"Lore."
Gallant again repeated the word to make sure he had understood. Lore was an unexplored, uninhabitable planet, shrouded in mist and mystery. "Did he land there?" Frezlo nodded shakily. "Did you?" He knew the answer would be negative. No one who landed on Lore was ever heard from again.
"Nice doing business with you, Frezlo." He nudged Cherry toward the door then backed away himself. "Just to make sure you don't have any thoughts of coming after us, I'm going to leave my pet with you while we take off."
Gallant flicked his wrist and the drillfly took off with a flutter of iridescent wings and a loud buzz. The next instant, Frezlo's enormous body was wracked by a seizure and he crashed to the floor in a hairy heap.
Cherry stood by in shocked silence as Gallant cautiously approached the body. Keeping his stunner pointed at the beast's head, he nudged its side with the toe of his boot. When there was no movement for another few seconds, he knelt and pressed his ear to Frezlo's back. "He's dead."
Cherry marched over to Gallant and shoved his shoulder so hard he tipped backward. "You animal! How dare you kill him after he told you what you wanted to know?"
That insult coming out of her mouth after he had just risked his life to save her was more than he could stand. He leapt to his feet and stared down his nose at her. "I didn't shoot him! And keep your voice down."
"I don't see any difference between shooting him with that box of yours and letting that insect do it for you."
His nerves were stretched too far to defend himself in a rational manner. "The insect didn't kill him either."
"How can you say that? I saw you let that thing go and it went right for his head. It flew in his ear and killed him."
Through gritted teeth, Gallant argued, "It didn't go in his ear."
"I saw it—"
"How the drek could you see it after I'd already made it disappear?"
They were standing toe to toe, glaring at one another when his words registered in each of their minds at the same time.
Cherry's curiosity temporarily pushed aside her fury. "What did you just say?"
"Never mind. We have to get out of here while it's still dark."
He was out the door before she could get her feet moving, but she swiftly caught up with him outside.
"What—" His hand clamped over her mouth.
"Hush," he whispered. "Do you want to alert that crowd in the tavern that you're out here with me instead of back there with Frezlo?" He didn't wait for an answer before walking off again at a faster pace.
Cherry's lungs were heaving by the time they reached the ship—both from the exertion of keeping up with him while carrying a length of heavy chain and anger over the multitude of abuses he had heaped on her in the last few hours. She could hardly decide which to scream about first.
As they neared the ship, the door opened and the stairway telescoped down. The moment they stepped inside, the process was reversed and Gallant hurried to his chair. Cherry was right behind him.
"I have a few things to say to you, pal."
"It'll have to wait until we're off-planet," Gallant muttered as he flipped switches and pressed keys in the panel. Mar was busy bringing a grid up on his screen and, when Cherry tried to speak to Dot, the female placed a finger to her lips and closed her eyes.
"Sit!" Gallant barked at her.
She was tempted to try standing throughout takeoff just to defy him but her obstinacy didn't go so far as to risk injury. For the next several minutes she remained quiet, outwardly. Inside, she was ranting and raving. At least the enforced delay gave her a chance to rehearse all the rotten names she was going to call him.
Gallant stretched out the take-off procedures as long as possible, hoping for two miracles—that Cherry would calm down and that she would forget what he said about making the drillfly disappear. He may as well have asked for the Supreme Being to make an appearance in the cockpit for all the good hoping did him. The second the ship settled into cruise mode, she was on her feet in front of the panel, ready to tear him to pieces.
Cherry faced him with her fists on her hips, took one deep breath, and fired. "You are the most despicable, vulgar, disgusting, lying, cheating—"
"Excuse us," Mar interrupted.
Simultaneously, Cherry and Gallant turned to him and demanded, "What!"
Mar gave them a pleasant smile. "You neglected to inform us of our destination."
"Lore," Gallant said.
"Earth," Cherry countered. "You swore you'd take me back if I helped you. Considering what you just put me through I'd say you owe me a hell of a lot more than a ride home. How dare you leave me like that? I could have been killed!"
"You weren't in any danger of being killed... at least not right away."
"Aargh! How can you be so—"
"Excuse us," Dot interrupted. "Do you think you could settle this matter elsewhere while we plot our course? Your... discussion is somewhat distracting."
"Fine," Gallant said with a huff and rose from his chair.
"That course had better be for Earth," Cherry warned as she followed Gallant into the corridor.
"Lore!" Gallant called over his shoulder. "I'm still the captain on this ship."
"Only as long as I let you live," Cherry said to his back.
His frustration showed as he slammed his fist against the door opener for his room. Not to be outdone, as soon as they were inside, Cherry hit the panel just as hard to close the door again.
Holding the length of chain in front of her, she demanded, "You get this damn thing off me before I use it to beat you with." As soon as she was free of the collar, she resumed her verbal attack. "What you did to me back there was the lowest, most wretched thing anyone—"
"You were never in any serious danger!"
"How would you know? You left me with those... those creatures, to do who knows what!"
"I wouldn't have had to leave you at all if you hadn't taken my cubes out of my vest!"
"I wouldn't have taken them if I hadn't found out you were using them to cheat."
"And I wouldn't have had to cheat if you had just been reasonable and agreed to cooperate with me to begin with!"
"Considering how you ended up abandoning me, I was right not to agree."
"I never abandoned you. I was right outside the whole time. Anyway, I knew Frezlo wouldn't allow anyone to touch you once he decided to use you himself."
"And who was the brainy bastard who put that idea into his head? He only wanted to kill me before you made it sound like Sinbar had enjoyed me so much he should try me himself!"
Gallant grinned in spite of himself. "That was rather quick of me, wasn't it?"
"Quick? There was nothing quick about how long it took for you to rescue me."
"I told you before. You weren't in any serious danger. The mating ritual of Frezlo's species is extremely long. I was waiting outside his door until I heard the sounds that let me know you had him completely distracted."
"That shows how much you know. All I was doing was brushing his hair... not that that wasn't gross enough!"
"Not to him. For Frezlo, a good grooming is the most sensuous foreplay there is. Unlike humanoids, his hair contains nerve cells."
"Are you telling me that while I was untangling knots, I was actually... arousing him?"
Gallant couldn't resist. "You heard what he said—you were the best ever."
"O-o-oh! I hate you!" Unable to speak another coherent word, she raised her fists, prepared to express her anger physically.
He blocked her attack and ordered, "Stop it. I'm getting sick and tired of you hitting me without reason. The next time you do it, I'm going to hit you back."
"Ha! You already did that, remember? In fact, I think you cracked my jaw." She rubbed the spot he had struck for effect.
"I had to do that to save you from Sinbar! Surely you realized he was drawing you into a trance."
"Of course I did. But you still hurt me." She tried to hold on to her anger,
but suddenly, uncontrollably, tears filled her eyes and she stammered out the truth. "I've never been so scared in my entire life." His arms opened and the offer of comfort—even from him—was impossible to resist.
"I swore no harm would come to you. You should have trusted me," he said, holding her tightly against him.
She tipped her head back and frowned at him. "How could I trust you? You're a liar and a cheat and—" Before she could utter another insult, he silenced her with his lips.
This kiss was no less of an assault than the other two they'd shared. Only this time, her blood had been boiling beforehand. The strange tingling she had previously experienced in her robotic arm shot through her like a lightning bolt.
Suddenly Cherry felt as though she had been caught in a raging hurricane and the only escape was through the eye of the storm. She relayed her need in the most elemental way. Tangling her fingers into his thick hair to hold him still, she drew his tongue into her mouth, nipped and sucked, then forced her way into his.
She felt him yank off her wig and moaned her frustration when it took him more than a heartbeat to get rid of the gown. His vest hit the floor a moment later and she pulled her mouth from his to taste the flesh she had uncovered. She ran her tongue down his neck and chest, and when her teeth closed over his nipple, he made that growling sound she had found so erotic.
His fingers curled beneath the neckline of her jumpsuit and she stopped stroking his arms and chest to help him eliminate one more obstacle between them. Suddenly his hands closed over hers and prevented her from undressing further. She felt his body go rigid and realized he was trying to rein in his passion once again.
"No! Not this time, Gallant." She pried one hand loose, ran it down his body and molded her fingers over his hard, pulsing shaft. The realization that her eyes hadn't been mistaken about his size made her take a deep breath of anticipation. "You want me. I want you. Right now, nothing else matters."
Another low growl was his only answer before desire swept away whatever had caused him to hesitate. Only when they tumbled onto his bunk completely naked did he try to speak. With every inch of their bodies pressed together, she felt as much as heard his low, gravelly voice.
"I don't... want to... hurt you."
"Dear lord, Gallant, the only way you're going to hurt me now is if you don't ram yourself inside me right this minute."
His reaction to her words was an entry so hard and fast, it would have been brutal had her body not been so well primed for him. He took her relieved cry into his mouth and groaned his pleasure back to hers.
She met his desperate pace, aware that he not only filled and stretched her beyond anything she had ever known, but he was driving her toward a height she had never before reached.
Within minutes he took her over that height to a climax that had her whole body shuddering with exquisite rapture.
But he didn't allow her to come down. He turned her, twisted her, left her body and returned to push her over the brink again and again. And when she thought she would surely die of pleasure, he took her with him over one, final, ecstatic peak.
For some time they clung to one another on their sides, unable to work up the strength to separate their bodies. When Cherry finally caught her breath, she realized he was quickly expanding to his formidable size within her once more. With a light laugh, she moved her hips against his and teased, "You must not have found that pleasure female you went looking for when you left me."
"Did you really believe I would do such a thing?"
"I didn't know what to think," she murmured as she traced aimless designs on his chest with her finger.
"You should have. I showed you what you made me feel. Why would I use some other female when it was you I wanted?"
Cherry giggled and licked his collarbone. "Oh, now that's precious. You actually sound like you mean it."
"When I lie, you believe me and when I tell the truth, you don't. You're an extremely exasperating woman."
"Exasperating!" She tried to lift her head but he pressed it back to his chest.
"Please, I'm not ready to go back to fighting with you yet." He took a slow deep breath and she settled down again. "You seemed... satisfied."
This time she raised her head before he could stop her. "Satisfied doesn't come close to describing the best—" She broke off her intended compliment when she looked at his closed eyelids and remembered that she hadn't yet questioned him about the missing eye patch. "Open your eyes."
"I'm too tired."
She squeezed her vaginal muscles around his hardness. "No you're not. Let me see your eyes." Just when she thought he was going to refuse, he slowly raised his lids and looked at a spot over her head. She stared at his two perfectly normal, dark brown eyes. "There's nothing weird about your left eye."
"No."
"Then why the patch?"
"It complements my wicked reputation."
Cherry moved her head from one angle to another but he managed to keep his gaze averted. "You're lying. You can't look me in the eye and tell me a lie, can you?" He didn't even try to deny it. "Look at me!"
Sighing, he let his eyes meet hers for a split second before he pulled her head down to his. With his lips barely touching hers, he whispered, "I'd rather fight with you again."
The moment his mouth demanded her participation, she gave in with an eating kiss that had him growling in no time. She had thought their first bout had been incomparable but this second assault replaced the initial desperation with skillful technique.
He found her most sensitive areas and touched her in ways meant to wipe out all thoughts of anything but desire and pleasure.
She caressed and stroked him until he forgot about whatever it was that he didn't want her to know.
This time, the build-up was slower and longer, yet when the finale was upon them, it was no less explosive.
Gallant kept Cherry's warm body curled against his long after she fell asleep. Looking at her like that, it was hard to imagine that beneath such a peaceful exterior lay enough energy to power a starship. Like a human sacrifice, he had given himself up to that power, and having miraculously survived, was anxious to repeat the experience.
For so long he had feared what would happen to him if he ever let go completely. It had turned out to be neither paradise nor perdition, but an incredible combination of the two. And suddenly he was quite certain it wouldn't have been the same with any other woman he had ever met.
Now that he had found someone as passionate as himself, he wanted to chain her to him forever. He wanted to spend the rest of his days feeding off her sparkling energy, fighting with her, sharing himself with her and holding her while she slept.
Yet, how could he keep her? She was too curious for him to hide his secret from her indefinitely. It was only a matter of time before she resumed her questioning about Frezlo's death and it was only by sheer luck that she hadn't seen what was going on in the room around them whenever he opened his eyes. Fortunately, when she shared herself with him, she gave the activity her total attention.
He had been in too much of a rush to don a patch before they landed on the bed and too sated to rise and get it afterward.
What if he simply told her the truth as she kept insisting he should do? Was there any chance that she wouldn't be repulsed? He remembered her sympathetic, unprejudiced comments when he had told her about the Illusians and wondered if she could possibly find sympathy in her heart for him. If she didn't, however, revealing his secret would be akin to handing her his life on a crystal platter.
Even if she wasn't repelled by the truth, what enticement could he offer to make her want to stay with him? His home was this ship and wherever his next assignment took him. His life was one long risk. Like her best friend Aster, Cherry deserved to mate with someone as safe and stable as Romulus.
None of it really mattered in the end. She missed Innerworld, her friends, her career, and once she discovered she wasn't going to get back in time for her once in
a lifetime opportunity with Theodophilus, she would probably refuse to let him come within ten feet of her anyway. Telling her the whole truth at this late date wouldn't change the fact that he couldn't return her to Terra for some time yet.
Cherry moaned softly in her sleep and snuggled her bottom against his stomach. Gallant hadn't even been aware of the fact that while his mind was analyzing the impossibility of making her his life-mate, his hand had cupped her breast and massaged it to a hard peak. Even in a sound sleep she responded to his touch and he instantly responded to that knowledge.
He knew without a doubt that if he slipped his fingers between her thighs, she would be wet and ready for him. He wouldn't have to do more than stroke her once or twice and she would awaken for him, willing to charge into their private battle one more time.
But each encounter increased the risk of her discovering the truth, and since he could not expect her to agree to be his life-mate, it was best that she not bear the burden of his secret.
Although he told himself it would be wise to leave her now and never touch her again, his fingers had already crept down to their desired goal. She was neither fully awake nor fully asleep, yet she was fully aroused. Without changing positions, she opened herself to him and he slipped inside.
As their bodies challenged each other to the ultimate duel, he promised himself he would banish her from his mind in the morning.
Chapter 9
Aster waddled into her mate's office with as much elegance as her condition permitted, closed his door and burst into tears. Rom was beside her in an instant, holding and soothing her as she sobbed into his chest. The flash flood was over in a minute.
Though this had happened several times during Aster's pregnancy, he didn't think he'd ever get used to it. He helped lower her into an armchair, then fetched two tissues—one for her and one for him. "What was it this time, shalla?"
Aster blew her nose, not even attempting to be delicate about it. "I can't stand much more of this. I'm sick of being fat and moody and if I don't get a hot fudge sundae in the next five seconds, I'm liable to have a stroke!"
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