The Tracker's Dilemma: (A Mandrake Company Science Fiction Romance) (22 page)

A soft bump went through the shuttle as it landed.

Lauren sighed and stepped away from him. Tick almost couldn’t keep himself from grabbing her and pulling her back. He gripped the edge of the bed, tension tightening every muscle in his body. He couldn’t relax. He needed a release, one way or another.

He pushed himself to his feet, the shirt falling onto the deck, nothing hiding the way his cock thrust against his trousers now. “I need to use the lav,” he blurted as she fastened her trousers.

He bumped against the corner of the bed, his ribs protesting in pain. Funny how they hadn’t protested when he’d been pulling Lauren against him. Maybe they had, and he hadn’t noticed.

“Heath.” Lauren stopped him with a hand on his abdomen.

His cock twitched, wanting to thrust toward her. “I just need a minute,” he said.

More like twenty seconds.

“Stay here.” She reached for a rack at the end of the counter and handed him a towel.

He stared at it, not quite fathoming what she meant. Surely, she didn’t want him to stand there and jerk off in front of her.

“Later we can try it together,” she said.

“And now?” he croaked, reaching for his belt, needing to slake the beast.

She stepped closer, one hand sliding along his abdomen, the other going around his back, surprising him by reaching down and cupping his butt. He almost came right there.

“I want to see you,” she whispered, her lips quirking, as if this realization puzzled her.

He didn’t ask further. Fumbling, he set the towel on the bed and unfastened his belt. He shoved his trousers down and grabbed his quivering cock. Though she’d already said she wanted to see it—him—he looked at her before starting, half expecting her to be disgusted, as she was with kissing, and withdraw her permission.

“Go ahead,” she whispered, sliding her fingers up his side. “I’ll just check on the repair device.” She gave his butt a little squeeze, an impish smile curving her lips.

It—and the squeeze—aroused him beyond all measure. No longer hesitating, he slid his hand up and down his cock, drinking in that smile and her closeness as he pumped. She looked down at him a few times, no hint of alarm or disgust on her face, as she kept trailing her fingers along his chest, careful to avoid the injured ribs. Maybe it was his imagination, but she seemed to like looking at him, her eyes and fingers following the curve of his muscles, the swell of his pectorals.

Aware of the men putting on their gear just on the other side of the curtain, Tick didn’t linger. He brought himself to the edge with swift strokes. As he was close to his release, she leaned in and ran her tongue over his nipple.

An exquisite sensation rocketed through him, and he exploded so quickly, he almost forgot about the towel. Hastily, he wrapped it over himself, certain she would lose all interest in him if he ejaculated all over her immaculate lab. She didn’t seem to notice. The lick turned into a suck, and she swirled her tongue around his nipple.

“I—”

The curtain moved, and he jerked around, putting his back to it, hiding his exposed cock. Lauren stepped back, her eyes gleaming as she ignored the curtain and gazed up at him. The expression wasn’t exactly adoration, but it wasn’t clinical curiosity this time. She seemed… pleased. Approving.

“You done getting doctored up, Tick?” Lieutenant Sparks asked.

He managed an impressively calm voice when he said, “Yes, sir. Just going to have to watch the ribs for a while.” And the tendency for his cock to surge into full erection whenever he thought of Lauren.

“Well, get dressed and get out here. We’ve got work to do.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ignoring the draft that whispered through the curtain, a sign that the hatch was open, Tick fastened himself in and looked for the shirt he had plucked off as soon as he’d entered the lab. The Gar-zymes hadn’t repaired the rips and stains yet. He probably should have been digging out a change of clothes rather than flirting with Lauren. He couldn’t bring himself to regret it and was sure the grin he gave her after tugging his shirt over his head was on the goofy side. Her expression was a tad more sedate, and he hoped she wasn’t second-guessing herself for letting him get close—very close. His grin widened at the memory of her pressing back into him, moaning softly. He couldn’t help it.

Tick leaned forward, almost kissing her before he remembered her preference. Instead, he slipped his arms around her, resting his jaw against her temple, hoping she wouldn’t object to a goodbye hug. Just because she had enjoyed—he hoped she had enjoyed—having him give her a sexual release didn’t mean she would instantly want him draped over her all the time. And she did hesitate before responding, as if hugs weren’t something she knew how to handle. He started to pull back, but instead of pushing him away, as he feared she might, she wrapped one arm around him, her hand resting on his butt.

He almost laughed. That was her preferred handle on him, was it? He certainly didn’t mind, though he hoped he could convince her to grab other things later. The memory of her mouth on his nipple would remain seared in his mind, making it hard for him to focus on his work, as he imagined what else she might have licked if they’d had more time.

“Stay safe while we’re gone,” he whispered. “With the hatch locked.”

“I plan to remain right in here, doing the research you so rudely distracted me from.” Her tone was teasing, so he was fairly certain she wasn’t particularly offended by his rudeness.

“By having injuries? You’re right. That
was
rude of me.”

“Yes, don’t let yourself receive any more of them. It would inconvenience me.” She squeezed his ass before stepping back.

Reluctantly, he lowered his arms, also stepping back. Her eyes were twinkling. Damn, that was appealing.

“The captain is hollering for his tracker,” someone yelled from the base of the ramp outside.

Tick sighed, gave her a salute, and jogged out of the lab.

Chapter 13

To Lauren’s surprise, her sister did not go with the mercenaries this time. When she left her lab to hunt down a ration log and something hot to drink, she found Hailey sitting quietly in the pilot’s seat. Jamie, down on her knees with her head stuck in an access station, must not have minded. Ankari sat next to them, handing Jamie tools as they were needed. A few lights flashed on the control panel in response to the tinkering, or perhaps to the curses and grunts.

“You didn’t feel the need to personally supervise the mercenaries?” Lauren asked as she fished into the box of ration bars. Though the
Albatross
now claimed the services of a cook, the packing list for missions remained the same as before, with such exciting meals as “egg log,” “meatloaf log,” and “ham log” awaiting her selection.

“Not this time,” Hailey said. “Oddly, they didn’t seem disappointed when I decided to stay here.”

Lauren selected a turkey log—as she recalled, it was less salty than the other offerings, and the cranberries mashed into it offered a hint of sweetness. “That
is
odd.”

Lauren grabbed a tea bag and some hot water and returned to her lab, passing the two armed and armored men who had been left behind to guard the shuttle. She trusted neither of them would feel the urge to kidnap Hailey and tote her off to some bounty hunter, but she was relieved, nevertheless, that neither of them was Grenavinian or a part of her experiments. Heath was the only one remaining on the mission who was displaying unusual mental abilities.

She smiled as she ducked through her curtain and into the lab, remembering how much she had enjoyed his
other
abilities. Such an unusual reaction from her. She found herself wondering if he had influenced her somehow with his mind powers, but that seemed so unlike him that she dismissed the thought immediately. Besides, it wasn’t as if she had
never
been attracted to anyone before. There had been boys at the university whom she’d occasionally speculated about, usually lab partners or colleagues on group projects, people she’d come to know and like. She couldn’t remember ever caring one way or another about a stranger. Even when she came to like people, though, it was rare for her to have sexual thoughts involving them. She’d always had a low sex drive, rarely even feeling the need to masturbate. It mystified her somewhat that Heath had wormed his way into her thoughts. And her pants. She smiled again, her body flushing at the memory of the way he’d touched her. Who would have thought that some thugly mercenary, as Hailey would call him, would be better at stimulating her clitoris than she was?

She dropped the tea bag into her water and pulled up the data from the druid cave, reminding herself that she was supposed to be researching now that Heath wasn’t here to “distract” her. What a pleasing distraction that had been, however. She did feel a little guilty that she hadn’t touched him at all, except to shove his hand into her pants. By the time she’d realized it might be appropriate for her to reciprocate, the shuttle had landed, and there’d been no time for much else. She flushed again, remembering how brazen she’d been in keeping him from running off to the lav for privacy, in wanting to watch him handle his penis in front of her, to sate himself by her side. She’d surprised herself with that, for she’d never cared a whit about looking at a man’s erection before. She remembered her sister trying to get her to watch some pornography that she’d found on the network when Lauren had been about fifteen, and she’d thought it incredibly disgusting. Strange naked people, grunting and groaning and crying out so melodramatically as they thrust and bucked and flung bodily fluids everywhere. She’d experienced absolutely no arousal from that. Yet she’d found it inordinately appealing to look at Heath’s erect penis. She’d even been tempted to reach down and hold it, but there’d been so little time, and his movements had been so urgent—she hadn’t wanted to interrupt him. She’d settled for sliding her tongue over his hard nipple, filling her eyes with the muscular contours of his chest, the hint of sweat glistening on his rich skin as he’d pumped his hand along his thick shaft.

Lauren shifted her weight, aware that she wasn’t seeing any of the data hovering in the air over her counter and also aware of the moisture between her legs. She was tempted to put down the tea mug and slide her fingers down there, as Heath had, to pleasure herself again. But that was so silly. She was on a mission, and this was the middle of the workday. It was somewhat understandable to have sexual urges with a man in the room, his arms wrapped around her, rubbing and stroking her, but to simply stand here and become aroused? Professionals did
not
do such things.

Still, she found her hand straying to her belt. It wouldn’t take long, and who would know?

The curtain stirred behind her, and Lauren jerked her hand away from her crotch.

“That data looks familiar,” Hailey said dryly.

“Does it? Huh.” Lauren took a deep breath, straightened her face, and picked up her tea mug. Only after she believed she appeared composed did she turn around.

“I thought you said you only found the data on the genetic engineering they were doing on plants.”

“You’ve been keeping information from me all week.” Lauren sipped the minty tea, willing it to keep her calm as she dealt with her sister. She’d much prefer to be alone in her lab, dealing with her data. And perhaps her thoughts of Heath. “It only seemed fair that I withhold some.”

Hailey’s lips thinned. “You’ve been withholding everything.”

“Only access to the strains of bacteria that I developed through months of research.”

“And the fact that one of your Grenavinians had grown strong enough to hurl logs around with his mind. You don’t think I would like to have known about that? Or to have been warned about what he could do, so I might have known how to fight back?”

“I had no idea he could do more than roll dice across the floor,” Lauren said, “and I only learned that this morning. I don’t know how you would have fought back, even if you’d known the extent of his abilities.”

Hailey waved at the tranquilizer gun Lauren had left on the end of the counter—now reloaded. “I might have kept myself armed if I’d known one of the very people I hired to protect me would end up turning on me.”

“None of us knew that. You’re the one who had an idea all along that people might be after you.”

“
Might
.” Hailey’s voice cracked with unexpected emotion. “I didn’t really think...” She swallowed. “I didn’t think I’d be in so much danger, especially with these people here to protect me. That’s why I hired them, at least in part.”

“Who’s after you exactly, Hailey? If you’d told Mandrake in the beginning, maybe he could have been better prepared and the kidnapping wouldn’t have happened.”

“I don’t know. I
swear
. Like I said, I had to make my presentation to numerous parties before I found someone to fund this. The military knows. That’s who I believed I would have to worry about, and since your Captain Mandrake is already known to be at odds with GalCon and the military, I figured he wouldn’t care.” Hailey pushed her hand through her hair, knocking a pin free, but not seeming to notice. She was more rattled than Lauren could remember ever seeing her.

“Are you all right?” Lauren asked quietly. “I know physically, you only had a few cuts, but he didn’t harm you in any other manner, did he?”

“No, there wasn’t time for that. He knew your brawny tracker was right behind us. But it was terrifying, being carted off through the jungle like Jane on an erratic and unpredictable Tarzan’s shoulder. And he said the man who wanted to buy me—
buy
me, as if I’m a box of food rations—had some questions. Like an interrogation. I asked him what would happen if I didn’t know the answers. He just said, ‘Not my problem.’”

“Speaking as someone who had a very similar experience on this very moon, I empathize,” Lauren said. “You’re wise to stay in the shuttle this time. If someone believes you have some knowledge that could empower him or make him money, then you will definitely be a target.”