Temporal Shift (Entangled Select Otherworld) (19 page)

Rico laughed again. “This is going to be so much fun.”

Tannis strode forward. “I suggest you let go of him,” she snarled. “Right now.”

Tamara dragged her gaze away from the object of her devotion. Her eyes widened when she took in Tannis. Not surprising. Tannis looked pissed. Tamara very stupidly ignored the words.

Tannis took a step closer, whirled around, and kicked out, catching Tamara in the side and breaking her hold on Callum. Callum stepped back, a slight smile on his face. Looked like he enjoyed having two women fighting over him.

Not for long. Tannis turned on him. “Wipe that smirk off your face.”

His expression went blank. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

“Callum, who is this woman?” Tamara asked.

Tannis closed the distance between them and prodded Tamara in the chest. “I’m Captain Tannis of the
Blood Hunter.
And I’m also the woman who will quite happily toss you out of the airlock without a spacesuit if you lay one finger on my man again.”

Devlin had always liked Tannis.

President Beauchamp must have decided it was time to intervene. He hurried across to where Callum stood leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest, wings folded at his back, the amused expression back on his face.

“Callum,” the president said. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but can you tell these people that I’ll be taking over now? I’m not sure who’s been running this but—”

“That would be me,” Tannis interrupted.

“Then you’ll release command of this ship to me. I’ll be using it as my base and would like an explanation of what is going on.”

Tannis cast him a look of pure amazement. She glanced at Callum. “Is he for real?”

Callum’s lips twitched, but he straightened and moved toward the president and his daughter.

“Max, Tamara,” he said, his voice smooth and calm—he was a true politician, but Devlin supposed he’d had a lot of practice. Callum had been ruling the universe for over four hundred years. He wasn’t likely to get riled by an ex-girlfriend and her father, even if they had been in charge back on Earth. “Why don’t you take a seat, and we’ll give you a brief recap of what’s been happening while you’ve been asleep.”

“But—”

“Now,” Callum roared. He pointed to the nearest seats and the two backed away, shock stamped on their faces, until they reached them and collapsed. Callum followed them and stood staring down. He shoved his hands in his pockets, obviously considering where to begin. It was a long story.

“Five hundred years ago, the fleet reached the Trakis system,” Callum began. “Unfortunately, the
Trakis One
was pulled into the black hole that guards the system and we all presumed that you’d perished.”

“You didn’t come and look?” Tamara asked. “You abandoned us?”

“Well, of course he didn’t come to look.” Tannis said. “Which part of black hole don’t you understand?”

“You’re here now. Why—”

“Tamara, shut up,” Callum interrupted. “We’re in a hurry. Anyway, that was five hundred years ago. In the meantime, we discovered something on one of the planets in the Trakis system—the source of immortality. I discovered it. Consequently, I became immortal and took over the Universe.”

President Beauchamp sat up straighter. “I presume you will hand that authority over to me, now that you have found us.”

Tannis snorted.

“I am the true President of the Federation of Nations,” Beauchamp said stiffly.

She snorted again. “Like that means fuck all to me.”

Beauchamp opened his mouth but Tannis continued, “Get on with this, Callum. I want us out of this shitty system as soon as possible.”

“A few days ago,” Callum said, “we had a reason to investigate the black hole. We came through it and found you on the other side.”

“And took the time out of our busy schedule to wake up you lazy assholes,” Tannis added. “Be grateful.”

Beauchamp didn’t look grateful. He turned and studied the room, his gaze coming to rest on Saffira. “Tell them,” he said.

“Tell them what?” She sounded totally disinterested.

“That God guided us here. That I am to take my people to the Promised Land and lead them to greatness. It is my destiny.”

“Well, I might have made that bit up,” she said.

“I don’t understand.”

“Obviously not. The truth is, I had a hot date with a hot guy”—she reached across and squeezed Devlin’s thigh—“and you were the only means of getting here.”

“I don’t understand.”

Saffira turned to Devlin. “Is he starting to sound like a parrot?”

Devlin stared down at the small hand resting on his thigh, the fingers long and narrow, the nails manicured and painted red. Why was he skeptical that her reasons involved him? He wasn’t sure what they were; she’d changed beyond recognition. The old Saffira would not have been cruel—this one was. Maybe she had her reasons. Christ, living for five hundred years was bound to make you a little bitter and twisted. He rested his hand on top of hers, caressed her fingers, watched as her eyes darkened. Then she looked away.

One thing was sure, though, whatever she had thought, or told herself, she still wanted him and wasn’t particularly happy about it.

“Okay.” Tannis interrupted his thoughts. “Let’s move this along. Devlin, if you’ve finished holding hands, what’s the state of the
Trakis One
? Can you get her going?”

Devlin grinned. “She’s in good condition, considering. A little wear and tear, presumably from five hundred years traveling from Earth. A little external damage, I’m guessing from coming through the black hole. But the engines are functioning and the guidance systems look good.”

“Could she make it back through the black hole?”

“She needs a little fine-tuning, but I don’t see why not. If she had a good pilot there’s nothing to stop her, mechanically, from making it.”

“Good.” Tannis turned to Callum. “What about a good pilot? I don’t want you on there. Or Rico. I’m not risking my crew.”

“There’s no need,” Callum replied. “There’s still the last crew in cryo on the ship. I checked.”

“But Callum…” Tamara had obviously regained her courage. “Wouldn’t you take us? You were always the best.”

“No, he won’t,” Tannis snapped. “He’s staying here.”

“Then we’ll stay as well,” Tamara said. “I feel safe with Callum.”

There was a commotion at the door at that moment. It slid open, revealing Daisy’s diminutive form. She raised her head and sniffed the air, her nostrils flaring. Her eyes were covered with dark glasses, but Devlin could still feel her stare.

“Wow,” Saffira said. “She looks a little on edge.”

“Daisy?” Rico spoke softly, but the word held a warning.

“I’m hungry.” Her voice was midnight dark. As she licked her lips, Devlin caught a flash of fangs. His wrist tingled where Rico had fed. She turned her head, searching the room, her concentration fixing on Tamara. She took a step toward her, only to stop as Rico spoke her name again.

“Come here, Daisy.” The words were like a whiplash across the room.

Daisy hesitated, then turned to Rico and snarled.

“Come here,” he ordered again.

Casting Tamara one last hungry look, she stalked toward Rico. He took her hand as she reached him and pulled her to his side. “You need to control yourself,” he urged.

She bit her lip, and a bead of crimson welled up. “It hurts.”

“I know.” He looked around the room, his gaze resting on Beauchamp and his daughter as though considering them.

Tannis grinned. “I won’t stop you.”

“I will,” Callum said.

“Spoilsport,” Tannis muttered.

“Don’t worry,” Rico said. “I’ll take her across to the
Trakis One
when the meeting is over.”

“And do what?” Callum’s tone held suspicion.

“She can feed on them without disturbing the cryo.”

“That’s disgusting,” Callum said.

Rico’s lips quirked. “How do you think I survived five hundred years in space? Granted, it’s not as much fun when they’re asleep, but the blood is just as good.”

“Well, now we’ve all had a lesson in vampire survival in space—”

“Vampire?” Tamara sounded faint. She gazed at Rico with a look of horror. Rico obliged by flashing one sharp white fang, and she swallowed. Devlin suspected they wouldn’t have too much trouble persuading them to leave the
Blood Hunter
when the time came. In fact she backed up, her gaze never leaving Rico, to stand beside her father, then whispered to him.

He nodded, then spoke to the room in general. “I’ll be back once I’ve settled my daughter.”

“We’ll look forward to it,” Tannis said. She watched until the two had disappeared. “As I was saying—can we get on with this? We need to decide what we’re going to do.”

Saffira pulled free of his hand and got to her feet. “I’d like to formally request that we return to the planet and help save my people. I’ve spent five hundred years to ensure that mankind survive, that you exist. The least you can do is help me now.”

For a moment, Tannis appeared to consider the request, but she shook her head slowly. “No way. We’re not going anywhere near that planet or your friend Thorne.” She rubbed her head. “I’m not giving him a chance to knock us out again.”

“He won’t. Not if I tell him not to.”

“Now, here’s the thing,” Tannis said, striding across to stand in front of her. “I don’t trust you. I didn’t trust you before, and it turned out, with good reason.” Her eyes drifted down over Saffira’s figure. “And I don’t trust you any more now than I did then—if anything, less. You’re up to something and I don’t know what. And that makes me twitchy. But to be fair, I’ll put it to the crew. All those in favor of going back to that piece-of-shit planet, raise your hands now.” She shoved her hands in her pockets as if to emphasize her own negative vote.

“Sorry, darling,” Rico said. “You fooled us once— I won’t risk Skylar again.”

Devlin looked around the room. Not one hand was raised.

He came back to Saffira to find her watching him. He tried to analyze her expression, but she’d become too good at hiding what she was thinking. “Sorry,” he said. And at last something flashed in her eyes, but he couldn’t define the expression. His hand twitched with the need to raise it, but he kept it at his side even though it wouldn’t make a difference with everyone else against her.

Maybe because he wanted to see what she would do when driven into a corner and her true self emerged. Or maybe he really didn’t want her to go back. He didn’t want her loyalty to be given to someone else. He wanted her to give it to him.

Hopefully, he’d have time to persuade her to stay, not to return to the planet, to come with them, with him.

Saffira stood, so sexy in her black leather, legs apart, hands on her hips. She studied the room and its occupants, then nodded. “Well, looks like it’s unanimous.”

“Sorry, but I have to think of my crew,” Tannis said. “But you’re free to come with us if that’s what you want. Or you can take one of the shuttles and go rejoin your people.”

“How long do I have to decide?” she asked.

“Callum?” Tannis asked.

“I’ll go over to the
Trakis One
, sort out the crew, wake them up…make sure they’re all functioning—cryo can affect people differently. But I should be done in, say, six hours.”

“Good. Devlin?”

“A couple of hours to fine-tune the engine. We could leave it to the crew, but it will save time.”

“Excellent.” Tannis turned to Saffira. “It looks like you have six hours, and we’re out of here. So make your decision by then.” She grabbed Callum, turned, and stalked from the room with him in tow.

Rico, still with his hand holding on to Daisy, rose to his feet. “We’re taking a shuttle over to the
Trakis One
. Skylar?”

“I’ll come along. In case you need help.”

And that left Devlin alone with Saffira.

Chapter Eighteen

Well, that had gone pretty much as expected, if not as she would have liked. Tannis was obviously aware of their vulnerability if she returned to the planet, so Saffira couldn’t blame her for avoiding the place.

On to plan B.

What hadn’t been expected was Tannis offering her a place on the ship. And she had to admit to a nebulous feeling, which she was reluctant to identify as guilt. She’d expected the captain to take what she’d done personally and want nothing to do with her. But maybe she was feeling magnanimous and didn’t see Saffira as a threat. Which, on the face of it, she wasn’t.

And Devlin had voted against her. Again. The bastard. It shouldn’t have surprised her, either, and she supposed it didn’t. What did surprise her was the hurt she had felt as he’d held her stare, his hand deliberately at his side.

“You could have at least pretended to want to help me,” she said.

“I don’t.”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference, anyway.”

“I don’t lie. And I don’t want you back on that planet.”

“You’d have me abandon my people?”

“You’ve given them enough. Maybe it’s time they stood up for themselves and stopped relying on you to save them. Live for yourself for a change.”

And what exactly did he think that involved? Him? Did he want her? And for what and how long? “And you? Are you going to live for yourself, take what you want?” She cocked her head to one side and studied him. “What do you want, Devlin?”

“Right now? You. I want you. I want to bury myself so deep inside you that I can forget what it felt like when I woke and knew you were gone.”

“So you did miss me? Was I managing to convince you that one day you might love me?”

His lids shuttered as he watched her through half-closed eyes. They gleamed like the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. She’d sailed there a few times over the centuries, and the ocean had always reminded her of Devlin.

“Right now, I don’t care about love. I care about stripping those tight pants off you and filling you so completely you forget whatever schemes are going through that devious little mind of yours.”

Shock jabbed her in the gut. What did he know of her schemes? He was guessing. Nothing more. But still, he saw too much. Maybe he was too dangerous to have around, and she should eliminate him now. Her whole mind balked at the thought of killing Devlin—she obviously wasn’t quite as ruthless as she’d hoped. But she could incapacitate him, knock him out, drug him—she had supplies she had brought from Earth that would render him unconscious until it was too late to be of any consequence.

“What do you say?” he murmured. “How about we take a little time off for ourselves and go find out if it’s as good between us as I remember?”

She hadn’t realized he was so close. He stroked a finger over her cheek, the line of her throat, over her collarbone, then lower to cup her breast in his big hand, and she almost swooned.

What was it about him? No one had ever affected her this way—so hard and so fast. Maybe she was still under the spell of those visions. Visions of a future that would never happen now.

He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her nipple. It stiffened immediately, sending jolts of sensation to her groin, and she breathed in sharply.

Whatever the reason—she wanted him. One last time. Because it would be the last time. If she failed, the
Blood Hunter
would fly away without her, and she’d never see him again. If she succeeded, she was quite sure that Devlin would want nothing more to do with her. Except maybe to kill her.

So why shouldn’t she take this last chance?

She swayed toward him. His hand fell from her breast to stroke the line of her hip, around to cup her ass, and he pulled her against him. He was already hard and, at the feel of the solid heat of him pressed against her belly, desire exploded, tightening her breasts, flooding her sex with moist heat.

He squeezed her buttock and she pushed closer, rubbing her hips against him so he groaned low in his throat.

She pulled free. “Let’s go.”

Neither of them talked or touched as they took the transporter bubble to Devlin’s cabin, but she sensed the tension growing between them.

As soon as the door shut, he spun her around and pressed her up against the wall. His hands went to the hem of her vest. He gripped the material in his fists, tugged it over her head, then stepped back to stare at her bare breasts. He swallowed. “I’ve been imagining this since you walked onto the bridge. You are so beautiful.” As he spoke, he dragged his own shirt over his head, so he was naked to the waist. Her fingers twitched to feel all that masculine strength, the satin of his skin, the bulge of muscles. She shook with the need, and the intensity scared her.

She wanted to grab control from him. Needed to, or she had an idea that he would take her over, wipe the last five hundred years from her mind, and turn her into the naïve fool she had been at twenty-one. She never wanted to be that vulnerable again. This would be exactly what he had said when he took her virginity. Just sex.

“So, do you want to know what I’ve learned over five hundred years?”

When he didn’t answer, she allowed her gaze to slide over his body. Reaching out, she flicked open the weapons belt at his waist so it fell to the floor. She could see the telltale bulge of his erection pressing against the fabric of his pants. Then she looked up at his face, the heat overlying the cool detached expression.

Her eyes narrowed—she didn’t want him detached.

She considered her options. Then she held his gaze as she sank down to her knees in front of him. Licking her lips, she traced a finger over the length of his shaft, and it pulsed beneath her touch. His cheekbones were flushed, and his nostrils flared, his whole body tense.

She toyed with the fastener of his pants, teasing him, flicked it open, and eased them over his hips. He pushed them down, hopped on one foot, tugged off a boot and tossed it away, did the same with the second, then kicked off his pants to stand naked before her. His shaft was level with her face, and her nostrils filled with the musky scent of aroused male. He was huge and hard and stood up almost vertical against the pale blond fur that dissected his lean belly. She swayed toward him and touched him lightly with her tongue, then licked a long, slow stroke from his balls to the tip, swirling her tongue around the head, reveling in the salty taste of his arousal.

He didn’t move, but she sensed the tension in his body.

She couldn’t wait. She needed to feel his power, and she took the tip in her mouth and suckled gently, heard his low groan above her head. Sliding her mouth down over the length of him, she relaxed the muscles of her throat so she could take him. Then withdrew and repeated the process over and over until he was slick from her ministrations.

He was jerking toward her now, his hips pumping as though he couldn’t help himself, and one hand came up to tangle in her hair. She choked slightly, unable to keep the rhythm, and shifted to suckle the head, alternating the pressure, now hard, then soft.

She cupped his balls in her palm; they were tight, and she knew he was close. She wanted to feel his release, make him lose control, but at the last minute, he pulled free and stepped back.

She eyed him. If anything, he looked even bigger, the head flushed with blood, the length marked by dark blue veins that stood up against the smooth, satiny skin. As she leaned toward him, he took another step back.

“You’ve learned a lot. Not the shy virgin anymore.”

“I was never shy.”

“No.” He held out a hand. “I want to be inside you.” She glanced again at his cock and her sex clenched with need, the desire swelling to a heavy weight that filled her belly with heat.

Taking his hand, she allowed him to pull her to her feet, but then she tugged free. Bending, she pulled off her boots and wriggled out of the black leather pants.

Devlin stared at her for long hot seconds, heat filling his eyes. Then he closed the space between them with one step. His hands went to her hips and he lifted her with ease. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he backed her up so the smooth metal of the door pressed against her shoulder blades. One hand left her hips, and she was balanced between him and the door. His hand slid between their bodies, into the curls at the base of her belly and lower, to slip inside the sodden folds of her sex.

He groaned as his finger entered the moist heat and her inner muscles convulsed around him.

“You are so wet. I like you wet. Hot and slick and perfect.” As he spoke, he shifted her slightly, until the head of his cock nudged against her. He held her open with his fingers as he plunged into her, filling her with one hard thrust of his hips.

She gasped and he went still. It wasn’t from pain but the feeling of rightness. She wriggled, loving the feel of his huge cock inside her.

“Are you all right?” he murmured, and she glanced up into his face. “For all your talk of experience, I’m guessing it’s been a while.”

“You are?”

“You are so tight, sweetheart.”

“I am?” He flexed his hips, pulling out so she felt the ripple deep inside her and gasped again.

“Well?” he said.

“A hundred years, give or take. A bad breakup and I lost the urge, and then they invented vibrators and…”

“Shut up,” he said. “I don’t want to think of another man with his hands on you.”

She liked that and hated that she liked it. Then he lowered his head to hers and took her mouth in a fierce kiss while he shoved back into her hard.

She lost the ability to think and gave herself up to the pleasure coursing through her. He was hard and fast and furious. All she was aware of was his shaft moving between her legs. He moved easier as she accustomed herself to his size, his hips pumping as his tongue thrust into her mouth and his fingers bit into the flesh of her hips, holding her in place.

The pleasure was building, unable to withstand the ferocity of his lovemaking, spreading out from her sex, pulsing through her belly, up to her breasts, so she rubbed them against his hair-roughened chest.

He changed the movement slightly, rotating his pelvic bone against her on each inward stroke, grinding against her engorged clit until she was whimpering with need and couldn’t hold the pleasure inside her any longer.

It burst with an explosion of sensation, shattering her into a thousand pieces. She was vaguely aware of him coming inside her as the pleasure rippled through her body.

Then he was moving, still inside her, still holding her against him, and she was lowered gently back to lie on the bed, her legs still locked around his hips as though she would never let him go.

Staring up at the curved ceilings, her body throbbing with residual pleasure, she tried to pull the tatters of her mind back together. How had she managed to persuade herself that she had forgotten him, that he was a distant memory who meant nothing?

She loved him. Better to accept it now and deal.

Because it didn’t matter. He’d proved already that he wasn’t on her side. And if he wasn’t her ally, he was her enemy. She’d decided a long time ago what she wanted in life, and she wouldn’t back down now because of some soggy emotional crap. And some man who had his own agenda that would always come before hers.

One day maybe he would speak those words of love. But it wouldn’t be today. And she couldn’t wait.

He pulled out of her, sending a shiver of pleasure through her body. For a few seconds her legs tightened around him, to hold him close, then she forced her muscles to relax and let him go. He rolled onto his back beside her.

“That was…”

“Great sex,” she said flippantly. “A big…” She came up on her elbows and stared at his groin, his cock was already filling, thickening, “…and I mean huge…improvement on my vibrator.”

He turned to lie on his side and study her, and she had to fight the urge to twitch and take cover.

For a moment, she thought he was going to get all stupid and emotional, but she should have remembered him better. “Tell me,” he said. “How did you do it? And what the fuck’s with this Founder of the Church of Everlasting Life crap? Don’t tell me you found religion back on the old home planet?”

She shrugged. “Does it matter? I did it. I saved mankind.”

“Hurray for that. But humor me.”

She pulled herself up into a sitting position and hugged her knees to her chest, rested her chin on one knee as she watched him and decided what to say. She could spend eternity staring at a naked Devlin. How much to tell him? In the end, she decided on the truth.

“At first it was hard.”

As she started talking, he pushed himself up as well and sat cross-legged facing her so he could watch her face while she spoke. His cat-like eyes studied her with feline intensity. She had seen jaguars in the zoos back on Earth. Now the resemblance was clear.

“Go on,” he said.

“Where you left me…Spain, 1499. It was a dangerous place for a stranger. I had to hide. Later, I learned a little more, how to blend in. They were intolerant of anything they didn’t understand. Anything different from themselves. I nearly died so many times.”

“How?”

She pursed her lips. “Hunger, thieves…once I was nearly burned at the stake as a witch.” A tremor ran through her. “Did they tell you that we saw someone burned before you left?”

“No, they never mentioned it.”

“She was a Jew who wouldn’t repent her religion. Rico shot her before the flames got to her. I can remember her expression so well. Dying for something she believed in and regretting it when it was way too late.” She shuddered at the memory; she would never do that. “They thought I was a witch.”

“You are a witch.”

“Well, yes, probably, by their standards. It didn’t help that in the beginning I turned blue every time I got emotional. Hardly normal.”

“You don’t anymore?”

“No, that stopped after about a hundred years. And my eyes faded from purple to this, along with my visions of time—they almost disappeared from my life—just occasionally I’d dream. Anyway, I survived. Even saw some wonderful things. It wasn’t all bad.” But it had been lonely. So lonely that she’d made the occasional error of getting close to people, revealing who and what she was. Always she’d regretted it, and it had never turned out well. Had even resulted in a very unpleasant stay in Bedlam in the nineteenth century.