Stardust (8 page)

“
There is no need to be ashamed. You have a beautiful body.
”
He trailed one strong finger down the curve of her cheek, outlining the hill of her breast and the smooth, flat plane of her stomach.

“
Please hold me.
”

He positioned their bodies until they lay side by side, her head cradled on his chest. His touch was gentle and undemanding, totally at odds with the swelling of his body, indicating he was far from satisfied.

“
Is there not more?
”
T
he life
support system hummed as it worked to
cool the living space.

“
There are many ways to reach the satisfaction.
”

Aurora
’
s small hand reached out to touch him, her long slender hand gliding over his male nipple. She touched it lightly, making it harden.
“
But do you not desire me again?
”
She slid her hand lower.

“
Enough.
”
His voice was low and guff and he felt her stiffen at his side and sighed in resignation.
“
Damn it, woman. Your curiosity will be the death of me. Yes, my love, I desire you again, but we cannot. You would not enjoy my touch.
”

She lay silent for a moment and he wondered at her thoughts. He
’
d heard stories of how other males took their satisfaction without regard to their partner
’
s pleasure.
“
I would never hurt you, Aurora,
”
he reassured her.

Rising to her knees, both her hands reached out to encircle him.
“
Cannot I please you as you have pleasured me?
”

As her palm cupped his burgeoning flesh, he was lost. He urged her down, her long, black hair creating a curtain of silk around their bodies. He gasped as her lips enclosed him and his body hardened to the point of eruption as she licked away the first dewy essence of his seed. His hand clenched her wayward curls, guiding her. The silence broken only by
their labored breathing
as he taught her another way between man and woman.

“
Come and take me.
”
Darton could no longer stand the sensation of her mouth and tongue and teeth upon his flesh. Urging her up, he guided her until she straddled his hips. He slipped his hand between her thighs, parting the folds of her body.
“
Ride me as you would an Argonian stallion.
”
He lowered her hips, sliding himself into her slickened warmth, slowly inch by inch. When she gasped as if in pain, he cursed, and moved to lift her away.
“
I knew it was too soon.
”

“
No!
”
Aurora fairly screamed the word.
“
Do not stop.
”

He stilled, controlling his body with difficulty. It would be so easy to thrust inside her, once, twice. That was all it would take.
“
I do not wish to give you pain.
”

She laughed softly and he thought his heart would turn over in his chest.
“
You do not give me pain, only much, much pleasure.
”

He laughed as wel
l at the look of pure bliss which
stole over her face.

He laid his hands to his sides, giving her complete control of their joining.
“
Then take me,
”
he urged.
“
Take all of me.
”

He could feel her body shake as she lowered herself, swiftly engulfing his rigid shaft deep within her pulsating body. Never had he felt such completeness. She moved and the focus of his world became the small space where their bodies joi
ned.

“
Yes, yes.
”
Darton
’
s ragged voice encouraged her, his hands clenched at his sides. As she increased the pace, he placed one hand between them, increasing her pleasure ten fold. He thrust upward, seeking a deeper place within, laughing wickedly as her cry of release echoed through the room. As he poured himself inside the dark-haired beauty, the shrill of the alarms clamored throughout the ship.

He cursed as he moved her
quickly to the side of the pallet.
“
You stay here
.
”

“
What is that noise?
”
she shouted, covering her ears with her hands.

“
The ship has encountered something.
”
Darton found his body garment and quickly dressed. Aurora donned hers also, searching the floor for the missing buttons.
“
What are you doing, woman? I told you to stay here.
”

She flashed him an angered glance.
“
I will not stay. You will need some help.
”

“
You will l do as I say,
”
he commanded.

Aurora dropped to her knees and continued searching for the missing buttons, ignoring his
high-handed manner.

“
Scared Lorta!
”
he cursed
. When it became apparent she was not going to obey him, he worked the replicator and tossed her a shimmering piece of material which appeared.
“
Put this on.
”

Aurora barely caught the garment as he flung it at her head. It was a living glove. The material was designed to cling to the body, forming an impenetrable barrier. The females of Atmos had worn them when the city had been under attack by Bartok
’
s forces.
“
I will not wear such a thing,
”
she stated.
“
I am a Bawna warrior.
”

Darton
’
s glance nailed her in place.
“
No woman of mine will fight.
”

Her gaze locked with his, a battle of wills ensuing. She showed him the buttons clutched in her hand.
“
I am a fifteenth year student. I
will
fight by your side.
”

A golden eyebrow arched.
“
You will do as I command.
”

Her head rose, her chin pointed in defiance.
“
I take orders from no male.
”

“
By all that is holy, I do not have time to stand here and argue with a female.
”
He held the shining artificial flesh in his hand.
“
Please, little one. Wear this for me.
”

Aurora stood proud and tall, naked before her warrior lover. She would fight beside him as she was before giving in to the demands of an arrogant male. But the look in his eyes was not demanding and it melted her heart. It was filled with concern. And even fear.
“
I will do as you ask.
”
She slipped the material over her head and immediately it clung to the curvature of her body.
“
Not as you command.
”

“
You will obey my command sometimes, my sweet,
”
he said grinning.
“
And I can guarantee you will enjoy the experience.
”
He tugged her int
o his arms for a hard, brief
kiss before turning and making his way to the bridge.

Once there, he turned off the alarm.
“
Screen on,
”
he instructed the computer. At once the ship filled with the view of the galaxy, the stars shining in peaceful perfection before them. They had exited the dark vortex some time ago.

Aurora took her seat, adjusting the controls to her smaller hands.
“
What is wrong?
”

“
I do not know. There appears to be nothing out of the ordinary.
”
The words had barely left his mouth when the serenity of the stars was replaced by the great hulking form of a star runner.

“
Damn,
”
he cursed as the huge ship rammed the Galentina.
“
Where did that come from?
”
The star runner turned to hit them again.

“
Bartok
’
s let lose the Sybortron. We
’
re going to have to
make a run for it. Hang on,
this is going to get rough.
”
He pushed a button and the Galentina shot out into space, leaving the other ship where she sat.
“
We don
’
t have much time. I
’
m going to have to ditch it on the first planet we see.
”
His eyes scanned the heavens.

Aurora held fast to her seat.
“
Why can
’
t we out run him? This ship was built for speed.
”

Darton shook his head.
“
He now has the ship’s signature
. We can
’
t risk it.
”
He pointed to a bright spot in the near distance.
“
There. We
’
ll land there.
”

“
What do you mean
?
’’
Aurora strapped herself in and started damage control.

“
Sybortrons are programmed to come after specific prey. And that would be us.
”

Aurora looked up in surprise.
“
Why would Bartok be so interested in one lowly female and an unknown warrior?
”

“
Look, we don
’
t have time to discuss this right now. Is there a way to override the ship
’
s automatic pilot? That last hit damaged the controls.
”

Aurora
’
s eyebrows rose at his question.
“
To be such an advanced warrior, you are most ignorant of our knowledge.
”

“
Let
’
s just say I
’
ve been gone awhile.
”
She read the hesitation in his voice and wondered what he was
not
saying.

“
The switch is underneath the panel.
”

He smiled a thank you as she pointed to a bright green box. She watched as he deftly removed the cover and crawled beneath the console. Sparing a glance her way, he smiled reassuringly.
“
Don
’
t worry, sweetheart. I
’
ll get us out of this.
”

“
How can you be so serene at a time such as this? And what is a sweetheart?
”
She always longed for knowledge not yet hers to command. She had begged her uncle to teach her the readings and writings of the Craton for many moons before he gave in to her demands.

Deep laughter met her question.
“
Aurora, you are truly priceless.
”
When she did not join in his laughter but merely continued to stare at him quizzically, he replied,
“
Sweetheart is an Earth term. It is a word of endearment.
”

“
You have been to the planet called Earth?
”
Her voice held a note of pure awe at his travels and her heart raced at his words. An endearment. Did that signify she meant something to him already?

“
Of course. It is not half as barbaric as people say. Actually it is quite nice in many ways.
That is were I was gifted with Siara.
”

Before she could question him further, a bright beam of light passed by, narrowly missing the crippled ship.

“
By the gods, that mechanical monster is firing at us.
”
Darton swiftly closed the panel box and maneuvered the ship out of the path of the second laser.
“
Make sure
Talena and Siara are safely latched in their cages. Then come back to strap yourself in. We will have a not-so-gent
le landing
.
”

“
You were right,
”
Aurora said as the
ship came to a teeth-jarring stop Darton had predicted.
“
It was not a gentle landing.
”
She rubbed her bruised backside meaningfully as she stared at the barren landscape before her. They had burned through the atmosphere at hyper speed causing the engines to shudder and stall and the sleek starship had dropped like an Argonian boulder.