As they entered the tank, Baird checked it out with the wariness of long habit. You could get seriously hurt in a poorly designed tank.
Luckily, this one was first-rate, with well-padded curving walls one could hit at speed without breaking anything. More important, the jutting handholds were of the breakaway type, rounded and flexible, so a fighter didn’t have to worry about impaling himself or his opponent during a throw.
“Gravity off,” Alina told the ship’s computer.
For a moment, Baird had the sickening sensation they were plunging downward, as if the chamber had become a elevator in free-fall. But that was just an illusion created as the artificial gravity vanished, and in a moment, his battle computer compensated.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Alina flex her legs and launch herself at the opposite wall. She hit the thick padding, bounced, and shot straight back toward him like a deliciously curved cannon shell. Baird kicked off and twisted, grabbing for her as she shot by. He managed to snag her upper arm and got towed along for his trouble, but as they tumbled toward the wall, he started wrapping himself around her. He needed to get those long arms and legs under control.
Then he’d have her.
Yet Alina had no intention of allowing herself to be had, at least not yet. She twisted as they hit the wall, grabbed a handhold, and heaved him clear before he had time to get a good grip. While he flailed, she kicked lazily away.
By the time Baird got himself stopped, she was grinning at him from the other end of the tank. “Point for me,” she said, gently mocking.
Baird bared his teeth at her as his competitive instincts awakened in a hot rush. “That’s the last one you get.”
“I don’t think so.” Alina sprang.
This time he was ready when she barreled into him. Allowing her momentum to carry them toward the wall, he snagged her right wrist and slung a leg over her hip. Zee-gee or not, he was still stronger than she was, and his arms and legs were longer. If he could get a good grip on her, he could do whatever he wanted.
And he wanted to do plenty, especially with that round little backside rubbing against his groin.
For whatever time they had together, he wanted all of her.
Unfortunately for his frustration level, Alina had learned her way around a tank sometime in the past twenty years, and she was flexible as an eelcat. She rammed an elbow into his sternum, squirmed loose when he gasped, and kicked away. He shot after her, his cock as hard as ferocrete behind the tough fabric of his snugs.
Alina hit the wall an instant before he did and caromed off like a billiard ball. He bounced after her, kicking hard enough to give himself the speed to catch her.
The trouble was, all that mass and momentum was hard to stop. As he overtook her, she twisted, grabbed him by the hand he reached with, and heaved. The physics of equal and opposite reactions sent him shooting in one direction while she shot in the other.
Laughing.
“That,” he told her, “was a mistake.”
She grinned. “Probably, but it was fun.”
Baird peeled his lips back from his teeth. “We’ll see.”
There was something wickedly intoxicating about pushing her luck with Baird.
Probably because Alina could see the exact moment when it ran out. He looked at her across the width of the tank, his eyes flaring bright red with frustration and erotic hunger. His black hipsnugs barely contained his cock, which looked on the verge of escaping his waistband any minute. Hard muscle flexed all along his body as he gathered himself.
He wasn’t playing anymore.
Her heart pounded hard, and her nipples were tight beneath the fabric of her breastband. She was already wet between the thighs.
Most men got sloppier when they were ticked off. Not Baird. Thanks to his training, he grew colder, more controlled. More dangerous. She deliberately gave him a goading grin and watched him explode.
He shot across the tank like a mortar shell. Alina launched herself off at an angle, determined to stay out of his grip as long as she could. She knew if he got his hands on her this time, she wouldn’t be getting away until he was finished with her. And they’d both enjoy it more if she made him work for it.
Behind her, Baird’s feet hit the tank wall with a meaty bang. She could almost feel him barreling after her, but she didn’t look back as she bounced off one wall and shot toward another. A big hand swiped at her ankle and missed. She didn’t stop to gloat, too intent on ricocheting off every flat surface she could find.
Chancing a quick look, she saw him at the other side of the tank, clinging to a handhold and watching her with predatory intensity. Her eyes widened as he launched, hard and fast. She tried to twist away, but she had too much momentum.
He hit her with a growl of male triumph, snapping one arm around her torso and knocking them both into a dizzy tumble. Blinded by her own whipping hair and flying beads, Alina tried to plant an elbow in his gut and kick free. He refused to let go. Instead he wrapped one long leg around her right hip and the other around her left calf. She drew a fist back for a quick punch, but he engulfed her wrist in one hand. Cursing, she tried for a left cross, but before the blow could land, he’d captured that hand, too.
Alina looked at him as they tumbled in midair. Her sense of humor pricked her instinctive competitive streak like a balloon, and she smiled. “Oops.”
He grinned darkly at her from a tangle of free-floating hair and glittering beads. “Oops indeed. You seem to be caught.”
“Maybe.” She gave him a testing wiggle, but he tightened the grip of both legs, silently making it clear she wasn’t going anywhere. If this had been a true fight, she’d have had to do some real damage if she wanted to break his hold.
Instead, Alina rolled her hips against the thick ridge of his erection. It felt so hard, she licked her lips in anticipation. “Well, now,” she purred. “Apparently you’ve got me after all. What are you going to do now, Warlord?”
“What I’d do to any captured enemy.” Baird’s teeth flashed as he circled both her wrists with one big hand. “Search you for weapons.” With his free hand, he pulled up the hem of her breastband. Freed, her breasts bounced, nipples tight and tingling. He grinned at them. “You do seem to be well-armed.”
He swooped down to engulf one of the hard peaks with his mouth, gave it a slow, thorough suckling as he caressed the full mound with his free hand.
She inhaled sharply at the lazy rise of pleasure. “You’ve got a weapon or two of your own.”
Baird looked up, gave her a slow, heart-stopping smile, and rolled his hips slowly against her belly. “And I know how to use them.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” With a moan, Alina savored the teasing promise of that big shaft, imagining how it would feel thrusting deep inside her. She rocked against him sinuously. “Here’s a thought. Why don’t you let me show you what I can do with that particular blade?”
He lifted a brow, intrigued. “You’ve talked me into it.”
When Baird released her wrists, she went for the waistband of his snugs and started pulling them off. It wasn’t an easy maneuver in zero gravity. They found themselves tumbling slowly while she peeled and he tried to squirm free.
Baird started to laugh in a rich, almost tactile rumble that soon had Alina joining in. The laughter, and the clumsiness it engendered, only made them tumble faster.
Finally he snagged a handhold and steadied them long enough for them to strip, clinging together like giddy children.
“Damn, that felt good,” Alina said, wrapping her arms around his waist as their clothing floated away. “It’s been too damn long since I laughed like that.”
The humor faded from his eyes as he studied her face. “I gather Rajin hasn’t mellowed out of her bitch streak.”
“No, not exactly.” Alina looked into those golden eyes and thought about telling him everything. But secrets, after all, develop their own inertia, and she found she didn’t know where to begin.
Instead she reached between his muscled thighs, cupped his full balls in one hand, and watched his gaze go vague as passion rose. He’d softened a little as they’d played, but at her touch he hardened again. She stroked up from his sac, exploring his warm silken length. He groaned, the sound full-throated and hot with pleasure.
Anchoring herself with a hand on his butt, she bent to take him in her mouth. His taste was instantly familiar, even after all these years—the clean male scent of his body, the tang of his arousal. Her eyes drifted closed.
Gods, she’d missed him. She’d been so lonely.
As she suckled him slowly, a big hand came to rest on her head, threading through her blond hair. “Let me taste you,” he asked hoarsely.
Agile and eager, she drew back and twisted around in the air until she hung head-down relative to him. Strong, warm hands caught her hips and pulled her close. She spread her legs, giving him access to her sex even as she caught his shaft in her fingers and bent close to suckle. He tasted salty with pre-come as she took as much of his thickness as she could.
Baird spread her lips with two fingers. Alina felt the warmth of his breath an instant before his hot tongue claimed her in a long, delicious lick. She moaned around his cock and sucked harder. His tongue danced over her clit in answer, and an index finger slid deep in her core. He groaned approval.
So they licked and nibbled at one another, spinning slowly, bouncing gently off walls, but too lost in each other to care. The pleasure rose and fell in shimmering waves, each crest building on the next.
Until Baird tore his head away, only to pull her around in the air until they were face to face again. “I’ve got to have you,” he gasped. “Now.”
“Yes!” She spread her thighs for him, and he slid between them.
His thrust made them both moan. Desperately, she wrapped her arms and legs around him as he began to pump. The sensation of gliding thickness was hot and slick and wonderful, and it made every nerve in her body vibrate with arousal and delight.
“God, that’s good!” Baird clamped a hand over her hip and one thigh, bracing her so he could ride faster, surging hard and deep. She writhed against him, loving the way he felt, relishing the steep build of climax.
It burst free with a soundless pop of glittering heat, ripping a startled cry from her throat as she arched, coming. Aware even as she lost herself of Baird’s strong hands, his big body, his crooning words of praise and pleasure.
Alina looked so beautiful as she came, her face taking on a hot, lost glow as she threw her head back and cried out. The sight alone would have been enough to bring him.
Given how slick and tight she felt on top of it, he didn’t have a prayer of holding off.
Baird climaxed with a wordless shout, clinging to her as they spun lazily in the air. Out of control, and not caring.
Long moments passed with his mind empty of anything but her lush curves.
“Forget her.” The words burst from his mouth without any conscious thought on his part.
She opened those lovely violet eyes and blinked lazily, startled. “Who?”
“Rajin.” This was insane, and he knew it. Yet he couldn’t seem to keep the words from spilling out of his mouth. “Don’t meet her on Calista. Come with me.” His hands tightened, pulling her closer. “Bond with me. Marry me.”
Seven
For just a heartbeat, joy blazed in her gaze. Then it guttered and went out. “Baird, I can’t do that. I’m a courier. I’ve got to deliver a file she’s expecting.”
“You don’t have to do a damn thing. She’s kept you a virtual slave for twenty years. You owe her nothing.”
Alina sighed. “Baird, Kasi House is a military contractor. If they’re using me to carry this file, it’s probably important.”
“So why the hell are they sending it to Calista? That’s not a Vardonese colony, and there are no Vardonese contractors there.”
“It’s not a courier’s job to know what he’s carrying. I just go where they tell me to go and protect my files until I get there. You know that. Why are you asking me these questions?”
Baird pushed away from her, the better to fight for control. He could almost hear Ualtar cursing him for his impulsiveness. He was on the verge of blowing the whole thing, yet he’d made the offer anyway. Goddess, he wanted to save her so badly.
But what if she didn’t deserve saving?
He needed to shut his idiot mouth—and distract her until he could figure out what the hell was going on and what he was going to do about it. “I’m pushing because I’m tired of missing you, Alina. Because I don’t understand why you won’t sue for emancipation, when you know perfectly well Kasi can’t legally keep you. You’ve served your time. What hold has Rajin got on you?”
Baird turned back just in time to see the telltale guilty flicker in her eyes. “Nothing. Not a bloody thing. I’m just making a living and doing my job. The same as you. Kasi pays well enough.”
“Not well enough to afford a lawyer, evidently.”
“There are other benefits than money.” Her jaw jutting stubbornly, she looked around for her clothes. He watched her kick after her floating breastband, collect it, and jerk it on over her head. “Look, this has been a delightful trip into nostalgia, but we’re not kids anymore, Baird.” Her breasts bounced as she went after her hipsnugs, but for once he was in no mood to appreciate the view. “The fact is, it’s been twenty years. We don’t really know each other now. You have no idea what my life is like, and no business pushing me into running off with you.” She tried to wiggle back into the snugs, but between her anger and the lack of gravity, it was tough to do. Frustrated, she snapped, “Computer, gravity up.”
Anger simmering, Baird sank toward the floor as his weight slowly increased. He watched her jerk on the snugs, roll to her feet, and stalk toward the door.
Just before she stepped outside, she turned to look back at him. For an instant, pain, longing, and fear filled her face before she wiped away all expression. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to see each other again, Baird.”
“Dammit, Alina, let me help you!”
“I can’t.” She turned and walked out.
Alina spent the next two days in her cabin, brooding. About Baird, of course, wishing for the hundredth time she could explain without risking an implosion of everything she loved. She hated leaving it like this, but she couldn’t risk it. At least when she’d lost him before, there hadn’t been this anger and bitterness.
Then there was Galar. She missed him with an aching intensity, as she always did whenever Rajin sent her out on one of these interminable missions. She almost hoped the Femmat would bring him along, except Rajin only did that when she intended a little extortion.
It would be best if the boy stayed back on Vardon. Especially since Baird had a point—why had Rajin sent her to Calista with the file when Kasi House had no contractors there?
Alina frowned as a cold, creeping fear slid through her veins. Rajin loved pushing the bounds of common decency, true—but treason?
And if she had turned traitor, what the hell was Alina going to do about it?
Under normal circumstances, the answer was obvious—stop her cold. But there was Galar. Alina couldn’t turn a blind eye to treason, but she couldn’t allow Rajin to use the terminal command either.
Yet the fact that the Femmat would even implant such a command was a strong indication she’d gone beyond her former petty sins. Alina had been afraid of something like this ever since she’d learned what Rajin had done to Galar.
Softly, Alina cursed Rajin and herself with equal bitterness. She should have killed the bitch then, even if it meant being executed as a rogue. The trap had closed so slowly she hadn’t seen it coming until it was too late.
Alina had unintentionally created the trap herself when she’d impulsively decided to have Baird’s child after they’d learned the war was ending. It hadn’t been difficult; her computer gave her perfect control over her own reproduction
. She’d wanted a baby like Mrs. Ortari’s, and she’d expected Kasi House to liberate her. She’d planned to ask Baird to bond with her.
They’d have been a family, raising Galar together.
But when she returned to Kasi House for what should have been the last time, the medtechs discovered she was pregnant. The House was losing all its warrior veterans to emancipation, so when Rajin spotted a way to keep one, she jumped at it. She’d refused to emancipate Alina and ordered the fetus removed and placed in cryostorage. Rajin told Alina she could have the baby back only if she agreed to serve Kasi House for another ten years. By then, the next crop of warriors would be mature and able to serve.
Rajin also forbade her from seeing Baird again, and warned her not to reveal their son’s existence. Alina had considered flouting those orders, but soon realized she’d stepped into legal quicksand.
For one thing, half Galar’s DNA had been created by Arvid House engineers. Even if she and Baird bonded and successfully sued Kasi House for custody of their son, Arvid House could also put in a claim. After all, a Warrior was an expensive piece of property. She and Baird might win a suit against one House, but two? The fetus could end up in legal limbo for years. In the end, she decided that the only way to keep her son was to play Rajin’s game. It was infuriating and terrifying, but she’d felt she had no choice.
Rajin was good at taking away choices.
So Alina had served Kasi as a special courier for ten uneventful years, carrying files containing warship designs between the company, its contractors, and the Vardonese military. As they’d agreed, at the end of nine years, doctors reimplanted the fetus. Galar had been none the worse for his time in cryostorage, and Alina had carried him to term. Kasi House even implanted the computers, sensor, and Warlord neurochemical reservoirs the boy would one day use to go to riaat.
Then Rajin had sprung her next ugly surprise. Though Alina might have completed her service, the boy was the product of Kasi House engineering through his mother, and as such, was legally company property. He was to go to the Warlord Creche—unless Alina agreed to continue her service. If she agreed, Rajin would permit Alina to raise him. When Alina was off on missions, Rajin would see to his care.
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