Star Raiders (6 page)

Shy shook her head. “Tel me that after the Consortium kil s everyone in the outer worlds.”

She tried to pul away, but Greyson wrapped his arms around her and tugged her into his embrace. “With your help it won’t come to that, Shy.” For a moment she let herself relax in his arms, absorbing his strength. It had been a long time since she’d leaned on anyone, let anyone else be strong and carry her. Being in his arms felt good.
Too
good. Leaning on anyone made her weak. She jerked out of his hold and stalked away. When he didn’t try and restrain her, part of her felt forsaken.

She sensed him watching her as she paced the smal chamber. If he was tel ing the truth, what choice did she have? Despite her outrage and sometimes bravado, she knew neither Earth nor the outer worlds were a match for the Consortium. In existence for thousands of years, with a membership of species numbering in the thousands, C.O.I.L. ruled vast reaches of space and could cal upon endless resources. Earth and the outer worlds were mere specks, insects to be swatted as soon as they became an annoyance.

Also, even if Greyson was lying and there was no planned attack by C.O.I.L., she knew her choice stil had to be the same. Even if Dempster weren’t casting the blame in her direction, she couldn’t al ow him to continue preying upon the weak and helpless, murdering and slaving and increasing his power. For years she had run away from the man. It was time to make a stand.

Greyson watched and waited while Shyanne paced. He could almost hear the argument raging in her mind. Had he misjudged her? Had the years changed her from the idealistic young woman she’d been? Was her loyalty to her species and the innocents of the outer worlds strong enough to overcome her distrust of ASP

and ELF? What options did he have if she refused to help?

None. It was a rueful admission, but alone he didn’t stand a chance of locating Dempster in time, forget capturing him.

Her expression determined, she turned to him. “I have work to do. You can stay here for now. Don’t leave without an escort,” she warned.

The words were unnecessary. Greyson had already noted sick bay locked from the outside.

“I can’t be responsible for Terle if he catches you wandering around by yourself,” she added.

“Worried about what I might do to him?” Greyson asked.

Shyanne gave an unladylike snort, and her determined look faded, replaced by amusement. “Hardly. He’d chew you up and spit out the hair—what little of it you have left.”

He smiled and ran his hand over his close-shorn pate. After she’d disappeared, every time he’d combed or brushed the shoulder-length strands out of his eyes, memories of her surged up. Final y, in a fit of disgust he’d shaved it off and kept it short ever since.

“Easier to maintain,” he lied. “Yours is shorter, too.” Unable to stop himself, he reached out and threaded his fingers through her hair. The short, silky strands wrapped enticingly around his fingers. Her scalp felt soft and warm beneath the pads of his fingers. He felt the catch in her breath as she tilted her head into his palm, and her eyelids drooped. “It used to reach the middle of your back.” Memories of how her hair had brushed against his bare chest as she moved above him made his body swel , and compel ed by a need stronger than common sense, he let his hand slip to the back of her head to tug her toward him. At the same time he stepped closer.

With a desperate little moan, she tried to retreat. Fresh and sweet, her scent rose on her body heat to surround him in a sensual haze. His chest barely touched hers as they stood together, their harsh, rapid breaths mingling.

Her hands came to rest on his chest. For a torturous second he feared and prayed she was going to push him away; then she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her hips to his in an age-old gesture of need.

“Damn,” he whispered as he brought his lips down over hers.

Shy swal owed Greyson’s muffled curse and took control of the kiss. She stroked the seam of his lips with her tongue until he groaned in surrender and granted her entrance. Rich and warm, the taste of him exploded in her mouth, just as she remembered. Liquid heat rushed to her groin. Hot and insistent, desire boiled through her. Reason dissolved under need.

For ten long years she’d denied herself the comfort of a man’s embrace.

Aside from her son, she al owed no one to touch or hold her, physical y or emotional y. She gave her crew her loyalty but refused to acknowledge they owned more of her heart than that. Loving people made you vulnerable.

She wanted this man, though.
Now.
For the moment the past didn’t matter. Her body needed—demanded—what only he could offer. Consequences be damned.

She’d deal with the future when it arrived.

“Shyanne, stop.” Greyson put his hands on her shoulders, but rather than pushing her away, his fingers tightened as if to hold her in place. “Mixing business with pleasure isn’t a good idea.”

“It’s the best idea I’ve had in ten years. Fuck business. Better yet, fuck me,” she murmured against his lips. At that moment she didn’t care what her words revealed.

“You’l regret this.”

Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew he was right, but physical need trumped rational self-preservation. A whole decade of need. “The only thing I’l regret is if you don’t fuck me right now.” She used crude words to keep from revealing what she real y wanted, and she silenced his weak objection with her mouth over his.

Sliding her hands inside the open front of his flight suit, she stroked them down his chest. Her hand moved lower and surrounded his sleek, hot sex. At the same time she nibbled kisses down his throat and chest until she reached his nipple. With one hand cupping his testicles and the other dancing over his cock, she nipped the hard nub. He groaned a protest when she moved back and let go of him, then went motionless as she peeled away his flight suit and tugged off his boots.

When he stood naked before her, she sucked in her breath. Avoiding his eyes, she let her gaze travel down his body. Smooth skin stretched over his muscled chest, which heaved with every breath he took. His fists clenched at his sides. She smiled in feminine satisfaction.

Despite his words, he was far from unmoved. A narrow line of hair arrowed down from below his navel to his groin. There, thick and bold, his cock, pale against its nest of dark chocolate curls, stood at attention. A bead of moisture glistened at its tip. She licked her lips and raised her eyes to meet his. His heated look scorched her.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked in a strangled voice. Despite his obvious arousal, he was leaving the decision to her. It would have been easier if he’d taken command. This way left her no excuse.

His question increased her apprehension. Want? No, she screamed silently.

She didn’t want to want him. After al the pain and grief he’d caused her, how could she want him? No, she didn’t want this…she
needed
it, the release his body could give hers.

“Yes,” she said.

A smal smile touched his lips, and the tension radiating off his body vanished.

He took a step toward her.

When she tensed, he placed his palm against her cheek and looked into her eyes. “Trust me. I won’t hurt you.”

Looking into his eyes, she wanted to believe him. Wanted to feel what she’d felt al those years ago: pure, innocent love, untarnished by lies or deceit. But that time was long gone. Those feelings were long dead, the people who’d felt them long discarded. Whatever they shared now could be only physical. Lust: Yes. Sex: Hel , yes. Trust? Hel , no.

She stood in silent anticipation as he peeled away her clothing. She shivered.

Not from the cool air swirling over her bare skin, but from the heated look in his dark eyes. Her breasts swel ed. He leaned forward and captured one hard nipple between his lips and sucked. Wet heat sizzled through her. Her knees buckled. To keep from fal ing, she grabbed his shoulders, then gasped as he swung her into his arms and deposited her on the exam table.

He crawled up and over her. His cock brushed against the inside of her thigh where, slick and hot, moisture gathered. Desire churned in her bel y.

She reached up and pul ed his mouth to hers. Their tongues tangled in a silent battle, and she realized her control was an il usion. Under the assault of his hands, lips and tongue, rational thought deserted her. His lips left hers to trail down her throat. She arched her neck to grant him access. Breath shuddered out of her as he rol ed one aching nipple between his fingers and sucked the other into his mouth. The suction sent frissons of long forgotten sensation coursing through her, like the tiny bubbles in effervescent wine they tingled in her veins.

Need built the pressure inside her, need dammed up without release. Her skin felt supersensitized. Greyson stroked his fingertips down her chest and bel y and explored the indent of her navel. Lower, he combed through her damp curls. One finger moved past the hair and delved into the slick folds.

When he circled her clit, the surge of energy from the brief touch jolted her and she gasped. He tried to pul his hand away, but she grasped his wrist and held him there. She felt him grin against her breast.

Twisting her body, she flipped him onto his back, then rose on her knees and straddled his hips. Air cooled the heat on her breast, but the feel of his hard cock pressing against her pubic mound sent a surge of heat into her bel y. Though his cock throbbed, bouncing gently against her, and his breathing was rapid, he smiled.

Every nerve coiled in anticipation, but his command of his passion angered her. She wanted him as frantic for satisfaction as she. Desperate to take back control, to get what she needed from him, she lifted her hips over him and plunged downward.

She gasped at the smal spear of pain from his intrusion into her body. Years of going without had left her tight. Stil , unwil ing to wait for her body to adjust to his size, she rode him fast and hard.

Clasping her thighs with his hands, he met her stroke for stroke, pushing her ever upward. The bubbles in her blood turned to sparks of fire. Inside her an inferno raged, burning away the last of her reason, her doubts and her fears.

Nothing mattered but reaching this summit and plunging into the abyss beyond.

With a burst of inner light, she climaxed. She cried out and fel forward over him. He thrust upward one last time and she felt his liquid heat flow into her. She pressed her face against his sweat-slick body and murmured, “This doesn’t change anything. I may stil space you.”

He chuckled. “I’l worry about that tomorrow.”

She didn’t object further when he enfolded her in his arms and held her close.

Her breathing returned to a semblance of normal. Both drained and fil ed, they lay tangled together until sleep claimed them.

Chapter Four

Shy stared at the man dozing on the narrow med-bay bed beside her. She’d wanted him. Oh, how she’d wanted him, and she’d taken what he could give her with little hesitation. In her moment of need she’d ignored his past and possibly present betrayal. Had it been wise?

What was it about Greyson Dane that spoiled her for any other man? He wasn’t the most physical y attractive man she’d ever met. His body was above average, lean and firm, strong enough to make a woman feel secure in his arms, certainly, but not muscle bound. His features were even and pleasant. With his eyes closed, though, he looked almost ordinary, the kind of man you’d see anywhere and barely notice. Her crewmate Damon was far better looking than Greyson. But for al his golden good looks, perfect body and charm, Damon—even if she hadn’t considered him a brother—didn’t stir her blood that way. No other man ever had.

Her mind told her this had been a bad idea, but her body stil tingled from their lovemaking. No, not
love
making. Love had no part of her relationship with Greyson.

She’d gone that route once and lost everything. They’d had sex just now. Great, mind-blowing sex, but just sex. Sex her body was already beginning to want again.

Shy groaned.

But, her body argued, as long as she didn’t trust Greyson, why shouldn’t she enjoy a physical relationship with him? Why shouldn’t she use him to satisfy needs long denied? And as long as she didn’t love him, he couldn’t hurt her again.

Satisfied she’d resolved the conflict, she curled up next to him and closed her eyes. She had a few hours to rest before she needed to act.

Greyson woke with his body sated and content but his mind in turmoil. Shyanne sprawled on her stomach asleep beside him. The smel of their passion lingered in the air.

He stroked his hand over her back. Her skin felt like satin. He knew he shouldn’t have taken her to bed—scratch that; let
her
take
him
to bed—but in spite of the complications a renewed relationship between them would cause, he didn’t regret a moment of what they’d just shared. Nothing in his life compared to the feeling of completion she gave him. In comparison, the last ten years felt like a cold, barren wasteland. How had he survived so long without her? How could he keep her in his life?

Their first affair had been the fault of his youth and inexperience: Taken with her innocence and joy in living, he’d fal en hard for her. He smiled as he remembered their courtship. She’d been a virgin when they first came together, but apart from her name there’d been nothing shy or retiring about Shyanne Kedar. As with everything else in her life, she’d approached sex with curiosity and abandon.

Once she decided to be with him, he hadn’t stood a chance.

But what had drawn her to him? What had she seen in him al those years ago? He didn’t consider himself outstanding in the looks department. Though he kept in shape, his body wasn’t bulging with muscle. With brown hair, brown eyes and pleasant, even features, he’d made the perfect undercover ASP agent. Like a chameleon he faded into whatever environment was necessary, careful not to stand out in a crowd or in people’s minds.

His original job had been to watch her and report back, not to get involved with her. He’d never expected her to approach or even notice him. She was a bright golden flame, the most popular girl in school. Nonetheless, she had fal en for him, and once she did, he was lost—to both her and his superiors in ASP. Having to eventual y betray her trust had gone against everything he thought he stood for, but at the time his al egiance to authority had been unquestioning and his rage against Stewart Kedar unwavering. Now he realized what blind loyalty and the thrist for vengeance had cost him.