feelings he did? He wasn’t sure he could name any of them. He just knew he wanted her.

  She looked away, but not before he saw a flash of uncertainty in her eyes.

  “Brinn—”

  She pulled away and sat up. “How about I show you another Perman custom?” She stood.

  Distracted by her slim, naked body, he allowed her to change the subject. Things had happened so fast between them. One minute they’d been rivals and the next they were lovers who’d survived an assassination attempt.
>
  “It’s not for the faint of heart.” Her wide smile held a hint of mischief.

  As she darted—completely naked—into the freezing warehouse, he wondered what the hell she had planned.

  He ran after her. She was surprisingly quick. When she headed for an external door, surprise rattled through him. “Brinn!”

  She darted into the night. He reached the door and paused. But it wasn’t the frigid night air that stopped him. Moonslight turned her skin a gleaming white. Like she shone with an inner glow. Like she was some goddess, deigning to let mortals see her beauty.

  “My ancestors believed a dip in a cold lake or fresh snow was invigorating.” She opened her arms wide.

  “You can’t be serious?”

  “Nope.” She dropped backward into a large pile of snow. “Let’s see what you’re made of, Bardan.”

  “You realize we nearly died of hypothermia a few hours ago.” But he followed, helpless to resist the pull of her.

  But despite her smiles, she didn’t make eye contact. Instinct told him she was trying to put some distance between them. And they were back to her calling him Bardan.

  He hated it. He wanted her as close as possible. He wanted more than a temporary lover.

  Gods, he couldn’t believe he was even thinking this way. He’d never formed strong attachments with anyone, except maybe Kolar. It was the Rendarian way. Lovers were passing enjoyments, and variety was encouraged.

  But he was starting to realize that Brinn Fjord was someone he wanted in his life. For longer than a stolen night.

  * * *

  The snow was cold and seeping into places best left unmentioned.

  Brinn waved her arms in the snow, remembering winter holidays when she and her brothers would spend hours making snow angels.

  She battled down the disquiet gripping her. That she’d never felt passion like this before didn’t mean anything.

  So what if Savan looked at her in a way that made her ache? So what if he made her want things she knew were impossible?

  When Savan dropped into the snow beside her, she couldn’t control her laugh. As the snow hit his bare skin, his face was priceless. Happiness rose up from deep within her, breaking through her worrying thoughts.