GABRIEL (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 4) (4 page)

Her intended glare lost its hostility as she caught sight of his attractive, almost boyish features. His crown of blond curls, sky-blue eyes and long eyelashes would have seemed more fitting on a Terran angel. But the warm body standing much too close to hers was definitely not that of a spirit. A plain gold earcuff on his left lobe was the only adornment that was not given him by nature. He epitomized the type of man she avoided at all costs. Her irritation increased as she realized that instead of pleading, he appeared to be patiently waiting for an apology from her.

Lifting his wrist with her thumb and forefinger, she removed his hand then brushed the spot on her shirt where his hand had been. "Now that you've succeeded in interrupting me, what is it you want?"

His features lost some of their angelic quality as he glowered at her. "You mean you didn't hear any of what I said when I came in?"

Shara gave an exaggerated sigh. "Of course not. I was in the middle of a calculation. Everyone knows better than to try to talk to me until I look up from my work."

"I'm afraid your personal work habits are not as widely known as you'd like to think. If you don't wish to be disturbed, you should put a sign on your door. That's what I do, and it is most effective."

Shara got off her stool to face the exasperating man on a more equal level and was disturbed at having to look up to meet his eyes. At a height that neared six feet with her boot heels, she didn't have to do that very often. "I don't particularly care what method you find effective. You've interrupted me and I would like to get back to work. So you may either repeat yourself or leave." As she had done a moment ago, he now took a turn scanning her from head to toe. He stared at her eyes for so long that Shara blushed—something she couldn't remember doing for years. "Well?"

"Very interesting," he said, continuing to stare. "I had been told Shara Locke was a forerunner in her field, although a bit impatient and not the friendliest person one might meet. Obviously that was a fair description. On the other hand, I had expected a much more...
mature
woman. Tell me, do you have any control over the way your eyes change color, or is it involuntary?"

Shara opened her mouth to respond but wasn't certain what she wanted to say. It sounded as though he had just complimented and insulted her at the same time. And she certainly didn't intend to volunteer the truth about her eyes. She didn't know who he was but she was positive she shouldn't give him any ammunition that might later be used against her. Like her father, Shara's hazel irises changed colors depending on her moods, which made it virtually impossible to hide her feelings from anyone who knew her. She always thought of it as fate's way of counterbalancing her special mental gifts.

Deciding it was better not to answer him at all, she turned back to the calculation displayed on her monitor. "Please excuse me. I really am very busy."

"Getting ready for your trip back in time?"

She gasped as she spun around again. "How do you know about that?"

He smiled, a wide, self-assured grin that showed off perfect white teeth and a deep dimple in his cheek. "Surely you didn't think you could keep something like that a secret. The rumors are flying throughout the scientific community."

When he didn't receive the response he expected, he stopped smiling. "Perhaps it would be best if I simply began again." He held out his hand to her and waited until she accepted it for a brief, impersonal shake. "I am Gabriel Drumayne, Professor of History and Chief Procurer of Antiquities for Norona. Although I do have an office and residence in Innerworld, I spend very little time here, so I realize you may not recognize me. But you must be familiar with my name."

Shara did not hesitate to stick a pin in his arrogant little balloon. "I am very sorry to disillusion you, Professor, but your fame is not as widespread as you imagine it to be. I've never heard of you."

His smirk told her he found that hard to believe. "Nevertheless, you are hoping to receive permission to travel back in time. You will undoubtedly need an expert on Noronian and Terran history to accompany you on such a landmark venture. As I am the most qualified historian available, I will be going with you."

Chapter 2

Shara swallowed the retorts that popped into her head,
Says who
and
Don't bet your airship on it
being two of the less profane comments his egotistical declaration prompted. Smothering a laugh at her own contrariness, she opted for a less aggressive line. "I believe I might have something to say about that." With a dismissive air, she returned to her work.

Again his hand closed over her shoulder, this time turning her back toward him. "You aren't just unfriendly, you're rude. I can't believe the Co-Governors' daughter hasn't been taught better manners."

She bristled at his reference to her parents. "And you..." she glared at his hand until he released her, "are a brute. If you manhandle me once more, I will call security."

His mouth dropped open in shock. "Manhandle? You are not only rude, you're unbalanced. Perhaps I shall have something to say about who heads up this trip."

Shara paused, not certain whether he really might have a say in the matter and attempted to regroup. "I apologize if I've been... rude, but I dislike being interrupted when I'm in the middle of a difficult calculation. I will be glad to discuss the trip with you at another time, when I'm not so busy."

Gabriel studied her for a second, then apparently decided it was the best he could do. "Fine. How about first thing tomorrow morning... before you get involved in another difficult calculation?"

Even though she heard the sarcasm dripping from his words, Shara nodded in agreement. "Meet me for breakfast in the dining room downstairs at oh-eight-hundred."

Gabriel nodded in return, aware that she had made a point of giving him an order rather than a suggestion. As he left the lab and headed out of the building, he shook off the uneasy feeling he had had from the moment he heard about the venture. Before he approached Shara, he had asked several people about her. Regarding her work, she received the highest praise—brilliant, devoted, obsessive. Descriptions of her personality were less flattering—humorless, cool, antisocial.

Naturally, with warnings like that, he had been prepared for the worst upon meeting her. And maybe that had caused him to be on the offensive... but a
"brute"?
He had never committed a violent act on a woman in his life. Unless one counted the Kesian female who had decided he would make an excellent main course for her dinner.

All in all, he had to admit he'd handled the situation badly but he would have the chance to correct his error tomorrow. Rumors abounded about the purpose of the trip but the consensus was that she was the one behind it. Being the Co-Governors' daughter practically ensured her having her own way in the matter
... if
she got the approval of the Tribunal.

A trip back in time could be the apex of his career. And, for that opportunity of a lifetime, it appeared to be vital that he gain Shara's approval. It had been a long time since he had tried to court a woman's favor.

The problem was, although Shara looked like a woman—and a beautiful, well-formed one at that—she hadn't reacted to him the way most women did, with soft smiles and inviting glances. He knew what those women wanted from him and, when he chose, he gave it to them. Having spent most of his life on the fringes of civilization, he hadn't the slightest idea what else might influence a woman like Shara.

Perhaps his assistant, Ferrine, could give him some advice.

* * *

Shara switched off her monitor and set her work aside for the day. Gabriel Drumayne, professor, procurer and general nuisance, had broken her train of thought and she couldn't seem to get it back on track. He had been right about her being rude, not that she would ever admit it to him.

She never liked being interrupted but it was much more than that. With one look at his handsome face, and the smile that said he knew just how good he looked, her self-defense mechanism had kicked in. From previous experience, she should be immune to attractive, self-confident men. But since she wasn't, rudeness usually sent them on their way and protected her from her own weakness.

They say a woman never forgets her first love but Shara wished she could. Like the professor, her first love had had fair coloring and broad shoulders, and she had fallen so fast she never wondered whether he felt the same. She gave him her heart and her virginity, two things her Terran mother had convinced her should not be given lightly.

Shara had always understood that her mother's sense of morality was not the norm in Innerworld. The average Noronian accepted coupling as a pleasurable physical experience that did not require any emotional entanglement. At the Indulgence Center, a sexual encounter was just one of a long list of entertainments available. Yet Shara had felt more comfortable adopting her mother's more reserved attitude toward intimacy.

She had mistakenly believed her first young man had wanted more from her than a biological release, but even that would not have been as bad as what he had really wanted. After they made love, he let her know how disappointed he was with her. He had thought sex with a mixed-breed would be a unique experience, yet, not only was she not unique, she wasn't even skilled.

It had taken Shara a long time after that to let any man get close to her. The fear that they were interested in her only as a freak of nature was always with her. She thought she had become adept at interpreting men's ulterior motives. But one day another man slipped under her guard. Although this one had dark hair and eyes, he was still extraordinarily handsome. Her instincts insisted he was interested in her as a woman, not a breed, and she fell again, a lot slower, but the landing was familiar.

Her second experience at love proved that her instincts were never to be trusted again. True, this one didn't care that she was of mixed blood but his attraction to her still had to do with her parentage. He was politically ambitious, and once Romulus helped him get a position he desired, his devotion to Shara dwindled rapidly.

It was bad enough that Gabriel Drumayne had interrupted her and was so gorgeous he made her insides flutter, but when he made a reference to her parents, he committed his third and most serious offense. Shara had always made sure that her accomplishments were her own rather than due to her parents' influence and she was extremely sensitive about it.

Recalling why she automatically reacted to the professor the way she did relieved her of any guilt for her poor manners, but it didn't remove the problem. She had agreed to talk to him tomorrow morning. Considering his position, he probably carried as much influence as she did to recommend who went on the trip. And considering the way she felt about history, a historian would be a logical choice for the companion she promised to take along.

Perhaps there was some quirk in his personality that would justify her refusing to accept him. Maybe he was really a brute after all. She realized he had had a distinct advantage over her at their first meeting because he had gotten information about her beforehand. In order to take away that advantage, she would have to find out a little about him. Within minutes, she located a friend who was glad to introduce her to the professor's assistant, Ferrine.

* * *

"Thanks for meeting me on such short notice, Ferrine," Shara said, smiling across the table at the tiny female with the elfin ears and bright orange hair.

Ferrine twitched her speckled nose and smiled back. "I've been wanting to try this new dinery but my mate's been away and I didn't feel like coming alone. You didn't have to bribe me with a meal though."

Shara's smile faded. "It wasn't—"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm joking. Your friend Kiku told me you wanted to get some background on my chief and I figure that's only fair, since he was checking on you first. Don't get me wrong. I'm loyal to Gabriel, but there are times when I have to do what I think will be best for him. You know he spends most of his time journeying, don't you?"

"Actually, I don't know much more than his name and title." And that he's annoying and egotistical, she added to herself.

"Well, let's see. In spite of the title professor, he spends very little time lecturing and only a bit of his time procuring antiquities. His primary function—and his life's passion—is researching primitive civilizations. He's compiled a number of monographs on the subject. From time to time on his journeys, he comes across a valuable artifact and acquires it for Norona. Because of the remote places some of these research journeys take him, he's often without human company for months at a time. But it doesn't seem to bother him. Even when he's here, if he's involved in a project, he's liable to forget there are people around. Sometimes I have to remind him to eat and sleep."