Cosmic Bliss (7 page)

“Have they told you when we will be reaching a world where
we can receive safe passage home?” Judy asked.

“I don’t want to go home,” Tim said.

Shunyuan turned to the younger man. “What?”

“What is left for us there? Living in the mountains until
the Trogo decide to raid them too? There is no Earth left to return to.”

Shunyuan looked at each of them in turn. “Do you all feel
this way?” Some looked down or away. Others shrugged.

“What makes you think anywhere else will be better? From
what I’ve seen today—”

“You’ve been off the ship?” Rod asked.

“Yes and I don’t want any part of any planet not my own. I
plan to return and help take Earth back.” He would help with the resistance.

The room was dead silent. The whoosh of the door was his
first clue they weren’t alone. The second was a wave of need and want. He
turned. Acia stood perfectly still and straight. She didn’t look prepared to
tear his clothes off, but apparently looks were deceiving. He could feel her
hunger for him and his body responded.

“Shunyuan.” Her voice was soft and light.

He turned one last time to the group. He could do nothing
else for them. They were safe. Acia’s desire called to him. She needed him.

“Be safe,” he said to them.

He walked to Acia. When he had fulfilled his obligation to
her he would leave. He grimaced as she averted her eyes. Her sadness made him
feel more than uncomfortable. He wanted to sooth her distress on a gut level he
didn’t understand. Whatever she’d done to him was warping his judgment. He
couldn’t be trapped by an unwanted attachment and tender feelings. He had an
obligation to his planet and his fellow humans.

He wouldn’t allow one woman to stand between him and his
destiny.

The next two day cycles were filled with alternating
interludes of passion and dreamless, exhaustion-induced sleep. Periodically her
mate would retrieve the trays of food left outside the chamber and remind her
to eat. She never wanted food. All she wanted was him.

On the third rising, the door’s tonal code woke Acia. She
reluctantly separated her body from Shunyuan.

“Where are you going?” he muttered.

He tugged her back to his side and she melted against him.

“There is someone at the door. If it wasn’t important they
would simply leave our food outside as usual.”

He released her and she stood. She pulled on a robe and went
to open her door. Cheris stood there. Whatever she wanted was obviously urgent.
Acia blinked and tried to appear alert.

“What has happened?”

“We received an encrypted missive from the leader of Tribe
Huntu on Ordan. He asked to speak with the captain. We’ve investigated him
thoroughly. Berisa and Ruvia cleared him. He’s only ever owned one slave. He
married the Earth woman several months ago.”

“Well, I’ll give him a pass on the one-time slip-up then.
Has Ruvia secured a communications channel?”

“Yes, we’re waiting on your orders.” Cheris’ eyes remained
on Acia, never straying into the room.

“Give me ten minutes. I wish they had an antidote for the
fervor. How can I conduct pirate business under these conditions?”

Cheris laughed and turned to go. Acia closed the door and
looked to Shunyuan. She wanted to jump him and ride his cock until one or both
of them couldn’t speak.

“Do you think you can help me reach a quick bursting so I
can be stable enough to hold a meeting? I think I will pick it over a shower
under the circumstances.”

“I’m pretty sure we can achieve a climax in no time. Why
don’t we try it in the shower? You can get fucked and clean at the same time.”
He stood and headed into the bathroom beautifully naked.

Fifteen minutes later, the fervor only slightly simmering,
she was partially clean and fully dressed. She stepped out onto the bridge and
took a seat in the captain’s chair. She waited as Ruvia completed the secured
connection. She certainly didn’t want anyone to overhear their transmission.

What could the Ordanian want? As species went, Ordanians
were as physically powerful as the Nestvur, barely hiding their warrior class
leanings behind a rigidly civilized façade. If they ever turned to plundering
as they had in the past, no world would be safe.

“Contact made. Communication channel secure,” Ruvia said.

Acia sat straighter. “On screen.”

On the view screen there appeared a desk and a room
decorated lavishly in gold and royal blue. It was a communications room of some
kind. A man’s broad torso in white linen and a set of muscular legs encased in
black tailored pants appeared on the screen. A large blond man sat behind the
desk. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were those of a predator.

“Definitely Ordanian,” Berisa muttered.

“Greetings,
Dovian Heart
.” He looked around. “Aren’t
you a surprise?”

Acia almost smiled. He didn’t look surprised at all. Very
Ordanian.

“Lord Huntu, is it?” Acia asked.

“Yes, Captain…”

“Captain Acia is how I’m known. What may we do for you?”

It was important that they only kept the communication
channel open for a short period of time. There were hackers, bounty hunters and
spies throughout the United Universe who would love to collect the prices on
their heads. She wouldn’t make it easy for them. The
Dovian Heart
crew
wasn’t so easy to take down.

“There is an assignment I would like you to consider. It is
a delicate matter, which cannot be discussed here. My wife left something
valuable on her home world. I desire to have it located. It is a matter of life
and death and on par with what you already do.”

Acia knew his wife was from Earth, a planet currently being
subjugated in every way. He’d said on par with what they already did, so it
must mean either contraband or an enslaved person.

“Meeting with you is more dangerous for us than you. We are
a group of mere women after all.” Acia smiled.

Lord Huntu snorted, but otherwise showed no emotion. “I will
make the mission worth your while. An operation like yours must cost a great
deal. As a show of good faith, my wife will be at our meeting.” He leaned
forward and such a fierce look graced his countenance Acia almost jerked back.
Almost. “I value Lady Huntu more than anything or anyone else in the United
Universe. I’ll trust you if you will trust me enough to meet.”

She believed him. The man had married his slave after all.
If that wasn’t love she didn’t know what was. Besides she needed to cut the
communication channel before Ruvia burst a blood vessel. The fervor was boiling
through her system and through their bond she could feel Shunyuan’s concern.
And he was coming closer.

“Burme. We should be there in—” She turned to Figia.

“Four risings, Captain.”

Good, just enough time for the fervor to work its way out of
her system.

“Four risings. We will send you our coordinates once we
land.”

“This is acceptable, Huntu out.”

The screen darkened.

“I think he’s credible,” Cheris said. “Surprisingly.”

“I do as well. That was why I agreed to meet. Isn’t it
fortunate we have an Earth guide on board?” Acia turned to the door just as
there was a knock.

She had locked the bridge for the private communication. Now
she released the doors and they slid open. Shunyuan stood there in a pair of
pants, shirt and boots Ora and Juni had appropriated from the Gastronian vessel.
He stepped onto the deck.

“You’re in pain, Acia.” His eyes narrowed on her face.

This caused every Dovian eye to latch onto him then turn to
her. They would suspect a mating, but there was no way for them to know without
asking.

“Come in, Shunyuan. I need a favor.”

He stepped warily into the room before halting, feet braced
widely apart, hands at his sides. His posture was exact, as if each part of him
was prepared for absolutely anything. She almost sighed. He was so wary of her
when she could never hurt him.

“It seems we have a client whose wife is from Earth. We may
need you for a while longer to consult. We know nothing of your customs or
Earth’s terrain.”

“How does he have an Earth woman for a wife?” He neatly
avoided her offer.

“Apparently he married his slave,” Cheris said.

Shunyuan’s eyes widened considerably. “Is this common?”

“No, and the man is a powerful noble as well. I would love
to meet the woman who inspired him to it,” Ruvia said.

“We’ll all meet her. You too, Shunyuan, if you will stay awhile
longer. It would mean not leaving with your people when we meet the
Defiant
.
I believe our journey may take us back to your planet.” Acia’s heart squeezed
at the thought of losing her mate.

He blinked as he stared at her. “Let me think about it. May
we go now, Acia?”

He’d asked a question, yet Acia sensed the command
underneath. He knew she was deep in fervor and he’d come to get her. She arose
slowly. Whether he knew it or not he was thinking as a mate would.

All eyes were on her as she crossed to him. She wanted to
sing. She hadn’t felt the urge to broadcast her joy in song since she’d been a
child. Even the tightening of his mouth as he felt her elation through the mate
link didn’t dampen her spirits. She followed him from the room with a lighter
heart.

* * * * *

The fervor abruptly ended two risings later. Acia awoke to
Shunyuan packing all the things he’d been given to clothe and groom himself in
the bag Cheris had provided him. Her body chilled as the blood ran cold in her
veins. Shunyuan stiffened. He stuffed a shirt into his sack.

She shackled her emotions deep inside, shoved them down then
tamped down on the link. She arose and pulled on a loose pair of pants and top,
sans undergarments. This wouldn’t take long. He spoke as she was lacing up her
boots.

“If there is room, I’ll bunk with the rest of the men.” He
lifted the sack off the bed and swung it over a broad shoulder.

She stood slowly. “As you wish, Shunyuan.”

Acia held her body as rigidly as possible. It felt as if she
moved wrong she would shatter into a million pieces and beg him to stay.
“Follow me.”

“Acia.”

She turned back from the door.

His beautiful jaw tightened and his hand flexed. “Nothing.”

She led him down the corridor. “If you decide to help us
with the Ordanian situation, you will have the room to yourself after tomorrow.
We meet the
Defiant
right before our meeting with the Ordanians.”

Acia stopped in front of a room near the cargo bay. “Lay
your hand on the pad and you’ll be admitted.”

She didn’t wait for a response, simply turned and made her
way back to her quarters to shower and change. Then she slowly walked to what
she and the crew called the “war room”. It was really just her office.

“There she is, our girl back from her first fervor. Can you
think, or did he pleasure it out of you?” Berisa asked. She flipped her indigo
curls.

The crew laughed and Acia knew she turned as red as her
hair.

“Where is your mate now? We all saw how he was able to tell
you were in need and find you through the bond,” Cheris said.

Acia took a seat, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “Shunyuan
believes I’ve bewitched him and rejects the mating. He has gone to stay with
the Earth men.”

“Didn’t you explain it to him, Acia?” Juni asked.

Acia shook her head.

“Well, do so,” Cheris insisted. “This is your entire life
we’re talking about. Someday you may want to stop floating this junk heap
through space, settle down and raise a family. How will you do so with your
mate gallivanting through the galaxy?” Cheris was as upset as Acia had seen her
in years.

“I can’t. He wants to go home. I won’t take that from him.
Besides, I only chase after men I intend to rob or kill.”

“Acia—”

“Enough!” She quieted her tone. “Enough, let us turn our
thoughts to defense. I trust the
Defiant
, but I never want to be caught
unaware. Ever.”

Cheris held her tongue for the moment, but Acia knew another
confrontation was coming her way. She didn’t want to speak about her mate
rejecting her or the fact that she felt bruised and battered on the inside. She
wasn’t even sure he would help them with the Ordanian job.

The fervor was gone, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t crave
him, only that she wouldn’t make herself sick with it. Already she was haunted
by the memory of turning to him and pressing into his side whenever she wanted.
He’d whispered to her as they’d shared their bodies and Acia missed the sound
of his voice and the soft touch of his breath against the shell of her ear.

“I don’t care how dangerous it is. If it’s more than ten
thousand credits I say take the job,” Ruvia said.

There were nods all over the room.

“Yes and aren’t we due for some time off? Several of us will
begin the fervor soon,” Juni said.

Cheris snorted. “Four of you at once,
egu
.”

Acia forced her mind back to the conversation. “We’ll be
vulnerable.”

“Maybe we could vacation on Dovia?” Figia said wistfully.

Ruvia rubbed the brand on her wrist. “The danger would be
worth it to go home.”

They were homesick. She could understand it. She would be
too if she wasn’t so heartsick.

“We have time to think about it. Let me know your
decisions.” They were a family. When it came to dangerous jobs, they decided as
a group how to proceed. Acia stood and headed out.

She wandered. The halls were quiet. What did all the Earth
people do every day? What was Shunyuan doing with them? What was he doing with
the dark-haired woman who called his name so sweetly in the guest mess hall?
She concentrated on her link with Shunyuan and followed it.

Shunyuan had tried everything he could to clear his mind. Meditation
hadn’t worked. Push-ups and jumping jacks were completely ineffectual. Now he
was trying martial-arts exercises. His body dropped fluidly from light stance
into drop stance. Lotus stance and a series of straight punches were followed
by a smooth transition into horse stance and several side punches. Along with
the moves came a realization. He wasn’t going to be able to ignore the woman he
was trying to escape.

She was somewhere near, watching him. Acia was also teeming
with sadness and jealousy. Jealousy? Someone giggled.
Oh the women.

He’d nearly said he would stay with her this morning. It had
felt as if her heart were breaking. On the outside she’d appeared calm, but
through their ever-growing bond he had sensed her heart splintering and
shattering.

Shunyuan had felt then as he felt now. He was an ass for
hurting her. It pained him when she was unhappy. He knew a simple touch or
conversation would make her feel better. He and Acia hadn’t had much time to
talk during the fervor. He was a decorated soldier, a good citizen and a public
servant. He also felt as if he was the biggest jackass for not having a simple
conversation with her.

He moved through his last pose and straightened. He grabbed
his towel and walked out into the hallway. He headed straight for her. Acia
straightened against the wall but didn’t run away. She did look hopeful as hell
when she realized he walked toward her.

“Hello, Captain.” He kept his voice gentle.

“Shunyuan.” She looked down at the floor.

She was a pretty little thing, standing there in her
skintight bodysuit and firearms strapped to her hips. Her skin glistened as
though it held all the stars in the sky. Her hair lay over her shoulder in one
long plait.