Raptor's Desire (A Planet Desire novelette)(3)

Still coated with a thin film of suspension gel, her body aligned with his from breast to hip. Disturbingly, her mind recognized they fit together well—just as they had in her dreams. Her body seemed just as accustomed to his embrace, and she found herself instantly, embarrassingly, aroused. Would he notice how tightly her nipples puckered against his chest? She tilted back her head to gauge his reaction.

A muscle in his jaw flexed, and his nostrils flared. The heat in his golden gaze seared her. He’d worn the same expression in her dreams each time he’d seduced her. Oh God! How could she have known what he looked like when aroused, unless they really had shared those experiences? She shuddered, fear and desire warring inside her body and mind.

He reached a hand toward her face, and she flinched.

“First, we bathe.” He smoothed back the strands of hair sticking to her cheek. “Then we’ll talk.”

Even his deep, rumbling voice was the same. With her heart pounding from the realization she was at the mercy of a murderer, Andromeda’s mind raced. “The shower stall is in my quarters.” She backed away from his hold. “I’ll show you.” Turning, she led the way down a narrow passage to her small, Spartan room.

If she could get him inside the shower first and the door automatically entrapped him, she might have time to reach the weapons in the drawer beneath her bed. She couldn’t hope to overpower a warrior without armament.

Conscious of the tall, muscular body following a step behind her, she sighed with relief when she reached her room. She’d forgotten how small it was, until she realized he would have to pass between her narrow bed and the storage cabinets to reach the shower—and she blocked the way.

She stopped in front of the shower, pressed the button to open the stall, and then looked over her shoulder. “If you’ll step inside…”

“After you,” he said, his gaze boring into hers.

Andromeda pressed her lips together in frustration and nodded, then stepped inside, silently cursing. She hoped he wouldn’t poke around her things and find her cache of weapons while she bathed.

She needn’t have worried. Her breath caught on a gasp when he joined her inside the stall, and the door slid shut.





Chapter Two




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Khalim enjoyed his woman’s discomfort. Her back stiffened, almost as quickly as her nipples had when they’d grazed his chest. More intriguing, her shapely bottom quivered where his erection pressed against her. He’d conditioned her body well to accept the forced intimacy.

He reached over her shoulder and pressed the button to start the shower, having already acquainted himself with the functions of most of the conveniences and machinery aboard her ship. The nozzles erupted with a soft misting of warm water all around them.

“Is this really necessary?” she asked, her voice sounding strained.

“I can’t have you getting into mischief. For the time being, we’ll do everything together.” His lips curved when her body stiffened further and her shoulders rose and fell with her angry breaths.

“The password. You’ve been after that all along,” she snapped.

He detected an underlying hurt. Perhaps triggered by a previous betrayal…? He filed that knowledge away. “And you,” he replied, infusing silk and steel into his voice. “I’ve been after you, as well.” He tapped the soap dispenser, and lather joined the water jetting from all nozzles, except those aimed at their heads.

She snorted. “You planned to seduce me into changing the course of this ship, then what? Kill me?”

Khalim suppressed a smile. She was adorably, irritatingly, intense. “I’ve much more interesting things planned for you.” He braced apart his legs and grasped her hips, pulling her tightly to his groin.

Her body shivered—but not from fear. Her nipples spiked as he fitted them into the hollows of his hands.

“I won’t give my password to you.”

“You’re wrong. You’ll give me everything I want.” He dipped a hand into the shampoo well, and foam squirted onto his palm.

When he smoothed it over her head, she jerked away—or as far as she could in the cramped stall. “I can do that myself. And keep your hands—and other parts—to yourself.”

He pulled her against his body again and continued to wash her hair. He counted it a victory when she remained rigid—but pressed intimately to his belly. “You enjoy it more when I wash you. Remember?” He closed his eyes and summoned the vision of his underground keep on Qahir-Jadiid. Although aware of his hands massaging her scalp in her cramped shower, he brought Andromeda to the large, oval bathing pool in his quarters.

Instantly, her body relaxed, becoming liquidly pliable as she leaned back against his chest. In this dream-share state she always eagerly accepted his lead. He understood her subconscious refused to believe their travels were real—therefore, she could indulge in fantasy.

They reclined on the edge of the shallow pool. She was seated on his lap; her head lay upon his shoulder. Light from phosphor-pots illuminated the gold flecks swimming in the ruby-glass walls of his abode. Her body shimmered in the golden light.

He dipped a hand into the pool and scooped up water to rinse her hair, enjoying the lazy labor and admiring the sheen from the red-gold hidden among the dark strands.

“I remember this place. We were here before,” she whispered.