“It’s not something I can really help right now. You’re quite beautiful.” He turned away and moved to the next wall panel to inspect it. “I wonder where the door is. There has to be one.”
Even with his cock out of view, there was no side of him that didn’t invite admiration, and set her feminine parts jiggling. The dense musculature ranging across his back caused her to follow the sleek lines down. Even the scars that crisscrossed his back from the torture he’d sustained at the hands of Kristin Devenport didn’t detract from the view.
Her core clenched as her gaze locked on to his incredible ass. Nipples pebbling, her mind whirled even as her hand inched, of its own accord, toward him. What would it feel like to run her hand over that firm roundness?
Her cheeks heated. She fisted her hand, forcing it to her side once again. She needed to fill the silence growing between them.
Say something. Anything.
“It’s okay. I want you too?”
Gods, no, not that. This was all too screwed up.
“I’ll check this way.” She moved away from him, forcing herself to focus on the wall panel on the opposite side of the one with the drawer, putting distance between herself and Carter.
She took a deep, stabilizing breath. She needed to concentrate on something else.
The wall looked solid enough. This panel didn’t have the sheen of the ones on the opposite wall. When she looked closer, it remained opaque.
She pushed out, then to the side, but the panel didn’t move.
Inspecting the molding between the wall panels brought no new insights. Smooth, plain, it appeared a simple support for the panel. But she pushed and pulled on it, hoping to uncover some hidden compartment or opening mechanism. Surely there was a way to get out. They’d gotten in somehow.
She worked her way left as he moved right, inspecting their prison for anything that would help in escape. Knowledge was power. Right now they didn’t know much.
“Did you see that different species of bug?” He rammed his shoulder into one of the panels. “Solid.”
She recalled a mottled blur of olive-drab color on a stick figure before she passed out from the gas, but couldn’t bring the picture into focus in her mind. “A new species of bug?”
He thumped on the next panel down. “Green, looks kind of like a praying mantis.”
“I’m not sure what that would look like.” Tina moved around the corner to her next panel, one of the glassy ones. She leaned in, and could make out something beyond the wall. A hallway or walk beyond, but the wall across was transparent. She looked into an empty room identical to the one she and Carter were trapped in.
“A mantis is an Old Earth insect. Fascinating species.” He moved closer now. Inspecting the panels had brought them both around the room to opposite corners of the same wall. “I’ve been doing a little study of insects, as the black bugs resemble cockroaches from our galaxy. I keep wondering if there’s any relationship.”
Cockroaches she knew. Also an Old Earth insect, they’d somehow found their way onto early starships and now inhabited almost every populated planet in the Milky Way. Tenacious little crawlers.
One by one, they worked their way to the middle of the wall, testing for any hint of a doorway. Then he was beside her once again, working on the panel next to hers. The tantalizing smell of Tanzian Cedar filled her senses. Was that a scent he wore, or just natural Carter smell? She sure hoped it wouldn’t wear off. Then again, maybe that would be better. It exuded an aura of musky sensuality that had Tina’s senses reeling.
Concentrate on something else.
Pressing her face into the translucent panel, the world outside their prison came into view. Movement to the right. Mottled green, the two stick-figure insectoids cantered down the hallway, stopping at yet another prison room, next to the one across from them, to point and gesture. “I think I see them. If you look close enough, you can see through the panels on this wall.”
He pressed his nose against the wall. “Yes, that’s them. It looks like we’re in some kind of menagerie.”
Then he sighed. Turning, he took hold of her shoulders and eased her around to face him. To his credit, his gaze never left her eyes and he kept enough distance to keep his erection from touching her. “Look. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this for a long time. There’s just never been a chance.” He paused, his eyes shifting slightly to the side, then back to capture her gaze. “Okay, there’s been plenty of chance, I just . . . What I’m trying to say is I like you . . . a lot. I have for quite a while now.”
Tina’s heart warmed. “I like you too. I always have.”
His eyes narrowed. “And this is probably not the time for me to bring this up, but then again, we might never get another chance. What I’d really like to do . . . right now . . . is kiss you.”
Butterflies erupted in Tina’s stomach. “I think I’d like that very much.”
A bright smile spread across his luscious lips as he drew her in. His warmth enveloped her. Strength, comfort, protection and so much more. He tilted his head slightly and brought his lips to hers.
Bold, sweet, and heady, he tasted like a shot of Kelsian Brandy, smooth on the lips yet erupting into a burn in the pit of her stomach. As she fell into him, he intensified the kiss, his tongue probing. She opened for him, accepting and giving back all she could.
His arms enfolded her, drawing her in tighter. Warmth and excitement rippled through her core in waves.
This had been the stuff of her dreams. To know that he felt the same as she did sent her heart beating faster and her mind whirling.
Her tongue tangled with his in a passionate dance. Her core clenched as his erection pulsed boldly against her stomach.
Purity be damned. She wanted him.
It would mean breaking oaths she’d taken as a child, betraying her people. But did that even matter anymore?
Quendor was gone, raided and plundered by pirates from the Dark Nebula fifteen years ago. Her home world had paid for its sins in one deadly slave raid after another. She’d been only six when they breached her family’s fortress and carried her away, and at that time, there hadn’t been much left of the planet and her old way of life anyway.
What did purity matter when you faced death?
Carter broke the kiss, his eyes intense. His breath as ragged as hers, he glanced quickly at the glassy wall panel. “They’re probably watching. I don’t think we should . . .”
“No.” She put a hand to his chest, but didn’t push him away. Not yet. She needed his heat, his presence. “It’s most likely what they want. We’re here to be observed. They want to learn about us.”
And she wasn’t really ready to go there yet. But the kiss had been wonderful. Everything she’d dreamed it would be and so much more. Her body cried for more.
He nodded. “We can’t teach them anything that could potentially aid them. Perhaps even our kissing was too much, but I couldn’t help myself.”
The intensity in his eyes spoke volumes, yet he released her and stepped back. She missed his warmth and protection.
“And maybe, if we keep vigilant, we can learn a few things about them.” She cast her gaze down, to his pulsing erection. “But what about that? Does it hurt?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” He sighed. “Maybe a swim in that cool water will help.”
“I’m sorry.” Her gut wrenched, she wanted him so much. She brought her fingertips to her lips, savoring the tingle he’d left on them.
“If we get out of here . . .” He shook his head, his lips curving into a sexy smirk. His heated gaze pinned her. “When we get out of here, we are going to pursue whatever this is. I promise.”
He turned, giving her another look at his fabulous ass before he plunged into the pool of water. She went to her knees, putting
her warm cheek against the cool glassy surface of the wall panel.
New determination boiled in her gut. “When we get out of here.”
Chapter 4
“You’re looking at me.”
Tina blanched at Carter’s tease.
She had been looking. She couldn’t help herself. He was so . . . beautiful.
“You wouldn’t have caught me if you hadn’t been looking back.” There, chew on that one.
Though she’d lost much of the shame and embarrassment of being naked around him. Still she wondered, did he like what he saw?
They were so different. Her with her black hair and dark skin. Him all blond and fair-skinned. Was that something that mattered to him? Would he be interested in her if she wasn’t the last human woman in his world right now?
His shrug had his erection bobbing up and down. “It’s kind of hard not to look every once in a while.”
“It is kind of hard.” She bit back a chuckle.
His eyes twinkled. “Stop that.”
Maybe they’d gotten a bit too comfortable with their nudity.
No. Comfortable wasn’t the right word. There was nothing comfortable about the tantalizing thrill that shot through her core every time she gazed at his physique. And she was probably sneaking looks more than she should.
And more often than not, when she looked she found him looking back.
Maybe that should have bothered her, but it didn’t. “Okay, so we both look. I don’t think they can learn anything from us if we only do that.”
He tilted his head as his gaze swept over her. “But no touching, and no more kissing until we’re out of here.”
She nodded, but added silently, unless we don’t get out of here soon. I’ll only be able to wait so long.
~ ~ ~
Through the hazy, mirrored finish of the translucent wall, Carter took in whatever he could of the bugs’ operations. Anything he could learn could be vital to their escape.
And he needed the distraction.
Desire beyond anything he’d ever felt for a woman warred constantly with the need to protect her, save her from these damn bugs . . . and maybe himself as well. Not that he’d ever force his attentions on her.
A smile coursed across his lips. Not that she’d ever let me.
Tina knew how to take care of herself. The things she’d survived already. She probably didn’t even need his protection.
Strong, smart, and so sexy. What did she see in him?
Just a big, dumb Fleet marine.
Movement in the cage across drew his attention. Had the bugs captured more people? The enclosure had been empty only a few hours ago.
From his location, he could make out three cages across a wide hallway outside their enclosure. Each appeared exactly like the one he and Tina were imprisoned in. One directly across the walkway from them, and one on either side of that. He could only see into the one straight across.
Humanoid in appearance, the two new figures in that cell appeared to have a deep blue tinge to their skin-tone. One male, one female. Naked like he and Tina.
He couldn’t recall any blue-skinned race in the Milky Way galaxy. Could these be humanoids from Andromeda? The only inhabitants discovered before now had been the bugs, but exploration had really only just begun.
Tina placed one warm hand on his shoulder. The contact, comforting and stimulating all at the same time. “See anything?”
“We’ve got neighbors.”
She slid in next to him, her shoulder touching his as she pressed her face to the wall to look through.
“You’re touching me.” And it felt damn good.
They’d grown closer over the past day, since that amazing kiss. Talking, touching accidentally every once in a while. Though not completely at ease with their nudity, at least achieving a certain comfort level.
“Oh, I guess I am.”
But she didn’t move. Scamp.
Still, he’d done his own share of flirting.
He fought a constant battle with his body. His cock rarely below half mast, and usually rock hard. Gods, how he wanted her. Did it really matter if the bugs saw how humans made love? What could they possibly learn of any use?
No, he was being selfish. Need had him burning with desire. These aliens were a dangerous, brutal race, and he and Tina had agreed, after they escaped, they would pursue this . . . thing.
Still, if they couldn’t find a way to escape, he knew passion would eventually claim them. What was growing between them couldn’t be denied forever.
“They appear to be arguing.” Her throaty Quendorian accent held such an exotic charm.
He refocused his attention on the couple across the way. Arms flailed and heads shook. Though he couldn’t hear their words, their stances clearly remained defensive toward each other. “Not happy about being here or not happy with each other? I wonder?”
She shrugged. The movement against his shoulder sent a pleasantly sexy jolt through his groin.
“If we had Kirtl with us, he’d know.” Tina’s tone held a note of sadness.
Yes, most certainly the mind-reading Blarmling would be able to learn what was going on in the cage across the way.
“I wonder where the little guy is.” Is he still alive? He’d lost enough friends already to last a lifetime. He wasn’t ready to accept Kirtl’s loss until he could verify it. “He was captured with us. I saw him. Maybe he’s in one of those other cages.”
“Gods, I hope so. I really miss him.” Sorrow filled her eyes. She sighed heavily.
“We’re going to get out of this.” He put as much confidence as he could muster into his tone. “We have to.”
~ ~ ~
Tina wasn’t so sure any more, but she forced a smile. “We’ll give it our best try. I’m not giving up.”
Her hand trailed over the rough scabbing below her navel, similar to the wound Carter had. “I wonder what they did to us when we were out.”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure we want to know. I do remember it hurt like hell.”
Everything she’d already survived. Captivity, slavery, living on the run. She’d never given up, and she wasn’t about to now.
But there was something she was about to give up on, and with the best reason in the galaxy. She couldn’t hold it in any longer. Carter was so different from every other man she’d ever known. Her stomach fluttered just being near him. She was so ready to take that next step.
But first she needed him to understand.
“What do you know of my home-world, Quendor?”
He cocked his head. “Isolationist, as I recall. When I was in Fleet we were instructed to stay away from the planet except in extreme circumstances.”
“It’s one of the things that led to our downfall. When the Dark Nebulan Pirates invaded, we refused to ask for outside help. Our leaders thought we could handle anything by ourselves. We were, after all, a superior race.” Chill fisted in her gut at the memories. Though she’d been only six years old, she remembered the speeches, the pompous rhetoric, the blind pandering. Back then, she’d believed it all.
“Visitors never found welcome on Quendor. Diplomatic missions were barely tolerated. My people never considered any matter beyond the needs of our planet and population, and didn’t desire any outside interaction.”
When he shrugged, wonderful things happened in the muscle on his shoulders. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Lots of planets, especially those toward the galactic rim, have to be more self-sufficient. The galactic core worlds tended to look more inward than out before we found the portal to Andromeda.”
“That’s true enough, but Quendor took isolation to the extreme. Even espousing friendship with someone other than another Quendorian brought suspicion of treason. And a
romantic relationship with someone of an alien race was considered an abomination.” Did he understand what she was feeling?
“Alien race? You mean like Blarmling or Tandarian?” He narrowed his eyes.
She took a deep breath and turned from him. She didn’t want to see his reaction when she said the rest. “Or any human that wasn’t from Quendor. Yes, hard to believe, I know. But that was how we were.”
“So when I kissed you,” his tone took on a hard edge, “that was abominable?”
“No.” She spun back toward him. “That was wonderful. That was everything I’d been dreaming about for months. Since I met you, I’ve felt this attraction, this connection. It goes against everything I’ve been brought up to believe. I struggled to keep it professional between us. I’ve fought with myself over it, tried to deny how I feel. That’s why I’ve never approached you about it . . . about us.”
A half smile quirked the corner of his oh-so-kissable lips. His eyes softened.
She pressed on. She needed to get this out. “I’m so sorry about that. If I hadn’t been so . . . maybe we’d have . . . kissed sooner.”
Warmth enveloped her as he wrapped his arms around her. “I wish I had as good of an excuse. I was just shy, stupid.”
Gods, her body thrummed with passionate heat in his embrace. She would gladly throw aside everything she’d been brought up to believe to have him like this always.
The Quendor she knew was gone anyway. Pirates from the Dark Nebula had destroyed a planet that probably deserved what it had gotten. Isolated, narrow-minded fools. Looking back now, her decade of captivity and the years after, living on the run, had really been part of her liberation. Seeing and interacting with all the different races across the galaxy had certainly given her a different viewpoint.
“Do you really think it matters if the bugs see us . . .” She wanted Carter so badly. Wanted him to possess her, make love to her, break every rule her planet had imposed.
Captives of the Kratzen (Hearts in Orbit) Page 3
