Last Flight of the Ark

by D. L. Jackson

  He walked up on Jessica, peering over her shoulder into the cage at a snarling Sheba. The bitch caught sight of Kaleb and backed up with a whine, sinking to her belly.

  “I’ll be,” Jessica muttered. “She’s submitting to you.” Her ponytail smacked him in the face as she turned. He flinched and knocked it out of his eyes.

  “She’s not stupid.” He glared at Sheba, whose tail thumped against the floor. Her golden eyes studied him. “She knows I mean business.”

  Jessica grinned. “I don’t think that’s it. I think she’s got a crush on you. She likes you.”

  “What?”

  “Sheba’s the alpha female. She doesn’t submit to anyone but the alpha male. Hence the reason she bit Lobo. He’s not alpha enough.” Jessica eyed Kaleb. “Apparently you are, sir.”

  “Will she let me in the cage?”

  Jessica shrugged. “She’s not growling, and we’ve got to try something. I’d hate to tranq her again. Use that catchpole over there with the loop in the end.”

  He nodded and snagged the pole. One way or another, someone had to go in there. If Sheba liked him, it might as well be him. “Open the door when I say and get the tranq gun in case she gets ugly. First sign of aggression, put her out. I’d rather keep my arm.” He’d request they import another if this didn’t go well. He eyed the wolf. “Sorry, sweetheart, I have priorities. Just be a good girl, and everything will be fine.”

  Jessica loaded a cartridge into the gun. “Ready?”

  Kaleb nodded and Jessica opened the door. He stepped inside and it clanged shut behind him. “Hey, girl.”

  With a growl that sounded more like a roar, Sheba launched from the corner. Her paws landed on his chest, knocking him to the floor. Kaleb only had seconds to register her open jaws and large teeth. He threw his forearm over his throat. Sheba latched on, sinking into flesh. A crunch and then sharp pain shot up his arm. Oh, God. Her teeth had pierced bone.

  “Shoot her!” The bitch shook her head side to side, shredding flesh, and wouldn’t stop until she’d ripped his arm off or torn out his throat. “Anytime…ahhh.” Crunch. Easing her grip and then clamping back down on another part of his arm, she backed up and tried to pull his limb from where he’d blocked her access to his jugular. It was the wolf or him. “Kill her!” Little flickers of light swam before his eyes as pain exploded through his body. “Now!”

  The tranq popped and was followed by a yelp from Sheba, who released his arm and staggered back. Blood dripped from her muzzle and stained her white fur. She swayed and dropped to the floor with a snort. Her front paw dug at air as she fought the drug.

  “Omigod.” Jessica threw the door open and rushed to his side. “You okay?”

  Kaleb glanced at his blood-soaked sleeve. “She likes me, huh?” He cringed as pain radiated from his fingers to his shoulder. Last time he’d trust a smiling female. They were all trouble.

  Jessica helped him to sit up and ripped his sleeve open, staring at the bite. Blood pumped from the wound and formed a puddle on the floor. “Can you walk to the med-bay?”

  “Does it look like she bit my leg?” he snarled.

  “It just looks like a lot of blood. Calm down or you’ll make it bleed faster.” Jessica glanced around for something to stanch the flow. Eying the heavy, water-resistant fabric of his jumpsuit, she groaned. “Where’s a bandage when you need one? Turn your head.”

  “Why?”

  “Just do it.”

  Kaleb looked away and Jessica unzipped her jumpsuit. There was a rustle of fabric and he heard her zip back up. She pressed her tank against his arm. “Deluzio!” she called into the com. “I need you down in the predator bay, pronto.”

  “No can do. Seems the debris is moving. We’ve got a minute before it’s on top of us. I have to launch this ship now or we’ll be soaking in radiation.”

  “Roger.” Jessica rose and helped Kaleb to his feet. “Looks like we’re going to have to ride the jump out here, but we should be on the other side of these bars. If Lobo freaks, we could both be bleeding.”

  Once outside, they leaned against the wall and braced for the Gs that would accompany their jump through hyperspace. Kaleb eyed the shirt Jessica held against his arm. “When we get through this jump, we’re going to have a conversation about what you’ve been wearing.”

  “Why’s that, sir? This jumpsuit is regulation.”

  “Going without a bra isn’t. That undershirt isn’t.” He glanced at Sheba’s sleeping form. “It’s damned distracting.”

  “Oh. Right. You’re lucky I wore that shirt today. The fabric in our uniforms is too high-tech to absorb a damn thing, the bra is the most uncomfortable garment you can think of, and you don’t have to wear one. So are you out of regulation because you’re braless…sir?”

  “You know damn good and well….” He turned to Jessica, who had raised a brow and now stared. At the moment, he felt like Lobo: FUBAR. Fucked up beyond all repair. Any amount of arguing would only dig him deeper. Next, she’d be asking him why he’d been looking. “Forget it.”

  “Forget it? I don’t think so. You brought it up.” The ship lurched and slammed them back into the wall, knocking Jessica’s next words down her throat, where Kaleb hoped they’d stay. He really didn’t feel like explaining how or why he’d noticed. Some might consider that sexual harassment.

  FUBAR. Yeah, that summed him up.

  Chapter Two

  Kaleb groaned. He lifted an eyelid and stared at the flickering lights of the bay. Every joint in his body bitched and his bladder demanded he get the hell up and attend to it. He rolled his shoulder in an attempt to ease a cramp and turned his head. Not a cramp.

  Jessica slumped next to him. Her head rested on his shoulder and a little string of drool attached the corner of her mouth to a pool on his chest. He nudged her with his elbow. She sighed, wrapped her arms around his good arm, and snuggled closer.

  What the hell happened? He hit his com. “Deluzio?”

  There was a moan in response.

  “Captain, report.”

  “Here, sir.” A weak voice creaked back through the com. Whatever had affected them seemed to have gotten to her, too.

  “What happened?”

  “I’ve no clue.”

  “Unacceptable answer, Captain. What happened?”

  “I hit that debris and that’s all I remember. The good news is we’re in orbit around Terra II.”

  “I thought it was twelve hours out?”

  “It appears we’ve been asleep for the remainder of the trip. I’ll run a diagnostic to make sure we didn’t fry any of our critical operating systems, but I don’t know what it might have done to us. Hold on for a bio screen.”

  The chip in Kaleb’s hand buzzed, indicating she’d activated the scanners.

  “Looks like we’re all clear. I don’t see any negative effects from the radiation, which is bizarre. We took a hefty dose.”

  “Yeah.” Kaleb glanced down at the blood-encrusted shirt. “Maybe we just got lucky.”

  “Come up to the med bay. Maybe we better take a closer look at everyone. We’ll do an examination the old-fashioned way.”

  He could do that. He didn’t need Melissa noticing the bloody shirt around his arm, or more to the point, what might or might not lie under it. Besides, there were other more pressing matters. The cargo and its status, for one. If the debris field had smacked the crew the way it had, how were the animals doing? “I better check the cryocells and make sure they’re still charged.”

  “Come up to med first.”

  “All right.” Nothing like feeling like a jackass for lying. Until he had a better grasp as to why his arm seemed almost normal and a chance to look at what sat under the shirt, he’d rather not have a documented examination in his file that could be transmitted to Earth Command, ending the mission before it started—or worse. Kaleb moved his injured arm again. He was certain Sheba had fractured it, but that didn’t appear to be the case, even if there had been a frightening, audibl
e crunch. Twice. Jessica’s undershirt-cum-bandage had dried to a bloody crust on his arm, another good sign. He could’ve have easily bled to death while unconscious. He elbowed Jessica again. “Rise and shine. Stearns, we’re home.”

  “Mumf,” Jessica mumbled.

  “Wake up. You’re drooling on me.”

  “You certainly know all the right things to say to a girl. Come on now, is that the way to talk to someone you just slept with?”

  “I’m not touching that.” The word trap flashed through his brain in big, bold letters. There were times to joke and times to keep his mouth shut. This called for silent diplomacy. “Deluzio just scanned our bios. We’re good to go.”

  “I might be, but your arm isn’t.”

  “It’s fine. Not as bad as we thought.”

  “I don’t understand. I saw the mess she made.” Jessica lifted her head and rubbed her cheek where the zipper in his collar had left an imprint.

  Kaleb wiggled his fingers and made circles with his wrist to demonstrate. She scrunched her nose and narrowed her eyes, staring. “Okay, so it’s not as bad as we thought, and the scanner said it’s good to go, but maybe we better check it out, just to be on the safe side.”

  “No. I’m fine. It was a flesh wound. We need to get things prepped for the off load and make sure the animals weathered that radiation as well as we did.”

  “Wait a second, sir. Did you say we’re home? As in Terra II—in orbit?”

  “Yeah, I did.” He rose to his feet and reached down to offer Jessica a hand. “Come on, we’ve got work to do. We need to check the cells.”

  Jessica eyed his hand and climbed to her feet without his assistance. “Not until we put some antibiotics and a clean bandage that arm.”

  Kaleb wiggled his fingers again. “I told you. It feels fine.”

  “A canine bite might be cleaner than a human’s, but it’s still dirty and could get infected. You’re not doing anything until we clean it up, regardless if the bioscan said it was fine.”

  “Who’s running this mission?”

  “Doctor’s orders.”

  “You’re a biologist.” But she would make a cute nurse. God, better not go there.

  “I’m still a doctor.” Jessica pinned him with a look that said she wasn’t backing down. “I was good enough to help you when you got the hives.”

  “I don’t have hives.”

  Jessica crossed her arms and stared.

  “You’re not giving up, are you?”

  “What do you think, sir?”

  “All right, but you’re soaking that bandage off. Don’t even think about ripping it away.”

  “Party pooper.” Jessica tugged his arm. “Come on. I promise to be gentle.”

  God, he could only hope so. Another part of his body sprang to life at the thought. Down, boy. They climbed onto the lift. Kaleb watched Jessica. She bit her lip and glanced around.

  “Something wrong?”

  “I don’t like heights.”

  “I hate to tell you this, but you’re in space.”

  She nodded. “Nowhere to fall out there.” The lift lurched. She lost her balance and stumbled forward. Kaleb caught her and inhaled. The lemon scent of her soap and something else assaulted his senses. He inhaled deeper. Not fear.

  “Your arm should be killing you, especially when you caught me. You really are okay, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah. Better than okay. I feel…good.” Extraordinary. Horny. Turning his nose into her hair, he froze midsnort. What the hell was wrong with him? He shouldn’t be sniffing Jessica like a hound. Somewhere, in some manual, it had to be against regulations, but damn, she smelled good. Screw regulations. He inhaled again and was certain he knew that smell.

  Jessica tipped her face back and looked into his eyes. Her heartbeat picked up, thrumming through his body as though it was on a loudspeaker. Her pupils dilated and the temperature in her body increased. He could see it and feel it with such clarity. Clarity he’d never had before. Kaleb furrowed his brow. Why hadn’t he seen it before?

  “Sorry, sir. I lost my balance.” She licked her bottom lip but didn’t step back.

  Liar. His dick began to beg for a cabin visit, threatening to bust out of his uniform and all because she hadn’t really stumbled. Liar, liar, panties on fire.

  And he knew this how? For some reason, since they’d passed through the cloud, his senses seemed heightened. Her heart wasn’t beating crazy from fear and the smell coming off her wasn’t soap. His cock grew harder and it took all his willpower not to yank the zipper on her jumpsuit down and have her right there on the lift.

  Hell, who had willpower? Kaleb reached over and shoved the control lever up, bringing the lift to a stop.

  “Why’d you do that?”

  He stared at her, hungry, inhibitions gone. Did he really need to tell her?

  Her eyes widened and a small gasp escaped her lips. “Oh.”

  Good, a quick study. He shouldn’t have to explain. He tightened his arm around her and lowered his mouth, seizing her lips as he’d dreamed of doing for the past eight months. She sighed and collapsed against him, kissing him back with a wildness he’d never suspected she’d possessed. It all seemed—unnatural, and he knew he should stop, but he couldn’t gather enough sense to end it. This wasn’t the way Jessica normally acted, nor had he ever been so close to losing control. The radiation had definitely done something, even if the scan said it hadn’t. She laced her fingers into his hair, holding him to her as he feasted. She tasted sweet, clean. The smell of her arousal increased. He backed her across the lift while she kissed him and pinned her against the side, grinding his erection into her. One hand went to her zipper while the other went to her breast. He brushed his thumb over her nipple, feeling it pucker through the thick fabric of her jumpsuit. His nostrils flared. Fertile. Ready. Receptive.

  “Fuck.” Kaleb slammed both palms against the metal panel on either side of her head. Jessica squeaked and jumped. “No.” With a growl, he pushed away. He couldn’t do this. “God, what was I thinking?”

  “I think maybe we should go to the med-bay. Something isn’t right here,” she said, and reached over to pull the lever down.

  “Something.” He could see her blush, even in the dim light. She was wet, hot, and damn if he couldn’t smell it. She didn’t want to go to the med-bay.

  Liar. “Yes. The med-bay.” He nodded even though his brain screamed “no.” The lift began to rise again. Kaleb stepped back, putting as much distance as he could between them and leaned against the opposite wall. Yeah, he could feel it, but it was what he wasn’t feeling that confused him. His arm should be junk. Inflamed. Raw, burning pain. It wasn’t, and lust seemed to override all their cognitive thought. It had been a long time since he’d been this randy and out of control.

  When they were in med, he’d locate a Geiger counter and find out how much radiation they’d absorbed. Something wasn’t right. He didn’t want to just fuck her, he wanted to bite her, taste her, and the scariest of all, impregnate her. Even more frightening, he knew if he had her now, he would. It was almost as if he could hear the tick-tock of her biological clock.

  “Sir?” She eyed him, keeping her distance. “What’s going on here?” Instinct told him she knew he was dangerously close to losing control. Her scent told him it wasn’t objectionable. She wanted him to take her. He could feel it, smell it, fucking taste it, and it made him more ravenous.

  “I don’t know. Shock?” Who cares? He stared back. What could he say? Apologize for being seconds away from ripping her clothes off and fucking her on the lift? Hell, no. She’d wanted it. He closed his eyes and inhaled again. She still wanted it. He needed to get off this lift. There were a lot of things going on that weren’t right. His need to rut appeared to be just one of them. A predominant urge, but not the only weird thing.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.” She looked down at the floor. “Of course you didn’t need to stop.”

  “Yes, I did.” Coul
d the steel trap move any slower? Kaleb flexed and unflexed his hands. Why didn’t his arm hurt? Until he knew exactly why, he needed to put as much space between him and Jessica as he could.

  Jessica pushed off the wall, stepped toward the exit, coming closer. He glanced at the zipper on her flight suit. It appeared to have slipped an inch or two when he’d groped her during their kiss and now it exposed more than a fair portion of cleavage. With the top missing underneath, it was a temptation almost impossible to pass. He growled. One more step, one inch closer…. His control only went so far.

  The lift bumped and the door opened. “Come on. I need to fix that arm.” Jessica caught where his gaze had landed and blushed again. “I had to use my shirt—”

  “I know.” No explanation necessary.

  “Let’s get you a proper bandage.”

  Let’s get you out of those clothes. His knuckles cracked from having his hands balled so tight.

  She stepped off the lift, turned to him, and waited. He must be out of his mind. What man would pass up an opportunity like that? He drew in a deep breath and shoved the lever down. The door slammed shut in a surprised Jessica’s face.

  Oh, he wanted to get off. Bad. But every instinct told him it would be a big mistake. Until he knew what was going on, it was better to play it safe. To his room first for a cold shower, and then he’d attend to the injury himself and try to figure why the fuck his arm didn’t hurt.

  ***

  Damned man. Jessica stared at the closed doors and curled her hands into fists. There was something there. He wanted her. That kiss was as far from chaste as it could get. Just when she thought he was going to finally make all her deep-space wet dreams come true, he’d let the damn doors slam shut in her face.

  It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to get him to notice. The last couple of months had been pretty desperate and she’d pushed as far as she could without just coming out and saying it.

  They’d worked together for more than four years before the trip. Over time, the feelings she had for him morphed into something deeper than need. Then the six months of preflight training punched a hole in her remaining control. His smiles. They way he joked and made her laugh.