Escape Velocity (Off-World Series, Book 7): Sexy Science-Fiction Romance Novel

by Rebecca York

  He clenched his teeth, hating what she was telling him but understanding.

  He kept his gaze steady. “I understand all that, but I think you trust me more than you realize.”

  She also kept the eye contact. “Why do you think so?”

  “Because you asked me to chain you to the wall. If I’d chained you the way those men did at the station, I could have done anything to you.”

  She looked thoughtful. “But instead, you did something that you knew would bring me pleasure—in the end.”

  “And we both found out something about ourselves.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Max stirred beside Amber. When he sat up, she caught the serious expression on his face.

  “I want you to understand something important. I punished you because you were very insistent. I’m not going to punish you again for something you did or didn’t do.”

  “But . . .” she tried to interrupt.

  “Let me finish. I saw I couldn’t fight your value system when you were so set on having a ‘master’ responsible for your fate. But you’re not a slave anymore. You’re free. And you’re going to have to deal with the consequences of your actions on your own.”

  She took her bottom lip between her teeth. “My whole life turned upside down.”

  “You’re the one who turned it—by tricking me into rescuing you.”

  “I tricked you, yes,” she said in a low voice. “Because I was desperate.”

  “I understand that. But we’re going to stop looking backward now. We’re going to figure out how to neutralize Tudor.”

  She answered with a small nod, wondering if it were possible to defeat the powerful man and at the same time wondering what would happen after that. It was still hard to come to grips with her freedom. She’d told herself she was going to escape or die trying. And secretly she had always thought it would be the latter. Could she go on with her life in a way most people would consider normal? And another question loomed. When all this was over, did Max still intend to leave her on some planet at the edge of civilization?

  She struggled to keep her expression neutral. She wasn’t going to bring that up. They had work to do, and she intended to focus on defeating Tudor before she lost her nerve.

  ###

  Amber went back to the guest room for the night. She’d wondered if she would be able to sleep. Apparently, it wasn’t a problem because she woke to hear voices from the galley. Max and Rafe were already up and planning their next moves.

  She saw that Max had put the bag with her new clothing inside the cabin. She dressed quickly in one of the outfits she’d picked out the day before, then stopped to look at herself in the mirror, swaying one way and then the other as she swirled the long skirt. She liked the way it hugged her curves and then flared out below her hips.

  Down the hall, she could hear the two men talking in the galley, their voices muted. Were they talking about her? She was pretty sure Max wouldn’t tell his friend about what had happened after they’d left him, but she couldn’t keep her nerves from jumping as she stepped into the room.

  Both looked up as she entered, and she went still.

  After a moment of silence, Max asked, “Did you sleep okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.”

  The bland exchange did not make her feel any calmer.

  “Why were you keeping your voices so low?” she blurted.

  “So, we wouldn’t wake you,” Max answered.

  She studied his face, trying to determine if that was the real reason. “Okay.”

  Rafe had stayed out of the conversation. Now he asked, “Do you want some coffee?”

  “That’s what you’re drinking?”

  “Yes.”

  The tempting aroma wafting from the cups was rich and full of a flavor she had never smelled before.

  She dragged in a deep breath. “It smells good.”

  “It’s a mild stimulant. A lot of people drink it to wake up in the morning. Some people drink it all day. Others have to stop so it won’t keep them up at night,” Max answered.

  She nodded.

  “You can have it with cream and sugar. Or just one of those. Or you can drink it black.”

  “How do you drink it?”

  “Black,” he answered, explaining the dark color.

  “I’ll try that.”

  She sat down at the table, and he brought her a cup from the food replicator. But when she tried it, she couldn’t stop herself from making a face. “It smells a lot better than it tastes.”

  “Try it with cream and sugar,” he suggested, taking the cup back and making another with the two additional ingredients.

  She tried again and found it more palatable, although she suspected it would take some time to get used to the stuff.

  “We should go to Danalon in my ship,” Rafe said. “That way, it makes sense that I’m selling goods from my last stop.”

  “They don’t know where you’ve been and when, do they?” Amber asked.

  “They may want to check.”

  “I thought they were primitive,” she said.

  “It’s not like they’re cut off from communications,” Rafe answered. “If they want information, they can get it.”

  “Before we leave, we should eat something,” Max said. “What do you want?”

  “What are you going to eat?”

  “Scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns.”

  “What is all that?”

  “A traditional breakfast from old Earth,” Rafe answered.

  “Okay.”

  Max ordered three portions. The men tucked in, but she was too unsettled to eat much.

  Max watched her pushing eggs around her plate. “You need to get some food in your stomach.”

  “I was thinking we’re going to be close to Tudor.”

  “Yeah.” He gave her a considering look. “Have you changed your mind about the plan?”

  “No,” she said and took another bite of the eggs.

  When they’d cleaned the galley, Max said, “Let me put some makeup on you.”

  “Right.”

  She sat down again while Max got out the makeup kit he’d used before. Feeling self-conscious, she kept her gaze downcast. As Rafe watched Max work on her, he made a few suggestions. She tried to keep her mind in neutral, but she couldn’t keep herself from reacting to Max’s hands on her face. This was the first time he’d touched her since last night, and his fingers brought back thoughts of that heated scene. She struggled not to blush as she remembered their passion. And when she gave him a quick glance, she saw color in his cheeks. She wished that they had some privacy now. Or maybe it was better that they didn’t.

  Both men stepped back when Max had finished, and she felt even more self-conscious as they inspected her.

  “Nice job,” Rafe complimented.

  Amber sprang up and strode down the hall to the head where she looked at her face in the mirror. Max hadn’t altered her as much as before they’d gone to Freedom Station. The effect was more subtle, but somehow, he transformed her from what he considered a beauty into a woman with a pleasing face. She wasn’t sure how he’d done it. It seemed more a matter of shading and contouring than anything else.

  She heard footsteps behind her and whirled around to face him.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “It’s good. Not drastic. But you’d better show me how to do it, in case we’re there for a while and I have to fix it myself.”

  “Yes.” He pointed out the places where he’d made her skin darker, like under her eyes, giving her a kind of tired look. And he showed her where lighter makeup had made her nose and chin appear to be a little larger.

  “Can you give me the tints?”

  “Yes.”

  As she stared at his face in the mirror, she wanted to say, “We need to talk,” but she kept the words locked in her throat. What was the point of that now? They might be dead soon. Or maybe her crazy plan would work—and then? She
couldn’t finish the thought.

  Max also looked like he wanted to say something. But before either one of them could speak, Rafe called out, “Let’s get going.”

  “We’re coming,” Max answered and turned away.

  Back in the galley he put the tubes of makeup he’d used for the contouring into a small bag that hung on a strap.

  “This is a purse,” he said. “Women carry them for stuff they need.”

  “Like what?”

  “Things someone might expect to see if they searched you. Like the makeup.” He handed her a comb and a nail file, and she put them in the bag.

  “The file looks harmless, but it’s sharp,” he said. “You could probably kill someone with it if you had to.”

  She sucked in a quick breath. “Are you expecting trouble down there?”

  “I’m trying to be prepared.”

  She looked for his beamer and saw he wasn’t carrying it. “You aren’t armed.”

  “They could consider armed men hostile.”

  “What if they attack?”

  “Let’s hope they don’t.”

  With the preparations completed they transferred to Rafe’s ship, the f. The control room was arranged like the one on Max’s craft. Amber eyed the two seats and started to say she could sit in the galley. But Rafe pulled down a third seat for her from a slot in the wall.

  Then he took the controls.

  As they drew closer to Danalon, her anxiety built, and she felt the food she’d eaten at breakfast weighing in her stomach like rocks. Although she’d suggested this plan, she couldn’t help worrying that they might not be able to pull it off. It was one thing for her to be in danger from Tudor, but what if she got Max killed, too? Or Rafe.

  She had to press her lips together to keep herself from shouting at Rafe to turn around and go back. Instead she tried to think calming thoughts as she watched the green and blue surface of the planet swim into view.

  “I can’t see where the—swamp rats live,” she murmured.

  “They don’t live far from the river.” Rafe pointed toward a broad patch of green, “That’s one of their fields where they grow crops.”

  “What?”

  He laughed, “Sorry, I can’t tell one crop from another.”

  When he’d parked in a high orbit around the planet, she couldn’t stop herself from shuddering.

  “What?” Max asked.

  “Nothing,” she answered. She wasn’t going to tell him that she was thinking this whole plan was crazy. Of course, her escape from Naxion had been crazy, too. That thought gave her some hope.

  To distract herself, she asked Rafe, “You’re not letting the—swamp rats—know you’re coming?”

  “Safer for us to maintain communications silence. We don’t exactly want the authorities—or Tudor—to know we’re here.”

  Once they’d transferred the goods and themselves to Rafe’s shuttle, they headed for the planet’s surface.

  She was still worried, but she couldn’t help watching wide eyed as they descended to this unknown world. The only thing she knew about it was that Elgin Tudor was waiting for her there. On the way up to Max’s ship from Naxion, she’d looked back at her planet, seeing more brown and orange patches than green—interspersed with huge bodies of blue water.

  Danalon was very different. There was more green and blue than brown, with an anomalous area she couldn’t identify along a large river.

  “What’s that,” she asked, pointing.

  “A city. Port City.”

  “Which is?”

  Rafe’s head swung toward her. “An area where a lot of people live together. There are none of those on Naxion?”

  “I don’t think so. At least I never saw one or heard people talking about them.”

  “Where do people live?”

  “In freeholds. A freehold with three hundred people would be large.”

  “Why are you so spread out?” he asked, maybe to keep her from dwelling on what was ahead.

  “I think there’s too much fighting for people to gather together where they would be vulnerable.”

  “A small population would be vulnerable,” Rafe pointed out if a couple of groups banded together.

  “From what I heard, there are small squabbles going on all the time.”

  “And nobody gets together to attack any group?” Max asked.

  “For what?”

  “To rule over a large population.”

  “I never heard of it. But, of course, they didn’t exactly discuss politics with the slaves,” Amber answered.

  “True.” Max conceded.

  Switching the subject to the planet below them, she asked. “How long ago was Danalon settled?”

  “A hundred years,” Max answered, “But hacking civilization out of the wilderness takes time, policing, and credits. That’s why there’s only one big population center.”

  “And nobody wants to spend the money to make more?” she asked.

  “They seem content to do it slowly,” Max answered. “After the swamp rats revolted, the government decided it was best to keep control of what they could dominate.”

  Amber nodded. “But we’re going to a lawless area.”

  “They have their own laws. We just don’t know what they are.”

  There was no point in arguing. They were coming in closer now, and she leaned forward, looking toward the city. It was so different from her experience that she asked, “Can we fly over there and have a look?” She pointed toward the large buildings in the distance.

  “No, a ship can’t just fly into town. You have to make arrangements with the spaceport—and we don’t want to identify ourselves.”

  That made sense, but she was still disappointed.

  Rafe followed the water into territory that was blanketed with green vegetation. It was so dense that she wondered where they could land.

  He came down lower, skimming over a thick canopy of trees, and she couldn’t see how they were going to set down. Finally, she saw a spot that looked clear.

  “There.” She pointed.

  “Let’s make sure it’s not sucking sand,” Rafe said.

  “What is sucking sand?” she asked.

  “Something like dirt and something like water, only the mixture is thick and goopy. If you land on it or step into it, you’ll be pulled below the surface, and once you’re in there’s it’s almost impossible to get out.

  She caught her breath, imagining it.

  Max took in her horrified expression. Turning to leave the control room, he said, “I’ll be right back.”

  He returned in a moment, holding one of Rafe’s storage containers.

  “Hey,” his friend objected.

  “You got a better idea?”

  “Unfortunately, no.”

  Rafe slowed the shuttle’s speed, and Max moved to the hatch, opening the lock.

  “Stay back,” Amber warned.

  “I don’t plan to fall in.” He opened the door and leaned out, gripping the door frame in one hand and the box in the other. Rafe skimmed the ship over the solid-looking brown patch.

  When Max tossed the box out, it landed on the surface, then began to sink out of sight. In less than a minute, it had disappeared.

  “Sucking sand,” she breathed.

  “Yeah,” Max answered.

  “Next time, toss something I don’t need,” Rafe said.

  “Like what?”

  “Your shirt,” his friend shot back.

  “That will just float. You got any old shoes?”

  “Okay. Yeah. In the bottom of my clothing compartment.”

  Again, Max disappeared and came back with shoes that were scuffed and bent out of shape.

  Again, Rafe flew low over an open space. And when Max tossed out a shoe, it sank just like their previous experiment.

  Amber was wondering if they were ever going to find a spot, when Max pointed to another brown patch. “I think that’s a field where crops were harvested. It looks like nothing
’s growing there now.”

  “Let’s hope it’s not freshly planted,” Rafe muttered as he headed in that direction and skimmed low. This time the shoe Max pitched out landed in a patch of soil and stayed on top.

  “This looks like we can set down,” Max said as he closed the door.

  “All right.” Rafe cut their speed and gently lowered the shuttle.

  “Now what?” Amber asked. “We still don’t know where to find their village.

  “I’m sure they know we’re here,” Max said, his voice tight.

  Amber peered out at the dense greenery all around the open area. There were many types of trees, some with huge leaves, some with fronds, and some with delicate little circles that shimmered several shades of green as the wind blew.

  She’d never seen anything like it, and she thought the scene was beautiful, so much lusher and more alive than the vegetation on Naxion. Yet at the same time, she knew dangers lurked in the shadows beneath the trees and behind the low, spiky bushes.

  “Let’s do it.”

  Max opened the hatch and stepped out, his hands hanging easily at his sides. Amber and Rafe followed, both imitating his stance. They stood beside the little ship waiting for what would happen next. As she peered into the greenery, Amber saw the vegetation around the perimeter of the field stirring.

  Then all at once, men came out of the underbrush, making a semicircle around the side of the ship where the trio waited. They were all dressed in rough trousers and long-sleeved shirts that blended well with the trees and bushes. Most had cloths around their necks, and some had similar pieces of fabric tying up their long hair. The majority were armed with long knives, but a few carried beamers which were pointed toward the new arrivals.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I don’t think that’s a welcoming committee,” Max muttered without turning his head because he wasn’t going to give these guys a chance to get the drop on him.

  “It depends on what you mean by welcome,” Rafe answered in the same barely audible voice.