Sex or Suffer [Dark Colony 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (5 page)

Penelope separated herself from Nathan carefully. As his still semi-hard cock slipped from her body, she found she lacked the courage to look him directly in the eyes after what she’d done. Face pointed to the ground, she saw her purse and dinner bag hastily strewn to the side of where they’d copulated against the brick wall.

A new wave of horror over what she’d just done in the name of relief for her utter agony swept across her conscience. Instinct to flee overwhelmed her and propelled her to action. Penelope bent in half, grabbed only her purse and ran out of the alley without another word.

Nathan shouted after her, but she was too embarrassed to respond or return. Fearful she would run into another man fitting the attraction criteria, she took the long way. She ducked into the science building using a side access to avoid the main entrance. Even at this late hour there was the possibility of people, especially men, coming in and out. She couldn’t chance running into anyone else. Especially men. Ohmigod. What was she going to do?

In the short term, she’d have to sequester herself in a containment suit and carry extra oxygen mix tanks to be safe. Pheromones and scent set the virus in motion. Nathan had been the one in four males Penelope was attracted enough to which signaled the virus to attack her system and seek relief.

The memory of Alice and the last dose of cure being gone assaulted her. Damon taunting her for using the last dose instead of saving it for someone more important punched her already heart-sick, aching insides. Not that she would have failed to try to cure Alice, but God help her if she couldn’t find a way to cure herself.

Penelope sprinted into the building where she worked and headed to her private office using the most obscure path. The horror of her new reality pounded in her conscious.

Oh God. She had the SOS virus. Oh God…
The phrase repeated in her mind.

Entering her office, Penelope shot towards her gear closet to retrieve her containment suit. About to strip down to her bra and panties, she realized she wasn’t wearing panties. She’d discarded them during the frenzied sexual encounter along with her dinner. A minor problem. Luckily, she had a couple extra pairs in her office locker for late nights. She had the suit zipped and was breathing oxygen from a tank through a filter mask inside of a minute.

Penelope had a short to-do list before she could get off the planet and accomplish her next goal—immediate transport to the Parsec Colony for the acquisition of more cure for the SOS virus.

First, she needed forged financial authorization for transport and lab fees on Parsec Colony, then…to manufacture and retrieve more cure and return to science building. She said a silent prayer they had some stock and the antidote wouldn’t have to be produced from scratch.

Next, she’d need forged leave paperwork. The least of her problems since she was long over due for vacation, but time off was hard to get regardless of how much time she’d accumulated. The science community persisted in a very single-minded pursuit of scientific discovery.

The most difficult task she faced was getting off of the planet without encountering any men, otherwise she’d rack up more sexual encounters than what she’d accumulated for the whole of her life.

And finally, she desperately needed the results of Alice’s test without being present with poison as promised. Understanding Alice’s desire to end her life didn’t mean Penelope wanted to participate.

She considered her options and with a new plan in mind, Penelope called Damon’s personal I-link, setting hers for voice only so he couldn’t see her in the containment suit. She didn’t want him to discover her secret.

Damon answered after several rings with a strident, “Where are you?”

“Doesn’t matter. I need you to do a favor for me.”

He paused for so long, Penelope wondered if he’d just disconnected. “I’m listening.”

“I need you to go into Alice’s room and see if the cure worked.”

His voice turned soft and sleazy. “Should I call the volunteer or do you want me to help her out this time?”

Damn Damon the slime ball pervert, always on the make wanting to score with women. “Call the volunteer. We don’t know if you meet the criteria for her attraction.”

“Right.” He paused again and several clicks and pops distorted the line as if he covered his mouth piece.
Was that someone’s voice?

“Are you alone, Damon?” Penelope went into heart attack panic mode. She needed to calm down.

“What? Yes. I’m alone. I was getting out of the elevator. I’ll meet you in the lab.”

“No. Wait. I won’t be there, I’m not in the building,” she lied, “but I want to connect via live feed sound only from my hand-held computer. Will you please set it up?” She didn’t want Damon to know her whereabouts in the building. In fact, she’d like to avoid every male member of the species until she cured herself. Which was likely delusional. The better plan would be to have someone like a husband on hand for continual relief. Unfortunately, she was fresh out of male companions. Flashing back to Nathan and the scene in the alley, Penelope cursed silently.

“Sure. I guess. I’ll call your handheld once I’ve got everything ready.”

Penelope disconnected before he could ask more questions. She had her own preparation to attend to, starting with transport off planet so she could find a cure for herself.

Picking up the directory for supply ships, she perused the short list. Heat seeped across her cheeks when she noted Dalton Prime Corporation. Listed beneath the company heading were the formal names of the corporate approved ships. Her face really warmed up when she got to the ship named
Mirage
.

Nathan Tyndall was listed as captain of the medium range craft. Would she ever say either name, even in the privacy of her own mind, without blushing? Likely not.

The electronic log showed the
Mirage
departing the planet in under twenty minutes for a trip halfway across the galaxy. At least Penelope wouldn’t have to worry about running into him before she left. A minor relief with all things considered, but she’d latch onto any good news for the moment. She owed Nathan an explanation, and if the occasion ever presented itself, she might give him one.

At the top of the page was the Dalton Prime Corporation flagship, the long-range star ship
Dalton
was listed before the
Mirage
. Beneath each star craft were the names of the officers in charge. The
Dalton,
commanded by Captain Gray Wyckoff, was the only ship authorized to leave Bravura in the next month and head to Parsec Colony.

The
Dalton
was scheduled to dock within the hour. She had to be on that ship and moving in at least a day or less. The next scheduled trip was in two weeks, but a bribe would help Captain Wyckoff leave sooner. Tomorrow at the latest, but tonight, under the cover of darkness would be best.

Nathan Tyndall was listed as the
Dalton
’s first officer, but she knew he’d be captaining the
Mirage
. She almost wished she had time to message Nathan. He deserved an explanation for her actions. But then again, no one needed to know about her affliction. Penelope stifled her need to confess and focused on finding a way off this planet before anyone in her employ figured what was really happening.

Instead of collapsing in a sobbing heap like she wanted to do, she logged on to her lab’s proprietary account. She had a budget and a healthy balance since it was early in the quarter. She sent a special request to Captain Wyckoff’s personal account for transportation off planet tonight. Noting the cost of the round trip almost made her blanch, but then she remembered Nathan’s face as she pushed him against the brick wall. She set up the transportation as two separate invoices. Payment included for the trip to the Parsec Colony. Payment for the return to be handed over on Parsec Colony.

Authorizing funds be sent to purchase more of the cure, she made up a bogus request form and used Dr. Ledreder’s secret code to finalize the order. She’d accidentally seen him use it once and hated to abuse the knowledge, but desperation colored her actions.

With the outrageous cost to manufacture more of the SOS cure, she could barely afford a one-way ticket to Parsec Colony. Once there, she’d have to find a way to bring the cure back and replace what she’d used along with convincing the captain to wait for payment until they’d returned to Bravura.

Perhaps she’d mention her recent introduction and connection with Nathan and hope it was enough to get her back home. Ultimately, the
Dalton
would have to return to Bravura. She consoled herself with the knowledge that if she had become infected suddenly, others might be at risk.

How had she contracted the virus in the first place? And what if she couldn’t get the cure in time? Answers to these questions were not readily available and promptly shuttled to the back of her mind in favor of a more productive action.

Half an hour later she was almost set. Three doses of cure from Parsec Colony paid for and a one-way transportation request to collect it completely wiped out her lab funds account. If anyone checked her financial records before she returned, she’d likely be fired before a weak explanation could be rendered, but it couldn’t be helped.

Penelope wrote a desperate message to her brother, Philip, begging for the funds to replace what she’d taken, along with additional funds for a return trip, but declined to explain why. The Sex or Suffer virus wasn’t something she could comfortably explain to any family member. If he had the money, her brother would help her, but not necessarily with no questions asked. She’d deal with questions later. If Philip didn’t have the funds, she was screwed anyway.

Literally and figuratively in this case.

* * * *

Gray Wyckoff swiveled in his captain’s chair and directed his pilot to dock the ship. Fatigue colored his actions. His ship had been out an extraordinarily long time this trip. He’d hoped to stay awake until he reached his apartment in Spectra on Bravura, but decided sleeping in his captain’s quarters for a few hours would help him make it home later.

Once in his quarters he relaxed with a shower then checked his messages. Several waited for him, including one from Nathan a couple hours before he left Bravura. It was too bad they hadn’t had time to meet up. It had been a long time since he’d seen his best friend and Nathan always had great stories to share.

Following that message were several messages from family, and invitations from friends to get in touch while he was on Bravura. Lastly, one unexpected message waited on his business line. A transportation request from Dr. Drake at the Bravura Science labs. He read it, sorry he’d have to turn it down. He hated to give up a government funded trip, but the transportation location request was on the far side of the galaxy and a lengthy three to four week round trip. His crew needed a break.

If he accepted, he’d have to use temporary crew to subsidize his regular staff, which he hated to do. He could use a break himself. He was just too fatigued to accept a lengthy journey with a rookie crew. He constructed a reply to gracefully refuse, then realized a default automatic response had been sent to Dr. Drake accepting the job and the payment.

Damn it
. Now he’d have to call and fix things. With a heavy conscience, he contacted Dr. Drake to explain his predicament and kindly back out.

“Hello.” The husky female voice reminded him that he hadn’t had sex in a really long time.

“Dr. Drake, please,” he queried.

“This is Dr. Drake.”
Whoa.
Dr. Drake was a female? He didn’t see that coming. His libido accelerated into action to the level where his cock wanted to join the party and offer services for consideration. Down boy, not now but soon.

“Yes. This is Captain Gray Wyckoff. I wanted to discuss the trip you’ve applied for with the Dalton—”

“Oh yes,” she cut in, “I’m glad you called back so quickly. I’ll need a few special conditions while on board. I have a delicate lung condition and I’ll need a room to myself with a self-contained environmental system not shared with the rest of your ship. Do you have a room like that on board?”

“Yes, but—”

“Great. Also, I’ll need to arrive on the Parsec Colony as soon as possible. I’m securing a treatment for my lung condition and the sooner I get it, the safer I’ll be. What’s the best time possible to get across the galaxy? Could it be accomplished in less than ten days? I’d like to depart as soon as possible.”

“Miss Drake—”

“Dr. Drake, if you please. I hate to be difficult, but it’s really hard for a woman in the science field to—”

“I can’t take you to the Parsec Colony.” Gray finally got a few words in when he raised his voice.

“I beg your pardon?”

He repeated, “I can’t take you to the Parsec Colony.”

“Why not? I have the auto-response confirming my request. The funds have been sent. You must. There isn’t any other transport service listed as authorized to go to that sector within the next month.”

“My crew is exhausted. I’ve only just returned to Bravura in the last hour. My auto-responder shouldn’t have activated. I’m sorry, Dr. Drake, but I can’t put my ship safely in space for another week at the earliest.”