Experiment (Hybrid Book 2) (16 page)

The slight buzz from his com implant made him jump so much that he nearly dislodged her. Giving her an apologetic grimace, he touched the device to accept the communication; he listened briefly to the news before replying.

“Yes, I’m happy to fly without a co-pilot, sir. The shuttle is already prepped and I can lift off as soon as the passengers arrive.”

He turned to Chesara, wondering whether to tell her, she was going to be transferred to another vessel. Checking the time, he decided he’d let Connor tell her, he’d be here in a moment.

“How long do we have, before you have to go?” She moved in close and traced her fingers down his chest now perfect naked chest whilst biting her lower lip. His dick attempted to stand to attention inside his trousers.

Almost against his will, he bent and captured her lips, softly at first, but as her mouth opened to welcome him in, his arms went around her and he deepened the kiss with a groan. She tasted so perfect, and the scent of her arousal flowed around him as her body moulded to his perfectly. Her hands ran across his bare back as she pressed her breasts into him.

The door release whooshed, but although they both heard it, neither broke the kiss. A loud cough brought Dagus partway out of the world he was in with Chesara, and he opened his eyes to see Connor standing in front of them with an expectant look on his face.

C
onnor watched with amusement as Dagus hastily disengaged from Chesara, and reached for his shirt. Seeing the now smooth skin on his chest and Chesara’s flushed face he’d quickly put two and two together.

Knowing the impact Chesara had on men he couldn’t blame Dagus. He’d caught the scent of her arousal as soon as he’d opened the shuttle door, and it was having a similar effect on him.

“Erm, sorry Sir, we were erm..” Dagus faltered.

“Don’t worry ‘buddy boy,’ she can have an interesting effect on a man.” Dagus winced as Connor used the nickname he’d used ever since he’d met him in the brig. It felt good to get one over on at least one cocky Kalzirian.

“Interesting effect? Come to think of it, since have you two been so friendly?” Chesara seemed to be paying attention to him now, but this wasn’t the time or place to have the conversation about her sexuality again.

“Lieutenant, I have orders for you to take myself and the Envoy to these encrypted co-ordinates and wait for further instructions.”

Chesara’s curiosity morphed into much easier to deal with anger at the news. Her hands went to her hips and her nose scrunched up adorably.

“Oh bloody hell Connor, this was supposed to be a day off. We’ve got to work again? We only finished an assignment yesterday.”

“I’m afraid so, no rest for the wicked. We’re due to transfer to another vessel and then onto are next assignment. I don’t know where that is.” Keeping things on a ‘need to know’ basis was standard security protocol.

“I thought we had a job on Kalzir next?” Connor sent a warning look to Dagus, which caused her to frown.

“Ok, I’m not a complete imbecile. What’s with the funny looks? Have I developed an extra head to go with the funny eyes and weird skin?”

Connor thought she looked fantastic with her hands on her hips, glaring at them. This was the Chesara he wanted in his memory, not the terror stricken figure on the floor of the med bay. He had to admit that perhaps the memory wipe had been useful, but it never should have been necessary in the first place.

All the time the Federation considered her an asset, not a person, it was a possibility. Atros might provide a way to change that, but even if it didn’t, a new assignment might provide him with a helpful distraction. He wasn’t going to forget Kalzir or Tenset, but maybe the whole episode was better left hidden for Chesara’s sake.

“You’re not going to tell me a damn thing are you?” she asked with a scowl.

“That’s right, security.”

The way she sarcastically mouthed ‘security’ at exactly the same time he said it, made him grin, but she didn’t appeared to be at all amused.

“You know what? I really don’t give a shit about all your cloak and dagger stuff. Hang on and I’ll go pack a bag. How long are we going for this time?”

She glanced between the two of them, and her scowl deepened.

“Well what is it? You two look as if you’ve been caught skipping school and now you’ve got to tell your mummies you’ve been bad little boys. And what’s with the ‘encrypted co-ordinates?”

“Orders are for an immediate departure, Lieutenant.”

“On it, Sir,” Dagus replied, clearly relieved to have an excuse to bugger off to the cockpit.

Connor kept his smile to himself as Chesara’s jaw clenched in determination, at his own practiced bland expression. If he grinned now, steam would probably start whistling out her ears and they really didn’t have time for another session on anger management with Dr Henderson.

“Am I sodding invisible now?” she said as she stepped forward and waved her hands in front of Connor’s face. “Still here you know.”

He covered his amusement by raising his eyes to the roof and sighing.

“Sorry to be such a pain in the arse, oh Lord and Master, but I do have a right to know why I’m being carted off again.”

According to Federation law, she had no such right. It certainly wouldn’t help matters to tell her that now, and if things didn’t change for both of them, he’d never tell her.

“I’m just following orders Kittycat. I haven’t got a clue either. These shuttles are only capable of travelling for around a week. They’ll be supplies for at least that long on board, isn’t that right Lieutenant?”

“Sure is, once we’re safely away from the ship I’ll input the co-ordinates and the auto pilot will take over. At least we’ll have an ETA. You might as well sit back enjoy the ride folks,” he called from the cockpit.

Connor suppressed a smile as swearing softly under her breath Chesara sat and strapped herself into a seat.

“I hope those supplies include some clean clothes. They’ve got another thing coming if they think I’m meeting new people stinking and dressed as a ‘good time’ girl.”

“I think it's very attractive, very ‘now’,” Connor let his lips twitch as Dagus lifted off, heading out into the darkness of space. He grinned as she called him a ‘son of a Kackbad.’ His Chesara was well and truly back.

After several minutes of silence, Dagus called Connor up to the cockpit to input the data strip containing the encrypted co-ordinates. As instructed, they were maintaining communications silence. Connor was sure Dagus would fill Tenset on his return to the Apollo, but he felt a pang of sadness that he’d probably never see Tenset again, and Chesara would never know him. Even the chances of bumping into Dagus after this trip were slim, the universe was a big place, and he didn’t think he or Chesara would see the Apollo again.

Connor and Dagus both drew in a deep breath as a delicious red berry and vanilla scent wafted through to the cockpit.

“What the hell is that?” said Dagus as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Connor mentally shook himself, he knew exactly what it was, and by the way Dagus was shifting, he was reacting just as hard as he was to Chesara’s pheromones. How could he deal with this on board a shuttle, let alone a scout ship, with a crew of up to ten?

“How long till reach our rendezvous?” Connor asked, he had to nudge Dagus to get his attention.

“ETA is two hours, and even then we might be given more co-ordinates. It’s not unusual to have several changes of destination for security.”

Dagus closed his eyes briefly. “I don’t know if I can cope with this for long. My dick’s so hard it’s almost fucking painful. What the fuck’s wrong with me?”

“Did you have a hard on when Chesara was healing you?”

Dagus glared at him. “Look I know you’re close to her, but what damn business is that of yours?”

Checking that Chesara was still way back in the passenger section, he steeled himself and continued despite Dagus’ angry and somewhat embarrassed expression.

“Judging by her choice of outfit, this might have been brewing since she woke up from the memory wipe. The doctor did say it could affect her mood. Chesara’s built differently to human women, she ‘reacts’ to aroused men. We found that out on Kalzir.”

“Most women react when I’m aroused buddy boy, it’s a talent of mine,” Dagus grinned at him, and it was almost like looking at a younger version of Tenset.

“Not in this way they don’t Casanova. Chesara reacts physiologically; she’ll get increasing aroused, painfully so until the erm ‘act’ is completed. She can’t sort herself out, it doesn’t work. Her pheromones, which is what we can smell, mean we won’t be able to concentrate on anything much either, until she’s sorted out.”

“You mean one of us needs to....”

“You got it. However, as far as she’s concerned she’s a virgin. The memory wipe means this is all new to her, again.”  Dagus digested this information whilst rubbing his jaw.

“So who did it?”

Connor’s eyes sought inspiration from the ceiling.

“Not that it matters, but Tenset if you must know.”

Dagus’ grin widened. “Now why I am not surprised at that? I always followed round after him like a puppy as a kid, learnt a lot from him. Did you, as well?”

“God is that all you’re interested in?”

At Dagus raised eyebrows, he replied. “Fine. Yes me too, although it wasn’t my idea. I was cuffed, wrists and ankles, to a table at the time.”

Dagus waggled his eyebrows as he grinned. “Kinky.”

“Torture from your old buddy Tamas, but she healed me first, it wasn’t her idea either. He had Baxter touch her up first, and when the pheromones kicked in, your uncle had to stun him to get him to stop.”

The mention of his brother’s killer wiped the smile from the lieutenant’s face.

“Sick bastard.”

“No argument there. But we do have to deal with this situation, we can’t have her boarding another ship in this state, she’ll set the whole crew off.”

“I’m willing to take one for the team,” Dagus’ grin was back.

“I bet you would, you’re like a Tenset mini me. What about flying the shuttle?”

“Auto pilot, my man, and I’m taller than Tenset by half an inch.” The grin broadened.

Connor checked the implant and then quickly looked over his shoulder. Her body temperature was decreasing rapidly and she was in quite profound distress. The light on the washroom door told him exactly what was going on.

“I don’t think one of us is going to be enough, she’s so desperate she’s trying to freeze herself in the shower but it won’t help. We really need to get it totally out of her system before we meet up with that other ship.” Connor said.

“As long as you keep your hands and parts on her, I’m literally up for it if you are, buddy boy.”

C
hesara watched the two men deep in conversation in the small cockpit area. Her mind’s eye filled with images of bodies entwined, pounding into each other and she already felt wound tight as a spring, with an ache in her sex. This certainly wasn’t an appropriate place to feel this horny, especially as there were two very hot men in the immediate vicinity.

Squirming around in her seat was sure to catch Connor’s attention when he came back in and she certainly didn’t want the embarrassment of him asking what the problem was. Besides, if either of them came any closer she was likely to jump on them. And she’d already ashamed enough about her behaviour with Dagus. She just hoped he didn’t report the fact she’d pretty much sexually assaulted him during a healing. An unauthorized healing, that someone was sure to notice unless Dagus kept his shirt on for the rest of his life.

Which would be a damn shame as that was one hell of a chest. All smooth skin and bulging muscles, she wondered what it tasted like, what it would feel like if she pressed her naked body against it as it moved against her, while he... And there she was, back to sex again, she really had to do something about this. Most people thought she was weird enough as it was, without adding ‘sexual predator’ to the list.

Making her way to the small washroom cubicle at the back of the craft she entered and locked the door. Quickly losing the all in one suit, she stepped into the shower cubical and set the temperature to cold before turning it full on.

It took her breath away. She danced round in circle for a moment as she flapped her hands mouthing ‘shit, shit, shit,’ to cope with the freezing blast. She stood it for nearly a minute before the convulsive shivering forced her to turn it off.

Breathing hard, she listened for any sound that her impromptu dance routine had been noticed. Where one or both of them waiting outside the door, wondering why she’d suddenly decided to take a shower? Where they picturing her naked body and getting hard thinking about being in her with her?

She groaned in frustration, it hadn’t worked. She hit the side of the cubicle in frustration, tears starting to leak from her eyes as she wondered if Connor would buy the fact she’d suddenly become a raving agoraphobic and she had to spend the rest of her life in a little box.

The soft knock on the door made her jump.

“Chesara, don’t worry come out, we can help you.”

“I don’t need any help, I’m fine.” she squeaked out.

“No you’re not Kittcat. I know what’s happening to you, it’s to do with your mother. We didn’t know whether it would happen because you’re a hybrid, but it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Chesara heaved a sigh of relief, she wasn’t going crazy, Connor as usual, had a solution. Probably in that little ‘bag of tricks’ he always brought with him. He didn’t pack underwear, but he always had a few electronic gadgets and hypos with him. The sooner this was dealt with the better. Wrapping a towel around herself, she opened the door.

Connor closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I don’t smell that awful do I?” she said, hugging herself. “Where’s the damn hypo?”

Glancing past Connor who looked as if he’d just taken a large shot of a narcotic, she saw Dagus walking down the aisle toward her, unbuttoning his shirt. Her heart sped up, he sure looked appetizing, and the expression on his face was frankly, hungry. She bit her bottom lip.