The Chalice (48 page)

“W hat happens now?”

“Commander Jaegar has offered refuge on Faelos for all who wish to stay. The planet lies deep in the void, far beyond the outlands. They offer hope, a new beginning.”

“And what about us?”

He took her hand again, pressing it to his lips. “You are my heart. My dream  oflove. I’ve nothing to offer but my devotion. If that is enough, I will make certainyou want for nothing.” His expressive m outh widened in a smile. “Life with youwill be a wondrous adventure.” [start here] start what?

Her breath caught on a hitch. A life with Tegan! What could be better? She’dgrown up dreaming of a m an who’d love her, and som eday having a hom e andfam ily. Chances were good it wouldn’t have been on some unheard of planetbeyond the known solar system , but a fam ily just the same. And who knew whatlife would be on Earth if circum stances hadn’t changed so dramatically. Not thatshe had anything or anyone to go back to. Everyone she knew back there haddied long ago. This Warrior offered everything she yearned for. Her future washere— in this time and place. I’m  getting the better end of the deal!

She pulled her hand free winding her arms around his neck. “A long time ago avery wise Chalice on our planet said to her mate ‘whither thou goest I will go.’ I’mkinda thinking along those same lines.”

His warm  breath fanned her cheek. “I would have liked this female.”

She nibbled his chin, savoring the prom ise of things to come. “Faelos it is.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Kara stretched, arching her back and then yawning before she snuggled down

into the covers. Too early!

Once the Algarith had reached the outlands, several large transport ships hadappeared and the process was in place to m ove the survivors of the Redem ptionand Freedom  onboard for relocation to Faelos.

Jaegar’s   people   were   a   pleasant   and   hardworking   lot,   welcom ing   thenewcomers with open arms, honored and awed by Tegan’s presence in theirmidst. He was treated with deference, regarded as the hereditary leader of the Chiagan-Se— a joyful rem inder of the dom inion once held by the proud and noblerace. From  his point of view, he was content to stay in the background, lettingothers take the lead.

The   newcom ers   were   given   free   rein   of   the   transports’   resources,accom modations were provided and duties assigned. Much to her disgust, Karahad yet to be given an assignm ent. Her tenuous standing as Queen of the Earthfemales and Tegan’s mate relegated her to the lofty position of royal nobodywhich, as far as she was concerned, was going to change real soon. Boredomwasn’t on the long list of things she enjoyed.

Sleep-dazed, she brushed back a stray lock of hair, enjoying the quietudebefore dragging herself out of bed and facing the world— or more accurately thevoid in space. Or the space time continuum  as Spock used to say! Aches in herupper thighs and pelvic region reminded her of Tegan’s nightly exercises. The Warrior was a voracious sex machine! All those virgin years had him  brim mingwith urgent sexual need! Not that she was com plaining. On the contrary. She hada hard time keeping her hands off whenever he was around. All that sleek paleskin covering those bulging muscles. She squirmed, sighing aloud. He m ight have

come to her untried, but he certainly knew what buttons to push!

The bed shifted, dipped. Tegan spooned around her backside, large handroam ing and caressing. She groaned. Just a few more m inutes-puleez! He cuppedher breast teasing the nipple. A spark ignited, creating a slow sizzle in her lowerparts. She rolled to her stomach, burying her face in the pillow.

“I like the way you smell, all fem inine and womanly.”

She jerked, moaning.

“I’m  not awake,” she grumbled, gasping as he tickled her stomach. The slow

sizzle burst into flame. “Don’t you have som ething better to do?”

“Nothing pressing.” His m outh trailed down her back, licking and tasting. “I’m

satisfied to be here.”

“I just bet you are.” She grinned to herself. Hard to com plain when she knew the end result of his explorations. Capitulating, she caught his hand and guided it…lower—and then lower.

His weight settled on her back, knees nudging her thighs apart. Talentedfingers splayed across her waistline, lifting her hips. “I can m ake you feel allbetter,” he m urm ured, licking the nape of her neck.

Her skin burned, fueled by the languid kisses he pressed along her backbone. One large hand m assaged her breast while the other dipped and played at theapex of her thighs, kneading and molding the flesh, his fingers lightly skimm ingher fiery core. He parted the folds, teasing the sensitized flesh. Arousal flam ed ina white hot flash. She was burning up. She reached between her thighs andgrasped his shaft, rubbing a delicate circle on the bead of m oisture leaking fromthe tip. He groaned, pum ping against her hand. She positioned him  at theentrance to her sheath and he thrust in. Her m uscles clam ped down, delicioustrem ors kneading the hard length. He felt so good. Perfect! She moaned, pantingas he drove in. Faster. Harder. Sparks flashed beneath her eyelids, her heartthundered, crying out as he found and stroked her sweet spot. She was com ingapart at the seams, spinning out of control.

Writhing against him , she spread herself further to his erotic explorations. She

bucked, arching back as he thrust in, deep and filling her to the brim .

Breath coming in sharp pants, tension swelled to a blinding need, fed by the

rhythm  of his molten desire. Sweat trickled down her breasts.

“I want…,” she keened a low whim per.

“W hat do you want?” He fused himself against her cheeks, the heavy weight of

his manhood battered her pulsating core. “Tell me.”

Tense, edgy, teetering on the precipice. “I don’t…I can’t…”

He grinded against her, drawing her into the vortex of his flam ing passion,

fingers swirling in unison.

She expanded, spiraling up, reaching for the pinnacle and then shattered in a

mind-blowing explosion. She buried her face in the blankets, biting down,

masking her scream  of release.

He pum meled, twisting and thrusting, stiffening as his shaft throbbed, hot seed

spilling in a warm  liquid rush.

She sank down, snuggling into the soft covers. The only thing that’d make this

better was a hot cup of coffee.

He cuddled her close, pressing soft kisses along her shoulder blade. “I love

you.”

She woke up hours later. His back was to her as he dressed.

“You should have woke me up,” she com plained. “I'm  being way too lazy these

past days.”

“You needed the sleep.” He began stuffing item s into a cloth bag. His weapons,

personal stuff—  the few things he possessed.

Confused, she slipped from  the warm  bed. “W hat are you doing?”

He turned. His fingers traced her cheek, lingering near her lips. “The last of thecargo transporters transports is heading back to Faelos. Gather your things andproceed to the docking port.” He seem ed…pensive, sad. A fleeting kiss, gentle andcompelling. “Never question how much I love you.”

He whirled, the long white hair flying as he raced from  their quarters. She

gazed at his departing figure, surprised that he didn’t look back, not even once.

W hy did his abrupt departure leave her feeling so alarmed and confused? Theintrospective attitude disturbing. Different. It felt like he said goodbye. Mystified,she wandered aimlessly around their chambers, picking up items and replacingthem  while she m ulled over his unexpected exit. He wouldn’t leave her—wouldhe? He’d given the im pression he intended their budding relationship as a foreverthing, but still… Doubt reared its ugly little head. There were plenty of Chiagan-Sefemales ready and willing to see to his needs if he so much as crooked a littlefinger. Each one of them  would be a far better mate than she could ever be.

She massaged the nape of her neck, kneading the swelling knots of tension asher m ind recreated their last conversation. He didn’t say our things. He said yourthings. Something just isn’t right girlfriend!

Didn’t do any good standing here worrying about it. She tossed on the firstthing she found, pulled her hair into a haphazard ponytail and punched the doorpanel, finding herself nose to nose with a startled Dread. The dark woman fellback, clutching Kara’s shirt as she went down, both landing in an undignifiedheap.

“Get off me,” Dread huffed, shoving her aside. “You weigh a frickin’ ton.” Her

eyes narrowed, as if sensing Kara’s agitation. “What’s up?”

Kara rolled to her feet. “Sorry. Gotta run. I’m  on a mission.”

Dread caught her arm . “Shagal’s disappeared. Have you seen him ?”

Shagal missing? She pivoted, studying Dread’s bemused expression. “Why

would I know where he is? I got my own disappearing male to worry about.”

“Tegan’s missing?”

She nodded. “He took off in a big hurry awhile ago.”

“Same with Shagal. Mentioned something earlier about the transport. Said I

needed to pack.” The black wom an frowned, the dark eyes sparking concern. She stood up, fidgeting with her lime-colored drape, adjusting a pleat on the shoulder. “He was there and then he wasn’t. Didn’t say a dam n thing before he took off.”

“Guess we’d better go check it out.” Kara trotted down the long corridor. “They couldn’t have gotten very far. Not many places to hide.” She rounded a corner and stopped, stum bling forward as Dread rammed her from   behind. She straightened, glaring over her shoulder.

“Pay attention dum bass.”

“Dumbass! You calling me dum bass? W hy don’t you signal before you throw on

the brakes—dumbass!”

Kara chose to ignore her bad attitude, having more important things to worry

about. A charitable gesture on my part!

He wasn’t on the bridge nor was he in engineering. The cafeteria waspractically empty and the workout rooms were silent. No one seemed to knowwhere he m ight be.

“Maybe we should find Bi’ertise. If anyone’d know where they are, she would.”

Dread whipped out a U-turn and headed down a side hall. “I saw her heading

towards the loading dock.”

“Then that’s where we’ll start.”

Breeders and females alike jam med the loading dock, congregating in smallgroups near the entryway as they awaited further instructions for boarding. Therewas a feeling of anticipation, outward good cheer. The future loomed bright forthose lucky enough to have survived.

Kara and Dread pushed their way through the crowd, standing on tiptoe to seeover the shoulders of the m uch taller Chaigan-Se males whose duty it was to

maintain order and direct traffic.

“Need a dam n ladder in here,” Dread grum bled, pinned behind a burley

Warrior. “Can’t see a frickin’ thing.”

Stretching as high as she could, neck straining, Kara scanned the cavernouschamber. A steady line of individuals meandered towards the center where theship-to-ship transports were being loaded. She spotted Leah and Moira. Tearsstreaked the tiny redhead’s forlorn little face. She didn’t look happy. I wonderwhere Branos is?

As soon as the smaller ships were filled, they were sent on their way to bereplaced by the next waiting in line. Efficient and productive. She caught sight of Bi’ertise on the observation deck, talking into her wrist sy-com . Grabbing Dreadby the forearm , she dragged her behind, edging through the shifting m orass ofbodies. A foot the size of a snowboard crunched down on her toes. Elbows

connected with her forehead. A shoulder slam med her back. By the time they reached the base of the observation deck, she was sweating from  every pore and thoroughly pissed.

“Hey, Bi’ertise,” she called. “W here’s Tegan?”

The fem ale leaned over, cupping a hand around her ear and shrugged her

shoulders, eyebrows skewed in concentration.

“I said,” she yelled. “W here’s Tegan?”

Bi’ertise skim m ed down a small stairway, landing with ease and then made her

way to them . “There’s too m uch confusion in here. I couldn’t hear you.”