by Autumn Dawn
The chief sounded grim. “Harder than you think, if he’s got friends. Until we find him, keep Gem under wraps. We’ve moved her sister to a more secure facility, and there’s no telling whom he’ll go after next.”
“Gem’s not going to like this.”
“It’s your job to keep her pacified,” Blackwing said. His tone brooked no argument. “You ought to have enough emotional cash to do that by now. Her tender feelings are secondary to keeping her alive. Remind her that she should be grateful she’s not being hauled in for questioning. No need to treat her like she’s a suspect, of course.”
“Not yet.” The words were bitter in Blue’s mouth.
Zsak stared at him in silence after they hung up.
“What?” Blue asked.
“Why are you doing that?”
“What?” Blue turned to look at the monitor. From what he saw, Gem had found a couple of candidates.
“You’re making her out to be guilty when we both know she’s not.”
“We don’t know that. Besides, why not prepare for the worst? If I go soft on her just because…” He couldn’t finish the thought. Instead he said, “Her sister is going to be charged with conspiracy. Think she’ll appreciate me then? Might as well give her a reason to hate me right away.”
The silence stretched. Blue realized Zsak was a terrifying interrogator.
He shook his head, rubbed the bridge of his nose and finally looked at his partner. “What’s the difference who I suggest is involved in this? Unless you have another agenda…It’ll never work between us, though. I’m not stupid enough to get tangled up with this girl. You know that, so why are you pushing?”
Zsak shrugged and got up from the couch. “I just think you’re throwing away something good. There’s a way to work this out, man.”
What was Zsak’s problem? Why was he so fixated on setting the two of them up? Sure, Gem was one of the most attractive women Blue had ever seen, and he respected what she’d accomplished on this planet, with this inn, assuming she wasn’t involved in the drug trade—but how could he assume that? A real relationship just wasn’t possible. Didn’t his partner realize that?
“‘A way to work this out.’ Really. What would you suggest?” Blue turned abruptly on his friend, unaccustomed pain making his sarcasm thick.
Zsak met his gaze, unflinching. “Tell her the truth. Tell her before you bed her—you know how emotional women get about these things. But as soon as she calms down from what you tell her, bed her. On this planet, possession is nine-tenths of the law. She can’t accuse you of false pretenses if you tell her the full and unfettered truth, and she’ll get over the rest.”
“‘She’ll get over the rest,’” Blue repeated incredulously. “And we’ll live happily ever after, right?” He laughed without humor. In fact, his friend’s plan was so stupid that he laughed again.
“I didn’t say you wouldn’t have to work for it. Hell, man. And don’t take it out on me. You’re the one who’s gone and gotten himself so smitten by a woman connected to his assignment that he can’t think straight.” Zsak walked out with one final parting shot: “But you should do something. You never used to be such a wuss.”
Gem arranged for interviews of office manager candidates, did a few final chores and then called it a day. She hadn’t been so tired in years. In fact, she hadn’t been so tired since her father died. It was amazing how much she relied on her sisters. With them no longer around, she was shouldering the bulk of the work to keep up the inn. It was no longer fun, either. It had been a family thing, and now her family was gone.
Shaking off her feeling of emptiness—The Spark was full up, wasn’t it?—Gem returned to her office, settled down on her couch and drew up a blanket, something she rarely did during the day. Eyes closed, she tried to rest. But…there was musk on the pillow.
Her eyes flew open. She’d conveniently forgotten that Blue slept here now. He still hadn’t moved his equipment, and he still hadn’t moved the place where he crashed at night. Which meant, in essence, she was sleeping in his bed.
She scowled and firmly closed her eyes. None of that, now! She didn’t need to be fantasizing about another man who’d cooled to her. In fact, he’d cooled to her the moment her life had gone into the toilet. What sort of taste did she have in men, to keep choosing ones who were so unreliable? What was she thinking?
But…Her eyes slid back open. She’d already spent too much time thinking about him for her mind not to wander down its favorite track. Blue wasn’t all bad. He’d been there for her at the hospital, and he’d remained in her life after things got rough. In fact, hadn’t he been trying to protect her and her family all along? Hadn’t he remained by her side, protecting her from assailants and lawmen alike? And he’d kissed her, and she wanted more. This might not be exactly love, but she was dangling over the abyss. One more kiss and she’d be free-falling.
Did she want him? Yes. She couldn’t deny that. Did she want him to stay? That was harder to answer.
Another question was, would he want to?
She thought about things for a while and decided it was impossible to know Hyna Blue’s mind. What she did know was that he was jealous when she flirted with other men. No, he didn’t handle it at all well when she dressed up and went public. That had to mean something.
Chapter Ten
Preparing the new office manager she hired, Tam Rasheed, ate up a huge chunk of the following days. Of Lupish decent, Tam was stout, taciturn and had a resume to be proud of, along with an excellent recommendation from his former employer, a man Gem had actually met: It seemed prudent to be particularly careful regarding any new hires at this juncture. Tam also had the face of a wolf—if a dignified one—and a full pelt of white hair. There’d be no end to the shedding, but she couldn’t afford to be prejudiced.
While Tam was experienced, there were a thousand details to cover. An amiable sort, he clearly had a different way of tackling problems than Gem, so she decided to let him know the most important aspects of the business and let him ask questions about the rest. There was also the headache of moving her private things to her father’s old room, where she’d decided to make her new, non-working office.
Blue helped. A far cry from the irreverent drifter he’d once been, he now exuded an attitude she would call “professionally aloof.” He didn’t flirt; his eyes didn’t linger on her body. He was everything she would hope for in a man hired to protect her.
She hated it.
She climbed the stairs behind him, carrying a box of books. At first she tried not to stare at the picture those snug pants made of his behind, then decided she didn’t care. He was a good-looking guy. It wasn’t as if he had a wife, and there was no law against looking.
As she reached the room, instead of gently setting the box on the bed, she dropped it to the floor with a satisfying thump. Then, with a grim smile, she turned to leave.
Blue had been on his way out, but as the box fell to the floor he stopped and stared at her, clearly surprised by her abandon. “Are you all right?”
His eyes were so blue. Combined with his beard shadow and the black knit shirt hugging his chest, there was only so much a girl could take.
Gem bared her teeth in a parody of a smile. “I’m getting married.”
He stiffened as if she’d thrown ice water on him. “What?”
“You heard me.” She made a move to pass him.
He refused to move. “What do you mean, you’re getting married? To whom? Why wasn’t I told?”
“You’re my bodyguard, not my brother,” she snapped. When he still wouldn’t get out of her way, she put a hand on her hip and canted her head. “Are you going to stand there all day?”
He stepped aside but was hot on her heels as she headed back to her office. “Explain yourself. Who are you marrying?”
She shrugged, grabbed the first box she could lay hands on and spun to make the return trip.
Blue didn’t grab a box. He just followed, nearly stepping on her heels a
s he pursued her.
Exasperated—but, yes, enjoying his reaction—Gem swung around and glowered at him. “The person I’m marrying shouldn’t matter to you. As soon as this is all cleared up, you’ll be gone and I’ll get on with my life.”
Blue’s eyes narrowed. “You haven’t picked anybody yet.”
She smiled, a little self-deprecatingly. “I don’t think I’ll have any problem finding a willing partner. Everyone thinks I’m rich, right? The Harrisdaughter fortune. Who wouldn’t want a piece of that?” She turned and headed back toward the family suite.
Blue looked upset. He let her get as far as her living room before demanding, “Why would you even say that? And you can do better than someone trying to marry you for your money.”
She tried to make her eyes hard, though she was afraid she failed. “How would you know what I can or can’t do better than? With my father dead, one sister in the hospital and the other off with the Galactic Explorers, what do I really have to look forward to? I’m not getting any younger, certainly. And…what is it you men are always saying? Oh, yes: ‘I have needs.’”
“Wait a minute!” He stopped her as she tried to pass, wearing a horrified look.
Anger and an unfamiliar grief made her grit her teeth and push away. She didn’t want to look at him now, didn’t want to see his reaction. Not unless…“This is getting old, Blue,” she warned.
He leaned forward, trying to move past her, trying to see her face. “You don’t have to marry some idiot just to take care of that. There are other ways.” There was a note in his voice she couldn’t quite place, and he put a hand on her shoulder.
She scoffed, realizing she should have expected this response. She shook off his hand. “Yeah, for you. For a man. If I took a lover out of wedlock the news would be all over town by nightfall. Polaris society is intolerant of such shenanigans. I’d be ruined; my business would never be the same. Then where would Brandy be? Where’s she going to get the money for her medical care?”
“No one would have to know,” Blue argued. “Believe me, there are people in this town—”
“What exactly are you suggesting, Blue?” she asked coldly. When he hesitated, she gave him a mocking smile. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”
This time when she tried to move away, he stopped her with two hands. There was a heat in his voice that hadn’t been there since before the incident with Brandy and Jean Luc. “What are you asking me for, sweetheart?”
A trembling started at his touch, and it spread through Gem, causing a shaky hollow in her belly. She couldn’t meet his eyes. “Nothing,” she said. “I don’t want anything from you.”
One large, callused hand slid into her hair, cupped the back of her skull. His thumb rubbed gently behind her ear, making her weak, and he stared into her eyes. He seemed to come to a decision and said, “Well…I want something from you. I’ve wanted it for a long time.”
He caressed her temple with his lips, gently nuzzled in front of her ear, but she drew a tight breath and said, “You can’t have anything you want.”
She’d meant to say everything, but maybe the other was true, too.
He laughed. “Maybe not ‘anything,’ sweetheart, but I think we can come to an arrangement.”
His kiss was seductive, possessive. He took her mouth like a man who’d thought about the act and savored its fulfillment. If kisses could be drugs, his were the very essence of ecstasy. One hit wasn’t enough. She’d never have enough.
Lightning shocks started at her knees and shivered through her bones. A fire began low in her belly. She wanted to breathe Blue in, to lose all control. And she did precisely that. Gem, who’d never kissed a man the way she now kissed Blue, slid her hands under his shirt and tugged, trying mindlessly to get it off.
Blue didn’t laugh, as Gem might once have feared he would. Instead, he ripped his shirt over his head and sent it flying, then tumbled her horizontal.
He was so hot. Hard, heavy muscle pressed Gem into the couch, his heated mouth scorching. Her own body blazed as if she’d run miles under the noonday sun, and Blue’s back flexed under Gem’s hands like living steel, his hair brushing like silk against her jaw as he kissed his way down her neck. The very different sensations melded in a ceaseless duet played by steel guitar and drum.
He ripped open her shirt, making her gasp. There was nothing but air between his mouth and her breasts, then not even that. The fire of lust devoured all restraint. She’d waited too long, wanted this too much. She couldn’t stop him. Didn’t want to stop him.
Blue growled something urgent and then pulled down her pants. He didn’t bother working them off her knees, just flipped her over on her stomach, raised her hips with a pillow and set his lips to her center. Gem’s first touch from a man was the invasion of Blue’s tongue. Her first climax came seconds later.
His hungry, desperate growl vibrated tissues slick and swollen with passion, triggering aftershocks. She twisted on the couch, gasping as he tongued deeper, as the tapestry fabric abraded nipples new to such stimulation. She sought it, rubbed against it. Her body continued to burn.
He laved her flesh until her body grew weak from her screaming into the couch; then he pulled back with a curse. Through a curtain of hair she saw him shed his clothes, leaving him wearing nothing more than a braided hemp necklace.
She sat up, her wide eyes riveted on his body as he sat beside her. He lifted her legs and took her pants fully off; then he lifted her onto his lap and kissed her. She felt the prodding of his sex. After a moment he slid her down between his legs so that she was kneeling on the carpet, facing him. His eyes on hers, he scooted to the edge of the couch and cradled her to him, her face against his hard abdomen.
Her breasts rested in his lap. Between them rose…She shuddered, her damp thighs a reminder of how much pleasure he’d given her.
How much he still gave her. Blue leaned down and kissed the top of her head, her temple. He threaded his fingers through her hair and stroked. Both soothing and provocative, his touch made her ache again, made her squeeze her legs together to try and soothe her desire.
Her first kiss to his stomach was almost involuntary: she had to touch him. But as his hands stroked her hair in tender encouragement, caressed her spine, she scattered shy kisses all around on his hips and thighs, gently touched the dark hair that grew there. Then, when he leaned back against the couch, his head falling back and his hands going slack, then stroking her shoulders, she carefully kissed swollen flesh covered by silky skin. He was so hard! How?
His whisper sounded like a benediction as she explored him with her fingers, all sensual curiosity. His head moved from side to side as she stroked, found a rhythm.
“Harder,” he gasped. His hand closed over hers, showed her what he liked, both harder and faster than what she’d assumed. When his hand fell away, she kept up the rhythm, watched his face, his breathing. Then he climaxed in her hand, arching back and shouting with release.
Gem drew back, shaken and dazed. What had just happened? What did it mean? Unsure what to do with the wetness on her hand, she murmured something apologetic and headed for the bathroom.
In a fog she washed her hands, trying not to notice her naked chest even as spray from the faucet dampened it. She still wore her torn shirt. The face in the bathroom mirror was scared. She’d never done this before, but the smell of sex was an unmistakable reminder that it had really happened.
Her eyes wide, she pulled the ragged edges of her shirt closed as Blue came in. He was naked. He dampened a washcloth and cleaned himself up. His eyes were brighter than ever.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah.” She didn’t know what to say, where to look.
“Hm.” He tossed the washcloth he’d used toward the tub. “Do you want a shower?”
Confused, she shook her head.
His smile was lopsided. “I mean, with me. It’ll be fun.”
Fun? Somehow, that had been the wrong word to use. It sou
nded too…nonchalant. She shook her head again and scuttled away, hurrying to her bedroom. There, with the door locked, she discarded her torn shirt and quickly grabbed another. She was unraveling and didn’t understand it.
A knock sounded at the door. “Gem? Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine. Go away.”
She bit her lip. She shouldn’t have added the last part. It would only make matters worse.
Sure enough, he failed to leave. The silence on the other side of the door was damning. A full minute went by.
Then, “Open the door, Gem.” It was an order: calm, but not to be ignored.
Gem knew the door wouldn’t last if he decided to take it down. She didn’t want to have to repair it.
She didn’t meet his eyes as she let him in. At least she’d had time to dress. Unwilling to sit on the bed, she stood on unsteady legs and inspected her fingernails.
“You’re ashamed of this,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
She took a deep breath. “I might have been hasty. I apologize for—”
“I don’t.”
Her head whipped up. She saw that he’d re-donned his jeans, but his shirt was bunched in one hand and his feet were bare. His eyes glittered with the memory of what they’d just shared. Gem closed her eyes against the fire it lit in her.
“Just so we’re clear,” he added, “I intend to do it again. Don’t bother saying you didn’t like it—I was there. A man doesn’t like to give up what’s already been given to him, and you’ve given yourself. You should’ve thought twice, darlin’, but now your thinking’s done.”
His eyes flicked possessively over her; then he turned and left.
Gem wrapped her arms around herself after he’d gone. Shivers wracked her body, but it wasn’t from cold.
Blue was a man of his word.
Xera was coming home! Gem was torn between relief at having her sister back and worry over the circumstances. She’d been summoned by the police, both the local cops and the IC’s narcotics division. Though Xera would be a source of personal support, Gem also didn’t want her involved. She couldn’t imagine that Xera knew anything relevant to the case.
