Good-looking and muscled, the man smiled and spun in a slow circle. “What do you think?”
“Not bad,” Vin said. “Why haven’t you materialized before?”
“I didn’t realize I had holographic abilities. I recently gained access to the programs.”
Armond walked onto the bridge a moment later and stood in Marty.
“Excuse you!” Marty stepped to the left and glared at Armond.
“Is a holographic form necessary?” Armond asked.
Marty’s hip jutted out to the left. “It adds flair, and you two need some.” He flicked his wrist at Armond and blinked out.
“I have plenty of flair, thank you very much,” Vin said. She turned to Armond, “We have a complication.”
Armond slid into the captain’s chair. “What is it?”
“Marty just informed me there’s no land on Omagar. It’s a water planet.” Vin retook her seat.
“Marty, pull up a holo on the planet’s information,” Armond said.
An aquamarine orb came into view on the projection. To the right was a list of statistics, facts, and figures regarding the planet.
“Hey,” Vin slapped the console. “Not five minutes ago you told me you didn’t have anything else.”
“I do not recall that request,” Marty’s electronic voice replied.
“Liar,” Vin said.
“I am incapable of lying.” He stood behind her now, hands on hips.
She flipped him off with thumb, index, and pinky extended.
“What does that mean?” Armond asked.
“Let’s just say it’s not very polite. First thing I asked him when I got here was for information and he said he didn’t have any.”
“I am incapable of—”
“Oh, shut up.” Vin leaned closer to read the data. “Breathable oxygen. Seriously high saline content in the water. And algae. There’s thousands of varieties of micro-organisms. Marty, are any of those things dangerous to us?”
“Negative.”
She looked at Armond and shrugged. “He’s right about the water. Completely covered, but surprisingly shallow in most places.”
“Very shallow,” Armond agreed. “The planet is nearly five times the size of Earth and has less than two percent of the water content.”
“Where’s Earth?” Vin scrolled through the data.
“Back in my own galaxy.”
“Is it pretty?”
“I suppose it would be considered as such.”
“But, what do you think?” She flashed him a smile, and realized it was something he had never done.
“I do not think in such terms.”
“You sound like Marty.” But he was no computer.
The image on the hologram rotated, and a red dot blinked.
“I believe this is where you will find your next objective,” Marty said.
They were coming in on the opposite side of the planet. She ran the calculations through the nav. “We’re thirty minutes out.” She turned to Armond, “Maybe this isn’t the up challenge but the down. I assume we can simply hover over the water’s surface?”
“Will do,” Armond adjusted their approach.
“I’m afraid that is not correct.” Marty said. His voice had an odd inflection to it, and his holographic form stood inspecting its fingernails.
“We should have no problem maintaining a stationary position.” Armond scanned through a screen on the console.
“Our minimum distance from the surface is three hundred and twelve feet.”
“There is no reason why we can’t—”
“It’s not the ship,” Vin interrupted. “It’s the contest, right Marty?”
“That is correct.”
“Is the ship equipped with a shuttle?” Armond asked.
“Yes, but you are not allowed to use it.”
“How do we get down?” Vin found the AI increasingly annoying.
“I suggest you take an inventory of the contents of locker sixteen in the cargo bay.” Marty sounded downright cheerful.
“I’m starting to really not care for this little AI piece of shit.” She had to laugh when the holograph that was Marty momentarily morphed into a large brown pile of excrement. Vin stood and stretched her arms over her head, then folded forward and touched her toes. When she straightened, Armond watched her with singular intensity.
“You should try it. Feels good.”
“I get a sufficiency of exercise.”
“I noticed.” And he’d touched nearly every inch of her. She shuddered at the thought. Pity she didn’t remember any of it.
They made their way down to the cargo bay. Unlike the rest of the ship, this was bare bones. Lockers lined one wall, and they went to number sixteen.
Inside was a harness.
“That’s it?” Vin peered closer. “Ah.” Coiled at the bottom was a white filament. She reached down and retrieved it. “How much you want to bet this is just long enough?”
“Is it strong enough to hold me?”
“Honey, this can hold far more than you. It’s called Trache Filament. They use it to make orbital lifts, among other things.”
“We need to measure it.” Armond fingered the thin material.
It took them a while, but they determined it was approximately six hundred and fifteen feet. “Convenient.” Vin recoiled the rope.
“At least you don’t have to go down,” Armond said. “I can rig up a pulley, lower myself, and retrieve it with my psi.”
“I hope so, but I’m not buying it. Not yet.” It was too easy. She knew how this worked.
They returned to the bridge. On the viewscreen, clouds covered the planet. They descended as close as they could above their target, and set a stationary position.
“Wow.” Vin amplified the image. The water glowed in tiny rippling waves. “Bioluminescence.”
“I believe we are directly over the object,” Marty reported. “It appears to be fifteen feet under the surface. It is also surrounded by the crystals found in the caves on Omagar.”
“The pink ones or blue?” Armond asked.
“Pink,” Marty replied.
“Those crystals mean you can’t use your psi, doesn’t it?” Vin asked, her gut tightening.
Armond nodded.
“Fifteen feet isn’t bad. You can use a breather helmet,” Vin said.
“Negative,” Marty said in a sing-song voice weirdly reminiscent of Candi. “Not permitted during this task.”
“Fine. You can swim, right? Assuming the critters living in that soup don’t kill you.” She went for humor.
Armond turned to her. His face was the same mask as always, and yet something subtle clued her in. She closed her eyes and blew out a breath as the fear climbed up her gut. “You can’t swim.”
“Correct.”
It had to be like this. It’s why everyone loved the show. She imagined trying to descend on that filament. “I don’t have the upper body strength to get down and back up again.”
“I do.”
“And there it is. The shot the network is looking for. You harnessed in and holding me. They’re evil.” But like the sponge scene, this would be ratings gold. She couldn’t think about it. Simply had to do it. She eyed his strong arms and broad chest. That’s what she’d focus on. Being in Armond Nolde’s arms. “Let’s get this over with. I’m going to put on some shorts.”
“I’ll meet you in the airlock.”
Vin changed into shorts and a short-sleeved top. The floor was cold on her bare feet.
Armond waited for her. Surprisingly, he wore shorts as well, and a black tee shirt. Legs for days. They fastened the harness to him. The damn thing was nearly too small, but they got it secured.
Vin grabbed a handhold and opened the outer door. A wave of damp heat hit her in the face. She forced herself to peek over the edge to the water below. Her stomach dropped, and she fought panic. She spun and faced Armond. She could do this. Had to do it. Her fear would be her strength.
Her heart hammered as he readied the pulley.
He stood and faced her, arms crossed and muscles bulging. Good, strong muscles that were going to keep her alive. She hoped.
“You appear to be in distress,” Armond said.
She scowled at him. “Not my idea of a good time.”
He gave her his standard curt nod. “I’ve rigged up an extra strap. You’ll be able to sit on it. You’ll need to wrap yourself around me while I secure it. I’d prefer you keep your arms and legs around my body as an added measure of security.”
She burst out laughing just as a vidbot buzzed by outside. If this were any other man, she’d accuse him of manipulating the situation, but this was Armond, and that was simply logical.
“Are you ready?” Marty stood leaning against the bulkhead, arms and ankles crossed.
“Almost,” Vin said. “I have to jump.”
“I could simply lift you with psi,” Armond said.
“Better this way. Ratings.”
Armond dropped his arms and widened his stance. The vidbot zoomed in closer.
The viewers were going to love this. She wiped her palms on her shirt. “On the count of three. One, two…three.” She took four steps and leapt, wrapping her legs around his waist on impact.
He caught her easily and had the strap under her ass in no time.
“Try your weight on it.”
Vin loosened the grip on her legs and settled into the sling. “Looks like we’re good.” She was inches away from his face, that hint of spice and musk surrounding her.
The pesky vidbot zoomed around them like a gnat on Tibor, spending a ridiculous amount of time on her backside before popping up by their faces.
Armond reached out with insane speed and sent it flying out the airlock.
Being wrapped around him like this had that odd resonance humming inside her. She hooked her ankles together behind Armond’s back, and couldn’t resist the urge to take hold of his pony tail and twirl it around her fingers. The bot was hovering off to the left, soaking it all up.
“I’d tell you to smile since we’re being recorded, but I know better. You have really soft hair. I’d love to braid it for you sometime.”
Without warning, his psi enveloped them as it had in the cave on Altaria, and they lifted off the floor and drifted out the airlock.
Vin plastered herself to Armond and buried her face in his neck. She was simultaneously terrified and enraptured by a feeling of intense pleasure. She breathed him in.
Gravity returned as he eased off the psi and let them down with the pulley.
“Probably best to keep your eyes closed,” Armond said in her ear.
The pleasure had tapered off substantially, but his psi did things to her. Things she liked. She remembered the orgasm she’d had when he’d healed her. Keeping her eyes closed was definitely the way to go. She tightened her grip and inhaled. He smelled so damn good.
The constant motion of his strong arms as he lowered them was almost a caress.
Without thinking, she pressed her lips to his skin and licked.
His movement faltered, and they dropped.
She screamed, and held tight as they fell.
Intense concern for her safety washed over her. Armond’s concern. For her. A surge of his power erupted and she instinctively redirected it, felt it as it flowed around them and into the water below.
They slammed to a halt as an explosion of salty water drenched them from beneath. She opened her eyes and looked down to find they were less than a foot from the water’s surface.
“Was that my fault?”
His face was expressionless, but his eyes shone with intensity. “Yes.”
“It felt good, though, didn’t it? When I tasted you.”
The vidbot zipped around them, this time out of Armond’s reach.
“We connected again just now. Your power didn’t hurt us. Or me.” She spoke too low for the bot to pick up. “It was nice.” No horrid memories.
She felt his shields slip. Damn if he didn’t want to kiss her.
“You know,” Vin said louder, “there’s a very real chance we won’t survive this.”
“There’s a good chance we won’t survive a kiss,” he whispered. They had two conversations going on, one for the show, and another for them.
“I’m willing to take that chance.” She didn’t wait for an answer as she pressed her lips to his.
There was a moment of hesitation before he devoured her, his psi engulfing them, ricocheting around her energy centers. Dancing, resonating, as a lifetime of longing poured into her.
He stopped abruptly. His face more animated than she’d ever seen, with amazement written in those eyes. A background buzz built within him.
Another surge of psi blasted her muscles, causing a brief paralysis before she deflected it. She sucked in a breath a moment later.
Amazement had turned to terror on Armond’s face. “Tell me you’re ok.”
“Yeah, I’m okay. What is that?”
“That is the reason I will never kiss you again.”
“Um, yeah, no. That doesn’t work for me.” What he did to her, that kiss. Going backwards wasn’t an option. She could fix this.
“Pardon,” Marty said. “I hate to interrupt your moment of intimacy, especially since the viewers will be eating this up, but there is a rather large disturbance heading your way. It will be at this location in approximately four point three minutes. I suggest you expedite your progress.”
“What kind of disturbance?” Armond asked.
“It is wave of increasing size. Apparently it is a common periodic phenomena on this world. It does, in fact, account for the anomalous orbit of the planet and the height limitation of the ship.”
“What do you mean a wave?” Vin asked. “The water is shallow.” She glanced down and her heart stopped. “Oh no. It’s getting shallower.”
“That is correct. The wave is pulling the water into the crest it’s forming. It’s quite impressive. The ship is at a safe distance. You, however, are not.”
“Shit.” She tightened her legs and lifted so Armond could unfasten the sling. “You sure you can reach me?”
“I will reach you.” His voice had gone cold again. Emotionless. The strap fell to the side.
“Just so you know,” Vin said, noting that the bot was close. “That was not the last time you are going to kiss me.”
She let go and dropped. The water was almost too hot.
“You’re directly over the object,” Armond called down.
She took four deep breaths, held the last, and dove. The water stung her eyes, but the visibility was good. Too good. They were in trouble. The crystals weren’t just surrounding the box. She grabbed it and pushed off back to the surface. She wiped her eyes and held up the box. “We have a problem.”
His psi wrapped around her. Her breath caught as pleasure rippled through her, but he couldn’t get a grip on her. Not with the crystal-encased box she held in her hand.
“You are correct,” Armond said. “A very large problem.”
Vin preferred the previous look of amazement to the emotion written on Armond’s face now. It was fear. “What do we do?”
There was a long pause before he shouted down. “Drop it. We’re done.”
“Wrong answer. Try again.”
His anger was somehow comforting as he called down to her. “Can you read my feelings now, holding the box?”
A wave of concern hit her hard. “Loud and clear.”
“Your psi isn’t affected by the crystal. Perhaps I can use it to bring you up.”
“I can’t do that shit with my psi. I’m an empath, remember?”
“You can’t do it, but maybe I can. It means you’ll be fully exposed again. To me. Are you ready for that?”
“I do not wish to cause any further duress,” Marty was downright giddy, “but you have approximately thirty-eight seconds.”
“Give me your psi!”
She had no idea what that meant, but she dropped every shield she had and tried to walk toward him. The familiar psi wrapped around her, struggling to grab hold. He had her, then slipped. Had her again, lifted, and slipped again. This time the retreating water sucked her legs out from under her and she fell face down, slamming into the sandy bottom, clawing for a hold.
The water sucked her out.
“Don’t let go of the box,” Armond shouted, following overhead. “And drop the rest of your defenses.”
Anger burst within. If she had any defenses up, she wasn’t in control of them. An old trick from her training days came to mind.
She screamed for all she was worth. It worked. Whatever was left shattered, and she was awash in Armond’s thoughts. He tried to compartmentalize every emotion going through him, but keeping her safe was first and foremost.
Armond’s mind skittered across everything he’d been, everything he was, everything he might be.
A couple flashed before her. A dark haired, roguish male and auburn-haired woman. Smiling, laughing.
She nearly dropped the box as she rose off the sand, fumbled then caught it. She crashed into Armond and he shouted. “Marty, go! Get us out of here. Marty!” He yanked on the pulley. They were ascending, but not fast enough.
Nearly clear of the crest, the wall of water slammed into them. Armond had her by the waist, but the force of the water was relentless. No air in her lungs, she had to breathe. It was a battle she couldn’t win. Her chest spasmed and her lungs filled with water. They broke the surface and Armond squeezed her. She coughed up mouthful after mouthful as they rose above the wave top.
The ship did a rapid descent to scoop them up, and her lungs were on fire as they slammed into the airlock floor, her arms curled around the box. Nausea swept over her as she continued coughing. The water was bitter and mixed with bile. But they were in. With the box.
Armond’s barriers returned, and she was overwhelmed with the emptiness left behind.
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