Gallant went on to explain how Josep guided him into his present career and became his sole contact.
"Ouch!" Cherry complained as Gallant touched a sore rib. "Then he was the one who put you on to the Weebort."
"Right. According to the trial I was to undergo, Josep couldn't simply come out and tell me who and what I was then send me to Lore. Not only would that have been too easy, they weren't sure they could trust me. After all, I'd been raised by the Noronian devils. I might have developed a loyalty to them stronger than my ties to Illusia."
"So," Cherry concluded, "they set you up on a wild-goose chase to see if you would end up here, where you needed to be to take your place as their leader, despite all the obstacles. Then if you proved yourself unsuitable, they could just toss you in the slush outside and be done with you."
He pinched her waist. "Don't sound so pleased about it. If they decide to do away with me, you'll be chained to my wrist. Anyway, it wasn't a fabricated mission. A copy of the hundred-year plan really was smuggled off Illusia and passed to the Consociation through the Weebort. But it was Josep's decision to take advantage of the emergency to lure me here. He used Frezlo as bait."
"And didn't care who got killed along the way," Cherry added.
"You've got the idea. Unfortunately, it gets more complicated."
"You're kidding. I already feel like I'm in a house of mirrors."
"A what?" He pressed the heels of his palms into her buttock muscles and rubbed the stiffness out.
"Ooh, that's good. A house of mirrors is like a maze, only trickier. Just when you think you see the exit, you walk into a wall of glass, keeping you in."
"Well then, here's the tricky part," he murmured in a sarcastic tone as his fingers pressed a line down the back of her left thigh. "When Honorbound was introducing me to my council, she mentioned that Bessima, my first in command, was on a mission elsewhere. Do you want to guess where?"
Cherry pieced the facts together and came up with the most logical answer. "Holy stars. She's on Earth, isn't she?"
"I believe your expression would be bingo. I wasn't given the details yet, but apparently, she's preparing the Terran population for a peaceful takeover."
"But that's not possible. Romulus's people keep tabs on everything that goes on in Outerworld. They'd put a stop to anything that would place the planet at risk."
"True. If they see it coming." He moved to her other leg. "I purposely let Honorbound know you're a Terran, in hopes that she would consider you worth keeping intact for a while. There's no question I'll have to let her interrogate you. But whatever she asks you, keep your answers general and make it sound like your people are passive and defenseless. If she learns the truth, she could decide to change the plan to a full-scale military attack. And under no circumstances reveal that you know anything about Innerworld."
"Okay, but there's a big hole in this plot and Josep's right in the center of it as far as I can tell."
Gallant finished the massage and stretched out beside her. "I'm afraid my head is so full right now, you're going to have to spell it out for me."
She shifted to her side and propped her head up. "Josep is the only one who has had the freedom to come and go from here, right?"
"Right. And I was told his visits have been very rare to keep suspicion at bay."
"But he has visited. And as a representative to the Consociation living on Norona, wouldn't he know as much about Earth as you do?" Gallant nodded slowly. "Wouldn't he know how Innerworld monitors Outerworld? And wouldn't he have access to information about the strength of Terran defenses and their affinity to war rather than submission? What would lead Honorbound to believe that they could pull off a peaceful takeover of Earth?"
"As I said, they didn't give me any details yet, but I think you've got a good point about Josep. Someone at that table was feeding me advice that gave me a chance to be accepted quickly. It would make some sense if it was Josep. Maybe he's not as supportive of the Princess and her plan as he seems to be. Considering how difficult it's going to be to get out of here in one piece, we could really use someone on our side."
"Then again, maybe it's another trick to test your worthiness. You know, let you believe you have a friend to whom you can confide your true feelings about everything you're being told."
Gallant smirked at her. "I knew I could count on you to add to my confusion. Have I mentioned how I love the way your mind works?" He leaned forward and placed a light kiss on her lips.
That word kept her from kissing him back.
"What's wrong? Still uncomfortable?"
She could have lied but that would have made her as bad as he was. Raising herself up to a sitting position, she looked around the niche then started sifting through the furs. "Did you see my jumpsuit anywhere?"
"I had the servant take it away. She's going to bring you one of those diaper things to wear in honor of your fighting ability."
She stopped her search and glowered at him. "You'd better be kidding."
Surprised by her hostility, he sat up and took hold of her shoulders. "Yes, I'm kidding. What's your problem?"
She remained rigid for a moment then relaxed. "Nothing. I just wanted to get dressed."
"Why? Are you afraid I'm going to take the massage to its logical conclusion?"
She clucked her tongue. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not afraid of you."
"You're afraid of something, Cherry, and you've got to tell me what it is. We're partners in a very dangerous situation, and for our mutual safety, we should each know what to expect from the other one."
Her eyes lit up. "We're partners?"
"Against my better judgment, if you'll recall. Now I want to know what's going on in that head of yours." His eyes narrowed. "Do you think I'm lying to you again? Is that it?" Her hesitation annoyed him. "You promised to trust me. Remember? And I promised to be honest with you. I took my promise seriously. What about you?"
She sighed. "You are very convincing as a barbaric sovereign."
"And you're very convincing as a helpless, hysterical female. But I know better. Being convincing is what makes you a successful actress and what keeps me alive. I need to know you trust me enough to follow any order I give you while we're here. Our survival could depend on your not doubting me."
She knew he was right and her intuition also told her he had relayed all the facts he'd been given. "I trust you. You're not dumb enough to think you could make war on a whole planet of people like me."
With a silent laugh, he hugged her close. "I'll be drekked but I do love arguing with you."
Her body tensed for a heartbeat before she could prevent it.
"What?"
"Nothing."
He held her away from him and studied her face. "Who's lying now?"
"It's personal."
"Personal? From the woman who won't permit me a single secret? As you have previously said to me, spit it out, now."
"It's really no big deal," she insisted with a shake of her head. "I have a little problem with a certain word, and I... I'd rather you didn't use it."
He rubbed his chin as he tried to recall exactly what he'd said. "I give up."
"I know you didn't mean to use that word—"
"Cherry..."
"Love. I'd rather you didn't say you loved anything about me."
"I don't understand."
"Of course, you don't. How could you? You were raised by affectionate, loving parents. You couldn't possibly know what it was like to be told you were being belt-whipped because your parents loved you. My mother was a virtual slave to my father because they loved each other so much." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"Wrong. You should have said it sooner. Here I was worried about physically hurting you when all the while one four-letter word could lay you low. My mother always said the three most powerful words in any language are—"
Cherry pressed her fingers to his lips. "Please. Leave it alone, okay?"
"Stop!" Cherry exclaimed then grew alarmed thinking she may have been heard.
"Don't worry, anyone who heard that will imagine that I'm forcing you to have sex with me."
"Fine. Then have sex with me and forget this stupid conversation."
"No."
Cherry's eyes widened. "No?"
"You heard me. I didn't realize until now that you have never used the phrase make love. You always say have sex or couple or some euphemism. Well, my dear, we are going to make love now. And I intend to prove that it won't hurt a bit."
With his last words, he pressed her back down to the furs.
"Gallant, you're scaring me."
"Impossible," he hissed into her ear and laid a trail of kisses down her neck. "You're not afraid of me. Remember?" His kisses continued on down to her breast.
"That's right, I'm not. But you're making me very uncomfortable." She moaned as he drew one puckering nipple into his mouth then released it.
He raised his head to meet her bewildered gaze. "And I absolutely guarantee that you'll be a lot more uncomfortable before I'm finished with you."
"Is that a threat?"
That earned her a sly grin. "I believe you were the one who brought up a lack of foreplay in our relationship. Just let me know when you've had enough." With a restrained gentleness that he had never before shown her, his lips met hers and coaxed a like response. "All you have to do to hurry things along is tell me you love something about me."
"Hmmph. You'll die of old age first."
"We'll see." He teased her eyes, nose and ears with velvety caresses. He made slow love to her mouth until she almost forgot why she was resisting. When her body moved against his, he left her face to pay homage to her breasts.
As he worked his way downward, she stroked his hair and ran her hands over his shoulders and arms, telling him without words how good he made her feel. And when he went lower still, her damp heat was as revealing as her hushed moan of pleasure.
He took her to the very edge and kept her dangling there for endless minutes. Or was it hours?
"Enough," she whispered and he slid his body up along hers. She felt him, hard and pulsing, yet barely touching that part of her that needed more attention.
"Say it," he murmured against her lips. "Say the magic word."
"Please," she said, rearranging her spread legs to entwine with his.
"Wrong word. Try again." He returned to seducing her mouth as he rubbed the tip of his sex over her aroused flesh.
She sucked in her breath as a spear of desire tore through her, but she couldn't say what he wanted. The taste of herself on his tongue made her dizzy with the need for more. His kiss intensified, promising a faster pace as he lured her deeper into the well of passion. Yet when she was certain he would give in, he pulled away to renew his exquisite torture of her body.
Her mind was too drugged to understand why he was holding back or even how he was accomplishing it. Was this the same wild, impatient animal that had never been able to resist entering her for more than a minute or two after kissing her?
Again he brought her to the brink of climax and stopped. This time she couldn't prevent a frustrated cry. And again he returned to her mouth with his body stretched out over hers.
"You know what you have to say to have what you want."
Instead, she used her robotic arm to push him onto his back. "We'll see," she said, repeating his warning to her. It was one thing for him to tease her and restrain himself, but she was certain he wouldn't hold out under the same treatment.
She used her teeth, tongue, hands and body to excite every nerve in his body, but each touch also aroused her more than she already was. He couldn't hide the fact that he wanted her as badly, yet he continued to control the urge to take what he needed.
When she crawled up his body and attempted to straddle him, he sat up with her on his lap and grasped her hips to keep her from lifting. "Say it." He growled and nipped her neck.
She shook her head to refuse, but he pulled her tightly against him, enticing her in the most elemental way to give up the fight. "I..." Another ripple of pleasure caused her to gasp before she could go on. "I love... um... your hair." She tried to take him into her, but he held her still.
"You can do better than that." A slight adjustment of both their hips encouraged her to comply. Quickly.
"I love... your body."
"More," he ordered with another seductive stroke.
"I love solving puzzles with you. I love sleeping next to you. I... I love how you make me feel even when we're arguing. Okay?"
He raised her high enough to bring them together, but prevented her from sliding down more than an inch. "Now, say, I love you, Gallant."
Leaning back far enough to glare at him, she muttered, "Don't press your luck, Captain."
And with a low growl, he accepted the slight advantage he had gained and ended the battle.
Sometime later, she was fully aware of the concessions he had won from her but she was too sated to resent it. "How is it that you could never do that before?"
His fingers made lazy circles up her spine. "Do what?"
She gave his shoulder a nudge. "You know very well what. You held out against some of my best efforts."
"Perhaps," he said slowly, skimming his hands over her bottom, "I didn't have a strong enough motivation before. However, if I were you, love, I wouldn't count on such restraint again for a while."
She muffled her laughter as he rolled her onto her back and immediately proceeded to demonstrate his usual lack of patience.
* * *
Aster braced herself in the doorway of Rom's office. "I swear I'm going to hang that man by his ankles and use a cat-o'-nine tails on him!"
Rom raised an eyebrow at his normally nonviolent mate. "Anyone I know?"
"Cute. After what I just learned, I should string you up next to him." She made her way over to the straight-back armchair Rom had moved into his office for her use. "Would you care to explain why I never received a copy of yesterday's report from Outerworld Monitor Control?"
Rom flinched. "I don't suppose denial would work." Instantly, he received a mental image of himself hanging upside down, naked, from a high tree limb. "I see." He pulled the report out of his desk drawer and set it in front of him. "Obviously, my influence over at OMC is not what it used to be."
"Oh, you still have influence. I just have more. Women on the verge of giving birth are very sympathetic figures, you know. And the way I've expanded this last week, everyone holds their breath when I walk into their office. I heard they're running a pool on where I'll be when my water breaks!"
"You could relieve everyone's minds by—"
"Don't you dare suggest I stay home. All I would do is worry about Cherry. At least here, I can get distracted for a few minutes at a time."
Rom shook his head as he picked up the report and scanned the update. Whoever or whatever was behind the supernatural sightings had escalated their efforts. Yesterday, a magnificent display of thunder and lightning tied up rush-hour traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The light and sound show stopped as suddenly as it started and was replaced by a heavenly rendition of "The Hallelujah Chorus," sung by a choir of about a hundred white-robed specters standing atop the arches of the bridge.
When the song ended, the face of the alleged Supreme Being appeared in the sky. He announced that He was on his way and would soon be making a personal appearance on the White House lawn. Press was welcome.
Aster got tired of waiting for him to speak. "Apparently, he's building momentum, although the special effects would have been more appropriate in Hollywood."
"I know you want to think the worst of him but I can't believe Gallant has anything to do with
this. He's too intelligent to try to pull off such an elaborate hoax right under our noses. I tend to think it's being done by someone who doesn't know of our existence here. I also think it's important that there's never any mention of when soon is."
With a sigh, Aster reluctantly agreed. "I know you're right about him. Not knowing if Cherry is safe compounded with this blind waiting for the next event is driving me over the edge. I understand we didn't have anyone near this sighting, but at least we can be prepared for the one that's supposed to take place in Washington."
"I've already assigned a team of trackers, all of whom should be able to pick up any strong surge of mental energy and follow it to its source."
"Have you contacted Falcon?"
"Yes. By sheer coincidence, he and Steve were out of the San Francisco area yesterday or they might have picked up the wave. They're standing ready if we want them to head for Washington, but I don't see the point in pulling them away from home when we have so many others in place."
"But none of them are Falcon. Send him, Rom. He should be there too."
Knowing how Aster felt about their friend, Rom didn't bother to discuss it further. He would recontact Falcon and have him head for Washington, D.C. He recalled a time when Falcon had a problem dealing with the noise and emotional intensity of Outerworld. The crowd that would undoubtedly be descending on the White House would be worse than anything he had experienced before. But Rom knew Falcon was still the best tracker they had, and if Aster wanted him there, that was reason enough to send him.
"I may agree with your logic about Voyager, but there's no question in my mind that he is involved in this somehow. All I can say is he'd better be taking good care of Cherry no matter what else he's up to."
"I'm sure he is," Rom said as he walked around the desk and helped Aster to her feet. "And knowing Cherry, I'm sure she'll make sure he gets her back here before the baby comes."
Aster narrowed her brows at him. "You may as well know, I've already decided I am not going into labor without Cherry."
GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3) Page 22
