by Rachel Clark
He felt almost guilty as he laid her on the bed and settled beside her to pull her back against his front, spoon style. “Sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s time to go.”
He held her for almost an hour, listening carefully. Eventually he heard her breathing deepen and felt her body relax in his arms, but he held her for a moment longer before he carefully moved away and reached for the tie on the hotel’s complimentary robe.
Gently, he looped the material around her left hand and carefully tied several tight knots before he twisted it around the bed head and then tied it to her right hand. She barely moved as he eased away from her, her body still soft and relaxed and her breath deep and even. He watched her for a moment. Regret rolled through him as he took a last look at the woman who would always own his heart but could never be part of his life. He’d contact the hotel management in a few hours so that someone could help her get untied and she could leave this pathetic little planet without him.
He left the room quietly and pulled on his clothes as he gathered his supplies. He checked that his stun pistol was fully charged and made sure the room was secure. Jordan was almost at the door when he hesitated and turned back to the bedroom to take one final look. From the doorway, he memorized every curve, every feature, every inch of flawless skin as he tried to prepare himself for a very lonely future. Yesterday that wouldn’t have bothered him. Today he felt like his soul had been cut from his body, leaving a wound that would never heal.
He stepped to the bed and carefully lifted the covers over her nakedness. “I love you,” he whispered as he turned and left the motel suite, quietly locking the door behind him.
* * * *
Sarah held still a moment longer as she listened intently to make sure he was actually gone. Stupid man! If you loved someone, you didn’t leave her tied to a bed while you went off to risk your life. Satisfied that she was indeed alone, she moved quickly and used her teeth to untie the knots, grateful that he hadn’t thought to bind her legs, as well. That would’ve made following him just a little bit harder.
Releasing herself, Sarah strode into the main area, collected her clothes, and emptied the pockets. She chuckled at how easy it had been to grab and hide all of the pieces while she maneuvered her little ship on the way here. If she’d really wished him harm, the man would’ve been in a whole lot of trouble. She moved confidently from years of practice and assembled all of the different little pieces back into a stun gun and tracking device. She laughed again as she remembered how she’d timed it perfectly. He hadn’t even felt the sting when she’d injected him in the back of the knee with the subcutaneous tracer. Well, she laughed to herself, men did tend to be a little preoccupied when a woman held his cock in her mouth.
Switching on the device as she quickly pulled her clothes on, she watched the little blip move across the screen. If they’d been on Earth, she would’ve been able to co-ordinate with global satellites and essentially watch his every move. On this planet, however, she needed to follow the little blip, and, judging by its slow movement, he was still on foot. She gathered her stun gun and tucked it into her pocket. It wasn’t little darlin’ but it would still be better than walking around unarmed.
* * * *
The hairs at the back of his neck prickled as he watched the entry to the store where he was supposed to rendezvous with his contact. The very fact that Oberon had set their meeting indoors had been unusual in and of itself, as he usually preferred the anonymity of a large market area or food court. What really had Jordan on edge had been the way the message had been phrased. Oberon had always, always left two spaces between the third and forth words in any communication as a verification of his identity to anyone reading the messages. It would’ve appeared as a simple typing error if someone had noticed, but to Jordan the missing extra space was a red flag that couldn’t be ignored.
“No sudden moves, pirate,” an overconfident voice said from behind him as he felt the barrel of an ancient projectile weapon pressed against his head. “We’ve been waiting for y…”
He never finished the sentence and after a moment’s hesitation, Jordan moved slowly and turned to see the young man crumpled at his feet.
“Didn’t your Momma ever tell you to watch your back?” Sarah asked, a broad smile on her face. “Lucky I came along,” she said as she pocketed the man’s weapon and hauled him further into the shadows.
“What are you doing here?” Jordan growled, panic for her safety overriding his common sense. “You can bet your ass he’s not alone.”
She glared at him. “You mean the guy on the roof across from us? Or the woman down the road without a baby in her pram?”
His gaze zoomed to both locations as fear for her pounded heavily through his system. He saw no one, so he glared back at her until she shrugged and patted her little stun gun before sliding it back into her pocket.
* * * *
If she hadn’t been so angry with him, she probably would’ve burst out laughing at the comical look on his face. God, men were stupid sometimes. He’d been so busy trying to protect her that he hadn’t even considered asking her what skills she might have. He’d just assumed that because she was out of her depth on his ship surrounded by nasty pirates that she’d be a cowering female who needed his protection, no matter where they were.
“I worked black-ops for seven years, you moron. I’m more qualified than you when it comes to this stuff, so quit looking at me like that and grab this guy. If we can get him somewhere secluded I can interrogate him and find out where your contact is.”
Chapter Seven
Still a little stunned, but more than grateful for her timely arrival, Jordan nodded and then bent to haul the young man to his feet. He threw an arm around the guy’s middle and held him up in a fairly believable imitation of helping a drunken friend. He took a step forward and then stopped, turned to her, and said two words that seemed to surprise Sarah.
“I’m sorry.”
Black-ops for seven years? No wonder the woman had a kick-ass attitude. As far as he knew, black-ops were deadly undercover missions for elite Earth military personnel, and they included everything from hostage rescue to assassinations.
Sarah led him to a dead-end alley. Tall concrete-type walls surrounded them on three sides, and he took their unconscious guest deep into the shadows. He stood back as Sarah tied the unconscious man using a long slim piece of cord that she’d withdrawn from her pocket. Jordan spared a moment to wonder where or how she managed to have so much stuff with her but decided to shelve the question for another time. He winced as he watched her wind the cord around their prisoner in an intricate pattern, including a loop around the man’s penis and another around his testicles, with nothing but a thin scrap of material between the cord and the guy’s sensitive flesh.
Jordan almost felt sorry for the guy. His own balls ached in sympathy for a fellow male, but he managed to shake off the strange feeling by reminding himself that moments ago this guy had pointed a lethal projectile weapon at his head. Satisfied with her knots, Sarah stepped back, holding both ends of the cord as she slapped him solidly across the face.
“Wake up, baby,” she said sweetly, her fingers caressing the pink outline of her hand print on his cheek. “I want to have a little chat.”
The man woke slowly, groggily looking around as he tried to get his bearings. Jordan knew the exact moment he realized his predicament, the guy’s face morphing into horror as he glanced down at the cord between his legs. He began to struggle against the knots that bound his arms behind his back but stilled almost immediately when the action pulled the cord tighter around his genitals.
“Now that I have your attention,” she began pleasantly. “I’ll explain the rules of this little game. I’m going to ask you a question and if you answer me truthfully, I pull this end.” She pulled the cord in her right hand in demonstration. “It releases the tension a little.” The man almost smiled as he felt the cord slacken a little, but it was short-lived as she continued
her demonstration. “But if you lie to me, I pull this cord.” The man’s face tightened in fear as the cord pressed harder against him.
“Now, do you understand the rules of our little game?” He nodded fiercely, his eyes darting between her face and his own balls. “Good boy,” she said, giving the right cord a small tug so that the pressure on his cock eased slightly.
“Who do you work for?”
“The government,” he answered immediately, expanding on the information as he saw her right hand twitch. “I answer directly to the Prime Minister.”
“Good,” she said, nodding. “So you should know where our friend is.”
“Oberon?” he asked as sweat ran down his brow and dripped onto his eyelashes. She caught Jordan’s quick nod out of the corner of her eye as he confirmed his contact’s name.
“Yes, Oberon. Tell me where he is and I will consider letting you keep your balls. Are you any good at singing?” she asked. “Lie to me and I’ll make sure you can hit the high notes.”
* * * *
Jordan still reeled from what had happened in the alley. The guy had literally spilled everything, even going as far as offering his access card to the facility where Oberon was being held and promising to find a new career.
Millions of questions flew through Jordan’s head, but one could no longer be contained and he found himself blurting it out before he’d had a good chance to decide if he really wanted to know the answer.
“How many times have you done that?”
“What, the cord thing?”
He nodded mutely, his eyes not daring to leave her face as his hands unconsciously moved in front of his groin and shielded his favorite appendages.
“A few times. Why?” she asked, looking at him curiously.
“I was...uhm...just wondering how many men...er...you...uhm ...castrated?” he asked, his blood running cold at the thought. She stopped to look him directly in the face and smiled at his confused expression.
“Actually, none. It seems that males of all species are more than willing to talk when their equipment is under threat.”
He laughed at her response as he acknowledged the truth of her statement. He didn’t know a man alive that would’ve willingly risked his package just to keep a few measly secrets. He shook his head in approval. She sure was one hell of a woman.
“Sarah, if you worked black-ops for seven years, how come you don’t have better control over your temper?” he asked before he thought better of the question.
“Yeah, well, seven years of rigid control—hell, it was gonna explode sooner or later,” she said, smiling. Jordan noticed the flippant way she answered and was sure that there was more to the story, but he set aside his curiosity for the time being.
He grabbed her hand, giving into his need to touch her, his need to renew their connection. Only hours ago he’d thought he’d never see her again, and now they were headed to a high security facility to try to free Oberon. He tried to concentrate and follow her lead.
As they neared the outer wall, Sarah turned into his embrace, tucked her head against his shoulder, and whispered instructions on what he should be looking for. She asked him detailed questions about the number and placement of guards, doors, and windows. He gazed down at her lovingly, their appearance nothing more noticeable than other honeymooners wandering the streets. Except, of course, that they were deep in discussion on the best way to infiltrate a high security government facility.
“Seven guards that I can see. No visible windows on the ground floor from this side, but the second level looks almost like an office block—at least twenty windows about two feet apart. Only one door guarded by two sloppy guards.”
“Sloppy I can work with,” she said confidently.
“What about the others? Do they look like professional soldiers or hired hands with guns?” He watched as one of the guards swung his rifle from side to side as he spoke to another man.
“I’d hazard a guess and say hired hands,” he said, barely able to contain his amusement. If appearance was anything to go by, even he’d be able to slip past these guys. Sarah should be able to do it with her eyes closed.
“Kiss me,” she whispered, and he obliged immediately as he wondered whether they were being watched or whether she’d just needed to kiss him as much as he needed to kiss her. Her lips met his, her tongue thrusting deep into his mouth as she pressed herself closer. She whimpered as he pulled her tighter, grinding her against his thickening cock.
She broke the kiss, gasping for breath. “We have about three hours until full dark. Take me back to the hotel,” she ordered as she stroked him through the material of his pants.
“Yes, ma’am.” He laughed as he threw an arm over her shoulders and turned her around to lead her towards their room.
* * * *
Sarah lay on the floor, sprawled across Jordan’s exhausted body as they tried to catch their breath. They’d barely made it into the room before their passion had overcome them and they’d stripped each other bare. Her need had nearly overwhelmed her as he’d lifted her against the door and plunged into her hot depths, his moan echoing her own as he’d pounded into her again and again.
She’d screamed and bitten his shoulder as her climax rocked her body, taking him with her as she convulsed around him. She had no idea how long they’d been lying collapsed on the floor, but the shadows in the room had lengthened and she was fairly certain that nightfall was approaching.
“Sarah,” he said quietly. “I think we need to move.”
“I know,” she said softly. He seemed a little alarmed at the sadness in her voice and he moved so that he could sit with her across his lap. “Sweetheart, what's wrong?”
“Nothing. Everything. Oh, crap. I don’t know,” she said tiredly. “A lot has happened in the last couple of days…” she said, trailing off, unable to find the words or the courage to say what was on her mind. Was it really fair to burden him with her feelings? He might believe he loved her—after all, he’d said it when he thought he was leaving her behind—but that didn't mean he wanted or needed her love in return. They’d already proven that a pirate ship was no place for a human woman and it was his pirate activities that made sure that sick children had a chance at getting the medicine they needed. The two simply weren’t compatible. She couldn’t stay with him, and he couldn’t give up his calling and stay with her. Jordan was brave and noble, almost the exact opposite of the scoundrel he was supposed to be, and she had no right to wish he could give her more than he already had. She would somehow find the courage to let him go simply because she loved him.
“Come on,” she said as she crawled off him and headed to the bathroom. “We have time for a quick shower and then it’s back to the real world.”
* * * *
The real world. That basically sums up the problem, Jordan thought as he dried her with a big fluffy towel. In the real world, their lives simply weren’t compatible. Only here, in this small bubble of time, could they truly love each other. He’d made slow, exquisite love to her again in the shower and passionately told her with his body how much she meant to him.
She’d moaned over and over as he’d taken her with gentle care, loving her with every emotion, every pound of his heart, every molecule of his being. She’d responded in kind, her lips never muttering the words, but her body language saying it loud and clear. She loved him. He could feel it as it flowed through him and healed his lost soul, filling the loneliness that he’d lived with for so long.
He watched her as she dressed, painfully aware that it was probably the last time he’d see her beautiful body, except of course in his dreams. The thought of going on without her after all this was done made his chest ache. A black void of empty days stretched before him and almost robbed him of his sanity. He pulled her into his arms, trying to imprint the memory of her feel, her scent, and her love in his head and his heart. Then he gathered his equipment, and with a heavy feeling weighing him down, followed her out the door.
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br /> * * * *
They’d watched the guards at the front door fall asleep and awaken several times in the past hour, only problem was that the two of them didn’t do it at the same time. Almost like it was coordinated, the other guard seemed to rouse as the first one fell asleep.
“Okay. New plan,” she whispered. “You create a diversion, and I’ll slip past them.”
He nodded as several ideas raced through his head.
“How about I stun one of the guards around the corner? Hopefully that will have the other two running to his aid.”
She nodded. “Just make sure you’re quick and you get the hell away before they get a chance to use their weapons. These are ancient projectile weapons, that shoot a small piece of metal called a bullet, and if they hit you, the wound is most likely fatal. You could bleed out long before I could get you medical assistance. So stay down, stay hidden, and if they find you, shoot them first. Are we clear?”
He nodded again, a big goofy grin on his face until she rolled her eyes.
“Okay, okay. I get it. But be careful, Pirate.”
He kissed her quickly and then moved from their hiding space and made his way carefully towards the corner of the building. He glanced back to where she’d been, no longer able to see her, and idly wondered if she still watched him or if she was also moving into position. He rounded the corner but found the guard asleep at his post. Damn, what was that they said about the best-laid plans? He made the decision quickly and used his stun gun to make sure the guard went right on sleeping so that he could go in search of another. He knew Sarah would be waiting for his signal, so he moved quickly, worried what she might do if she thought he wasn’t able to create the distraction she’d requested.
