She fought down a twinge of fear. He wouldn’t hurt her. Would he?
Suddenly he smiled. “We’ll sort it all out but not now. If you promise to behave, I’ll let you out of the cage and feed you.”
“I’ll behave,” she said. She would promise anything to get out of the cage.
Gage stood up and opened the cage door. He held out a hand.
Tamara wanted to spit in it but she didn’t quite dare. Defiance wouldn’t gain her
anything right now. She had to be smart. She had to wait. She had to lull him into
trusting her again so she could escape. She placed her hand in his. She nearly went to her knees as she tried to stand. Gage’s grip was all that kept her on her feet. His arm went around her waist and she slowly straightened. Her breasts pressed against his chest. She felt warm and protected. She fought the feeling. Gage’s treatment had caused this weakness. She didn’t need to be grateful to him for helping her now. She tried to pull away.
Gage kept her close. “You feel good darling. All I ever wanted was to make love to
you. You led me on and left without satisfying my needs. Time to rectify that mistake.”
“And if we have sex, you’ll let me go?”
“I’ll let you go when I’m through with you.”
If Tamara had ever felt desire for a man, it was for Gage. Should she just get it over with? Would he let her go after he got what he wanted? Most men would but Gage wasn’t like other men. That’s one of the reasons she’d left the first time. He was too demanding and too smart to settle for less than her best and she wasn’t sure she could
work her way past the numbness to ever willingly give her body to any man. Not even to Gage.
“You’ll rape me if I say no?”
“I don’t believe in rape and why would you say no? I don’t understand your
reluctance. You’re not religious. You have feelings for me. Why continue to deny our mutual attraction?”
Tamara shrugged. She wasn’t ready for full disclosure. She didn’t trust anyone that much. “Could I have my clothes back?”
“Why should I give them back? I can make you eat dinner while you’re naked. I
want to look at you.”
“I’m cold and uncomfortable.”
“You left me cold and uncomfortable for the past three years. Don’t you think it’s
your turn now?”
“Please.”
“Tamara, are you begging me for something to wear?”
She hesitated. She wanted to tell him to go to hell. She could almost feel the daggers shooting from her eyes. She bit back a sarcastic retort and simply said, “Yes.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “You’re priceless. You want to kill me right
now, darling, don’t you? But I’m in control, not you. Do you find that frustrating? I hope so. I hope you find it as frustrating as I did when I realized you were gone.” He let her go and walked over to the cupboards and pulled out a piece of red cloth. “I’ll take pity on you though. You can wear this,” he said as he threw a garment at her.
She shook it out. A tunic. Red wasn’t her favorite color but she wasn’t going to
argue about that. She shrugged it on. It barely hit at mid-thigh and it did little to warm her although she wasn’t sure if her cold was due to the temperature or her situation.
Gage moved next to her and pulled her close. He bent his head and captured her
lips. One strong arm held her tightly, her breasts crushed against his chest. She felt his
arousal against her belly. His other hand threaded through her hair and held her head motionless while his tongue plundered her mouth. Their breaths mingled and Tamara felt faint. A strange weakness coursed through her and she longed to surrender to his strength. Was this passion? She wasn’t sure but she knew she didn’t want to fight him.
He was the only man who’d ever tempted her to surrender sexually but she hadn’t
managed to say yes even though she’d wanted him.
He might be lethal to his enemies but she’d seen his loyalty to his friends. He’d
never betray her the way she’d betrayed him. She struggled but he didn’t let her go.
Instead he deepened the kiss. It felt as if they’d merged and become one entity. Her head swam and only his arm held her upright as her knees weakened.
She gasped when he broke the kiss.
“Surrender to me, darling,” he whispered.
His quiet demand that seemed to echo her need slammed against her mind. What
was wrong with her? She couldn’t trust him. “Never,” she said.
“You will surrender. Gage always wins,” Fakzi said.
Tamara started. The creature was so silent it was easy to forget his presence.
“Fakzi is right. You will surrender,” Gage said. He gave her another quick kiss and then led her into the captain’s cabin.
The viewport had captured her attention the first time through. Now she took a
moment to survey her surroundings. The captain’s cabin was actually a luxury suite. By spaceship standards, the room was comparable to the most expensive appointments found on ships of the Stellar Lines. Tamara wondered if Gage had remodeled the ship.
The military normally didn’t spend any extra money to make their officers comfortable.
Gage chuckled. As always, he had an uncanny talent for reading her thoughts as he
answered her unspoken question, “This is the way I found the ship. The rumor I heard is that the ship was designed for the aristocratic officers, not for those who rise through the ranks. The aristos dislike being kept in quarters they would not give to their slaves.”
Tamara filed away the information and continued her inspection. A soft-looking
sofa faced the viewports and scattered armchairs were set before a freestanding
fireplace. It couldn’t be real. No one had a fireplace on a spaceship. Fire was the enemy in an oxygen-rich environment. Art decorated the remaining walls. Expensive art, Tamara realized. Art was too large and difficult to convert so she’d never pursued it but she could recognize it and she knew it was one of Gage’s passions.
Through a doorway in the far corner Tamara could see a large bed against one wall.
The viewports on one wall in the bedroom seemed to be a continuation of the viewports in the living area.
Tamara’s mouth dropped a little as she took in the scope of the viewports. She’d
never seen any ship, not even the luxury cruiser, have two rooms with multiple
viewports along one entire wall. She walked closer and touched the wall before
realizing they were an illusion. It was not a real glass wall.
“It’s the real view. Cameras project it into the wall,” Gage said.
“It’s just an illusion.”
“But a powerful one,” Gage said.
The fake viewports were open, showing stars blazing across the window. He was
right. It didn’t matter that the view was an illusion. Tamara was entranced. The stars seemed to streak against a black canvas. It was a peculiar effect of hyperdrive that stars streaked like comets when in reality the movement came from the ship. Some people got space sick from watching the stars. Tamara didn’t. It was one of the things she and Gage shared, the sensation that they were streaking across space and time. Too fast to ever be caught.
She stared at the viewports. Like the ancient print she’d once seen. It played with time and reality in a mind-bending sensation of perspective. The view and the movement should have been distracting but it wasn’t. It created an incredible sensation of unity with the universe.
Gage always did know how to combine luxury with ruthless, practical reality. He
must love this wall. Tamara startled as she realized just how much she’d missed Gage’s flair and intellect. She turned from the viewport. Such a line of thought was dangerous.
Gage had taken away her freedom and he threatened to do more. She had to maintain a grip on her thoughts and emotions.
Gage leaned against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He’d been
watching her take in her surroundings. With her back to the viewport, she ignored his scrutiny and continued to look around.
A small table with two place settings sat before one of the viewports. Soft music,
candles and dim lighting created an intimate atmosphere. Tamara swallowed hard.
What was Gage’s game? If she didn’t know better, she’d think he actually wanted to
seduce her. His motive couldn’t be that simple. Could it?
She raised an eyebrow. He smiled and shrugged then walked to the food dispenser
and programmed it. “Have a seat. This will only take a moment.”
Tamara moved to the table and sat in one of the chairs.
The timer pinged. Gage took the food out and brought back a tray with four dishes
and a carafe of light-colored liquid.
Tamara’s stomach rumbled as she smelled the food. The field ration David had
given her was long gone. She was hungry.
Gage set the dishes on the table.
Tamara started. She hadn’t expected her favorite foods.
Riozo
, white short noodles mixed with a spicy orange sauce and
courlei
, an expensive green vegetable that took two years to mature. She’d introduced the foods to Gage so many years ago.
Gage poured her a drink. He raised his glass. “A toast to us,” he said with a smile.
He waited until she picked up her glass and then he tossed back his drink.
Tamara echoed his motions and realized the carafe was filled with
tola
wine. The wine she’d been drinking when they’d met. The dinner was perfect. Why was he doing this? She placed her glass on the table and Gage refilled it.
“Eat! Enjoy!” Gage picked up his utensils and proceeded to ignore her while he ate.
Tamara decided there was no point in denying herself and she followed his lead,
savoring every bite. It had been a long time since she’d had a meal this expensive. The Luxor served luxury food but she hadn’t been able to afford it. She’d eaten lightly for a long time now.
After diner, Tamara stood and moved to the sofa. She didn’t offer to clear the table and Gage didn’t ask. He made quick work of the cleanup while she watched the viewport. Even though it was just a reflection on a wall, it seemed so real. Its expanse comforted her and she felt almost free. Lulled by dinner, she was unprepared for Gage’s blunt statement.
“Tamara, I want you,” he said as he walked over to the sofa and sat next to her.
“You can’t have me.”
“Well, darling, it seems I do have you but I want more.”
Gage reached over and used one finger to stroke a line down Tamara’s face. She
froze. Now she’d have to pay for dinner. She wanted to be angry but his finger was
hard and warm. It sent chills down her back. She stopped breathing, wondering what
he’d do next. All her nerves screamed and she desperately wanted to turn her head and capture his finger in her mouth. Her blood raced as if her veins couldn’t contain it.
Gage’s blue eyes were lost their iciness and warmed like a summer sky. Tamara
wanted to sink into the kindness she saw there. The sympathy seemed to ooze from his concerned face. No! She couldn’t trust him. She didn’t know what he’d do next but she knew what he’d already done. He’d taken away her freedom. He was keeping her captive. Even worse, he’d taken her stash, the money she’d planned on using to retire.
Once again she cursed her recklessness in using her own name on the luxury cruise. She knew better. Why had she been so foolish? She’d lost everything.
She stood and moved away from him. Away from his warmth—warmth that
threatened to melt her heart. Warmth that was so seductive. She moved away from his concern and sympathy. He could con as well as she did. She knew that. Why had she let him get close enough to touch?
Did she have a choice? She almost snorted. She was no match for his hardened
body. She’d never be able to stop him from doing anything he chose. But he hadn’t
followed her.
Instead he’d laid his head back on the sofa and was watching her from eyes that
were narrowed in analysis. He was plotting his next move. Tamara bit back a scream.
She was no match for this man. She’d seen him in action and now, for whatever reason, she was his target. She felt like prey being watched by a predator.
“You can run. It makes the game more interesting, doesn’t it?”
Tamara glanced over her shoulder and tilted her chin. She wouldn’t let him know
how much he frightened her. “You bastard. You’ve got my stash, let me go.”
“You just don’t get it do you, darling. I want you. I’ve wanted you for a very long time. But I want more than a quick fuck, Tamara, and I will get it. You know that.”
Gage’s voice dropped to a husky whisper. “You know I always get what I want.”
Tamara turned and looked at the viewport. She watched the screen for a few
moments before she said, “That’s not going to happen.”
“Why? Why do you keep me at a distance? We’re well matched. Your seductive
wiles and ability to lie without blinking and my twisted plans work well together. I’ll even forgive you for stealing our score.”
“I didn’t steal it.”
The viewport partially reflected the interior of the room. In a lithe move, he stood, and she watched him stalk toward her.
He swung her around. “Why are you trying so hard to make me angry? Maybe I
should just fuck you. Is that what you want?”
“All I want is my freedom. Tell me how to get free. Tell me what I have to do. If I have to fuck you to gain my freedom, I’ll do it. It won’t be the first time I’ve used my body to gain some end. Tell me, Gage, what do I have to do?”
Gage ran his hand through his blond hair. She could see his frown as he tried to
process her attitude. She knew he’d never figure out why she didn’t trust him. Should she tell him? Should she volunteer the information? What would he do with it? She wished just once that she could grab what she wanted without being afraid. She’d
almost had that with Gage once. Could they rebuild the trust?
Gage stepped back a little and held out his hand. “Come. Dance with me.”