Quantum

by Jess Anastasi

  In that second, even as she came apart and felt him coming deep inside her, she’d never felt so physically connected to someone, the pinnacle hitting heights she’d never experienced before with another man, leaving her trembling and breathless.

  Blissful languor flowed through her, relaxing her muscles, and she let herself fall limp in his hold.

  Zander sighed, the sound deep with contentment, and lowered them both back to the rock. Droplets of rain pricked her in the few places he wasn’t covering her, and she shivered as the brisk temperature registered on her cooling skin, despite the shallow flow of heated water around them.

  Zander lifted his head and glanced at the sky, diamond beads of water dusting his already wet hair. “We should get inside and dry off before it gets much colder.”

  Another tremor raked down her spine, and she crossed her arms against the chill. A glance to the left revealed the thermal blanket she’d brought down to dry off with had become too wet in the steady rain.

  “Since I ended up stuck in the water far longer than I wanted, getting dry sounds like a great idea.” She sat up as Zander moved back, and the cooling air and cold rain hit her full force.

  Goose pimples raced over her skin as she stood, ready to make a dash to their cave. Before she could take a step, Zander wrapped his arms around her and scooped her up against his chest.

  “I told you, my foot is fine.” Even as she said the words, she wound her arms around his shoulders, because the heat of his body chased away the cold.

  He shrugged but didn’t answer as he climbed the slight slope of the rocks.

  Inside the cave, Zander lowered her to stand near the fire and then went to fetch another thermal blanket from the packs. As he turned and came back toward her, heated anticipation lit his eyes as his gaze swept over her body. An answering swell of desire throbbed through her, riveting her when he stopped in front of her and dropped to his knees.

  Her breath caught as he smoothed the cloth over her skin, methodically drying her, starting at her neck and working his way downward. With each caress, her flesh became more and more sensitive, until the rasp of the material became too much. God, she wanted to feel his large, warm hands moving over her skin instead, wanted to press herself shamelessly against the unyielding hardness of his muscles, despite the fact they’d only been together moments ago.

  Once he finished with her feet, leaving her dry apart from her hair, she reached for the blanket. Instead of handing it to her, he spread it out over the sand next to the fire.

  “Aren’t you cold? I could dry you, if you want.”

  He grinned at her, the first real smile she’d seen from him since they’d met in the spaceport, probably because she’d sounded so damn eager.

  “I’m mostly dry, and no, I’m not cold.” He moved down to the blanket and then reclined, folding his arms behind his head.

  She swallowed, taking in the picture of virility. Oh, mama. She’d been with a few men over the years, had a couple of serious relationships that hadn’t lasted, but none of them could compare to Zander. The man was in a league of his own.

  And how will I ever look at him again without picturing him like this? Firelight flickering over the muscled planes of his body, waiting to give me everything I want.

  She wouldn’t be able to, because this image was searing into her mind.

  Slowly, she dropped into a crouch and then crawled forward, reveling in the way he stared hungrily at her. She moved over his body, until they were face-to-face.

  “Hi,” he murmured, sliding a hand around to the back of her neck, where his fingers tightened a little at the base of her skull.

  “Hi,” she returned as she leaned toward him.

  Zander pulled her down the short distance between them, and their mouths fused together in a luscious kiss. Beneath her palms, where she braced them against his pecs, his muscles tensed and rippled against her skin.

  His fingers drifted from her neck, along her spine, making her want to arch into his caress. He stopped at her waist, both of his hands gripping her hips and urging her back. Currents of pleasure shot out in the wake of his touch.

  She didn’t need any more hints than that. As she shifted back, she reached down and took his erection in a gentle grip. Zander hissed out a breath, followed by a groan as she slid her fingers down to the base.

  Giving him pleasure, seeing him enjoy himself, was satisfying in its own right.

  His gaze caught hers, and the intensity in his eyes made her heart skip a beat.

  “Are you just going to tease me, or is this leading somewhere?” The unevenness of his voice made her pulse pick up speed.

  She guided him to her core and lowered herself. “Is this what you want?”

  “God, yes.” As he shifted restlessly beneath her, his hands tightened where they held her hips.

  She released her grip on him and took him all the way inside, sighing in relief. Tension built at the resulting swell of ecstasy within her. She started up a rhythm, rocking against him and holding his gaze.

  Watching him, with him watching her, their gazes locked on each other, made the rest of the world fall away, placing her somewhere intimate, where each second created invisible ties that bound them together.

  Sensation built in her chest, making it hard to breathe. Yeah, she’d decided to throw herself into this moment with him, to enjoy whatever short time they had together. But as she stared down into the depths of his eyes, she wanted more…more than the secrets and half-truths leading to her inevitable betrayal.

  She wished they could have met under different circumstance, that they’d had a chance to establish something true and real between them. Instead, she could only close her eyes and hold on to the fleeting physical pleasure.

  But this time, the momentary rapture didn’t leave her feeling buoyant. It left her feeling empty.

  Chapter Ten

  Nadira

  The Imojenna was unusually silent when Rian left his cabin, running a hand through his damp hair to shove it off his forehead. As usual, he’d shaved in the shower and then chucked on some random clothes, all without combing his hair since he’d gotten out of bed. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he actually owned a comb. It wasn’t like he gave a good goddamn what he looked like. While he maintained a respectable level of personal hygiene, he never went so far as making sure he actually looked presentable.

  The silence dogged him as he made his way across to the galley. Without the engines running and the rest of the crew either sleeping or passed-out drunk from the festival the night before, he could actually hear the birds chirping outside as dawn touched the horizon.

  As he stepped into the communal room, movement in his peripheral vision at the large central table jacked his system, and he had his pulse pistol out and aimed before he’d taken another step.

  “Good morning to you, Captain.” Ella didn’t look up from the commpad on the table next to her simple breakfast of bread, fruit, and cheese.

  He puffed out an annoyed half breath and shoved his gun away. Apparently Ella hadn’t made her damned Jasmynah tea yet today, and without the scent to forewarn him, he hadn’t expected to see her up and around.

  “Not sleeping in with the rest of the crew?” He continued over to the galley bench and made a coffee.

  “I did not stay out as late as the others.”

  “Of course you didn’t,” he muttered as his mug started filling. He added some brandy for extra flavoring and tossed some bacon in a pan on the cooktop. While his breakfast started sizzling, he went over to the viewer and turned it on, first checking the progress on the stolen Reidar files that Tannin had the ship’s systems translating and then bringing up his daily newsreel. He had the ship’s computer filter all the stories that came through on the Universal News Net, looking for clues that might link to the Reidar.

  One of the first reports that came up caught his attention with sharp, icy talons. Mystery Wreckage: Shuttle Crash Site Discovered in Tocarra Wilderness. />
  A perky brunette news anchor launched into the details—which weren’t many. It was presumed the shuttle crashed shortly after takeoff from the Tocarra spaceport two days ago, but no survivors had been found. The authorities were investigating, as no distress beacon had been activated.

  He stepped nearer to the screen, pausing the reel on an aerial shot of the crash site. Something didn’t look right. There was a long gouge in the earth, as though the shuttle had made one frecking rough landing, but everything within a few hundred feet around what was left of the wreckage was burned. Of course, there was a chance the craft had simply exploded or caught fire after the collision—

  He looked closer, enhancing the picture and focusing on a spot to the top left of the screen. It looked like a second impact site. And he had absolutely no doubt it was the after-burn pattern of a missile.

  God frecking damn it. Somehow he knew—Mae had been on that shuttle. The last message he’d gotten from her had said something about heading to the Swift Brion via Tocarra. It explained why she hadn’t contacted him. Because she’d never made it to the flagship to begin with.

  “Rian?” Ella’s voice jolted him out of the cold rage he’d started sinking into. He looked down to find she’d come over to stand next to him, concern written across her features. “Whatever is going on with you right now, just take a moment to breathe before you go running to do something about it.”

  He flicked the picture off and slammed the remote down on the table then stomped back toward the galley to retrieve the almost-burning bacon.

  “I’ve told you before, princess, stay out of my business.”

  She stared at him, a flash crossing her features that could have been frustration, but nonetheless, she returned to her plate at the table with even steps.

  Half turning and giving her his shoulder, he slapped his bacon between a couple of slices of toast and added more brandy to his coffee then took the plate and cup and headed for the bridge, the fury toward the Reidar tightening his shoulders in arctic waves.

  He set down his breakfast and left it untouched, rotating his seat to the console and tabbing up communications. With a few commands input, he tracked down the Swift Brion, but the ship was too far out of range to get a direct linkup unless he paid the exorbitant fee to have the transmission go through a transit gate.

  Muttering a few colorful curses under his breath, he instead sent a subspace message, which would take at least a day, if not longer, to have Zander comm him ASAP. Whoever or whatever was currently sitting at the helm of the Swift Brion, he’d get some answers. And once he found out what had happened to Mae, so help him god, whoever was responsible would pay in pounds of flesh.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tocarra

  He’d woken to the steady drumming of rain and the body-warming sensation of a woman naked in his arms.

  Zander stared across the cave to the opening that showed a curtain of gray blurring the green of the forest beyond. Mae had woken a while ago but hadn’t moved or spoken. It seemed neither of them was willing to break the last moment of that surreal time after the intimacies they’d shared.

  But if he was going to be totally mercenary, hadn’t his reasoning for letting this happen been so she’d let her guard down and open up to him? Yeah, that plan was working out real well, considering he was the one who’d opened himself up to becoming moronically susceptible to her charms.

  “I was thinking,” he said before he could stop himself, “I’m willing to believe you. That your secrets don’t interfere with us escaping this wilderness alive.”

  She pulled out of his arms, tugging the thermal blanket across her chest and propping herself on an elbow to look down on him. Her gaze was nothing short of assessing as she studied him.

  “So, it’s that easy? We sleep together and suddenly you believe me?” An amused gleam kindled in her eyes. “Well, if I had known that was all it’d take, I would have jumped you the first second I realized you didn’t trust me.”

  He frowned at her, though the conflicting urge to laugh tightened his chest. When she put it like that, it made him sound kind of ridiculous.

  “Seriously, though,” she continued, “if this is your apology, I accept. I can’t blame you for your reaction, considering you’d lost three people and nearly died several times over. You don’t know me, and I can see it was a bad coincidence that everything started going wrong the minute I turned up. I’m glad we can get on and not have that distrustful tension between us anymore.”

  Apologizing wasn’t what he’d had in mind. To survive, sometimes a person had to become the worst version of himself. Sure, he’d done things over the years that might have kept him awake at night if he dwelt on them. But those choices had kept him alive. Since he still didn’t trust her, he wasn’t sorry for the accusations he’d tossed her way. But if she thought he’d apologized, maybe it would work in his favor.

  He cupped her face. “Whatever is going on, whatever you feel like you can’t tell me, I want you to know you can count on me to have your back. I might hold the office of captain admiral, but I’m still just a soldier. I put people before protocol, and I might be able to help you.”

  Her gaze sliced away, but he could see her mind turning over, and a flash of hope flared within his chest. But then she shook her head, and when she looked back at him, the decision had been made, the window of opportunity closed, curtains drawn. The momentary hope went up in flames and crumbled to disappointing ashes.

  “Part of me wants to tell you everything. Maybe we’d be better off if I did. But if I told you, I’d betray someone else’s secrets. I promise, once we get out of this wilderness, I’m pretty sure everything will be much clearer.”

  A hot surge of frustration rolled through him. Apparently, Mae Petros could play politics with the best of them. Maybe she should have been the one with the captain admiral standard on her uniform.

  Instead of letting the aggravation at her fancy verbal footwork get the better of him, he pulled her down, catching her surprised gasp as he took her mouth with his. Straightaway, she all but melted into his arms, a quiet moan of approval escaping her as he pushed the thermal blanket aside to cup her breast. When they talked, things got chaotic and complicated. But this. This was simple. In this, they could find common ground, could agree. And maybe if they spent this rainy morning satisfying each other in the most basic way, he’d forget to be annoyed about her evasiveness when they finished hiking out of the woods later today.

  …

  Civilization. Mae let out a long breath of relief as she broke through the last of the thick brush, putting them a mere hundred or so meters away from an actual building.

  It was late afternoon, and they’d come out of the forest in a residential and touristy-type area, where signs boasted the best hiking and most spectacular scenery in the galaxy. There was even a complex that announced the presence of hot springs in the area. Obviously, the remote one they’d stumbled across wasn’t the only place the heated subterranean water came to the surface.

  “What’s the plan now?” Zander asked as he stopped beside her.

  Zander. After what had passed between them, her mind had fallen into the intimate habit of thinking of him by his first name, but they were about to return to reality, and it was time to nix the inclination.

  She swallowed over the abrupt tightening in her throat. This moment had been hurtling toward her like an asteroid. Now that it had arrived, there was no use being upset or wishing things could be different.

  After last night, and the surprising repeat performance this morning while they’d waited for the rain to clear, she’d almost been able to forget that Zander and she had enough secrets and mistrust between them to fill the cargo hold of a Commodious class hauler. Almost forgotten that her life had totally gone off the rails and she had no plan for the future beyond this little off-the-books assignment she’d taken on for Rian. When the truth came out, Zander was going to hate her for tricking him. And that was assuming
he wasn’t a Reidar after all. Because if he was—

  She forced a smile to cover the sudden churning in her stomach. “Before or after we toss all the leftover MREs into the nearest waste chute?”

  He sent her a half grin and navigated the last rough patch of forest, heading for an honest-to-god footpath. “I think we need to toss everything we’ve got in the nearest waste chute, including our clothes. I’m sick of seeing them.”

  She glanced down at his coat that she’d put on this morning, because the sky had stayed overcast and chilly in the seven hours since they’d left the cave. Yeah, the garment looked a bit on the dirty side, but this was his dress uniform. These things didn’t come cheap. Surely he could just wash it?

  Putting the mundane thought out of her mind, she hurried to catch up with him, where he’d stopped on the deserted sidewalk to wait for her.

  “I’m thinking we should get a transport back into the main city, check into an IPC-approved hotel near the spaceport, and get ourselves cleaned up before we hail the Swift Brion for a rendezvous,” he said.

  She nodded as they started walking along the block. “I’ll see if I can find the nearest public transport location.”

  Reaching into the side of her pack, she pulled out the shuttle display. The screen took a long while to power up and came on dull.

  “This thing is running out of juice. I guess we’re lucky it lasted this long.”

  Zander grunted a response as she called up nav data and maps of the immediate area.

  The last of their hike went by in silence, and with each step she took, an impenetrable wall of energy built between Zander and her. The knife of treachery she held was poised, ready to stab him when he least expected it.

  There had to be some way to explain everything so he’d understand. But if it was her and she found out that he was doing the same things to her, then yeah, she’d be pretty frecking pissed off.

  She swallowed a sigh as they found the transport hub. There weren’t many people about, the cool, gray weather likely keeping tourists inside.