Desire: Ten sizzling, romantic tales for Valentine’s Day!

by Opal Carew

  “If you’ve all got the blood of the Ancient Ones, why is Earth so special?”

  “Because as we told you earlier, only on Earth has their original DNA been preserved. Not only preserved but sown with seeds of greatness—hidden talents like your own.”

  “About that…” I shifted uncomfortably as he started to reach for the straps between my legs again. “I think you must be mistaken. I don’t have any hidden talents. Like, I don’t have visions of the future or hear people’s thoughts and I can’t move things with my mind—I mean, I’m not a freaking X-man, okay?”

  He looked at me as if I was crazy.

  “Who said anything about your talent affecting you, Zoe? It’s the way in which you affect others that makes you so damn special. Now be still and let me finish getting you in the harness before the Commercians think of some legal way to get you back on their testing table.”

  I shut up then and let him finish strapping me in, though I really didn’t like it. Or I told myself, I didn’t.

  I should have hated his touch on my skin—this was abduction and it might turn into something a hell of a lot more in a minute, despite his claim that he wasn’t a rapist. Still, the way he was leaning over me, I could feel his warm breath against my bare breasts. And despite his harsh words, the touch of his big hands was gentle. There was a scent around him too—a warm smell, like a campfire burning. And under it was something else—some musk that was clean and crisp and somehow completely male. I didn’t know what it was but it made me feel dizzy to breathe it in.

  I told myself I didn’t care—that I hated him. That I hated this. I tried to hold absolutely still as he fastened the straps, not moving an inch even when his knuckles brushed against the soft curls on my mound. I did gasp at that point though—even though I tried not to.

  “Sorry.” He shook his head and muttered to himself. The only words I caught were ‘extremely sensitive and ‘testing,’ which made me go rigid in my seat, like I wasn’t stiff enough already.

  “What?” I demanded in a voice that came out in more of a squeak. “I thought you weren’t going to let them test me!”

  “I won’t let the Commercians test you, no,” he said, frowning. “But you will have to be tested before I can trade you. Don’t worry—I’ll manage it myself.”

  This hardly made me feel any better. I couldn’t help wondering if he had a scary, pointy testing table of his own back at his ship. I kept quiet through the rest of the harnessing process, even though the metal buckle was pressed right against my crotch in a very cold and uncomfortable way.

  “There,” Sarden said at last, looking pleased with his handiwork. “You’re secure.”

  Secure my ass. Trussed up like a Christmas turkey was more like it, but what could I do?

  He settled himself in his own seat, getting his own harness fastened much quicker than he’d done mine. Then he did something to the controls and a rush of cold air blasted through the small cockpit, making me shiver uncontrollably.

  “Oh m-my G-God,” I gasped out, my teeth chattering.

  “What’s wrong? Why are you trembling?” he demanded, frowning at me.

  “B-because it’s suddenly f-f-freezing in here, that’s why!” I exclaimed. I couldn’t even get my hands up to rub some warmth into my arms and legs. Everything seemed to be going numb and cold.

  Sarden frowned, a look of concern coming over his sharp features.

  “It’s simply the ship’s drivers warming up. But I see that you’re more delicate than I had hoped. Very well—here.”

  He pulled his shirt over his head, baring an absolutely mouth-watering torso. Forget a six-pack—this guy had an eight-pack of pure, hard muscle. Not that I could enjoy looking at it when I felt like I was getting frostbite in all my extremities—not to mention my nipples which felt like they had turned into little pointy ice cubes.

  “What are you—” I started but then he draped the black fabric of his shirt over me, making sure to cover as much of me as possible.

  Immediately, I felt a wave of warmth rush over me. It tingled from my neck all the way down to my toes, even though the shirt didn’t reach that far.

  “Better?” Sarden demanded, frowning at me.

  “Yes, but how?” I looked down at the shirt. It was a sleeveless t-shirt looking thing and the fabric was thin. Any of his body heat it had held should have dissipated almost immediately in the chilly cabin. Yet it continued to radiate warmth that seemed to penetrate my entire body.

  “It’s made of temp-fabric,” Sarden explained, seeing my confusion. “It retains and radiates heat during conditions of extreme cold. It also cools the wearer off when it gets too hot.”

  “Sounds like something we could use in Tampa,” I murmured, looking down at myself. “But won’t you be cold?”

  He shrugged, his broad, muscular shoulders doing that sexy, yummy roll I really needed to ignore. He was my captor and kidnapper, after all, the big, dumb jerk.

  “I’ll be fine—it’s just a short trip to my ship. We’re only going to the planet you call Mars.”

  “What?” I nearly choked. “We’re only going to Mars? Do you know how long it would take to get there from Earth? Especially if the orbits aren’t aligned. Months and months—I mean—”

  He looked at me pityingly. “It might take that long for your puny Earth vessels but not for my shuttle.” He patted the dashboard fondly. “And my ship is ten times faster. The Celesta has a hydrogen scoop hyper-drive.”

  “Meaning what?” I demanded. “Sorry but quantum mechanics wasn’t offered as an elective at my school.”

  “Meaning that it’s capable of faster than light travel. Much faster than light.” He grinned, showing white teeth almost as sharp as the horns growing out of his temples. “Which further means I’ll be trading you to Tazaxx before you know it.”

  “Um…Master.” The golden dragonfly, which had fluttered up and out of the way when he took off his shirt, settled on his shoulder and fanned its wings in agitation.

  “What is it, A.L.?” he growled. I wondered what the initials stood for but before I could ask the dragonfly fluttered again.

  “About the hyper-drive, Master,” its voice said.

  “Yes?” Sarden’s voice was dangerously quiet.

  “Well…it…I hate to be the bearer of bad news…”

  “Just spit it out, A.L.,” he growled.

  “It’s malfunctioning. It’s only at fifty percent at the moment and levels are dropping as we speak.”

  “What?” Why didn’t you tell me before?” Sarden demanded.

  “Well, you may recall that I warned something like this might happen some time ago. The panels in the scooping mechanism are warped and have needed repair or replacement for some time and—”

  “Repair. Fine, I’ll repair them.” Sarden sighed as though repairing his spaceship was a boring chore you put off as long as you could—like taking out the trash or dusting the stuff in the china cabinet.

  “I don’t know if repairs will work at this point.” A.L.’s butler voice sounded apologetic. “Or they may work but only temporarily. Not long enough to get us to Giedi Prime.”

  “Damn it, A.L.—you know we have to get there before the auction!” Sarden growled, his eyes flashing deeper gold. “If we don’t—”

  “I am aware, Master.” The dragonfly fluttered again. “Forgive me—I am running a full diagnostic now. Hopefully I will have more information for you when we reach the ship.”

  “Let’s go then.” As he spoke, Sarden did something to one of the instruments on the control panel. Suddenly we were whizzing forward at an incredible speed.

  I gasped, the sound ripped from me as what felt like a huge, invisible hand pressed me back against my seat. From the corner of my eye I caught my last glimpse of Earth—a round blue marble floating in the blackness of space.

  Then it was gone and I wondered if I would ever see it again.

  Sarden

  I gritted my teeth in irritation as I lock
ed the shuttle on course and steered towards the tiny desert planet the Earthlings called Mars.

  I’d known that the panels on the hydrogen scoop were warping—there was no way they couldn’t at the rate I’d been pushing The Celesta lately. But I hadn’t had time to deal with it—I’d had a lot on my mind. Like finding the right item to trade to Tazaxx for one. It had to be perfect—something special and unique or he wouldn’t even consider it.

  Tazaxx is one of the slimiest crime lords in the galaxy—I ought to know, I’ve smuggled for him often enough. But he has a weakness for beauty and for one-of-a-kind items no one owns but him.

  In the little Pure One strapped into the seat beside me, I believed I had found what I needed—something Tazaxx absolutely couldn’t resist. Only that something was actually a someone, a fact I was trying strenuously to ignore as I piloted the shuttle closer to Mars.

  There are plenty of smugglers who make their living in the slave trade, dealing rare and exotic inhabitants from distant planets to the rich, wealthy investors who collected them. I wasn’t one of them. My soul might be stained but that was one sin I’d tried to avoid.

  Now I couldn’t help it. There was no other way—not if I was going to get Sellah back. But that would only happen if I could reach Tazaxx before he held his annual auction. If he decided he didn’t want her, if she got auctioned off to the highest bidder, perhaps one who lived on the far flung reaches of the universe where he could never be found, then Sellah might be lost forever.

  No. I tightened my grip on the steering yoke, refusing to accept that possibility. I would not be too late. Somehow or other I would reach Giedi Prime in time.

  And as for the little Pure One… I shot a glance at her from the corner of my eye. She was staring out the viewscreen at the side of the shuttle, her gaze trained on her planet, now just a speck in the blackness. Her chin was still lifted defiantly but her eyes were wide and I thought I saw a glimmer of unshed tears in them as she watched her home world disappear forever.

  I would have told anyone who asked I didn’t have a heart or a conscience—a smuggler has no need of either one. Then why did I feel a stab of guilt as I watched her try to put on a brave face while I took her away from everything she’d ever known?

  I turned to face the viewscreen, concentrating on my instruments as I pushed the emotion ruthlessly away. This was the only way—I had no other choice.

  Though I felt like the worst kind of scum for doing it, Zoe would have to be traded.

  Chapter 5

  Zoe

  We got to Mars faster than I could get to the nearest WalMart from my apartment back home. Not that I go there a lot, but sometimes in the middle of the night when there’s nothing else open and you have a craving for some Ben and Jerry’s, you have to go. The nice part is, you don’t even have to change out of your PJs if you don’t want to.

  I have personally been guilty of wearing my favorite sweats and my sleepy bear t-shirt to Wally World and nobody even looks twice. Of course, the sloppy sweats and t-shirt were a hell of a lot more decent than what I had on now, which was just Sarden’s temperature regulating wife-beater t-shirt draped over my more sensitive areas. I wondered if he was going to give me anything else to wear once we reached his ship, or if I was just supposed to wander around naked, clutching my boobs and crossing my legs constantly.

  I was really tired of being naked.

  The red curve of Mars was barely looming in the windshield before we zipped around its side and came to a long, needle-shaped ship with a big round bulge at one end of it. Maybe that was the hydrogen scoop thingy Sarden had been talking about?

  We were coming in so fast I thought we would crash right into it. A scream was rising in my throat but just at the last moment, the shuttle slowed down dramatically and its nose just barely kissed the side of the huge, needle-shaped ship.

  At once, a hole irised open on the silver skin of the ship and our little shuttle was sucked inside. It gave me the creepy sensation of being sucked into a toothless mouth but before I could protest, we were in. The shuttle settled with a soft sigh and Sarden flipped off the ignition—or whatever it was that turned it off and on.

  He pressed a button and the doors on either side swooped up—kind of like a DeLorean’s. He hopped out and was about to just leave me there when I shouted at him.

  “Hey! Are you just going to leave me strapped in here or what?”

  “Oh…” He turned back, as though I was the last thing on his mind. “Sorry. A.L.—take care of her.”

  I was wondering how the golden dragonfly could manage the complicated straps holding me in place. But the dragonfly flew away—upward into the dim recesses of the metal ceiling. A panel opened and it flew inside. Well how was it going to help me up there?

  Before I could yell at Sarden’s retreating back to ask him, a long, thin, many-jointed silver arm with a six clawed hand came down out of the same panel towards me.

  I screamed, of course, because I don’t like it when metal claws come at me from out of the ceiling. I’m funny like that.

  Though Sarden had been doing his best impression of the disappearing man—or disappearing alien, I guess—he turned and came charging back at once.

  “What in the Frozen Hells of Anor is wrong now?” he demanded in a low, irritated growl.

  “What do you mean, what’s wrong? You leave me strapped down and helpless and then a long metal claw arm starts reaching for me!” I exclaimed. “What do you think is wrong? I don’t want to die! That’s what’s wrong!”

  “Die?” He looked at the silver, many-jointed arm and frowned. “Don’t be foolish—that’s just A.L.”

  “My deepest apologies.” Suddenly another flexible metal arm came down but this one was topped by a thin rectangular box with a round blinking light in the center. Almost like an eye, I thought. The same proper English butler voice that had been coming from the gold dragonfly was now emanating from the box. “I am so sorry—I did not mean to frighten you, Lady Zoe.”

  “I thought you were a dragonfly,” I told it. “What are you, anyway?”

  “I am the computing system which runs this ship,” A.L. said. “Do you not have such things on your planet?”

  “Only in science fiction movies,” I told him. I looked at Sarden who was watching our little exchange impatiently. “You could have warned me, you know.”

  “How was I to know your people are so primitive you don’t even have artificial life-forms? I don’t have time for this,” he growled, looking really irritated now. “Are you well or do I have to unstrap you myself?”

  I thought of the heat of his big, warm body leaning over me, the spicy scent of his skin, and the tingling feeling I got when his long fingers brushed against my more sensitive areas. Then I looked at the six, long metal claws on the end of A.L.’s arm.

  “I’ll take the claw,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “Fine. Then I have to go see to the hydrogen scoop.” He turned again but I called after him.

  “And what am I supposed to do?”

  “I don’t care.” He made a dismissive gesture. “Wander the ship if you want. Just keep out of trouble. Oh…” He turned to face me once more briefly and stabbed a finger at me. “But don’t go into the storage area at the rear. It’s dangerous.”

  “Dangerous for who? Dangerous how?” I demanded but he was already gone, his broad, red back disappearing through the sliding metal doors I swear reminded me of every Star Trek episode I ever watched with my dad when I was a little girl.

  “If you’ll allow me to unfasten your harness, perhaps I can take you on a brief tour of the ship,” A.L.’s proper butler voice said in my ear.

  I jumped when I saw that his round light was blinking right by my face—almost as if he was examining me.

  “Okay, sure,” I muttered. “Just…be careful, okay? Those claws of yours look awfully sharp and some of my most delicate areas are pretty exposed here.”

  “Of course—I will proceed with utmos
t caution,” he announced. Before I could answer, he had pulled the black shirt aside and was clicking the metal buckles that held the harness in place.

  To my great relief, it popped open quickly and I was able to stretch out my cramped arms and legs. There was nothing else to wear, so I pulled Sarden’s black t-shirt over my head. It warmed me up immediately and fit like a very snug mini-dress. I didn’t love that—normally I wouldn’t mind showing off my curves but this wasn’t one of those times. Still, it was the best I could do and better than nothing although I wished fiercely I could have a bra and panties to go under it.

  It smelled like him too—that warm, spicy, campfire smell that seemed to get in my head and make me dizzy. I tried to ignore it as I hopped out of the shuttle and followed A.L. out of the docking area.

  “So you’re an artificial life-form?” I asked him as he hummed along, his round, blinking light-eye glowing like a lantern. The metal arm it was connected to slid neatly through the silver ceiling panels which parted with a ripple as he went and closed behind him seamlessly. I wondered what kind of alien technology allowed metal to flow like water. Then again, the fact that they were able to suck me through a mirror was even more impressive.

  “I am indeed, Lady Zoe,” he answered in his prim and proper voice.

  “And is that what A. L. stands for?” I asked. “Artificial life-form?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you don’t have any other name?” I asked curiously.

  “Do I need one?” His proper butler voice sounded curious. “Master Sarden acquired me along with the rest of the ship in a game of chance. He has never bothered to give me any other name but I did not think I required one.”

  “Everyone needs a name,” I said. “I’d name you Alfred, I think—that’s a good butler-type name. Al for short, which also goes with your initials.”

  “Alfred.” He sounded cautiously pleased. “I think I like that, though I am not sure what a butler is.”

  I explained briefly and Al got excited—in a mechanical kind of way.