Broken Vision (9 page)

Alerik hesitated. Sharm needed every man he could get on the Pallas Seven problem, but
his instincts were clamoring to keep Corenna and Drakal assigned to Maegan. It was annoying. He
should be able to manage his own life partner, but at this stage of their very uncertain relationship,
he couldn't afford to take chances when there were so many unknowns. Short of shackling her to
him, he couldn't keep track of her all the time.

"They go with me," he said curtly. "For now."

"Good." Sharm was pleased. He no doubt would add an additional set of orders to the
pair's duties. They would be expected to keep a close protective eye on Alerik as well.

"We'll be leaving after the mid-day meal." He paused at the door to his office. "And do
inform them that the term 'nursemaiding' is hardly descriptive of their duties. So far, their charge
has managed to out-maneuver them."

Anticipation filled him as he rode the private tube shuttle. It grew stronger as he strode
along the path to the governor's habitat. The air was pleasantly cool. Pallas Five's yellow stone
buildings basked in a weak sun.

He'd ordered a light meal--no nutro tablets--and looked forward to sharing it with Maegan.
There would no doubt be some balking, but he fully intended to overcome it. The food he had
chosen would tempt the pickiest appetite.

His pulse quickened as he approached the door to the habitat and wondered how he would
find her, still sleeping or awake and annoyed at her confinement? He'd left her no clothes. Would
she resort to wearing his or simply wrap a linen around herself? He had indulged himself in a good
long look at her nude body after he'd removed her clothes the night before, but he had refrained
from touching when he'd wanted to so badly.

He deactivated the additional security mechanism with his private code before placing his
hand on the door pad.

He knew, even as he stepped across the threshold into the silent rooms, that he was alone.
Maegan was gone.

Margaine Confluence:/Third Rising
Pallas Four

Maegan leaned against the plexiwall of the cleansing unit and let the comforting multiple
streams of heated water flow over her.

Finding transport back to Pallas Four had taken far too long. It didn't help that she was
dressed like a vagabond in mismatched clothing--a tunic that flowed to her calves, leggings that
underneath the tunic bagged to her knees, and sandal slippers that each could have accommodated
two of her feet--but it was the best she could do with what she had found in Alerik Mariltar's
belongings. The man was too slieking big.

She was tired, even though it was only mid-day and even after a surprisingly good night's
sleep. Her body wasn't handling recent events well.

Even so, she smiled at how easy it had been to disengage the Mariltar security system,
thanks to Makiee. He had shown her long ago a foolproof system of reengineering the
communications circuits that were basic technology in almost everything. The Mariltar team must
have been so sure they could confine her with technology, because no guards had been posted. She
had slipped out and found the transport station with no difficulty.

The people she had encountered along the way had paid no attention to someone looking
like a wilderness wanderer. But with no identification, because he had taken it from her along with
her own clothes, the difficulty had come with convincing a transporter pilot that she was the
counselor of Pallas Four and had legitimate business there. He'd finally put her on vid screen with
Coryon who'd confirmed her identity. After that, the pilot had broken some departure protocols and
speed constraints to get her to Pallas Four.

Alerik would without a doubt come after her, but she wouldn't be there. She had a mission
to run that night. Although it was far too early to take the Lady Melia out, she planned to conceal
the ship somewhere. She just hadn't decided where yet. Her plan was risky, but not as risky as
waiting around to be incarcerated again.

Had he discovered her absence yet? Probably not. She'd hacked his schedule on the habitat
console and seen that it was jammed. The governor was in high demand. She was counting on the
schedule being accurate and on the fact that Alerik thought she was securely confined.

She adjusted the streams of water and turned to let them pummel her back. As she leaned
her forearm on the plexiwall and rested her face on it, she imagined Alerik's reaction. Goose bumps
raised her flesh, and a shudder rippled through her despite the humid heat surrounding her. The
glowing sapphire of his eyes and temple mark would darken to almost black, a sure sign of his
anger. Beyond that, she didn't want to think of the consequences, of which she was sure there
would be something unpleasant. Would he be most disturbed over her failure to comply, or the fact
that she had disabled a security system?

Enough! She should get going.

With reluctance, she reached for the gel dispenser. It was rare that she indulged by
spending time in the cleansing unit. Usually she was in and out.

The sharp tang of citrus swirled in the air as she rubbed gel into her hair, then across her
body. Her nipples were tight and tingling, the flesh between her legs swollen and ultra sensitive.
Her monthly flow had been erratic for a while and non-existent for several moon-cycles. Maybe it
was about to start again. She sighed and rubbed gel across her bottom. She hadn't missed it or paid
it much attention except for some passing concern that she was driving her body too hard. Her flow
was definitely an inconvenience on her missions.

She indulged herself for several more nans as the water sluiced the gel from her body,
before she turned it off and stepped from the steam-clogged plexiunit.

Legs stretched before him, Alerik Mariltar lounged in the padded chair by the deep bathing
tub. From there he had an unobstructed view of the cleansing unit. His posture and heavy-lidded
gaze made it clear that he'd been there for a while.

* * * *

Alerik watched Maegan's frantic glance about the bathing chamber for something with
which to cover herself. The toweling linen she had placed ready for use by the cleansing unit was
draped across his lap.

Good thing too. He'd been in a state of heavy arousal since he'd walked into the room and
found a show to excite any newly bonded man. He'd firmly repressed the guilt of an uninvited
observer, and settled in to watch as her hands smoothed far too quickly over the deep rose peaks of
her breasts, disappeared through the gold fluff between her legs and massaged the curve of her
bottom.

Now she stood before him, her skin flushed and gleaming in the natural light that streamed
through the plexidome above. Her poor eating habits were obvious in the delineation of her rib cage
and prominence of her hipbones. The batriel attack was evident in the raw scar across her left
bicep.

She made no move to shield herself. Admiration surged through him. Courage was
something she had in abundance.

She tilted her chin, looked him straight in the eye and flung out an imperious hand. "May I
have it?"

"Certainly," he said. He gathered up the linen from his lap and held it out.

Her eyes flickered. The color in her face deepened. She had to take several steps to come
close enough to snatch the linen from his hand.

It was all he could do not to reach out and snatch her. He was granted ten nanonans more
of visual pleasure as she fumbled with the linen and almost dropped it. But then she anchored it to
her chest with one hand and, with the other, clumsily dragged it around herself.

"I don't suppose," she said, as she bent her dripping head and secured the linen, "that I
should ask why you're here?"

"Not a good idea," he agreed, clamping down on a swift rise of anger. He rose to his feet,
conscious of the heaviness in his groin. "This is getting to be a bad habit, Maegan."

She held her ground even though he now crowded her personal space, but her body was
poised as taut as a nervous merlocat's, and the knuckles of her hand, clenched around the linen,
were white.

"Well then," she said, and her gaze never wavered, "stop expecting me to follow orders
that have no relevance to my life."

Amazing that he could be so aroused and yet so angry. He wanted to rip the linen from her,
throw her to the floor and relieve this simmering brew of anger, frustration and pure lust.

"Did it ever occur to you," he said, and his voice came out sounding clipped and haughty,
"that I might be acting in your best interests."

"No." She tilted her chin even further. "Everything you do has a deliberate purpose, but
that purpose serves your objectives, nobody else's, and certainly not mine."

"You're driving your body too hard, Maegan. It's experienced trauma. You need to give it
time to recover. You're undernourished as it is." Cor's blood, he hadn't meant to add those last
words. He saw his mistake in the angry flash of her green eyes and the tightening of her
mouth.

She turned her head. Dismissive. Removed. A simple gesture, but it angered him
more.

"I'm not going back to Pallas Five. I have work to do here."

He forced a casual shrug. "Let's compromise then. At least follow the medtech's advice on
rest and nourishment."

"You're staying?"

"For now."

"I don't need a nursemaid."

He snorted. "Believe me, a nursemaid is not a role I envision for myself in this
relationship."

She took three steps away from him and bent her head. The wet strands of her hair swung
forward to shield her face, but he still had an unobstructed view in the mirrored wall on the other
side of her. That flicker of panic had been unmistakable.

"I don't wish to inconvenience you. I'm sure you have a busy schedule. I'll agree to follow
the medtech's advice. You don't need to stay."

And there was no way in the Universe he was buying into that one. He folded his arms.
"Trust is a funny thing, Maegan. There are some people who can instinctively be trusted, others
who have to build trust over time. Guess where someone who has a habit of disappearing, ignoring
orders, reengineering communications and security systems and hacking into private schedules falls
on that scale?"

Her hair flew as she swung violently to face him. "Yet you still bonded with me," she
spat.

"Careful," he chided. "Or you'll learn more about my motivations sooner than you want
to."

Her breasts heaved beneath the thin linen. Her face was flushed. The air between them
crackled with a tension that was suddenly and undeniably sexual. Her eyes widened for an instant
then narrowed.

"Stay then," she snapped. "It doesn't matter to me."

She raised her chin. "Please leave. I'd like some privacy."

"Certainly." He unfolded his arms and strolled to the door. "When you're dressed, we'll
partake of a late mid-day meal together."

* * * *

Maegan emerged from the bathing chamber a leisurely fifty nans later, still fuming. With
any luck, Alerik had either expired from hunger or grown bored with waiting and gone off to do
whatever governors did. Either way, she didn't care. The more time that elapsed before she saw him
again, the better.

Her skin still prickled because she couldn't erase the image of his leisurely survey of her
nude body. And it was worse when she thought of what he must have observed while she was still
in the cleansing unit. He'd had time to study her and he'd obviously found her wanting.

Undernourished! She should be happy he found her unattractive. She just couldn't
understand why her nerves were so fried.

While she'd dried her hair and pampered her body with lotions and creams she hadn't taken
the time with lately, she'd come up with a plan to accomplish her mission.

It wasn't foolproof by any means. But with a little luck, she might be able to get away with
it. Because if the plan didn't succeed, she shuddered to think of Alerik Mariltar's reaction. He'd
been angry earlier. She could tell from the change in the color of his eyes, even though his face and
body language showed little sign. And she'd expected it. But then the anger had changed to
something else, something infinitely more disturbing that she didn't want to think about. She would
rather face his anger.

She chose a bodysuit in her favorite soft green and dressed quickly. She had to make a visit
to Morgon's hidden habitat to get what she needed and make it back before Alerik missed her.

The habitat felt empty. She was fairly certain he wasn't there. To be safe, she opened up
the miniature vid console and scanned the other rooms.

She almost missed him.

The large common room was empty, but as she was about to switch to the utility room, a
flicker of movement through the wide plexiwall caught her attention. She scanned in. He was
outside, propped against the rail of the gallery that overlooked the deep valley wilderness.

"Sliek," she muttered. There was no way she could risk the trip with him in the habitat.
She'd have to get rid of him somehow.

She shoved her feet into half boots and made for the door leading to the common room.
But when she stepped through it, Alerik was already part way across the room.

"Ah," he said. "I was just coming to check on you. Shall we eat?"

"I'm really not hungry," she replied. "I had something earlier and I need to check in on
Janas."

"Nutro tablets don't count." He had continued to walk toward her, and now took her arm
and propelled her in the direction from which he'd come. His touch, even through the fabric of the
bodysuit, scorched her.

"And Janas won't implode in the next few nans without you. Thought we'd eat outside," he
said. "Beautiful day."

She felt as if she was communicating on a closed vid channel. She talked, but no one paid
any attention because they couldn't hear her. Except he could hear her. He just chose to ignore her.
She tried to twist out of his grasp. He simply tightened his grip and almost lifted her off her
feet.