by Anne Kane
“The man who carved each of these scars on my body. Relax. I’ll deal with him.”
He signaled the auctioneer. “Fifty-five thousand.” The crowd let out a collective gasp.
“Sixty thousand.”
Tore laced his fingers through the silky length of Kat’s hair. He swore he could feel her inside his head, calming him, supporting him. Giving him the strength to confront his past. “Sixty-five thousand credits.”
“Seventy thousand. You should know better than to challenge me, Tore.” Drago’s despised voice cut across the crowded room. “I see your scars healed after all. I didn’t think you’d survive that particular punishment.”
Tore rose to his full height, chin held high as he turned to face the demon of his childhood. “I’m no longer the helpless child you amused yourself by torturing, Drago. I suggest you gather your pathetic gang of child abusers and leave quietly. While I’m still in the mood to let you live.”
He stared into the eyes that had haunted him for his entire life. Dead, black pools of evil, they bore into him, looking for a weakness, for something to exploit. He met that gaze and held it, refusing to look away. He could feel Kat’s warm hand on his thigh, feel her in his mind, feeding him her strength as the silent battle of wills raged.
Drago was the first to look away. He dropped his gaze to the floor, and Tore continued to stare at him for a few minutes. Then he turned to the auctioneer. “Seventy-five thousand credits. Final bid. This auction is over.”
The man must have seen something in Tore’s ice-blue eyes that scared him. His eyes widened and his gavel hit the podium for the last time. “Sold to the gentleman for seventy-five thousand credits. That’s all for this round. Buyers, please pay the cashier at the back of the hall before you claim your merchandise.” With a last furtive look at Tore, he hastened off the stage.
Tore grasped Kat by the wrist and helped her to her feet. He turned his head to watch Drago hurry out of the auction hall, his eyes filled with hatred and humiliation. He shook off the urge to follow, to take vengeance for the endless years of pain and torment he’d suffered at Drago’s hands. Now was not the time.
Right now, he had Abbie and Kat to look after. A reluctant smile tugged at his mouth. If Abbie was anything like her twin, he’d have his hands full. He threaded his way up to the stage and picked up the discarded cloak, wrapping it around Abbie’s shoulders, covering her body. She stared at him warily, her wide eyes so much like her twin’s.
Then Kat stepped forward and threw her arms around her sister. “Oh, Abbie! I was so afraid for you.”
Tore stepped back and watched the two. The attendant took a step toward them, but the glare Tore gave him had him remembering pressing business elsewhere.
“This is Tore.” Kat let go of her sister and pulled him forward. “He helped me find you and rescue you.” She paused sheepishly. “Actually, we were going to rescue you but it seemed easier to just buy you.”
Tore cleared his throat, feeling unusually reticent. It mattered to him, whether or not Abbie approved of him. “It’s nice to meet you, Abbie. Kat has told me a lot about you. I don’t want to break up this reunion, but I need to pay the cashier and get you two out of here. The sooner we’re safely back on the ship, the better I’m going to feel.”
“Me too. I’ve had enough of crowds and strangers to last me a lifetime.” Abbie gave him a shy smile. “Nice to meet you, Tore. And thank you.” She pulled at the silver collar at her neck. “Any chance you can make them take this off? I can barely think with it on.” Her eyes widened, focusing on something over his shoulder.
“I bet you think that little witch has the hots for you just because you’re such a big stud, don’t you?”
Tore whirled around to find a smirking Drago right behind him, flanked by two of his cyborg guards.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret. When we screwed around with your DNA, we tried a little concoction to see if we could make a male irresistible to the Stargazer whores. The Council hoped to keep them in line by linking them to males under our control. Looks like that particular experiment was a success.” An oily smirk crossed his disgusting face. “I’ll be sure to inform the Council. I’ll bet the little bitch begs you to do her, doesn’t she?”
Tore snarled softly and turned his back on the man in a deliberate insult. Someday, he’d deal with the asshole, but right now he had more important things to worry about. Drago wasn’t worth the time it would take to teach him a lesson.
Then again…
He pivoted sharply and brought up his right hand, landing a solid punch directly on that supercilious sneer before the startled guards could step in to block him. The satisfying crunch of breaking bone, combined with the high-pitched squeal of agony from his childhood tormentor, brought a satisfied smile to his lips.
* * *
“Dear goddess of light! How do you plan to handle two of them?” Tarik stood beside Tore while Krystal went to introduce herself to Abbie and Kat. The three Stargazers wandered off in the direction of the galley, leaving the men to their own devices.
Tarik and Tore had agreed to travel in tandem until they were out of this galaxy and safe from any chance of attack, especially since Drago was somewhere in the area. Kat suspected that it was just an excuse for the two old friends to spend some time together. Men! They couldn’t just come out and say they missed each other. She felt a warm, melting sensation in the vicinity of her heart as she watched the two.
She turned her attention back to her sister. “So what do you want to do now? Tore and I would be glad to have you aboard ship with us.”
Abbie raised her eyebrow and regarded her twin, an amused smile on her face. “Tore and you? Did I miss something?”
Kat felt her cheeks flush. “Well, I’ll have to work off your purchase price and that’ll take a good long time.” She glanced over at the pirate’s smooth features. He hadn’t said one word about her repaying him.
“Uh huh.” Her sister rolled her eyes. “I’m not that naïve, and besides I can see inside your head. You think he’s yummy.”
Kat giggled. It felt so good to have her sister back. “He is yummy! And he knows exactly what to do with that big body of his.” She changed the subject before Abbie could ask what their plans were. She and Tore needed to have a serious talk. Soon. “So what are your plans?”
Abbie glanced over at Krystal. “I think I’d like to spend some time at Star Haven. I’ve always wanted to know more about the other Stargazers, and it’ll give me some time to decide what path I want to choose.” A shudder ran through her slight body. “After having those reptiles and the slavers handling me like I was an animal, I’m not sure I want anybody touching me for a while.”
Kat tilted her head. “What is Star Haven?”
“A planet colonized by Stargazers.” Krystal joined in the conversation. “They spend their time studying their talents and piecing together our history. Not much is known about the origins of the Stargazers, or why some women exhibit signs of the talent while others don’t.” She smiled gently at Abbie. “It’s also a very good place for a Stargazer to go when she needs a peaceful place to recuperate and decide what she wants to do next. Tarik and I visit there from time to time. The planetary administrator is a good friend of his.”
Abbie nodded. “It sounds perfect. I may not stay there, but I really need time to think, without Mom hovering over me.”
“Well then.” Kat hugged her sister. “I guess Tore and I can drop you off at Star Haven. But first, you’d better contact Mom and tell her you’re okay.”
Chapter Seven
Kat lay sprawled naked on Tore’s sleeping platform, watching him toy with the food replicator. He’d just come out of the cleaning unit, and the towel draped around his hips gave her all sorts of ideas. Most of them involving sweat-slicked bodies sliding against each other. She licked her lips as the towel slipped a fraction of an inch lower. “What are you doing? I’m getting lonely over here.”
“T
his is an old recipe Tarik shared with me. He said it is used as an aphrodisiac on Ancient Earth.”
“Really?” Kat propped herself up on one elbow and tried to see what he was doing. “What’s it called?”
The replicator beeped cheerfully and a tray appeared on the platform. Two long-stemmed glasses full of a light amber bubbly liquid flanked a bowl of bright red round berries with short green stems above a cap of leaves. Kat wrinkled her nose. “What is it?”
“Champagne and strawberries.” Tore deftly scooped up the tray and brought it over to the table by the sleeping platform. Plucking up one of the strawberries, he held it in the air above her mouth. “Open up.” Kat opened her mouth obediently. Tore picked up one of the glasses. Holding the berry by its green stem, he dipped it in the liquid before he held it just above her waiting lips.
An explosion of flavor hit Kat’s taste buds as she crushed the sweet fruit between her teeth. The slightly tart flavor of the champagne made a teasing contrast to the sweet flesh of the strawberry. “Mmmmmm.” She licked her lips. “Yummy.”
A darkly wicked grin lit up Tore’s rugged face. “Feeling like attacking me yet?”
Kat giggled. “Not yet. Maybe you’d better feed me some more.” He picked up the next berry and dipped it into the pale amber liquid, but instead of feeding it to her he popped the tasty morsel into his own mouth. “No fair!” Kat sat up and reached for the tray. “You’re supposed to be feeding me.”
Tore laughed and grabbed her wrist. “I didn’t say that. I just said it was supposed to be an aphrodisiac. Maybe it’ll make me want to attack you.”
“You always want to attack me,” she pointed out. “You don’t need any help.”
Tore pounced onto the sleeping platform, the towel slipping off his hips to expose his cock at full attention. “Then I guess the foreplay is over.” He straddled her hips and leaned forward to pin her hands above her head.
Their gazes locked and Kat went still as she stared into the molten depths of his eyes. Who ever told her blue was a cold color? Heat coiled around her spine as he slowly lowered his head. She found herself staring at his lips. Full. Soft. Sensual. She loved the way he used them. Kissing her with a searing passion. Roving across her bare flesh to taste and tease. And then there was the feel of them clamped on her sex…
His mouth made contact, open and demanding. His tongue thrust in to swirl around hers, sliding along the side in a caress so sensually hot she was amazed she didn’t come on the spot. Ye gods, the man knew how to kiss.
He lifted his head. “So I guess you’re going to become a permanent fixture on the old Sun Runner.” He covered her breasts with the palms of his hands, kneading the tender flesh before he took each nipple between a thumb and forefinger, tweaking just enough to make her gasp.
Kat whimpered and arched up off the sleeping platform as pleasure combined with pain. “You mean because I owe you for rescuing Abbie?” She was having trouble concentrating with darts of liquid heat sliding along her every nerve. “I have some savings, and the rest won’t take that long to work off.”
Tore grinned and sucked the tip of one breast into his mouth, licking the hurt away with his tongue. He moved to the other and repeated the procedure. “Got nothing to do with Abbie. I freed her because I couldn’t bear the thought of you being unhappy, and having your sister sold as a slave definitely didn’t make you happy.”
Kat threaded her fingers through the soft locks of his hair. Following a logical conversation took almost more brainpower than she could muster with his mouth busy at her breast. “Then why am I going to be a permanent resident here?”
He raised his head and those gorgeous blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “Because I’m irresistible to Stargazers and since you’re a Stargazer, you’ll just keep begging me for more.”
Kat frowned. “Doesn’t that bother you? What that evil man said? The Council deliberately manipulated your DNA to make you more useful to them. And more appealing to me.”
Tore grinned, that irresistible little boy grin that made her heart melt. “Honey, they may think they’re all powerful and can influence the outcome of all sorts of things in the universe, but the fact is that you and I were made for each other. No research, no Intergalactic Council, nothing can change that.”
Kat raised her brows. “You are the bossiest, most arrogant male I’ve ever met.” She let a shy smile curve her lips. “Now quit talking and start being irresistible.”
“With pleasure.” He turned his attention back to her breasts, licking and teasing with tiny bites and long wet swipes of his tongue. Kat closed her eyes and let the sensual feel of his tongue and hands wash over her. The sheer carnal pleasure caused her pussy to cream in anticipation.
Tore worked his way lower, his warm, callused palms sliding over every exposed part of her. She bucked and writhed beneath him, flickers of lust dancing across the surface of her skin. He nibbled a circle around her belly button before he paused to explore the shallow indent with his tongue. Kat gasped as a jolt of sheer pleasure lanced through her. “Damn, you are irresistible.”
“Why, thank you.” He slid his hand down and parted the moist lips of her pussy. His questing fingers found the hard nub of her clit, pinching the tight little bundle of nerves between thumb and forefinger.
Kat screamed out an incoherent word as need and lust blasted through her. To hell with the damn foreplay. She wanted that big, thick cock of his buried deep inside her, and she wanted it now.
Tore slid a finger into her wet passage, lifting his head to give her a look that was pure lust. “You’re so hot you’re practically melting.” He raised himself up on muscular forearms and positioned his cock at the entrance to her sex. The swollen head pushed eagerly through the wet folds of her labia, and he grinned darkly at her eager whimper.
Slowly, he started to thrust his thick shaft into her, inch by inch, driving her mad with want and need. She arched her back, trying to take more, trying to force him deeper inside her, but he refused to be hurried. “Fuck me, damn it!” Frustration edged her voice.
“I am.” He had the nerve to sound amused. If she weren’t so desperate to feel the hard length of him buried up to the balls in her sex, she would have slapped him.
“Faster. Harder.” Damn, he shouldn’t be needing direction. The teasing feel of that swollen head working its way deeper was driving her insane with need.
“You need to learn patience.”
But she could hear the strain in his voice. He wanted this every bit as much as she did. She opened her eyes to look into the beloved deep blue of his. “I can’t wait to feel my pussy clench tight around that huge cock when you drive it balls-deep into my hot tight channel.” She darted her tongue out to wet her lips.
“Witch!” He reared back and drove his cock into her eagerly waiting sex with one hard thrust, forcing her channel to stretch to accommodate his massive girth.
Kat howled in lustful abandon and wrapped her legs around his waist, meeting him thrust for hard, deep thrust as he pounded into her. The musky smell of aroused male and the feel of flesh sliding hard against her combined to inflame her senses. She could feel her orgasm starting deep within her belly, liquid fire rolling through her body as each stroke of his cock drove her higher and higher.
He pulled back, his lips descending to hers in a kiss that seared her to her soul. He thrust back in through her wet folds, driving his cock deep, and her climax spun through her, wave after crashing wave of indescribable pleasure. She screamed his name out against his mouth as his hot seed bathed the tight walls of her pussy. She arched her back, making sure she had every wonderful inch of him. Her sex clenched around his shaft, rippling in sensuous waves.
“Sweet goddess of light!” She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. They lay tangled in each other’s arms while their breathing slowly returned to normal. Kat rested her head on his naked chest, his heartbeat echoing soothingly in her ear.
When her breathing finally returned to n
ormal, she slanted a look up at him. Her lover. Her partner. “Does it bother you, what that horrible man said?”
He nuzzled the top of her head. “What did he say?”
“That they bioengineered you so I’d want you? So that any Stargazer would want you?”
Tore laughed. “Drago is a consummate liar. He can say whatever he wants, it doesn’t make it true. You want me because I have a yummy body, and I know exactly how to use it.”
Kat gasped, spluttering indignantly. “You were eavesdropping!”
“No,” he corrected her smugly. “I have enhanced hearing, which means I heard you bragging about me to your sister and Krystal. I’m sure the word yummy was used. More than once.”
Kat felt a reluctant grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. “I might have been talking about your cooking.”
Tore raised one sculpted eyebrow. “I don’t cook. I program the replicator.”
Kat giggled. “Things seem to sizzle when you come near me.”
“Yes, they do.” He tilted her chin up with one finger and gave her a very thorough kiss. “And it had nothing to do with Drago or the research facility or the experiments they tortured me with.”
He propped himself up on one elbow to look directly into her eyes, his expression sober. “You are the most amazing female I have ever met. When I’m with you I feel so many things that I never thought I’d ever feel. Hope. Happiness. Contentment. But most of all, I feel love. For you. I know you deserve better. Hell, after everything they did to me I’m not entirely human, but I promise, if you stay with me, I will do everything in my power to make you happy, and to protect you and provide for you.”
Kat could see the uncertainty in his eyes as he held his breath waiting for her reply. She’d gone looking for her sister, and in the process found the keeper of her heart, the other half of her soul. She reached up to trace the outline of his lips with one finger. “Of course I’ll stay.” Her voice quavered with emotions she couldn’t quite control. “I love you too.”