Bianca D'Arc (12 page)

She started to shuffle and then deal the
cards.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph! My gran had cards
like those.” Smiley’s pale face went even paler against his auburn
hair and blue eyes. “The tarot, she called them. Fortune telling
cards.”

Chip did a quick recheck of Smiley’s
personnel file. The colony he came from was called New Dublin and
most everyone was of Old Earth Irish descent. It was one of the
ethnic colonies that sought to preserve a particular way of life.
In this case—Old Irish culture from Earth. Smiley’s real name was
Seamus O’Keefe and there was even a small note about his
grandmother’s predictive abilities in his file, Chip was surprised
to note.

The men seemed impressed anew. Some were
looking at Lila with outright awe. Some were skeptical, like
Julian.

“There you are. Julius Caesar. King of
Stars.” Lila pointed to a card, then looked up at Julian. “That’s
you. And a woman…” Lila pointed to a few more cards, one of which
was a card called simply
The Star.

“And this…” She pointed to a few more
numbered cards. “This is what I wanted to clarify. Timing. Looks
like this is all going down in five days, five weeks or five
months.” She frowned, turning over more cards. “Hmm. Could even be
five hours. Damn.” She flipped a few more cards. “Someone very
capable is leading the pirate ships. A former prisoner. Someone of
rank.”

Chip cursed under his breath. “Captain Morgan
just got out of prison,” he reminded the group.

“There seems little doubt then,” Hank intoned
grimly. “They want this station as a pirate base. Morgan’s starting
up where he left off.”

Chip had heard enough. He zipped through the
personnel files using his internal computing capacity to its
fullest extent while he observed the gathered men. He could tell
who were friends by where they had stood or sat throughout the
meeting and he could tell more about their personalities and
willingness to lead or follow based on their body language.

“Freight Train, would you be willing to
organize our ground troops, such as they are?” Chip asked the big
man who stood off to the side with some of the older guys.

“Happy to, boss.” Freight Train tipped Chip a
casual salute, but his gaze hardened with purpose.

“And Hank,” Chip addressed the older man
standing next to Freight Train. “I’d like you to be the liaison for
us with station police.” Chip knew Hank had been a top notch NCO
before retiring about a decade ago. “I’ve heard you have some
contacts inside station security. If you agree, you will be our
interface with them. I think you’ll understand that I need to
preserve the anonymity of the bar for as long as possible. Who I am
and what really goes on here is Need To Know.”

“Understood, sir. They won’t hear about it
from me. As far as the station’s concerned, we’re just a group of
vets who got together all on our own,” Hank replied easily.

Chip was glad of their support. With those
two running the ground operation, Chip could concentrate on the big
picture.

The men continued to make plans while Lila
quietly sorted out what she’d seen in her vision. She told them
what she could, but there was one piece of information she was
holding back. She knew Chip wasn’t going to like it but in order to
make this work, she had to do something he would never agree to.
When the time came, she would be ready.

By the time the meeting adjourned an hour
later, it was deep into the station night. Chip had given each of
them an earpiece that would allow private communications among
their group. He showed them how to tune in to the station police
frequency as well, but cautioned them not to interact openly with
the police unless absolutely necessary. The police frequency was
somewhat well known and would no doubt be monitored by the
pirates.

It was the off-shift, when the bar was
closed. Lila sat quietly as the men left. Chip saw them off at the
door, looking to those who might be watching the bar, like the
gracious, tipsy, host saying goodnight to his friends. He locked up
and returned to her, meeting her gaze with a grave expression.

“Five days?” he asked, one eyebrow
raised.

She knew what he meant. The cards had told
her the timeframe. Five… something. Days, weeks, hours? She
couldn’t be absolutely sure.

“Seems likely, but it could also be five
hours.” She didn’t like the idea that danger was so close at
hand.

“I know one way to get that frown off your
face.” Chip held out his hand to her. She took it and stood,
allowing him to sweep her into his arms. His lips covered hers in a
kiss that started out hot and spiked up to inferno in twenty
seconds flat.

It had been too long since their interlude
together. She’d had a taste of her Charlemagne and now she was
powerless to resist the ecstasy she knew he could deliver. She
wanted to feel that amazing feeling again and again. If all hell
was going to break loose on the station in the next few hours, she
wanted to spend as much time as they could steal together, in his
arms. Preferably while he was fucking her senseless.

She didn’t want to waste any time. Lila
pushed at his shoulders, making enough room between them that she
could reach for his shirt. When he realized what she was doing, he
helped, ripping the fabric open and away from his hot skin. Lila
loved the feel of him, his hard muscles under smooth skin, his
warmth and even the faint, clean scent of his skin. Everything
about this man appealed to her.

When his shirt was gone, he went to work on
hers. She let him do as he liked while she concentrated on the
closure of his pants. She wanted them gone. She wanted to touch him
and let him know how desperate she was to feel him again. And she
wanted him inside her. Fast.

Things were going from urgent to desperate
when she felt the last of her clothing slide away. His big hands
cupped her breasts for a moment, squeezing and stroking. But it
wasn’t enough. A yearning sound came from deep in her chest, even
as he seemed to be slowing down, taking a moment to savor.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever
seen, Lila.”

She stilled, meeting his gaze and seeing the
truth behind his words in his expression as his hands roamed gently
over her body. They were standing very close to one of the tables
and she leaned back against it, feeling the soft cloth of their
discarded clothing under her. A quick look over her shoulder told
her he’d spread the fabric over the table. It looked deliberate.
She wondered what he had in mind. Whatever it was, she was up for
it. She knew Chip would take good care of her.

He pushed gently on her shoulder, encouraging
her without words to sit back. The clothing under her allowed her
to slide easily. Chip parted her knees with a gentle, but
commanding nudge of his thigh and stepped between them. Oh, yeah.
That’s where she wanted him. But he was still wearing his pants.
The worn fabric rubbed enticingly against the insides of her
thighs.

“I’ve dreamed about this,” Chip whispered as
he drew closer, rubbing his fly against her core as his lips
hovered millimeters above hers. “Ever since I first saw you behind
the bar, I’ve thought about stripping all your clothes off and
having my wicked way with you in here.”

She sucked in a breath. “You have?”

“Mmm-hmm.” He hummed his agreement against
her lips as he finally took them in a warm, slow, deep kiss.

She forgot what she was going to say as he
eased her back on the sturdy table, bringing his weight down over
her while he devoured her, body and soul. He broke the kiss and his
lips moved downward, nipping an erotic line down her neck and over
her chest, pausing for long moments at her nipples, sucking first
one and then the other into the wet cavern of his mouth.

She moaned at the rough slide of his tongue
against her sensitive flesh and squirmed under him, wanting more.
Oh, so much more.

He continued to move downward until his mouth
hovered between her widely spread legs. His warm breath fanned over
her most sensitive flesh and prickles of sensation swept over her
skin, raising goosebumps. It felt so good. But she knew what would
feel even better.

Apparently, so did he. A moment later, he
gave her what she wanted, lowering his mouth, licking his tongue
out and around the little nub of flesh that made her groan in
enjoyment as it was teased. Oh, yeah. Chip knew how to make her
squirm in delight and he used his skill to tantalize and tame,
teaching her body who its master was.

Chip owned her in that moment, solidifying
his ownership when he dipped his tongue inside her moist heat,
striking with a surety that made her shoulders come off the table
as her back arched in uncontrollable response. His big hands held
her hips in place, her willing slavery to his touch kept her
exactly where he seemed to want her as she waited for what he would
do next.

As she shivered in a small completion, he
stood. She was bereft for a short moment until she heard the slide
of his clothing. She looked at him and realized he was pushing his
pants downward. His hard cock sprang free as he stepped closer,
right into the juncture of her thighs. She was at just the right
height for entry and he didn’t waste time.

He took her in one swift move that made her
cry out at the abrupt pleasure of being filled. She loved the way
he handled her body. So sure. So strong. She loved feeling so
feminine around him. He made her feel delicate in a way no man in
her life ever had. Of course, she’d never been with a soldier.

With Chip, everything was new. Shiny and
crystalline. Perfect.

He began to move as she slid as close as she
could to him, wanting to be joined as fully as possible. His hands
went to her hips, guiding her, holding her in place for his initial
thrusts. He went easy at first, holding her gaze while he allowed
her to acclimate to his sudden possession.

“Okay, sweetheart?” Chip asked, watching her
every reaction. The care she saw in his gaze made her want to weep
with joy. Her heart burst open and she knew she loved him beyond a
shadow of a doubt. Would he… could he love her back? It was a
question for another time. The more urgent question now was when he
would speed up and fuck her like he meant it?

“I’m good. Faster, Chip,” she encouraged
breathlessly. “Harder. I need it.” Her muscles strained as her eyes
closed. He felt so damn good inside her.

“What do you need, Lila?” His voice dipped
low, caressing her with sound.

He held back, keeping his thrusts shallow and
moderate. She wanted more. Needed more. She needed all of it. All
of him. Why was he teasing her?

“What do you need?” he repeated in an urgent
whisper, demanding a response.

“You!” She gasped as he suddenly rammed home,
just as she wanted. “I need you, Chip,” she panted as he began
thrusting in earnest, giving her all that she wanted and more. He
was a force of nature, a tide that could not be stopped. But she
didn’t want to stop it. She wanted it to wash over her and sweep
her away in its amazing embrace.

“That’s good, baby, ‘cause you’re gonna get
me. Right now.” His words came out almost in time with his powerful
thrusts.

The pace quickly escalated to something that
might have hurt if she hadn’t been so damn turned on already. She
was with him, reveling in his strength, his power, his ability to
excite her in so many subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Her passion
rose and kept on rising. The tsunami was coming and she had no
fear. It would take her and make her whole, make her one with the
wave, one with the man. She wanted it. She wanted it all.

“Come for me now, Lila!” Chip nearly shouted
as his breathing hitched and his strokes turned into frantic digs
that made her want to howl in enjoyment.

She liked seeing him lose control. She loved
seeing him take his pleasure in her willing body. When he
convulsed, she was split seconds behind him, coming as he came,
coming
because
he came, taking her with him. In that moment,
they were one.

When Lila went in search of Chip later, after
a quick run through the cleansing chamber, she found him checking
over a veritable arsenal of weaponry he’d laid out in front of him
on a table near the bar. She checked her chronometer and realized
time had flown from the timeless moment of her vision. Counting
from that moment to now…

“We’ve got about twenty minutes to spare,”
she whispered, joining him at the table. “If it was going to happen
in five hours,” she clarified. He only nodded.

“I’m hoping for five days, personally. That
would give us more time to get better backup in position.”

“You contacted Winters?” She was pretty sure
he’d done that first thing, but events had sort of overtaken her
since the vision, which had left her shaken badly.

“I sent out the SOS right away. Heard back
from his staff almost immediately in response to my priority code.
They’re scrambling to find ships in the vicinity. No news on that
yet, but they’re going to get anyone they can to help save our
butts.”

“Thank the goddess.” She breathed a small
sigh of relief. If the shit was going to hit the fan in less than a
half hour—and she still wasn’t sure if they had more time than
that—then they needed all the help they could get. The quicker it
showed up, the better.

“Do you know how to shoot?” Chip continued to
examine the functionality of each weapon laid before him in detail.
She was glad to see he was making preparations. For all they knew,
the pirates would launch their plan at any moment.

“I’m reasonably proficient with hand
weaponry. Long guns are a bit out of my comfort zone.” She sat
opposite him at the table.

He looked up and grinned. “With your size,
I’m not surprised. It takes more muscle strength to handle one of
these.” He placed the pulse rifle he had just finished cleaning on
the table to his side. “The kickback would put you on your ass.
Aiming would be the next thing to impossible.” He chuckled,
probably picturing it.