Stardust Dreams (19 page)

"I told you before. You
weren't in any serious danger. The mating ritual of Frezlo's species is
extremely long. I was waiting outside his door until I heard the sounds that
let me know you had him completely distracted."

"That shows how much
you know. All I was doing was brushing his hair… not that that wasn't gross
enough!"

"Not to him. For
Frezlo, a good grooming is the most sensuous foreplay there is. Unlike
humanoids, his hair contains nerve cells."

"Are you telling me
that while I was untangling knots, I was actually…
arousing
him?"

Gallant couldn't resist. "You
heard what he said— you were the best ever."

"O-o-oh!
I hate you!" Unable to speak another coherent
word, she raised her fists, prepared to express her anger physically.

He blocked her attack and
ordered, "Stop it. I'm getting sick and tired of you hitting me without
reason. The next time you do it, I'm going to hit you back."

"Ha! You already did
that, remember? In fact, I think you cracked my jaw." She rubbed the spot
he had struck for effect.

"I had to do that to
save you from Sinbar! Surely you realized he was drawing you into a
trance."

"Of course I did. But
you still hurt me." She tried to hold on to her anger, but suddenly,
uncontrollably, tears filled her eyes, and she stammered out the truth. "I've
never been so scared in my entire life." His arms opened and the offer of
comfort—even from him—was impossible to resist.

"I swore no harm would
come to you. You should have trusted me," he said, holding her tightly
against him.

She tipped her head back
and frowned at him. "How could I trust you? You're a liar and a cheat
and—" Before she could utter another insult, he silenced her with his
lips.

This kiss was no less of an
assault than the other two they'd shared. Only this time, her blood had been
boiling beforehand. The strange tingling she had previously experienced in her
robotic arm shot through her like a lightning bolt.

Suddenly Cherry felt as
though she had been caught in a raging hurricane and the only escape was through
the eye of the storm. She relayed her need in the most elemental way. Tangling
her fingers into his thick hair to hold him still, she drew his tongue into her
mouth, nipped and sucked, then forced her way into his.

She felt him yank off her
wig and moaned her frustration when it took him more than a heartbeat to get
rid of the gown. His vest hit the floor a moment later, and she pulled her
mouth from his to taste the flesh she had uncovered. She ran her tongue down
his neck and chest, and when her teeth closed over his nipple, he made that
growling sound she found so erotic.

His fingers curled beneath
the neckline of her jumpsuit and she stopped stroking his arms and chest to
help him eliminate one more obstacle between them. Suddenly his hands closed
over hers and prevented her from undressing further. She felt his body go rigid
and realized he was trying to rein in his passion once again.

"No! Not this time,
Gallant." She pried one hand loose, ran it down his body, and molded her
fingers over his hard, pulsing shaft. The realization that her eyes hadn't been
mistaken about his size made her take a deep breath of anticipation. "You
want me. I want you. Right now, nothing else matters."

Another low growl was his
only answer before desire swept away whatever had caused him to hesitate. Only
when they tumbled onto his bunk completely naked did he try to speak. With
every inch of their bodies pressed together, she felt as much as heard his low,
gravelly voice.

"I don't… want to…
hurt you."

"Dear Lord, Gallant,
the only way you're going to hurt me now is if you don't come inside right this
minute."

His reaction to her words
was an entry so hard and fast, it would have been brutal had her body not been
so well primed for him. He took her relieved cry into his mouth and groaned his
pleasure back to hers.

She met his desperate pace,
aware that he not only filled and stretched her beyond anything she had ever
known, but he was driving her toward a height she had never before reached.

Within minutes he took her
over that height to a climax that had her whole body shuddering with exquisite
pleasure.

But he didn't allow her to
come down. He turned her, twisted her, left her body and returned to push her
over the brink again and again. And when she thought she would surely die of
pleasure, he took her with him over one, final, ecstatic peak.

For some time they clung to
one another on their sides, unable to work up the strength to separate their
bodies. When Cherry finally caught her breath, she realized he was quickly expanding
to his formidable size within her once more. With a light laugh, she moved her
hips against his and teased, "You must not have found that pleasure female
you went looking for when you left me."

"Did you really
believe I would do such a thing?"

"I didn't know what to
think," she murmured as she traced aimless designs on his chest with her
finger.

"You should have. I
showed you what you made me feel. Why would I use some other female when it was
you I wanted?"

Cherry giggled and licked
his collarbone. "Oh, now
that's
precious. You actually sound like
you mean it."

"When I lie, you
believe me, and when I tell the truth, you don't. You're an extremely
exasperating woman."

"Exasperating!"
She tried to lift her head, but he pressed it back to his chest.

"Please, I'm not ready
to go back to fighting with you yet." He took a slow deep breath and she
settled down again. "You seemed… satisfied."

This time she raised her
head before he could stop her. "Satisfied doesn't come close to describing
the best—" She broke off her intended compliment when she looked at his
closed eyelids and remembered that she hadn't yet questioned him about the
missing eye patch. "Open your eyes."

"I'm too tired."

She squeezed her vaginal
muscles around his hardness. "No you're not. Let me see your eyes." Just
when she thought he was going to refuse, he slowly raised his lids and looked
at a spot over her head. She stared at his two
perfectly normal,
dark
brown eyes. "There's nothing weird about your left eye."

"No."

"Then why the
patch?"

"It complements my
wicked reputation."

Cherry moved her head from
one angle to another, but he managed to keep his gaze averted. "You're
lying. You can't look me in the eye and tell me a lie, can you?" He didn't
even try to deny it. "Look at me!"

Sighing, he let his eyes
meet hers for a split second before he pulled her head down to his. With his
lips barely touching hers, he whispered, "I'd rather fight with you
again."

The moment his mouth
demanded her participation, she gave in with an eating kiss that had him
growling in no time. She had thought their first bout had been incomparable,
but this second battle replaced desperation with skillful technique.

He found her most sensitive
areas and touched her in ways meant to wipe out all thoughts of anything but
pleasure.

She caressed and stroked
him until he forgot about whatever it was that he didn't want her to know.

This time, the build-up was
slower and longer, yet when the finale was upon them, it was no less explosive.

Gallant kept Cherry's warm
body curled against his long after she fell asleep. Looking at her like that,
it was hard to imagine that beneath such a peaceful exterior lay enough energy
to power a star ship. Like a human sacrifice, he had given himself up to that
power, and having miraculously survived, was anxious to repeat the experience.

For so long he had feared
what would happen to him if he ever let go completely. It had turned out to be
neither paradise nor perdition, but an incredible combination of the two, and
it wouldn't have been the same with any other woman he had ever met.

Now that he had found
someone as emotional and passionate as himself, he wanted to chain her to him
forever. He wanted to spend the rest of his days feeding off her sparkling
energy, fighting with her, sharing himself with her, and holding her while she
slept.

Yet, how could he keep her?
She was too curious for him to hide his secret from her indefinitely. It was
only a matter of time before she resumed her questioning about Frezlo's death,
and it was only by sheer luck that she hadn't seen what was going on in the
room around them whenever he opened his eyes. Fortunately when she shared
herself with him, she gave it her total attention.

He had been in too much of
a rush to don a patch before they landed on the bed and too sated to rise and
get it afterward.

What if he simply told her
the truth as she kept insisting he should do? Was there any chance that she
wouldn't be repulsed? He remembered her sympathetic, unprejudiced comments when
he had told her about the Illusians, and wondered if she could possibly find
sympathy in her heart for him. If she didn't, however, revealing his secret
would be akin to handing her his life on a crystal platter.

Even if she wasn't repelled
by the truth, what enticement could he offer to make her want to stay with him?
His home was this ship and wherever his next assignment took him; his life
itself was one long risk. Like her best friend Aster, Cherry deserved to mate
with someone as safe and stable as Romulus.

None of it really mattered
in the end. She missed Innerworld, her friends, her career, and once she
discovered she wasn't going to get back in time for her
important
appointment
with Theodophilus, she would probably refuse to let him come within ten feet of
her anyway. Telling her the whole truth at this late date wouldn't change the
fact that he couldn't return her to Terra for sometime yet.

Cherry moaned softly in her
sleep and snuggled her bottom against his stomach. Gallant hadn't even been
aware of the fact that while his mind was analyzing the impossibility of making
her his life-mate, his hand had cupped her breast and massaged it to a hard
peak. Even in a sound sleep she responded to his touch, and he instantly
responded to that knowledge.

He knew without a doubt
that if he slipped his fingers between her thighs, she would be wet and ready
for him. He wouldn't have to do more than stroke her once or twice and she
would awaken for him, willing to charge into their private battle one more
time.

But each encounter
increased the risk of her discovering the truth, and since he could not expect
her to agree to be his life-mate, it was best that she not bear the burden of
his secret.

Although he told himself it
would be wise to leave her now and never touch her again, his fingers had
already crept down to their desired goal. She was neither fully awake nor fully
asleep, yet she was fully aroused. Without changing positions, she opened
herself to him and he slipped inside.

As their bodies challenged
each other to the ultimate duel, he promised himself he would banish her from
his mind in an hour… or two.