An Apocalyptic Need (7 page)

Footsteps pounded toward them down the hall and Grimm dug in, running as fast as he could. He reached the lift just as the guards turned the corner and the sensors engaged, slowly closing the doors.

The guards continued firing, their discharge hitting the back of the lift and scorching it in wide streaks. Sparks flew around them, sizzling against Grimm’s skin as he shrank into the corner, blocking the captain with his body. When the door finally slid shut, he stepped away and let go of her. “Landing bay 3,” he instructed the lift.

Nothing happened. The muffled sound of pounding told him the guards were trying to get the door open.

Grimm removed an O
²
laser blaster from his waistband.

Her eyes widened when she saw the blaster she’d had squirreled away in the drawer of her desk. “After all that you’re going to kill me?”

Grimm checked to make sure the cylinder at the side of the weapon was full. He spared her a quick glance. “How do I get this lift to move?”

“It’s programmed for voice recognition. It isn’t going to listen to your commands.”

“Will it listen to you?”

“I’m not giving this lift any commands until you tell me what’s going on.”

He shook his head. “I’m trying to get you off this ship.”

Cari placed her hands on her hips and glowered at him. The action made her sexy sleepwear gape open, showing the creamy roundness of her breasts nearly to the nipples. He swallowed hard, nearly forgetting that they were having a conversation.

She stamped her foot. “Forbes!”

He blinked, lifting his gaze to hers. “What?”

“Stop acting like a cave man and tell me why you believe you have the right to take me off my ship.”

The pounding on the outside of the doors increased and the metal groaned as something was wedged into the crack. “Captain, I told you I’d explain later. Right now we need to get the hell out of here or we’re both going to end up either dead or in that huge prison at the center of this orb.”

“Prison?” She frowned but a moment later her features cleared. “Oh, you mean the Interplanetary Arboretum?” She started to shake her head.

The door creaked open an inch and Grimm fired toward the opening, sending the man holding the metal bar stumbling backward with a cry.

“Stop that!” Cari grabbed the barrel of the blaster. “Arboretum.” The lift jerked and started dropping on a whoosh of air.

Grimm’s gaze followed the light-filled channel indicating the floors. “What are you doing? We need to go to landing bay.”

“This is called a compromise. I’ll send the lift to the bay once we leave it and that will buy us some time. I’ll give you five minutes to convince me and then we’ll either leave together or I’m going to have you arrested.”

On a whoosh of flower-scented air, the doors slid open and Cari marched through. Grimm stood in the door and looked out, thinking for a moment they’d been flung from space into a jungle on prehistoric Earth.

He’d spent a week in that epoch once and didn’t relish returning. He could live with irradiated hell hounds and nasty, gooey zombies. But he didn’t relish being part of the menu for a bunch of creatures that were bigger than his house, with teeth longer than his legs. Even the bugs were deadly in that disgusting time.

“What is this place?”

Cari stopped and turned back, her pretty face softening into a smile for the first time since she’d woken. “Heaven.”

More like Hell, Grimm thought. When she motioned impatiently, he stepped out of the lift and Cari told it to proceed to landing bay without stopping. “Erase recent orders,” she added before turning on her heel. “Come on, pirate.”

Grimm shoved a wide, wet leaf out of his way, jumping as something fluttered past his face. An orange, speckled butterfly as big as his hand floated past, dipping and diving playfully on the air.

Grimm kept an eye on the bug just in case it sprouted teeth and dove for his nose. “You won’t catch me by surprise again,” he murmured as he scooted quickly past.

Despite his distrust, the butterfly fluttered happily on its way. Probably planning to return when he wasn’t paying attention. He turned around and stopped, despair curling in his chest.

His beautiful captain stood a few feet away, hands on hips and one elegant eyebrow peaked in question. Her lush lips were twisted as if she were trying to hold back a smile.

“Don’t ask,” he told her crankily as he shoved the wet greenery aside and stalked past.

Cari gave up trying to restrain a grin and spun around to follow. Her sexy, tough space pirate was afraid of butterflies? She chuckled aloud before she could stop herself and he jolted to a stop and spun around, his handsome brown face folded in a frown.

“Sometimes butterflies aren’t what they seem.”

She forced the smile off her face and nodded. “I see.”

He opened his mouth and then closed it, looking away. “Never mind. Can we get this done, I’m not fond of jungle-like places and there’s still the problem of the guards who are trying to kill us.”

“Says you,” Cari corrected. “I’m not convinced they mean me any harm at all.”

“They fired at you.”

“No. They fired at
you
.”

“They drugged you.”

She started to argue the point but she suspected he was right. She’d woken hard and there had been a terrible, bitter taste in her mouth. “Okay, I’ll give you that. But my guess is Lieutenant Alcott was behind it.”

Grimm’s face showed his surprise. “Then why are you arguing with me? Obviously he wants you out of the way so he can run the ship himself.”

Cari made a dismissive motion with her hand. “Alcott doesn’t want control of the
Stellam
. And you said yourself he fancies me. I’m thinking he planned to kill you and he didn’t want me getting in the way.”

“Or he was going to blame your murder on me.”

She frowned.

“Think about it, captain. He has us both killed and then comes up with a story about me escaping from my cell and murdering you in your sleep, only to be stopped by one of his guards and killed. It’s seamless. And trust me, I’ve met the guy, he’s definitely interested in becoming Captain of the
Stellam
.”

In spite of her desire to shove his suspicions aside, Cari couldn’t deny that Grimm’s proposed scenario made a certain kind of sense. Despite her denial, Cari did believe the lieutenant was capable of murder for self-promotion. “Okay, let’s say you’re right. Now that it’s all fallen apart, why would he risk still pursuing us?”

Grimm shook his head. “Maybe he believes he’d have support from above. What exactly is your mission on the
Morte Stellam
, captain?”

She stepped past him, wandering along the narrow path while she decided if he could be trusted. There was a lot of slapping and swearing behind her. Cari would have smiled if he hadn’t filled her mind with doubts. High above their heads, a brightly colored Ouk Parrot from a tropical planet in the Serinian Galaxy screeched as they neared the copse of tropical trees where she knew the bird kept its nest. Several birds around the massive room responded, filling the space with a cacophony of sounds. If it weren’t for the noise-deadening quality of the heavy vegetation, the clatter would have been deafening.

She stopped beside the wide, crystalline creek that burbled through the man-made jungle and dropped onto a concrete bench. It was her favorite spot in the arboretum and she came there when she wanted to think.

Grimm stood a few feet away, his face glistening with nervous sweat as the birds took to the air and swirled around them. Cari smiled at the flashy displays, enjoying their brightly colored feathers and playful aerobatics.

Grimm’s hand fondled the blaster sticking out of his pants.

“Don’t even think about shooting those birds, pirate.”

“For the last time, captain, I’m not a pirate.” He didn’t take his eyes from the happily gyrating show above their heads. “Why shouldn’t I shoot them?”

“Because they mean you no harm.” When reason didn’t seem to faze him she tried threat. “And because they’re all fitted with life chips and security will be alerted if one of them goes down.”

Grimm’s hand left his weapon. “Too bad.”

“What do you have against wildlife? I hope you aren’t always so bloodthirsty.”

He glanced her way and expelled a breath. “It isn’t the wildlife that has me on edge. It’s all this.” He swung his arms to encompass the entire ecosystem. “I spent a week that felt like ten years on a pre-historic epoch once.” He shuddered. “You have no idea how disgusting and terrifying that was.”

As she’d done before, she fought to hold back a smile. “Tell me about it.”

He nodded.

“No, I mean
tell
me about it.”

Grimm strode closer, his gaze finally falling on her. “Not right now. We don’t have time. But I promise I’ll tell you all about it sometime.”

Cari’s pulse sped as he stood close, his dark gaze sliding over her with unmistakable appreciation. Her sexual core pulsed with heat and she had to look away. “I can’t tell you about my mission, Grimm. I wish I could.”

He sat down next to her and the bench suddenly felt way too small. Though he wasn’t actually touching her, his hard thigh spread heat along her leg. She tried to scoot farther away but there was no room. Her nipples tingled and peaked against her ridiculously revealing gown. Cari crossed her arms to hide them from his hungry view.

“Look, captain, I can appreciate that you want to complete your mission. But it’s been compromised. Come with me and we’ll find another way to complete it.” He leaned close, his breath fanning her face with promising heat. “A way that won’t get you killed,” he clarified.

Fighting her need to shift away from the feel of his body pressing hers, Cari had to work to keep her expression neutral. She held her ground, though his nearness had need coiling tightly in her lower belly. “The landing bay is not an option. Alcott would have sent a brigade there as soon as we were reported missing.”

He shook his head. “Then we’ll have to fight our way through them. We
need
to get off this ship.”

Cari bit her lip, trying to form a coherent thought. She quickly realized contemplation wasn’t going to happen with him so near. She stood and walked over to the creek, watching the clear water dance lightly along the rocky bottom. With a little space, she was finally able to breathe. And she realized what she needed to do.

Cari turned, and gave a little yelp as she nearly bumped her nose on Grimm’s wide chest. “Why must you always sneak up on me?”

Grimm smiled. “I wasn’t even quiet. You must have been deep in thought.”

She sighed. “I’ve made a decision. It’s true, you can’t stay on the
Stellam
. You’re in danger.” She grabbed his hand. “Come with me.”

After initial resistance, Grimm finally let her pull him along. “Where? What are you planning, captain?”

“I’m going to get you off this ship.”

Grimm dragged her to a stop, yanking her back until she hit his chest with a breath-stealing thump. “I’m not leaving without you.” His arms slipped around her waist and his head dipped. Cari’s gaze found his and something flared between them, something that tugged on the coiling need in her belly and made her pussy contract.

Her mind told her to shove him away, to create much needed distance between them. But her lips were already opening to his, and she lifted to her toes to meet him as he lowered his mouth to hers.

Their skin touched. Something far stronger than passion flared, swamping Cari with instant lust. Fire—coiling desire—flared and sizzled against her nerve endings until no other thought could filter through to influence her. All that existed was the hard, super-heated feeling of him against her skin…his delicious, half-wild scent saturating the air she breathed.

Cari clutched his shirt with both her hands and deepened the kiss, feeling the air being pulled from her lungs as a perfect craving wiped everything else from her mind.

Before she knew what she was doing, Cari was tugging at his shirt, trying to get him naked beneath her roaming fingers.

Cool air wafted over her skin and she realized he’d plunged a hand inside the ridiculous neckline of her gown. Hard heat enclosed one taut orb, driving lust straight to her pussy like a jolt of lightening.

Grimm broke their kiss and lowered his head to pull a pebbled nipple into his heated mouth.

Cari cried out, arching to send her breast more deeply into his mouth. “Yes! Oh god, yes!”

His hands skimmed along her sides and slid over her hips, pulling her into an impressive erection. Cari wanted his clothing gone! She needed to feel him hard and ready against her palm, her belly, and nestling at the entrance to her creaming pussy.

“Grimm, I…”

The birds screamed again and shot into the sky. The silence they’d enjoyed since settling beside the creek evaporated as thousands of insects chirped and hundreds of birds called out.

Over there!

The shout had them surging apart. The guards had found them.