Wicked Wanderer
Chapter Three

by Sharon Green

Copyright 2003 by ABCD Webmasters, and Sharon Green


 

Torand Rego strode toward the airlock that had been opened to the station as soon as the Hawk had sealed into her berth. By rights he should have been much more excited by the news a friend had called with, but the last day and a half hadn't been easy on him. He may have started out with the decision to put the female stowaway completely out of his thoughts, but the situation hadn't worked out like that. No matter what the girl had or hadn't told him, he couldn't get past feeling that he'd deliberately brutalized an innocent.

"Tor, you have to stop beating yourself up," Jerman had said the third time he'd checked on the girl's condition, the medic's tone sharp. "If you'd thrown the girl to the crew you'd have reason to feel this guilty, but all you did was take her to your own bed. Isn't there some kind of law that says female stowaways on a pirate ship are required to share the captain's bed?"

"That's not funny," Tor had replied with a growl. "I knew I should have had you drug her and then let her sleep until we got to the station, but instead I forced her to sleep with me. How funny would you consider the situation if it was you I forced into my bed?"

"It was me when I first came aboard," Jerman reminded him, her tone going dry. "You refused to take no for an answer, and afterward I was glad. For a brutal, heartless pirate captain you're kind of considerate in bed, not to mention more talented than the norm. And once I'd shared your bed I stopped cringing every time one of the men in the crew looked at me. I was able to look back as I wondered how those men would measure up to you, an attitude that made life aboard this ship a lot more pleasant for me. Just the way you knew it would."

"You weren't a virgin when you came aboard," Tor had pointed out, still feeling lousy in spite of what she'd said. "Let me know if there's anything I can do."

Jerman had promised to call him if she needed something he could provide, but she hadn't called. He'd stopped at sickbay on his way to the airlock, but no one had been there. Hopefully that meant the girl was safely off the ship already, and when he saw Jerman coming back from the opened lock the hope became more of a certainty.

"Before you ask, she's already gone," Jerman said with one hand raised in front of her as she stopped. "She thanked me for helping her, and promised to call me if she needed to talk. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for the call."

"So she's still refusing to talk about what made her withdraw like that," Tor said with a sigh. "All we can hope is that she'll find someone else to talk to, someone who isn't from our ship. I seriously doubt if she's hanging around the ramp outside, but I'll give her another minute before I go out myself."

"I have the feeling you're going out right now for a reason," Jerman said, studying him with her head to one side. "What have you heard?"

"I heard that Falk is due on the station at any time," Tor answered, heavier excitement beginning to stir in him. "Falk never comes up here for no reason, and he's been holding off on the attack against our beloved government because he's supposed to be waiting for something. If what he's waiting for is here or about to arrive we might be finally getting to the attack."

"I hate the idea of how many people will be hurt or killed, but we have to have a new central government before all the worlds begin to stagnate," Jerman said with a sigh. "The policies that have been forced down our throats aren't making the worlds safer and more pleasant places to live, they're causing people to be stuffed into boxes the same size and shape whether those people fit or not. And requiring people to use Extreme Tact instead of telling the plain truth… If something stinks, the smell doesn't stop if you say the something is 'less than optimally aromatic.'"

"Who are you trying to convince?" Tor asked with a wry smile. "I was declared a 'deliberate misfit' while you still believed a doctor couldn't be kept from tending anyone who needed her. When their 'equality code' demanded that you treat a poor person with a cold before you tended someone with a bank account who was in horrible pain, you walked away just as I did. A lot of good people have been declared outlaw because they disagreed with one stupid policy or another, but now we have the chance to get our lives back. And I'm willing to risk that life in order to make it happen. I'll see you later."

Jerman nodded as he moved past her, and then the medic was gone from Tor's thoughts. He and his crew had been waiting so long for Falk to say that the right time had come, but if Falk still insisted on delaying there was nothing anyone could do. People had learned years earlier that if Falk said not to do something you were a fool if you didn't listen. Listening to Falk brought success, ignoring him brought failure. Why that was no one knew, but everyone was rabidly happy that Falk was on their side.

It was only a small surprise to Tor to find that the docking area was so crowded. Just about every ship in their pirate fleet was near or at the station, the other captains and crews hoping like Tor and his people that the time had finally come. After stepping off the ramp Tor began to stroll through the crowd, looking for a sign that Falk had already reached the station himself. Falk had used Tor and his ship more often than any of the others for special assignments, so Tor had very high hopes for his ship's role in the attack.

Tor spotted Falk talking to some of the men he used to pass on his orders and immediately headed for them. He'd almost reached the small group when there was a … sharp crashing sound that dragged everyone's attention to the storage areas just past the customs offices. Falk cried out and instantly began to run in that direction, so Tor lost no time in following. He had no idea what could have happened, but when he reached the place Falk was heading right behind the older man and ahead of everyone else who had come running, he got a nasty shock of his own. The blond stowaway was lying unmoving on the deck, and Falk bent to her with more than just simple concern.

"One of you get your medic out here!" Falk yelled with less control than Tor had ever seen in the man, and then he spotted Tor. "No, cancel that! Tor! You get your medic out here and tell her to run!"

Tor grabbed the comlink from his belt and put in an emergency call to Jerman, then returned his attention to Falk. The older man was holding the unconscious blonde's hand and stroking it, his expression showing such agony that Tor couldn't keep silent.

"Falk, what's going on?" he asked, and the muttering all around them in the crowd died down. "Do you know that girl? What happened to her?"

"This girl is my niece, Chayara, and it turns out that she's the one I've been waiting for," Falk answered in a pain-filled voice without looking up. "I knew something else was needed before we could launch our attack, and as soon as I saw her I realized that she was what was needed. As to what happened to her, I have no idea. She's so close to where the disintegration field on this storage area was that it's a miracle there's anything left of her. If she dies, how can I ever face my brother with the news? Assuming he and I both survive to face each other again…"

Falk fell silent again, but Tor felt more as if he'd been struck dumb. The blond stowaway was Falk's niece, and she was what Falk had been waiting for? It hadn't occurred to Tor sooner, but he'd never asked the girl's name. He hadn't cared what her name was before she went withdrawn, and afterward he was glad he hadn't asked. Keeping her nameless made the whole situation less real, and he'd needed that help to cope with what he'd done.

Now Tor knew himself for the absolute fool that he was. If only he'd made the girl tell him her name… Everyone who knew about Torand Rego knew that his ship was the Hawk, but almost no one knew that Bornal Falk's ship was called the Chayara. If he'd heard the name he would have kept his hands off the girl and treated her like a porcelain doll…

"Falk, you won't believe what happened!" Risson, one of Falk's lieutenants, called out as he forced his way through the crowd just as Jerman arrived with her medical bag. Falk stood up to give Jerman access to the girl - to his niece - then turned to Risson.

"You'd be surprised what I can believe, Risson," Falk said with an oddly twisted smile. "You found out what caused that noise we heard?"

"That noise was the main field generators shorting out," Risson answered with an odd shake of his head. "The chief engineer tells me he never saw anything like it, not here and not anywhere. The disintegration field generator went first, kicking the exclusion field generator off-line right after it. The whole system is down until it can be repaired."

"That second short is probably what knocked this girl unconscious," Jerman said, glancing up from her patient. "If the disintegration field generator hadn't shorted out first there would be nothing left of her beyond a few floating dust motes. Talk about lucky…"

"Then it really is meant to be," Falk said cryptically as his face creased into a delighted smile. "Doctor Jerman, is it safe to move my niece into the private conference room in the office? It's only a short distance from here."

"She may have a headache when she wakes up, but other than that she's unharmed," Jerman said as she got to her feet. "Putting her someplace comfortable would be a good idea."

"Excellent," Falk said, then he turned to Tor. "Captain, would you do me the favor of carrying my niece inside? I'd like your medic to attend her until she wakes up, and you and I have something to discuss."

Tor knew that Falk couldn't be talking about the something-to-discuss that he knew about, but Falk had to be told what had happened at some time. Tor would have preferred to put off the telling for months if not years, but he'd learned when it was possible to run and when he had no choice but to stand his ground. So he nodded to acknowledge Falk's request, then went to one knee next to the girl before picking her up in his arms. She weighed so little for such a big bundle of potential trouble…

Falk led the way and opened doors, Jerman followed him carrying the girl's pack as well as her own medical bag, and Tor came last with the girl. Jerman had glanced at Tor just before the procession started, but she hadn't said anything. She must have been able to see Tor's decision to tell all in his face, but she hadn't shown a reaction of her own. But whether or not Jerman approved of his decision made no difference to Tor. He knew what had to be done and he meant to do it.

The conference room Falk had mentioned was only a short distance inside the office door on the left. Tor followed Falk and Jerman inside to put the girl on the couch Falk gestured to, and then it was time to come clean. The only problem was, Tor didn't quite know how to begin…

"I'm about to tell you something that must not become general knowledge," Falk said after closing the door they'd all come through, stealing a march on Tor. "My personal detector tells me there aren't any spying devices intruding on our conversation, so let's sit down and get to it."

Falk led the way to a cluster of deeply upholstered chairs that had a coffee-server table in the middle of the grouping. He called up a cup of coffee for himself while Tor and Jerman chose chairs to sit in, then he sat back in his own chair with the cup.

"Please, help yourselves to the coffee," Falk said when Tor and Jerman just sat there. "This story could take a while."

"Falk, there's something I have to talk about too," Tor said without reaching for the buttons the way Jerman had already done. "It's about your niece, and the fact that she got to this station on my ship."

"Absolutely incredible," Falk said, and that strangely delighted smile was on his face again. "When I saw her I hoped that her talent would be as strong as we needed it to be, but apparently the talent is even stronger than I imagined. What are the chances that Chayara would arrive here on the very ship she'll be on when we start the attack?"

"What?" Tor found himself saying in that state of shock that was becoming much too familiar. "What are you talking about?"

"I feel as if I've been drinking something other than coffee," Falk said with a laugh after sipping from his cup. "I'm drunk with delight, so it's no wonder you can't follow what I'm saying. To begin at the beginning, our family, my niece's and mine, has certain … talents that have been reinforced over the generations. My talent is knowing what has to be done to accomplish any particular aim, and my niece's talent is luck. Chayara isn't just lucky every now and then. She's lucky all the time, and her good luck spreads to her surroundings as well."

"Do you mean her presence caused the generators to short out?" Jerman asked incredulously while the memory of a just-avoided trap involving a freighter guarded by six Mawlers ghosted through Tor's mind. "How can that be possible?"

"It became possible when she needed something like that to save her life," Falk answered, obviously still amused. "When I left home eight years ago I told her where I'd be if the family needed me, and recently her father, my twin brother, was arrested by the new planetary governor. I don't need to go into why he was arrested, but the incident caused Chayara to come looking for me just when I most needed her. I hadn't realized that she was what I needed and was waiting for until I saw her, and then everything fell into place."

"What did you mean when you said the girl would be on our ship for the attack?" Jerman said after a moment, probably when it became obvious to her that Tor was still too … stunned to speak coherently. "You can't seriously mean to put a girl like her in the middle of danger like that."

"But that's the whole point," Falk countered with a small laugh. "The attack plan calls for a single ship to get through the defenses of the planet the government uses as its seat and then land, the objective being to take over the controls of those defenses. Once the planet's defenses start to attack the heavy line of patrolling guard ships, the rest of our fleet can get into action. Chayara has to be in the center of the effort, to make sure it doesn't fail. I'd long since decided that the Hawk would be the single ship, and afterward, when we've won, you can also take Chayara home and help to get her father released."

"Falk, there's something you don't yet know about and it makes all the difference," Tor said, finally able to get the heavy words spoken. "Your niece made her way here by stowing away on freighters, and she stowed away on Hawk thinking we were a freighter too. When two of my crew found her they brought her to me, and I - "

"And he told me what ship I was really on," a voice interrupted before Tor could get the rest of his confession voiced. "Until then I couldn't figure out how to get to this station, but being on a pirate ship solved the problem. And of course I'll help you make your plan work. Once the government is no longer in charge, that woman won't be able to call herself the governor any longer and they'll have to let my father go."

Tor had turned at the first of the words while Falk and Jerman simply looked up, and they'd all seen the girl sitting on the couch she'd formerly been lying on. Her glance to Tor said she wasn't going to let him tell Falk what he'd done, but Tor had no idea why. All he knew was that he owed the girl, so if she wanted him to keep quiet he would. But only until he could get her alone to ask a few questions…

"Chayara, my dear, I'm so glad that you seem unhurt," Uncle Leron said as he rose to come over to the couch Chayara sat on. "If you're feeling up to it I'd like you to join us over there. Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"I'd love a cup of coffee," Chayara answered as she let her uncle take her hand to help her off the couch. She'd been conscious for a while before sitting up and speaking, so even the slight dizziness she'd felt at first was gone. And after hearing what had been said she also knew what had to be done now.

"Let me check her before you give her a stimulant," the woman doctor, Jerman, said as Chayara's uncle urged her into the chair nearest his. Jerman had gotten out of her own chair to come over, so Chayara simply let the woman look her over without making a fuss. In only a couple of minutes Jerman grudged the admission that Chayara seemed fine, so Chayara was able to tell her uncle how she liked her coffee fixed. When the table produced her cup Chayara took it, then sat back to sip quietly while the other three people went back to discussing the upcoming attack.

Listening with only one ear let Chayara realize again how bothered she'd been to find out she wasn't dead. She'd been certain her luck would let her die when she needed to, but now she realized that more was involved than her own needs. Rego had called her uncle "Falk," which meant that Leron Croft was Bornal Falk, ultimate leader of these people who were called pirates.

And Bornal Falk needed Chayara's luck to make his plan work, a plan that would end with freeing her father. She couldn't refuse to help out, but there was something else she now knew she couldn't refuse to do. No one can deny their nature for long, she'd been told, and everything she'd seen and learned confirmed that idea. If she was going to live she had to stop denying her true nature, no matter how shameful she now considered that nature. She had to start being true to herself, and also make an effort to be the best it was possible for her to be…

"… so we'll all coordinate by shifting to station time," her uncle was saying when Chayara began to pay full attention again. "It's late 'morning' here, which will give us enough time to spread the word and get everyone ready to move tomorrow. The sooner we do this the better."

"Agreed," Rego said as he stood, Jerman and Chayara's uncle doing the same. "We'll get moving right now and start spreading the word, which will give you time to get reacquainted with your niece."

"I'd love to spend time with Chayara, but I'm afraid that won't be possible right now," her uncle said, his smile filled with sadness as he offered her a hand out of the chair. "Coordinating the effort will take all of my attention, so Chayara would end up ignored and bored if she stayed with me. Since she'll be traveling with you on your ship, Tor, best would be if you take her back there right now. You don't mind going back to the Hawk now, do you, Chayara? I'm sure Tor will find some way to amuse you."

"Oh, I know he will," Chayara said with a faint smile for Rego as she stood. "I don't mind going back to the Hawk at all, uncle Leron. We can spend some time getting to know each other again once the attack is a success."

"Bornal Falk" agreed wholeheartedly, but Torand Rego didn't seem as happy with the arrangement. His expression was really peculiar before he and Jerman accompanied Chayara out of the conference room, and they all maintained an awkward silence until they were aboard Rego's ship again. Chayara expected to be taken back to Rego's cabin, and was surprised when she was shown to another cabin almost as large as Rego's. Jerman went in a different direction once they were aboard, so it was only Rego and Chayara in the new cabin when Rego closed the door and turned to Chayara.

"All right, I have a few questions for you," Rego said, apparently fighting to keep his voice even. "Why didn't you let me tell your uncle what I did to you, and why didn't you refuse when he said you had to come back here? Your time on board here wasn't so pleasant that you have a reason for wanting to come back."

"No, my time on board here wasn't pleasant," Chayara conceded, sitting in a chair after tossing her pack onto the bunk. "It's never pleasant when you find out that your nature is something other than what you've believed it was, and that was what upset me so badly before. Now I've come to realize that I can't fight my true nature, but have to accept it and live accordingly. It doesn't make sense to start accepting my nature elsewhere when I'll be aboard this ship for the attack, so I'll be doing my accepting here."

"What are you talking about?" Rego demanded, his expression showing pure confusion. "What true nature, and what kind of accepting do you expect to do?"

"Please don't pretend you don't know," Chayara said with a smile for the way he seemed to be trying to protect her from the truth. "Thanks to you I now know I'm what's usually called a slut, a sex-for-pay girl. You showed me that I can't control my desire when a man touches me, and I'm really very grateful for having been shown the truth. It never pays to deny what you really are, you know."

For some reason Rego stared at her with his mouth open for a very long while, just as if someone had hit him hard in the head, and then that gaping mouth snapped shut.

"Girl, Chayara, you're entirely mistaken," he said then, an intensity to the words. "Didn't Jerman tell you what really happened? You responded to me the way you did because I gave you an aphrodisiac. It's called Green Glow and that's why you acted the way you did."

Chayara raised her brows, wondering why Rego was still trying to lie to her. And what he'd said was a lie, easily disproved by logic. Then she realized why Rego was acting the way he was and a wry smile curved her lips. He obviously admired her uncle quite a lot, and was therefore trying to keep his leader from being shamed.

"I'd love to believe that it was an aphrodisiac that made me act the way I did, but I'm afraid the excuse just doesn't wash," Chayara said, trying to be gentle. "If I'd refused to share your bed or had made a screaming, crying fuss, giving me something to make me more … amenable would have made sense. But I didn't refuse you or make a fuss, so you would have had no reason to give me something like that. So… Am I supposed to start practicing my new place in life with you, or do I first make my way through your crew? Once I'm able to do some research I won't have to ask silly questions that like any longer."

Rego had stared at her again for a moment, his expression having turned appalled, but now he stood and rubbed his closed eyes with one hand. It was hard to tell if the man looked more weary or more pained, and then his eyes were suddenly open again.

"So you think you want to be a slut, do you?" he growled, annoyance and anger mixed in those cold grey eyes. "I think I can come up with something to change your mind. I'll be right back."

And with that he slammed out of the cabin, apparently on his way to get something. Chayara felt really sorry for the man; knowing he was the one who had taught her the truth about her nature must be agonizing for him now that he also knew who she was. She probably would have done better saying nothing of the whole truth, but it was too late now to change her mind. And if he refused to answer her question about where she was to start, she'd have to make the choice herself. Maybe beginning with those two men who had found her in the supply hold would be best. There was no doubt about their being interested, so…

Chayara spent the next few minutes thinking about what might be the best way to approach those men, but her experience in this area was completely lacking. Then she realized that a ship like this must have books, so she could either read them or have them folded into her mind for future reference. Then she'd be able to refer to -

"Okay, now you'll see what kind of an idea you have," Rego said as he barged into the cabin again without knocking. "Lie down on the bunk and put this on."

He gestured with the thing he held, and it took a moment for Chayara to recognize a Dreamer with cartridge already in place. Her parents hadn't approved of Dreamers so she'd never used one, but things had changed drastically from when she'd been at home. If Rego had found something that would make learning her new place in life easier, she would be an idiot if she refused the help. With that in mind she took the Dreamer as she stood up, then carried it to the bunk and lay down. Once she was comfortable she put the Dreamer on her head, and Rego came over to press the proper stud. Then -

Nikki sat outside the office of the school's Assistant Head, having been sent there by the old bat who had been teaching her last class. The old bat claimed she didn't like Nikki's attitude and had sent her to Mr. Harden for punishment, but Nikki had another kind of time in mind. Mr. Harden was tall, broad, and handsome, with red hair and grey eyes, and Nikki had looked forward to being alone with him since the first time she'd seen him. He was the only good thing about this dumb school she was being forced to attend, so she had no intention of missing out.

Crossing her legs gave Nikki a better view of the knee socks and "sensible" shoes that went so well with the rest of the stupid school uniform she was forced to wear. A pleated, dark red skirt that came down to her knees, a white blouse that buttoned up to her throat, and a narrow blue tie that was probably supposed to choke her to the point of submitting to all their stupid rules. Well, Nikki wasn't going to submit to them, not now and not ever. She hated this school and first chance she got she would be gone, back to where there were men rather than nothing but other girls and old bats doing the teaching. She would -

"Nikki Egan?" a male voice said, causing Nikki to look toward the now-open office door. "It's your turn now, Nikki, so come inside."

The gorgeous Mr. Harden was the one making the offer, so Nikki rose gracefully to her feet and went into the office. As she passed Mr. Harden she made sure to tickle the bulge in the front of his pants, just to let him know exactly where they both stood. It had been much too long since Nikki had last had a man, and she wasn't about to miss this opportunity.

"I was told you don't understand anything about propriety, and obviously it's the truth," Mr. Harden said as he closed the door, anger in his tone. "Do you have any idea what you're offering when you do something like that?"

"I know exactly what I'm offering, and also what I expect to get," Nikki purred, waiting for the man to move closer to her before she stepped forward and put both hands to his chest. When she slid her hands up to his shoulders she was then able to rub her body against his, both actions immediately heating her blood. "If you aren't a fool you'll accept the offer without wasting any more time. And don't be afraid that I'll tell anyone because I won't. The last thing I want is for the other girls to come for the goodies and make me wait in line next time."

Nikki laughed softly at her little joke, but Mr. Harden didn't join her laughter. The man was definitely interested, something she could tell easily with her body pressed against his, but the way he looked down at her was more calculating than heated. Then he showed a very small smile.

"Actually, you'll be able to tell anyone anything you like," Mr. Harden murmured, his hands coming up to her arms. Then he forced Nikki away from him, but didn't let her go completely. His right hand stayed wrapped around her left arm, and then she was being pulled toward a chair that stood almost in the middle of the room. When they reached the chair Mr. Harden sat down, and a moment later Nikki was arranged face down across his knees.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nikki demanded as she struggled uselessly to stand up again. "Since you obviously are a fool, I have no intention of wasting my time with - Hey!"

The stupid man had pulled Nikki's skirt up to her waist and then had tugged her panties down, which didn't let her kick as hard as she'd been doing. Then Nikki yelled and twisted hard from the streak of pain she'd suddenly felt across her bottom. Looking over her shoulder she was just able to see the leather strap in Mr. Harden's hand before he forced her straight again.

"You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Nikki," the miserable man said as he hit her again with that strap, refusing to let her protect herself with her hand. "Your time in here with me won't be a waste, not when you're bright enough to learn the lesson. From now on you won't take liberties in your classes and you won't take liberties with me. You'll learn to be a good girl, or the lesson will be repeated as often as necessary."

He hadn't stopped strapping her as he spoke, and finally Nikki had to howl out the pain being given to her bottom. Every time that strap came down Nikki writhed and kicked, but none of that did any good. Even the first stroke had hurt, but the following strokes made it worse and worse and WORSE. Her bottom was being warmed well beyond anything that had ever been done to her, and Nikki couldn't stop howling and screaming. She could hear the strap coming down as well as feel it, and the sound made it that much worse.

Nikki was crying hard by the time the strapping was over. She'd tried to apologize, tried to swear that she'd be good from now on, but none of that had stopped the strapping. The miserable man had continued on until her seat was one wide and blazing mass of pain, and she couldn't stop writhing even after the strapping stopped. She expected to be allowed to stand up then to dance with the ache, but that didn't happen. Mr. Harden put one arm around her waist and then stood up himself, carrying her easily to the armchair that stood to one side of the office. He draped Nikki over one of the chair's arms, and his hand came to the middle of her back when she tried to move from where she'd been put.

"If you move from there without permission, the only place you'll go is back to that other chair and another strapping," Mr. Harden said, his tone telling Nikki he wasn't joking or just threatening. "If that's what you want, I won't refuse you."

His hand left Nikki's back then, but Nikki made no effort to move in any way. She was crying so hard she just couldn't stop, and the thought of getting another strapping on top of the first was appalling. She lay with her head toward the chair's seat, a thickly padded seat that she would have considered comfortable-looking before her time with the strap. Now the last thing she wanted was to sit down, not even on something as soft as that seat. If she ever had to -

"Oh, no!" Nikki cried when Mr. Harden suddenly thrust himself into her. He'd separated her thighs with his hands, and he was deep inside before she had a chance to stop him.

"But isn't this what you offered me earlier?" the man asked mildly as she squirmed wildly at the touch of his stomach to her aching bottom. "I'm allowed to accept offers like this from girls who aren't virgins as long as I use a condom, and I am using one. I asked if you knew what you were offering and you insisted that you did, so you can't complain now that you didn't. Once I'm through and I send you back to class, you'll have more than one thing to think about, won't you?"

Wailing and mewling and howling were all Nikki was now capable of, but the horror of her position had become even more intense. He was going to send her back to class like this, to sit on a hard wooden seat without so much as a cushion to protect her tender bottom? That was cruel, horrible, and if all the doors and windows hadn't been locked Nikki would have run away the instant everyone's back was turned…

But she couldn't run away, and suddenly, in spite of the ache in her bottom, the new kind of stroking Mr. Harden was giving her began taking her to a level she'd never reached before. Her body was responding with such strength and force that Nikki was overwhelmed, able to do nothing but revel in the new, intense sensations. She exploded in orgasm again and again, and there, toward the end before all thought abandoned her, she began to wonder how soon she would be able to get herself sent back to Mr. Harden again…

Torand Rego saw the light flash on the Dreamer to say that the sequence had ended, so he removed the device from Chayara's head. The girl blinked at him to show she was back from the dream, but she quickly closed her eyes again to show that she also couldn't look at him. Tor knew that the Dreamer would use him as the male character in the dream, and that was exactly what he'd wanted. Getting a hard strapping and then being forced to the use of the man who gave you the strapping wasn't a pleasant experience designed to make a girl want more of the same. Since that was what Tor had been after when he'd borrowed the Dreamer and cartridge from one of his female crew members, he left the girl Chayara to her unpleasant memories and quietly walked out of the cabin.

"And that should be that," Tor murmured in satisfaction as he moved along the corridor to return the Dreamer. It was impossible to know where the girl had gotten her crazy ideas from, but now those ideas were killed for good. Falk would have blamed him for whatever the girl did, and even though Tor was to blame he had no interest in dying. Falk's niece was fairly attractive, but as one of Tor's own she was completely off limits now. Off limits to him, and definitely to his crew.

All he would have needed was to be chased by a girl he couldn't touch while his ship was in the midst of trying to take down the government. But now there was no longer a chance of that, so Tor whistled as he walked and enjoyed the feelings of extreme relief…

Chayara came back to herself to find that Rego had removed the Dreamer from her head. She was so deeply into the dream she'd just experienced that she couldn't say a word. She closed her eyes to enjoy the afterglow more fully, and a moment later she heard the door close as Rego left. Which was a shame, because she'd really wanted to turn at least the last part of the dream into reality. He'd been so good…!

"Well, there's always later or tomorrow," Chayara murmured as she finally stretched hard, a wide smile curving her lips. "And I'm definitely going to be starting with him … as soon as I decide whether or not to change my name to Nikki.