His kiss deepened, heated, and she opened to him, his flavour filling her as he swept inside, licked deep, took from her with a gentle ruthlessness that had heat flooding to pool low in her loins.
She wanted more, her body calling for fulfilment, but before she could reach out to him, Darvk drew back, leaving her looking up at him with her mouth slightly open, her lips swollen from his kiss, her need churning low and hot. “Darvk…” Her voice was husky.
Heat glinted in his eyes, the vivid blue hot and promising, but instead of stepping forward into her cabin, he smiled slightly, took her hand and placed the flower in it. Without another word he turned and walked back to his cabin.
Stunned, she stared at the empty doorway. He’d kissed her and given her a beautiful flower. It reminded him of her. He hadn’t taken it further than that, and she wasn’t sure why. Looking down at the flower, she felt warmth unfurl in her chest, spread, grip with gentle fingers of seduction.
The big trader might be rough in some ways, be dominating, but he could bend - did bend - when needed. And he had a softer, more romantic side that he’d just shown to her. Even more important, he didn’t push her, didn’t take advantage of her situation, didn’t use it to press her into a sexual relationship.
Though need still simmered deep inside her, a smile curved her lips. The big Daamen captain was full of surprises, this one definitely pleasant. Regardless of what was happening, for one sweet moment it had been just the two of them, one flower, and a growing passion.
She didn’t know where it would lead, didn’t know how it would end, but right now it left her feeling so warm.
Still smiling, she closed the cabin door.
~ * ~
Crowded into the control cabin with her sister and the traders, Tenia listened to the soldiers’ voices clearly coming through the communicator.
“Nothing to be found this morning, just as we expected. Might as well move on out.”
“Shari will be relieved, anyway.”
The sound of the soldiers boarding the hover vehicles came to the listeners, then the low hum of engines as they moved off.
“What distance do the communicators remain in scanning range?” Reya queried.
“About fifty miles,” Darvk replied.
“We know nothing new.” Tenia idly twirled her braid.
“Don’t get disheartened. We only have to think of our next step.”
A scuffling sound came over the intercom, the sound of heavy breathing. They exchanged glances.
“Someone’s still there,” Maverk said. “One of the soldiers, mayhap?”
“If it’s only one, we can go down and capture him.” Reya looked at Tenia. “Best way to get answers is to have one of the enemy in our hands.”
“It may be more than one.”
In silence they waited then suddenly heard a chuckle. “Eh, Reekas! I know you’re listening.”
“I doubt that’s a soldier,” Red said.
“You want answers, yes?” came the stranger’s voice. “Took you both long enough to come back seeking them. Get your men to land in the valley you Reekas lived in before being outlawed. I will meet you there and perhaps give you what you want.” Footsteps faded away, followed by silence.
“Someone saw us.” Reya thoughtfully tapped the backrest of the chair.
“There’s no ship on our radar,” Red observed.
“So they have a radar blocker, too.”
“And, apparently, information for us.” Tenia folded her arms. “It could be a trap.”
Darvk nodded. “Aye, but we won’t know unless we go there.”
Reya looked at Red. “Can’t you pick up the speaker on your scanners and follow him?”
He shook his head. “He’s using something to block it and I don’t know what it is. But we can scan the areas in and around the valley before we get there.”
“They may be using the same blocking technique on the area,” Darvk mused.
“We could do a radar block on our ship and land nearby,” Red suggested.
“It may be our only option,” Maverk agreed.
“No,” Reya disagreed. “Take us back down to the ruins and we’ll follow this person.”
Maverk looked at her doubtfully.
“It makes sense,” Tenia told Darvk. “By following him we can see where he’s going and if a trap awaits us. We know this country. Red can track us on the scanner and you can come to the rescue if needed. Not that we’ll be caught,” she added confidently, when Darvk looked like he was going to argue.
“Meanwhile the person is getting away,” her sister reminded them all.
“The lass is right, Cap’n,” Red agreed.
“Why is it that they’re always right in these situations?” Darvk sighed, then frowned. “All right, but I’m going with you two.”
“As am I,” Maverk stated.
“That’s ridiculous,” Reya objected. “You’ll never keep up with us, you don’t have the stamina for long-distance running.”
Maverk arched an eyebrow at that but just instructed Red, “Get us down there while we’re arguing, it’ll save time.”
“Two are easier to hide than four,” she continued. “It makes it riskier than ever, having so many of us going.”
“There’s no further arguments on this.” Darvk strode to the door. “I’m going to get the viscomm tracker.”
Reya cursed.
Red grinned at her over his shoulder. “You can’t win everything, lass.”
“Come on.” Tenia tapped her shoulder. “Unless you want them to go and leave us behind.”
When they got to the cargo hold it was empty.
“Maybe they’ve changed their minds.” Reya looked hopeful.
Tenia checked the dagger strapped to her belt. “No such luck. Once their minds are made up, there’s no changing them.”
She was checking one of the spare lasers when Darvk and Maverk entered, laser in holsters strapped to their thighs. Darvk carried a viscomm tracker in his hand.
“Garret is in charge while we’re gone,” Darvk informed them. “Red will keep track of us on the scanner.”
Maverk handed them each a tiny disc. “Attach these communicators to your vests. They’ll keep us in contact with the ship. We can call for help on it.” He slanted a wicked look at Reya. “Want me to put yours on?”
She looked coolly at him.
He laughed.
“Aren’t you taking daggers as well?” Tenia asked Darvk as he stopped beside her.
He patted the laser. “We’re better with these, lass.”
“Make sure you know who’s behind your enemy.” Unconsciously she traced the scar beneath her vest. “Lasers burn like hell.”
“Don’t worry, lass, I’m very good with a laser.” As he took a step forward, he tossed her a sudden wink over a broad shoulder. “And my hands.”
“You mean fists?”
He just smiled, slow and a touch wicked, and she blushed as his meaning hit home.
In the next instant, she wondered if she’d really seen that smile and heard the words because he started issuing orders, talking to Maverk as though nothing had been said between them.
Forcing herself to concentrate on the task at hand, moving to Reya’s side, Tenia nevertheless had to do a bit of mental fanning.
“It’s a little hot in here, isn’t it?” she murmured.
Reya just looked at her, those ice cold eyes fathomless.
“Or not.” Tenia cleared her throat and did another completely unnecessary check of her laser.
~ * ~
Crouched on the incline, Reya scanned the ruins through the eyeglass. “No one in sight.”
The earth around the buried communicator looked undisturbed. Tenia watched as Darvk turned on the viscomm tracker, and the wavering image of a figure clad in robes showed. The figure spoke the same words they’d heard before then it turned and hurried away.
The small group followed cautiously, Darvk at the front with the tracker.
Once assured of the direction the figure was heading, they broke into a steady, easy run.
Reya scouted ahead when they finally came to a stop, and they waited, scanning their surroundings until she returned shortly after to inform them, “Horse tracks beyond the hill show the person met up with two other riders.”
“Horses?” Maverk was bemused. “Why not a hover craft?”
“Whatever their reasons, it doesn’t matter. They’re heading for the valley.”
The tracks went for two more miles.
“See those mountains? The valley lies between them.” Tenia pointed to the nearby mountains. “It’s only a mile away. If we’re going to be ambushed, it’ll be in the forest between where we now stand and the start of the incline.”
As the warriors stepped forward, Darvk started to reach out to grab Tenia’s arm, only to stop just in time. He might not like that she took the lead with her sister, but they knew the terrain. To try to take control now was not smart, in fact, it would be downright insulting to their very nature, character and experience.
He didn’t like it, but he had to accept it.
Maverk looked questioningly at him but Darvk just shook his head.
However, it didn’t mean they were prepared to let the Reekas go unprotected. The traders followed close on the wrenches’ heels, ready to pull them back if needed, as they made their way through the forest, thickly wooded with trees and bushes. Day flyers screeched in the treetops and bushes rustled as tiny animals, startled by the intruders, sought deeper cover.
Suddenly Reya stiffened. “Riders coming! Everyone down, now!”
Chapter 7
After several minutes of crouching behind the bushes, they saw a hooded and robed figure gallop past, followed by two more riders. As the hoof beats faded into the distance, they stood up slowly.
“Red, did you pick anything up on your scanner?” Darvk queried in a low tone.
“Nothing,” the answer came through his earpiece. “They’re using some sort of blocker.”
“Damn, they could very well be tracking us. We need to know what blockers they’re using.”
“There’s another rider coming,” Tenia said. “He - or she - is ours.”
Darvk peered through the bushes. “If we can get whatever they’re using to block our scanners, it stands to reason that it’ll block theirs as well.”
“Tenia, you get the horse,” Reya ordered. “I’ll take down the rider.”
Maverk frowned. “Hang on, lass, we’ll get the rider-”
“We don’t have time to argue. Hear the hoof beats? He’ll be here any second. We’ve done this before.” She paused, cast him a dry look. “Once he’s down, you can jump all over him if it’ll make you feel better.”
He rolled his eyes at Darvk.
Darvk shrugged. If the wenches were that set on bringing down the rider, fine, he wasn’t going to argue. Besides, he and Maverk were there to help if needed.
The horse came thundering down the path and Tenia sprang into action. Stepping out in front of the horse and making it rear up, she grabbed the straps near its face and held on with all her strength while it snorted and side-stepped wildly.
Reya leaped up and grabbed handfuls of the cloak near the bent knees of the rider as well as the hood. She fell back to allow her weight to drag the surprised rider off the horse so that he landed with a thump on the ground.
Immediately Maverk was straddling him, pinning him down while Darvk helped Tenia calm the horse and tie it to a nearby tree.
Reaching down, Reya touched the thick metal pin attached to the robe. “The blocker, I’d wager.”
“You’d wager correct, my wild warrior,” said the figure on the ground.
She froze.
“You know him?” Maverk queried.
With Tenia by his side, Darvk strode over to stand beside the prone figure straddled by his friend, and watched curiously as Reya reached down and drew the hood away to reveal a merry face with a dark brown goatee, thin moustache, and thick wavy hair, all neatly trimmed. Black eyes twinkled up at her.
“Sinya,” she said emotionlessly. “I suppose your whole worthless mob is here somewhere?”
He grinned as though he didn’t have a care in the world. “Now don’t be like that, sweetheart. Aren’t you pleased to see me?”
She gazed down at him in a distinctly unfriendly way.
“You don’t trust an old friend? After we fought on the same side? I’m crushed!”
“I’d sooner trust a snake. What are you doing here?”
Sinya looked up at the blonde giant straddling him. “If you could call off your bodyguard?”
“Let him up.”
Maverk climbed to his feet and Sinya rose from the ground, divesting himself of the black robe and hood to reveal a lean build dressed in skin tight black pants, knee-high boots, and a white shirt with full, flowing sleeves caught at the wrists. His shirt hung open to his navel, showing his chest that for all his leanness was well muscled.
“Well?” Reya arched an eyebrow. “Where are the rest of your pirates?”
Space pirate. Instinctively tensing, Darvk exchanged a glance with Maverk. Space pirates were some of the biggest scourge of the trading routes, not to mention the Lawful Sector in general. He glanced around, Maverk actually turning his back to them all so he could keep an eye on their rear.
“You have a suspicious mind, sweetheart.” Sinya flashed Reya a charming grin, only to jump back quickly as her dagger flashed in her hand. “Okay, okay! Come to our camp and-”
“Nay.” Darvk decisively folded his arms across his chest, biceps bulging. “Not until you tell us what you want.”
“Want? Me? Nothing.”
Darvk glanced sideways at Tenia, wondering if she knew him. But she was studying Sinya with a frown.
He certainly didn’t expect her calm reaction.
“If he won’t answer, then let’s dispose of him and be on our way.” She drew the laser. “We have no time to waste.”
“Hey now, wait a minute. Let’s not be so hasty.” Sinya’s hands shot up, palms forward. “I’m offering help.”
“Reya obviously doesn’t trust you, so why should we?”
“She doesn’t trust anyone.” He regained his cheerful persona. “And obviously neither do you, which makes me wonder why you two keep company with these giants. Although, I had heard that both of you are now owned by Daamen traders…?”
Darvk gave a mental head shake. If there was one thing sure to rile up the red-headed Reeka, it was saying something like that.
“Cut the crap, Sinya, and answer us now or I’ll slit your throat and make the world a better place,” Reya ordered coldly.
Obviously, Sinya had enough brains to know when to stop pushing the boundaries. “I’m here to offer my services.”
“Why?”
“We’re old friends.”
“Acquaintances.”
“We fought on the same side.”
“Why?”
“You never were one for much conversation.” Sinya sobered. “I’m here to pay you back for saving my life on Crnza.”
Switching his gaze between Reya and Sinya, Darvk wondered about their association. He certainly didn’t miss the querying glance Tenia shot her sister, though she didn’t ask anything. No doubt, though, there’d be questions aplenty when they got back on board the trade spaceship.
“You risked coming to the lawful part of the universe to repay me?” Reya stroked the blade of the dagger. “And?”
Sinya eyed the wicked glint of the blade. “Perhaps this will change your mind. I know of two survivors of the massacre that resulted in your race being outlawed.”
“Where?”
“Come back to my camp and I’ll tell you. We can all have-” His words were choked off by Tenia grabbing his shirtfront and jerking him forward, her other hand pressing the dagger to his throat.
“Damn you to hell and back, you little worm,” she snarled, violet eyes dark and dangerou
s. “Stop playing around and answer.”
Her actions startled Darvk, though he shouldn’t have been surprised. She was a Reeka warrior, an outlaw, not just a lass under his protection. In fact, at times like this it was again made clear that she was more than capable of taking things into her own hands.
He’d do well not to forget it.
Sinya looked at him over her shapely shoulder.
“I suggest you do as she says,” Darvk drawled. “She’s pretty fiery, and patience isn’t her virtue.”
“That’s obvious.” Sinya added hastily, “One of the survivors lives on Urion, the other on Ylan.” He breathed a sigh of relief when she released him.
“Those places are in the Outlaw Sector,” Reya stated. “Why there?”
“I don’t know, but they won’t talk about it to anyone.”
“So how did you find out?”
“Apparently one of them was sick with fever and delirious, and bits and pieces of the episode came out. The medic’s daughter mentioned it to me one day.” He sighed wistfully “Ah, she was a lovely little piece.”
Darvk moved up behind Tenia to study him closer. “And we should trust you, an outlaw?”
“Not an outlaw.” Sinya bowed with a flourish. “I’m a pirate, and the best, if I may say so. My crew is also the best. We wench, we steal, we fight, and by damn, none can match us-”
“So what do you get out of this?” Reya interrupted his enthusiastic boasts.
Sinya sighed. “You’re like a hound with a bone. The Inka Empire is a thorn in my side and they have captured some of my men. There’s no hope in hell of breaking them out of that bloody fortress Shari lives in, damn it.”
“Your men?” Her eyes were shrewd. “And your brother, I’d wager.”
The black eyes flickered, all traces of merriment gone. “Yes, my brother, too. The only way to get them released is if the Inka Empire topples. That’s why I want to join up with you to find a way to accomplish it.”
Everyone was silent then Darvk said, “I guess we’d better seek out these survivors.”
Tenia turned to him. “They’re in the Outlaw Sector. You and the others can’t-”
Outlaw Page 17
