DangerouslyForever (11 page)

She cleared her throat. “How much longer until we reach the
planet?” she asked.

“It’s not that far. You and the children have enough time to
take a nap if you wish.”

She cut her gaze to Kiehle. “And if I was stupid, I would
take you up on your offer.”
I’m not an idiot.
“Fall asleep and let you
contact Alharad and that Thesan person again. As if.”

He raised a shoulder. “Suit yourself.”

She kept her eye on him, watching for any subtle hints of
betrayal, but found none.

If they were under different circumstances, she would take
the time to appreciate his looks. His hair wasn’t as perfect as it was when she’d
first met him. Small tendrils had escaped the tie. The muscles in his arms were
nicely formed. He had a strong hand holding the thruster while the other rested
on his muscular thigh. He had touched her in much the same way. How could a
hand so large be so…so gentle?

“You know, there’s a sleeping compartment in the back…”

Her eyes snapped up to meet his. She’d been openly checking
him out. A knowing smile was on his lips.

“What?”

He jerked his head toward the back of the transporter. “The
door is behind the backseats. The children are already asleep. I can set it on
autopilot and we can finish what we started.” He ran a hand slowly down her
thigh. Her skin erupted in goose bumps.

She growled and pulled away. “Touch me again and I’ll gladly
send you to alien heaven.”

He laughed. “Well, you’re the one undressing me with your
eyes.” He turned back to the console. “I thought I would make things a little
easier for you.” Then he glanced back her way. “You know…not play hard to get.”

Heat rose up her neck to her face. “Shut up and drive.”

The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “I’m very easy.
It’s disgusting really.”

“I
said
shut up. I brought you along for one reason
and one reason only.”

He started to unbuckle his safety harness.

“Not that, you idiot.”

He pretended his feelings were hurt by putting his hand over
his chest and pouting. “And I thought we were bonding.”

She blew out a breath. No, they weren’t bonding. Maybe if
they’d met under different circumstances, things might have turned out
differently. Right now he was just a means to an end—getting her to safety and
filling her account with credits.

With credits, she and the children would be able to find
somewhere else to live, somewhere safe. Maybe they could even go to a school.
Once upon a time, she’d had hopes of escaping and returning to Earth, but she’d
given up on those dreams awhile ago. She’d learned from some people who’d been
taken from Earth well after she had that the planet was nothing like she
remembered. Civilization was nothing more than slavery and work camps. The
Loconuist had taken over everything.

No, their only hope now was to find a small, clean,
Earth-like planet to live on. Maybe one day she would be able to find her
family. Or even Eva.

She shut down that thought just as quickly as it came. There
was no finding her family. No finding Eva.

The grass against her back felt good. She hadn’t felt it in
so long. Her head rested on Jim’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. The sun
was warm against her skin. The day was perfect, no clouds just blue skies. They
hadn’t said a word since she’d spotted him on the country hillside and lay next
to him. How long had she been here…had
they
been here?

She sighed softly. It didn’t matter. If she could, she would
stay here with him forever, holding his hand and listening to his heart.

She never imagined that she would miss the sound of his
heartbeat as much as she did. Its soft, rhythmic thump seemed to keep all her
problems at bay.

“I miss you so much,” she whispered.

He squeezed her hand. It felt so right, so real in hers.
Warm and strong, comforting. Alive.

“I miss you too.”

She closed her eyes. “I’m so afraid that one day I’ll forget
what you look like or how your voice sounds. If I lose my memory, I’ll have
nothing else to remember you by.”

“Don’t ever feel that way.” He put a hand over her heart.
“I’ll always be in here.

He’s so sweet. He’s always so sweet.
“But I want you
with me. I want to hold and kiss you. I want the real thing. Not a memory.”

“It can never be real again.”

“Yes it can. This is real. I could stay here with you.”

“You don’t belong here.
I
don’t belong here. One day
you’ll realize that and we won’t meet up again.”

“Never.”

“Honey, that will be a great day. You’ll have moved on.”

Her hand tightened around his. She didn’t want to ever let
him go. “Why would you say something like that? I could never forget you.”

“I didn’t say forget me. Just…let go.”

She took a deep breath. He smelled like she remembered,
Drakkar Noir and aftershave. “No.”

“You will,” he promised.

His fingers brushed the side of her cheek. “Ally, Ally,
Ally.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She put her fingers over his.

So small.

Not Jim.

Her eyes fluttered open.

Her heart sank.

Of course it wasn’t Jim. Jim was dead.

Her dreams of him were always so real. Disappointment
crushed down on her.

“I’m sorry to wake you,” Max said in a small voice. “Were
you dreaming of Jim again?” He and Yoshi were the only ones with whom she’d
shared her dreams of Jim. He also knew how sad she always was when she woke
from them.

“Yes.” She smiled up at him, brought his delicate hand to
her mouth and placed a gentle kiss on the palm.

“We’re here,” he said softly.

Here?

Where am I?

She bolted up, looking around frantically. “Wha—?” Her eyes
landed on the console—buttons and switches. Next, the seat and empty harness
beside her, and last, the large window that showed…

A blue sky and grass on the other side.

Transporter.

Escape.

Kiehle.

Shit, she had fallen asleep.
Is that fresh air I smell?
She sniffed again.

She heard voices, too faint for her to make out what was
being said.

“Yoshi?” Ally jumped to her feet on the next breath.

Max wrapped his bony arms around her leg. “It’s okay,
Kiehle’s with her outside.”

“Alone?” she bit out.

She grabbed Max by the hand and scurried out the open door and
down the ramp. No sign of Yoshi or Kiehle.

“Oh!” Yoshi yelled.

Dragging Max behind her, she ran toward the sounds. “Yoshi!
Yoshi!” If her heart thumped against her rib cage any harder, she was sure it
would explode. She’d dropped her guard. There was no room for error where the
kids were concerned.

If he harmed her, I’ll kill him…

She rounded the transporter at a run.

Both Kiehle and Yoshi were sitting cross-legged on the
ground with various colored flowers in a pile between them.

Ally stopped abruptly. Max bumped into her legs, making her
stumble forward ungracefully.

Kiehle looked up, seemingly oblivious to the turmoil that
raged within her. “Look, Ally has decided to wake up.”

Ally looked from Kiehle to Yoshi, trying to catch any sign
or hint of anything wrong. But Yoshi seemed fine. The sunlight cast a healthy
glow on her hair and skin. Kiehle looked relaxed. The light did something else
to him too; made him look vibrant. Nothing seemed amiss.

“What…what are you doing?”

“I’m teaching her how to make a beautiful flower necklace
fit for a princess,” he said nonchalantly.

Yoshi giggled and held up the flowers she had in her hand.
They were entwined with each other, hanging in a line. “See? Aren’t they
pretty?”

“Fl-flowers?” Ally stammered. When was the last time she’d
seen a flower?

“Only the best,” Kiehle stated.

Her gaze wandered from Kiehle to Yoshi. “Yoshi, are you
okay?”

She beamed, showing just about every tooth she had in her
mouth. “Yes! I’m making a necklace, Ally! I never made a necklace before.” She
picked up a flower and then, with Kiehle’s help, twined the stem to the row of
blooms she already had.

Max tugged on her shirt. She had to drag her eyes away from
the pair to look down at him. “Kiehle is going to teach me how to fight and
shoot a blaster. He said he’ll even give me my own weapon.”

She ran a hand over his hair. “I think you’re a little too
young for weapons yet.”

He puffed out his chest and straightened his shoulders.
“Kiehle said that I’m a warrior in training.”

Ally couldn’t help but smile as she looked down at him. Once
day he’d make a fine warrior. But right now she wanted him to have a normal
childhood. “Come on, my little warrior,” she said, leading him to where Kiehle
and Yoshi sat.

She stopped in front of them. Yoshi held up a finished
necklace to her. “I made this one for you.”

Ally tentatively reached out for it, brushing her fingers
across the soft petals. She hadn’t seen or touched a flower in…what? She didn’t
even know how long.

Her hand wrapped around the delicate gift. She brought it up
to her nose and inhaled deeply. Perfume. It reminded her of perfume. Without
meaning to, she giggled. Not a girly giggle, but a high-pitched,
losing-grip-on-reality giggle.

She brought her hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the
crazy sound.

“Would you like to make one?” Kiehle asked.

Too embarrassed by her display of momentary insanity, she
shook her head, watching him through half-lidded eyes.

He pushed himself off the ground to stand.

Holy shit.

Was it even possible? Could he look even better in daylight?
He had fixed his hair sometime before she had awakened, smoothing it back into
his tie. The shirt he wore was taut over his chest, making her wonder if it had
been that tight on Yinnis. She surely would’ve remembered the way the fine
lines of his muscles were visible. Each and
every
line, she thought, as
her eyes raked across his six—no,
eight
-pack.

And his pants.

She wanted to groan.

They sat low on his hips, hugging his body as though he’d
been dipped into them. The material was thick, too thick to catch the outline
of his cock, but if she looked harder…maybe squinted and tilted her head…

He cleared his throat. “Max, can you please supervise the
necklace production?”

She pulled her gaze away, heat rising up her neck to her
face.

Max let go of her as though Kiehle had offered him ice cream
or some other delectable treat and plopped down in front of Yoshi.

Ally watched them longingly.
I want to supervise the
necklace production.

Before she knew it, Kiehle was by her side. “You can follow
me,” he said with a light tug on her sleeve.

“But the kids?” she asked, not taking her eyes off them—or
the flowers.

“Will be fine. I have something to show you.”

“Yeah, right. That’s not the first time I’ve heard that
line.”

He smiled down at her. “It’s important, and no, it doesn’t
include sex. But it could if you wanted it to.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes even as heat spread within
her loins.

“Weren’t you just undressing me with your eyes? If I didn’t
need to talk to you alone, I would’ve suggested Yoshi and Max join us just to
act as my chaperones. I don’t trust the looks you keep giving me.”

Don’t look at him. Don’t look at him.

“Whatever. I was sizing you up, I wasn’t ogling you. There’s
a difference.”

“Right,” he said, pulling on her arm.

She could’ve argued some more, but it would’ve been
pointless. Instead she followed him.

On the other side of the transporter was a huge dome-shaped
structure about twenty feet in the distance. It looked odd, out in the middle
of a field that was otherwise empty as far as the eyes could see. “What’s
that?”

“It’s my dwelling.”

She stopped.
What kind of trick is this?
“Your house?
You never said you were taking us to your
house
. Where are we?”

“Saurene.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you lived here?”

“I didn’t think it was important.”

She pulled her arm out of his grasp and checked her
waistband for the blaster.

Gone.

The first thing he did after she fell asleep was liberate
his blaster from her grasp. Seeing as how she now patted herself down looking
for it, he knew it had been the right thing to do. She’d been threatening to
kill him all day long, and now that she thought she no longer needed his help,
he didn’t want to give her a means to do it.

“Why did you bring us here?” she asked when she realized the
blaster was gone.

Her eyes were red, as if she could use more sleep. But tired
or not, they assessed every move he made with fierce calculation.

He dropped his hands to his sides, letting her know he
wouldn’t try to reach for her again.

“It’s somewhere Alharad would never look for you and one of
the only places he would dare not venture.”

She took a step back, out of his reach, and looked around.
“Why? What’s so special about this place?”

“It’s my personal sanctuary. I’ve paid a considerable amount
of funds for this land. The next dwelling would take two rotations to travel to
on foot. The only visitors I get here are invited.”

She looked back to him as if making sure he hadn’t moved
then looked around again. He wondered how his land looked through her eyes.
What would she think of him now? Did she see him as a recluse? His family and
friends didn’t understand why he chose to spend his free time in such a
desolate place. They didn’t understand his need for silence or space every now and
then.

“You could’ve told me instead of tricking me.”

“I didn’t trick you. Nothing I’ve said or done was a trick.”

“Alharad won’t come here?”

“No.”

“He might. You took off with three of his slaves.”

He gave a small chuckle. “No. One of his slaves took
me
hostage while escaping with two other slaves.”

Her gaze shifted. He could almost see her thinking about her
situation.

“Wouldn’t this be the first place he’d look? I mean, if this
really is your house?”

He shook his head. “I would never bring someone who was
holding me hostage to this place.”

“Alharad might not know that.”

“Alharad will ask around and find out. Thesan will have
provided him with some false information by now. You and the children are
safe.”

They stood in uncomfortable silence until she nodded her
head.

“Are we ready to proceed?”

“For now.” She brushed past him. “And I’d like my blaster
back.”

He caught up to her. “
You
don’t have a blaster.
I
have a blaster.”

“How am I going to protect myself and the kids?”

“That’s my job.”

She looked at him. “No, it’s not.”

They reached the entrance. “Yes, it is.”

“It was your job to get us here.” She humphed and muttered
something under her breath. “You could’ve woken me up.”

“You needed the rest.”

Before falling into a deep slumber, she’d mumbled that she
hadn’t needed a nap. Her sleep hadn’t been peaceful at all. She’d tossed and
turned and talked to herself. The only reason she hadn’t fallen out of her seat
was because of her safety harness. More than once he’d wanted to put the
transporter on autopilot and hold her, tell her she was safe, that he wouldn’t
let anyone harm her again.

But he knew his touch would’ve been unwelcome and he
understood why. Instead he took the opportunity to contact Thesan again. Just
as he thought, Alharad was more upset about the repercussions he might face for
having a member of the Drazlan Royal Family accosted in his place of business
than he’d been over losing three slaves and a guard. Thesan and Taio would
continue to use that as a bargaining tool to gain Ally, Yoshi and Max’s
freedom.

Unless he wanted the Galactic Council to raid his
establishment again or to be at odds with the Xochis royal house, Alharad had
no choice in the matter.

After getting everything taken care of with Thesan, he
called Taio, letting him know that Ally was safe. The plan was to fill her in
on who had sent him and keep her comfortable at his home until the
Saia I
was ready for the long journey back to Drazlan. They could spend three
rotations of relaxation before leaving. He was sure she’d be happy to be
reunited with Eva.

Once they’d landed, he’d let Yoshi and Max run around in the
field while he’d prepared his house. After deactivating the security, he’d gone
through and removed anything that she could use as a weapon and put everything
in a secure storage room. He’d also prepared the guest room for the children.
He wanted to make them as comfortable as possible.