Outer Bounds: Fortune's Rising

by King, Sara

  Milar flushed. “The only people who have those kinds of guns are coalers, and they sure as Hell ain’t gonna sell them to colonists.”

  “Then we’ll steal them,” Tatiana said. “Not having guns pissed me off.”

  Milar peered at her. “My ship can’t outrun Coalition Bouncers.”

  She raised a brow. “You knew they were Bouncers?”

  “I heard them, when they flew under us at the same time you tried to flatten me to the wall.” He was watching her too closely. “I also recently had an unpleasant experience with them…or had you forgotten?”

  “Oh yeah,” Tatiana said, flushing. “Right.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Coaler, why are we all still breathing?”

  Tatiana looked up from the viewfinder. “You know that stuff you pulled off the racks?”

  “My tools?” Milar said.

  “Yeah. That’s the thing about Bouncers—they’re fast, but light-duty. At their top speeds, they don’t have the impact resistance to survive a collision with anything harder than a bird.”

  Milar just frowned at her, his golden hazel eyes confused.

  “Your tools went through their windshields,” Tatiana said. “At about Mach Three.”

  Milar continued to scowl at her. “Any tools you released from the hatch would have been traveling at the same velocity as the ship when they were released.”

  “I dropped them from forty thousand feet, then ran the Bouncers into them at ground level.”

  Milar’s eyes widened. “No wonder I passed out.” Then he frowned at her. “Come to think of it, why didn’t you pass out?”

  Tatiana shrugged. “One of the great things about my little buddies is they keep the proper amount of oxygen flowing to my brain, whatever the Gs.” She glanced up at him. “Bouncer pilots have similar tricks, but they do it mostly with drugs and augmented organs.”

  “So,” Milar said, sounding unhappy, “What you’re trying to tell me is you just saved my ass again.”

  “Yep,” Tatiana said.

  “Get out of my chair,” Milar said.

  Tatiana gave the controls a nervous look. “But what if the Coalition—”

  “Now, coaler.” Milar grabbed her by the top of her jumpsuit and bodily hauled her out of the captain’s chair. Then he put the ship into a landing sequence. In less than a minute, he had lowered them into a tiny swamplike clearing and powered down the ship. With the landing gear mangled, the ship rested at an angle on its belly.

  “What are you doing?” Tatiana cried.

  “Thanking you properly,” Milar said, getting out of the chair.

  Tatiana’s heart lurched and she stumbled back, swallowing hard.

  Milar saw her reaction and grinned. He went to the door and opened the hatch. The dragons bunched on his thick shoulders as he gestured. “You gonna come with me or do I need to drag you?”

  Heart hammering in her ears, Tatiana found she couldn’t move.

  Milar sighed and grabbed her by the hand, then tugged her out the cockpit hatch and down the stairs. On the wall nearby, Patrick was slumped against the harness, snoring.

  “Um,” Tatiana said, as Milar dragged her across the cargo bay, toward the crew quarters located on the other side of the ship. Every nerve was on fire in the hand where he was touching her. “This really isn’t a good idea. They could still be after us. What if you didn’t fry all the tags?”

  “We got them all,” Milar said, “And waking up sleeping people is rude.” He glanced at Patrick, then gave her a demonic grin.

  Tatiana swallowed, hard, and her feet suddenly stopped working.

  As promised, Milar dragged her to a closed door, then opened it and dragged her inside.

  It was a bedroom. Milar’s bedroom. Tatiana’s heart gave a little flutter. “This really isn’t smart,” she blurted.

  “Uh-huh,” he said, shutting the door behind them. It closed with a solid mechanical thump.

  She swallowed again as he moved closer, his massive body pressing her into the wall behind her. “Someone should be out in the cockpit,” she babbled. “What if they find another way to trace us?”

  “They won’t,” Milar said. He leaned forward. She felt the heat emanating off his naked chest, could feel his body move closer, could feel his breath against her skin.

  Surrendering, Tatiana closed her eyes and waited for his lips to find her.

  Something rustled on the shelf above her head.

  Blinking, she opened her eyes and looked up.

  Milar was pulling a locked wooden box from the overhead compartment. He latched the shelf again, then went to the bed, completely oblivious to the fact that her heart had just been hammering a million beats a second. He opened the box and spilled little wooden pieces onto the bed, whose pillows and covers were in a tumbled disarray against the far wall, due to Tatiana’s maneuvers with the Bouncers.

  “White or black?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

  Her back still pressed to the wall, Tatiana’s mouth fell open. “You…you…” She jabbed a finger at him. “I was…” You were what, Tatiana? Waiting for him to have his way with you? Make you beg for mercy? Ravish you like a true pirate? She flushed so hot her head felt like it was going to pop like a blood-blister. Frantically directing her attention to the board beside his knee, she managed, “…I was thinking black.”

  “White it is.” He started setting pieces onto the board, placing the white pieces opposite him.

  Desperate not to look as mortified as she felt, she sat down beside him. She watched him place the pieces, taking extra time to get them aligned just right. As casually as she could, she said, “So you’re gonna thank me by playing me a game of chess?”

  “You’re the only one awake, so it’s either play with you or play alone.” He paused in placing the pieces on the board. His golden hazel eyes found her, and they were dancing with wicked amusement. He knew damn well what he’d just done. The bastard! “Why?” he asked. “You want me to thank you some other way?”

  Yes! her mind screamed. She’d never found it so hard to breathe in her life. Yet, the way Milar was watching her, his big hand poised over the board, a smug grin plastered on his face, Tatiana couldn’t let him win. “No,” she said, feigning boredom. “Chess is fine.” She gave him what she hoped was a disinterested look. “Why, did you have something else in mind?” She said it as if maybe he had wanted to watch a movie, instead.

  Milar’s blindsided blink would have thrown Tatiana off the bed in convulsive fits of laughter had she not been trying so hard to keep a straight face. Milar’s brow twitched in a slight frown, and when she continued to focus her attention on the game, she felt his shock and dismay tumble against each other in his mind.

  Ha, she thought, triumphant, two can play at this game, collie.

  Almost reluctantly, Milar started placing pieces once more. Tatiana watched his callused hands, swallowing. Despite herself, she became mesmerized as she imagined what those hands could do, if only she would swallow her pride for two seconds…

  “On second thought, I’ve been up all night.” Tatiana forced herself to yawn and then innocently stretched out on the bed beside the board. “Don’t play too long, and be sure to be quiet when you go out, okay? I’m a light sleeper.”

  Milar’s face formed into a barely controlled thunderhead. “You’re tired?”

  Yawning again, she shrugged. “Saving collie ass takes a lot outta a girl.”

  For a long moment, he just watched her. She closed her eyes and listened to the minutes pass to the thundering of her heart. She let her breathing slow, her chest rising and falling in the rhythm of sleep.

  She had actually started to feel sleepy when Milar growled, “You’re faking.”

  Without opening her eyes, she allowed herself an evil grin and said, “How’s it feel, collie?”

  The words had no more than left her lips when she heard a roar and the chess board skittered off the bed to crash on the floor with the wooden tinkle of pie
ces scattering. Tatiana squealed and tried to roll away as she felt Milar’s weight crush the blankets beside her. He caught her by the shoulder and dragged her back to the bed.

  “Careful of the nodes!” she cried, instinctively panicking under the grip. It was why she hadn’t gotten frisky with a non-operator in over six years—outsiders just didn’t understand how sensitive they were. She squirmed, straining to see if his fingers were brushing one of her shoulder-hookups under the jumpsuit. Then she realized Milar was only centimeters away, watching her.

  Milar leaned forward, until she could feel the warmth of his cheek beside hers. Into her ear, he whispered, “I know where all the nodes are.” Tatiana froze, the words making a tingling rush down her spine. Every molecule of her body was aware that he had closed the distance between them to mere centimeters, and that she was pinned to the bed, with nearly two meters of brawny muscle between her and the door. She’d never been this close to anyone of his size, and it left her acutely aware of why she had never been drafted for the Nephyrs. She met his eyes and forgot to breathe.

  “You do?” she whispered.

  Milar nipped her earlobe. “Oh yeah.”

  The words sent tingles of pleasure straight down to her belly. “Um…”

  He stifled her next thought with a gentle teasing of his lips upon hers. He drew his fingers along her scalp and she felt his thumb gently brush the node in the base of her skull. Instead of quickly moving his fingers somewhere else, as everyone else she had ever bedded, he caressed it tenderly, sending waves of sensation up and down her spine as he kissed her.

  In that one gesture, she was his. Never before had she felt so accepted as with that gentle touch at the base of her skull. Tatiana felt her body respond under him, felt her entire being aching for more.

  After a few more breathless moments, Milar pulled back and touched his lips to her neck, just under the jaw. So softly she almost didn’t hear him, he whispered, “You wanna do this now or later?” He nipped her other ear. She felt his husky breath against her neck as her heart slammed against her ribs.

  He leaned back and met her eyes. “Because, frankly, coaler, I’ve been waiting for this a really, really long time, and I don’t wanna screw it up.” She saw such honesty there, such trust and longing… It melted her very core.

  He continued to wait for her answer.

  She was flushed, panting, and moving under his caresses like a schoolgirl. Tatiana was so stunned that she could only gape at him. Is he stupid? she thought. He was so beautiful, so perfect above her… Every nerve was calling for him to rip her clothes off.

  When she didn’t respond, his confidence visibly shattered. “Sorry, that was too fast.” He started to pull away.

  “That’s it,” Tatiana screamed, throwing him off of her. Milar fell with a stricken look. As he fell, she crawled into his lap and met his startled mouth with a kiss. “You,” she said, nibbling his lip, “…are done teasing me.”

  Milar’s eyes widened, but she was already pushing him further into the bed, spreading her body out atop his warm length, her hands tracing the dragons upon his chest as her lips found his again. This time, Milar’s big arm wrapped around her, pulling her close, and his fingers settled gently around the node in the base of her spine. Tatiana’s whole body trembled with excitement as his fingers paused to caress it through the cloth. Then his other hand was moving up, finding the zipper to her jumpsuit.

  Oh yes, Tatiana thought. She shivered as his big hands found the catch and tentatively tugged down. She sat up and shrugged her shoulders forward, allowing the material to slide from her shoulders until she could feel the cool air against her back.

  Looking up at her, Milar’s breath visibly caught.

  Tatiana froze. Here’s where he realizes he’s getting it on with a cyborg. Dismay dragged painful claws through her gut and she looked away. Then, Maybe he’ll still do it anyway. She found herself disgusted at her own desperation.

  Milar startled her by reached up to trace a finger between her breasts. When she looked, he seemed enraptured, taking her all in. His eyes meeting hers once more, he grinned a goofy, innocent grin.

  That is not the look of a guy who is having second thoughts.

  “You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

  Oh God, Tatiana thought, dropping back into the kiss. She felt his warm fingers again find the node at the base of her spine and settle there, holding her to his naked chest. She let her own fingers roam his body, following the slight bumps of the scars, tracing the dragons as they wound over his shoulder and onto his back. The fingers of her right hand buried themselves in his hair and her other impatiently slid the jumpsuit further down her back. Then she sat up and traced her fingers down his taut stomach. She let out a little gasp as his fingers tentatively found her breast. The rock-hard bulge in his pants was almost painful where it pressed against her thigh. Giggling, her hands found his belt and she began working the clasp loose.

  Under her, Milar suddenly stiffened. She caught him staring at her like a dumbstruck starlope, his eyes wide, swallowing hard.

  For a horrible moment, Tatiana thought she had pinched something in releasing the clasp, and he was trying not to let it show. She carefully tugged the belt away, cursing her clumsiness, hoping it didn’t break the mood.

  When he kept staring at her, stock-still, as she started unbuttoning his pants, however, she realized it wasn’t pain that was going through his head.

  In that moment, Patrick’s episode came back to her in full force, and she flinched. Aanaho, he’s probably got some incurable collie disease.

  She thought about that for all of approximately two seconds, then continued unbuttoning him anyway. She was done waiting. She’d just hope whatever he had wasn’t communicable.

  And then, as her fingers reached down into his pants to push the flaps aside, she heard him gasp. It wasn’t a gasp of pleasure… It was a gasp of surprise.

  …surprise?

  He was biting his lip, watching her hands, looking unsure.

  Tatiana lifted her eyes back to his face, it suddenly dawning on her. “No way.”

  That jerked his attention back to her. “No way what?”

  “You’re a virgin, aren’t you?”

  Milar reddened like his face had been dipped in acid. “No.”

  “You are!” she cried, gleeful. She smacked him playfully on the chest. “After all that crap about girls telling you you’re heavy… You’re a virgin.”

  He swore softly, averting his eyes as he turned his head to the side, his body trembling under her with what had to be fear and anticipation. “Is it that obvious?”

  She gave him an evil grin and kissed his navel. “Yes,” she said. Then, when his head came around and their eyes locked, she gave him an impish smile. “But that doesn’t bother me a bit. I happen to like virgins.”

  His eyes widened. “You do?”

  “Taste like chicken.” She nibbled his stomach, then gently began to ease his pants down.

  He raised a big hand to stroke her temple. “Coaler,” he whispered, “I’m all yours.”

  Those four words settled in Tatiana’s chest and set it afire. Before she could stop herself, Tatiana had crawled back over him and they were kissing again. Their bodies began to move in rhythm, melting into each other, responding to the other’s pulse. His fingers found the heavy metal port over her heart and began slowly tracing the sensitive edge, making her gasp.

  Immediately, Milar froze.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered against his cheek.

  Gingerly, he again started tracing the outer edges with his thumb. It was so intimate, something she had never let another human being do. It left her shivering above him, eyes closed as she felt his fingers move.

  “Coaler,” Milar whispered.

  “Mmm?” She stroked the muscles of his shoulders, down his chest.

  “Why am I the only one undressed?”

  Then she squealed as Milar tossed her over onto her back and tugged t
he rest of her jumpsuit off. Then he was kissing her from above, gently lowering his weight, pinning her once more to the mattress. Tatiana moaned, pressing her body to his impatiently.

  The intercom of the ship suddenly made them both jolt. “Milar, if you’re on the ship, you asshole, get up here and tell me what the hell happened.”

  “Shit!” Milar cried, dodging for his pants like a teenager caught necking in his mother’s basement. Tatiana had to laugh.

  Milar, holding his clothes to his groin, blushed a deep scarlet. “He’ll come looking for us,” he blurted.

  Still giggling, Tatiana gestured at the door. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

  Milar threw on his pants and bolted from the room.

  Taking a peek at the clock, Tatiana flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She took a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh. It had been the best thirty minutes of her life. She still felt the electricity pulsing where he had touched her, leaving tingles of warmth in its wake.

  Next time, Tatiana thought, I don’t care if the ship’s about to explode. He’s finishing what he started.

  Chapter 37

  Hijacked

  The man tapped the base of Joel’s brainstem with the cold barrel of his rifle. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Prickling, Joel gestured at the ground through the viewfinder. “I’m putting you down with the others so I can go back for those kids.” Scattered amongst the trees, he could see huddled groups of eggers he had dropped off from earlier runs, watching them hover.

  “Bullshit,” the man—Corey, he had called himself—said. He pressed the icy metal barrel against Joel’s shorn scalp once more. “You’re taking us to Silver City.”

  Joel tensed in his shoulder harness, thinking of Magali. “That’s almost three hours from here.”

  “The smuggler can add,” Corey laughed. “Good for you.” The two rifle-bearing women who had taken up positions leaning against the wall of the cockpit behind him snickered.

  “Listen,” Joel said, thinking of Magali, “This is a fast ship. You have no idea how fast. I can get you to a nearby town, someplace like South Fork or Thirtymile, in under ten minutes. When they go looking, the Nephyrs are gonna check places like Sand Hills and Bridgetown. I’ll put you down an extra four hundred miles out from that. You’d be safe there.”