A Stellar Affair (14 page)

“You aren’t,” she told him. “I have mixed feelings about the rest of your people.” The one guard, Arrius, came to mind. “So after the Tetch strike, then what? Your superintendent will let me go?”

“Standard procedure would be to fade your memories of your time here before shipping you to another facility for further treatment. There you’d get help healing from the strain of memory tampering and the interrogation. Then you would be free to go wherever you want.”

Ardra focused on the first part. “Fade my memories? You mean you erase a prisoner’s memories of being here? You bury them under some fake story like the Tetch?”

This time she saw a spark of temper in Jack’s eyes. “Of course not. We just make their time here seem more distant and hazy—enough that they can’t direct the Tetch right to us when they go home.”

“I’m sorry.” Ashamed of having made the accusation, she closed her eyes. “I guess I’m still having trust issues.”

The brush of his finger across her cheek made her look at him.

“Understandable,” he said gently.

“How long do I have?” she asked. “How long until I’m supposed to arrive on Algoron?”

“Two weeks.”

“That’s not much time. Then what?”

“Since you and I abandoned the standard procedure some time ago, I’d say then you’ll have the freedom to choose what’s next.” Jack gave her a hopeful look. “If you decide I’m worth the risk, you and I can transport out of here and go wherever you want.”

He was tempting her with everything she had dreamed of long ago, which was what made his offer so terrifying. Did she dare believe him?

Her chest felt tight as she stood up. “I need some time to think. This is too much to sort out all at once.”

Ardra sensed Jack was dissatisfied, but he returned a nod. She took a chance and brushed her lips against his as she passed him on the way to the door.

Chapter Twelve

One week until deadline

Jack was out of time. He felt strangely calm as he sat in Walter’s office, listening as the man explained his plans in a clear, calm voice. It was cool inside, though the setting sun slanted through the window.

He waited until his superintendent had finished talking before he summed up. “So you’re bringing in another precept to handle the interrogation.”

“We only have a week left,” Walter reminded him. “You’ve had more than enough time to interrogate this prisoner yourself. If you were capable of getting the coordinates from her, you should have done so by now.”

“I’ve made progress.” He knew it was useless to argue, but he couldn’t remain silent. “Ardra is close to remembering everything, which means she could uncover the coordinates buried in her mind any time now.”

“Good,” Walter said. “That will make it easier for the next precept. This isn’t up for debate. I’ve already assigned someone else. She’ll be transported to another facility first thing in the morning.”

Jack clenched his fists but didn’t say anything. He knew what was in store for Ardra. When she reached the other facility, she would be drugged and probed and ultimately forced to give up the secrets locked inside her brain. All this would be done with no consideration for her, but with the single-minded purpose of getting a cold hard number. He couldn’t allow that to happen.

“I still have this evening,” Jack said, more to himself than his superintendent.

“You’ve got an hour,” Walter said. “And you’re welcome to surprise me. If you can get the coordinates tonight, by all means do so.”

That wasn’t what Jack had in mind.

As he left Walter’s office, he was already making plans to help Ardra escape. Getting her out of her confinement room was the easy part. Falk was supposed to escort her to Jack’s house and was probably waiting there with her right now. The tricky part was getting her off the planet. He could ask Nash or Norma to arrange a transport vessel, but he hesitated to get them involved.

Then something Terrah had said to him came back to echo in his brain. She’d told him to try being a sidekick. Instead of figuring out ways to free Ardra himself, maybe he should give her the power to make her own escape.

He’d made his decision by the time he reached his house. Falk was standing there with Ardra, and he had to tear his gaze away from her to look at the guard.

“I’ve got one hour,” Jack told him. “You can pick her up then.”

Falk checked the time. “Less than an hour. Sorry, but I’ve got my orders. Superintendent Rigel wants her locked down tight at nightfall.”

Jack could feel the minutes slipping by, so he didn’t waste time arguing. Instead, he dismissed the guard and closed the door behind him. As soon as they were alone, Jack did what he’d been craving since the moment Ardra had brushed her lips against his. He tipped her chin up and kissed her.

This wasn’t a light caress or a tentative exploration. He poured everything he felt for her into the kiss and projected it with his mind as well. She stiffened in surprise at first, but then she softened for him. He let himself get lost in her and the feel of her mouth, and sensing how much she wanted him soothed something inside him. Jack could still feel that she was holding back though. He indulged for a full minute before he finally made himself pull away.

“I couldn’t resist,” he told her.

“I wasn’t resisting either.” She tried to smile, but he noticed the expression didn’t reach her eyes.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” In an instant, his mood plummeted as he was brought back to harsh reality.

Judging by the worry lines that creased her brow, he knew she must have sensed the sudden shift in his emotions. “What is it?”

“Another precept is being assigned to interrogate you. You’re supposed to be moved to a different facility tomorrow morning.”

Ardra staggered back and practically fell onto the sofa. “Oh my God.”

“It’s going to be all right.” Jack sat next to her. “I can tell you how to escape.”

“Escape?” She shook her head. “I already tried that once. There’s no way to get far enough on foot, and the guards will find me again. The whole planet will come after me the second they figure out I’m gone. And you heard Falk. They’ll have me locked down tight.”

“This time is going to be different,” he assured her.

“How?” She laughed, though there was no amusement to the sound. “How is this different? I’m in exactly the same position I was the last time.”

“No, you’re not.” Jack drew a deep breath before he did what he knew would be irreversible. “Ardra, do you know why your brain kept rejecting the Tetch programming? Why you were able to fight against me for so long?”

She looked at him with a frown. “What?”

“It’s because you’re a precept,” he told her.

“I can’t be.”

“Yes, you can. Anyone can have a natural talent for it. I think coming into contact with my mind woke that talent in you. I didn’t want to tell you in the beginning because I was afraid you’d fight me even harder if you knew. Now I think maybe I should have been up front. It could have been one of your greatest strengths.”

There was an uncomfortable pause.

“Why tell me now?” she asked.

“Because you need that strength,” he told her. “You really are a talented precept, and you can use that ability to your advantage. You can use it to escape.”

She stared at him in shock. “Why would you tell me this?”

“Don’t you understand?” His heart felt heavy as he looked into her blue-green eyes. “I do love you—enough to break all other bonds to set you free.”

She was silent so long he thought she wouldn’t respond. When she did speak, she said something he never would have expected. “You’ve betrayed your people.”

“I’m not hurting them,” he said. “I’m just not helping them. Not this way.”

“It’s still betrayal,” she insisted.

There was something in her tone when she spoke that word. It made him focus on her instead of getting defensive. He brushed her mind with his and finally knew what was holding her back.

“And you know how that feels, don’t you?” he asked. “Being betrayed by someone you trust? You dared to love a man once—loved him so much that you left your home world to be with him—and he turned his back on you.”

She covered her mouth and looked away.

“I saw it through your eyes,” Jack reminded her. “That door opened, and your whole universe was blown apart. Stevin didn’t even turn around when you called his name.”

A sob broke from her lips. “You don’t know.”

“Don’t know what happened?” he said. “Of course I do. I know just as you do. He sold you, Ardra. He pawned you off to his buddies so he could get rich. It’s what he planned all along. Stevin lured you away and then handed you over. He let them strap you to that table and obliterate your entire life.”

She shook her head.

“And I know how that felt.” He pointed a finger at his chest. “I know how your heart ached when that happened. Beyond all the fear and horror and pain of that programming room, Stevin’s betrayal hurt you worst of all. Knowing that the man you loved and trusted had tricked you was more than you could bear.”

“Stop it.” She was crying.

“That’s why you’re afraid to trust me now,” he said. “You think it’ll happen all over again—that I’ll lie to you and trick you and betray you. But I won’t. I won’t because I understand what you’ve gone through and what you’ve suffered. Follow your heart and take the risk. Take it because you deserve to love again.” Jack took her hands as he kneeled in front of her. “Because if you do, I’ll prove to you that not all trust is betrayed, and one man can love one woman for the rest of his life.”

When she looked at him through the tears glittering on her lashes, he saw something in her gaze that had been missing before. Hope.

“You promise?” she whispered.

He reached up and brushed his thumb across her damp cheek. “I swear it. You can look into my mind and see I’m telling you the truth.”

Her kiss was quick and fierce, and then she was in his arms. He pressed her close to his heart and held her there. He didn’t pull back until he heard a rap on his door.

Jack nearly growled. “That will be Falk.”

When she straightened, he could see her eyes were now dry.

“They’ll come for you tomorrow morning,” he warned her. “When they do, you have to concentrate. You’ve sensed my influence enough times that you know how it feels. All you need is to plant one thought, one bit of misdirection, and you can make your escape.”

“You’ll be waiting for me.” She didn’t make it a question, which pleased him.

“I’ll be right here.”

“Okay.” She stood when there was another knock.

Jack walked with her to the front door and opened up. He watched as Falk put restraints on her and led her away.

That night, as Jack crawled into bed, he couldn’t get Ardra out of his mind. He knew the consequences of what he had told her—that she could use her precept abilities to escape—but that didn’t trouble him. Although he might not have done the right thing, he knew he had finally done something good.

He seemed to fall asleep one moment only to open his eyes the very next. When he did, he was surprised to see Ardra standing naked in his bedroom doorway. She was looking at him with warmth and acceptance, and he knew instantly that she was more than a dream. He felt the touch of her mind and recognized that she was reaching out to him.

As though walking straight out of his erotic fantasy, she moved toward the bed and slipped between the sheets.

“Anything could happen tomorrow,” she told him. “The future is uncertain, and my past isn’t much clearer. I realized I don’t want to face either one without you. So that leaves the present, and right now I want to make love to you. I want to be with you.”

She kissed him before he could respond. Jack wasn’t sure he could have managed anything eloquent even if she had let him talk, so he answered her with his touch. He slipped his tongue between her lips and sent his hands roaming over her skin. Then he played with the hard beads of her nipples before he explored lower. Although he found the pressure between his legs unbearable, he took his time. He wanted to savor every second, to make love to her for a millennium. He never wanted this moment to end.

“Ardra.” He kept repeating her name like a caress.

She ran her hands over his chest and abdomen until he thought he couldn’t hold back any longer. With gentle fingertips, he stroked and circled her lower belly until her head rolled back against the pillow and her whole body grew moist. At last, he moved his body over hers, and she parted her legs to receive him.

“Are you nervous?” he asked.

She grinned and shook her head.

He thrust inside her and joined his mind fully with hers. She desired his hand on her hip, and it was there. He wanted to feel her fingers running along the side of his ribs, and he felt them. They were dancing. They were bucking. They were writhing. They moved to the beat of their hearts, but he still wanted more.

Jack pushed Ardra’s thighs farther apart and slid more of his length into her. Her wet body gave easily, but he was careful. He didn’t want to hurt her, not even a little.

“Let me in,” he whispered in her ear. “Let me deeper inside you.”

And she did. She relaxed her muscles so that he could move to the closest fit possible. He kept pumping, wallowing in her warm embrace. This was total acceptance.

As passion and pleasure merged, he couldn’t hold back. His heavy breathing turned into exclamations of joy, and she echoed him. He spent everything he had in one last physical frenzy until they climaxed together.

Afterward, Ardra held Jack close, wrapping him up in her arms like a gift. He buried his face in her hair, and the bliss that came over him was greater than any contentment he had ever known. He almost sobbed when he awoke to a lonely pillow.

“Superintendent Walter Rigel.” When the sun rose, Ardra greeted the prison warden by name as he walked through the door.

The morning light spilled into her cell and silhouetted her captor. Beside him was her least favorite guard, who glowered and crossed his arms. Apparently, Arrius was still sore about their last run-in, although the bite marks on his forearm had healed without leaving a scar.

“Miss Kelly. You’ve obviously heard of me.” Walter seemed to think that Jack had been talking about him.

“Pierce,” she said.

“I’m sorry?”

“Pierce,” she repeated. “My last name is Pierce.”

“Uh-huh.” He looked unimpressed. “Well, whatever your name is, you’re going to have to come with us.”

“Where are we going?” she asked, deciding to play innocent.

He cleared his throat. “
You
are going to be moved to another facility for further interrogation.”

“Here on Ryso?”

He looked annoyed. “That isn’t your concern. Now, if you’ll turn around, please.”

Arrius stepped forward with metal bonds.

“Superintendent Rigel,” she said sweetly, “I’m no threat to you.
You don’t need to transport me.
I’m just someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
You should let me go.
You seem like a busy man.”

“I am busy,” he agreed.

Ardra could feel it. She could actually feel her influence on his mind.

She turned toward the guard. “Arrius, you don’t really have anything against me, do you? We had a bit of a scuffle, but we’ve settled it now.
Back off.
”

She was amazed as she watched the tough guard fall back to the superintendent’s side. Arrius continued to look mean, but she figured that was his natural disposition.

Ardra wove as much hypnotic influence into her voice as she could. “Let’s work this out. Superintendent Rigel, you seem to have forgotten some reports back in your office. You need to go and read them carefully, and then you should take a nap and relax.”

The man nodded.

“And, Arrius,” she added, “you should visit one of your old buddies. Why don’t you find out where the farthest one lives and book yourself on the next transport vessel out to see him?”