He rolled her over, trapping her beneath his hard body, although next moment he was on his side next to her instead. He looked at her for a long moment, while she was terrified she was going to cry, finally ducking her head. Johnny leaned over carefully to capture her lips again for a kiss that began sweetly and became more passionate and entangled the longer it went on.
“Did you hear what I told the cherindor?” he whispered, staring into her eyes, his dark brown ones intense. “I said you belonged to me. I-I wanted that to be true, I wished it was true. I’ve never met anyone like you Sara Bridges, and I’m so in love with you I can’t think straight.”
She ran her hand through his thick, soft hair. “The cherindor didn’t want to rescue me, did it?”
“You weren’t on Mahjundar with us so it had no ties to you. No way in the seven hells was I leaving you there and the damn creature knew it, so it gave in and set you free for me.”
“Another debt I owe you.” She kissed him lightly.
He shook his head. “No debts between us.” Toying with the fastening of her shirt, he undid one and then the next, moving with deliberation. “Promise me you’ll tell me if anything I do makes you uncomfortable or anxious, or gives you a flashback. I can stop. I will stop, my word of honor.”
“All right, but only if you give me the same promise.”
Startled, he leaned away from her, eyebrows raised. She laughed, pleased with herself for surprising him with her reciprocal demand. He had bad memory incidents too, after all. Sliding her hand down the enticing trail of fine hair that led below his waistband, she wrapped her fingers around his cock for a moment, stroking from root to tip. “Are we done talking for now, I hope?”
“Oh yeah,” he said with a purr of male satisfaction in his voice. He undid her shirt and she released her grip on him so she could shrug her top off, unfastening her bra herself and throwing it to the floor. Her pants and underwear went on the pile next. Johnny was stripping with efficiency on the other side of the bed. Naked, he turned and drank in the sight of her, lying in the center of the bed on her side, one hand propping her head up as she enjoyed the sight of his masculine physique.
Johnny gulped. “You’re so beautiful.”
She was suddenly shy, fighting not to hide, or cover herself with her hands. He was magnificent, corded muscle everywhere, long thick arousal jutting proudly from his body. Of course she’d seen all of him before, when she had to give him the bath but this experience was different. “Come to bed?” she said, indicating the bare mattress, hoping he wasn’t having second thoughts. Heat and desire blossomed deep inside her and she wanted nothing more than closeness with him.
He moved onto the bed next to her as she reclined, lying on his side, gently skimming her body with one hand, pausing at the ugly bruises and marks left by the warlord’s men, which were fading. He stroked her left breast, teasing the nipple ever so slightly. “Perfect. So soft.” He lowered his head to brush his lips over a particularly purple bruise in a caress that melted her heart with its tenderness. “I hate the way you were mistreated. Abused. I wish I could kill them all for you.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to risk yourself to get revenge for me.” She tensed at his attentions to her breast in spite of her best intentions to relax and allow him access.
In response to her unspoken signal, he moved his hand to the curve of her waist. She rolled onto her side, so his arousal lay heavy in the vee of her thighs. Sighing, she kissed him, her tongue seeking his, even as she allowed her hand to rove over his butt, squeezing gently, enjoying the flex of his muscles. Lost in the kiss, she drifted her fingers between their bodies, to cage as much of his erection as she could, using her thumb to massage the sensitive tip before transferring her attention to his balls. He shivered under her touch and pressed closer, urging her onto her back.
She spread her legs for him, enjoying the sensation as the thick head of his cock pressed against the entrance to her innermost self. She was wet, ready for him, Sara realized with pleasure. She found it immensely reassuring to find that despite all the horrors of captivity in the warlord’s cell, her body reacted with instinctive, pleased arousal for the man she loved. The one man who made her feel safe and unashamedly cared for. The bastards hadn’t stripped her of the ability to be with someone as an expression of her passion. Johnny moved one hand to explore her folds, gently teasing the sensitive bud as she hummed her approval and shifted under him, savoring the sensations and more aroused than she’d ever felt before.
He lifted himself on his elbows, to gaze into her face. “This has to be a dream, Sara, a good and special dream. I never thought I’d actually get to make love to you.” He moved his hand slowly and deliberately to her breast, sliding the callused palm over her nipple, which pebbled. Still holding her eyes, he lowered his head to take the bud into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue.
She ran her fingers through his hair, caressing him as he suckled, holding him close. Bad memories tried to distract her from the care and loving attention her man was giving her and she closed her eyes, focusing only on Johnny, on his warmth and his scent. There was no threat here, only a man who loved her and wanted to please her. He would stop if she asked him to. He would never hurt her.
He switched focus to the other side for a moment. Then he blew soft air on her wet nipple, enjoying her shiver of pleasure. “How are we doing?” he asked, mouth close to her ear.
“I’m ok,” she said.
“Which means you’re really not.” He smoothed her hair, kissed her cheek. “I hear it in your voice. We have all the time in the world, no need to rush.”
For answer she guided his hand between her legs again, so he could tell for himself how aroused she was. He slid two fingers inside and massaged, whispering sweet words in her ear as he built her arousal ever higher, until she climaxed, clinging to him and squeezing her inner muscles to increase the pleasure of the orgasm he coaxed into being. She sought his lips and her tongue demanded entry, tangling with his as she pulled him into the right position to plunge his cock where his fingers had been exploring a moment before.
He thrust with care, deliberately, allowing her to get used to his girth. For answer, she contracted her internal muscles, sheathing his length with silken pressure, reaching with one hand to massage his balls. As she fondled his sac, she made a sound of pleasure, to let him know she was fine and fully participating. Johnny pulled back, nearly free of her channel before plunging into the hot, velvet depths again and again, building a rhythm so erotic and compelling as to be nearly painful in intensity.
“Dance with me,” he said in her ear. “Fly with me, lovely lady.”
She locked her legs around him, trying to hold him deep inside her and he pumped his hips faster, holding her tight. He closed his eyes, face set in an expression of deep concentration. Sara admired his magnificent warrior’s body joined to hers, the sight incredibly erotic. He was both protecting her and loving her. She closed her eyes as well and gave herself over to the building flood of sensation and waves of pleasure. A moment later Johnny moved again, buried as deeply inside her as it was possible to go, his entire body tensing as he found his release. She let go and allowed herself to fall over the edge as well, safe in his arms while pleasure made her mindless.
Afterwards she lay as close to him as she could get, bodies warm and slick.
“I love you,” he said, kissing her neck. His voice was soft.
For a moment she couldn’t speak, flooded with sheer happiness. “I love you too,” she answered.
“Are you ok, nothing hurts? I wasn’t too rough?” He rolled onto his back and settled her against his shoulder.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry, you won’t hurt me, I’m sure.” She ran one hand over the sharply defined muscles of his abdomen and caressed his cock.
“I wish we’d grabbed the blanket from my pack,” he said. “This room is drafty but the breeze on my bare ass was the last thing on my mind at the time.”
“I
’m happy to know what an effect I have on you.” She laughed; a bit giddy with the pleasure he’d given her. “And you’re a highly effective space heater, Mr. Danver.”
He played with her hair. “You know what I’d like to do?”
“Umm, a repeat performance of the same activities we just did?” she teased. “I could be in the mood for reliving the experience and trying a few new things.”
Slapping her gently on the rear, he chuckled. “Give me a little time to recover, woman. Then we’ll see who repeats what performance. Ever since the encounter with the rock scorps, I’ve been out of my mind with desire to take a shower with you. The idea of your hands all over me when I wasn’t awake to appreciate the experience was driving me crazy.”
She blushed. “I tried to pretend I was a nurse or a medic. Matter of fact. I swear I didn’t take any liberties.”
“No?” Making a comical face, he sounded disappointed.
“Johnny Danver!” Sitting up, she punched him in the shoulder. “Of course not— what kind of girl do you think I am?”
“A hot and sexy one. I’d like you to take liberties now,” he said hopefully. “All the liberties you can think of.”
“All right, let’s go see what the shower arrangement is here and if there’s room for two of us at once, I’m game.”
He got off the bed, lifting her as easily as if she was a feather. “Say no more.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Sara was asleep, satisfied and exhausted by their lengthy lovemaking session in the shower, which had surpassed any fantasy he’d ever had. Johnny smiled to himself as he flipped tabs on the com. A passionate, inventive woman, and all his.
The glow of console lights pulled his mind from the mind blowing sex and he pondered how best to send his message. No one was listening for him. Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if that prick Scortun had reported him dead or a deserter. Ms. Immer probably wouldn’t contradict her rescuers. But the Sectors had top secret message buoys scattered in space perpetually listening, so his message would get picked up.
He input his code and ID and initiated the terse message. Have info confirmed Mawreg infestation on Farduccir. Massive installation. Co-ordinates follow. He input the necessary information and added more detail as enticement for help. In possession of captured data files. Need extraction for one civilian and self.
He couldn’t think of anything else to say so he hit the send tab and rocked back in the chair, sipping his mug of water.
Nothing to do now but sit in this bolt hole and kill time. He hoped Sara and he were on the same wavelength about more lovemaking later but they could always play cards if she was too tired. No way was he going to push her. He rubbed his forehead, where a headache pounded. He’d taken in too much data, way over the operating limit but it had been impossible to resist the treasure trove. Good men had died for less intel than he’d been able to retrieve. Thank the Lords Sara had slugged him, broken his concentration or he might have blown his brain. He eyed the comlink controls. It wasn’t sitting right with him, just sending one message. Too many uncertainties. He wished Mike was here with his implanted fastlink communicator, to call in direct.
Pacing for a moment or two, working out the kinks in his spine, he had an idea. It would be a good mental exercise too. He played with the com, trying to design a message path utilizing military channels but virtually undetectable, bouncing off the transponders and making its way to Azrigone. The Varones had their own state of the art com unit, had to with their interstellar business interests. Inspiration striking, he chuckled as he input one unencoded word guaranteed to tell Mike what he needed to know, and hit send.
“Tlazomiccuhtli.”
Now he felt better, despite how long it might take the message to follow the path he’d designed. His cousin would have his six and at the worst, he’d insist the Sectors followed up on the Farduccir situation with the proper precautions. Mike would demand to know what had happened to Johnny in any case, but he had the gravity to make a huge fuss with the information Johnny had sent on its way across the Sectors. Behind him he heard Sara crossing the floor toward him, barefoot. He spun the chair, opening his arms to offer her a hug. “Can’t sleep?”
She sat on his lap and snuggled close. He was amazed how right and natural having her in his arms had become. “I’m still too keyed up from the Mawreg base. Did you send the message?”
“Sure did.” He patted the com board. “On its way to create a a call for action at Sector Command, I hope.”
“What do we do now? How soon will you hear anything?”
“Normally we’d wait one standard cycle— twenty four hours— and send the message again if there’s been no response.”
Sara frowned. “We sit here? But you said the military can’t retrieve us from this place.”
“Right. We have to make our way to the bigger base in the north, or whatever point Command designates for an extraction.”
She put a gentle hand to his ear. “You’re bleeding again, a trickle.” Rising she darted into the kitchen to grab a towel and washed his ear and neck. “I’m worried about you.” Her face was set in troubled lines, her brow furrowed.
“I’ll be fine. The implants are built to carry a lot of data and I’ll be able to download it as soon as we get extracted.” He hoped she couldn’t tell his head ached from the overload. And his vision kept going double.
“Come back to bed with me?” She tugged him from the chair. “If you don’t have to sit here and monitor anything.”
“I’ve got an alarm set to sound if we get a whisper of incoming.” He scanned the exterior vids, reassured to see nothing but clear sky and barren terrain. There’d been odd flickers before, at the far edge of the scan range. Birds of prey soaring over the canyons, he hoped. Despite what he kept telling Sara to reassure her, word in the Teams was the enemy had figured out how to breach a bolthole on at least one planet. No one had hard intel, details were conflicting, the story could have been nothing but idle chatter, but he was uneasy.
The blaring alarm yanked him from a disturbed dream in the middle of the night. Johnny sprinted to the com, Sara following on his heels. When he flipped the switch a rapid string of code blared and he automatically translated for her. “Message received. Penny on her way. Details of extraction to be arranged. Out.”
“Penny?”
“The Penelope, a battleship. She’ll be arriving with her entire task force.” He considered how much to tell Sara about what he guessed would happen next, once the ships arrived and the Mawreg presence was verified. Deciding to hold the information for now, rather than cause her worry, he said, “The pirates can’t come close to matching the firepower Penny can throw at them.”
“And the Mawreg?”
“There aren’t any Mawreg star ships in the area, at least not when the team I was attached to was sent in after Ms. Immer. Relax, the rest of this trip will be a cakewalk.”
Sara wandered into the kitchen and got herself a mug of water. Sipping as if she wasn’t actually thirsty, she paced the small space. “Why didn’t the sender say more? Why such a short message for us?”
“No need to say more.” He shrugged. “Don’t want to attract the attention of any hostile listeners. I know the drill, did it more times than I can count. Once the Penny is closer, we’ll get another call with the co-ordinates for extraction and a time frame to get ourselves there. Till then we can sit tight.”
“I don’t know if I can.” She gestured at the walls. “I’m going stir crazy. This place resembles a trap.”
He rose from the chair, catching her suggestively. “I know how we can alleviate your anxiety.”
“I’m serious.” She kissed his cheek but her expression remained unhappy. “I want to be on the march, moving as far away from the Mawreg as we can get. Not sitting in a bolt hole. We’re mice, with big bad cats prowling outside, and I hate it.”
“Waiting is the hardest thing to do.” Against his body she radiated tension and distress with he
r stiff demeanor. Concerned for her, he had an idea. “If you can’t sleep, why don’t we go check out the escape hatch? I promised to show it to you.”
“Now?” Biting her lip, she considered. “Actually a side trip to the escape hatch sounds like a good idea. The damn alarm woke me up too thoroughly to go back to sleep. Pure adrenaline flooding my system and jarring me out of a sound sleep and sweet dreams tends to have that effect on me. We can take a nap later.”
“All right.” He sat at the control panel and activated a previously blacked-out vid feed. “This is the end of the emergency exit. Make sure nothing’s waiting for us out there.”
“No rock scorps,” she said, in a small attempt at humor.
“Right.” Whistling in surprise, his jaw dropped as a picture formed on the screen. “A ground car.”
“Why would anyone leave a vehicle? Vegetables are one thing, but a ground car? Do you think it still runs?” She came closer and peered at the picture.
“I’m surprised. You wouldn’t normally park a vehicle there and abandon it, but I was never assigned here so who knows. I dropped in on occasion,” he said with understatement, repressing vivid memories of past missions on Farduccir. “The car should run, the power source is the standard energy impulse propulsion we use in the Teams. Proven reliable.” He eyed the sturdy, if battered ground car, parked neatly inside the emergency exit door. “I’m wondering if the crew might have left any weapons. I’d be a lot happier with a blaster or two.”
She ran into the bedroom, finished dressing and hastily slid her shoes on. “I’m ready, let’s go check it out.”
“All right.” He took a moment to get fully dressed himself.
Johnny showed her the hidden exit door, well camouflaged in the bunkroom. “If the front door is in danger of being breached, the idea is to fall back here, bar the door to the room, get in the escape corridor, and blow the bolthole to hell. Explosives inside the walls.”
She shivered. “I’m glad I didn’t know that fascinating fact until now. I wouldn’t have slept at all.”
Hostage To The Stars: A Sectors SF Romance Page 12