Table of Contents

- Dedication

- Chapter One

- Chapter Two

- Chapter Three

- Chapter Four

- Chapter Five

- Chapter Six

- Chapter Seven

- Chapter Eight

- Chapter Nine

- Chapter Ten

- About the Author

He can save her planet, but only if she saves him first.

Cabrielle is glad her father never lived to see his defraction technology in the hands of the rebels. Now the only hope for her planet’s survival is Torr, the Zentarin who’s training Cortierra’s pilots.

Except Torr is suffering from an untimely case of lust fever—two years ahead of schedule. He must return home to mate with a Zentarin female, or die… Unless by some miracle a Cortierran female exists who might satisfy him.

Sleeping with the hunky offworlder isn’t exactly the way Cabbie planned to redeem the family name, but she’ll do anything to defend her home. Even use her body rather than her crack sharp-shooting skills. One feverish night later, Torr has his cure, and Cabbie finds herself lust-bonded for life. She willingly gives him her heart—until the truth behind his motives flings it back at her in pieces.

As Torr’s lust-mate, Cabbie makes an irresistible target for the rebels. When they kidnap her, intent on using her as a pawn, one thing is certain. Her frayed bond with Torr is Cortierra’s only hope.

Warning: This story contains non-FDA-approved home remedies for lust fever.

eBooks are not transferable.

They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520

Macon GA 31201

Space Fever

Copyright © 2010 by Kate Donovan

ISBN: 978-1-60504-971-7

Edited by Deborah Nemeth

Cover by Kanaxa

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: March 2010

www.samhainpublishing.com

Space Fever

Kate Donovan

Dedication

In loving memory of Jim and Ann Donovan.

We miss you, Mom and Dad. Thanks for letting us be ourselves, and especially for letting your daughter be such a bookworm.

Chapter One

Delivering a top-secret message from the president…

In times past, this assignment would have carried enormous prestige on Cortierra. Now that the presidency was mostly ceremonial, the honor had paled as well. Still, Lieutenant Cabrielle Lent could remember when their democracy had flourished—before the discovery of pandium, before the rebellion, before the death of her infamous father—and so, as she approached the headquarters of Supreme General Berritt Veesayloren, she carried the presidential missive proudly.

Unfortunately, the two burly captains-at-arms guarding the doors seemed equally intent on performing their duties. “No one gets in. Orders of General Vee himself,” the larger of the two men informed her.

“You guys must be new,” Cabbie told them coolly. “I’m Vee’s stepdaughter.”

“And Jensen Lent’s daughter. Don’t forget that.”

The other guard flashed an apologetic smile. “You’ve got orders from President Arcos. We respect that. But Vee’s word is law around here.”

“And if Arcos himself were standing here? Would you bar his entry?”

The guard hesitated. “Are you taking full responsibility for this?”

She nodded, acknowledging to herself that if this turned out to be a miscalculation, it might not be simply embarrassing. It could be career-ending, despite her well-placed connections and sharp-shooting prowess. Still, she couldn’t back down now, so she pasted a confident smile on her lips, pushed open the double doors and strode into General Veesayloren’s office.

Immediately, she knew she had made a mistake.

There were two people in the room. The first was her stepdad—a powerful man who had showered her with affection, publicly as well as privately.

Unfortunately the other person was an offworlder. Arguably a superior one in terms of genetics. Definitely a superior one in terms of military might. And assuredly not the sort of fellow one wanted to surprise, let alone offend.

Commander Denn-Torr. The silver-eyed savior of them all.

Not that Cabbie could actually see his famed Zentarin irises—they were hidden behind black lenses. But her imagination was supplying the details, and she was sure those pools of liquid steel were regarding her with disdain, if not outright contempt.

She wanted to despise him in return but simply could not. His tall, leather-clad physique, blue-black hair, square jaw and regal bearing prompted only awe. He was a picture-perfect Zentarr—powerful and disciplined, advanced beyond the wildest dreams of humans on Cortierra, and the only hope for Cabbie’s planet in the war against the rebels.

And he was staring right at her.

Her stepfather broke the silence. “What’s the meaning of this?”

She licked her lips, still distracted by Denn-Torr. “I’m sorry, General. I have a message from President Arcos. But it can wait. Obviously.” Turning to the offworlder, she added carefully, “I didn’t know you were here, Commander. Please forgive the intrusion.”

“It’s fine,” he told her, his voice an unreadable monotone. “No one but the general and myself knew of this meeting. Finish your business and leave.”

“Yes, sir.” She turned back to her stepfather. “My orders were to place this message into your hands. No intermediaries. I couldn’t have known—”

“It’s fine, Lieutenant,” her stepfather said, echoing Denn-Torr’s words, but arching an eyebrow to clarify that it wasn’t “fine” at all. Then he took the green envelope and slid his finger under the seal.

Should I stay? Go? What? she asked him silently. Her instinct was to run, but what if there was a return message? Hadn’t the president mentioned that possibility?

General Vee was staring at the sheet of paper he had pulled from the envelope, his eyes flickering up and down as though reading and then re-reading. She noted the tension in the corners of his mouth and recognized it immediately as a symptom of smoldering rage.

But was it directed at the message? Or at her?

Even in her misery, she couldn’t resist stealing a second look at the Zentarr. To her surprise, he was staring back at her again, although he returned his gaze to the general immediately.

He’s as curious as you are, she realized. He’s heard all about Dad—the good and the bad. He wonders what you inherited from him. Brilliance? Treachery?

Wasn’t that what everyone wondered? Not that Cabbie saw her father as a traitor. More like a self-destructive genius who had placed his own needs above the needs of his planet.

In his own way, hadn’t Denn-Torr had done the same? He was here, even though his planet’s Elder Council had decreed Cortierra to be too warlike to merit any further military assistance from the mighty Zentarus. They had recalled all their consultants, making it clear they would remain neutral in the struggle between Cortierra proper and the rebels who had broken away, regrouped and now mounted regular attacks on the mother planet.

Then you showed up…

Cabbie eyed the commander intently. She knew his government had refused his request to officially aid Cortierra. However, in deference to his many military honors—and to the fact that his own father had died protecting Cortierra from space pirates—they had granted him a leave of absence and permission to become a flight instructor on Cortierra for one year, but only on the condition that he not become directly involved in the planet’s civil war.

Her memory flashed back to the moment of his arrival in his magnificent Zentarin glider. He had stepped into view, his lean muscles clad in the black leather uniform of his native land, his fabled eyes hidden by darkened goggles. Throngs of reporters and soldiers had mobbed the area, anxious for a glimpse of him. Cabbie’s vantage point—in the control tower of the launch strip—had given her the best view possible, and while she had tried to remain cool, the image had been seared into her brain.

Her stepfather interrupted her reverie. “The rebels have successfully deployed a defraction device.”

“Huh?” It took her a full second to react. Then she whispered, “It’s not possible. That technology is still years away—”

“Apparently not.” Vee’s tone was icy, and she knew exactly why. He blamed her father, and by extension, her. It was irrational, and it would fade quickly, but it had happened often enough for her to know the signs, and not just from her stepfather. She had even seen such accusations erupt in her own mother’s eyes.

Guilt by association.

The general turned away from her and addressed Denn-Torr. “This complicates our situation even further, Commander. The rebels are no longer just a nuisance—they’re a full-fledged threat.”

“Actually, it doesn’t complicate my situation at all,” the Zentarr reminded him. “I am neutral in these skirmishes.”

“Oh… Quite right.” The general’s face reddened. “No disrespect intended. We would never embroil you in our rebellion.” Visibly flustered, he told Cabbie, “Take a message to the president. Tell him…well, tell him things are even worse than he knows. I’ll arrange a full briefing within the hour.”

“I’ll tell him, sir. Anything else?”

“Just go. And Lieutenant Lent?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Not a word to anyone. About any of this. And no mention of Commander Denn-Torr being here. Is that clear?”

Not even to the president? she wanted to ask, but instead she just saluted and hurried out of the room, anxious for time alone to deal with the shock of the rebels’ unexpected advantage.

Not to mention the shock of coming face to face with a tall, dark, hard-bodied Zentarr.

Chapter Two

Hours later, as she stared into the fog-shrouded canyon that formed the northern boundary of her family’s estate, Cabbie wondered what her father would think if he knew his beloved research—some of which had been conducted on this very spot—had fallen into the hands of the rebels. In some ways, it was a blessing he had died before such a terrible thing happened.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Instinctively, she drew her blaster and fended off the swarm of blood bats that had zoomed out of the mist. Thirteen direct hits this time—the most she had ever managed during a single attack. The remaining rodents dove back to their chemical lair, and, despite her hard-won confidence, she exhaled in relief, knowing how much they wanted to latch on to her carotid artery for a nice, warm meal.

Her days of practicing on blood bats were coming to an end. Soon it would be real humans—Cortierrans by blood and culture, despite their rebellion. Although Cabbie had specialized as a sharpshooter, there would be little need for that skill now that the rebels had the ability to shield their presence with ADT. No longer would they be limited to surprise attacks on the three moons of Cortierra. With Ambient Defraction Technology, they could bring carriers and battleships right into the atmosphere of the mother planet without advanced detection.

Fortunately, Cabbie had cross-trained as a turret gunner. Her unit would be deployed now, and she would go with them. She had dreamed of this day, but without this nightmarish tinge to it. Enemy vessels appearing out of nowhere? With no warning? Even a crack shot couldn’t hope to compete with that.

“Cabbie?”

She whirled to face her stepfather. “Hi, Vee. What a day, right?”

“I knew I’d find you here. Practicing. And thinking about him.”

She winced at the reference to her father, who had died in this canyon during an escape attempt. Vee believed, as did many others, that Jensen Lent had intended to join to the rebellion and to share his research with them. Cabbie knew differently. Yes, he had decided to abandon Cortierra, but only to find a neutral location where he could continue his work. He was a scientist, not a soldier, and he was tired of watching his beloved planet being torn in two. So he had packed up his lab and loaded it onto a research ship. Then he had come one last time to this canyon to fill the ship’s hull with pandium—a necessary component for building an ADT device. Ironically, it was the pandium that had killed him, igniting during takeoff and blowing him and his life’s work into space dust.

“Watch out, Cabbie,” her stepfather warned, pointing toward the fog.

She pivoted in time to fire six quick bursts from her blaster, then grinned. “Thanks, Vee. The little scuzzards are hungry today.”

“Nice shooting.”

“I just hope I’m half as good when my unit gets deployed. It should be any minute, right?” When he didn’t respond, she groaned. “You’re not going to interfere, are you? They need me. And they’ve just begun to respect me. But most of them think I’ll back out when the orders finally arrive. Please, please let me go.”

“The orders have already been issued.”

“Really?” She pulled her mobile screen from her jacket pocket, confirming that she hadn’t been contacted. Then she eyed her stepfather sternly. “I know Mom’s been nagging you, but you know I’m right. If you shield me from battle, I’m not the only one who’ll lose the respect of the troops. They’ll think you’re playing favorites.”

“Trust me,” he said with a drawl, “I’m not protecting anyone. I just need you for another mission.”

“Really?” She pursed her lips, intrigued. “As a sharpshooter?”

“No, it’s something else.”

She couldn’t read his expression, which was usually a bad sign. “Is it dangerous?”

He hesitated before saying, “In its own way, it’s the most demanding assignment I’ve ever had to make. Unfortunately, it’s also the most degrading. If there were any other soldier who could do this, I would never ask you—”

“Degrading? Oh no! Propaganda against Dad? Please don’t blame this ADT mess on him. He never wanted the rebels to get his technology. I know that for a fact.” She folded her arms high on her chest. “I won’t do it. You’ll have to put me in the brig. And then you’ll really have to answer to Mom.”

“Blood bats,” Vee murmured.

“Huh? Oh!” She spun and fired just in time. The rodents had gotten so close this round, she could actually feel the heat as she vaporized them.

Vee’s eyes shone with admiration. “You’re a phenomenon. But maybe we should move away from the canyon.”

She nodded, trailing him to a nearby grove of trees—a picnic spot from her childhood. She could picture her father sitting on one of the iron benches, scribbling calculations on a mobile screen while Cabbie and her mother Jesslyn lounged on a blanket, snacking while weaving wreaths of wildflowers.

Vee surprised her by changing the subject. “Didn’t you wonder why Commander Denn-Torr was in my office today?”

“Oh! I completely forgot.” She laughed. “You know things are grim when a gorgeous hunk of offworld flesh—with silver eyes, no less—slips your mind.”

Vee grimaced. “You find him attractive?”

“Are you kidding? Did you see those muscles?” When her stepfather didn’t laugh, she licked her lips, subdued. “Did I embarrass you in front of him? I swear I didn’t know he was there. I thought he confined his activities to his quarters and the top-secret training facility.”

“That’s usually true. But this was an emergency. He was telling me he needs to return to Zentarus. Immediately.”

“What?” Cabbie shook her head, refusing to believe such bad luck. “He made a commitment to stay for a year, and it’s only been two months. Less than that, even. Is there trouble on Zentarus? Or something with his family? I thought he didn’t have any family,” she added in frustration. “That’s why he felt free to come here.”

Vee gave a weary shrug. “Have you heard of Zentarin lust fever?”

“Of course. But that can’t be it, can it? He’s too young. The news stories were very clear about that. They said he timed his commitment so he’d be back home before his cycle began.”

“Apparently it’s not an exact science.”

She glared in disgust. “So he’s leaving? Doesn’t he know he’s our last hope now that the rebels have ADT? He’s our secret weapon. We’re doomed without him.”

“He’s well aware of that.” Vee’s tone softened. “He tells me there’s a possible solution to his dilemma.”

“Really? I thought the fever drove them mad—as in clinically insane—if they didn’t bond right away. Oh!” She interrupted herself to nod in approval. “You’re saying his ruling council can send a female here? A Zentarina, or whatever they call them?”

“It’s Zentress,” Vee said with a laugh. “And that won’t work. They’d need to send a ship full of females so that he could detect the ones that could satisfy him. And who would reciprocate his feelings.”

“Are they willing to do that? I thought the council was reluctant even for him to come here.”

“You’re missing my point.” Her stepfather cleared his throat. “The commander has detected a Cortierran female who could possibly suit his needs.”

Cabbie almost laughed at the thought. “I never heard of a Zentarr mating with one of us.”

“No one has.”

“Who is she?”

Vee cleared his throat again. “Let me just say first, it’s not definite. It was a momentary sensation on his part—”

“Wait!” She stared in disbelief. “You’re saying it’s me?”

Vee’s jaw had hardened with obvious discomfort. “He found you provocative. His word, not mine. It’s possible that if he spends more time with you, he’ll change his mind. As your stepfather, I sincerely pray for that. But as the Supreme General of the Cortierran military—” His tone turned defensive. “Don’t look at me that way. And don’t tell your mother. Not until we know for sure.”

“Me?” Cabbie wandered to the nearest bench, stunned by the bizarre turn of events. Once she had settled down, she gave her stepfather a feeble smile. “He called me provocative?”

“I wanted to strangle him,” Vee admitted. “For anyone, let alone an offworlder, to speak about my daughter that way—”

“No, no, Vee. Don’t be upset. I’m flattered, actually.”

“Flattered?”

Forcing herself to be strong for his sake, she jumped up and hugged him. “I was afraid you were going to make me go on the vid-com and denounce Dad. This is strange, that’s for sure. But it’s better than the alternative.”

“I would never ask you to betray your father. And as for this outrageous request, it’s possible it will come to nothing.”

Cabbie bit her lip. “When will we know? How will we know?”

“He wants to spend some time with you. See you. Talk to you.”

“See me naked, you mean?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

It was Vee’s turn to sink onto the bench, his face buried in his hands. “I honestly don’t know.”

“Hey.” She sat back down and gave him another hug. “It’s fine. And I have a nice body, right? Like Mom’s, only shorter.”

“Cabrielle…”

“I’m kidding. I’ll try to look hideous. How’s that?”

Vee chuckled. “You could never look hideous. You have her amazing green eyes. Her beguiling smile.”

“But not her height. Or her hair. I always wanted that at least.” Cabbie paused as she pictured her mother’s waist-length auburn tresses. Even her father’s golden hair would have been fine. Instead, she had inherited a mixture—

“Commander Denn-Torr said your hair was sprinkled with stardust.”

“Huh?”

Vee shrugged. “He didn’t mean it romantically. More factually. Apparently, it’s a rare and highly prized Zentarin attribute.”

The thought pleased her. “I thought they all had black hair.”

“Apparently not.” Vee closed his eyes and admitted, “I am physically ill over this.”

“Why? If it makes you feel any better, it won’t be my first—”

“Cabbie!” He glared in warning. “There are some things I’d rather not know. In any case, I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors about Zentarin lust-bonding. Even assuming you’ve been intimate with a Cortierran male—which I’m sure you have not—this could be arduous. Assuming it takes place. Which is only a ten percent possibility according to the commander.”

“Ten percent? With this hair?” she said teasingly.

Vee’s eyes warmed. “Thank you for being so brave, Lieutenant Lent. You’re a credit to your unit.”

“Thanks, Vee.” She looked down at her hands, wistful at the mention of her colleagues. Then she dared to ask, “So? If Commander Denn-Torr rejects me, can I go with them?”

Vee didn’t hesitate. “Yes, you deserve that, although I’ll be terrified you might be killed.”

“No, you’ll be terrified Mom might kill you.”

He laughed. “That’s true. Of course, she won’t be pleased about the fever-bonding either.”

“Like you said, we won’t tell her until we’re sure.” A tingle of confusion ran through Cabbie, and she realized she wasn’t yet sure what she hoped would happen. A fever bond with a Zentarr was indeed a daunting prospect. She didn’t know a lot about it, but as Vee had said, it was reputedly arduous.

Not to mention permanent.

Lust-bonded for life…

Hardly the way she’d planned to serve her planet. Or to rehabilitate her family name for that matter.

Since the Zentarr had identified her hair as a positive feature, Cabbie spent the afternoon having it styled into lush waves. Aside from that, she wasn’t really sure how to prepare. Some quick research had revealed the basics of lust fever, and she now knew that Commander Denn-Torr would use all five senses to evaluate her. She didn’t dare wear perfume, because apparently natural scent was a factor. And since the only photographs of Zentarin females were those of the pilots who had come to Cortierra in the early days to help Cabbie’s beleaguered planet adjust to becoming a galactic power, she didn’t really know what sort of clothing or makeup such a female would use during a bout of lust fever.

He wants to see you, she kept reminding herself, so she finally chose pink pants made of clingy fabric and paired them with a stretchy white top that provided an excellent preview of her breasts. The only artificial enhancement was a pair of high-heeled sandals that allowed her to appear almost as tall as her fashion-model mother.

Every time her thoughts turned to the actual bonding, she forced them away, concentrating instead on the battles that would soon rage in the skies of Cortierra. Her planet needed the Zentarr to continue training their pilots, not just to improve their skills, but also for the psychological effect it would have on the rebels. Zentarrs were renowned throughout the galaxy for their flying ability, so much so that they had shown little interest in participating in Jensen Lent’s early defraction experiments. Apparently, they were completely confident that they could outmaneuver any enemy—even an invisible one.

It was up to Cabbie to ensure that Cortierra retained the Zentarin advantage, and as she stood on the doorstep of Commander Denn-Torr’s private quarters that evening, she summoned the resolve one last time to succeed at that mission, then reached for the entry chime.

The door opened a split second before she was ready, and there he was, staring down at her, his expression alarmingly neutral. Once again, she was struck by how gorgeous he was, and while she knew it was partly his offworld mystique, she still staggered back a step, her heart pounding.

“Good evening, Lieutenant,” he said, his tone calm and measured. “Welcome to my quarters. Come inside, won’t you? We don’t have a moment to waste.”

Chapter Three

“There’s food and drink,” the Zentarr informed her, gesturing toward a table in the middle of a sparsely furnished room. Beyond that, through a second doorway, Cabbie could see a huge bed—a sight that made her nerves even twitchier.

“Thanks.” She couldn’t help but notice how good he looked in civilian clothes. Apparently, his lean, powerful appearance that morning in Vee’s office hadn’t been a function of his intimidating uniform. Even under this loose-fitting dark blue shirt, his muscles rippled. His eyes were hidden again, but this time by simple pilot-style sun shades rather than the wraparound lens-band he usually wore. She suspected that if she stood to the side, she might actually be able to catch a glimpse of silver irises, but the prospect unnerved her so much she quickly decided against it.

“Would you like to sit down?”

She looked up at him, trying to answer, but instead just noticing how he towered over her, his body literally radiating heat.

The lust fever, she told herself nervously.

It was oddly contagious, which made no sense. Cortierrans did not suffer from this particular affliction, which meant that if she was feeling uncontrolled lust for a total stranger, it wasn’t the culturally acceptable kind. In fact, it was borderline slutty.

Your body’s just being practical, she reassured herself as she moved away from him and toward the dining table. You know he’s turned on, so you’re instinctively preparing yourself.

Summoning her courage, she asked him, “Will you do me a favor, Commander? At any point during this interview, if you decide it’s not going to work, will you just tell me right away?”

“Of course. I know how difficult this is for you.”

“And for you. I’m not exactly a Zentarina,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“No,” he agreed. “You are not.”

She ignored the possible insult. “We’re so grateful that you’re willing to stay and help in spite of your—well, your condition. So obviously, I’m at your service. Just tell me what you want me to do.”

“Service?” He seemed to find the term offensive, but before she could apologize, he gestured again toward the table. “Your stepfather sent a bottle of effervescent wine that was produced on your far moon. He says it’s your favorite.”

Cabbie felt a wave of affection for Vee, knowing it couldn’t have been easy to aid in her seduction. “Have you tried it, Commander? It’s delicious.”

“It is not the Zentarin way. But I’m glad it pleases you.”

He had edged closer again, and again the fever was distinct and distracting. She almost wished he’d just get it over with—toss her on the bed and give her a real interview—but she reminded herself that his people saw courtship as a solemn and necessary step toward lust-bonding.

Backing away from him until she’d reached the table, she poured herself a tall glass of pale green nectar and took her first sip without bothering to admire the bubbles as they percolated to the surface and popped in the air above the rim.

“You really should try it, Commander,” she said with a hopeful smile.

“Perhaps later.”

She took a seat. “So? What should I call you?”

He sat across from her and seemed to consider the question carefully. “You may call me Commander. Or Denn-Torr.”

“Or just Denn?”

He laughed. “That would be absurd.”

Cabbie grimaced. “Feel free to call me Cabbie.”

“I will call you Cabrielle,” he said, adding in a mischievous tone, “And you may call me Torr.”

“Torr? I like that.” Embarrassed by the throatiness in her voice, she turned her attention to the assortment of fruit and cheese displayed in front of her. “This looks good. Are you going to eat?”

He nodded.

“So?” Cabbie nibbled a slice of blue melon. “What now?”

“Now you will tell me about yourself.”

She drew back, knowing what that question usually meant. “You want me to tell you about my father? He wasn’t a traitor, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I am aware of the difference between a traitor and a rebel,” Torr assured her.

“He wasn’t either of those. He was neutral. Independent. A man of science. But in his own way, he loved Cortierra.”

Torr seemed intrigued. “Tell me about that.”

“I don’t see how it matters.”

“It doesn’t. I’m just curious.”

She took another sip of wine. “My father was a genius. He discovered pandium for us—did you know that? He needed an energy source for his experiments, and nothing we had was powerful enough, so he theorized the existence of a new element, then did calculations to determine where to find it.” Her voice rang with pride. “The first discovery was in a canyon right outside the capital. Dad bought the property and started excavating, and there it was. Enough to power Cortierra’s entire communications system for a year. Everyone on the planet sang his praises. He was a hero back then. To me, he still is.”

“How old were you when he made the discovery?”

“Almost four. So I don’t really remember it, other than the fact that I wouldn’t go near that canyon because it’s filled with blood bats.”

Torr smiled. “They thrive in the bog fumes.”

“Exactly. Anyway…” The combined effect of the wine and his nonjudgmental tone was helping her relax. “Dad did more calculations that led to the huge pandium discovery at the west pole. That single event put Cortierra on the galactic star charts of every major power. Traders came from distant worlds. Unfortunately, so did pirates. And imperialistic systems that wanted to conquer us.”

“Which is why we came to your aid.”

“You wanted pandium, too,” she countered, adding quickly, “But yes, Zentarus did it the honorable way. By offering to pay with technology. We would have been enslaved years ago if not for the intervention of your planet.” Her voice softened. “If I’ve sounded ungrateful, it’s just first-date nerves. You know that, right?”

The commander exhaled slowly. Then he stood and walked across the room to a desk. She thought he was going to bring something back to her, but instead, he leaned, half-sitting, against the furniture and folded his arms loosely in front of himself. “Don’t be self-conscious. Just continue with your story.”

His obvious desire to put some physical distance between them confused her. Was it an accommodation? Or a compliment? Was the fever making it difficult to concentrate? Or was he losing interest? “Where was I?”

“Your father was a hero. And you were still a child. Of what age?”

“By then? Nine or ten, I guess.” She moved her glass as far away as her arm could reach. “Do you remember why your planet stopped aiding us? You felt we were becoming too militaristic. And so did the rebels. You have to understand how it was before pandium,” she added with a wistful smile. “We valued the arts—dancing, storytelling, music—more than anything. It used to drive Dad crazy, because Cortierra didn’t respect science enough to suit him. After pandium, we changed overnight. And again, Dad hated it. The emphasis on power. On military force. He felt our democracy slipping away, and he was right.”

“You agreed with his stance?” Torr demanded.

Cabbie laughed. “I was a child. Of course I agreed with him. I worshipped him! And even now, yes—I think he had a point. But I also think Cortierra didn’t have a choice. If we didn’t become a military powerhouse, we’d be conquered by one. It’s sad that we sent all the artists to the moons, but at least they’re safe there. Free to follow their dreams, out of harm’s way. Here on the mother planet, our job is to protect the pandium. It’s not like we banned all culture like the rebels claim. We just can’t let art distract us from the job of protecting our civilization.”

The Zentarr cleared his throat. “Tell me about the day your father died.”

She wasn’t sure exactly why he was asking this of her, but it didn’t really seem to matter. This was just a lust-fever interview, wasn’t it? He could ask her any question he wished.

And so she told him everything. How her father had picked her up from school, just like he always had. But instead of taking her home, he took her to the canyon, where he explained that he could no longer live on Cortierra. Not with military idiots like General Veesayloren turning paradise into a police state. Nor could he embrace the rebellion. So he had decided to take his defraction research—along with a generous supply of pandium—and find a neutral location in which to perfect his greatest discovery.

But success would mean nothing to him if he couldn’t share it with the daughter he loved. Cabbie had been stunned. She had asked why her mother was being left behind, but in her heart, she had known the answer. Her mother loved living in comfort. Running and hiding was simply not acceptable.

And so twelve-year-old Cabbie had stood on the edge of the canyon with her father, watching as his research vessel rose majestically out of the bog, ready for them to board. She had wanted to go with him—there was no doubt about that.

But she had also begged him to let her return to the house, claiming she wanted to bring her moon-dolls with her, as a remembrance of her mother. The truth was even simpler. Cabbie had secretly hoped her mother would be home, and could be persuaded to join them.

She could still remember the hurt in her father’s eyes, but he hadn’t hesitated. Instead, he had told her to be quick about gathering the dolls. To come right back and stand on the big ledge overlooking the canyon. They would wait in the bog for her, and would take off as soon as they knew she was ready to board.

Cabbie stayed lost in though for almost a full minute. Finally, Torr prompted her. “Your mother was not home?”

“Right. So I left her a note. I guess I thought she’d be upset that I chose Dad over her. Even though…”

“Go on.”

Cabbie glared. “Even though she barely paid any attention to me in those days.”

Torr stood up, visibly confused. “I apologize.”

Cabbie waved away his concern. “I guess Mom and Dad were having marital problems. I just didn’t realize it. Anyway, I left her a note, telling her I loved her. Then I grabbed the dolls and headed back for the canyon. I waited on the ledge, even though I was terrified of the blood bats. And just as promised, Dad’s ship rose up out of the fog. But instead of letting me board, it blew into a million pieces. The shock wave threw me back, and I screamed out for him, and then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, they didn’t have to tell me. I already knew.”

“That’s unbelievable.”

“I still don’t believe it,” Cabbie admitted. “I expect to wake up and—oh, never mind.”

Torr frowned. “It must be odd for you. That General Veesayloren—the highest-ranking member of the military—married your mother so soon after your father’s death.”

Cabbie shrugged. “Not really. Vee and Mom were engaged long before she met my father. She met Vee in local school. Dad was one of her professors at the university, and she dumped Vee and married Dad instead.”

“What?” The Zentarr’s relaxed posture straightened in clear disbelief. “I never heard that.”

“It’s private. No one really knows except a few close friends.” Cabbie sighed. “After all those years apart, Vee swooped in and rescued Mom when she really needed him. The StarPages were calling Dad a traitor. On a personal level, it wasn’t only her husband who had abandoned her. Her only daughter had betrayed her as well. Everyone knew I had been willing to take off and never see her again. Poor Mom. She was so lucky to have Vee back in her life.”

“Her husband’s old rival,” Torr mused.

Cabbie licked her lips. “I guess so. I never thought of it that way. But he was certainly a rival in the present, at least in my eyes. I hated him. And I hated Mom for marrying him. I even tried to run away. I stole an air scooter and tried to escape, but all I did was crash.” She smiled wistfully. “When I woke up in the hospital, Vee was there. The nurses told me he had slept by my bed every night, saying that he needed to be close to his daughter. That was when I finally understood. Vee was one of the good guys, not the enemy.”

“He loves you,” Torr said, nodding.

“And eventually, I grew to love him too. I still remember the day I told him I wanted to join the military. His military. He was so happy.” She stopped herself before she admitted the truth—that Vee had actually wept with joy at the news. “He tested me, and I was a surprisingly good shot. Doubly amazing because I had a mechanical thumb joint, courtesy of the scooter accident.”

“You don’t aim with your thumb, Cabrielle. You aim with your eye.”

The no-nonsense admonition made her smile. Here she was, wallowing in emotional details, and this Zentarr just wanted to hear her voice in order to ascertain whether or not he should mate with her.

“Speaking of eyes…” She waited for a moment, hoping he would get the hint. Finally she explained, “When do I get to see yours?”

The Zentarr grimaced. “You are very blunt.”

“I think it’s the only way for us to get through this,” Cabbie said carefully. “We have to be honest with each other. For example…” She forced herself to continue. “I find you attractive. On a physical level. So there’s that.”

“Yes,” he murmured. “There is that.”

She smiled, encouraged, even though the reply was a bit ambiguous. “I understand it’s more complicated for you, Commander. The whole lust-bond aspect of it. Vee calls it primal.”

Torr nodded.

“Okay, so…” She stood and walked over to him. “How do we find out if it’s going to work? Vee seemed to think we’d need to make love for you to be sure.”

The Zentarr moistened his lips. “Technically, that is the only time the bond can form. During a mating climax.”

Cabbie suppressed a shiver of anticipation. “I want it to work out, obviously, for the sake of my planet. But I understand it’s not in your control. Even if we both do our best, it might not happen. And that’s okay. I just need to know. Sooner, not later. And you need to know too. Right? So you can go home if it doesn’t work?”

“It will work,” Torr said, his voice deep and husky.

“What?” Cabbie struggled to breathe normally despite the pounding in her chest. Because somehow, she knew it too. It would work. It had to.

Moving closer, she dared to ask, “You’re saying it’s happening right now?”

Without warning, he pulled her body roughly against his own. Then he cradled her face in his huge hand. “I did not expect it to happen this way, Lieutenant. So quickly, I mean.”

“Me either,” she said breathlessly.

“We can wait—”

“I don’t want to wait. I want to know for sure. And I want to know now.”

His hand moved from her face, traveling down her torso and under the waistband of her pants until his fingers were between her legs, caressing her gently, probing her skillfully. When she moaned in embarrassed pleasure, he smiled. “You are enjoying this?”

“On Cortierra, we usually kiss first,” she said with a gulp. “But this works too.”

“Yes, that is evident. You respond like a Zentress. It is arousing.” Nuzzling her neck, he teased her with his fingers again.

“Torr…” She was throbbing with desire for him and dared to slide her own hand under his shirt, exploring his rock-hard chest, stroking his densely muscled abdomen and then traveling lower, anxious to ensure that he was reaching the same fevered state as she. “Is this okay?”

He answered by shifting her away from the desk and against a wall, imprisoning her with his hips as he moved rhythmically against her. Under his warm breath, she heard words—soft, guttural, gravelly. They made no sense, but the raw frustration made her quiver with excitement.

He’s speaking Zentarin. Oh God…

She didn’t need a translator to know what he was saying. To know how much he wanted her—needed her—at that moment.

Then without warning, he stopped. “There’s no reason to consummate tonight. You need time to prepare yourself.”

Through her amorous fog, she tried to guess what he could mean. “You’re worried about pregnancy? I take cycle inhibitors, Torr. It’s fine—”

“Not that.” He shuddered violently, as though forcing his brain to regain control of his raging body. “You don’t need to do this at all. Not ever—”

“I want to! Please, Torr?”

He groaned her name and worked his feverish hand under her top again, igniting the bare skin of her breasts while maneuvering her around the corner and into the bedroom. She was literally throbbing with desire for him, and when he backed her to the bed, she commanded him huskily, “Take off your clothes. All of them.”

As she watched, breathlessly aroused, he started to strip, tossing his shirt and pants onto the floor, then his socks and black boxer-style shorts. She stared in open mouth wonder, not even trying to hide her admiration for the lean, rippling body, so perfectly built, so completely and majestically erect.

By the time he took off the last item—the dark-lensed glasses—she was almost too dazzled to notice. Then those silver pools flashed at her—like liquid mirrors—and she gasped aloud. “My God, Torr. My God… I knew they’d be amazing. But they’re so much more than that.”

He stepped closer and, to her surprise, he seemed uncertain for the first time since her arrival. “Don’t stare at them.”

“I’m not. I’m staring into them. It’s something we do, especially when we’re close.”

He hesitated, then nodded. “It is something we are not able to do. Not with each other, at least. With a Zentress, there is only reflection. With you—” His voice almost broke. “It’s as though I can see into your mind.”

“Into my soul,” she corrected him softly, resting her forearms on his bare shoulders. “It’s so amazing. I can see everything you see.”

“Do you see that you are still dressed?”

“Huh? Oh!” She laughed at the teasing suggestion. Without losing contact with those luminous eyes, she pulled back enough to slip her top over her head, all too aware of the attention focused on her breasts.

He rested his hands on her waist. “For all of our intellectual advancement, we are animals. I crave you. Can you see that in my eyes? In my soul?”

“Torr…”

When he licked his lips, she knew he was going to kiss her, and as much as she had wanted to see his eyes, she suspected this would be even better. Within seconds, he was proving it, first tasting her mouth with reverence, and then easing her backward, lowering her body to the bed, where he proceeded to kiss her with the desperation of a starving man, the intensity of a warrior and the passion of a lover inflamed.

By the time he made his way to her nipples, she was so wild with need, she no longer recognized herself. Never had she succumbed to such instant hedonism, made doubly incredible since this man—this Zentarr—was a stranger. Yet here he was, devouring her. Then in a flourish, he stripped her silk pants and panties from her body, after which, the probing and tasting became a manic attack.

She eagerly returned the favor, desperate to touch any and all parts of him, reveling in the erotic chaos.

His words had been truly prophetic. They were animals. Animals who craved this. Who might actually go insane without it. It was the Zentarin way, and he was such a master at it, she was already beginning to climax before he finally entered her. As his powerful form moved rhythmically, so strong, so sure, so totally in control, Cabbie convulsed in grateful ecstasy, again and again, surrendering completely to the fever that raged between them.

Chapter Four

When Cabbie awoke the next morning, she was alone, which actually didn’t surprise her. Despite how amorous the Zentarr had proven to be when aroused, he was also efficient, so she couldn’t really picture him lying around now that the fever had been satisfied.

Grateful for the chance to adjust to her new status—honorary Zentress?—she retraced the evening’s events in her mind, a little embarrassed about the ease with which she had allowed him to seduce her. In fact, she had arguably done the seducing.

Proving once again you’d do anything for Cortierra…

Laughing at herself, she sat up, alert to the sound of rummaging in the next room. She could picture her new lover fixing her a plate of fresh fruit so that she would stay in bed the entire morning. Intrigued, she snuck into the bathroom to freshen up, then put his blue shirt over her naked body and walked out to join him, shy but also filled with anticipation for an erotic encore.

Unfortunately, he was fully dressed, lens-band included.

“Good morning, Commander,” she said, her voice unexpectedly throaty.

“Good morning, Lieutenant. I hope you rested well.” He gave a slight bow. “I cannot thank you enough for last night. It has been quite some time since I was myself.”

“Pardon?”

“Now that my head is clear, I realize the fever has been mounting for weeks, not just days. I’m not even sure I could have survived the trip back to Zentarus. You didn’t just save your planet last night—you may well have saved my sanity.”

“I’m so glad I could help,” Cabbie drawled. When he didn’t react to the annoyed tone, she cleared her throat. “So, is that it?”

“Pardon?”

“Should I go home? Or do I live here now?”

Torr seemed shocked by the suggestion. “You want to live here?”

She stared for a second, then spun away and returned to the bedroom to scoop up her clothes.

“Are you angry, Lieutenant?”

“Leave me alone.”

He grabbed her by the wrist. “If you want to live here, you are welcome. This place is unoriginal in design, but—”

“I don’t want to live here. I want to go home. So please, let go of my arm.”

“Your reaction is not normal,” he told her bluntly. “You should be rested. Calm. Ready to return to your duties refreshed. Instead, you are unsettled, which makes no sense.”

Yanking her arm free, she heaved a frustrated sigh. “In my world, we aren’t businesslike the next morning, Commander. We’re appreciative of each other.”

“I specifically thanked you,” he protested.

Amused in spite of herself, she rolled her eyes. “You’re welcome.”

“Tell me what you want me to say.”

“Nothing. It’s fine.” She laughed lightly. “Do you believe this? We were worried that the sex would be the problem, but instead, it’s the afterglow that’s a mess.”

“Afterglow?” He licked his lips. “You expected to mate again this morning?”

“Too soon?” she said with a teasing smile, adding quickly, “I’m kidding, Torr. I just expected some warmth. But I’m not complaining. It just took me by surprise.”

“It is soon, but not too soon,” he murmured.

Recognizing the husky tone, she laughed again. “Sorry, Commander, you missed your chance.” Backing away, she changed into her rumpled silk outfit, then stuffed her panties into her pocket. He was watching her, but given the dark lenses, she wasn’t really able to gauge the intensity of his interest.

“Can I ask you something?” she said once she was fully clothed.

“You may ask me anything.”

“If I had just left this morning, like you expected me to, what would have happened next?”

“You would have returned to work, as would I.”

Cabbie winced. “No, I mean, what would have happened next between us? Are we done? No more fever? Am I officially excused?”

He scowled. “I thought you enjoyed yourself. Are you saying you don’t wish to continue?”

“Define ‘continue’.”

“When I need you, I will tell you. When you need me, you will tell me.” He smiled as though he suspected he was offending her, but had no clue as to why. “On Zentarus, the male and the female experience the fever. It is mutual.”

“That’s sooo romantic.”

He chuckled. “In the years before the fever starts, we are like you—easily aroused by an array of potential partners, but able to be patient as well. The need is always there, but never desperate. And so we mate when convenient, and it is quite enjoyable. The fever changes all of that. We become desperate to be sated, and only certain individuals can do that for us. Then over time, as we become synchronized with our chosen mate, we can enjoy the desperation without being enslaved by it. It becomes the perfect sexual relationship.”

Cabbie pretended to yawn. “Perfectly boring, you mean.”

“It will take time to learn each other’s ways. And in the meantime, General Veesayloren wants me to train your army’s pilots, which I can now do, thanks to you.”

She grimaced at the reminder of why they were involved with each other in the first place. He was trying to help save her planet. And she was thanking him by insulting his culture. “How are the pilots doing, Commander?”

“They have potential. But they lack stamina.”

“That’s why you make them run and lift weights all day? I’ve heard about that. The six best pilots on the planet, basically grounded.”

Torr scowled. “I have given them instruction in the flight simulators. And I have created formations for them to memorize. But until they increase their lung capacity and develop some stamina, they can never be exceptional. That is the Zentarin way.”

“Stamina’s great,” she agreed, remembering their marathon lovemaking session.

He nodded.

“So…” She edged toward the front door. “I’ll just wait to hear from you. Is it usually days in between? Or longer?”

“I’m told it can be five or six days before the fever becomes distracting again. And a month or more before serious side effects occur. But I am also told that every individual’s experience is different. And there are your needs to consider as well—”

“I don’t have any needs. Just train your students and—Oh!” She stared at the apartment door, surprised to hear knocking from the other side. “Are you expecting visitors?”

“No.” Torr raised his voice, calling out, “Who is it?”

General Veesayloren’s unmistakable voice roared in response. “Who the hell do you think it is?”

“Uh-oh.” Cabbie backed away, alarmed but also laughing. “We probably should have called him last night after we knew the bond was official.”

“I was about to call him when you woke up.”

“Don’t blame this on me,” she advised him. “And remember, he’s my stepfather, so when you tell him it worked, don’t be too specific.”

Torr grinned. “That is a prudent warning.” He walked to the door, opened it and gave the general a respectful nod. “Good morning, sir. I apologize for making you wait, but I assure you the news is positive. Please come in.”

Vee strode to the middle of the room. “Cabrielle, are you okay? I didn’t know he would keep you here all night. Can you forgive me?”

“I was asleep most of the time,” she said, biting back a smile. “Commander Denn-Torr was a perfect gentleman, I promise.” Then she patted her stepfather’s cheek. “It’s so gallant of you to care.”

“Of course I care.” The general looked from Cabbie to Torr. “You said the news is positive. Does that mean you don’t need to go back to Zentarus?”

“I can remain here indefinitely,” Torr confirmed. “You should be very proud of Lieutenant Lent, General. She is a true patriot.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that,” the general grumbled. “Cabrielle, go home. Get some rest. And talk to your mother. She’s worried sick, and, since she’s not speaking to me, you’ll have to be the go-between.”

Cabbie smiled. “It was my decision, not yours. I’ll make sure she understands that.”

Vee gave her a brisk hug. “That’s my girl. Go on, now. Get some rest. Tell your mother I’ll make the wedding arrangements. She’ll probably want to have it at the chapel, but I think the house is the best place under the circumstances, don’t you?”

“The wedding?” Cabbie stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

Torr stepped forward. “We are already married in the eyes of Zentarus, Lieutenant. That was a fact the moment the fever bond formed. Now we must complete the process with a public ceremony.”

To her surprise, the prospect of having her sex life splashed across the StarPages had never occurred to her. Apparently she had spent too much time researching the actual lust-bonding and not enough about the aftermath. Now everyone would know…

“I guess I thought we’d keep this quiet,” she said, half to herself.

Torr eyed her coolly. “Your planet will be impressed by the noble sacrifice we have made.”

Sacrifice?

Humiliated, Cabbie struggled for a proud tone. “You’re absolutely right. It is a sacrifice.” Before the men could say anything further, she hurried to the door. When she turned to face them, her tone was cold with disgust. “Good day, Commander. And good day to you, too, General Veesayloren. Let’s hope I can explain this as succinctly to your wife as my husband has just explained it to me.”

“So? You’re saying the Zentarin lust-bond actually formed? That’s so…well, so depressing, to be honest. Are you sure?”

“Trust me, Mom. I’m sure.”

Jesslyn Veesayloren gave her daughter a reproachful frown. “I cannot believe you slept with a Zentarr knowing how unromantic they are. If you had asked my advice, I would have told you not to. But as usual, you didn’t ask me.”

“The safety of Cortierra was at stake,” Cabbie reminded her with a sigh.

“Isn’t it always? If I had a dosset for every time your father said that to me. Or your stepfather for that matter.” Jesslyn rolled her eyes. “I can’t afford to worry about you anymore, Cabbie. All I can hope is to find a way for my grandchildren to lead a normal life.”

“Grandchildren?” Cabbie laughed. “I take a cycle disrupter, Mom. Grandchildren are the least of your worries.”

Jesslyn stood and walked to a red lacquer buffet, where she poured two generous doses of near-moon liqueur into a pair of ornate snifters. Then she walked back to her daughter. “I’ve always maintained that you’re just like your father. But God help us, I was wrong. You’re exactly like me, aren’t you?”

Cabbie accepted the drink, trying not to be intimidated by her mother’s near-curse. “I’m nothing like you.”

“You trust a man just because he pleases you in bed. That makes you an idiot. Just like your mother. Apparently it’s hereditary.”

Acknowledging the glimmer of truth behind that observation, Cabbie set her glass on the table and took Jesslyn’s hand in her own. “Do you know how many times I’ve wished I was like you? Or like Dad? But sadly, I’m just me. And for some reason, that appealed to Commander Denn-Torr on some freakish primal level.”

“Cabbie—”

“I was willing to prostitute myself with him—a complete stranger—for the sake of our planet. But instead, it was a pleasant experience. Can’t you just give me that? I helped the cause, and I was attractive to a powerful man. Who would have ever thought I could do either, let alone both?”

Cabbie expected her mother to dismiss the idea, or at least to faintly scold her.

Instead, to her shock, Jesslyn started to weep.

Pulling her into a hug, Cabbie said soothingly, “I know what you’re saying. It’s humiliating that my fiancé only loves me when his testicles are on fire. But it could be worse. Right?”

“How could it be worse? You’ll end up having babies with that creature someday. My grandbabies! And when his year is up, he’ll take you back to Zentarus and I’ll never see you or the children again.”

Cabbie winced. “We haven’t really talked about where we’ll live. It’s a little soon, don’t you think?”

“My fear is that it’s too late.”

“It’s never too late.” Cabbie patted her mother’s auburn hair. “Isn’t that what Dad used to say?”

“Yes,” Jesslyn agreed, her green eyes glistening with tears. “That’s how I know it’s not true.”

Cabbie had always imagined she’d wear her mother’s wedding dress—a stunning concoction of silver and gold—when her own special day arrived, but given her mother’s distraught reaction at the suggestion, she decided just to wear her uniform and to send word to Torr to wear his too.

The decision simplified the rest of her day considerably.

Vee’s plan was to inform the press one hour before the ceremony, but he gave Cabbie permission to visit her squadron members and give them the news in advance. She half-expected them to react with skepticism, seeing this as some sort of ploy by Vee to keep his stepdaughter safe from battle. Instead, they seemed genuinely upset—almost protective—when they heard about the odd contribution she had decided to make to the war effort. She tried to make light of it, assuring them that the physical attraction between herself and the Zentarr was mutual, but the words caught in her throat, especially when she remembered her mother’s prediction that she might end up moving offworld to Zentarus, a powerful system that had never before welcomed a Cortierran, not even for a diplomatic visit, much less as a permanent resident.

It was becoming clearer by the moment that she hadn’t really thought this through. She wanted to be a soldier—to follow her unit into hell if necessary. Ironically, she was doing all of this for Cortierra. Her home. But that home was slipping through her fingers.

You need to talk to him. Hear exactly how he envisions your future. And don’t be so sensitive this time, she scolded herself, remembering her wounded pride when he’d referred to their marriage as a sacrifice.

It was a sacrifice. For both of them. She might be giving up her home, and Torr might be subjecting himself to ridicule, perhaps even social banishment, for his choice of mate.

If she wanted to have this candid discussion, it had to happen soon, because the ceremony was only seven hours away. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure how to get in touch with the Zentarr, and asking Vee for help would risk having him veto the whole idea.

But maybe Vee could help without knowing it. He was home, overseeing the wedding preparations, so Cabbie walked straight into his office—no guards this time—and located the Zentarr’s contact information. Using her own mobile screen to send the message, she wrote, Commander—I need a word with you as soon as possible—Lt. Lent.

To her surprise, he answered almost instantly. Lt. Lent—on my way to my quarters, meet me there immediately—Denn-Torr.

Relieved, she headed toward his residence, formulating the crucial questions in her head as she walked. Where will we settle? Will this marriage cause trouble—or shame—for you? Will we visit Cortierra? And last but not least, Will you talk to Vee about letting me go on some missions with my unit as long as it doesn’t interfere with my lust-mate duties?

That last question seemed bizarre, but she suspected it would sound normal to the Zentarr, so she decided not to over-think it. Instead, as soon as she reached his front door, she pressed the entry chime while straightening her uniform and preparing to salute sharply.

As he’d done the night before, he appeared immediately, but to her surprise, he grabbed her by the arm and almost dragged her into the room, slamming the door behind them. For a moment, she thought he was worried someone might see her. Then she realized he wasn’t wearing his lens-band or his dark glasses. His silver eyes were shining at her, almost hypnotic.

As she stared in confused anticipation, he backed her against the door and lowered his fevered lips to her neck.

“Have you forgiven me?” he asked, his voice low and hoarse.

Stunned, she could barely stammer in response. “For what?”

“The lack of afterglow. And my insensitivity about the wedding ceremony. I regret both offenses.”

She felt her cheeks begin to flame. “I regret them too.”

“I could barely concentrate this morning. My every thought was of you.” His body began to move rhythmically against hers. “The feel of you. The scent of you. The sound of you.”

“Torr…” She wrapped her arms around his neck, welcoming the fevered assault she now knew was headed her way.

She could barely remember why she had come here, not that it mattered. It would be insane to try and converse with him in this condition. The heat from his breath, from his skin. The lustful, ragged breathing. The erect organ throbbing with need against her. All conspired to render her breathlessly incoherent.

“Torr…”

He kissed her roughly while his fingers began unbuttoning her prim blue jacket. Then he swore under his breath, all in Zentarin, the same frustrated, guttural lament he had used the night before.

“Let me do it,” Cabbie offered with a giddy laugh.

Torr swore again. “I need to feel you.” In a burst of passion he shoved his hand under her skirt and plunged his fingers between her dripping, pulsating folds.

She gasped with delight as he probed her, insistent, methodical, until he found the perfect spot to caress.

As had happened the night before, he was able to bring her precariously close to climax—something no man had ever done so easily—but unlike the prior night, she wasn’t willing to let him move on before getting her where she wanted to go. This wasn’t just foreplay to Cabbie, it was the main event, and while she understood through her greedy fog that it wasn’t enough for Torr, she didn’t care.

“Don’t stop,” she whispered, her lips pressed close to his ear. “Please, Commander, don’t stop.”

“I won’t.”

“Please…”

He gave a soft laugh. “I have all afternoon to devote to you.” Then he began to croon, half reassuring, half teasing. “You’re so wet. So tight. So hot.”

“Don’t stop.”

“Shhh…” As she pulsated into orgasm, his fingers increased their pressure, expertly intensifying the effect. “Your body loves this.”

“Oh God, it’s true! I love it, Commander. Please don’t stop,” she begged, her words echoing the pulses of erotic ecstasy. “Please, please, please…”

In response, he murmured her name, coaxing and encouraging, leading her to her climax. “There you go, Cabbie. There you go…”

A spasm of absolute pleasure gripped her so tightly, so expertly, that she yelped in unabashed appreciation. Then, as the final contractions subsided into warm, lingering delight, she moved her mouth to his, kissing him gratefully.

Her smile was sheepish. “That was amazing, Commander. Really, truly amazing. And I want to do something for you now, because, well…wow.”

“I know what I want.” With a wicked chuckle, he slipped her drenched panties down to the floor, then tossed them into the corner of the room. Maneuvering her to an overstuffed chair, he turned her away so that she faced the upholstered back, leaned her against it and spread her legs with his knee. As he unbuttoned his pants, he freed his erect, throbbing penis and positioned it against her still-quivering folds. Slowly, steadily, he thrust himself into her, each movement bringing new waves of pleasure.

She wanted to make him as crazy as he’d made her, so she gyrated provocatively, and was rewarded with deeper, more demanding thrusts. She had had her turn. It was all about him now, and she laughed as she remembered how she’d felt just minutes earlier. He never wanted this to stop. He wanted to stay on this maddening brink of absolute arousal, so close to climax, so deliciously tormented, forever. He was so tireless in his enjoyment, she wondered if they would ever stop, then his pace quickened, his urgency intensified, and he was climaxing deep inside her with such hedonistic abandon she actually laughed out loud.

Torr was laughing too as he turned her to face him. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”

“I can’t believe it either,” she admitted, brushing her lips across his. She could barely remember the real reason she had come to this place. The sacrifices they would make paled in comparison to the wonder of lust-bonding. She would follow him anywhere—

A thundering voice from the front porch—Vee’s voice—penetrated her amorous mood. “Commander!” A fist pounded on the door. “Denn-Torr! Is my stepdaughter in there with you?”

“Oh, not again,” Cabbie said with a groan.

“He’s unreasonable,” Torr muttered, buttoning his pants. “We don’t have to let him in, you know.”

As if to disabuse the commander of that notion, Vee turned the handle and opened the door, then strode into view, his eyes flashing in angry warning.

Torr’s expression hardened. “I don’t appreciate these intrusions, General.”

“You don’t appreciate them?” Vee glared at him. “She’s my goddamned stepdaughter, Denn-Torr. Not some offworld prostitute. I demand an explanation for this outrage.”

Torr’s lip curled into a snarl. “Considering that you’re the one who prostituted her—”

“Okay, okay!” Cabbie stepped between them and held up her hands. “Be careful who you’re calling a prostitute. Both of you.” Arching an eyebrow at Vee, she added curtly, “This meeting was my idea, not Commander Denn-Torr’s.”

“What?”

Torr folded his arms. “I had need of her. That is her purpose, is it not?”

Vee’s eyes widened, as though he had actually forgotten what her “purpose” really was. “The lust fever? So soon?”

“It is unpredictable.”

“And?” The general cleared his throat. “Is it sated now?”

“For the moment.”

Cabbie forced herself to smile brightly. “So it’s settled. Come on, Vee. We’ve got a wedding to plan.”

“I’ll be home soon,” he told her. “I need to talk to the commander first. Go on ahead, sweetheart. There’s still time to nap so you can be fresh for the ceremony.”

“If you’re going to talk about me, I should be here.”

Torr turned to face her, his expression aloof. “Take your stepfather’s advice, Lieutenant. Go home and get some rest.”

Surprised by his dismissive tone, she forced herself not to respond. What would be the point? They were right back where they’d started. With the exception of certain moments of lust, he saw this relationship for what it really was—an inconvenient sacrifice for both of them.

And he was right. In fact, his sacrifice was greater than hers, because Cortierra wasn’t even his home planet, yet he was willing to do anything in his power for it. She needed to be grateful, even if she had to grit her teeth in the process.

After heading for the door without bothering to retrieve her panties, she stopped at the threshold just long enough to remind Vee of the realities of their situation. “Commander Denn-Torr is our best hope for defeating the rebels. I’m eternally grateful to him, Vee, and I know you are too. So…” She gave Torr a tentative smile. “See you this evening, Commander.”

“I look forward to it, Lieutenant.”

“Well, then…” She waited for something, anything, to reassure her, but the two men had turned to face each other, their expressions unreadable. It worried her, but only for a moment. They were too smart, too dedicated, to allow a petty power struggle to interfere with their carefully nurtured strategy.

And now that the excitement had ebbed away, Cabbie could see that their advice to her had been sound. She needed a nap to recover from this bizarre tryst.

But first she needed a long, hot bath to wash away all traces of the best—and most insulting—sex she had ever had in her life.

***

You never really had a choice, Cabbie consoled herself as she donned her ceremonial white uniform and studied her reflection in the full-length mirror in her room. The skirt and jacket were perfectly tailored—formal yet flattering. She had selected non-regulation black heels to add a sexy touch, not for the commander’s sake, but because she was beginning to understand that this was it. If she wanted to show wedding photos to her children some day, or otherwise reminisce, she needed to make the most of this evening.

Vee had apparently adopted the same attitude, ordering exotic flower arrangements and hundreds of hors d’oeuvres, and hiring professional waiters to serve the elite crowd of invitees. It was odd to see him handling such details, when Jesslyn was a renowned hostess. But the mother of the bride had taken to her room, refusing to be involved and even threatening to boycott the ceremony—a fairly potent threat since Cortierran law required the consent of the mother for any wedding in which the bride had not reached twenty-five years of age.

“Don’t worry, Cabbie,” Vee told his stepdaughter as the guests began to arrive. “She’ll come around. I promise.”

“I don’t know about that.” She pulled back a window drape to peek at the reporters who had gathered on the front lawn. “I’ve never seen her so upset. And you know how stubborn she can be. Maybe we should ask the commander if we can postpone—”

“That is out of the question,” Vee said grimly. “We cannot appear undisciplined and chaotic. Not in the eyes of our people or our enemies. I’ve already told Jesslyn that if she continues to behave like a spoiled brat, I’ll ask President Arcos to waive the consent requirement for reasons of planetary security.”

Cabbie bit her lip, shocked to hear Vee speak about his wife so dismissively. For a man who usually catered to Jesslyn’s every whim, this behavior was completely out of character. Was he really so worried about public reaction? Had the fallout from the news about ADT been worse than Cabbie knew? She had been so involved with her lust-bonding, she hadn’t even glanced at the StarPages in the last two days.

To her relief, Vee reached out to stroke her cheek. “It won’t come to that, sweetheart. She loves you too much to ruin your wedding day. Especially when I tell her how radiant you look. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll tell her the waiters have been smoking jakroot in the lumiary garden. That should get her into hostess mode, don’t you think?”

Cabbie smiled at the suggestion. “Do you want me to be there when you talk to her?”

“No.” He drew back the drapes again to reveal the arrival of a long black luxury transport. “I think you should go and greet your bridegroom.”

She grimaced. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this. And I’m not sure you are either. Every time I remember how you spoke to him this afternoon, I cringe. We’re lucky he’s not on his way back to Zentarus by now.”

Vee scowled. “He knows you’re my daughter. He should show more respect.”

“You’re sweet.” Cabbie gave him a wistful hug. “This is it, you know. Are you ready?”

“I’m resigned to it, for the sake of our planet. So go on. And let the reporters take some pictures. Give them something to chatter about. I’m not asking for romance,” he added with a weary smile. “But inspiration of any sort would be good for our people right now. They’re scared, Cabbie. They need something to believe in, even if it’s something as simple—and confusing—as having a Zentarr in the family.”

Chapter Five

Vee had erected stun barriers along the walkway so that the reporters could have a good vantage point without the ability to approach any arriving guest who wasn’t willing to be interviewed. As soon as Cabbie appeared on the porch and began walking toward Torr’s vehicle, the throng started calling out questions, but she just waved as though she couldn’t quite hear what they were saying.

“Tell us about the lust-bonding!”

“Did General Vee—your own stepfather!—order you to submit to the Zentarr?”

“Does your mother approve?”

“Will you live on Zentarus when his year is over?”

Finally, and most galling, “How do you feel about your father’s legacy now?”

It was a relief when Torr finally emerged from his transport, not only because it gave her something to focus on, but because the reporters forgot all about her and began pelting him with questions—questions he didn’t even seem to notice. His gaze was riveted on her, and even though she knew that expression by now—interest and respect, but something short of warmth—she felt an involuntary thrill.

Like her, he had chosen dress whites as the uniform of the day, further accentuating the rich blue-black of his thick, shaggy hair. As always, she was impressed by his rugged build and commanding posture, all the more amazing now that she was bonded to that gorgeous body for life.

He strode right up to her and surprised her by tipping her face up toward his. “It is good to see you, Lieutenant.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “Are you having another fever episode?”

“I do not need lust fever to respond to a beautiful woman.”

“Cabrielle!” a female reporter shouted. “Tell us what the Zentarr’s saying!”

He spun toward the voice, his face contorted in a scowl, but Cabbie grabbed his arm and whispered, “Just ignore her. Please? Let’s go inside where we can have some privacy.”

He tore his lens-shrouded gaze from the crowd and looked down at Cabbie again, this time with a rueful smile. “They don’t understand. I would kill for you. Literally, and with much less provocation than they might guess.”

Finally! A romantic quote to share with our future daughters.

Slipping her hands behind his head, she pulled it down so that his mouth was a breath away from hers. Then she kissed him lightly, and he responded with equal gentleness.

The crowd had gone silent, and while she knew the cameras were active, she didn’t care. In fact, she loved that part too. This was her wedding day—the only one she’d ever have—and she wanted to wring every perfect moment from it that she could.

It was Torr who broke the spell. “We don’t want to keep your mother waiting, do we? If we’re not careful, she’ll withdraw her consent.”

Cabbie arched a warning eyebrow. “Brace yourself. We don’t exactly have her consent yet.”

“What?”

She took him by the arm and led him into the house. “That’s one of the things I came to your quarters to talk to you about today. She’s pretty upset. But Vee’s talking to her now, so hopefully, it will be fine.”

“Doesn’t she know what’s at stake?”

“In her mind, it’s her grandchildren that are at stake.”

“Grandchildren?” He cocked his head to the side, clearly stymied. “If she needs more time, we could wait a few days.”

Cabbie touched his cheek. “That’s so sweet of you. But Vee’s determined. I never saw him angry with her before,” she said, half to herself. “It scared me a little because he usually acts like a love slave around her. But like you said, there’s a lot at stake.”

Torr’s jaw tensed visibly. “Perhaps we need to reconsider this.”

The remark hurt, but she tried to laugh it off. “It’s a little late for that, isn’t it? We’re just making it legal.”

“It is already legal—”

“I know, I know.” Her stomach clenched with frustration. “Just stop talking, Commander. Please?”

He surprised her by laughing. “It’s too bad you don’t suffer from lust fever, Cabrielle. If you did, you wouldn’t notice my mistakes so easily.”

“I’m sure a Zentrina would find you equally annoying,” she said with a playful glare. “Come on, let’s go get married before I change my mind too.”

Among the fifty guests at the wedding was President Arcos, the distinguished former law professor who had become a famous statesman, but who now functioned as a powerless figurehead. Also present were ministers from each of Cortierra’s three moons; five generals who served under Vee; ambassadors from nearby planets; and an assortment of celebrities, most of whom had been friends with Jesslyn for years. They treated Cabbie with new respect and stared at Torr with absolute awe. Overall, they shared the attribute of discretion, which was one reason they had received invitations, and was definitely the reason none of them dared comment on Jesslyn’s absence.

“Where is she?” Cabbie finally demanded of Vee. “I can’t do this without her. I know that now. And Torr said he’s willing to wait a few days, to give her a chance to adjust—”

“That won’t be necessary. She’s fixing her makeup and then she’ll join us.”

Cabbie glared. “In other words, she’s been crying so hard, she can’t cover it up?”

“She’s fine.” Vee’s eyes twinkled. “You know her as well as I do, Cabbie. She can’t resist a party.”

“She also loves making a scene, remember? Like storming into this room and announcing she’d rather die than consent to this marriage. Can’t you just see it?”

“She wouldn’t dare. There’s too much at stake.” He brightened suddenly. “Look, there she is. And looking more beautiful than ever. Didn’t I tell you?”

Cabbie turned, ready to smile in relief. Instead she actually gasped out loud at the sight of her mother looking very unlike herself in heavy makeup with a phony smile plastered on her face. No grace, no flirtatiousness—no hint of Jesslyn at all.

She wanted to run to her, but when she spotted Torr standing alone in the shadows, she hurried over to him instead. “Did you mean what you said? About postponing the wedding if Mom needs more time?”

“Absolutely.” His forehead creased. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything. You should see her.”

“Isn’t that her? Coming toward us? She’s almost as beautiful as General Veesayloren claims.”

Cabbie turned just as her mother reached them. “Hey, Mom,” she teased gently. “Guess who this is?”

“My new son-in-law, of course.” Jesslyn proffered her hand, which Torr accepted, kissing it lightly.

“It’s an honor, Lady Veesayloren.”

Jesslyn patted his cheek. “Welcome to the family.”

Vee had joined them. “Arcos is asking for you, Jess. Come and say hello to him.” Taking his wife by the arm, he led her into the crowd of guests, away from the prospective bride and groom.

Cabbie gave Torr a worried look. “Didn’t I warn you? She’s a mess.”

“She seems fine to me.”

“She never wears that much makeup. She’s too beautiful and she knows it. And she must have taken some kind of tranquilizer, because she’s much too—well, too tranquil.”

Torr studied her for a long moment. “Do you want to postpone the wedding?”

Cabbie shook her head. “What would be the point? We might as well just get it over with.”

“That isn’t very romantic,” he chided her.

“What? Oh!” She laughed. “I did sound a little bit like you, didn’t I?”

He laughed too. Then his brow quirked above his lens-band. “General Veesayloren is signaling for the ceremony to start. Make your decision. I’ll support whatever you choose.”

“Cabrielle!” Jesslyn called. “It’s time, darling. Bring that handsome creature over here and marry him.”

When Cabbie closed her eyes, willing the night to end, Torr said softly, “How do you want to handle this?”

She hesitated, but only for a second. “Do you want to marry me?”

“More than anything.”

She loved that answer. “What happens after the ceremony?”

Torr licked his lips. “I’d like to see the rest of the house. You grew up here, didn’t you?”

She nodded.

“Do you still have the dolls? The ones you came back for while your father waited for you in the canyon?”

“They’re in my bedroom.”

“And…” He cleared his throat. “Is there a bed in your bedroom?”

Cabbie’s throat tightened with anticipation. “Why do you ask?”

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “The fever’s back. It’s unexpected. And inconvenient. And I apologize. But we should hurry with the ceremony because after that—I’m going to need some time alone with you if we can possibly manage it.”

The wedding was a complete blur to Cabbie. Only one thing registered: the heat of Torr’s hand on her hip, burning a hole through her prim white skirt. Even when President Arcos administered the vows, she and Torr repeated the words in mindless monotones, unwilling to be distracted, even for a moment, from the intoxicating power of the fever raging between them.

The only time her focus shifted was the moment when Arcos asked Jesslyn to give consent. Cabbie froze, fearing disaster. Then she sighed in relief when she heard her mother say, “I willingly give this female to this Zentarr.”

After that, the blur returned. Arcos instructed the groom to kiss the bride, and Torr brushed his lips impersonally across Cabbie’s, a gesture she completely understood. Had he really kissed her, they would have lost all remnants of restraint and attacked one another right there in front of the guests.

“Congratulations!” Vee’s voice boomed as soon as it was over. “You’re a lucky man, Commander. Take care of her or you’ll answer to me.”

“I would kill for her,” Torr replied hoarsely.

Cabbie dug her fingernails into his forearm, warning him that he was losing control. Then she told her mother with a desperate smile, “Torr wants to see the rest of the house. So I’m going to take him on a tour. We’ll be back in a minute. Okay?”

Jesslyn gave a vacant nod. “Be sure to show him the lumiary garden.”

“I definitely will.” Cabbie grabbed her groom’s hand, further inspired by the searing heat of his bare skin, and dragged him down the hall.

As soon as they were out of sight of the guests, Torr pinned her to the wall, kissing her while sliding his hand under her skirt.

“Torr!” She was laughing with aroused embarrassment. “Someone could see us. Ooo, never mind, don’t stop.”

“Where’s your room?”

“Two doors,” she said breathlessly. “On the right. Oh!”

She suppressed a shriek as he hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her to the end of the hall, kicking open her door and depositing her on the bed. “Take off your clothes, Lieutenant,” he instructed her, but with a lustful smile to soften the military tone.

“I will if you will, Commander.”

He laughed and began undressing.

Inspired, Cabbie began stripping as well, but when she was almost naked, Torr interrupted her to say, “Leave the stockings on.”

She bit back a laugh, pleased to learn that in this regard at least, he was just like a Cortierran male. These dark, thigh-high stockings were sturdy and utilitarian, yet men drooled at the chance to catch even a glimpse of them on a female soldier.

“Do you want me to leave something on?” he said playfully. “The visor?”

“Never,” she said with a giggle. “Those silver eyes are your best feature.”

Torr seemed surprised by the remark but quickly removed the lens-band, then watched with metallic-eyed intensity as Cabbie took off her uniform and shoes.

“Now up.” He indicated with his finger that he wanted her to stand on the bed.

Cabbie locked gazes with him, surprised by the mischievous request. Then she climbed up and stood towering above him, her stockinged legs slightly spread, her hands on her hips, her bare breasts and torso displayed proudly. When Torr made a circular motion with his finger, she flashed a confident smile and turned slowly, provocatively, allowing his silver eyes to admire her from all sides, not to mention all angles.

As soon as she was facing him again, Torr grinned, reached between her legs and grabbed her bottom, tilting it toward him and licking his lips in anticipation before trailing his lips along the inside of her thigh, higher and higher. She was throbbing with hot, moist need even before he reached his objective, and when his tongue penetrated her, she anchored her fingers in the thick hair of his head, desperately encouraging the assault.

Her knees were bucking from arousal. As she fell, she begged him gleefully, “Don’t stop. Just help!”

He laughed and pulled her down to the bed, kissing her deeply while urging her hand to stroke his huge, hard erection. By the time he entered her, his rhythmic movements were so attuned to her need that her erotic spasms continued seamlessly, slowly and steadily. Again and again, deeper and deeper, he took her, until finally, they climaxed together.

Cabbie moaned his name in self-indulgent release, and they clung to each other, exhausted, sated and at peace.

She thought she heard him whisper something, but his voice was so hoarse, she couldn’t quite make out the words. She only knew that this time, he wasn’t cursing. He was whispering to her in her own language, but so softly, it was more breath than statement.

She didn’t ask him to translate it.

She already knew.

This man—this lust mate—would kill for her.

He was gone again when she woke up, but this time he had left her some company. Arranged on the pillow next to her were the three moon-dolls—the violinist from the near moon, the artist from the far moon, and her favorite, a lovely dancer from the big moon.

Alongside them was a note that read, I’m glad you came back for these. Otherwise, I never would have met you. Your servant forever, Torr

“I think that’s as close to a love note as I’m going to get, girls,” she told the dolls. “But he has other good qualities.” She made a playful face at the artist. “Not just that. He was sweet about Mom too. And he would literally kill for me—that’s a nice quality in a mate, right? Now if we could somehow teach him to have wake-up sex. Let’s hope he didn’t leave for the base yet.”

She suddenly pictured him alone in the living area with Vee—or worse, with Jesslyn. After scrambling out of bed, she threw on some comfortable pants and a skimpy lace top and headed to her bridegroom’s rescue.

Chapter Six

Cabbie burst into the breakfast room and found her mother seated alone at a table laden with bite-sized fruit tarts, fresh melon slices and a silver tea service. A quick glance at the clock told her it was still early—not that she was expected to report for duty at any particular time.

Your duty these days is to keep Torr happy, focused and sated, she reminded herself with a rueful smile, but when Jesslyn looked up from her tea cup, Cabbie’s smile died on her lips.

As bad as Jesslyn had looked at the wedding, this was worse. Red-rimmed, swollen eyes. Tiny, unfamiliar lines in her usually flawless face. Either she was still miserable over the wedding—and the risk to her grandmotherhood—or she was upset that the newlyweds had deserted their guests so abruptly and for so obvious a purpose.

Cabbie flashed an apologetic smile. “Hi, Mom. How did you sleep?”

Jesslyn motioned toward the table. “The cook brewed ambrosia leaves for us. Sit and have a cup.”

“Yum.” Cabbie slid into the chair closest to her mother and poured herself a serving of the warm, fragrant liquid—her favorite of all the domestic teas on Cortierra. “Have you seen my wayward husband?”

“No.”

“Did Vee head out to the base already?”

“No. He’s here somewhere.”

Cabbie took a deep breath. “Are you and he fighting?”

“No.”

“Are you and I fighting?”

“Don’t be silly.” Jesslyn pursed her lips in warning. “Let’s talk about something else, shall we?”

“Something else? As in, you don’t want to talk about my husband, my stepfather or my wedding? That doesn’t leave much else, does it?” She reached over and patted her mother’s hand. “I can see you’ve been crying, and I’m sooo sorry, Mom. Does it help to know I’ve never been happier in my life? Believe it or not, I think I’m falling for Torr—”

“Cabrielle! I refuse to talk about that creature. Not now, not ever. Is that clear?” Jesslyn’s bloodshot eyes flashed. “I gave my consent. Cortierra is safe. That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

“Jesslyn?” Vee’s voice from the doorway sounded wary. “I thought we agreed to make the best of this for Cabbie’s sake.”

Cabbie grimaced. “Don’t worry about me. And please don’t tell Torr what I said about falling for him. But it’s true. I’ve never felt so happy.”

She scanned her stepfather’s face, relieved to see that her statement hadn’t upset him. And why should it? He had been afraid this marriage would be degrading for her. Instead, it had brought her back to life, perhaps for the first time since she stood on that ledge at the canyon and watched as her father’s ship was consumed by a ball of white-hot, pandium-fueled fire.

Vee seemed to understand that. Now if only Jesslyn could find a way to appreciate Torr, just a little, for the strange magic he had wrought.

“Have you seen the vid reports?” Vee tapped a nearby control button. Across the room, a hidden screen rolled into view, covered with images from the wedding. Two reporters and their cameras had been allowed to record the event for posterity, and to Cabbie’s surprise, the ceremony seemed both dignified and romantic, with Torr looking gorgeous in his dress whites, towering over his bride, his expression protective and sincere.

“The house looks great, Mom. And of course, you’re the most beautiful woman in the room, as usual.”

When Jesslyn didn’t look up from her plate, Vee prodded her. “Tell Cabbie how beautiful she looks, Jess. Remember what we agreed? No negativity.”

“It’s okay, Vee,” Cabbie whispered. “She just needs more time.” When Vee scowled, the stepdaughter scowled back. “I think you’re right, Mom. There are other things to talk about.” She popped a greenberry tart into her mouth and savored it for a long moment before continuing. “We can’t allow our lives to revolve around men, right? Even handsome hunks like Vee and Torr. We need to plan something fun for us to do—just the two of us. How does that sound? Maybe a moon holiday.”

“A holiday?” Jesslyn licked her lips. “Vee, would that be okay with you?”

Cabbie grinned. “Since when do you need permission to have fun? Let’s find those brochures you were looking at last week. We could go to a ballet on the big moon. Or better still, a play!”

Jesslyn eyed her curiously. “Can you leave the Zentarr?”

“Of course.” She grimaced. “I guess we should wait until his cycle settles into a pattern. But we can plan the trip now—”

“It’s a lovely thought, darling. But can’t you see it’s hopeless?”

“Jesslyn!” Vee’s tone had grown harsh. “Cabbie’s putting your happiness ahead of her own. Please try to return the effort.”

“Vee, don’t.” Cabbie eyed him with cool displeasure. “She’s entitled to her feelings.”

“No, no,” her mother interrupted her. “Your stepfather’s right. Your happiness means the world to me. And I love the idea of a holiday. And…” She looked down at her hands. “I apologize for calling your husband a creature.”

“It’s okay, Mom.”

“No, it isn’t. I won’t do it again. I promise.”

A huge smile spread across Vee’s face. “That’s my girl. No more negativity, right?”

Jesslyn nodded.

“Well then, I’ll leave you to plan your ladies-only vacation. I have a war to win, so I’d better get going.” He kissed his wife’s cheek, then patted Cabbie’s shoulder. “See you tonight, sweetheart.”

Cabbie watched as he exited the breakfast room. Then she called out, “Vee! Wait!” and dashed after him.

He turned just as he reached the front door. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes, something’s wrong. With you. Can’t you see how miserable Mom is?”

His chin jutted forward. “She should be happy for your sake.”

“Really?” Cabbie drawled. “You’re delighted with my marriage because it advances your military objectives, not because it makes me happy. So stop pretending to be so noble. And stop yelling at her. It’s cruel.”

To her dismay, Vee’s shoulders slumped. “You’re right. I thought this was hard enough on you without having us make it worse. But I agree, I handled it badly.”

She felt a surge of guilt. “This is stressful for all of us. I’m sorry I was so critical.”

“It will get better. I promise.” Vee rested his hands on her shoulders. “Until last night, your mother didn’t really understand what was at stake. So I explained it to her—bluntly, but not cruelly. Or at least, I hope not.”

“I’m sure you did your best.”

He nodded. “She understands, sweetheart. It will just take a while for her emotions to catch up to her logic. In the meantime, I commend your strategy. Distract her with thoughts of a magical holiday. Don’t discuss the Zentarr or your marriage. That’s an order,” he added with a teasing smile.

“Yes, sir.” Cabbie gave him a playful salute. “Now go back in there and apologize.”

They returned to the breakfast room, and Cabbie noted that her mother didn’t look too pleased to see them. But she accepted Vee’s apology graciously, saying, “I’ll behave from now on. I promise.”

“Behave?” Cabbie laughed. “What fun would that be? We have a holiday to plan! Maybe we should gather up all this food and go out to the canyon for a picnic. Just like the old days. How does that sound?”

Vee touched Cabbie’s arm. “I don’t want your mother leaving the house today. Not in her fragile condition. She barely slept last night, and she’s still recovering from all the tranquilizers she took for the wedding.”

“I have no intention of leaving the house, Vee,” Jesslyn said quickly. “I just wish…”

Cabbie sat back down at her mother’s side and took her hand in her own. “What, Mom? What do you wish?”

Jesslyn’s green eyes were bright with tears. “I wish the war would end. That’s our only hope for true happiness.”

“And that’s exactly why I arranged the marriage with the Zentarr,” Vee reminded her. “So be good. Stay positive for everyone’s sake. I’ll see you both tonight at dinner, and I expect to hear all about this holiday of yours.”

Once again, Cabbie stared after him as he headed for the entry hall, but this time, she had no wish to follow. What would she say? He wasn’t being himself, and Jesslyn was behaving strangely too.

Did he just order her not to leave her own house? What does he think she’d do? Say something awful to a reporter? Or run off with a more understanding guy? That must have been some fight they had.

As soon as the front door closed, Cabbie gave Jesslyn an encouraging smile. “Okay, Mom, he’s gone, so let’s talk about this. I know you’re worried about me, and I love you for that. And I guess you’re worried about the grandchildren too. Right?”

Jesslyn glanced around furtively. “I’m not worried about anything, Cabrielle. I’m just overtired. Maybe I should take a nap—”

“Let’s talk first. About Torr. Please?”

“Vee asked us not to.”

“Since when do you do what Vee says?”

“Cabbie…” Jesslyn eyed the entry hall before she responded. “Your stepfather is a wonderful man. He cares about us very much. Both of us.”

“We’re lucky,” Cabbie agreed cautiously.

Her mother’s behavior wasn’t just odd. Or submissive. It was downright paranoid. As though she believed Vee could hear every word she said. As though she were being monitored, which was just crazy. Except—

I don’t want your mother leaving the house…

Cabbie wanted to believe Vee’s controlling words and angry outbursts had been prompted by a bizarre blend of affection, guilt and exhaustion, but something told her it was worse than that. For some reason, Jesslyn believed she was a prisoner in her own house.

And Cabbie was beginning to believe it too.

“This is nice, darling. I’m so glad you thought of it.”

Cabbie bustled around the lumiary garden, setting the scene for what she hoped would be a private, reassuring talk. She had lured Jesslyn to this luscious location by insisting it was the perfect place to plan their holiday. She had even brought the brochures and a mobile screen, explaining that they might need to make reservations.

But as she slipped a music disc into the screen’s audio slot, she wasn’t trying to set a mood. She was giving them privacy, despite the fact that a grim-faced sergeant hovered nearby. The man—a tall, solid fellow with probing eyes—had insisted he had orders from General Vee “to keep an eye on you women,” just in case some intrepid reporter managed to scale the garden wall in search of the romance of the decade.

This show of overprotection had been the final straw for Cabbie. She now believed Vee was indeed spying on them. Containing them. Undoubtedly he thought it was for their own good. But he was wrong, and she wasn’t about to let him get away with it.

Turning up the volume, she danced over to her mother and pulled her into a playful embrace, then whirled her in step with the lively beat. “Smile, Mom. We want that soldier to give a good report, don’t we?”

“What?”

“Paste a big, fat smile on your face. Pretend we’re talking about dancers and performers. But we’re really going to talk about your fight with Vee.”

“Cabbie!”

“Big smile,” Cabbie reminded her. “I’ve never seen Vee act so bossy with you. And you keep letting him get away with it. Why?”

Jesslyn pursed her lips. “This isn’t a good idea.”

Cabbie laughed, as though her mother had just uttered something delightfully droll. “You know you want to tell me. We don’t keep secrets from each other, remember? When Dad died, you told me we had to rely on each other. Trust each other. And even though we don’t always agree, we’ve always been honest. Almost to a fault. Right?”

Her mother’s eyes filled with tears, and Cabbie quickly danced her over to a bench and seated her so that her face was turned away from the sergeant. “Wait here, okay?”

Once Jessyln had nodded, Cabbie strolled over to a lumia-covered trellis and gently twisted a handful of blue blossoms until they came loose in her hand. Bringing them back to Jesslyn, she suggested, “Make me a wreath, like you used to on our picnics. Remember? The sergeant will think we’re just chatting and enjoying a beautiful morning together.”

Jesslyn’s fingers began to weave the stems together. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Cabbie. And I know I promised I wouldn’t keep secrets from you. But this is different. You’ll just have to take my word for that.”

“Either you tell me, or I’ll make Vee tell me.”

Her mother’s eyes widened with alarm. “Promise me you won’t do that.”

Cabbie glanced toward the sergeant, but he had wandered out of sight, apparently patrolling the grounds. “Okay Mom, he’s gone. Start from the beginning. You guys fought about the wedding, right? You were furious with him for agreeing to the lust-bonding. And he threatened to have Arcos waive the consent requirement. Right?”

Jesslyn’s green eyes clouded. “President Arcos would never have waived that requirement. And Vee knew it. That’s why he was so desperate.”

Cabbie licked her lips, realizing her mother was probably correct. Arcos didn’t dare cross Vee in military or political matters. But when it came to matters of culture, he had done his best to mitigate the effects of the dictatorship by urging all Cortierrans to visit the moons often. “To keep our true nature alive,” he had explained during his monthly vid addresses, his voice soft with reverence and hope.

“I guess you’re right, Mom. Waiving consent would have been anathema to Arcos.” She exhaled slowly. “But in your heart, you know Vee’s right, don’t you? Commander Denn-Torr is our only hope. We can’t let him go home. Especially not now.”

Jesslyn’s fingers were still braiding the lumia, and Cabbie sensed the familiar ritual was having a calming effect, so she continued carefully. “What happened, Mom? Did Vee threaten you?”

“Threatened. Cursed. Pleaded like a man possessed. But I knew I was right, so I told him I would never allow you to marry that creature, and nothing he could say or do could change my mind.” She looked into her daughter’s eyes and added sadly, “I was wrong. He had a secret weapon, and once he unleashed it, I had no choice but to do whatever he asked.”

A shiver ran down Cabbie’s spine. “What kind of secret weapon?”

Jesslyn bit her lip. “If I tell you, you have to swear Vee will never find out. I actually believe he’d kill me if he knew.”

Cabbie wanted to protest—to insist Vee loved his wife too much to even consider harming her. Jesslyn had a habit of over-dramatizing these sorts of things, didn’t she? Still, she was clearly shaken by the events of the last few days, and Cabbie herself had witnessed the semi-threats about staying in the house and “no negativity”.

“Part of me wants to tell you. But selfishly, I’m afraid,” Jesslyn told her softly. “That’s the part Vee’s counting on, you know. He’s sure I love myself more than I love my own child. But it isn’t true.”

“Of course it’s not.” Cabbie squeezed her mother’s hand. “Just try to relax, okay? You don’t really believe Vee would kill you. He adores you. Plus, I’d never let it happen. And neither would Torr. He says he’d kill for me, and I’ll bet he’d kill for you too.”

“You’re such a fool,” Jesslyn said softly.

Cabbie bit back an impatient scowl. “Just tell me, Mom. What was Vee’s secret weapon? I swear I’ll never breathe a word to him.”

Jesslyn reached out and stroked her daughter’s cheek. “He told me if I didn’t consent to the marriage, I’d be signing your death warrant. And if you’d seen the look in his eye, Cabbie, you’d know he meant every word of that.”

Chapter Seven

It didn’t make sense. Why would Vee threaten to hurt Cabbie of all people? She’d done everything he’d asked! Plus, he loved her as much as if she were his own flesh and blood.

Jesslyn smiled in gentle apology. “I didn’t know any of this until last evening, Cabrielle. You have to believe me. I know I’m a terrible mother, but I never would have stood for this. Not for one single minute.”

“Mom…”

“Keep smiling, darling. Remember the sergeant.” Jesslyn waited until Cabbie had resumed her cheerful expression before continuing, “Vee told me there were only two reasons he didn’t execute you nine years ago. Because I was your mother. And more importantly, because Jensen Lent was your father.”

“Execute me?” Cabbie stared in disbelief. “For what?”

“According to Vee, you were guilty of co-conspiracy and treason. He ranted like a madman, Cabbie. I always knew he hated your father, but until last night, I didn’t realize how deep it went. So deep he’d manipulate you into a hideous marriage with some offworld creature, just to lure Jensen into a trap. It’s…well, it’s macabre, don’t you think?”

Just to lure Jensen into a trap…

Before Cabbie could respond, Jesslyn nodded in confirmation. “Vee thinks your father is still alive and working for the rebels. Maybe even leading them. Apparently, Vee never believed Jensen was dead. But I swear, Cabbie, he never breathed a word of it to me. I thought—” Jesslyn choked back a sob. “I thought he loved us.”

“He does, Mom.” Cabbie winced and added quickly, “At least, he loves you. That’s not open to question. But if he really believes Dad is alive…” She bit her lip, admitting to herself that if by some crazy twist of fate Jensen Lent had armed the rebellion with ADT, it was quite possible Vee really did hate Cabbie, despite all indications to the contrary.

She almost couldn’t blame him for that. Assuming of course that it was all true.

Taking a seat on the ground in front of her mother’s bench, she spoke firmly. “Start at the beginning. Why does Vee think Dad’s alive?”

Jesslyn’s eyes clouded. “That’s the easiest part for me to believe. That your father would trick us—make us think he had died in an accident. No one would pursue him. No one would disturb his precious experiments. That’s all he ever really cared about,” she added with a disdainful sniff. “Science was his real mistress—the only one he ever loved.”

“I saw his ship explode.”

“I know, darling.” Jesslyn sighed. “I’ll never forgive him for that. Using his own daughter as the witness for his lies. In his own way, he’s as ruthless as Vee.” Straightening in her seat, she added in a matter-of-fact tone, “Vee believes your father switched into a smaller ship when you weren’t there. You saw the research vessel recede into the pandium fog at the bottom of the canyon. Then when you returned with the dolls, that vessel blew up in front of your eyes. But your father wasn’t on it, Cabrielle. And that makes sense, don’t you think? He would never overload pandium on a ship that might be carrying him or his daughter. It was a show—to convince the world that he was dead.”

Cabbie wanted to protest, but it sounded plausible. In fact, it sounded irrefutable. Jensen Lent was the discoverer and resident expert on pandium. He would have known how to handle it, how to store it—

“You asked me to tell you the truth, Cabbie. I know it hurts. You’re so infatuated with that hideous creature—”

“Stop calling him that.”

“He doesn’t care about you, darling. He only pretended to experience lust fever so the news vids would carry the story to the rebels. Vee’s using you as bait.”

Cabbie drew back, shocked at the ridiculous suggestion.

No lust fever? No lust-bond? It was crazy!

And absolutely impossible.

“I don’t mean to be indelicate, Mom, but— Well, let’s just say, Torr is so inspired in bed with me, I almost lose my mind. It has to be lust fever.”

“Maybe Zentarrs are just proficient in bed. With or without lust fever.”

“Proficient?” Cabbie bit her lip. It sounded a little too much like e-fficient. Methodical. Everything Torr was—in bed and out.

“Remember, Cabbie. Lust doesn’t equal orgasm. Skill does.”

Cabbie rolled her eyes, resisting an impulse to ask if love figured into the equation at all. She had a feeling she already knew what her mother’s answer would be.

“They’re using you to lure the rebels into a trap,” Jesslyn repeated gently. “They think Jensen will come for you now, believing that you’re bonded to a Zentarr. They think the rebels will abduct you in hopes that the creature will use the scent of the lust-bond to track you. Then he’ll switch sides and aid the rebellion in order to save your life.

“But it won’t just be the Zentarr who follows,” Jesslyn continued softly. “It will be Vee’s entire fleet. They’ll attack the rebel hideout. Destroy it.”

“That’s what you’re afraid of?” Cabbie exhaled in relief. “I’m sorry Vee scared you with that crazy story, Mom. But don’t you see the flaw? The only way Torr can track me by scent is if he’s bonded to me. Which means they couldn’t have faked the lust fever. And trust me, I’ve seen firsthand how devoted a Zentarr is to his mate. He wouldn’t use me in a dangerous plot—not for anyone or anything.”

She touched her mother’s cheek. “I guess maybe Dad really is alive though. That part makes sense. But the rest? I think Vee saw how upset you were that I might move to Zentarus some day, so he concocted this story. To make you believe the lust-bond wasn’t real. You see that now, don’t you?”

The sergeant’s deep voice intruded on their conversation. “Is something wrong?”

Cabbie bit back a guilty gasp, but fortunately Jesslyn had had more practice with deception, and she quickly defused the situation. “My daughter and I have never agreed on anything in our lives, and this holiday is no exception. I want to see a lighthearted performance, and she of course wants to wallow in some melodramatic tragedy. She can be so stubborn!”

“Oh.” The big man grimaced and backed away.

But Jesslyn wasn’t done with him yet. ‘What do you think, Sergeant? You seem like a decisive, take-charge man. Do you agree with me or with her?”

His face flushed. “I agree with you, ma’am. With all this war and strife going on, something light makes more sense.”

Ordinarily, Cabbie would have been amused by her mother’s deft handling of the opposite sex, but she was anxious to return to their conversation—to prove once and for all that Torr hadn’t used her for anything. It was Vee, and Vee alone, who had kept secrets and told lies, partly to reassure his wife, but also to scare her to death.

He wanted her to believe your life was in danger. That part was cruel—the same sort of cruelty you saw this morning. He must be more worried about ADT—and about losing to the rebels—than you realized.

Cabbie had a feeling Torr would be even more disgusted with Vee than she was. After all, the Zentarr had been willing to postpone the ceremony, thereby defying Zentarin tradition, rather than cause grief for his new mother-in-law. He wouldn’t take kindly to Vee’s harsh tactics and manipulations. He might even decide to confront Vee about it, which would be awkward since Cabbie had promised her mother Vee wouldn’t find out about this conversation.

Just don’t tell Torr, she decided. What difference will it make?

But that wouldn’t change the truth—that Vee had hurt Jesslyn so badly, their marriage might never recover. And what about Cabbie’s marriage? Should she really keep secrets from her husband?

The sergeant had returned to his patrolling, so Cabbie took a deep breath and plunged back into the debate. “We know Vee lied to you about the lust-bond. The question is, did he lie about Dad too?”

Her mother shook her head. “He didn’t lie about your father. You know that in your heart. And he didn’t lie about the lust-bond either. They faked that, Cabbie.”

“But—”

“But how do they intend to track you if there’s no lust-bond scent?” Jesslyn reached out and took her daughter’s hand. “Do you remember the surgery you had after your air-scooter accident? The mechanical implant? Vee tells me there’s a tracking chip here, in your new thumb. That’s how they’ll find you. And that’s how they’ll destroy the rebels, once and for all.”

Before Cabbie could protest, her mother explained gently. “Don’t you see? Vee always believed Jensen was alive. He thinks your father wanted to take you with him that day, but you made things too complicated by returning to the house to get the dolls—”

“I came back for you, Mom. I’ve told you that a million times. It was never about the dolls.”

“Maybe so.” Jesslyn shrugged. “In any case, Jensen couldn’t wait, so he left without you. But Vee thought he’d come back, so he put the chip in you. Then he monitored you, day and night. But your father never came.” Her mother leaned forward. “I didn’t know about the chip, darling. I never would have allowed such a thing. You believe me, don’t you?”

Cabbie pulled her hand free and stroked the mechanical joint in her thumb. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying the only reason Vee married me nine years ago—the only reason he pretended to love either of us—was to use you as bait to catch your father.”

“No. I mean…” Cabbie stared into her mother’s eyes. “What are you saying about Torr?”

A tear slid down Jesslyn’s cheek. “I’m so sorry, darling. I should have kept this to myself. I see that now.”

“Ma’am?” The deep-voiced sergeant interrupted them again, this time more respectfully. “Looks like you have company.”

Cabbie followed his gaze up to the sky, where a Zentarin glider hovered, preparing to land. “Oh no…”

Jesslyn took immediate control. “Please instruct my new son-in-law to join me in the living room. And tell the cook to prepare a light lunch.”

“Yes, ma’am.” With a crisp salute, the soldier turned and headed across the wide expanse of grass on the north side of the house.

“Mom, I don’t want to see him. I’m not ready. I don’t even know—”

“Of course you don’t. I’ll tell him you’re exhausted. And I’ll insist that he and I need some time alone. To get to know one another. I can be very charming, you know.”

Cabbie sighed. “I thought you were scared to death.”

“Not any more. It helped to talk.” Jesslyn smiled ruefully. “You’re stronger than I am, darling. I’ve always envied you that. But today, I’ll be the strong one. I promise.”

“Mom…” Tears stung Cabbie’s eyes. “I don’t know what I’ll say to him.”

“I’ll keep him away from you as long as you need. And if you never want to see him again—well, I’ll make sure you don’t. Some way, some how.”

“That’s sweet, Mom, but we both know Vee will kill you if you interfere.”

“Not if I kill him first.” Jesslyn’s tone grew brisk. “Do what you need to do. And meanwhile, let me enjoy this. My one chance to help you. To be the mother I always wanted to be.”

“Mom—”

“Hurry! He’ll be here any minute.”

“Okay.” Exhaling sharply, Cabbie sprinted toward the doorway on the far side of the garden. By the time she turned around to wave goodbye, her mother had already disappeared into the house.

To run interference for you…

Tears streamed down Cabbie’s face. Her mother wanted to protect her. It was so touching, yet so futile. Protect her from whom? Vee? Torr?

Her father?

Reaching her room, she threw herself onto the bed and gathered the moon-dolls against her aching chest as she re-lived the memory of her father’s pandium-laden ship exploding before her eyes.

I cried so hard for you, Dad. How could you let me witness that? How could you let me think you died so hideously? You always said you were motivated by the glory of science, but you did this for the rebels! You chose them over me.

She would never forgive him.

And she would never forgive Vee either. His proud boasting about her sharp-shooting, his protestations of affection, telling her he loved her like a natural daughter.

And all the while, he hated you. Loathed you. He didn’t sit by your hospital bed out of concern after your accident—he was lying in wait for Dad! Pretending to love you…pretending to love Mom…

Sobs wracked her ribcage, and while she wanted to be angry—to allow fury to replace grief—she couldn’t manage it. Her father had broken her heart. Her stepfather had broken her trust.

And then there was Torr. His betrayal was nothing compared to that of the other men in her life, yet somehow, his was the betrayal that allowed her to dry her tears. To stand up straight. To don her work uniform—dark blues and grays—along with her stoutest boots and her holstered blaster.

She couldn’t clear her head in this room—a place that had seemed like a sanctuary. It held too many memories, and now, with the added indignity of a monstrously deceptive wedding night, she couldn’t stomach it. She needed to get away from it, and she needed to get away now.

Unwilling to endanger her mother, she quickly penned a note that said: Hi Mom, I know I said I wanted to sleep, but I’m restless. So I’m going for a ride. I’ll be back for dinner. If my handsome husband tries to contact me, please invite him to eat with us. I really want you to get to know him. I’ll see you and Vee then. Kisses to you all! Cabbie.

Sneaking along the side of the house toward the air-cycle shed, she saw the erstwhile sergeant patrolling the grounds, undoubtedly with orders from Vee to keep her and Jesslyn from leaving the premises.

“Too bad you’re so conscientious,” she told the guard under her breath as she worked her way toward him. “You seem like an okay guy, but like Mom said, you’re decisive and take-charge. So I’m gonna have to stun you. No offense. Right?”

Chapter Eight

Staring into the fog-shrouded canyon, Cabbie struggled with three brutal, irrefutable truths: she had a tracking chip in her thumb, her father was alive and the Zentarr had lied to her about the lust-bond.

It made sense, didn’t it? Her hair wasn’t blue-black. Her eyes weren’t silver. There was nothing about Lieutenant Cabrielle Lent that could excite a Zentarr to the point where he’d accept a lower form of being as his lifelong mate.

If his fever had been legitimate, wouldn’t he have pursued the rational course by returning to Zentarus? Even if he wanted to honor his commitment to Cortierra, why not go home, find a mate, then come back?

Because there wasn’t time. The rebels had just deployed ADT, remember?

Except the Zentarr was supposedly uninvolved with such disputes. The Elder Council had forbidden him from engaging in battle with the rebels. He wasn’t even allowed to strategize against them.

And what about the fact that his lust fever had struck the very same day Cortierra learned about the ADT?

Convenient…

The knot in her stomach twisted tighter. He had made a fool of her, not to mention a target. And he had also made a target of her mother.

Bzzt, bzzt!

Startled by the sound, she grabbed for her blaster, but not before two blood bats had sunk their fangs into her neck, one on each side. Firing wildly, she managed to scare the rest of the swarm away, even as her body began to convulse. Her blood was being sucked so rhythmically, so relentlessly, she could barely manage to think, much less scream. They were gorging—feasting with insatiable, maniacal glee—and she had to get them off or she’d die from fright before her body was even half-drained.

In mindless panic, she was about to turn her weapon on the creatures, despite knowing the blast would kill her too, when two camouflaged soldiers grabbed her arms and insisted, “Don’t do that! Put down your weapon and let us help you.”

She shrieked in agony, certain that the lusty rodents would finish their meal before these strangers could figure out how to get them off her.

It didn’t matter anyway. Perhaps if it had been Torr…

But it wasn’t, and even through her terror, she knew that these men were rebels. They didn’t care about her any more than Torr did. Their mission was to bring her to Jensen Lent as a pawn to attract the Zentarr. For that, they needed her alive.

And in her misery, she almost wished for death before the possibility of ever, ever again seeing her father.

Or her husband.

Before she opened her eyes, Cabbie knew who was seated beside her bed. His presence filled the room—powerful, warm, compelling. Or perhaps she was alerted by the faint scent of jakroot that clung to his clothing. She remembered it well, and while she had never smoked it herself, this hint of fragrance was a drug for her, harkening back to a simpler, more perfect time.

The wounds on her neck tingled each time she took a breath. Otherwise, she felt good—almost blissful—and she knew without caring that her father had given her something to induce euphoria.

Or at the very least, to dampen her ire.

“Dad?” she murmured groggily.

“Hey, Cabbie.” He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. “You don’t seem surprised to see me.”

She stared for a moment, completely in awe. “I never suspected a thing until today. But apparently, Vee always knew. And he planned for this moment. And—” she eyed him sadly, “—I guess, you did too. Right?”

“I always knew I’d see you again, if that’s what you mean.”

She studied him curiously, noting that his thick golden hair—on his head and in his full beard—was streaked with gray. But his dark brown eyes were as vibrant and inspiring as ever. And his smile…

Despite lessons learned, she couldn’t help but smile back through her medicated haze. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“I am.”

“Good.” She wriggled to a seated position. “Are you a scientist for the rebels? Or worse?”

“Much worse,” he admitted with a laugh. “I’m their leader. In time, I’m hoping you’ll forgive that. Maybe even join us. But for now…” He stroked her cheek with his fingertips. “I just want you to get better. You can’t imagine how guilty I feel. And how horrified about the blood bats. You were always so afraid of them, Cabbie. How did you let this happen?”

“Haven’t you heard? I’m a crack shot—and I practice on them. Unfortunately, I dropped my guard.” Reaching out her arms, she surprised herself by saying, “It’s such a miracle, Dad. I thought I’d never see you again.”

He pulled her into a hearty embrace. “I thought you’d be furious.”

“I am.” She choked back a sob. “When I saw that ship blow up, it destroyed me. For years. How could you use me like that?”

Jensen was sobbing too. “I didn’t plan it that way. I intended to take you with me. It never occurred to me you’d hesitate. We were so close. And you and Jesslyn—well, you weren’t close at all. Then you made such a fuss about the dolls. And I knew what you really meant. You wanted your mother.”

“I wanted my parents,” Cabbie corrected him sadly.

“If I could have given you that, I would have. But our marriage had long since ended. I knew she wouldn’t miss me, and frankly—” his tone grew defensive, “—I didn’t think she’d miss you either.”

“I used to think that too, Dad. But we were wrong. In her own way, she loves me a lot. I only found out how much today. Or…” Cabbie grimaced. “What day is today?”

“We rescued you yesterday.”

“Rescued?” She rolled her eyes. “I believe the word is kidnapped.”

Jensen grinned. “I’m just glad we got there before the blood bats sucked you dry.”

Cabbie bit her lip, wondering what to say next. Should she alert her father—and the rebels—to Vee’s strategy? Wasn’t that the same as changing sides? As a lieutenant in the Cortierran space force, she wasn’t ready for that yet. But she wasn’t on Vee’s side any more either.

Her only hope was to become neutral in this crazy struggle, but what did that really mean? If Vee was tracking her via the chip in her thumb, he and his forces would be here soon. The rebels would be wiped out, and Vee would be victorious. That seemed unconscionable.

The rebels have ADT. Cortierra has the Zentarr. Each with its own advantage, she reminded herself. If you really want to be neutral, maintain that balance. Tell Dad as little as possible—just enough to make sure Vee can’t use the tracking chip to destroy the rebels.

As if trying to read her thoughts, and succeeding to a degree, her father prompted her gently. “Your new husband will be here soon. The fever bond will draw him to you. Then the three of us can decide what to do next.”

“It won’t be my husband, Dad. It’ll be Vee. With his entire force.”

Jensen shook his head. “The Zentarr would never endanger you by bringing Vee here. Don’t you know how devoted they are to their mates?”

She eyed him ruefully. “Vee can find you without the Zentarr’s help. There’s a tracking chip in my thumb.”

“What?”

She nodded. “Vee always knew you’d come back for me some day, so he had me chipped when I was still a kid. I just found out yesterday. So you need to pack up this base and relocate. Fast. And you need to find a way to block the signal, or they’ll follow us wherever we go. Of course,” she added with a shrug, “you could just leave me behind again, I suppose.”

“Cabrielle!” Jensen’s eyes clouded. “I know you don’t believe me, but it broke my heart to leave you.”

“I believe you,” she admitted. “It just doesn’t matter anymore.”

“You’re still groggy from the painkillers,” Jensen said, his tone confident and soothing. “We’ll talk this through again when you’re feeling better.” Squaring his shoulders, he pulled a comm-link from his pocket and punched a button. “Colonel Shaay? I need something to jam a signal. Send a strip of tri-magnetized wire to the infirmary. And pack up this base because we’re leaving in an hour. In the meantime, double the watch for incoming craft.”

“Too late, sir. We just picked up an intruder. Should be here in two minutes, maybe less.”

Jensen winced. “How many vessels?”

“Just one, sir. We don’t have a visual—oh wait. There it is! A Zentarin glider.” The colonel chuckled. “That crazy offworlder followed your daughter here, sir. Just like you predicted.”

“Are you sure he’s alone?” Jensen demanded.

“Yes, sir. Nothing else in the vicinity.”

“Well, start packing anyway. I’ll head out to the launch strip. Wouldn’t want to keep my new son-in-law waiting.” To Cabbie, Jensen added with a playful grin, “I assume you want to join me? It’s the least you can do when a fellow rushes to your rescue.”

“You don’t understand, Dad. Vee’s right behind him.”

“Not if the Zentarr loves you. And let’s face it—” her father’s eyes warmed, “—how could he not?”

Cabbie covered her face with her hands, unsure of what to do next.

Neutral, neutral, neutral… You’ve warned Dad that Vee’s on his way. If you do anything more than that, you’ll be taking sides—and that’s not acceptable. At least, not yet.

“We have a uniform ready for you, Cabbie.”

“What?” She uncovered her face. “A rebel uniform?”

“We couldn’t get the blood out of your Cortierran one.” He flashed a playful grin. “Aren’t you anxious to see your husband? From what I’ve heard about lust fever, he’ll be kissing your feet and begging you to let him serve you.”

“And you’re counting on that?” She didn’t wait for her father’s response. “Just keep packing, okay? I have a feeling the Zentarr won’t be staying too long.”

The glider swooped through the clouds, so much more graceful and lovely than the enforcers flown by Cortierran pilots, yet so much more deadly. Cabbie could still remember the day when the Zentarr had first arrived on her planet. She had been so thrilled by the sight of him, but now, as he exited his ship and strode toward her, she studied him coldly, intent upon figuring out why he was here. Why not just allow Vee to handle the details? To fill the skies with battle craft, and then order Jensen either to surrender or watch as the superior Cortierran force blasted the rebel base out of existence, killing Jensen’s supposedly-precious daughter in the process.

Torr didn’t break his stride, but instead, walked right up to her and pulled her into a powerful embrace. Before she could protest, he whispered, “I know what Vee told your mother. It isn’t true—at least, not all of it.”

“Take your hands off me.”

He obliged her quickly. “I don’t blame you for being upset—”

“I’m not upset. I’m neutral. Which means I haven’t told my father about the fake lust-bond yet—”

“Thank God.”

“But I did tell him Vee’s forces are right behind you. So turn around and leave before all hell breaks loose.”

“Veesayloren is at least half a day behind me. I was able to interfere with his attempts at tracking you. And just for the record,” Torr murmured, lowering his mouth so that his breath warmed her cheek, “I’m neutral now too. At least in the war between Vee and the rebels. My only allegiance is to you.”

“Commander?” Jensen Lent ambled up to them and thumped Torr’s arm. “I’m your new father-in-law.”

“I look forward to talking to you, sir,” Torr assured him. “But first, I need some time alone with your daughter.”

Jensen smiled faded. “It can’t be that urgent.”

“It’s very individual, Dad,” Cabbie explained, adding dryly, “But it shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.”

Torr quirked an eyebrow above his lens band in amused protest, but didn’t dispute her estimate of his virility. Instead he repeated to Jensen, “Is there somewhere Cabrielle and I can have some privacy?”

Still visibly offended, Jensen instructed an aide to escort the newlyweds to the officers’ barracks, where a room had been prepared for them.

As soon as they were alone again, Cabbie demanded, “Why are you here?”

“To rescue you.”

“From my own father?”

“From a maniac,” he corrected her. “He’s as obsessed as Veesayloren. They want to destroy each other, and I don’t want you to get killed because of it.”

“Because of our fever bond?” She glared in disgust. “I suppose you tracked me here by scent. Is that what you’re saying?”

“That would have taken too long. So I used the tracking chip.”

“You said you disabled the chip.”

Torr scowled. “We don’t have time to debate every point, Cabrielle. I did not say I disabled the chip. What I said was, I interfered with it. Temporarily.” He exhaled, then continued more calmly. “I came to your mother’s house to tell you the whole story. When I realized you had run off, I planted a duplicate chip in your bedroom so Vee would think you were still there. Then I tracked you here using the real signal.” His tone sharpened. “We need to go. Now. Before we become embroiled in this battle.”

Fascinated despite her better instincts, Cabbie murmured, “Where do you plan on going? Cortierra? Zentarus?”

“Any place you want. We can discuss that after I’ve told you the full story. For now, we just need to go.” Stepping up to her, he added hoarsely, “Please come with me, Cabbie. I’m begging you.”

There it was, that burst of heat she had felt so often over the past three days. And even though she knew the truth—that there was no fever bond between them—she couldn’t resist it. At least not completely.

“Talk to me,” she suggested weakly. “You said Vee lied. So? Tell me the truth.”

“There’s no time! He’s on his way here. Once we’re safe aboard the glider—”

“You used me as bait,” she reminded him, and when he didn’t deny it, her bravado crumbled. “You admit it? My God, Torr. You said you’d kill for me, but you were actually willing to sacrifice me—”

“Hey!” Torr shook his head. “You have it backward. I thought you were the only person we could risk using. Because you were beloved by both sides. It was still despicable, but we were trying to end a civil war. I believed if Jensen kidnapped you, and Vee followed, they’d form a truce. Vee wouldn’t dare attack this base because it would endanger your life. I thought it was the perfect plan. A plan that would bring peace to Cortierra at last.”

His voice softened. “Do you remember that night in my quarters, when you told me how your father stole your mother from Vee years ago? That was the first hint I had that this vendetta was personal, not political. I should have taken action then, but I was too distracted.”

“Distracted by what?”

“By you.” He flashed a sheepish smile. “I expected you to be attractive. I had seen that much in the StarPages. But you weren’t just beautiful. You were so goddamned provocative, it set me off ahead of schedule.”

Cabbie took a full step backward. “Pardon?”

“The lust fever,” he explained. “I’ll fill you in on the details later. For now, just believe me. The chemistry between us that night changed everything.” When she continued to stare, he cleared his throat. “We lied when we told you my cycle had come early. But then, the lie became the truth. It’s a rare but acknowledged phenomenon. If a Zentarr is within months of his natural cycle, and he encounters a potent attractant, she can trigger the fever ahead of schedule.”

Cabbie felt her anger spike. “Do you think I’m a complete idiot?”

Torr surprised her by challenging her statement coolly. “Are you familiar with the Zentarin code?”

She shook her head.

“Vee’s plan—my plan—was to pretend I had entered my lust cycle. I would date you, but without consummation. Rumors would spread, thanks to Vee, and the rebels would believe I was bonded to you. Your father would respond accordingly. But I never intended to actually mate with you. Zentarin code forbids it. Any Zentarr who feigns lust fever during mating is guilty of a serious crime punishable by twenty laser-lashes and one year on a penal colony.” Torr eyed her sternly. “I was committed to ending your civil war. I felt I owed that to my father, so his death wouldn’t be in vain. But my commitment didn’t extend to the risk of corporal punishment.”

Cabbie licked her lips. “But then…?”

“Then you came to my quarters and drove me into a fever frenzy. I don’t know how else to describe it, except to say I would kill for you. Gladly.” He glared in frustration. “Will you leave with me? Now?”

She almost believed him. He was so desperate. So sincere. And he was here, when he could have stayed behind, allowing Vee to lead the attack.

“I realize now that Vee doesn’t love you,” Torr told her with a sudden burst of emotion. “He’ll blast this base to dust even if he knows you’re here. And we can’t re-locate with your father. He’ll want me to train his pilots, and I won’t. It just postpones the inevitable battle—a battle where you could be killed. So…” His voice grew hoarse. “Leave with me. It’s our only hope.”

Before she could stop herself, Cabbie heard herself murmuring, “Okay. I’ll go with you.”

“Thank God.” He wrapped his powerful arms around her. “As soon as we’re safely away from here, we’ll start over. No more lies. I promise.”

She relaxed against him. “Do we have a plan? Dad won’t let you go without a fight. He wants a Zentarr more than he wants his own daughter.”

“I can get us out of here. All we need now is a defraction device. Do you know where your father stores them?”

Cabbie wriggled enough to smile up at him. “Why would you need ADT? You’re a Zentarr. You can easily out-fly Dad’s pilots. Vee’s too if it comes to that.”

Torr grinned. “True enough. But if we want to save your mother, we’ll need something to trade. Vee wants an ADT device, so that’s how we’ll rescue her.”

Cabbie exhaled softly, ashamed that she had completely forgotten her mother’s plight back on Cortierra. “I can’t believe you’re willing to rescue her.”

“I’d do anything for you,” he replied solemnly.

“Wow.” She looped her arms around his neck “Thanks.”

“My pleasure.” He started to nuzzle her neck, but the bandages stopped him. “They got your carotid, huh? When I saw all that blood near the canyon, I almost panicked. Then I saw the dead bats, and prayed the rebels had gotten there in time. How bad was it?”

“I’m fine now. But when they had their fangs in me…” She gave an involuntary shudder. “Let’s just say I was right to be afraid of them all these years.”

Even through his visor, his silver stare seemed to reflect her remembered pain. “I’m so sorry, Cabrielle. I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”

“If we save Mom, that’s a pretty good start. But…” She shook her head. “ADT is Dad’s only advantage. If we share it with Vee, the rebels won’t have a prayer.”

Torr surprised her by smiling. “We’ll share the device with Vee, but it will take months, maybe longer, before his technicians figure out how to install it without compromising their other systems. By then, the rebel advantage will have forced Cortierra to negotiate a truce. I’m almost sure of it.”

Cabbie nodded. This kind of talk sounded familiar. Even in its infancy, the drain ADT would place on a ship’s systems had been one of the challenges her father had predicted would delay the project, perhaps beyond his own lifetime.

Torr touched her cheek. “Talk to your father. Convince him to tell you where they keep it. We’re running out of time—”

“I’ll be quick.” She backed away toward the door. “Once we grab the device, we’ll need to race to the glider, because I have a feeling Dad will do anything to stop us. And by anything, I mean he’ll arrest us if possible, but shoot us if he has to.”

Torr didn’t respond, and Cabbie knew why. He agreed with her assessment of her father’s loyalties. If it came to a choice between his daughter and the rebellion—

A knock at the door interrupted the gloomy thought, and Cabbie moved swiftly to answer it. “Hey, Dad.”

“I couldn’t stay away.” Jensen Lent pulled her into a protective hug. Over her head, he grudgingly acknowledged Torr. “Commander.”

Torr offered his hand to him. “How are the preparations going, sir? According to my estimates, Veesayloren will be here in less than three hours.”

Jensen scowled. “Don’t worry, we’re experts at moving swiftly. Plus, we have ADT.”

Cabbie smiled. “I’m so proud of you, Dad. As if discovering pandium for Cortierra wasn’t enough.” She tucked her arm through his. “Maybe you could show us how it works.”

“You’ll see it soon enough. Once your husband docks his glider on the carrier, we’ll turn on the device. There are four of them, which is plenty for now, since we’ll be moving most of the small craft in the carrier.”

“That’s impressive, sir,” Torr told him. “And if your discovery can hasten the end of the conflict, you can be doubly proud of it.”

Jensen nodded. “We’ve all grown weary of the war. I know you’ve been allies with Vee, Commander. And I’m sure you’ve had your reasons. But he and his friends are warmongers. My troops are different. They ache to return to Cortierra.”

Cabbie smiled. “Vee’s soldiers feel the same way, Dad. Most of them have brothers or sisters in the rebellion. They’re terrified they might face them in combat some day.”

Jensen’s expression hardened. “I’ve been tempted to seek a truce more than once, but the idea of allowing Vee to get his hands on my work—” He stopped himself and smiled apologetically. “Let’s talk about something else.”

Cabbie touched his cheek. “Do you want to go for a walk? Just you and me?”

“I like the sound of that.” He turned to Torr. “You don’t mind, do you, Commander?”

“Just don’t stay away too long. And if there’s something I can do to help, sir, just let me know.”

“All I need from you is to move your glider onto the carrier,” Jensen said in a grouchy tone. “We’ll let you know when your berth is ready. After that, just relax. Once we get the new base set up, we’ll talk about having you train my pilots. And don’t give me excuses about staying out of the conflict. You trained Vee’s troops, so it’s only fair to train mine too. That’s neutrality.”

“Come on, Dad.” Cabbie pulled him into the hallway. Once the door was closed, she chided him. “Don’t be so bossy. Zentarrs don’t like that.”

“And I don’t like offworlders pawing my daughter,” he retorted.

Cabbie smiled slyly. “Mom calls him ‘the creature’.”

Jensen burst into laughter. “She always had a way with words. How is she?”

Ignoring the question, Cabbie tucked her arm through his again. “I know you’re busy. And I know I’ll see it on the carrier. But can’t I take a little peek at the ADT now?”

He grinned proudly. “Come on. They’re in the hangar.”

Cabbie’s pulse quickened as she strolled beside him, chatting. The idea of stealing a device and running off with her handsome Zentarr was inspiring, even in the face of all the lies he’d told her.

Like he said, his lies became the truth because he really did get lust fever, she reminded herself. And you really are bonded to him. So all is well, right?

She winced, annoyed with herself for having accepted his explanation so easily and with no actual proof.

Except it’s illegal to fake lust-bonding, she remembered. Aloud she asked her father, “Do you have a copy of the Zentarin legal code?”

He nodded. “I’ve been researching it lately, trying to figure out how much your husband can help us without running afoul of their laws. It’s loaded on my mobile if you want to borrow it.”

When he withdrew the tiny device from his pocket, she grabbed it and began scanning the contents immediately.

“What’s the hurry?” Jensen asked.

“He’s always spouting rules at me,” Cabbie lied. “We can’t do this. We must do that—”

“You don’t have to do a damned thing with him if you don’t want to. And you can tell him I said so.”

She smiled and kept skimming the code until she’d found the lust-bonding rules. To her relief, Torr hadn’t lied this time. Any misrepresentation about lust fever during mating was a serious offense, punishable by laser-lashing and imprisonment.

Which means he really did bond with you after all.

A thrill ran through her—the same one that had tickled her in his quarters that first night. He was so brave, so strong, so unbelievably hot—and so smitten with her, he had traveled thousands of light sectors to be reunited with her.

Her father interrupted her fantasy. “See there? Direct involvement in another culture’s civil war without permission is punishable by death. It’s tricky for him.”

“Wow.” Cabbie’s throat had gone dry. “I wonder how they define ‘direct involvement’.”

“I’ve done the research if you want to see it.”

She stared at the code provisions, shocked to see that Zentarus made ample use of corporal and capital punishment, mostly for military crimes, but also for murder, rape and forced abduction. “Good thing you’re not a Zentarr, Dad. Kidnapping me would have gotten you in big trouble there.”

He arched a reproving eyebrow. “Aren’t you forgetting that my men saved you from the blood bats?”

“Oh, right,” she muttered. “I guess we’re even.”

Her father was still chuckling when they reached the hangar, where four huge gleaming cylinders were lined up against the wall. “There they are. My other pride and joy. Impressive, don’t you think?”

Cabbie gasped in dismay. “These are the defraction devices? They’re huge!”

Jensen laughed. “You’re remembering the prototype I built on Cortierra. And actually, the core ADT is about that same size. Unfortunately, when we tried to install it directly into ship’s systems, it drew too much power and taxed the computers too greatly. So we had to build an energy supply and computer system that were dedicated to the unit.”

So much for hiding it under Torr’s jacket, she complained silently. We’ll have to think of another way to rescue Mom.

“I wish we could just kill Vee and be done with it,” she said, half to herself.

“It’s the only real solution,” her father agreed, his tone just as pensive. “Maybe with your Zentarr’s help, we can use defraction to sneak up on that criminal and end this war once and for all.”

Torr was waiting right inside the door when she returned. “Finally! I was getting worried.”

She grimaced. “Bad news. The devices are too big to steal. We’ll have to think of another way to save Mom.”

“Pardon?”

“Each one is as tall as you and probably twice as heavy. We can’t possibly sneak one onto the glider.”

“Maybe if I fly in close—”

“It’s not possible, Torr.” She slipped her hands behind his neck. “Once we’re safely away from here, we’ll come up with another plan. Okay?”

He took off his visor and pressed his palm against his eyes. “You don’t understand, Cabbie. I can’t face Vee without a defraction device.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked carefully.

His voice was ragged with distress. “Your father’s pilots, sure. I can probably handle them. But Vee’s a different story. He’ll have Brill’s squad with him. My squad. They’re unbelievably good—”

“But you’re a Zentarr! You can out-fly any Cortierran.”

“Except I’m not a Zentarr.”

Cabbie stared at him, dumfounded.

“I’m not a Zentarr,” he repeated stubbornly. “That’s what I came to your mother’s house yesterday to tell you. It’s been an act. Vee concocted it, and I went along because I thought it was the best way to end the war. It made sense at the time—” He exhaled sharply. “It’s a long story, Cabbie, and we’re out of time. Vee’s on his way here, and if we don’t get our hands on a defraction device, he’s going to blast us all into space dust.”

She backed away from him, mostly because her legs were beginning to wobble, and she needed to get to the edge of the bed. To sit. To wrap herself up in a blanket. To try and comprehend what he was saying.

Torr waited until she had seated herself, then he walked over and stood before her. “I know you’re angry. I shouldn’t have lied to you—”

“Lied to me about what?” Her throat tightened. “About being a Zentarr? About not being a Zentarr? About having lust fever? Not having it? What?”

He knelt and took her hands in his own. “I was going to tell you everything yesterday. At your mother’s house. And I know I should have said something even sooner. But it took me a while to realize Vee had lied to me. About his love for you and your mother. About wanting to find a peaceful solution to the war. I didn’t want to believe it was some rabid vendetta.”

“You came all the way here just to lie to me again?” She exhaled to steady her voice. “You stood right there and said your lust fever came early—”

“I had to lie about it until we were safely away on the glider. I couldn’t take the chance you’d tell your father we weren’t bonded. He would have executed me on the spot! And if he knew I wasn’t even a Zentarr—”

“He would have killed you for that too,” Cabbie agreed unhappily.

“And then Vee would kill you. That maniac won’t rest until you and your father are both dead. And after that, your mother. Don’t you see, Cabbie? I couldn’t tell you yet. But I swear—”

“What’s your real name?”

Torr drew back, clearly surprised by the question. “It’s Rand. Rand Durak. I’m a systems engineer. And a pilot, obviously. It’s a long story—”

“I don’t want to hear it.” She covered her face with her hands. “I can’t comprehend it. Any of it.”

“We have to go, Cabbie,” he whispered. “You know that, right? Vee will be here soon. I want to save you—to save your mother too—but I can’t do it without your help.”

She wanted to be angry, but felt only numb. The wild sensations of the past few days—lust, fear, anger, pain—had receded into nothingness, and she knew it was for the best.

Uncovering her face, she asked him plaintively, “How can you not be a Zentarr? Look at your eyes. And I felt the fever—your body gets so hot…”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “That’s a different kind of fever, I guess. As for my eyes—” His expression hardened. “I had surgery. The doctors promise me it was reversible, but now I’m guessing that’s just another one of Vee’s lies.”

“Stop calling him a liar. You’re a bigger liar than he could ever be.” She choked on an unexpected sob. “I hate you.”

“Yeah, I figured. But you still know I’m right. If Vee gets here and finds that the rebels have escaped—because you warned them—he’ll be furious. He’ll take it out on your mom.”

“Dad will send someone to Cortierra to grab her. The same way he grabbed me.”

“Vee let him grab you. He won’t leave Jesslyn unguarded. I just hope he hasn’t thrown her into prison already.” Torr rubbed his silver eyes again. “If you won’t go with me, I’ll save your mother by myself. Gladly—it’s the least I can do. But that puts us back where we started. I need to be undetectable when I’m flying past Vee’s ships.”

“Right,” she murmured.

“Maybe between the two of us we could carry one of the units.”

“The unit, yes. But the energy source—” She stopped herself, picturing the original ADT device. “Dad said he tried linking the core unit to the ship’s power supply and computer, but it drained the systems too quickly. So he had to build a separate source for it.”

“He was using it offensively,” Torr mused. “To sneak up on enemies and attack them. So he needed more power than we do. Maybe we can get by with less.”

She gave a crisp nod. “We don’t have a choice, so I’ll get my hands on the core—which is fairly compact—and leave the bulky part of the device behind. You get over to the glider. They won’t be suspicious, because they know a Zentarr would never leave without his mate. I’ll sneak over to you. After that…” She eyed him grimly. “Can you get us out of there?”

“Yeah, I can do it. Especially if they don’t open fire on us. I’m guessing they won’t,” he added with a gentle smile. “Your father’s more devoted to you than I expected. He’d kill me in a heartbeat, but he’d never risk your life. I’m sure of that.”

Cabbie recoiled from the observation. She didn’t want to think about it. Didn’t want to trust her father—or any man—ever again. “Just do your part. And if I wave you away, just go. If I can’t get the device—or if it’s clear Dad’s too suspicious—just take off and disappear to some other world. Dad and Vee will both be gunning for you by then, and you won’t be any use to Mom so—well, just disappear, okay?”

“It’s going to work, Cabbie. It has to. I’m not leaving without you.”

“Let me guess,” she drawled. “Because you’d kill for me?”

He stared at her for a moment. Then he instructed briskly, “Better get going. And good luck, Lieutenant. You’re definitely going to need it.”

Chapter Nine

As she made her way to the hangar, Cabbie felt a moment of regret for the way she had taunted Torr. Despite his faults, he actually was willing to kill for her. In fact, he was willing to die for her. Hadn’t he risked his life already, coming here to save her? He apparently had some warped but passionate sense of right and wrong that was going to get them both killed if they weren’t careful.

Not that she would ever forgive him for all of this. She could never trust him again, not after this series of elaborate, escalating lies. Faking a lust-bond had been bad enough, and that was the least of it. He wasn’t even a Zentarr!

In a way, her father had used the same technique against her—distract her with a big lie so she wouldn’t see the huge one.

And then there was Vee. Nine long years of winning a vulnerable, grieving child’s trust—making her believe he thought of her as a cherished daughter. He wasn’t simply a liar like Torr or Jensen. He was evil.

And he has Mom…

Entering through the rear hangar doors, she spied a stack of empty utility crates. She had planned on hiding the ADT by wrapping it in one of the dark red rebel uniforms she had found in the closet of her new quarters, but a container made more sense, so she approached a young rebel soldier and asked, “Do you think I could use one of those boxes for my things? I don’t have any luggage with me, so…”

He flashed a warm smile. “You’re Jensen’s daughter, right? You can have anything you want, ma’am. Let me pick a strong one for you.”

She smiled as he selected a sturdy specimen and handed it to her. “Thanks.”

“You’d better get aboard. We’re ahead of schedule, you know. They’ve even got the defraction units installed.”

She grimaced. “On which vessels?”

He gestured toward the base ship. “This one, plus the carrier and two supply ships. Most of the enforcers are berthed on the carrier anyway, so they get protection automatically.”

“Where’s my father?”

“On the base ship. He said we’ll be ready to abandon this place completely as soon as the Zentarin glider is aboard.”

Cabbie turned and surveyed the carrier. Its landing bay doors were open, allowing the fighter pilots to fly straight from the air field to the landing deck. As she watched, several maneuvers were executed. Each time one was successful, a cheer went up from the carrier crew. Each time a pilot had to turn around and try again, a very different, even more boisterous cheer arose.

The perfect distraction, she decided. Dad’s on the base ship, and everyone here is mesmerized by the show. Steal the carrier’s ADT unit, then find Torr and get off this rock for good.

After saying a quick goodbye to the young rebel, she climbed a long ramp leading to the carrier’s passenger deck. Once there, she followed a maze of passageways to a flight of narrow metal steps that descended into the reactor room. No one was there, which made sense since there was so much work to be done elsewhere and nothing to be done here until it was time to power up the flight systems.

And the defraction unit.

It was right there—front and center, and just as huge she remembered. Worse, the core device was somewhat larger than she had hoped.

Would it fit into the crate?

Grabbing it with both hands, she tried to yank it free, and saw that five separate cables held it in place. One led to the energy source itself; one to a computing module; and the other three were attached to outlets in the casing, which made no sense to Cabbie, since the fit was so snug, there was no need to tether it in place.

Didn’t Torr say he was an engineer? Let’s hope that wasn’t one of his many, many lies, she decided as she decoupled the cables. Then she wedged the core into her crate, covered it carefully with the spare uniform and headed back up the steps.

“Cabbie?”

“Dad!” She spun toward her father and flashed a cheerful smile, hoping he wouldn’t notice that she was stealing from him. “I thought you were on the base ship.”

“I wanted to see my son-in-law fly his glider aboard. It’s always an amazing sight, Cabbie. Those Zentarrs and their ability to maneuver their craft.” He eyed the crate in her hands playfully. “You brought the rest of the uniforms with you? That’s a good sign.”

“I’m definitely weakening,” she agreed, trying to match his light tone despite the knot in her stomach. “Let me go and find Torr so I can tell him you’re waiting.”

“He knows. I sent him a message.” Jensen smiled. “Let’s find a better vantage point, shall we? We don’t want to miss his arrival.”

The only glimpse you’ll get from here is the back of the glider as Torr flies away, she warned him silently. And if I can’t find a way to get off this carrier, I’ll be waving goodbye to him with you.

Would he escape to some neutral world as she had advised him? No, not Torr. He’d go back to Cortierra to save Jesslyn—

Unless he’s lying about that too, she cautioned herself. Maybe it’s all part of the act. The question is, why do you keep falling for it?

“Let me carry that crate for you, Cabbie.”

“No thanks.” She looked her father directly in the eyes. “If you really want to help, could you find me something to drink? I’m dying of thirst. From the pain medicine, I guess.”

As she had hoped, he responded promptly to the reminder that he had drugged her. “Of course. Go find a spot where we can watch your hero in action. I’ll meet you there in a minute.” He started toward a supply station, then turned and waved fondly in her direction.

Cabbie waved back, hoping he would start moving, but he seemed content just to watch her. Which either meant Torr was right, and Jensen loved his daughter more than they’d guessed, or—

Or he didn’t quite trust her. Not yet at least. Not until her Zentarr husband had actively aided his cause.

“Here he comes!” shouted someone from the landing deck.

All eyes—including Cabbie’s—turned toward the wide-open doors. In the distance, the silver Zentarin glider banked gracefully into view as if propelled by nothing more than a summer’s breeze.

Oh my God, she told herself in silent delight. He’s coming in. Because he won’t leave without you. That crazy fool really would kill for you!

Or in this case, die for her.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that her father was staring at the glider, a proud smile on his face.

This is going to break his heart…

If only she had time to explain. Or at least to rush back to his side, kiss him on the cheek, and assure him that she loved him despite it all. But she needed to sprint toward the glider, clutching the precious ADT to her chest.

And so she did, just as Torr sailed into the landing bay, gliding to a pinpoint landing that threw the entire crew into an eruption of wild applause.

Apparently they didn’t notice that the glider’s hatch was open. Not until Cabbie dove through it, and the craft spun around and, with a burst of unimaginable speed, rocketed out of the bay.

“Is he firing at us?” Cabbie demanded as soon as she’d caught her breath.

“Not yet. They’re trying to corral us, but frankly—” Torr paused to execute a hairpin turn, “—they’re not that good.”

“Oh my God.” Cabbie eyed him with frustrated admiration. “If you end up being a Zentarr after all, I’ll rip your heart out.”

Torr chuckled. “Check that flashing light. They’re hailing us.”

She shook her head. “Just get us out of here.”

“Cabbie…”

“Fine! Which button?”

Torr reached over and flipped a green switch.

Immediately her father’s voice roared. “Cabrielle Lent! Tell your husband to turn that glider around. Now! Don’t make me fire on you.”

“Commander Denn-Torr thinks you love me too much to do that,” Cabbie told him, adding softly, “I’m starting to think so too, Dad. Is it true?”

She thought she heard him clear a sob from his throat. “Where are you going? Just tell me you’re headed to Zentarus, not Cortierra, and I’ll let you go.”

Torr broke into the conversation. “Sir? This is Denn-Torr. We need to rescue my mother-in-law before Veesayloren does her harm. Then we’re off for parts unknown. Not Zentarus, not Cortierra. Can you run interference for us?”

“Pardon?”

“Send some enforcers to distract Vee so we can slip past him.”

Jensen chuckled ruefully. “You don’t need my help, son. You’re phenomenal, even by Zentarin standards. Just take care of my daughter. And my ex-wife. I hope to see you again soon. And Cabbie?”

She licked her lips. “I’m here, Dad.”

“I’m proud of you. Disappointed that I couldn’t win you over, but proud all the same. Take care of yourself. I love you more than—well, more than I love myself. You know that, don’t you?’

Cabbie covered her face with her hands and motioned for Torr to take over.

“She knows, sir. We’ve got to go. Denn-Torr out.”

“He’s so obnoxious,” Cabbie said, choking back a sob.

“Yeah. Hold on, will you? We’ve got some challengers. I guess they didn’t get their new orders yet.” Deftly maneuvering between two menacing but ineffective rebel fighters, he left them in his space dust.

Then he turned back to Cabbie. “Are you okay?”

She sighed through her tears. “That depends on whether you’re really a mechanic. Or did you lie about that too?”

“Huh?”

She nudged the crate with her toe. “Better get busy, Commander. You’ve got work to do.”

The Zentarin glider was luxuriously appointed and, as Cabbie relaxed on a padded lounge chair that Torr had set up for her near the reactor panel, she wondered what life would have been like had he actually been a Zentarr. Or more specifically, a Zentarr with lust fever that could only be satiated by a Cortierran sharpshooter with stardust in her hair.

One thing was certain—she would have felt pampered, if only because Zentarus was so far advanced compared to her planet. Torr had spent the last few months learning his way around the glider and had discovered how to use most of its features, including a food prep center that could imbue a bowl of routine fare with any taste or texture its user chose. She had already eaten a three-course lunch, and now, as she watched Torr try to install the ADT, she sipped from a glass of exotic green nectar that had been programmed to taste and feel exactly like effervescent wine—minus the alcohol, of course.

As he worked, Torr freely shared with her the details of his life leading up to their current predicament.

During childhood, he had lived on the big moon. His father Kahnor had been an actor who was married to the daughter of a merchant. Parents and grandparents alike had wanted young Rand to dedicate his life to music, to drama—to the beauty that characterized the best of Cortierran culture.

Then pandium was discovered on the planet, and pirates began their raids. Rand’s father had enlisted, had fought valiantly, and had been killed. Zentarus had come to the rescue too late to save Kahnor Durak, but still, young Rand had been impressed by the fiercely talented offworlders. Thus began his dream of being a pilot who could rival them.

Meanwhile, his reality had been somewhat different. He and his mother had relocated to his grandfather’s interplanetary merchant ship, where Rand trained as a mechanic by day, while studying the arts by night. When his grandfather died, and Rand became captain at the age of eighteen, he dutifully expanded the merchant fleet and provided for his mother while also pursuing his great passion—flying. He had access to several light craft, and over time, acquired others at auction, one of which was a salvaged Zentarin glider, which he painstakingly restored.

On his twenty-ninth birthday, he sat by his mother’s bedside and watched her fade away, a victim of a deadly space influenza. Two weeks later, he gave her a solemn space burial, then picked up his mobile screen and wrote a letter to General Veesayloren.

“Basically, I bragged,” he admitted to Cabbie as she sipped her drink. “I told him I could fly a glider as well as any Zentarr. I even claimed to be the best in the galaxy, and I volunteered to fight the rebels for him. I didn’t really expect much in return except an application to enroll in basic training. Then one day, he showed up on my merchant ship, thousands of light sectors from Cortierra.”

“He can be impressive. Not to mention persuasive.”

“Yeah.” Torr flushed. “He had seen pictures of me, and knew I could pass for a Zentarr. That was his plan from the start, and it was brilliant. I even spoke a little Zentarin, thanks to my dealings with their merchant ships.”

“So all that cursing you do is real Zentarin?”

Torr laughed. “They’re a foul-mouthed bunch, believe me. Especially for a supposedly advanced society.”

Clearing his throat, he then went on with his story. “I swear to you, Cabbie. It had never occurred to me to impersonate one of them. To fly like one, sure. To be one? It sounded crazy. But Vee explained it so convincingly. That Cortierra didn’t just need good pilots. They needed hope. Long years of civil war had taken their toll on morale. If I showed up out of nowhere in a Zentarin glider and offered to train the pilots—”

“We were dazzled,” Cabbie reminisced softly. “And Vee was right, it did give us hope.”

Torr walked over and sat beside her. “I wanted to fly for Cortierra, not play some elaborate, made-up game. Then Vee told me Jensen Lent was still alive, was just about ready to perfect ADT, and was leading the rebels. I was shocked, obviously. Then Vee said something really crazy—that Jensen was the greediest man in the universe. That if Jensen knew there was a Zentarin pilot on Cortierra, he’d try to lure him away, to fight for his side. So my masquerade wouldn’t just be a way to give hope to Cortierra. I could also be the bait that would bring Jensen into the open. We’d be lying in wait for him, and we’d grab him. Then the rebellion would crumble, and the war would be over.”

Cabbie sat up and stared at him. “You were the bait?”

“Originally.” Torr took off his visor and rubbed his eyes. “I pretended to train the Cortierran pilots while we waited. But obviously, your father never came for me.”

“Don’t feel too bad. He didn’t come for me either. For nine whole years.”

“Yeah.” Torr inched closer. “Last week, Vee told me your father had successfully deployed defraction. It was only a matter of days before the rebels would have the upper hand. Then he told me about you. Not that I didn’t know about you,” he added hastily. “Daughter of Cortierra’s most famous scientist. Phenomenal shot. Beautiful—and yeah, that mattered. I have to admit it. And the idea that you didn’t know your father was still alive made you seem so…well, so vulnerable.”

Confused, Cabbie stood and moved a safe distance away. “Shouldn’t you get back to work?”

“Yeah.” Torr gave a brisk nod. “If my calculations are accurate, Vee’s less than half an hour away. You need to start monitoring the signal screen for any suspicious blips.”

“Okay.” She moved toward the piloting compartment, then turned back in time to see him put his visor back on. “You don’t need to wear that any more, you know.”

“Actually, I do.” He grimaced ruefully. “My vision’s pretty limited without them. Anything too close up or too far away, I need the lenses or I’m blind as a blood bat.”

“Oh my God, Torr.” She hurried over to him and stared into his visor. “I can’t believe Vee dared to mutilate you this way.”

“The surgeons said it’s completely reversible,” Torr reminded her. Then with a scowl he turned back to the ADT device. “Are you sure these three cables were plugged into the housing? That doesn’t make any sense. One for the stellar cell, one for the computer—and three to hold it in place? That’s crazy. And we’re running out of time.”

She stared helplessly at the back of his head, remembering how many times, especially over the last few hours, he had rubbed his eyes. And she had begun to notice the redness and swelling slightly visible behind the silver irises. What if Vee had forced the doctors to lie? What did “reversible” mean in this case anyway? Those silver disks were part of his eyes, not floating atop them.

“What color are your regular eyes?” she blurted out.

Torr turned and gave her a wistful smile. “They were grayish-blue. Not stupendous like yours, so no big loss. Anyway—” he arched a commanding eyebrow—“you’re supposed to be watching for Vee. And I’m supposed to be solving this mess you brought me.”

“I set the monitor to alert us if anything shows up.” Cabbie stepped close enough to touch his cheek. “I want to talk to you, Torr. I mean, Rand.”

He cupped her chin in his hand. “There’s a lot to say, but if I don’t get that damned defraction working, it won’t matter.”

“It matters to me.” She bit her lip. “You said you weren’t going to sleep with me. Just date me. But then…”

His mouth moved closer to hers. “It was unbelievable, Cabbie. I thought I knew all about you from the StarPages. Then you were standing there, so trusting, and sweet, and driving me crazy. And offering to take off your clothes and sleep with me for the good of our planet. I moved across the room and tried to clear my head—”

“And I followed you,” she recalled fondly.

“By then, I couldn’t remember my name, much less my mission. I just wanted to kiss you, but I figured if I did that, we’d both lose it.”

“So you felt me up instead?” She licked her lips. “How did you manage to simulate the fever? And the extra-hot sex.”

“What can I say? You’re amazing.”

She felt her cheeks turn red. “You’re such a liar.”

“Extra hot sex, huh?” His smile turned hopeful. “What exactly does—” He broke off as a shrill alarm began to sound. “Damn!”

He sprinted toward the pilot chamber with Cabbie on his heels.

“Maybe it’s a merchant ship,” she suggested breathlessly. “Or space debris.”

“With our luck?” Torr scanned the screen. “Too many blips to be debris. It’s him—with his whole damned fleet. And if he’s showing up on our monitor, you can be damned sure we’re showing up on his.”

“Okay, Cabbie. Remember how we practiced it?”

She nodded, trying to appear optimistic about the plan they had concocted in case Torr couldn’t get ADT installed in time.

Dubbed Plan B, it was based on the assumption that Vee wouldn’t dare reveal to his troops that the dazzling Commander Denn-Torr was really Rand Durak, a humble Cortierran merchant. He had probably told them one of two lies: that the Zentarr had switched sides out of loyalty to his lust-bride’s father; or that the offworlder had been working for the rebels from the start, which would explain why Torr hadn’t actually given the Cortierran pilots any tangible instruction during his two months on the base.

Under Plan B, Torr would hail the Cortierran fleet. He would explain that he had rushed after his abducted bride, but the rebels had broken camp and moved to parts unknown. They had also disabled the tracking chip in his mate’s thumb, and, while Torr—like any good Zentarr—could easily track her by scent if he had enough time, he now believed she had willingly gone with her father’s soldiers, and thus had abandoned her husband and repudiated their lust-bond.

“Stay close to me so they only detect one life form,” Torr reminded her, pulling her into his arms. He stared down at her and, for a moment, they just smiled at each other. It didn’t matter if she forgave him or not because they were probably going to die in a minute or two. Meanwhile…

“Your body always feels so good…”

He brushed his lips across hers. “I know it sounds crazy, but I think we’ve discovered the elusive Cortierran lust-bond.”

“I think so too.”

“Attention, Zentarin glider!” a voice boomed over the intercom. “Slow your approach and allow our pilots to escort you to our carrier. Land in the designated area and exit your vehicle with your hands in the air. Any false move will be perceived as aggression and we will retaliate with lethal force.”

Recognizing Vee’s voice, Cabbie tightened her grip on Torr. “Oh, no.”

Torr reached over to the console and flipped a switch. Then he responded calmly. “This is Commander Denn-Torr. It’s good to hear your voice, General. I regret to inform you that my mission was unsuccessful.”

“What?”

“My bride was carried off by her father, just as you deduced. And I rushed to her rescue. But I have since acquired evidence that she went willingly. She has been in contact with Jensen Lent for years and only agreed to marry me to trick me into helping the rebels. I am well rid of her, sir, as are you. My only desire now is to return to Zentarus where there are physicians who can purge my system of her poisonous presence so that I can find a more deserving bride.”

Vee was silent for a long moment. When he finally spoke, Cabbie could easily imagine the sneer on his face. “That’s an interesting story, Commander. Except for one small detail. We detected two life forms on your glider, which makes me think you have your bride on board and you’re now working for the rebels.”

Torr’s jaw tensed visibly. “There’s no one here but me, sir. Your instruments must have malfunctioned. Check them again.”

Vee chuckled. “If you’re alone, you can easily prove it. Just let us search your vessel.”

It was Torr’s turn to use silence as an ominous weapon, so he waited before informing Vee, “A Zentarr does not allow a Cortierran—or any offworlder—to board his vessel except in friendship. Since you have clearly decided we are no longer allies, I cannot accede to your wishes. Perhaps someday, when your paranoia has subsided, we can be friends again. For now, I need to return home and seek medical treatment for my feverish condition.”

“Commander Denn-Torr,” a new voice entreated. “This is Captain Brill.”

Torr closed the two-way loop and explained to Cabbie, “Brill’s my best student. Which means those other five guys are mine too. The best of Cortierra’s best.”

“Not including you,” she reminded him.

“Thanks.” He re-opened the channel. “Greetings, Brill.”

Brill’s tone was crisp but friendly. “All due respect, Commander, but my orders are to escort you to the deck. If you try to evade our lawful search for the renegade Cabrielle Lent, we’re required to stop you. Just come in, sir, and you can work it out with General Vee.”

It was Cabbie’s turn to close the channel. “Should we try telling Brill the truth?”

“My guess is, Vee has other weapons trained on us. If we start confessing, he’ll blow us out of the sky. And trust me, these guys would never question that decision. They’re loyal to the bone.”

“What if we just offer to give Vee ADT now? In exchange for Mom?”

“Not out here. We’re too vulnerable.” Torr stroked her cheek in apology. “He’d confiscate it and take us into custody. We don’t have enough leverage in open space.”

“So it’s hopeless?” She sighed in defeat. “I guess we should jettison the ADT before we surrender.”

“Not necessarily.” Torr was staring at the image of six fighters on the glider’s huge viewing screen. “Vee can’t afford to waste much more time here. Not if he wants to get to the rebel base before the trail is cold. He wants your father more than he wants us. So—” He turned his stare to her. “How good a shot are you?”

“Pretty damned good.”

“Okay, then. Get in position and hold on tight.”

As Torr gripped the glider’s controls, Cabbie scrambled into a clear-walled turret that gave her an excellent view of their opponents. On Torr’s signal, she fired a series of warning shots across the enforcers’ noses just as Torr punched the accelerator and careened into deeper space.

Apparently, Brill and his comrades hadn’t believed it would come to this—not after the bond they’d formed with their instructor—but they were quick to adjust, streaming after the glider and firing wildly as they executed a perfect containment pattern.

From the curses coming from Torr’s lips, Cabbie guessed this was one of the strategies he himself had designed for them.

Switching her weapons to impact mode, Cabbie sent a shock wave through the lead pilot’s ship that temporarily blew him out of the battle zone. A second shock wave, and another enforcer spiraled away. Now it was down to four adversaries, and this turned out to be Torr’s tipping point as he masterfully—and literally—flew circles around them until, with one final burst of tightly harnessed power, he left them behind.

This time, they didn’t pursue, and Cabbie knew Torr was right. Vee had called them back, intent on bigger game. Elated, she jumped from the turret and raced back to Torr, who stood to meet her, a self-satisfied grin on his handsome face.

“Nice shooting, Lieutenant.”

“You were amazing!” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “If you’re really a Zentarr, this is the time to tell me. I’d forgive you anything at this moment, you were so good.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m just me.” He hesitated, then moistened his lips and bent his head down to kiss her.

He deserved this, and so did she, so she relaxed in his arms, allowing relief and arousal to build on the adrenaline rush from the fight. As his fingers worked the buttons on her uniform, she kissed him to encourage his ardor.

Then he stopped abruptly and pulled her against his chest. She could hear him swearing again and knew he was trying to regain control.

“Torr? I mean, Rand?”

“I like it when you call me Torr. Unfortunately, we’ve got to stay focused. We’ll be inside Cortierra’s dust rings in eighty minutes, and I have to have the ADT working by then.”

She knew he was right but couldn’t convince her body to let go. So she rustled her fingers through his thick black hair as she rested her cheek against his chest, listening to the strong, rapid beating of his heart and promising herself that despite all his lies, she’d give him this chance again, once her mother was safe, even if it was only a chance to say goodbye properly before they went their separate ways forever.

“What else can I say?” Cabbie told Torr as they sat in the turret and gazed at the beautiful red and gold dust rings that surrounded their homeland. “I didn’t inherit Dad’s scientific instincts, and apparently I’m not very observant, because I couldn’t reattach that stupid drive if I had the rest of my life to try.”

He had taken her through every system—every outlet, every coupling—on the entire glider, hoping it would jog her memory about the proper uses for the final three cables. His frustration had manifested itself a time or two, but now he seemed at peace with their semi-hopeless situation.

His arm was wrapped around her shoulders, but there was no trace of the sexual excitement that usually consumed them when they dared get this close, even though the big moon was in full, majestic view. They savored this moment, knowing he had brought the glider in at an angle calculated to evade detection for as long as possible.

Great flying, but they still didn’t have the sort of blanket protection that ADT would have offered them.

“On to Plan C,” he said with a philosophical smile.

“Also known as the blood-bat plan,” Cabbie said with a melodramatic shudder.

“They’ll cower in their caves as soon as the glider hits the fog,” he promised her. “Just drop me off and let the auto-programming take you into the canyon. I hid your air cycle in the bushes near the picnic area, so I should be able to get to the house quickly. I’ll grab Jesslyn and be back in no time. I promise.”

“Please don’t leave me with the rodents. I’m the crack shot, you’re the pilot. I’m the one who should go for Mom, and you know it.”

She could see acquiescence in his expression even though his silver eyes were as unreadable as ever.

Those eyes were also bloodshot, and she knew they were bothering him again.

He turned his gaze toward the dust of the moon rings, then nodded. “Okay, get ready. Once I enter the atmosphere, we’ll be detectable at any angle, so we’ll only have a couple of minutes to execute the plan.”

When she nodded in agreement, he exited the turret and made his way to the controls. By now, she was familiar with the glider’s acceleration, and she braced herself for the compression wave.

She also welcomed it. She needed this jolt to get back into battle mode, and she had a feeling Rand Durak needed it too.

Chapter Ten

As the glider hovered above the ground, Cabbie dove through the hatch and scrambled for the air cycle without wasting any time on a backward glance, knowing Torr would now sink the glider into the pandium fog to await her return.

Better him than you, she reminded herself as she sped toward the house, praying that her mother was being held there rather than in a prison cell.

Assuming she’s still alive.

Cabbie had tried not to think that way. Instead she was clinging to the fact that Vee’s feelings for Jesslyn were rooted in true romantic love. He may have secretly despised her for betraying him, but only because on an even deeper level, he still adored her.

Torr had stored several blasters aboard the glider, so she was fully armed. Meanwhile, her rebel uniform was an unfortunate reality. Any Cortierran guards would see red—literally and figuratively—the minute she came into view, so she parked the cycle a generous distance from the house and crept silently along the lush yellow-and-blue hedges that defined the boundaries of her mother’s manicured world.

Two soldiers—one male, one female—were lounging in the lumiary garden. As Cabbie set her blaster to stun mode, their comm devices sounded in unison, and she knew they were being alerted that a hostile craft had entered Cortierran airspace. Without further hesitation, she fired, dropping the guards where they sat.

Before she could execute her next move, two new figures joined her in the garden, and when she saw them, she groaned. It was the sergeant who had monitored them during their discussion of Vee’s vendetta, and he had her mother positioned in front of himself as a shield.

He also had a blaster aimed at Cabbie’s chest.

“Place your weapon on the ground,” the sergeant told her tersely “I promised your mother I wouldn’t hurt you unless you gave me no choice.”

“Do as he says, Cabrielle,” Jesslyn said.

Her voice had a pleading quality, but her gaze was so steady, Cabbie knew she wasn’t afraid. Keeping her expression as neutral as possible, she watched as her mother’s perfectly manicured hand tapped the lower side pocket of her dressing gown. There was something in it, and her daughter knew from experience exactly what it was—Jesslyn’s delicate, silver-handled pruning shears.

Apparently she was going to stab this nice man.

Biting back a proud smile, Cabbie said, “Just don’t hurt her, Sergeant. I’ll do whatever you ask. See?” She lowered her weapon to the ground, then kicked it slightly, so that it was halfway between her and her mother.

The sergeant grinned, clearly relieved, and lowered his own blaster to his side. In an instant, Jesslyn buried her shears in his forearm, and as he yelped in shocked pain, Cabbie dove for her blaster and stunned him right between the eyes.

It was going to hurt—a lot—when he woke up, but hopefully the hole in his arm would distract him from the headache.

Cabbie hugged her mother gleefully. “You’re full of surprises.”

“You didn’t think you got your perfect aim from Jensen, did you?” Jesslyn scoffed. “I take it the creature found you. Did he tell you the whole truth? That he’s just a Cortierran?”

“You’re still calling him a creature? What does the poor guy have to do?”

Jesslyn fixed her with a cynical glare. “Are we safe yet?”

Cabbie laughed. “Not quite.”

“Then let’s save the hero worship, shall we?” She looked around. “Where is he, anyway?”

“Surrounded by blood bats. So let’s get moving. It’s our turn to rescue him.”

Cabbie ditched the cycle a safe distance from the canyon’s edge but didn’t bother hiding it in the bushes again since she assumed they had no further need for it.

Alert to any blood bats, she pulled her blaster and murmured, “Stay close to me, Mom. Torr thinks the ship scared those little scuzzards into their caves, but I don’t trust them. Here,” she added, pulling her comm unit from her pocket. “Open a channel for Torr and tell him to surface.”

“What’s your hurry?” a deep voice rebuked her from the direction of the picnic grounds.

Shocked, she turned to see Vee, who had stepped out of the brush. Like Cabbie, he was armed with a blaster.

“Vee!” Jesslyn moved quickly in front of Cabbie. “Put that thing down. Are you insane?”

“Move aside, Jess, or you’ll be charged with aiding the rebels, too. Then even I won’t be able to help you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Cabbie’s neutral. And so am I. If you hurt her—”

“Take a good look,” he interrupted her with a smirk. “She’s wearing a traitor’s uniform. I can shoot her without question.”

Torr’s voice sounded through the comm unit in Jesslyn’s hand. “Let the women go, Vee. I’ve got an ADT device on board. I’ll trade it for their lives.”

Vee chuckled. “I’d rather just take it.” Pulling his own comm, he spoke into it with cheerful confidence. “Move in, Brill. Don’t let that glider exit the canyon.”

Cabbie looked up in time to see six fighters zoom into view, each positioning itself above the fog that obscured Torr’s glider.

“Step aside, Jesslyn,” Vee coaxed her. “I promise you, your daughter will get a fair trial before we hang her as the traitor she’s always been.”

Jesslyn turned away from her husband and toward her daughter. “Will you promise me something, darling?”

Cabbie kept her stare on Vee. “Sure, Mom. I’ll do anything for you—anything except surrender, that is.”

“Good.” Jesslyn’s vibrant green eyes flashed with determination. “Promise me you’ll take the shot as soon as I’m out of the way.”

“Huh?”

“I love you, darling!”

Before Cabbie could react, Jesslyn darted toward the canyon, clearly intending to throw herself into the abyss.

“Mom!” Cabbie dropped her blaster and raced after her, but Vee was there first. Reaching out, he managed to grab his wife by the wrist just as she reached the edge, but her momentum was too great, propelling her through the air. He fell to his knees and, while his grip held, he clearly didn’t have the strength to pull her back up. Instead, she just dangled perilously above the fog.

“Jessie!” Vee shouted. “Hold onto me.”

“Let me go, you bastard. I hate you!”

Cabbie’s heart pounded as she dropped on her knees beside her stepfather. “Hold on, Vee. Please.”

Jesslyn face was contorted with determination. “Shoot him,” she hissed, and then to their further shock, she pulled out her pruning shears again, this time stabbing Vee in the hand. Yelping, he lost his grip, and she plummeted toward her death.

“Mom!” Cabbie’s throat closed as her mother disappeared before her eyes.

But not into the mist. Jesslyn was gone before she ever reached it. It was as though she had vanished into thin air.

For a moment, Cabbie thought herself delirious.

Then she understood.

Torr got the damned ADT working! He caught her. She’s okay…

Giddy with relief, she remembered Vee too late. But he had figured it out too, and had sprung back to retrieve the blaster he had dropped in his haste to save Jesslyn. Cabbie did the same, and again, they were in a standoff.

Vee snarled. “You think I won’t shoot you?”

“You think I won’t shoot you?” Her trigger finger twitched with anticipation. “Try me.”

He pulled out his comm unit again. “Captain Brill? Do not let that glider get away. It’s concealed by ADT, so you need to perfect your coverage immediately.”

“Yes, sir. If he tries to pass, should we fire?”

“Negative, you fool! My wife’s on board! And you might damage the defraction unit. Just contain him, goddamn it.”

Torr’s voice exploded over the same channel. “Cortierran pilots, this is Commander Denn-Torr. New facts have come to light. Jensen Lent is alive. He is with the rebels, but he knows his only advantage is ADT, which as you can see, I now possess. It is my gift to the Cortierran military on one condition—that you offer a temporary cease fire to the rebels and begin peace negotiations. Your brothers and sisters are weary of the fight. They want to come home.”

“Traitor!” Vee screamed. “Pilots, do not listen to the Zentarr. He’d do anything to serve the father of Cabrielle Lent, his lust-bond bride.”

“The rebels want to come home,” Torr repeated calmly. “It’s not Veesayloren’s decision whether to open peace negotiations. It is your president’s decision. Or at least, I’m told Cortierra is still a democracy.”

Brill’s tone was wary. “General? Should we radio President Arcos?”

“Negative!” Vee’s face was purple with rage. “Open fire on the glider.”

“Vee, no!” Cabbie gasped. “You’ll kill Mom!”

“She betrayed me. You both betrayed me. Lower your weapon, Cabbie, or you’ll die too.”

“General Veesayloren?” Brill’s voice was now eerily calm. “They can’t get away from us, sir. They’re our prisoners. Let’s let the president sort this one out. Your wife doesn’t have to die—”

“I said fire on that glider! That’s an order, you insubordinate scuzzard. Fire! And as for you—” He glared at Cabbie. “This is your last chance. Set down that blaster or you’re a dead woman.”

Cabbie could see the determination in his eyes. If she didn’t surrender, he’d shoot her. Of course, she’d shoot him back, but that would only feel good for a moment, because when the vapor settled, she’d be as dead as he was.

She had to believe Torr had a weapon trained on Vee. If the crazed general made a move on an unarmed Cabbie, he’d take him out. Not that Rand Durak was the world’s best shot, but she didn’t really seem to have a choice.

So she slowly lowered her blaster to the ground, kicked it over to Vee, then stood with her hands high in the air. “Okay, Vee. Let’s call the president and figure out what to do next.”

“I know exactly what to do,” he said with a contemptuous grin. “My dream is to kill your father, and I swear I’ll do that some day soon. But for now, you’ll make a fine substitute—”

“Holster your weapon, General,” Captain Brill ordered him. “We don’t kill unarmed females.”

“What?” Apoplectic now, Vee re-directed his blaster toward Brill’s vessel and fired wildly into the sky. “Traitors! All of you!”

Springing forward, Cabbie tackled him, knocking him off his feet. Then she dove for her blaster, but Vee was too quick for her. He grabbed her by the legs and used his massive strength to flip her onto her back.

Pinning her beneath himself, he raised a fist as if to smash her in the jaw. Cabbie braced herself for the oncoming rush of pain, but in that very instant, a weapon fired, blasting Vee’s shoulder and arm with a white-hot pulse so powerful, his flesh and bone disintegrated, leaving only a clenched hand to fall to the ground as blood spurted from the gaping hole in his torso.

Vee’s expression—a blend of fury and shock—gave way to an empty stare as he slumped backward into a lifeless heap.

Cabbie gulped for a breath, confused but also awe-stricken at the perfection of the shot that had felled this maniacal enemy.

For a moment, she had thought it must have come from Brill or his men. But the angle was all wrong.

It had been Torr.

Giddy with relief, she tried to reorient herself.

The good news? Vee was dead. The bad news, the Supreme General of Cortierra had just been killed by what the pilots believed was an offworlder—and possibly, a traitorous one.

Struggling to her feet, Cabbie raised her hands high again. “We surrender! Don’t fire on the glider. We surrender! Torr, tell them!”

“We surrender, Captain Brill,” Torr agreed. “I’m ready to materialize and land this craft as long as you guarantee the safety of Lieutenant Lent and her mother.”

There was a long silence.

Too long, in fact, so Torr reiterated, “Captain Brill? Do I have your assurances?”

The pilot’s tone was grim. “We can guarantee their safety from us, Commander. But check out your six. I don’t think anyone can guarantee their safety from them.”

“Huh? Oh, fine,” Torr muttered.

Confused, Cabbie turned her gaze toward the heavens and gulped in disbelief at the sight of a Zentarin battleship looming above them.

“This is the commander of the battle cruiser Tol-Zenn,” came a new voice, strident and deep. “We order you to stand down. All of you. Or we’ll open fire. And in case that is not clear enough,” he added dryly, “I am specifically addressing the pilot who calls himself Denn-Torr. Materialize and land. You are under arrest for impersonating a Zentarin commander.”

Cabbie’s mind flashed to the pages from the code book her father had shared with her.

Impersonating a Zentarin officer.

It was a very serious offense.

In fact, it was a capital one.

The six fighter pilots landed a short distance from Cabbie, but Torr brought his glider to a graceful landing right beside her.

As soon as he was on his feet, she jumped into his arms. “Torr!”

“Am I forgiven yet?” he asked cheerfully.

She couldn’t help but smile. “It’s not over, you know.”

He glanced up at the battle cruiser. “I didn’t think the Zentarrs would ever hear about my little charade. Or if they did, they wouldn’t care.”

“He sounded pretty angry—uh-oh.” Cabbie winced as a dazzling pillar of light appeared beside her out of nowhere, taking the shape of a tall, broad-shouldered Zentarr with flashing silver eyes and a chest covered with medals.

“Are you Denn-Torr?” he demanded. “I’m Commander Port-Zett. You’re under arrest.”

“He’s not going anywhere with you,” Cabbie told him coolly.

Port-Zett glared. “This is an internal Zentarin matter. None of your concern.”

“He’s a Cortierran citizen,” she corrected him. “So our government will handle this.”

The Cortierran pilots had joined the group, and they saluted Torr respectfully. Then one of them—whom Cabbie assumed was Brill—turned to Port-Zett and informed him, “Lieutenant Lent is correct. You have no jurisdiction here.” To emphasize the point, he rested his hand on his holstered blaster. His companions did likewise.

Cabbie and Torr exchanged surprised glances. The pilots didn’t seem too bothered by the news that Torr wasn’t really a Zentarr. Or maybe they just wanted to be sure Torr’s trial was on Cortierra, not Zentarus, so they could testify against him more easily.

Port-Zett glanced up at his battle cruiser as if to warn the group that they could be vaporized instantly if they didn’t start cooperating. Then he instructed Torr, “Take off those goggles.”

“Yes, sir.” Torr removed his visor. “I know this looks bad, Commander, but—”

“Silence.” Port-Zett took a quick look. Then he grabbed Torr by the forearm, and in an instant, the two men had dissolved into a column of shimmering light.

“You need to relax, Lieutenant Lent.”

“Relax? Are you insane?” Cabbie grimaced apologetically at Arcos, the gentle-faced, gray-haired president of Cortierra. “I’m sorry, sir, but it’s been more than four hours. They could be sentencing him to death as we speak.”

“Commander Port-Zett gave me his word. They won’t execute him without allowing you to say goodbye first.”

“I want to testify for him. I’m his wife!”

“Not really,” Arcos reminded her. “The consent was coerced. He didn’t even use his real name—”

Cabbie slapped her hands over her ears. “I won’t listen to this. He’s a hero.”

“Well…”Arcos gestured toward the doorway. “Maybe you’ll listen to him.”

“Pardon?” She turned, then gasped and ran to Jensen Lent. “Dad! Thank God you’re here. The Zentarrs have Torr. They could be executing him. Or torturing him with laser-lashes. You have to help him.”

“It’s outside our jurisdiction, Cabbie.”

“No, Dad! You don’t understand. Torr isn’t a Zentarr.”

Jensen arched an accusing eyebrow. “So I’ve heard.”

“Oh…right. Sorry.” She cocked her head to the side. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“President Arcos invited me to participate in peace negotiations. We’ll begin as soon as we receive word on your husband’s condition.”

“His condition?”

Jensen sent Arcos an inquiring glance. “Don’t you think we should tell her?”

“Tell me what?” she demanded, but before they could respond, a column of sparks announced the arrival of Port-Zett.

Without missing a beat, Cabbie confronted the Zentarin commander. “If you’ve touched one hair on his head, I’ll blast you into the next galaxy.”

“A simple thank you would suffice,” Port-Zett retorted.

“What?”

Smiling at her for the first time, he held out his hand. “Do you wish to see him or not?”

It took a few seconds for her to get her bearings, even with Port-Zett’s arm offering support. They were in a wide passageway, presumably aboard the cruiser. Down the hall, several tall women with silver eyes and white jackets were grouped around a desk, conferring intently.

The commander gestured to a nearby room. “He’s in there.”

Cabbie wanted to ask questions, but seeing Torr was more important so she hurried through the doorway, then stopped in annoyed surprise at the sight of Jesslyn sitting at Torr’s bedside.

“Mom? What are you doing here?”

“That handsome Zentarr was kind enough to bring me here. He felt Rand should have family with him at a time like this.”

“Handsome? You mean Port-Zett?” Cabbie rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Torr, who was snoring softly. He seemed safe enough, snuggled under soft white covers. Aside from the bandages over his eyes, he also appeared unharmed.

She climbed onto the bed beside him. “Rand? Can you hear me?”

“Hey, Cabbie…” He managed a groggy smile. “Nice to hear your voice.”

“What did they do to you?”

“Hopefully they saved my eyesight.” He managed a weak smile. “Those silver things were infected. The doctor said we cut it pretty close, but hopefully, they could either save my natural irises or do a transplant with Zentarin eyeballs.” Raising his voice, he asked, “Doc? Are you there?”

“I’m here,” said a soft voice from the doorway.

“How did it go?”

A white-coated woman walked over to join them. “Let’s have a look.” Taking a pair of scissors from a nearby tray, she carefully trimmed the bandages until she could lift them off his face in one gentle motion.

Torr turned to Cabbie. “So?”

She stared into the most amazing blue-gray eyes she could ever imagine. “I can see into your soul,” she murmured.

Torr cupped her chin in his hand and gave her a long, loving kiss.

Then he smiled at the doctor. “You’re a miracle worker. Thanks.”

“Our pleasure.”

Cabbie turned to Port-Zett, who was standing by her mother. “Why didn’t you tell me you were helping him?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “There was a chance he could lose his eyesight entirely. He didn’t want you to worry until we were sure the procedure was successful.”

“He didn’t want me to worry?” she repeated sarcastically. “So meanwhile, you let me believe you were executing him?”

Port-Zett chuckled. “He’s something of a romantic. It’s not the Zentarr way, but he was sure it would be easier for you to imagine him in prison than in surgery.”

Cabbie shook her head in amused dismay. Then she turned back to Torr. “You’re such a liar.”

“An actor,” he corrected her.

“Like your father?” She nodded. “I love that explanation. And guess what, Torr? Peace talks have already started back on Cortierra.”

“That’s great.” He cleared his throat. “Are they bringing charges against me? I wouldn’t blame them, obviously—”

“They’d never find anyone to testify against you,” Cabbie said with a proud smile. “Not even Brill. He told us the most amazing story, Torr. Apparently, right before we ran into them in space, they ran into a dozen nasty pirates in modified warbirds—twice as powerful as our enforcers. But Brill and his guys outflew them, thanks to the maneuvers you taught them. You’re their hero.”

When Torr turned his face away and swore under his breath, Cabbie realized how guilty he had felt about the months of lying, not just to her, but to all of Cortierra.

“We have peace because of you, Rand Durak,” she told him. “President Arcos is going to offer you a captain’s commission as soon as you come home. And he’s going to pin a whole bunch of medals on your chest too.”

“I don’t want any medals,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “All I want is you.”

“Torr…” She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently, mindful that he had just undergone delicate surgery. He pulled her down to the bed and deepened the kiss, his tongue claiming hers as he rolled on top of her and caressed her face, her neck, her breasts.

Cabbie surrendered to his touch, and for a long, luxurious moment they enjoyed one another. Then Torr lifted his head and glanced toward Jesslyn and Port-Zett as though just remembering that they were in the room.

Cabbie’s eyes followed his gaze, noting in relief that her mother was too focused on her commanding new friend to even notice what her daughter and Torr were doing.

Torr touched her cheek. “Will you marry me again? This time forever?”

She smiled at the familiar flood of heat his body could emit. “Forever? That sounds just about right. And I’m pretty sure I can get Mom to consent this time. Assuming I can pry her away from Port-Zett over there.”

“He wants to take her to the Cuprillian Nebula. He swears it’s the same color as her eyes.”

“Excuse me?”

Torr laughed. “Which means, of course, it’s the same color as your eyes. I’d kind of like to see that myself.”

Cabbie shook her head. “What’s she thinking? Her husband just died. And her—well, her other husband just came home after a ten-year absence.”

“What’s your point?” Torr flashed a sympathetic grin. “Port-Tzett just lost his mate too, Cabbie. They both need some companionship. It’s nothing serious.”

“Just a fling?” Cabbie rolled her eyes. “When I was romanced by a Zentarr, she referred to him—to you—as a creature. Now she’s running off with one? Unbelievable.”

“Yeah, you women really go for those offworlders,” he complained mischievously.

“Not me. I’ll be satisfied with good old-fashioned Cortierran lust fever from now on.” Cabbie snuggled against him. “But just to be on the safe side—”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t get rid of the uniform.” She gave him a wicked grin, then insisted slyly, “Or the visor.”

About the Author

Kate Donovan is an unapologetic escapist who is committed to helping fellow readers escape as well. Other galaxies, other times, other lands—anything but here and now, right?

Surprisingly, Kate’s here-and-now is pretty darned nice. She’s married to her college love, has two wonderful children and practices law in Northern California. She adores that life—really she does. Nevertheless, she can’t resist sneaking up to her office to write time-travels, paranormals, adventures and romantic suspense at all hours of the day and night. It’s clearly an illness, but she’s not looking for a cure.

To learn more about Kate Donovan, please visit www.katedonovan.com or katedonovan.livejournal.com. Send an email to KateDonovan@hotmail.com.

The invaders thought they had crushed humanity. They messed with the wrong species.

Metal Reign

© 2010 Nathalie Gray

An Impulse Power Story

Francine Beaumont is tired. Tired of waiting for an armada of Imber ships to finish off what’s left of humanity. Tired of fear and privation. Tired of living like a rat, feeding off what scraps the cat lets her have.

When the chance comes to hit the Imbers where it really hurts—right at their fuel supply—she takes it. One stealth cruiser. One pilot. A cargo hold filled with explosives. A suicide mission for sure, but better that than doing nothing.

As the ship’s cook, John O’Shaughnessy knows everything that goes on aboard the warship. And something is definitely up with his Frankie. If she thinks he’s going to let her carry out this crazy plan of hers alone, that stubborn woman has another think coming.

Frankie thinks she’s gotten away clean…until her instincts tell her she’s not alone on her mission. Still, it’s a shock to find her peace-loving John standing there with eyes that spell murder. Now is a hell of a time to discover they’re more than friends. But there’s no turning back…

Warning: Space invaders were seriously harmed in the making of this story.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Metal Reign:

Everything happened fast.

One second, about a dozen alien ships were flying a couple thousand meters ahead and the next second, a hit sent the reefer barreling to portside. The impact rocked both Frankie and him back against their seats. Only the harnesses saved them from being projected across the bridge like the rest of everything not anchored or strapped down with thick cargo netting. Clacks, clangs and rattles drowned what Frankie yelled. Alarms wailed, lights flickered, died for an agonizing second then switched back on.

John’s instinct surprised him. Instead of trying to stay the ship, he extended an arm to grip Frankie by the back of her coveralls. Just in case. He’d never known a protective nature hid under his cynical crust. Great timing…

As the reefer gathered speed in its gut-flattening spiral, John braced his feet wide apart on the consoles. Gs built up. Space flew sideways in the tacscreens. Stars became white lines. Interspersed with these lines, a green blur—Earth. Fighting against nausea, John forced himself to focus on the altimeter. Too low. Too damn low.

“Take…the nav,” he growled. “I’ll…take…propulsion.”

Both wrestled the effects of gravity, which tried to keep them glued to their backrests, as they struggled to control the ship’s spiral. Frankie quickly punched in coordinates while John gripped the engines control and pushed them as forward as they could go. The only way out of a spiral was down hard and fast. With any luck, they’d gain enough momentum to break out of the corkscrew, skim along Earth’s atmosphere then bounce off into space. But then again, luck was a bitch these days.

“Hang on,” John warned a split second before the attitude jets responded to his commands. By his side, Frankie held on to the console corners.

Turning, turning. Slower. Another turn that stretched out told John their maneuver may just work. Alarms finally clicked off when the reefer pointed downward and entered into a dive just as scary as the spiral. Except that now they were in control. Somewhat.

“Tell me when it’s five degrees,” John said through his teeth.

Frankie nodded. Sweat coated her face and made limp ribbons of her usually curly hair.

Silence was only broken by their panting as they each fought with their assigned console.

“Five degrees!”

John gunned it.

The reefer shot forward and up, at thirty-five degrees to starboard, higher still, until they’d made a complete U-turn that sucked every iota of power out of his poor ship. When the moon appeared in the tacscreens, John spared a hand to pump his fist. Had to let out the testosterone somehow.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” she muttered. “They hit us and didn’t even come back for a look.”

“We just don’t matter to them. Would you come back to look at a bug you just squashed?”

“Still, for Pete’s sake.” She combed a hand in her sweaty hair. “Man, that was close.”

“I’ll go check for damages. That hit can’t have left just a scratch.” He unclipped his harness, worked his stiff legs and neck. Without his brain’s consent—his brain had pretty much taken an extended vacation…wasn’t he on a suicide mission?—John bent over and placed a loud kiss on her forehead. “We make quite the team, Commander Beaumont. Want to recruit me? I promise I won’t spoil your other recruits’ young, impressionable minds.”

Her beaming smile made everything all right. Her betrayal, her lies. Nothing mattered anymore. Affection swelled his heart, and pride his head. This woman, strong and capable and hot as the coals of hell, made him feel as if he could take on the world. Which in a sense he was about to do.

He left her in command of his reefer while he climbed down below into the detachable section of his refrigerated ship. Used to transport produce and other perishables, his reefer had never been meant to withstand the hit it’d just taken. Not without serious damage. They were lucky not to have been sucked out into space.

All along the passageways, metal plating had buckled, rivets popped off and steam whistled out of bent pipes. Not good. Near the airlock, e-suits hung on hooks and resembled a row of hanged men. Those environment suits may come in handy if the ship had suffered hull damage. At least until they connected to the pipeline. Afterward, well, it wouldn’t matter much, would it?

John breathed a sigh of relief as he inspected the seal between the main portion of the ship and the separate cargo area. It seemed intact. But as he stepped through the hatch to survey the damage to their precious cargo, he couldn’t abort the long string of curses. He didn’t know much about explosives, but the way the charge had shifted on its rails in the hold, with yellow wires pulled out of connectors and plastic coils all crumpled up against the glowing blue core… That just could not be good.

“Shit.”

The comms panel still worked so he switched it on. “Hey, Frankie. You know how to build that thing, right? Because right now, it looks like something the cat spat out. Except in metal and plastic.”

Her voice crackled but he got the last bit. “…goddamnsonovabitch.”

“Indeed.”

“I’m coming down.”

John felt the ship decelerate to automatic pilot. A minute later Frankie barged into the cargo hold like a Valkyrie down the hills. His nape tingled with arousal. He forced his mind to clear.

Not the time, O’Shaughnessy.

“Argh, no, no, no.” She rushed to the sad-looking bit of Imber destruction smashed against the side of the cargo hold and muttered for a good minute as she inspected her patient. In the end, she straightened, fists on hips—sending his testosterone fever into the danger zone—and blew air through pursed lips. “I think we’ll be good. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“Is this like ‘it’s-not-as-bad-as-it-looks-just-a-sucking-chest-wound-Ma’am’?”

Her snort of laughter unreasonably stroked his ego. “No. I can fix this. We’ll reroute some power to the charge, hook it up to the ship directly. It’ll work.” She nodded, muttered to herself some more. “I can fix this,” she repeated.

“Well, get to it then because we can’t take another hit like this.” It was one thing to die in the name of humanity and all that, it was an entirely different thing to just get blown into bits by a passing Imber ship. Not as, well, fulfilling.

Before he left her to work while he checked the rest of the reefer for damage—something told him he’d find much, much more—John stopped inside the hatch leading to the main part of the ship. Frankie was crouched underneath the electrical panel and muttering through her teeth as she yanked on knotted wires. He tamped down the regret. He wasn’t doing this only for her. Well, mostly for her. But along the way, he’d begun to believe that maybe, just maybe, it was better than doing nothing at all. He’d never tell her that, of course, in case she started to think of him as a romantic. John O’Shaughnessy had a rep to keep. Catholic Irishmen weren’t a flower-in-the-hair, bright-eyed bunch. Or he liked to believe. But then again, to his widowed father’s horror, his eldest child and only son of four children had become a cook. His little sisters all teased John about his choice of career, especially since he was a trained machinist like their da. Oh well, to each their own path.

They better dedicate a whole city to her name, complete with wide boulevards, airy gardens and gurgling fountains. Frankieville. Frankburg. Francine-sur-Mer. Ha.

When she let out a long string of curses, John smiled and turned away to hide what he knew was in his eyes.

Working together is unavoidable. Falling in love…inevitable.

Hearts and Minds

© 2010 J.C. Hay

An Impulse Power Story

Syna Davout thought it was supposed to be a simple smash-and-grab job—smash onto a luxury yacht, grab the cash, and split the proceeds with the client. Unfortunately, the client failed to mention that she’s the diversion for an assassination attempt that destroys the yacht and leaves her with a passenger she never expected. A fugitive telepath caught in the middle of a revolution.

Galen Fash thought his days were numbered. The fledgling revolution on his homeworld needs him to buy them time, with his life if necessary. The last thing he needs is to get involved with a pirate captain-for-hire whose larger-than-life emotions draw him like a moth to a flame.

Inexorably, Syna is dragged into a war that isn’t hers, and they both discover—between knock-down-drag-outs—that their whole is far stronger than the sum of their parts. Dodging the enemies that want them both dead will be hard enough. First, they have to survive each other…

Warning: this book contains Space Vikings, gossipy AIs, boxing-as-foreplay, rogue telepaths and a demanding pirate captain who likes to be in charge. The author will not be held responsible for a desire to punch your partner in the jaw, or a sudden awareness of latent psionic ability.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Hearts and Minds:

She stopped at a ship’s closet long enough to grab a tool belt and two pairs of leather gloves. “No padding in these, but at least you won’t get burned if something’s too hot. Come on, I’ll need your help down in engineering.”

Galen slipped the gloves on as the ship settled onto one of the rocks in the planetary ring. The whine of anchor drills resonated down the corridors and set his teeth on edge. The drills would make it hard to lift off quickly, but it also kept them securely fastened to the rock. An important modification in a zero-g environment and, he knew, completely off the book on a ship this size. Like the mass drivers, for that matter. He wondered how many other modifications he’d see when they reached the engineering department.

Department turned out to be a dramatic overstatement. The entirety of engineering consisted of two long, narrow access corridors down either side of the main power plant. It was barely big enough for one person, let alone the two of them side by side. Heat from the power plant leaked through the walls and left him mopping at his forehead in a futile effort to keep pace with the sweat that soaked him.

Beside him, Syna fared little better. Her ginger hair matted against her skin, and perspiration beaded on the side of her neck. Galen had a sudden urge to kiss her, to taste the salt on her skin, hear the tiny gasp of surprise that she thought he hadn’t heard when she’d kissed him in the gym. Had there been more room in the cramped corridor, he’d be tempted to try.

Gods, what was this woman doing to him?

“Are you going to help or just stare down my shirt?”

Galen blinked, smiled. “Is there a way I can do both?”

She shoved a curl of hair out of her face, pink leaching into her cheeks. “Just hold this.” She indicated the wires in her hands with a jut of her chin. He had to shift closer to reach and found himself too conscious of the way she pressed back against him as she worked. He willed his body not to respond and hoped it wasn’t too distracted to ignore him. She mumbled something as she flattened her back against him.

“Sorry, what?”

“Close your eyes,” she whispered. His pulse lurched erratically until blue-white plasma illuminated the space, and he realized she’d issued it not as a come-on, but a warning. His eyes snapped shut and focused on the red-yellow afterimage of the welding lance drifting quietly behind his eyelids. “Two more, then I think we’ve bypassed it.”

“That’ll bring the shields up to full?”

“It’ll bring them back to where they were before we started this venture, which is something. Stay out of the aft-most cargo hold—I had to reroute power from its environmental controls.”

“Is that safe?”

The welder sparked again, the light savage even through his closed eyes. The smell of ozone and charged particles drifted through the air. Combined with her shampoo, it made her smell like a spice field after an electrical storm.

“Yeah, just don’t go in there. Not much choice in the matter, the starboard field’s influx coupler got slagged. I don’t just carry those around with me.” The welder flared again. “That should finish that.”

Galen opened his eyes cautiously. “You can’t ask Bree?”

Syna shook her head. “No. There’s no pickups in here, and no speaker for her to respond through. I have to do it from the hall.”

He grinned. “Ooooh, unchaperoned. I like it.”

She laughed, her blush renewed. Warmth flooded out from her, her emotions a sea he wanted to swim in. She has no idea how sexy she is, he realized. On impulse, he leaned forward and kissed her.

She froze for a heartbeat and a flicker of panic went through him, then her hand tangled in his hair and tugged him closer. Her body crushed against him and any control he’d aspired to evaporated. The heat of her body soaked through his skin, suffused him as he lost himself in her.

She broke the kiss long enough to take a breath, then tugged his hair back to bite along his jawline. The combination of teeth and tongue overloaded Galen’s senses. His knees lost any sense of strength they had, and he reached out for support with one hand.

There was a soft pop and a whiff of electrical smoke. She pulled up from the kiss and touched her nose-tip to his, a quiet smile playing across her mouth. “Please tell me you didn’t just rip out my lovely bypass.”

He looked to his hand, tangled in the wiring, as if it were an alien on the end of his arm. “I…am going to go ahead and say yes.”

She slid her hand between them. His nerve endings went crazy as he felt the back of her hand slide past his hips, and she grinned at him, heavy-lidded eyes sparkling with mischief. Her hand retraced its route with agonizing slowness and when it came up, presented him with the hand welder. “Then you get to fix it.”

He let out a ragged breath. “You’re going to kill me.”

“Later. If you’re very good.” She backed farther down the corridor to give him access to the panel he’d wrecked.

“You’re not going to stand over my shoulder, make sure I do it right?”

Syna laughed. “Oh no. I’m not getting close to you again until I’m certain you’re out of reach of everything fragile.”

The last will and testament of a forgotten Earth…

The Mythmakers

© 2010 Robert Appleton

An Impulse Power Story

For Captain Steffi Savannah and her crew of deep space smugglers, life has become little more than a dogged exercise in mere survival. Their latest disastrous heist ended with another dead crew member—and no place left to hide. She’s even finding it hard to dredge up any excitement over the giant, crippled ship that appears on their radar, even though it’s the salvage opportunity of a lifetime.

They find that it’s no ordinary alien vessel. It’s a ship of dreams, populated with the last remnants of Earth’s mythical creatures. Including the blond, built, mysterious Arne, one of a race blessed with extraordinary beauty—and few inhibitions. Though he won’t tell her exactly what he is, in his arms Steffi rediscovers something she thought she’d never feel again. Wonder, love…and hope.

It isn’t long, though, before the Royal guard tracks them down, and Steffi and her crew are faced with a terrible decision. Cut and run. Or risk everything to tow the ship and her precious cargo to safety.

Warning: This book contains moderate sexual activity, strong language and high-cholesterol breakfasts. Also features hot nudists, naive men and other equally rare fantasy creatures.

Enjoy the following excerpt for The Mythmakers:

Steffi lumbered on down the endless corridor, four pounding heartbeats to every thumping step. Moments ago, her spacesuit had felt no heavier than her dad’s winter cardigan; now it pulled on her thighs and anchored her lungs like an antique deep-sea diving suit. Clank, scrape, clank, scrape went her boots. The oily Rorschach walls scrambled and swirled while the light from her helmet lamp roved over them. The surface seemed alive, but it was an optical illusion. No sign of an opening. Neither a narrowing nor a widening of the corridor at any height. She wondered how far her curiosity would last.

Fifteen minutes in and no structural change in the changeling surface. Her palms and neck and the small of her back clung to her thermal undersuit. Moisture streamed down the walls and trickled away through small grids at either side of the convex floor. She checked her readouts again. Gravity and oxygen were the same. The temperature, though, had almost doubled. Thirty-eight degrees Celsius.

The ceiling of mist lowered to around fifty feet above her. Her helmet fogged. She made a higgledy clear streak with the knuckles of her glove.

“Moder, jeg er træt, nu vil jeg sove, Lad mig ved dit Hjerte slumre ind; Græd dog ei det maa Du først mig love, Thi Din Taare brænder paa min Kind.”

“McKendrick, keep it down,” she snapped. “Unless it’s important.”

“Wasn’t me, Cap.”

Steffi smacked her helmet. Had her comm receiver gone screwy? She realised the first voice hadn’t sounded like a woman’s anyway. “Rex, you there?”

“Here, Cap. Everything okay?”

“Was that you singing?”

“Nope. Not me. You don’t wanna hear my singing.”

She paused to untie the knot in her brain. She must have imagined the voice. Was her oxygen mix okay? Hmm, perfectly fine.

The foreign man’s voice grew louder, like a radio in a slow-approaching sky-cab. Steffi heard every crooned word:

“Her er koldt og ude Stormen truer, Men i Drømme, der er Alt saa smukt, Og de søde Englebørn jeg skuer Naar jeg har det trætte Øie lukt.

“Moder, seer Du Englen ved min Side? Hører Du den deilige Musik? See, han har to Vinger smukke hvide, Dem han sikkert af vor Herre fik—”

Clink. The toe of her left boot scuffed the floor. The song ceased. Her lamplight shone across an incongruous form resting against the right-hand wall ahead. It made her knuckles clench. She stopped and stared until her visor steamed again. What was it—that crouched figure—in front of her?

She crept, shifting her weight from one boot to the other, careful not to clang them again and scare the creature away.

“Hello?” she called.

Water trickled under the floor into some kind of drainage system.

“What are you?” came the reply. “Have you come to kill us?”

Steffi had never heard the accent before. It sounded a little like German, though.

“The light dazzles me. I cannot see your face,” the voice continued. “Are you a man or a woman?”

“A woman.”

She closed in and saw that he was a trim, pale but handsome man with shoulder-length blond hair. Naked as Adam, he glistened with sweat. No hair anywhere else on his body. His narrow blue eyes squinted further in the beam of her lamp.

“What do you want here?” he asked, still crouching—solemnly, it seemed to Steffi.

“We’re just investigating your crippled ship. We saw it spinning aimlessly, and we wanted to find out what had happened. No one builds ships like this. Who are you?”

“First tell me your name.”

“Steffi Savannah, captain of the Albatross. And you are?”

“You have a beautiful voice, Steffi Savannah.” He rose and stood facing her, arms akimbo. “I am Arne.”

Her turn to be dazzled. His extraordinarily athletic physique would have been enough to make her shiver with delight, but he was also well endowed. No cuts or abrasions anywhere on his skin that she could see—unheard of among deep-space crews, due to the multitasking nature of maintaining a ship—and he stood without slouch, without pose, and without inhibition. Steffi highlighted every part of his anatomy with her torchlight. He was one hell of a fine specimen. Maybe too perfect.

“You are human, right?”

Arne offered her his hand without hesitation. “Yes and no.”

The gentle tugs of her conscience would at one time have been powerful yanks to rip the carpet out from under her, make her step back and exercise caution. But she was not that girl anymore. Diving into risk from a platform of indifference had kept her in the smuggling trade for a decade. It should not have, but it had. It was her peculiar knack. She accepted his hand and let him lead her twenty feet along the corridor. Neither of them spoke. Suddenly he faced the wall and, with the spidery grip of his free hand, pressed against the phosphorous. The wall spiralled open from the point of contact to reveal a navy blue passageway shimmering with turquoise light. She gasped and gripped him tighter. Where was he leading her? His living quarters? To see his captain? Hmm…what if he wasn’t as benign as he seemed?

With her free hand, she flicked the toggle for Internal Comm Only on her cuff. At the very least, she had to keep her crew apprised of the situation.

“Rex? You there?” She spoke into the side of her helmet away from Arne.

“Go ahead, Cap.”

“I’ve found a member of the crew. A foreigner. He seems friendly but I’ve never seen anything like this place, so tread softly. In fact, don’t come up here ’til I give the green light. We don’t want to alarm them. You copy that?”

“Loud and clear. I’ll hang back ’til you holler, but, Cap…don’t wander too far.”

“I’ll buzz you in fifteen,” Steffi explained. “If I don’t, make sure you’re armed before you come get me.”

“Roger that.” Rex’s curt, emphatic voice lent steel to her resolve. He might not be keen on her plan, but Rex knew what an order meant, and there was no one she’d rather have backing her up if things got tight.

She glanced down to flick the audio toggle to External and…wow.

Steffi widened her eyes. Speaking of tight.

Arne’s ass was a thing of beauty. A sporting ass. It seemed unusual for a man to have no leg hair, but then she remembered where she was. And he’d said he was only part human. What could that mean? What did it matter when he looked this good?

“Where are we going?”

“To where we live.”

“We?”

“Me and my kind.”

She was about to ask him what exactly that might be when the smooth curved passageway opened up to a vast, breathtaking lake overgrown with evergreen trees and multicoloured, fruit-bearing plants. The banks had at one time been smooth and artificial—some sort of a giant reservoir or swimming pool—but vegetation had almost completely hidden them. A low vapour cloud hovered a hundred and fifty feet above the water. Lying around the water’s edge, on a blanket of spongy green grass, dozens of naked men and women seemed to be basking or sleeping. All of them were breathtaking to behold.

“I think you should take your clothes off, Steffi,” Arne said matter-of-factly.

“Why? How do I know the air isn’t poisonous to my kind?” That last part sounded dopey. Her kind?

“I do not know what you mean.”

“You said you’re not fully human.”

“But all humans breathe the same air. I think you will be very uncomfortable here if you do not undress.”

She might have taken that for a threat, but Arne had a way about him, a forthrightness that seemed almost child-like. At least, that was how she perceived him.

“First, tell me what you’re doing here. What is this place? Who built your ship? What is its purpose?”

A boyish smile dimpled his cheeks, bared his perfect teeth. “If I reveal all that you want to know, will you undress?”

“Yes.” She smiled back with no intention of honouring that promise. There was something unreal about this whole setup, this quasi-human paradise, that screamed, “Get the fuck out, right now!”

But first she had to know its secret.

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