Forbidden Worlds - Box Set (11 page)

He held still until every drop of his essence spilled, then he sank down at the edge of the bed, panting, her feet on his shoulders.

After a moment, she pulled her legs up onto the bed, rolled over and crawled to the edge of the mattress to face him. Her eyes were bright, her face flushed and glowing. “Are you ready for that shower now?”

Damon laughed out of sheer surprise. She amazed him, inspired him and apparently, just for a little while longer, she belonged to him. He planned to enjoy every minute of it.

* * * *

Hours later Lea met Troy and Alor in the galley. Dressed now in one of the few outfits Damon hadn’t “fixed,” she felt much more like herself, though not quite. The person she’d been when she’d left home in search of Troy didn’t exist anymore, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that quite yet.

Alor still wore nothing but the cut-off pants Lea had given her. She sat next to Troy, her thin arms wrapped around his the way a strangling vine clings to a young tree. Lea made a note to give the girl some proper clothes as soon as possible. Though the caged feeling brought on by the transformation seemed to be fading, she had no idea how the men would react after several days of watching the lithe little healer strut around the decks half naked.

“Look, the pelt is shedding,” Alor said when Lea sat down. Her loving gaze barely left Troy. “He’ll be back to normal soon.”

“I hope so. It looks like you both need some medical attention,” Lea said. “I can’t do much on board, but we can start with some vitamin supplements at least.”

Troy nodded and bit into a protein cube he’d snagged from the open ration pack on the table before them. “God, it feels good to eat real food again.”

Lea glanced at the off-white lump of super-compressed dietary supplement. “If you call that real food, you’ve got much bigger problems than I thought.”

Troy laughed but his smile faded quickly. “You were telling the truth about Darya, weren’t you? She’s still all right?”

“For now, yes. We have time, and if Alor will agree to help her...”

Alor nodded. “I had always wished to help Troy’s woman. I know the therapies that will cure Lorcan.”

Relief made Lea’s knees weak. Her gaze traveled to Damon as he entered the galley, and she fought not to blush. Their shared shower had been vigorous and...well, she had no doubt that Troy and Alor could guess what they’d been doing for the last hour and a half.

Alor smiled up at her. “Your master is a generous and brave man. You are very lucky.”

“I’m not her master,” Damon replied, his voice suddenly tight. He took a bottle of water from the cold storage unit and popped the top. “But, yes, I am rather generous and brave.”

Lea dismissed him with a wave. “He’s also very modest, but we all owe him our lives. I could never have rescued Troy without his help.”

“We are in your debt,” Alor said, and Lea didn’t like the look she gave Damon. She knew how debts were paid on Ambrax, and she had no wish to see him collect whatever Alor thought she owed him.

“Alor, I don’t know what you’ll want to do now, but I assure you, I will help you find a place to live and some work, maybe at the medical center on Denara if you choose to continue to practice healing. I’m sure they’d be thrilled to learn some of your Braxan therapies.”

Alor’s own smile faltered, and she glanced uncertainly at Troy. Lea wondered if the girl’s slender fingers would have to be surgically removed from her brother-in-law’s bicep. “I will go only where Troy wishes. I am his now and forever.”

“Um...that may pose a problem for his wife.”

Alor nodded solemnly and set her lips in a determined line. “I will go where he wishes and do as he says. If he does not want me, he may give me to another.”

Troy let out a long breath. “I...uh...we can discuss this later, can’t we?”

Lea glared at him until Damon motioned her to join him outside the galley. “Why don’t we let them have something to eat and get some rest and you can teach Alor about monogamy later?”

She rose reluctantly, and Troy gave an innocent shrug as she passed him. “Yes, later. I will do that.”

“I
am
monogamous,” Alor called as Lea strolled out of the galley on Damon’s heels. “I will be with only one master unless Troy wishes it otherwise.”

Outside the galley, Lea sighed and leaned against the bulkhead. “All I care about is saving my sister’s life. I’m not going to get involved in Troy’s personal...affairs.”

Damon smiled. “Keep telling yourself that, Cherry. Keep telling yourself that.”

Chapter 8

Lea found Damon pacing the pristine corridors of the medical center just outside of the suite of rooms where Alor was treating Darya. She hadn’t expected him to hang around, but he seemed just as anxious to find out if Darya would survive as she was. His concern warmed her and added to the strange euphoria that had overtaken her when she’d found out her sister could be cured.

He looked out of place here. His broad shoulders and brooding gaze didn’t seem to fit in the clean, brightly lit medical center. In her mind, she’d always picture him in a more rugged setting, his Sparthan blades drawn, ready for combat.

When he saw her strolling down the corridor, he gave her a familiar smile and met her halfway. “You look happy.”

“Alor’s treatments are working. Darya’s regaining some of the higher brain functions she’d begun to lose, and her doctors think she’ll make a complete recovery.”

“Good. Then she’ll be in prime shape to kick Troy’s ass all over the system when she finds out about him and Alor.”

Lea laughed. “Yeah. Things are going to be a little sticky once she’s back on her feet. Darya hadn’t told Troy before he left, but she’s pregnant. The doctors wanted to terminate the pregnancy as soon as she was diagnosed, but I convinced them to wait until I returned. She’s going to be okay, and she’s going to get to see her baby, too. Alor is overjoyed. Apparently only certain people are allowed to breed on Ambrax and she wasn’t one of them.”

Damon rocked back on his heels and gave a low whistle. “Wow. Well, tell them both...or all three of them, congratulations. I’m glad it all worked out.”

Lea lowered her eyes. “I have to admit, when I left here, I really wasn’t sure it would. I just felt like I had to do something even if I died trying. It was better than sitting here watching my sister fade away to nothing. Thank you for...making it all turn out all right, against the odds.”

Damon nodded. He seemed uncomfortable, and Lea figured he wasn’t the type of man to accept heartfelt praise.

“Just doing my job,” he said.

The words made her heart beat a little faster. A subtle reminder that there was still the matter of business between them. Feeling awkward now and unsure of what else to say, she dug into her pocket and pulled out a credit chip. “Here you go. It’s all there,” she said when she pushed the chip into his palm. “Double your standard rate.”

Damon didn’t look at the chip. He didn’t look at Lea either. “I guess I owe you for the clothes I tore up. I’ll have a return voucher drawn up at the exchange—”

“Never mind that.” She laughed, but her giddiness seemed to evaporate. This was the end of the adventure, and though everything had turned out far better than she’d hoped, one dark cloud remained. He’d be leaving, and it was likely their paths would never cross again. “I needed a new wardrobe anyway. I never realized all my clothes were so drab.”

“Well, stick with red. It’s a good color on you.”

“I will. Where are you headed now?”

He shrugged, patted the chip as he tucked it into his pocket. “I don’t have to worry about working for a while. I could go anywhere.”

“You could stay here for a bit.” She stepped closer, daring herself to touch him without losing control of her emotions.

“It’s probably best if I get out of Company territory for a while, since most of the weapons in my collection were stolen from your uncle.”

“I doubt he misses them anymore.” She was toe-to-toe with him now, her eyes trained on his.

Before he could step back, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

He caught her supple body and molded her to his muscular length. For a moment, she drifted, lost in a fantasy she had no right to create.

She moaned into his mouth, captured his tongue with hers and suckled, drawing his essence into her, and it felt better than anything she’d ever known before. When she finally broke away, she swore his knees buckled just a bit. Some part of her she’d buried deep rose to the surface now, clinging to a final shred of hope that there might be something more between them than a business arrangement.

“Come home with me, Damon. My place isn’t far from the hospital. Stay the night and we’ll make love.”

Why had she said that? Why had she gone back on her word to keep their relationship impersonal?

“Oh, Cherry. That’s not what you want.”

“It is! I...” Her gaze wavered and the fierceness she felt in her chest drained away. “I want you to know how I feel.”

He stepped back, letting his arms drop from her waist. “You’re still a Company brat. You don’t want to jeopardize that. You need to keep your hand on Daddy’s money as long as you can. Darya and Troy are going to need your help to get them back on their feet.”

“No one has to know. You and I can—”

Damon shook his head. “You’re too good for that. You don’t need to be hiding a problem as big as me. We’re not alike. In fact, we’re not even the same species. You can do a lot better.”

She bit her lower lip to still its quivering. Her whole body ached to feel him against her again, but she didn’t dare touch him or she’d never let go.

After a moment, Damon cast a meaningful glance down the corridor. “Take care of yourself, Lea.”

“Where are you going to go? After Soffran, I mean.”

“I thought I’d stop by Earth, go to the Ministry of Worlds and tell them what we found on Ambrax. They need to stop granting emergency landing permits. No more rumors, no more fantasies. Ambrax is hell, and I want everyone to know it.”

“Good.” Her smile was forced, and her eyes brimmed, but she refused to permit a tear to fall. “That’s good. Maybe I’ll take Alor there so she can tell her story, too. We weren’t the first people Mojar dumped in the jungle to get rid of.”

“I’m sure your sister would appreciate that.” Damon winked. He straightened his spine took a step away from her in the direction of the exit. “Good-bye, Cherry. It’s been...a hell of a ride.”

She didn’t respond. She just nodded and turned away. His footsteps receded quickly, and she calculated when he reached the end of the corridor.

Would he look back?

She waited one more second, then cast a quick glance over her shoulder.
If he’s still there I’ll go to him. I’ll go with him wherever he wants me to go.

But the corridor was empty. Just like her heart.

Epilogue

Three solar months later

“That’s eight thousand going once...twice. Eight thousand for forty kilos of unprocessed rydelium, do I hear nine? Nine...nine. Mobrak? Mobrak says nine, going once, twice...sold to Mobrak. You made yourself a good deal. Only government approved credit vouchers accepted, see Gordon at the exchange window for my PIN number.” Damon stepped down from the auction platform as the crowd of disappointed bidders drifted away. He wiped sweat from his brow and glanced around the smoky, smelly, overcrowded auction room.

Why had he come here again? He certainly didn’t need the money he’d just made, but it was nice for once in his life to have some surplus in his coffers. Trading was a tiring way of life, but it beat risking his balls every day as a bounty hunter. He’d given up that life for good.

Gathering the credit chips he’d already accumulated at the day-long trader’s auction, he began gathering his gear. He’d be off world in an hour and on his way to someplace where he could put some of his hard earned cash to good use on fine food and willing women.

“Damon Cantor.”

The familiar voice stunned him, left him momentarily frozen in time. He’d been sucker punched a few times in his life. He’d been in a catastrophic depressurization once, and he’d been on the business end of a shock-stick more times than he cared to count, but none of that knocked the wind out of him as fast or as hard as seeing her again.

She wore that damn red flight suit that clung to her curves in a way that made his throat tight and his balls itch. Her hair was a little longer, but not enough to be fussy, and her smile immediately called to mind the last time she’d climaxed in his arms.

“What brings you to a dirty place like this, Cherry?” The trader’s auction on Vadeira was no place for her, no place for any respectable citizen or any beautiful woman.

She shrugged. “Business.”

“What business could you have on a non-Company world?” He slung his pack over his shoulder, hoping that would make him look like he had important places to go, but the truth was, he couldn’t have walked away from her right now if his life depended on it.

“All my business is non-Company now. I’m freelancing.”

“Your Company paycheck isn’t paying the bills anymore?”

Her sapphire eyes clouded for a moment, but her voice was light. “My father disowned me. Surprise, surprise.”

Damon swore he felt a little dizzy. It had to be the stink of the place was finally getting to him. “Let me guess, you married beneath you?”

She smirked. “No. I told him he could look me up the day he accepts Darya’s baby boy into the family business. He didn’t like that.”

“Good for you.” His chest felt tight. He wanted to whisk her away from the dirt and the sweat of the auction rooms and peel her out of that crimson suit. “So you’ve taken up trading?”

“No, actually, bounty hunting.”

That made his heart skip one rapid beat. Was she out of her mind? “There must be something more suitable for a lady like you—”

She laughed. “We both know I’m no lady. And I’ve discovered I’m pretty good at what I do, but I’ve got a job I can’t handle on my own, so I tracked you down to see if you want in on the action.”

“Me?” Damon gestured to the massive auction hall where sounds echoed to deafening proportions and scents commingled to become an indescribable stench. “And leave all this behind?”

“The money’s damn good. Better than what I was paying you.”

It didn’t get much better than that. In fact, he still felt a little guilty for accepting so much from her. “Sounds dangerous.”

“Yeah. In fact, this job involves another forbidden world.”

Damon frowned. Yes. She had lost her mind. Maybe her sister’s Lorcan syndrome was contagious. He resisted the urge to feel her forehead with the back of his hand. “Oh, Cherry, you don’t want to—”

“I’m already committed to go. They call the place Quicksilver, maybe you’ve heard of it. No atmo. The surface is barren and cold as hell.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of it. No one has ever survived a landing there. Something...eats the ships.”

“Well, the quarantine satellite picked up an SOS from a lady scientist out of Denara. She crashed there and apparently she’s still alive. The reward for her rescue would buy us both a small moon. Seems she’s the brains behind some top secret project and if anything happens to her, the project tanks. Denara’s government will do back flips to get her back, and they’ll give us a special ship that they think will withstand whatever it is that...attacks anything that lands.”

Damon scratched a brow. His brain said no, but one good long look at Lea and his body had other ideas. “You’re insane.”

She cocked a hip in his direction and smiled. “Maybe. Are you up for it, Mr. Cantor?”

How could he resist? He slid one arm around her shoulder and maneuvered her toward the auction room exit. “Oh, I’m up for it, Miss Vargas. I’m definitely up for it.”

THE END