Virgin (12 page)

That was, if Kots hadn’t taken it along with the rest of her wardrobe.

Thankfully, the box was still in the top drawer of the dresser where she had placed it for safekeeping. Ava had rarely worn the stone, mainly because it didn’t go with any of her clothing, but also because she didn’t want to advertise its existence to anyone on Luxaria—especially Lars. Unfortunately, the large crystal hung quite low on her chest, drawing the eye to the cleavage that the kaftan revealed.
So much for camouflage.
She was about to take it off when she heard the breakfast summons and responded to it as though Dax had been pleading with her to come dashing to his side.

Grumbling about what a pushover she was becoming—at least where Dax was concerned—she slipped on the matching shoes and hurried out.

Upon her arrival at the dining hall, however, she found herself alone. Kots wasn’t even there. Had she been imagining the hail? Surely not. The chime had rung very clearly. Curious, she checked in the next room—which was even larger than the dining hall, and in another place and time could have been a ballroom. The soaring ceiling was adorned with frescoes, and carved molding framed what ought to have been windows but were, instead, visions of places Ava had never even imagined.

Landscapes with gently rolling hills were interspersed with those of softly glowing petals, shining leaves, the cool depths of jungles, and the distant glow of a sun rising over sand dunes. As she watched, the images melted to become entirely different: snowy mountaintops, fiery volcanoes, and the depths of an alien sea. The effect was stunning to the eye but soothing to the soul.

“This is the art gallery,” Dax said from right behind her. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Startled, Ava spun around to face him. “I—I must have missed this room on the tour.”

“That’s because it isn’t on the tour—or the orientation video. I think the previous owner didn’t want anyone in here and the ship knows it’s supposed to keep it a secret. Most passengers can’t even get the door to open.” For once, his smile was warm rather than forced. “Kots must think you belong here.”

Ava shrugged. “I just went looking when no one else was at breakfast. I didn’t mean to trespass.”

“You weren’t trespassing,” Dax assured her. “I don’t mind if you come in here. Like I said, that was part of the ship’s original programming.”

Ava barely noted the door sliding discreetly shut behind him. They were alone together in a room filled with beauty and “the ship” seemed to want to keep them there. “Does Kots control everything?”

Dax shook his head. “The computer does that, but Kots is like an offshoot of the ship itself. It has a certain… presence, doesn’t it?”

She nodded. “Has it ever trapped anyone in here?”

“Not that I can recall.” Glancing over his shoulder at the closed door, Dax added, “But I can see why you might think that.”

“Does the ship interpret thoughts—through Kots, perhaps?”

“Perhaps.” Pulling a timepiece from his pocket, he added, “Breakfast isn’t for another quarter of an hour.”

“But I was called. I know I heard it!”

“And I was told there was something here that required my attention.”

“Now, that
is
weird,” she declared. “I—” Her thoughts were diverted as, suddenly, the pictures changed from dreamy landscapes to scenes of lovers entwined. One glance at the erotic images made Ava feel as though she’d been given another bowl of Sholerian cream. The lighting changed, becoming softer, more seductive. The room seemed to shrink in size as though closing in on them, forcing them together. She could have sworn that Dax never moved, but now, there was only a hand’s breadth of distance between them. He was so close, she could smell him—woodsy and earthy, like tree bark, but as sweet and warm as cookies baking in the oven. His aroma drew her in like the scent of home at the end of a long journey. Comforting, soothing, but nonetheless compelling.

Ava wished she were taller, so she could have seen his eyes better, but they were so far away. Then she realized that she
was
growing in height and that their eyes were now on the same level. “How is this possible?” she whispered. “Is this whole room an illusion?”

Dax shook his head. “I don’t know how it works. Interesting, though, isn’t it?”

She reached out and touched his cheek. “I shouldn’t be able to do this, but I can.”

Dax leaned forward and inhaled deeply. Ava wondered if she smelled even half as good to him as he did to her. Would he taste as good as he smelled? The need to know the answer overwhelmed her. She could kiss him right now and doubted that he would resist. There was an openness in his expression she hadn’t seen before. He was welcoming her into his arms, inviting her to taste his lips and feel the warmth of his body wrapped around hers.

Closing her eyes, she tasted her own lips as though they were his. She knew that sex with a Zetithian was addicting, but just being near him had almost the same effect. It stimulated her cravings, the need to feel his body as it covered her own and delved deeply inside her.

Her eyes were shutting out the visual, yet sound and scent came through loud and clear. She could hear him breathing, feel his warmth, and his scent surrounded her. Strains of soft music began to play, and when she opened her eyes, all she could see was Dax’s face as he leaned closer. Their lips were almost touching—another whisper of movement, and they would be together.

Why am I resisting? Why am I not going that one last tiny little distance?
It would be so simple to just let go and fall the rest of the way. He would catch her if she fell, and all she had to do was let him in…

Heaven was only a motion away—but was it heaven or temptation? Her conflicted emotions warred with one another. He was the kind of man she couldn’t help but be drawn to, but this was how she’d gotten in trouble before—allowing emotions and desires to overrule her better judgment. Lars had lured her away from a good man. Dax had the same effect—stimulating her need for adventure, steering her away from the path she knew could bring lasting happiness and security.

There were too many selfish reasons for kissing him and too many righteous reasons to resist. It wasn’t his choice, anyway. It was the ship and its minions that were controlling them. For some strange reason, they wanted them to be together, and what could a ship and its computer possibly know about love?

The chime rang out, calling the others to the dining room—the real chime, this time. Dax moved restlessly. She could tell he was tired of waiting, but he would have to go on waiting. She was not going to risk another mistake like the one she’d made before. Shaking her head, she asserted herself and her intentions. In an instant, the room returned to its original shape, and the door slid open. Dax was standing a good two meters away, towering over her as he had always done.

Without a word, he turned and walked out.

Chapter 8

Dax stalked into the dining room and didn’t even have to snarl at the Drell to get him to move aside. His ire was that obvious.

Waroun was right. He really
couldn’t
charm the shirt, let alone the skirt, off a Davordian hooker. He was a disgrace to all of the men of Zetith whose renown as lovers was legendary. Should he have made the first move? Was that his mistake? She’d been about to kiss him—at least, he thought she had—but what had stopped her? He had no idea, but the scent of her desire had shut off like a faucet. Did he have bad breath or a disgusting body odor? Had the sight of him up close repulsed her? It hadn’t bothered her before, but who knew what would offend or please a female from a different world—or more precisely,
two
worlds, since she was a hybrid.

Dax frowned as the thought occurred to him that hybrids didn’t always breed true—and sometimes couldn’t breed at all; they were often sterile or asexual. He shook his head. No, if Ava were asexual, she wouldn’t have been with Lars, nor would she want to return to Russ. And she
had
responded to Dax before. He had absolutely no idea what the problem was, but he was pretty sure he’d been inspected and found lacking in some way.

Teke bade him a cheerful good morning, but Dax merely grunted in reply. All of the encouraging thoughts he’d had the night before vanished with the morning, which did
not
make it a good one.

He sat down in the nearest chair, still mulling it over, when it occurred to him that it might not have had anything to do with Ava at all but was simply that odd room. He’d been telling the truth when he’d told her he didn’t know how it worked. Perhaps they really
weren’t
that close together, though the condition of his penis suggested that they had been. But why had her scent dissipated so quickly? Kots set a cup of coffee down in front of him. One whiff told him that it was mountain grown Letei coffee from Nraken. Definitely nothing wrong with his nose…

“Waroun was just telling us that we’ll be making a stop at Rhylos,” Teke said. “Would it be possible for us to remain there for a day or two? I’ve always wanted to visit that world. One hears so much about it.”

Dax looked up in surprise, darting a glance at Waroun, who simply sat gazing back at him with a neutral expression.

Too
neutral, in fact.

“If you’re basing that on anything Waroun has to say, you’ll be disappointed,” said Dax.

“He
has
made it sound very exciting,” Teke admitted, “but his is not the first description I’ve heard. Why, it’s the playground of the galaxy!”

Dax gazed at the elder of the two Kitnocks, curious as to why he would be the one to voice an interest in seeing Rhylos rather than Diokut. “Aren’t you a little old for that sort of thing?”

Diokut laughed out loud, but Teke ignored him. “Ah, the snobbishness of youth,” he said with a knowing smile. “It never occurs to you that your elders might like to have a little fun before they die.”

“Didn’t you have any fun on Luxaria?” Quinn inquired.

Without the benefit of any facial expression, it was difficult to tell whether the Drell was being sarcastic or sincere. However, having spent a little time on Luxaria, Dax opted for sarcasm. “I can’t say I’ve had any fun on either of those worlds,” Dax said before Teke could reply, “but if you’d like to stay there for a while, I’m sure no one else would object.”

“Object to what?” Ava asked as she entered.

Dax stiffened. He was sitting with his back to the doorway, a circumstance for which he was extremely grateful. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to look her in the eye again. A sudden stabbing pain to his forehead had him pinching the bridge of his nose as she swept past him to take a seat next to Waroun. His heart sank. She must really not like him if she’d prefer to sit next to the Norludian—and also the Drell, since Quinn was on her other side. Waroun’s eyes were sparkling with thinly veiled lust as he took in the sight of Ava in that clingy thing she was wearing. Dax bit his lip, tasting blood.

“A little side trip to Rhylos,” Waroun replied. “And may I say, my dear Ava, you would be among the loveliest women there. That dress looks positively stunning on you. The color brings out the depths of the ocean in your eyes.”

Dax felt an instantaneous desire to throttle Waroun. Why hadn’t he thought to compliment her dress? Or her eyes, or anything else, for that matter? He consoled himself with the fact that at least he hadn’t spoken his mind and said he wanted to rip it off with his teeth. Wincing, he swallowed hard as she turned her gaze on him—a gaze that held no emotion other than curiosity.

“How long before we arrive?” She flipped out her napkin as though the interlude in the gallery had never happened.

“About another twenty hours or so,” Dax replied. And during those hours, he considered never leaving the bridge. Threld would be able to help him—unless he screwed things up so badly that she wound up hating him forever. He didn’t think he’d done it yet, and a moment’s scrutiny confirmed it. She simply appeared to be indifferent, which was probably worse.

Mentally reviewing the list of things he was supposed to do to attract a woman, Dax couldn’t recall having used a single one of them during their recent encounter—he hadn’t even smiled—though perhaps he had leaned toward her just a bit. Obviously not enough to make a difference, but he
had
leaned. I should have kissed her, he decided. Then she would have understood how I felt about her.

But there was a problem with that. Dax had never kissed anyone in his life. Though several women had made the attempt, none had been tall enough to succeed. He’d had no practice whatsoever. What if he was a terrible kisser?

He stared at the plate Kots had just set in front of him and began eating it automatically, not even caring what it was. It looked vaguely familiar but tasted odd. Perhaps there was something wrong with his nose after all.

Then it hit him. “Kots,” he growled. “Would you please bring me something that hasn’t been laced with Sholerian cream?”

Kots beeped discreetly and removed the plate. Dax didn’t dare risk a glance at Ava; Waroun’s smug grin was quite enough. Hitching uncomfortably in his chair, he considered telling Kots to give it to Ava but decided he didn’t want a woman who had to be drugged into finding him appealing.