by Susan Hayes
“Well, our farmhouse was by a creek instead of halfway up a mountain, and we had cows and sheep, not noats, but yeah, otherwise this all feels sort of familiar.”
Raze took the ointment out of her hand and sat down beside her on the bed. “Give me your arm. You’re going to tie yourself in knots trying to apply it to yourself.”
She lifted her right arm and he drew it toward him, holding her wrist gently as he started working the ointment into the aching muscles of her upper arm. It was hard to think of something intelligent to say when he was touching her, turning her brain gooey, so she didn’t say anything at all.
He broke the silence stretching between them. “How did you end up working as a scout pilot? You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?”
She snorted. “We’re both a long way from everything.”
“True. But it doesn’t answer my question.” His chuckled, working his way down her arm.
“I was orphaned when I was thirteen. I had no other family, so I ended up in a corporate-run facility.” It was a simple summary of what had been a nightmarish time in her life. Alone and grieving, she had been little more than a shadow of her former self; barely speaking, rarely sleeping, and fed a scant diet of food-tabs and nutri-gruel.
“That sounds unpleasant. Having been a guest of the corporations, I have firsthand experience of their idea of hospitality.”
“It wasn’t as bad as what you lived through. They couldn’t get much work out of us if they didn’t keep us healthy.”
“If you disliked being under corporate control, why did you stay?” he asked without looking up from what he was doing.
“I didn’t have a choice. We were billed for room and board, clothes, even our education.” She pointed to a thin scar that circled her arm above her elbow. “I lost an arm in the fire that killed my family. It was crushed and burned so badly they had to amputate. I had a basic prosthetic, but the only way to get something better was to sign on with the corporations and have them pay for it.”
His calloused fingers traced the scar with fascination. “I would never have guessed. It looks well… real.” He winced. “And now I sound like one of the idiots who would make those same comments to me. I’m sorry.”
“Coming from you, it doesn’t have the same negativity attached. Hell, I should probably be thanking you. My arm works so well because it’s based on the same tech as yours.”
Raze ran his hand down her arm until he could close his fingers around hers. “I’m starting to realize we have a lot in common. We both like solitude. We’re both outsiders. We share the same technology.”
“And we’ve both lived under the thumb of the corporations. The only difference is, you escaped. I haven’t. Not yet.”
“Not yet? So one day you’ll be free?”
She nodded, and her heart tripped a little faster in her chest. Soon. Soon, she’d make her final payment and fly away to start a life somewhere. Her life would finally be her own. “I’ve spent the last fifteen years working for Torex. When I’m finished this last run, I should have enough scrip saved up to pay the last of my debts.
I’m almost free.”
Raze saw the determination and hope gleaming in Sevda’s eyes and understood exactly what she was feeling. There had been a time when he felt the same way. Those memories stirred feelings that he thought he had buried with his siblings. They hit him hard, filling the emptiness he’d lived with for years. He kept hold of her hand and pulled her in close enough to look into her eyes. He bowed his head and claimed her mouth with a hunger fuelled by years of loneliness. He knew he was overstepping every line there was. She had every right to slap him, or scream, or shove him away, but instead, she uttered a soft moan and kissed him back with a fervor that matched his own.
They ignited like a spark hitting a tank of rocket fuel. Hard kisses. Light touches. Hands tugging at clothing. Her lips parted with another moan, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth, eager to taste her. A hint of spice. Cinnamon? He didn’t really care what it was, only that he wanted more.
He tore his mouth from hers to plant a line of open-mouthed kisses along her jaw and down the curve of her throat. She tipped her head to the side, offering herself to him, and he let himself get lost in the scent and taste of her body. Hard muscles under silken skin, that elusive whisper of cinnamon again, and her.
Her fingernails raked down his back, following his spine down to the waistband of his pants. She slid her fingers under the fabric and sank her nails into his flesh.
“More,” she whispered, her voice gone rough with need.
“So much more. Everything. Just say yes.”
Her hypnotically dark eyes widened and a smile curved her lush lips into a smile that promised a thousand pleasures. “Yes.”
That was all the permission he needed. The storm outside was no match for the one raging inside him as he rose to his feet. “Shirt off.”
She smirked at him. “Bossy.”
“You have no idea. Now, get my shirt off before I decide not to lend you any more clothes for the rest of your stay.”
She bared her fangs at him and stuck out her tongue for good measure, but she skinned the shirt over her head and let it drop to the floor without another word of argument. Her panties came off next, and when she straightened to look at him, he forgot to breathe.
She was beautiful. Strong. Curvy. Soft and sassy. He wouldn’t have to worry about hurting her. She wasn’t a delicate human woman. She was so much more.
She reached for him, and before he realized what she intended, his pants were torn apart and the tattered remains fluttered to the floor beside his shirt.
“Now you owe me a pair of pants.”
Sevda laughed and wrapped her fingers around his cock, making it hard to think of anything except how good it felt to have her touching him.
“And you owe me a set of clothes. Shall we call it even?”
“Vixen.”
“You have no idea.” She pumped her fist over his steel-hard dick, then leaned down to swipe her tongue across the tip. He buried his fingers in her dark curls and cradled her head in his hands as she hummed in pleasure and took him deeper into her mouth.
His balls tightened, and his next breath came out in a strangled hiss. Nothing had ever felt this good.
She chuckled softly and released his cock to grin up at him. “Nothing, huh?”
Damn. Did I say that out loud? Judging by her grin, he must have.
“Nothing, ever,” he clarified.
Her smile turned wicked. “Good.”
She lowered her mouth to the crown of his cock again, and this time she dragged the delicate point of her fang across the tip before taking him deep. Her hand pumped his length as her hot little mouth devoured him. She worked him with her tongue, her teeth, and her fingers, teasing and tasting until his legs were unsteady and he was on the verge of losing the last shreds of his control.
“Enough. When I come the first time, I want to be inside your pussy, fucking you until you scream my name.”
There was a gentle pop as she released his cock. Then she scooted back onto the bed with a welcoming smile that turned his insides to molten metal. This beautiful, sexy woman smiling that way at him. The scarred one. The broken machine.
“Maybe I want to hear you scream mine.” She crooked a finger at him as another blast of rain and water slammed against the walls of the cabin.
“Let’s see who screams first.”
He was on top of her in a second, and she buried one hand in his hair, pulling him in for a kiss so hot it seared his soul. Her free hand rose up to touch his face, exploring his scars with her fingertips.
“These are sexy,” she whispered.
“I’m damaged.”
“So am I.”
Damaged was the last word in the galaxy he’d use to describe the beauty staring up at him. Sexy. Intriguing. Beguiling. Those were the words he’d use. “I don’t think so.”
For a moment, he thought s
he was going to argue. Instead, she tugged on a lock of his hair until their lips were a breath apart. “Then shut up and kiss me.”
Tongues dueled as their naked bodies rubbed against each other, setting him on fire all over again. He needed to touch her, to stroke and explore every inch of her body. Without warning, he rolled them over so that she was on top, and she laughed as she straddled him. Her slick pussy pressed against his dick, their bodies so close he could feel the pulse and flex of her inner walls before he was even inside.
“Much better.” He reached up to cup her breasts, letting their warm weight fill his hands as her nipples pebbled beneath his palms.
“Mhmm.” She leaned forward, leaning into his touch.
He tweaked a tender nipple with his fingers, aware they were still lightly coated with ointment. Her breath caught as the menthol and other ingredients made her skin tingle, and when he did it to her other nipple, she moaned and surged against his hand.
That simple movement rocked her hips against his cock, snapping a few more threads on his control. “Do that again and things are going to move faster than I planned.”
She ground herself over him in a long, slow swing of her hips. “This?
“You were warned.”
She wrapped her fingers around his wrists and laughed as he bucked his hips hard, and shifted positions so he was notched at her entrance. They held eye contact as he slid into the heat of her body. She was perfect. Hot and tight and already so wet he didn’t stop until he was balls deep inside her. He groaned her name.
Sevda threw back her head and uttered a wild cry of pure need that resonated deep in his heart. This was what they both needed. The storm, the world, and the loneliness faded away. His cock twitched, then started to throb. A gentle thrust, a gasp, and she started to move with him.
She was liquid fire wrapped around him, riding him harder with each rise of his hips. With every breathless cry she made, he lost a little more control. Harder. Faster. Wilder. She let go of his arms to brace herself against the bed, her lips finding his. She screamed his name, the sound captured by his mouth. She gave herself over to him, a creature of pure pleasure. His. Hers. Theirs.
He kept one hand on her breast, the other cradling the back of her head as they flew together, two hawks riding the winds of a tempest until he finally reached the height of ecstasy. He came in silence, too far gone to summon any words, not even her name. She shuddered atop him, sitting up to reach between them and bringing herself over with a touch of her fingers.
It was the sexiest thing he’d ever witnessed.
She slumped onto his chest in a breathless heap, and he found himself wanting to stay like that. It was a dangerous temptation. She wasn’t staying. He wasn’t going anywhere. This was never going to be more than a brief respite for either of them.
A muffled comment drew him out of his dark thoughts and made him smile.
“You screamed my name first.” She declared, lifting her head to flash him a triumphant, if flushed, grin.
“I don’t recall it happening that way. I said your name. You screamed mine.”
“And here I thought all cyborgs had perfect recall. Yours is clearly faulty.”
“I’m in perfect working order.” He grinned at her as an unfamiliar lightness filled him. “Or do you have complaints to file?”
“Veth, no. No complaints. If you worked any better, I’d probably die of satisfaction.” She flexed her inner walls around him, and his cock twitched as a fresh surge of blood rushed south.
“You’ve already had one near-death experience today. If you don’t want to risk another one, you might want to keep still.”
“If I didn’t like danger, I’d be in a different line of work.” She made a show of looking around his cabin. “Besides, unless you’ve got a holo-vid player tucked away somewhere, there’s nothing else to do until my ship is repaired and this storm ends.”
“I don’t have a lot of tech in here.” His cabin was rustic, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a vid player or most of the other modern conveniences. He just didn’t use them. They were stashed onboard his ship; which was parked only a few yards away from his cabin. He housed it inside a building designed to shield it from the elements…and from being detected by passing ships like Sevda’s.
“I noticed. You live simple.” She touched the wall. “But snug. I like it.”
Pride filled him. Raze had never expected anyone else to ever see what he’d built out here. It surprised him that her approval meant so much to him—but it did. “it’s not much, but it’s more than I ever had before. And you’re welcome to stay here with me, in my snug cabin, for as long as it takes to get your ship fully repaired.”
“Thank you.” She stroked his cheek. “
5
When Sevda came to again, the cabin was empty. Judging by the full mug of still-warm coffee beside the bed, her rescuer-turned-lover hadn’t been gone for long, though.
Raze had also left an assortment of clothing on the end of the bed. Coffee and a change of clothes, but no note. The man was definitely used to living alone. She rose from the bed and stretched out her bruised and aching body before trying on the garments. It was the first time in her life that everything she tried on was too big for her, but she eventually managed to find something that would at least keep her warm and covered.
She was dressed before it occurred to her that the storm had passed. The wind and rain were gone, at least for the moment. A quick check of the cabin showed her the location of the facilities, and she quietly thanked whatever higher beings were within earshot that Raze’s simple lifestyle did not exclude running water and indoor plumbing. She had no idea how he’d managed it, and for the moment, she didn’t care.
With coffee in hand, she did a more thorough exploration of the cabin and discovered that while Raze lived a simple existence, he hadn’t eschewed all technology. There were electric lights, a small refrigeration unit, and a simple stove in the cabin. Most people would never understand living like this on purpose. She did, though. It wasn’t an easy way to live, but it was what she wanted for herself. Even if it meant giving up the comforts of ship life and the company of stubborn AI’s.
Veth. Eddi.
Her comm unit was on the dresser. “Eddi, status report.”
“Soggy.”
“Would you care to expand on that remark? Keep in mind I’ve had very little caffeine and nearly died yesterday.”
“If you had listened to me, I did warn you that flooding was—“
“Eddi, what have I told you about backtalking?”
The AI changed topics without further comment. “My status is that I’m currently surrounded by floodwater. Peak depth never reached my fuselage, though I believe I took some minor structural damage to my landing struts. I will not be able to confirm until the water has fully receded. It should be safe for you to return in approximately thirty-six hours.”
“Did you have any trouble withstanding the flood? Any significant damage to any system or structure? What’s the repair timetable?”
“I deployed my stabilizers and grapplers when the water rose high enough to be a concern. I did not incur any significant damage. I am a Seeker Class vessel, not some thin-hulled shuttlecraft. It would take more than water and foliage to interfere with my operation.”
She probably shouldn’t pick a fight with her ship, but Sevda couldn’t help herself. “Apparently all it takes is a micro-meteor swarm to put you out of commission. Or did you forget why we’re on this backwater planet in the first place?”
Eddi remained silent for an extra two seconds, just long enough to convey her opinion of Sevda’s remark. “The damage I incurred during the flood will not add more than a few hours to my overall repair time. I estimate I will be fully repaired in forty-eight to fifty hours. Will you be fully functional by then?”
“I’m fine, Eddi. Bruised and sore, but nothing worse than that. I will be staying with Raze until the floodwaters recede to safe levels.
Once the skies are clear, I’d appreciate it if you sent a drone with a med-kit.” The drones were for reconnaissance and scanning, but they could carry a small payload as well. An emergency med-kit would be about as much as one of them could manage, but it would do.
“Affirmative. I will deploy a drone to deliver the requested items shortly.”
“Thank you. Oh, and be sure to include some pain-blockers. Raze doesn’t have any.”
She signed off and set the comm unit back on the side table. It would seem that for the next day or so, she was on unofficial shore leave.
It didn’t take long for her to find a coat and boots she could borrow. Her boots were still drying by the woodstove, and she had learned the hard way that her light jacket was no match for the elements on this planet. The boots were too big, but if she took smaller steps, she could manage.
Raze wasn’t in sight when she got outside, but there were plenty of things that caught her interest. The cabin was built on a plateau that appeared to span several acres before becoming steep hillside again. There were two greenhouses near the edge of the plateau, along with several other sheds and outbuildings, and a large, sturdy looking barn. One of the barn doors was open, and she decided to check and see if Raze was inside.
Walking helped to ease some of the stiffness from her muscles, but she knew better than to push herself.
As she neared the door, a chorus of bleating rose up from behind the fenced pen built onto the side of the barn. The noise distracted her from her planned destination, and she went to the fence instead.
“What have we got here? You must be the noats.”
There were more than a dozen herbivores inside the pen. They had cloven hooves, small horns, and their woolly coats were marked with piebald patches of white and brown. When they rushed the fence, she leaned over to pat them, and they greeted her like a long-lost friend instead of a stranger.
“You’re adorable. Would you like some fresh grass? I bet you would. Hang on a second and I’ll find you some.”
