Tiger of Talmare (4 page)

Zach started to rise automatically, but he caught sight of the glint of satisfaction in her expression, and he dropped back down letting his full weight land on her. He heard the whoosh as the air left her lungs a second time. He wasn't falling for the damsel in distress routine again. That was how they'd stolen his ship in the first place. Been there, done that. Besides, he really didn't know if he had the strength to stand up. He was as weak as a cub.

She did look as though she could do with a little air, though. He raised himself up on his elbows. It brought the lower half of his body snugly against her, and he flexed his hips a couple of times against her firm belly.

She really wasn't his type. He liked feminine women, sweet, soft ones, the sort a man could lose himself in. All the same, his body was responding to her closeness.

"Better?" he murmured, and this time he had to smile. She was almost spitting; she was so mad. His smile seemed to send her into a frenzy.

She squirmed beneath him, hammering her fist against his chest. After a few minutes of futile wriggling, she went still beneath him, staring up with hard, cold eyes. "If you don't get up, you'll be sorry."

"Really?"

"Yes," she hissed.

"Make me," he repeated his earlier words.

"You think I can't?"

He grinned. "I'm sure you can't."

"Ha," she said. "You know, I really didn't want to do this."

A flicker of unease skittered across his skin. "Do what?"

"No, actually, that's a lie. I do want to do this, after all. In fact I'm really, really looking forward to it."

"Do what?" he repeated.

She raised her free hand, the one she wasn't beating him with, and waved it in front of his face. She held a small box, very simple, just two buttons. "This," she said pressing the green one.

The effect was instantaneous, as if ice water had been poured down his spine. For a moment, he didn't realize what had happened, then he tried to move.

"What the hell have you done?" At least he could still speak.

"Paralysis from the neck down." She stared up at him and frowned. "I wonder if they make one that includes the head."

"Fucking let me go, you malicious bitch."

"Maybe later, if you're a good little kitty." She patted his cheek, and Zach growled.

He could do absolutely nothing as she wriggled out from under him. Almost free, she rested her booted foot against his chest and pushed hard.

He rolled onto the floor on his back and lay staring up at the ceiling. Scrambling to her feet, she brushed the dust from her clothes and came to stand over him.

"Oh," she said, staring at his body. Zach peered down. He had the most enormous erection, and she was studying it as though it were some strange anomaly. For a moment, he was sure she was going to reach down and touch him and he twitched, despite the paralysis.

"Do you think it's stuck like that until I let you go?" she asked. "My, such interesting possibilities."

Zach didn't answer, just glared his fury at her.

"No, look, it's wilting already." She sighed. "What a pity."

He ground his teeth.

"Right then, I'll be off. Got a rendezvous to make, you know."

She stood in the doorway for a moment, waggled her fingers, and she was gone.

"Come back here, you bitch. Let me go!"

Zach lay on the floor, staring at the closed door. There wasn't a lot else he could do. He tried to tell himself she wouldn't leave him like this. After all, she'd kissed him. Well, she'd kissed him back, at any rate. A woman didn't kiss a man and then do something like this. No, she was simply making a point, flexing her muscles.

She would be back in a few minutes. He closed his eyes and waited.

Nothing happened.

He opened his eyes and attempted to move, but apart from raising his head a few inches from the floor he was totally paralyzed. "Bitch."

He supposed he couldn't blame her entirely for the mess his life was in. But he could try. His whole existence had taken a downward turn after she stole his ship. From hero to village idiot in one quick move. Who the hell lost a spaceship?

Eventually people had forgotten, and he'd clawed his way back up, and then Talmare had happened.

From hero to monster.

At the thought of Talmare, the familiar rage flooded his mind. Damn Pieter Sanderson. Pieter had pretended to be his friend. Would probably still be pretending if Zach hadn't found out what he was up to. He could still scarcely believe it. He also couldn't believe he had been stupid enough to go to Pieter with what he had discovered. Tried to reason with him, but back then, he hadn't seen the whole of his plans.

The man was a megalomaniac who would turn the civilized world into chaos in his ego trip for power. But he'd set Zach up well and true. Zach had heard what they were calling him, "The Tiger of Talmare". He knew what he was accused of.

He remembered Mel's words, "eating flesh", she'd said. Christ, did people really believe that? Did she believe it?

It was just as well that there had been a delegation from the Intergalactic Agency on Talmare at the time, or Zach was sure he would have ended up dead. He'd surrendered himself, and even Pieter wasn't stupid enough to challenge the Agency. Yet. Though Zach knew the time was fast approaching.

Still, it looked as though Pieter was going to get his chance to finish him off after all.

Would the little pirate really hand him over to be killed?

Probably.

And was she going to leave him here, like this, for the whole journey?

It seemed likely.

Though "little" wasn't a good word to describe her, except compared to him. She was tall for a woman, and very striking, unforgettable really.

He'd recognized her immediately; her blue-black hair might be short now, but those eyes were unmistakable. He remembered the feel of her under him. No, she wasn't his type, but it had felt pretty damn good all the same. She might not be soft, but she was definitely all woman. And her lips had been soft when she kissed him. Well, kissed him back.

That had felt pretty damn good as well.

He glanced down his body and realized that while his nerves might be paralyzed, it was doing nothing to stop the blood flow.

A shadow passed the cell door and paused. A face peered in, and he swore softly.

He'd never been a particularly modest man, but the idea of lying here, stark naked, with a stiffy, completely unable to move, was not his idea of fun. He forced his thoughts on to something unpleasant, anything to get his body under control. Pieter Sanderson, the governor of Talmare. That should do it. Pieter and his maniac plot to take over the Universe.

The face disappeared, but over the next couple of hours, it was replaced by a series of faces, all female, all peering in at him like he was some sort of zoo specimen. One even waggled her fingers through the glass and grinned. He was sure he recognized the same faces over and over again—at least one of them was green, and that was hard to miss.

The first couple of times, he shouted. They took no notice, and after that, he did his best to ignore them.

Finally, what seemed like a long time later, he heard the door click open. He rolled his eyes in that direction; ready to tell her exactly what he thought of her and her ship and her crew and anything else he could think of. But it wasn't her.

It was another woman, a redhead, with bright green eyes and freckles across her nose. Zach remembered her; she had been with Melissa Stark when she stole his ship. She entered the room warily, as if expecting him to leap on her.

Chance would be a fine fucking thing. She carried a bundle that she placed on the bed, and she turned to go.

"Hey, wait."

She paused and turned back slowly. Looking down at him, her gaze skimmed his body before returning to his face. A slight smile lifted the corners of her lips. "Yes?"

"Is she going to keep me like this forever?"

"Mel?"

"Yes, Mel. Is she going to leave me here?"

She raised a small box she held in her palm. "Actually, she left it up to me."

"Really?"

Zach had never had any problem getting women. He was aware that some of them were just attracted to the exotic and even more were attracted to the danger they associated with him. But whatever the reason, he knew they found him desirable. He tried his best smile, the slightly lopsided one that normally had them falling for him in droves. She didn't seem impressed. He sighed. "So, are you going to let me go?"

"I might."

He closed his eyes. He was stuck on a ship—his ship—with the biggest bunch of bitches in the known universe. Why him? What had he done to deserve this? He supposed he could try begging. He opened his eyes again.

"Please." The word nearly stuck in his throat, but he managed to choke it out.

She smiled but turned and left. The door clicked shut behind her, and Zach cursed loudly.

But a moment later, the icy grip that held him in place relaxed. His head fell back to the floor, and for a minute, he lay there. He sat up slowly. Everything seemed to be working okay, but he was still weak. That was the cryo. He'd never been in cryo before, but he'd heard other people say it could knock you out.

And he was starving.

He tugged at the bracelets on his wrist, but they were locked in place. Which meant they could paralyze him again anytime they liked.

The thought was not a happy one.

He needed to get out of here.

Rising to his feet, he swayed; he was still unsteady, but his strength was seeping back. He tottered to the door; it was locked, as expected. He tried pressing his palm to the panel, but nothing happened. Next, he went to the cot. Sinking down, he investigated the bundle and found a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt, both black. He pulled on the pants and felt immediately better.

The T-shirt was an impossibility; no way was it going to stretch over his shoulders, but he could live with that.

Once decently covered, he turned his attention to his surroundings. The room wasn't small, but it was crowded with stuff. He sifted through some. "Crap," he said, tossing an obsolete wave reader onto the floor. After ten minutes, he gave up, pushed the rest of the rubbish from the cot, and stretched out.

He needed to take stock. He wasn't dead yet, but he wouldn't last for long once Pieter got hold of him. He wondered why he had even kept him alive this long. Why not have him killed straight away? The only reason he could come up with was Pieter wanted to make sure that he hadn't shared his discovery with anyone else. He wished he had.

So a plan. First, get the little pirate to let him go, then inform the authorities what Pieter was up to, and finally, get his life back. No, he decided, what he really needed to do was get the little pirate to take him where he needed to go, or better yet, get her to give him his ship back.