"Get back on the ship, Cherry."
She gasped at the sound of Gallant's voice behind her. The shock of his catching her on top of what she had just seen... or imagined... froze her in place long enough for him to come alongside of her. He had a grip on her neck before she could think to defend herself.
"Don't try it," he warned in a flat voice. "Before you could use that arm, you'd be unconscious." He gave her a nudge and they started walking toward his ship. "How far did you think you were going to get without a travel visa or proper identification?"
She was so frustrated and angry, she couldn't have answered if she'd been willing. A sideward glance at him let her know he wasn't wearing his eye patch... and he was at least as furious as she was.
"I'll tell you how far. To the first administrator, who would have listened to your story and sent you to his superior. Eventually, you would have ended up in the one place sure to get you in trouble—some Con rep's office. And with my luck lately, it would have been the spy!"
The door to the ship opened and Cherry grimaced at the irate expression on Mar's face as he lowered the stairs to them. When she hesitated, Gallant's fingers tightened on her neck and she immediately retaliated by stomping on his toes with her heel. "Take your hands off me and I'll go up by myself. I know when I'm outnumbered."
He released her but remained close behind as she climbed the stairs.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Gallant said, "I'm getting out of this suit. Mar, take us out of here."
Cherry was about to go after Gallant when Mar turned to go to the cockpit and she saw Dot's face. Her eyes were downcast and a hot pink bruise marred her cheekbone. "Oh no. Did I do that to you?"
"It is nothing," Dot said quietly.
"Nothing?" Mar asked, spinning toward Cherry. "We disobeyed a direct order because we thought you were hurt. For our consideration, we received an injury from you."
Dot faced her with a sad smile. "Mar will get over his anger. I understand why you tricked us. The cage was always more terrible to me than it was to him."
"I really am sorry," Cherry said sincerely. She hadn't considered how being trapped in would upset Dot. "But that man had no right to lock me in either." The guilt she was feeling over hurting Dot was instantly obliterated by cold logic. She may have knocked Mar-Dot down but it was all his fault. "And somehow he's going to pay for that!"
Marching to the facility chamber, she noticed the seal that had locked her in was nowhere in sight. He probably hid it, suspecting that she might lock him in for revenge, but that would be much too kind. She wanted at least a pound of flesh. She pressed the door opener but it was sealed from the inside this time. Knocking didn't get her any results either.
"Come on, Voyager," she shouted and gave the door another thump. "Open the door. It doesn't take you this long to change."
His deep voice came to her clearly from the other side. "No, but it takes this long to cool down."
"What do you have to cool down from?" she challenged in a voice much louder than necessary. "I was the one that got locked in. I'm the one whose whole life has been turned upside down. I'm the one that missed her one chance to get back home before her whole career goes down the tubes."
"Can't you ever think about anything more important than your career?" he yelled back.
"As a matter of fact, I can think of a lot of things more important than my career... when someone explains them to me, calmly and rationally. You just keep throwing me into situations where all I can think to do is fight back! You want me to cooperate with you and care about what you're doing, but half the time you're lying and the other half you're evading. You've got more secrets than the Sphinx."
"I tried your way and look how that turned out. I calmly and rationally explained why you had to stay on board. But you never had any intention of obeying my orders."
"Obeying! Listen up, Captain. I am not your slave. I'm not even your employee. You have no right to give me orders of any kind. So what if you explained one little thing. What about all the rest? Maybe I'd be more agreeable if I had the whole picture. What really happened to Frezlo and the disappearing bug? And speaking of disappearing, did I or did I not see Aster a few minutes ago? Does any of it have to do with your wearing that stupid eye patch? How about telling me how you caught up with me so easily? And then, for a big finish, you can explain why you rejected me like some cheap one-night stand!"
For a long moment Gallant was silent and, when he finally answered, Cherry could tell some of his rage had dissipated. "It wouldn't serve any purpose for you to know everything."
Something vulnerable in his voice cut through her own anger. "Open the door, Gallant. You're safe now."
Another pause. "What do you mean?"
"You know very well what I mean. Every time one or both of us gets worked up about something, we end up groping each other. For some reason that frightens you. That's why you don't want to argue without this door between us, isn't it?"
She thought she heard him groan but she couldn't be certain. "You may as well give it up. By dragging me back here, you just consigned the both of us to close quarters for who knows how long. There's no way we're going to make it if you don't start being honest with me. You've got a choice. Either you fill me in... on everything... or I make the rest of this trip a living hell for you. Think about that, Captain, and you know I can do it if I choose to."
Abruptly, the sharp edge returned to his voice. "Then you think about this, woman. You're wrong about one thing. I'm not safe now. And neither are you. In fact, you're the furthest thing from safe. When Mar-Dot signaled me about what you had done, I was so infuriated, I could barely see straight. It took every ounce of my will to control myself when I found you.
"I wanted to punish you, force you to beg for mercy. And more than anything, I wanted to strip you naked and use you over and over again until the fire inside of me died out."
Cherry immediately felt that fire burning right through the door, but in spite of his harsh words, she felt no fear. Instead, much to her shock, desire was getting all mixed up with her anger.
He took a deep, audible breath. "I keep telling myself I am a civilized man, not a barbarian. But when I'm around you, I seem to forget that. I can't open the door, because I still want you so badly that I might hurt you."
She closed her eyes and hugged herself against the onslaught of need his declaration incited. How could this be? How could she want to strangle him and make love to him at the same time? "You know, Voyager, sometimes you can be such an ass. I don't understand where this hang-up you have about hurting me comes from, but you're hardly the first male who thought of using his sex organ to control me. The fact that you realize it and control yourself is what counts. I have bad news for you, pal, regardless of how dangerous you imagine yourself to be, you don't scare me in the slightest.
"If it's any consolation, I'm not real crazy about how confused you make me either. But I do know you're not going to be able to keep a locked door between us indefinitely. Of course, you have a perfectly reasonable solution minutes away. Just tell Mar-Dot to set us back down on Norona where you can personally escort me onto a ship back home."
The door slid open and Gallant murmured, "I can't do that."
Cherry's fingers curled into her palms to keep from reaching out to him. The only thing he had changed was his hair, which looked as though he had been caught in a windstorm. Since he was still wearing the jumpsuit, the proof of his arousal was blatantly evident.
"I warned you," he said in a husky voice.
She dragged her gaze up to his ebony eyes. "Yes. That was very civilized of you."
"You wanted the door open. It's open. Now tell me again how I don't frighten you."
Cherry's eyes raked over him, purposely giving his male anatomy a disdaining look. "There's nothing about you that frightens me."
In a flash his hands slipped under her arms, lifted her across the threshold, and brought her up to his height. "I'm a lo
t stronger than you are." Bringing her body flush against his, he eased her down several inches and up again without letting her toes touch the floor.
"You may be strong but you're still afraid of me." She wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed herself to him. "Or is it just this?" She moved against him suggestively. "Are you scared that you'll get so distracted by this, you'll spill all your secrets to me?"
"Yes," he whispered as his hands slid down to brace her hips. "Yes!" And with a menacing growl, he took her mouth in a kiss that could never be called civilized.
She allowed him to dominate her just long enough to let him think he was in control then she tore her lips from his. "I'm still furious with you."
"And I still want you to beg for mercy," he said raggedly against her ear as he kneaded her bottom.
"I never beg." She yanked the jumpsuit off his shoulders. "I demand." Blindly reaching out she closed the door to the chamber. "We can fight later."
He pressed her back against the door and tugged the top of her jumpsuit down. "We can fight now."
She moaned in pleasure as his teeth closed over the taut peak of one breast and then the other. His urgent suckling drove her to a state where she no longer cared what they were fighting about. Inches at a time, the stretchy jumpsuits were lowered to expose more and more heated flesh.
Cherry barely noticed when he separated their bodies in order to shed the suits completely, for in no time she was once more wrapped around him with her back against the wall.
He rubbed his swollen shaft against her sensitive core until she was dizzy with need, but when she tried to bring him into her body, he held himself at her opening.
"Beg," he ordered and nipped her ear.
She trembled and tightened her legs around him. "I'll beg... right after you do."
He raised his head as if to say something else but as their eyes met, their bodies melded together and there was nothing left to say... with words.
She made him growl. He made her moan.
Neither begged for mercy. And neither gave it.
Yet when the battle ended, both felt victorious and supremely satisfied.
Keeping her in his snug embrace, Gallant lowered them to the carpeted floor.
In the back of her mind, Cherry knew they would probably be arguing again soon, but for the moment she only wanted to enjoy the strange gift of peace that seemed to come in the aftermath of their near-violent couplings.
She couldn't remember ever experiencing anything quite like it, but then she couldn't recall any man quite like Gallant Voyager. Certainly no one ever made her as angry, as often, as he. Nor had any man ever given her so much pleasure so effortlessly. She just wished she didn't have to fight with him to get to the good parts. The more she thought about that, the more it bothered her, until the peaceful feeling started to fade.
"Why does it have to be like this?" she asked aloud, without really expecting an answer.
He gently kissed the top of her head. "What's that?"
She sighed. "Do you like this—lying here, holding me?"
"Mmmm. Very much." His fingertips skimmed her spine and made her arch into him.
"As much as last time?"
"Maybe more," he answered with a low-pitched chuckle.
She propped herself up on her elbow, fully intending to get to the root of their problem, but was struck speechless by what she saw. Either she was dreaming or they had been transported outdoors to a sun-drenched meadow filled with yellow and blue wildflowers. A brightly colored butterfly hovered in front of her face then flitted away before she could catch it.
"How in the world—" Totally bewildered, she glanced at Gallant and knew from his amused grin that he was somehow responsible for the scene around her.
"This is how you make me feel afterward," he said and stroked her cheek.
Gradually, the meadow misted over, until Cherry thought she had been enveloped by a fog, but she could still see Gallant lying beside her as clearly as before. He blinked his eyes and instantly they were surrounded by a wall of dancing fire. Before Cherry could voice her terror, it was replaced by the gray fog again.
"And that's how you made me feel before," he said, sitting up beside her. He gave her a soft kiss on her parted lips. "Now, see if you can guess what this is."
In a burst of colors and light, extravagant fireworks silently exploded against a night-darkened sky then fell to the ground like a million twinkling stars.
Cherry gaped at the last few sparks rekindling for a second before dying out. "That's what I see... in my head... when we... but I thought you said you weren't telepathic."
"I'm not. That's what I see also. But when I see things in my head, the images don't always stay there."
They were back in the meadow again and Cherry was more confused than ever. She ran her fingers over the grass, but what she felt was the carpet. "We're still in the facility chamber, right?"
"Right."
"I haven't been suffering from space sickness, have I?" He gave her a sheepish look. "I have the feeling you've just given me all the answers but my brain is in shock. What is this?"
"This is my admission of total defeat. I surrender. You win."
Cherry laughed. "Great. What were we playing?"
He gave her a brief smile then grew serious. "I'm not sure what you'd call it, but men and women have been at it since the dawn of time. I was under the mistaken impression that if I didn't agree to play, I could avoid the game. It was foolish of me to imagine that I could be near you and not touch you." She narrowed her eyes at him and he drew her back into his arms to lie down again.
With her head resting on his chest and their legs twined together, he began with a question. "Before I distracted you, you asked why it had to be like this. What did you mean?"
She gave a little shrug. "I was thinking about how you only wanted me when we were fighting but I guess I was really talking about everything that's been going on between us. I was expecting you to say this was another mistake then push me away, like last time, until the next argument."
"No, I won't do that again. It's obvious that particular tactic didn't stop me from wanting you. As you said, it's no longer reasonable for me to try to keep secrets from you. But there's one condition to my complete honesty."
"You'll explain everything? Complete honesty?" He nodded. "What's the condition?"
"Stay here, in my arms until I'm finished, no matter how it makes you feel."
She snuggled against him, her body aroused almost as much as her curiosity. "You've got it. Shoot."
He took a deep breath. "I told you the truth about my mission. What I didn't tell you was that I have a personal stake in its outcome. Under normal circumstances, I would never have involved you, but because of that stake, I was willing to do anything that might speed it along."
Cherry's head shot up. "Are you telling me that you kidnapped me and put my life at risk and it wasn't even necessary to the security of the universe?" She started to pull away from him but he held her in place.
"You promised to stay until I'm finished. Perhaps I should ask you not to interrupt as well."
"You can ask but it won't do you any good. I'm a chronic interrupter." Though she made a face at him first, she settled herself back in his arms. "Okay, I'll try not to ask too many questions. Go on."
"I told you that I didn't know what my planet of origin was, but that wasn't entirely true either."
"Surprise, surprise."
He gave her a squeeze but went on. "When I was five, my foster parents realized I was different. At first they were only concerned about how uncontrollable I was, and they kept making excuses for my barbaric behavior. My mother tells me I was wild but I was also a very affectionate child and that seemed to be all she really cared about. Then they discovered my rather unique talent and had me examined by a trusted physician."
"I assume that talent is the ability to make things appear and disappear."
"Not quite. None of what you se
e is actually here. It's three-dimensional and appears to be solid but it's still only an illusion. As a young boy, I didn't know how to control the ability. Whatever image came to mind was instantly in front of me. If I was angry at someone, ferocious monsters filled the room. If I was happy, it might have been balloons. I still have a problem controlling the images if I'm highly emotional, unless I'm wearing the eye patch. The doctor figured out I needed both eyes to create, either on purpose or accidentally."
"Ah-hah. Now we're getting somewhere. That's why you took it off on Zoenid; you created the drillfly that frightened Frezlo, didn't you?"
"Right. I just had no idea he could be literally frightened to death by it."
"But I heard it buzzing."
"Sound can be part of the illusion."
"And Aster? When you caught up with me you weren't wearing the patch then either."
"Yes. I knew that was one person you would follow. I only saw her once so I wasn't sure I could duplicate her face or voice well enough to fool you."
"Hmmph. So that's why she didn't turn around. I know I'm taking this a little off the track but how did you catch me so easily?"
He shook his head. "I almost didn't. Mar-Dot signaled me just as I was boarding the shuttle to take me to the Consociation headquarters. Fortunately, you weren't aware that their telepathic abilities are strong enough to send messages."
"I should have guessed. I've met plenty of people with extrasensory powers and some of them have that ability. I've never known anyone that can do what you do though. You said a doctor examined you. What did he come up with?"
"The physical examination proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was humanoid, but not Noronian, or from any other advanced civilization. Physiologically and psychologically, I was a primitive, except for my power to create illusions. After weighing all the facts, he came up with the only solution possible."
When he hesitated to continue, she rapidly reviewed all the hints he had given her to date and came up with a shocking conclusion. Her head bobbed up again. "You're an Illusian?"
GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3) Page 15
