No Limits (26 page)
“Hail the Illustra vessel. Tell them I want to talk before prisoner transfer,” Gen told the pirate monitoring communications.
She waited and hid her relief when he reported, “They refuse to respond other than to retransmit the original message. They want Rhys.”
“Makes two of us,” Gen murmured.
Friend ready?
Though he had traveled far and hadn’t eaten in a while, Gen sensed the ship’s eagerness.
Though he had traveled far and hadn’t eaten in a while, Gen sensed the ship’s eagerness.
I am. You remember what you are supposed to do? Keep the asteroid between us and the fleet so they don’t use the opportunity to attack us.
The ship hummed in what Gen took as compliance. She stared at the gleaming chrome of the flagship, still unable to believe Alison had captured her family, betrayed her.
Just as Rhys believed she was betraying him.
Doubt churned up the acid in her belly. Gen was not an organized person, had never even pulled off a successful surprise party, yet here she was, mapping out military strategy. The entire thing was beyond absurd.
I’m the only hope for Rhys, and for his people.
They deserved more than her and a half-grown ship, but no one else had stepped up. Desperate times called for asinine measures.
I’m the only hope for Rhys, and for his people.
They deserved more than her and a half-grown ship, but no one else had stepped up. Desperate times called for asinine measures.
“The stinger has landed on the asteroid,” one of the crew announced.
Gen nodded. “How many life signs on that ship?”
“I can’t get a good reading. Too much electromagnetic interference.”
Closing her eyes, Gen lay back in the bed.
Can you sense the other vessel?
Can you sense the other vessel?
The ship flashed her a picture of the passenger ship off their starboard side, lying in wait.
Begin travel sequence Gen 1.
The ship pulsed, firing up its engines, preparing for stage one.
“Contact the stinger,” Gen ordered.
The connection crackled and she heard Gia’s brisk, “Shuttlecraft here. Are we set?”
“Set for what?” Zan barked, coming up behind Gen. “Why is she in the stinger? Where’s the empath?”
Gen ignored the pirate and checked with the ship.
Yes?
Yes?
The power he wielded flowed into her and she gasped, “Now, Gia.”
“Stinger to transport, fire at my location, now!”
“At
her
location? Have you lost what little sense you were born with?” Zan roared over the whine of laser fire.
her
location? Have you lost what little sense you were born with?” Zan roared over the whine of laser fire.
The wormhole the ship had built in the wake of the stinger’s exhaust trail opened right in front of the other passenger ship’s cannons, snaring the discharge and sucking it to the vortex to the other side.
“The flagship is under assault!” Gia reported with a whoop. “Readings indicate the wormhole opened up inside their shields!”
“What in the flaming depths of the great inferno is going on?!” Zan bellowed.
“Move in on the Illustra ship, Captain. I’ll explain later,” Gia responded in a clipped tone.
Begin travel sequence Gen 2.
The ship acknowledged her command, weaving yet another wormhole. A giant rift directly behind the fleet vessel.
“Transmission coming in from the flagship.”
“On screen,” Gen ordered as she sat up. On the bridge of the other ship, Alison was illuminated by flickering red lights. Her eyes blazed with fury. “What the hell are you doing, Gen?”
“You will release the autodestruct codes right now, or I will have my ship finish the wormhole sequence and suck your fleet through to the other side of the galaxy.”
Alison’s jaw dropped. “You’re bluffing!”
“Gia,” Gen said. “Fire another round.”
Dispassionately, she watched the bridge of the flagship rock, and Alison was thrown onto her ass. When the noise from the explosion died away, she said, “I could kill you right now, but I’d rather make the exchange without bloodshed. Don’t push me, Alison.”
There was a pause, and Gen held her breath along with the rest of the crew.
“Fine,” Alison growled. “Autodestruct terminated. But this isn’t over.”
“For me it is.” Gen cut the connection. She turned to look at Zan, who had paled beneath his swarthy skin tone. “The ship is yours again, Captain. Please begin rescue operations for the passengers of the freighter. I’ve told the ship not to dock, just in case it’s still rigged to blow, but using the stinger as a ferry, we can get everyone on board in no time.”
She departed the bridge, landing on her feet at the bottom of the slide. Would Rhys ever forgive her for the deception? Would he even try to? She’d seduced him and drugged him, and it had all worked out, but things could have just as easily gone the other way.
Sinking down into a ball in a small nook, Gen let her tears flow freely. She’d done it, saved the day. In moments she would be reunited with Nana and Gramps, with Tanny. She’d have to tell them they could never go home, at least not while Illustra was still in power. And she’d have to face Rhys.
The tears slid faster. Even when she won, she still lost it all.
27
R
hys awoke in medical, his throat full of cotton. He stared out the viewport at the field of moving stars that pulsed by as the ship traveled at sub–light speed. The pirate vessel had to stop frequently and feed, which slowed the caravan’s journey. Wormholes, apparently, demanded a great deal of energy.
hys awoke in medical, his throat full of cotton. He stared out the viewport at the field of moving stars that pulsed by as the ship traveled at sub–light speed. The pirate vessel had to stop frequently and feed, which slowed the caravan’s journey. Wormholes, apparently, demanded a great deal of energy.
The medical wing buzzed with activity, full of empaths reunited with their bodies and loved ones. Over thirty of his people had been retrieved from the freighter. Including Sela. Despite much grumbling, Zan had agreed to transport them back to his world. Rhys owed so much to the pirate captain, and even more to Gen. He planned to thank her privately for keeping him from making the biggest mistake of his life. As the days wore on, he bided his time, needing as much strength as he could collect before confronting her. He’d show his appreciation with hours of pleasure. Once he found her. She’d avoided him since she’d drugged him.
After hours of fruitless searching, he decided to wait her out in her cabin. What she had done for him, for his people, humbled him. There was so much to be done, but nothing was more important than discussing the future with Gen.
Exhausted after hours of counseling, acting his part as the spiritual leader to help others with their healing, he lay down on her bed. He’d just dozed off when the door hissed open.
“What are you doing here?”
“I love you,” he replied, needing to get that out in the open.
She sat down beside him on the bed, shoulders slumped. “How the hell can you? I drugged you.”
He reached for her, needing to connect with her however he could. “You were right to do it too. I was so determined to die for you that I didn’t understand what you really needed was for me to live for you.”
She stared at him, the colors of her aura shifting too quickly for him to assess. “I didn’t think you wanted to.”
“How can you believe that?” Even as he asked the question, Rhys understood how she could accept the worst about him. He’d lied to her from their first encounter, put her feelings second to his own goals and ambitions. “Gen, I promise, everything will be different now.”
“You’re right, it will be. I’ve decided to remain on board with the pirates.”
A dull roar filled his ears, like the ocean before a storm. She would leave him, forever? “No.” Pulling her down on top of him, he crushed his mouth to hers. Every bit of frustration he felt over the last three weeks rose up, needing her, wanting her to admit she needed him too.
Her lips parted as she responded immediately, welcoming him home with warm wet kisses and the slow lap of her tongue against his. Her tongue danced with his, her fingers sliding across his back. Passion, which always lurked right beneath her surface, whipped up as his hands cupped her face. “I want to bond with you.”
“What exactly does that entail?” Gen’s eyes sparkled as she moved around the bed. Rhys caught a whiff of her intent, her emotions more delicious than anything he’d ever experienced. Considering the banquet she typically provided, that was quite a feat.
He reached forward and strummed her turgid nipple through her dress. “After tonight we can never be parted. According to our oldest scriptures, a bond transcends time and space—even death itself. Your telepathic abilities may add a twist to our connection, or it might not play in at all.”
The corner of her mouth turned up in a sultry smile. “I meant, how do we make it happen? What exactly do we have to do to achieve the bond itself?”
His heart sped to a frantic tattoo. Was she considering it, or perhaps just curious? He’d made so many mistakes with her and felt almost paralyzed by fear at the thought of losing her for good. Moving aside the dark spill of her sweet-smelling hair, Rhys bent his head until his lips caressed her collarbone. “Everything. No holding back. Every fantasy you’ve ever entertained, you must share it with me. I need to do the same. The bond will not cement itself until absolute trust exists between us. Souls cannot be tethered together where reservation exists. Do you want to do this?”
Nodding, she eased her hands down his arms until her fingers twined with his. “I trust you.”
Rhys hoped so. “Do you really? After everything?”
She searched his face and offered a small smile. “I love you. I always have, right from when you first appeared. For a while I thought I might be crazy for it, when you kept things from me. But I understand why you did, even if I don’t like it. I know you would sacrifice everything to keep me safe. So, yes, Rhys, I do trust you.”
Her heartfelt confession made his chest ache. He had so much to make up for, so much to be thankful for. She’d put her trust in him, yet he’d never really done the same. She deserved to know everything. Clearing his throat he murmured, “There is one other thing. If the bond doesn’t take tonight, there is no second chance for us. We can never attempt this again. Not with each other. And for me that means never, because you are the only one I will ever want.”
She swallowed hard, cleared her throat, and lifted her chin at just the right angle. “Then we better get it right the first time.”
Under his thumb, her pulse rate fluttered, and nervousness buffeted against him. She worried and he knew her well enough to recognize it wasn’t her mistrust of him, but apprehension over her own abilities. He vowed that before this night was done, Gen would recognize her own innate sensuality. “Take off your dress, my sweet. I love to watch you disrobe. Seeing glimpses of your smooth, creamy skin and imagining where I should touch you first makes me ache with need.”
Her aura was crimson, flushed with desire and heat for him. Despite his weakened state, his body responded to her desire, his cock hardening at the thought of completing their mating.
But never again would he ask for more than she could give. “Be sure this is what you want, Gen. I refuse to undo a bond.”
In answer, she slid one strap of her dress off her shoulders, holding his gaze the entire time. His mouth watered as she shrugged out of the dress, the soft fabric clinging to the tips of her breasts. Heart pounding in his ears, he reached for her, unable to wait another second to touch soft skin. The soft mounds overflowed his hands, and she threw her head back as he rolled one puckered bud between his thumb and forefinger.
“So lovely ...” He bent his head for a taste.
“Rhys,” she gasped, arching toward him, fingers tunneling in his hair, holding him to her. As if he would ever let her go. “I want to feel you inside me again.”
He groaned, flicking his tongue over the stiffened peak, wanting to do exactly as she said. Easing her back onto the bed so he could remove her dress, he vowed, “Soon, my sweet.”
Lifting her hips, she helped him bare her body, shamelessly spreading her legs to show him her state of readiness. He almost lost his seed when one of her elegant fingers slid down to her sex, toying with the pink folds. Her heavy-lidded gaze locked on his. “Now.”
“Temptress,” he rasped as she strummed her clitoris, using her lube to ease her way. She glistened, wet with desire, her colors growing brighter as she climbed the peak. Gripping her wrist, he pulled her finger to his mouth and sucked the digit between his lips. His taste buds exploded with the remembered glory of her essence. “You want to fight dirty? I planned for this.”
He dangled the rope he’d pilfered from their bag earlier, trailing it between his fingers.
Her lips parted and her passion strengthened. “What are you going to do with that?”
Taking her wrists in one hand, he tied a secure knot, to bind them together. “Everything, anything you want me to.”
Her heart raced as Rhys secured her bound hands to the headboard. He threaded the rope between her heaving breasts, sliding it teasingly across her nipples.
She should stop this. It was wrong to submit to bonding with him when she had every intention of leaving him. But the little voice in her mind, the troublemaker, the rebel, whispered,
Just this once. You’ve earned it.
Just this once. You’ve earned it.
The rope slithered over her belly, and she could feel Rhys’s touch as it moved over her skin. His gaze reflected pure emerald fire that threatened to engulf her. How could he still want her after the last time?
Because he was Rhys, because he could forgive her humanity, the same way she’d accepted his.
Urging her to lift her hips, he wove the silky cord around her belly and the small of her back. There was enough tension in the lead to restrict her movements but enough give so she could squirm under the sensual onslaught. He didn’t dally with her exposed nether bits, and she bit her lip to keep from begging him to touch her there, to tease her folds with his hands and lips, with the rope holding her in its power.
“This is part of the ceremony?” she asked as he tied a knot in the corded length.
His deft fingers tied another knot, and he moved the length up between her splayed legs. “It’s whatever we need it to be. I’ve been practicing my knot tying specifically because I knew how much you craved this.”
Sweat gathered on her forehead and between her breasts. She licked her dry lips and watched as he tugged the rope up between the apex of her legs. One knot pressed against her rear entrance and the other just inside her slick feminine channel.
He wove it up and through the loops on her waist again, before meeting her gaze. “How does that feel?”
The way he’d fastened the cord gave her just the slightest play. Tugging on her bound arms moved the rope between her legs, forcing the knots deeper inside her passages. Arching her spine caused them to slide forward, and when she relaxed, they slid back into place. Her eyes fixed on his as she purred, “Delicious.”
Shucking his shirt, Rhys moved over her to tongue one of her stiff nipples. The hand holding the other end of the rope hovered above her pelvis. He let the end brush against her throbbing clit, just a light, teasing kiss. The small fleeting sensation made her ache for more.
Spreading her legs wider forced the knots at her openings to press harder against the sensitive tissues. The smooth line running between her lips was a shade off of perfect, the pressure there unbelievably arousing.
Rhys switched his attention to the other breast, tugging the bud with his teeth. “I want to be inside you in the worst way, to feel what you’re feeling, what produces this glorious rainbow of your aura. I want to shove my cock so far inside you as you come and then ride your beautiful body all night. But do you know what I want more than anything else?”
Gen shook her head, half delirious from the sensual torment. “What?”
His gaze burned into hers. “The promise of forever with you. To know that tomorrow night you will let me worship you again, and every night. ”
The honest sincerity in his eyes, her own fears and hopes all bound inside her like her flesh was held by the rope, it was too much. “I can’t think, not like this.”
“There’s nothing to think about, love. Just say yes, that you’ll be with me forever. It’s what we both want.” He rained a series of hot, sucking kisses over her abdomen.
“It’s not smart,” she panted as he settled between her legs.
“But it’s right.” Yanking the rope from the belt at her waist, he moved the cord from between her legs.
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