Adrift (8 page)

She pushed herself up onto her elbow, the blanket still clutched to her chest and asked, "You would do that for me?"

Norik stared up at her, caught in her gaze as he tried to remember what the question was.
"We could wait until the last possible moment.
Or we could do it before the onset of hypothermia and frostbite-"

"How romantic," she said with a teasing smile which made him frown and her laugh again.

"Or," he continued, "if we can find environmental suits, rig the antimatter to detonate on a time delay and wait for any nearby ship to notice and come to investigate."

Jasmine stopped laughing and stared at him, openmouthed.
"Would that work?"
she asked.

Norik ran some calculations in his head and said hesitantly, "Provided there are EV suits and enough air in them for us to get away from the explosion and resulting shockwave, it is possible."

"Oh," she said with a hopeful smile.

"But not probable," he cautioned.

"OK, so it'll be plan B," she said solemnly.
"Plan A is wait until just before hypothermia and frostbite and plan C is go out in a blaze of...
no wait.
I just confused myself.
Whatever, you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean," he told her.

Silence descended over them like a blanket as they stared at each other.
Embarrassed, Norik cast about for a new topic of discussion.
He noticed her bare shoulders and asked, "Are you naked?"
and then closed his eyes briefly, annoyed at himself for having asked something stupid.

"That depends," she told him.

"On?"
he couldn't help but ask.

"On if you're still angry with me," she said cautiously.

"I have come to believe that you were acting in self defense," he said.
"No, I am not
currently
angry with you."

"Good," said Jasmine.
She gave him that smile, the one that transformed her plain features into that of a dazzling beauty.
She dropped her hand from her blanket and traced the same trail down his chest that she had when he was unconscious.

Norik lifted his head slightly and caught sight of the top of her round breasts and swallowed.
Hard.
He dropped his head back onto the pillow and said, "You do not want to do this."

"I do," she told him and ran her fingers lightly over the ridges that started behind his ears and ran along his strong shoulders before they disappeared at his elbows.
"I realized I hadn't thanked you properly for all that you'd done.
So this seems like a good two for one deal."

Norik's knuckles had gone white from the effort he put into gripping the sides of the bunk.
"You have no idea what you are starting.
You will not like where this ends up."

"I want to help you Norik," Jasmine told him.
She splayed her fingers across his chest and leaned forward to kiss him.

He turned his head away and her lips grazed his cheek instead.
Her idea of help was torture for him.
Norik twisted his body as he tried to push her off, he was acutely aware of her naked breasts pressed against him.
She was amazingly soft and warm.
It was wonderful.
It was also pure torture.

"Don't you want me?"
she asked him between little pecks to his jawline.

"I do not want to hurt you," he said between clenched teeth.

"You won't," she told him confidently.
Jasmine had no intention of being hurt like his wife had, although it would be a far better way to go than slowly freezing to death.
"But if it will make you feel better I'll get some protection."

Norik was thankful when she slipped from him.
His blood burned through his veins.
He did want her, more than she could possibly imagine.
But she had no idea what she was asking of him and he was deathly scared that he would lose control and hurt her, like he had done to Lilah, or worse.
If he did anything to harm Jasmine, he would do what he should have done ten years ago.
Take his own life.

Norik turned his head and caught sight of Jasmine bending over the next bunk.
Her naked behind beckoned him and he lost the fight.
His heart raced and he found himself unable to stop as he leaped from the bed.

Jasmine reached for the plasma blaster.
She wouldn't use it on him, but if it made him feel better then so be it.
He needed to know that he wasn't the monster he said he was and even if they died in a few days at least he would go happy.
And she'd have gotten laid.
She only hoped that the sex was worth it.
He definitely looked worth it.

"Forgive me," he breathed into her ear and he felt her jump against him.

Jasmine had the plasma blaster in her hand and had almost straightened when she felt Norik's hard body at her back.
She didn't have time to contemplate what he was apologizing for because the next thing she felt was his teeth digging into her shoulder.
His left arm snaked out from under hers and clutched at her breast.

Jasmine gasped in surprise.
She dropped the plasma blaster, grabbed hold of the top bunk and braced herself before he took her from behind.
Her eyes widened and she would have yelped if she hadn't bitten down hard on her lower lip.
She was thankful that she had already been aroused, so even though this was unexpected, it could have been worse.
He could have hurt her.
She pushed all thoughts along those lines from her mind.
She had wanted to help him and she wanted sex, she was getting her wish so she decided she might as well enjoy it.
She just hoped he wouldn't freak out afterward.

Norik was completely lost.
Hunger and desire were all he knew and all he could do was give in to them until sated.
He was completely consumed by her.
Her taste, her scent and the soft folds that molded to him with every thrust.
He heard her quiet whimpers and drove harder to make them louder and hear them again.
She was now his and he needed her to know that.
If she couldn't accept that then she would be no ones.
He closed his eyes tightly and prayed she wouldn't reject him.
Not like Lilah had.
All he knew was that he was hurting her and it hurt him, but he couldn't stop.
Norik hated himself and his mother's people.
He knew Jasmine would hate him too.
How could he face her when he was finished?

Jasmine rested her forehead against the crook of her arm, her free hand reached down.
It brushed along Norik's arm which held her in a vice-like grip but that wasn't where it hurt.
It was his teeth in her shoulder.
That she could do without.
Her hand continued on down to her side where Norik's grip on her was weak.
She briefly squeezed his hand to let him know she was all right, then reached back and grasped him above his muscled thigh.
She dug her nails into his skin and matched his rhythm.

Encouraged, Norik quickened his pace and a few moments later he relinquished his hold on her shoulder so he could roar out his victory.
A victory it might have been but Norik could only think of the pain he had caused and the taste of blood, her blood, in his mouth.
He buried his face into Jasmine's sweat drenched hair and held her to him.
He breathed in her scent and his body reveled in it, his mind however, tormented him.
Norik didn't want to let go because then he would have to face her.
He didn't want to see that look in her eyes.
He knew he had violated her and she hadn't deserved that, even if she had encouraged him.

"Norik?"
Jasmine gasped.
"Norik, you're crushing me."

Norik instantly let go of her and turned away.
His fists were clenched and his shoulder could scream all it wanted, he couldn't feel it, not while his body still buzzed in the afterglow.
The physical pain would return to him soon though and he wanted to feel it all when it came crashing back.
He didn't know if he would rather she used the plasma blaster or the knife on him, each had a violence that appealed.
Whatever his punishment, he deserved it and he wouldn't rob her of dealing it to him, by killing himself.

Norik almost jumped out of his skin when he felt Jasmine's hand on his back.
"Are you OK?"
she asked cautiously.
Her touch was gentle, unsure.
She was afraid for him.
"You've bled through your bandage," she told him.
"I'll take a look at it and wrap it in clean ones."

He frowned but stayed where he was as she retrieved new bandages.
When she came back he shied away from her touch, it was gentle and in stark contrast to what his had been.
He refused to look at her when she stood before him, he did notice out of the corner of his eye that she had wrapped her blanket back around herself.

Jasmine leaned against him as she reached around to unwrap the bloodied bandages.
He chanced a looked at her as her hair fell forward, over her shoulder, he glimpsed the ugly teeth marks he had left on her.
His brand.
A thought that he was horrified to find made his chest swell with pride.

"I would rather the plasma blaster," he told her.

"For?"
she asked as she examined his injury.
It looked like it had been on it's way to mending until he had over exerted himself and she tsked him without explanation.

"Torture, death, whatever you feel appropriate," he told her.

"Oh," she said and paused in her ministrations.
"I had something else in mind but I don't think you'll like it."

Norik swallowed and felt his body tense.
He supposed he shouldn't be surprised that she had already decided upon her revenge.
She was that kind of woman after all.
He nodded and waited.

Jasmine looked up at him but he still refused to meet her gaze.
He looked truly pathetic.
She had wanted to help him but now she wondered if she had rushed in and made things worse.
He had warned her and she hadn't quite believed him.
Thought that maybe he was exaggerating.
She realized that she might have been in over her head about the time he'd bitten her.
Still, she felt responsible for the look on his face and whatever thoughts he was tormenting himself with.

"Yes.
I don't think it matches the severity of the situation though.
It might be lacking.
You'll tell me if it's not enough?"
she asked him seriously.

Norik nodded and wondered if he would be losing body parts.

"Here goes," Jasmine warned him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.
"I forgive you Norik."

Norik blinked.
"I do not understand," he said, confusion evident in his voice.
"This is not a punishment."

"I never said it was," she told him and snuggled into his neck.
"You asked me to forgive you and I did."

"I
hurt
you," Norik reminded her.

Jasmine pulled back and looked up at him, "So you want an eye for an eye then?"
she asked.

Norik nodded.

"This is for hurting me," she told him and then punched him as hard as she could in the shoulder.
Norik doubled over and hissed at her.
"Happy now?"
she asked him.

He dropped down onto the deck and waited for the spots to subside.
"Extremely," he gasped.

Jasmine joined him and wrestled his hand away from his wound.
"My turn to apologies to you.
You warned me and I pushed you.
As we both know I'm really good at backing men into a corner, so this was probably inevitable.
But I thought I knew better.
It's obvious I didn't, but you know what Norik?
I'm still alive and I'm not sorry for that."

"I thought you were apologizing," said Norik.

"Pfft," Jasmine said with a smile and a wave of her hand, "apparently I don't mean it."

Norik didn't reply.
He still couldn't bring himself to look at her but he did let her apply another bandage.

Jasmine tied off the ends, admired her handiwork and asked, "Did she fight back?"

Norik's eyes darted to Jasmine's for a moment before they returned to the bunk where the plasma blaster and knife lay.
"Yes," he finally said.
"Lilah fought me the whole way."