Outlaw

by Angela Verdenius

  “We’ve found our enemy,” Tenia muttered.

  “He’ll pay with his life.” Reya folded her arms, her head tipped back slightly as she gazed out through the space shield at the black void of space filled with stars.

  There was no doubt in Tenia’s mind what needed to be done. What choice had to be made.

  And there were many reasons for the choice she made in that moment.

  Slowly, a little bleakly, she said, “Or we will die trying.”

  They gazed at each other, then Reya reached out to rest her hand on her younger sister’s shoulder. “Freedom or death.”

  “Freedom or death,” Tenia echoed.

  And loss. She could feel it already, the ache in her heart at the realisation of what her choice meant.

  But it had to be.

  There was nothing more to be said.

  Reya looked at her with a rare show of compassion before her expression grew cold again, and she nodded.

  Silently, they returned to their cabins.

  ~ * ~

  The next day passed quietly. While her sister was busily planning for escape, Tenia grappled with the knowledge that she was going to leave the man she loved.

  For the first time, she questioned Garret to find out exactly how the traders had rescued her and Reya. When she discovered how the traders had stormed the bounty hunters with no regard for their own safety, guilt weighed heavily upon her. She’d never wanted to endanger them.

  Unable to settle, she restlessly prowled around the ship, managing to avoid spending too long with Darvk.

  He glanced at her quizzically several times but seemed to accept that she needed time alone, not pressing her though she felt his regard keenly. Each time she’d smile reassuringly at him in an attempt to waylay his concerns.

  Night came and she greeted it with relief, the thought of sleeping through the lonely hours a welcome one. However, even sleep escaped her. Long after the corridor lights had dimmed and everyone was asleep, she tossed and turned in her bunk. Finally she gave up and lay reading instead.

  A soft knock on the door had her glancing up expecting Reya, but when her sister didn’t walk in she got up and opened the door. Her heart leaped at the sight of Darvk standing in the dim corridor. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” He smiled a little, his gaze searching hers. “I saw your light on and wondered if mayhap your wounds were keeping you awake.”

  “Not at all. I just can’t sleep.”

  “Do you mind?” He gestured to her throat. “I didn’t check it today.”

  “Of course not.” She stepped aside to allow him entrance.

  Tall, broad-shouldered, the warmth of his skin was evident as he passed mere inches from her, and she couldn’t help but skim her eyes down his figure. Brawny, big, rugged, he oozed masculinity.

  Or maybe that was just because she was attracted to him in a very earthy way.

  Following him to the centre of the cabin, she stood quietly as he turned to smile warmly down at her, causing her heart beat to quicken.

  Oh God, he had the power to take her breath away, to make her blood go sluggish and hot.

  Darvk took her wrist carefully in one big hand, tilting it to inspect the healing skin. With a nod of satisfaction, he inspected the other wrist, placing his palm supportively beneath her arm.

  She felt a tingle go through her at just the touch.

  “Are they very sore?” he asked quietly.

  “What?” Blinking, she refocussed. “I mean, no.”

  “Are you sure?” His palm slid up her arm a couple of inches.

  A couple of very skin-tingling inches.

  “Certain.”

  “You wouldn’t tell me even if they were sore, would you?”

  “I’ve had worse.” She forced her breathing to remain steady.

  Taking her smaller hands in his, Darvk rubbed his thumbs on the back of them. “Aye, you’ve had worse, but this shouldn’t have happened while you were with me.” The rakishly handsome face was strong in the light of the cabin. Casting shadows on parts of his face, the light caressed his cheekbones.

  The way her fingers itched to do.

  Shutting her eyes briefly, Tenia took a deep breath. Instead of producing the desired result all she managed to do was inhale his scent - clean male and soap, yes, but also that unique masculine scent that was solely his.

  Releasing her hands, he used one finger under her chin to tilt her head slightly so that he could study the bruising around the slender throat.

  His eyes were full of regretful recrimination. ““Does it hurt very much, lass? Truthfully?”

  “No.” Unable to bear the unhappiness on his face, Tenia smiled reassuringly. “The bruising is minimal and the swelling decreased thanks to Kiile’s cream.”

  The thick, black lashes lowered, hiding the vivid blue of his eyes as his fingers left her chin to slide lightly down the side of her throat, skimming as light as gossamer before coming to a stop at the base.

  Heat blossomed inside her in the wake of the tender caress.

  “Are you sure?” His voice was low.

  “Yes,” she replied huskily.

  There was no denying that his touch was fanning to life the embers of desire, tiny flames licking through her body to heat her blood. Unconsciously she shifted forward slightly, her soft lips parting in unspoken invitation.

  Instantly he responded, cupping the back of her head with one hand to draw her against him.

  Their lips met, moulding together fiercely, almost desperately, breath mingling as their kiss deepened.

  Slipping her hands beneath the open vest, she skimmed her hands around his waist and up his sides. Warm skin was interrupted by an irregularity, and she jerked back to stare up into smouldering eyes. “You were injured?”

  “What? Oh, ‘tis just a scratch.” He reached for her again.

  She evaded him. “Let me see.”

  “‘Tis nothing.”

  Fear replaced passion. “It happened in Oslow, didn’t it?”

  “Aye, but ‘tis not bad. I’ve had worse.” He grinned down at her. “So have you, remember?”

  “Let me see.”

  With a sigh, he shrugged out of the vest and half-turned, raising his arm to expose the white self-adhesive patch.

  It wasn’t huge, but it was bad enough.

  “I’m so sorry.” She swallowed. “You could have been killed because of us.” Unbidden, a lump rose in her throat, tears blurring her vision at the horrible knowledge that the rescue attempt could have gone so very, very wrong.

  Sliding his arms around her waist, he pulled her close. “Don’t upset yourself, lass, this isn’t your fault. Besides, compared to what you suffered on the gallows, this is but a scratch.”

  The wound wasn’t bad, true, but it exposed the brutal truth. Next time he might not be so lucky. Danger and death stalked Darvk and his loyal crew as long as she and Reya were with them.

  The harsh clarity of the patched wound reinforced the correctness of her decision to leave. Neither the man she loved nor the crew who’d become her friends were going to die because of her. To save them, she must leave; then if she were to die, at least she’d know they were alive and safe.

  The decision was the correct one, but it brought her no comfort, and she clung to the big trader who held her so tenderly, her throat aching with suppressed tears.

  His voice rumbled against her ear. “I think you need to rest, my love.”

  “Buying me has caused you a lot of trouble, Darvk.” Her voice trembled with emotion. “Undoubtedly it was the sorriest day of your life.”

  Silence greeted this and stretched on, but he didn’t let her go, just cradled her against him as though she were some fragile woman and not a warrior.

  He moved slowly, bending over her. “Nay, not the sorriest, lass.” He lowered his head, his lips brushing her cheek. “That day holds special meaning for me.” She shivered as his breath stirred the small tendrils of hair near her ear. “That day I found a
warrior with an indomitable spirit.”

  His hand slowly trailed up her arm, the touch of the calloused palm combined with the silky firmness of his sensuous lips on her temple eliciting little sparks of fire deep inside her.

  Raising his head, Darvk looked into her eyes. “That day I found the lass I would fall in love with.”

  As the word registered, she froze. “What?”

  “I love you, Tenia.”

  “You love me?”

  His smile was brilliant. “Aye, I love you.”

  Stunned, she stared up at him.

  Eyes warm, tenderness in the vivid blue depths, Darvk simply watched her, waiting patiently, seemingly not in the least perturbed by her reaction.

  Slowly, the realisation of what he said, what he meant, and most especially the sincerity in his eyes, seeped past the shock, replacing it with warmth.

  This big trader really loved her.

  Loved her as she…as she…She inhaled slowly, deeply.

  Darvk smiled slightly, eyes crinkling at the corners, but there was a slight wariness creeping into his expression at her continued silence.

  There was no doubting he was uncertain of her response.

  Stars, she wasn’t certain how she should respond, either. There was no doubting her feelings, her emotions, but she’d never expected him to actually fall in love with her. It was unexpected, a dream come true, a…gift.

  A gift she returned, a gift she also felt.

  Looking up at Darvk, she marvelled at how her love for him had grown without her even realising fully what it was, had grown past friendship, past anything she knew, but it was undeniable.

  Reaching up, she touched the rugged cheek. “I love you, too.”

  The delight and relief that flashed across his face gave her joy in return, but also pain. Pain because she was leaving him instead of staying to forge a life together.

  Because there could be no life together, not when her very presence could mean his death.

  What she felt must have shown in her eyes, because concern flickered across his face. “Tenia, what-” His words were stopped by her hand pressing gently against his mouth.

  “Don’t ask questions,” she said softly. “Just love me.”

  Gently, he drew her hand down. “What troubles you, lass?”

  The best lies were those that held the most truth. “I’m an outlaw.”

  “On Daamen, you will be free.”

  “Do you honestly think your family can accept an outlaw?”

  “Aye.” He nodded. “We’re not like so many others, lass. We accept people on their merit, not their past. I believe you’re innocent, and my family will believe it. My intentions once back on Daamen is to get help to prove that innocence.”

  The man had her heart melting, and her heart would have been filled to overflowing with happiness if she didn’t know that dreams were already crumbling before they even began. Dreams were not for her, not for an outlawed warrior whom death followed. There could be no future with this man she loved, for she planned to be away from this ship when it landed on Argon. In all likelihood she’d never see Darvk again, not after betraying hm in the worst possible way even if it was to save his life.

  Because he’d never know that.

  Tonight, though, he was hers, tonight and every night until she escaped. It was all she could ever have.

  Looping her arms around his neck, she rose on tip-toe to whisper against his lips, “Take me now, Darvk.”

  Heat flared in his eyes, his words deep, husky, as his arms slid around her. “You turn my blood to molten lava. You make me burn for you with an inner fire every time you touch me. I ache with desire when you simply look at me out of those bewitching eyes.”

  The words were branded into her mind and heart as surely as the branding iron had burned his name into the flesh of her thigh. Words to be retrieved and remembered in the lonely hours that would come too soon.

  “Whatever happens, Darvk, know that I love you.” She pushed the glossy black hair back from his face.

  “Nothing will happen, my love.” Softly he kissed her. “I’ll not let anyone hurt you ever again.”

  She gave a half laugh, barely managing to suppress the sadness. “Who will protect you from being hurt?”

  “Why, my warrior wench, of course.” Tenderly, he nuzzled her cheek.

  “Of course.” She hugged him tighter. “I intend to see that no one hurts you again.”

  He acknowledged her words with a possessive kiss, a meeting of lips and heat, his taste flooding her as he plundered the depths of her mouth.

  Heat swamped her, desire spiking as one big hand cupped her breast. Instantly her nipple hardened, pressing into his palm through the cotton of the nightgown. When he flexed his hand, she gave an involuntary gasp of pleasure that was swallowed by his mouth still over hers.

  He groaned deep, a purr of satisfaction that growled through him and into her, the carnal need of the sound making her knees weak.

  When he lifted his mouth from hers, she almost whimpered with the loss of delicious contact.

  Drawing a deep breath, he took her hand and led her out into the corridor.

  It was the last thing she expected. “Where are we going?”

  “To my cabin.”

  “Why?”

  “To ensure we’re not disturbed.”

  So, he hadn’t forgotten about Reya sleeping in the cabin close by.

  Definitely not wanting her sister to walk in on her and Darvk making love, Tenia was more than willing to go to his cabin.

  As she walked beside him, it gave her time to cool a little, to get her thoughts in order, and as they entered his cabin she suddenly realised something and stopped.

  Quizzically, he turned to look down at her as the door shut. “What’s wrong, lass?”

  “Um…” A little embarrassed, she glanced away and cleared her throat.

  Giving her time, he waited patiently.

  Taking a deep breath, she looked at him. “I can’t get pregnant.”

  “Nay, you can’t,” he agreed. “We have a way to go yet to prove your innocence. Now is not the time for you to carry our babe.”

  “I have to admit, Darvk, carrying anyone’s babe hasn’t been part of my plan,” she replied bluntly.

  He shrugged easily. “Understandable. Your lifestyle hasn’t been ideal.”

  “So…?”

  “So, I have protection.”

  “And that is what?” she asked cautiously.

  “A SteriImplant, of course.”

  She looked blankly at him.

  “An implant to prevent sterility and STDs.”

  “Ah.” She nodded in relief. “Of course.”

  Pausing, Darvk’s eyes narrowed a little as he studied her.

  A blush stole into her cheeks.

  “Lass, forgive me for asking, but…” He hesitated.

  Moment of truth, it would seem. “Um…” If that was what he was asking. Which maybe he wasn’t.

  Uncertain just exactly how to broach the subject, Tenia felt distinctly out of her depth. If she was facing a soldier, a bounty hunter, a fellow outlaw, a fight, she knew what to do, but this? Not a clue.

  What if she said something and it wasn’t what he was about to ask?

  Darvk’s handsome face gentled as, once again, he seemed to understand her silence. Or possibly he sensed her embarrassment - wait, no, he only had to look at her red cheeks to know something was up.

  Reaching out, he took her hand, brought it up between them, linking his fingers through hers as he stepped close to look down at her.

  No coward regardless of the situation, she met his eyes squarely.

  “Tenia,” he asked softly, “are you a virgin?”

  “I haven’t exactly had time or opportunity to…” Her cheeks were on fire. “Circumstances didn’t lend to romance.”

  “I see.” He tugged her closer, close enough that her breasts grazed his heavy, muscular chest.

  The heat of his
body seeping into her was comforting, heady. She wasn’t sure what to expect in response, but it was a certainty that the feel of those long, strong legs brushing against hers, the heavy muscles bunching in his arms as he moved, just made her want more.

  The small, silver hoop in his ear catching the light added to his roguish air.

  But it was his face that had her melting. The tenderness in his eyes gave her courage, the need he didn’t bother to hide warming her once more, the acceptance and the fact he didn’t question her or withdraw making her smile ruefully.

  “New game for me,” she said a little huskily.

  “Not a game, sweet lass,” he replied just as huskily. “This is us, together. Always us, always together.”

  The words were bitter sweet, but she chose to concentrate on the sweet.

  His other hand disappeared around her back to catch hold of her long plait, drawing it over her shoulder, his palm slipping down the thick length. “Your hair is the colour of golden sunshine.” Pulling the ribbon free, he proceeded to unravel the strands. “So soft and silky. Like your body.”

  He shook it out until it fell in a rippling, golden fall to below her hips. Sliding his arms around her waist, Darvk pulled her close, touching his lips to her temple before he began to glide further down to nuzzle the sensitive spot beneath her ear.

  It felt so right to be in his arms, the hard, ribbed muscle of his abdomen against her.

  When he gathered her nightgown up around her hips, his fingertips traced up her naked skin, a growl of approval slipping free. “Wanton.”

  “It’s how I sleep,” she replied breathlessly. “Naked under a nightgown.”

  “Just how I like it.” He chuckled huskily. “Except that you won’t need nightwear with me. After we’re wed, you can throw them all away.”

  Turning her head, she kissed him, rewarded almost instantly by the way he took her mouth - hot, heavy, demanding, making her blood beat in her pulses.

  His tongue slid deep, plundered, big hands cupping her derrière to pull her up against him so she could feel the hard bulge pressing against her belly.

  It wasn’t enough, her loins flooding with liquid heat, and she kissed harder, deeper, more demandingly.

  “So fiery.” Chuckling in hot approval, he licked deep.

  The man had no idea. Fire was racing through her veins, her body responding almost instantly to his caresses and touch, need sweeping away any lingering embarrassment at being in a man’s arms half naked.