Star Raiders (22 page)

Fabric and grass clumped in his fists. “Please,” he groaned.

She tilted her head forward to meet his gaze. “In a hurry, are you?” His eagerness to be inside her warred with his need to savor her. Impatience won. He’d savor her later. He couldn’t wait.

With a feral growl, he gripped her hips and surged upward into her. Her mouth opened in an O of surprise. Letting go, he lost himself inside her. The world dissolved from consciousness. Yesterday and tomorrow, past and future—it al no longer mattered. In that moment, the heated friction between them was Greyson’s only reality.

Chapter Fifteen

A cool night breeze played over Shy’s damp, naked flesh. She shivered and curled against Greyson’s enticing warmth. He pul ed her against him and draped his shirt over her shoulders. The rest of their clothes lay beneath them, little protection from the sharp edges of the trampled sea grass that formed their bed. Satisfaction left her body boneless, her mind at ease. She couldn’t find the energy to care or to move.

The scent of the sea and crushed grass mingled with the tang of sweat and sex. She breathed deep. Never again would she be able to smel the brine of the sea and not remember Greyson. The cry of a lone seabird as it sought its roost drifted across the water. Above, stars struggled to shine in the bright glow of Uta’s moons. Orbiting around three suns left Uta with long days and short nights.

Lifting her head, she studied Greyson’s face in the reflected light. He was so distinct. Through the years, even when she’d tried to forget him, she couldn’t—with shaggy brown hair that always seemed too long, always hanging in his warm brown eyes, Rian was a miniature version of his father. It seemed he’d inherited none of his mother’s physical appearance.

Tal and lean for his age, Rian was a natural athlete. Curious at times to the point of foolhardiness, he managed to get into trouble on a distressingly regular basis. But when caught in some bit of mischief his lopsided grin and wicked sense of humor made it difficult for her or anyone to remain angry with him.

At that moment, Shy’s heart ached to see her son. With Greyson here she wouldn’t be able to, however. She couldn’t take the risk. And yet how could she not?

If things went badly with Dempster, she might never again have the chance to see him.

She tried to get back to Uta every week or so, but of late the days between her visits had stretched into weeks and then months. Though he never complained, she knew her son missed her as much as she missed him.

Rian was a happy little boy, secure in his world, secure in his place in it, secure in her love. He was wel cared for by Matha and Tomas, who saw him as their grandson if not by blood. It pained Shy to admit that since she’d gone into space as a smuggler, they, more than she, had raised the boy. At nearly ten, he was past babyhood—had passed it years ago—and she was missing most of his childhood.

As wel adjusted as he was, however, he needed his mother. Just as she needed him. She remembered how much she’d longed for Kedar when she was a child. The thought of Rian suffering in the same manner tore chunks out of her heart. Had Kedar felt even a portion of what she now felt? But she couldn’t see any other way to live her life.

Liar. Tell Greyson. He’ll help you find a way. He’ll protect Rian.

The confession trembled on her lips, the admission of their child and al the things she’d kept from him. He’d hate her, though. Could she live with that?

“Why do you do it?”

The restrained anger in Greyson’s voice answered her question. No. Blast her for the selfish coward she was. She couldn’t tel him. She couldn’t risk losing what little time they might have together.

She looked up. “Do what?”

He didn’t look at her as he spoke. His gaze remained fixed on the sky, but she felt his body tense. “Smuggle. Run blockades. Rescue slaves. Risk your freedom, your life, al in criminal activity.”

Despite his clear frustration, despite the fact that he was asking questions, which long ago would have infuriated her, she was unwil ing to leave the warmth of his side. She rested her head on his chest. The feel of his arm around her, his fingers stroking the bare skin of her neck and shoulder and the steady thud of his heart against her cheek eased her disquiet. “Without the money I make, and without the goods and supplies
Independence
can smuggle here, Uta wouldn’t survive.”

“You have MAT units. They would supply the basics.” Shy shook her head. “Not enough. Have you ever run a colony of a thousand people? And don’t just say to get more. Even three times as many units couldn’t supply al the needs of Uta’s growing community. Like battle cruisers, MAT units are difficult to come by and expensive to maintain. No, we need to be self-reliant.” She felt his hesitation, then a nod of agreement.

“Okay, but why not stay on Uta? Retire from smuggling. Let someone else captain
Independence
. Build a life for yourself—a life that doesn’t involve the danger and criminal activity. The people here obviously love you. Perhaps you could take a less…criminal role.”

She’d thought of it often. Could she give over control of
Independence
to her crew, let them smuggle the goods Uta needed? Let them make the runs? Let them take the risks? Let them make the choices that decided Uta’s fate? Her fate?

Rian’s fate? Would that be the right thing to do?

Knowing the answer was no, that she couldn’t turn those responsibilities over to anyone else, she avoided his question. “Every year Uta becomes more self-sufficient. Eventual y I’l retire from smuggling, but that day is stil years away.” By then Rian would be grown and no longer need her. The pain and guilt of that bit into her. Plus there was another consideration: “Even when Uta is self-sufficient, however, she’l stil need the protection
Independence
provides.”

“Do
you
have to provide it?” His question echoed the one she asked herself.

“She needs a captain.”

“That’s not an answer. Able could captain her. Hel , even Terle could.”

“
Independence
is my ship. I’m her captain. Why do you care, anyway? Uta is outside Earth space. She’s not ELF or ASP’s concern.”

“As long as she harbors smugglers, she’s ASP’s concern.”

“But when Uta is self-supporting she won’t be harboring smugglers, so what’s your point?”

“Because, damn it, I care about what happens to you! Why is that ship more important than your life? You stick to it, to flying it, to smuggling…” The growing frustration in his voice softened her resentment at his comments.

She teased the crisp hair on his chest and felt his sex swel against her hip.

“
Independence
is the only tangible thing I have left of Kedar—of my
father
.” It was the first time in years she’d admitted her sense of loss. “Giving her up would feel like severing the last link between us.” Tears burned her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but they trickled down her cheeks to dampen his chest.

The mood between them shifted. Al tension dissolved. Rol ing to his side so they lay face-to-face, he cupped her cheek in one hand and stroked the tears away with his thumb. “Letting someone else captain her isn’t the same as giving her up,” he pointed out.

“I know, but when I’m aboard her I feel like he’s stil with me. I m-miss him.” A dam broke inside her and more words spil ed out. “Some of my earliest memories are of being aboard
Independence
. With him.”

“I can imagine it.” Greyson grinned. “You’d flash your big blue eyes at his crew and run roughshod over the entire group. A girl in charge of pirates.”

“Smugglers,” she corrected without heat.

“Right, smugglers.”

Staring at Shyanne, Greyson couldn’t help imagining her so many years ago, traveling with her father’s crew. Tiny, adorable. She would have been the same age as Anna when the pirates attacked. The memory wiped away his grin.

Shyanne continued talking. “For me,
Independence
was like one big playground. At first nothing was off-limits. Kedar or one of his crew al owed me to explore every inch of her.”

Greyson pul ed his attention back to Shyanne. Anna was long dead. Nothing he did could bring her back. But he could make sure Shyanne didn’t suffer the same fate. “How old were you when Kedar first left you here?” he asked.

“When I was almost five, Kedar decided a spaceship was no place to raise a child, so he found Matha and Tomas and set us up on Uta.”

“Why?”

“I guess I was a bit too independent. Sometimes I managed to slip away from my caretakers. There were a couple of accidents that almost kil ed me.” The thought of Shyanne dead put a knot in Greyson’s bel y. “What happened?”

“I don’t remember most of them. One time I tumbled down an access tube. I must have been a disaster waiting to happen. Another time I nearly managed to put myself out an air lock.”

Her wry chuckles turned the knot inside him to an icy shard of dread. No child of four could operate the controls necessary to accidental y open an air lock. “Was Simon Dempster part of your father’s crew back then?” he wondered aloud.

She shivered in his arms. “Yes. He was Kedar’s second-in-command.”

“Are you sure those incidents were accidents?”

“Yes…Wel , probably. What are you saying?” She lifted her head.

“Dempster’s been leaving your locator ID at the scene of his attacks. Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know. To divert suspicion from himself. Doesn’t that make sense? He’s got to blame someone.”

“What if his motives are more personal?”

Shyanne sat up, turned her back to him and hugged her knees to her chest.

He missed her warmth, but the chil that slid down his spine had nothing to do with the breeze that touched where she’d rested against him. Sensing her reluctance to talk about her relationship with Dempster, he chose his next words careful y.

“Eldin said a while back that Dempster held you prisoner.”

“So?” Her tone was guarded. “What’s your point?” Moonlight painted the smooth curve of her back a pearly white. The sight sent a bolt of fire to Greyson’s groin. “Wel , he could use any locator ID to throw off ASPs scent. Do you think his goal is to draw you out and capture you?” Her body trembled. “Maybe. I suppose so. When I was a child, I knew he hated me. The feeling was mutual. He wanted what I had—Kedar’s love, such as it was.

For al the good it did me.

“When I got older, his attitude changed. The fujerking slime tried to
court
me.” She gave an indelicate snort. “His feelings toward me had changed—at least his physical feelings. And maybe he believed if he had me, he’d also have Kedar’s love. But my dislike of him didn’t change. In my eyes he was and is lower than bilge scum. What he wants now I don’t know or care. But he’l never have me the way he wants.” She curled her head close to her knees, muffling her last words. “I’l die before I let him touch me again.”

Wanting to comfort her but afraid to touch her, Greyson reached out. His hand hovered a hairbreadth above her shoulder. “Did he…?” He needed to see her face, needed to know the answer, yet he couldn’t bring himself to finish the question.

“No.” She shook her head, then continued in a harsh whisper. “Not physical y, anyways. He didn’t have time. Eldin and the others got me out before that happened.”

She shot to her feet. As she stood with her back to him, her voice strengthened. “I don’t want to talk about Dempster anymore. Whatever his plan, our job is to see he doesn’t succeed. To see he’s destroyed. To try to understand him…that’s just a waste of energy and emotion. It’s time to go back, anyway.

Morning dawns early on Uta.”

Greyson stood. The wind picked up, bringing with it a spray of seawater. Teeth chattering, Shyanne swore and wrapped her arms around herself. She didn’t hesitate when he handed her clothes to her; clutching them to her chest, she strode away. Unmindful of the bits of sea grass stuck to his damp skin, to ward off the chil y air, Greyson dressed quickly and fol owed.

Despite the comparative warmth of the night air away from the sea, Shy shivered.

She should have told Greyson about Rian just then, but the words hadn’t come. If he knew the truth, what feelings he had for her would die. He’d hate her for lying to him, for keeping him from his son. And he’d be right.

Though he moved quietly, she knew when Greyson caught up with her. She’d pul ed on her wrinkled clothes, but wisps of grass were stuck in her tousled hair and her feet were bare and dusty. With his shirt hanging open over his bare chest, anyone seeing them would know what they’d been up to. She didn’t care, though.

Their future together was cloudy, so she intended to grab whatever time fate granted the two of them. Once Dempster was stopped and Earth was safe, she’d tel Greyson about Rian and that time would end.

When he reached her side, he held out his hand in a silent question. Without hesitation, she slipped her fingers into his. The warmth of his strong clasp eased the chil in her heart.

Together, they hurried back to the house. Once they were inside, she fol owed him into his room, into his bed, into his heart. Clothes were shed. Greyson warmed her heart and body.

“Let’s take a ride,” Shyanne suggested.

Greyson looked up from the breakfast he’d been regarding, poking it with his fork. Thoughts of the pending C.O.I.L. invasion had dul ed his appetite. They had to get back to their pursuit of Dempster.

Shyanne gave him a considering look, then grinned. The quiet, determined woman from the night before was gone. Looking at her now, smiling, eyes clear, Greyson wouldn’t believe her capable of running a smuggling operation or harboring the secrets he knew she did. Which was the real Shyanne? The bright, carefree girl from his past? The dangerous, intense criminal? The warm, caring woman gazing at him across the table?

“There’s not much we can do while we wait for
Independence
to be repaired, so let’s take your sweet little bird out for a jaunt,” she suggested.

She had a point: They could only move as fast as her crew got her ship refitted. “Anything’s better than sitting around here waiting.” He pushed aside his plate and stood, and the two of them headed for the spaceport.