His Virtual Bride (13 page)

Geoff caught her arm before she could run away. "You are
not
a freak." He pulled her onto his lap and wreathed his arms around her, imprisoning her. "There are many reasons this is happening."

Her eyes filling with tears, she jutted her chin. "Name one."

"The trauma of being beaten," he provided immediately.

"Name another."

He stroked his mustache as if it held the answer. "Space travel. If you
are
from Earth or Venus, your journey through the wormholes could have caused this…"

"Mutation?" she suggested, her muscles tightening as if she wanted to run. Intended to run. Would run if he gave her the chance.

He tightened his embrace. "Mutations occur to strengthen an organism. To ensure the survival of the species."

She snorted. "How does involuntary spontaneous hymen regeneration ensure the species survival?"

"Damned if I know," he admitted, drawing her head to his shoulder.

After a long moment she asked, "Is there a cure?"

Reluctant to admit he'd talked to Herma-Frodie about her, Geoff stroked her hair. "By the Goddess, I hope so."

* * * *

Keely wanted to accuse Geoff of lying, but she couldn't. Even though his tense muscles told her that he knew more than he'd admitted to her, his fervent prayer to the Goddess resounded in her very soul. She didn't mind the pain of his first penetration, but it would be much nicer if it went missing for the duration of their time together. However long that might be.

Sighing, resigned to whatever fate awaited her, she wrapped her arms around Geoff's neck and savored this unexpected moment. His gentleness she had grown to expect. This quiet sharing of his thoughts and hopes for her…those caught her by surprise. She wanted to hold them in her memory forever.

Could she? Hold these precious moments in her mind forever? Or--if the memories from her past ever returned--would these new ones fade? Or vanish as suddenly as if they'd never happened at all?

As if he'd read her mind, Geoff cautioned, "Don't go looking for trouble, Keely. It'll find us soon enough."

Us? she thought, wanting to ask him if there was or ever would be an
us
. Savoring his nearness, his scent, his warmth, she let the questions go. Whatever came their way, her body would remember. He had imprinted himself on her skin, in her very flesh. Like ocean waves brushing against her calves, her body would recall his touch. The way his eyes darkened when he neared climax. The sound of his voice calling her name when release took them both beyond this galaxy to unknown worlds. His salty taste when she took his cock in her mouth or licked away his sweat as he held her after they'd shared release. His scent--soap and skin combined to become uniquely Geoff. All of these things, her body would remember even if her mind no longer recalled his face.

By the Goddess, she loved him!

"Do you know that places like Sedna have no idea that Venus and Jupiter are colonized?" Geoff muttered into her hair. "Despite all the humans from all over the galaxy who visit them…"

Jove-blasted man
! How could he think about anything so mundane when she felt so…overwhelmed by the thought of loving him? Unreasonable though it was, she'd expected him to read her mind. To know that the arms that had tightened around him meant she loved him more than life itself.

Swallowing her resentment, she said, "So what?"

"In my--on
our
planets, it's the year twenty-two seventy-seven. But, as far as they know on Sedna, only Pluto is colonized." He slid his hands down her arms to hold her at arm's length. "If…when we go back to Earth, will we find everything and everyone exactly as we left them? That my ancestors come from Jupiter and yours, probably, come from Venus? Or will we find out we don't exist at all?"

Not knowing what else to say, Keely echoed his words to her. "Don't go looking for trouble, Geoff." Reaching out, she tugged gently on his earlobes. "We'll cross that bridge if we have to."

"Yeah. If we're still alive."

* * * *

Wanting to banish their suddenly solemn mood, Geoff tweaked Keely's nose. "Maybe, before we go back to Earth, I'll take you to Jupiter. Show you more of Io. Maybe visit Europa."

"I liked Saturnalia."

Her dreamy expression told Geoff she was thinking about more than sightseeing. Remembering how she'd responded to him in that cozy bungalow, his cock twitched. Keely wiggled her bottom. Yeah, she definitely wasn't thinking about touring.

He took her face in his hands. "I don't want to hurt you, Keely, honey."

"It would hurt more if you won't make lo--won't have sex with me." She stroked the concern from his forehead. "I want you, Geoff. Inside me."

His breath--a breath he just realized he'd held--whooshed out. "Are you sure? I know it'll hurt. Even if you want me."

"I'm sure."

He had gazed into her eyes many times before now and yet--for some unfathomable reason--he felt as if he was seeing her for the very first time. As if he could see her soul in those sea foam green eyes. Something had changed for her. In her. What? How? he wondered and opened his mouth to ask.

Her tongue slipped inside his parted lips and he forgot how to breathe. As if she anticipated his resistance, she coaxed his teeth apart and then shyly probed deeper. Content to let her take the lead, Geoff kissed her back just enough to encourage her to continue. He felt like he could kiss her for hours except his cock had other ideas.

Even in his loose fitting flight suit, his cock swelled and lengthened until he thought it would burst the seams. Keely wiggled her bottom and laughed into his mouth.

Easing from his arms, she stood. "I think we ought to take this into your bedroom. Unless, of course, you'd enjoy having someone walk in on us."

"
Honey,
put a do not disturb on my quarters," he commanded. Standing, he swept Keely into his arms.

"Aye, aye, sir,"
The Honey
acknowledged in her new, more solemn voice.

"And no peeking."

"Spoil sport."

Ignoring
Honey
's sassy and comfortably familiar comment, Geoff carried Keely into his bedroom. Her eyes seemed to glow and her smile held hints of secrets she might never share.

"I wish I knew what you're thinking," he muttered, keeping her in his arms as he stretched out on his wide bunk.

"I'm thinking about the first time you made me come. I'm thinking about the last time we climaxed together." She tugged on the collar of his flight suit until she bared him to his waist. "I'm thinking I want to feel your skin against mine and that we're wearing too many clothes."

Chuckling, he shimmied out of his clothes and groaned with relief when his cock sprang free. Sighing, Keely skimmed her hands over his shoulders, down his torso to his crotch. Her fingers curled around his shaft.

He stilled her hands. "If you stroke me, I'll lose control."

Smiling that secretive smile, she squeezed him gently. "Maybe I want you to lose control. There are so many ways you can pleasure me while you recover."

He grinned down at her. "You little witch."

She grinned back. "I think
hedonist
or
sybarite
is more appropriate."

"Hmmm."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we're going to play a little game. I'm going to keep you on the edge until you beg me to take you." Reaching over her head, he pushed on the bulkhead. A craftily concealed door sprang open and silk ropes tumbled out.

"Ooooh, bondage."

She sounded delighted, but he saw fear flicker in her eyes before she jutted her chin.

Had
Le Roi
bound her before he beat her? Geoff wondered. "I promise not to hurt you. But--just in case you want me to stop--I'll give you a safe word. Okay?"

Still looking doubtful, she nodded.

"Jabberwocky." He tied her hands above her head before sliding to her feet. A second pair of silk ropes fell from the wall and he quickly knotted them around her ankles.

"That's a ridiculous word. Why not
stop
or
halt
or something simpler?"

"Because I might not hear
don't
if you say
don't stop
. I might quit at a critical moment." Not waiting for her response, he loosened the knots she'd tied to fasten her top around her, baring her breasts and shoulders.

Her arms flexed as if she wanted to hide her swelling breasts and rigid nipples from his sight. He trailed his fingers down her neck, over her chest, around her breasts, never touching her distended nipples.

Her breath hitched and her nipples lengthened, begging for his touch. It took every ounce of restraint he had not to ravish her with his tongue and teeth. She moaned. Her arms flexed again, but this time he sensed she wanted to draw him down and thrust her nipples into his mouth.

"You have to ask, Keely. Tell me what you want and say
please
."

"Lick me. Suck me." When he said nothing, only continued to circle her areolas with feathery touches, she added, "Please."

He lapped one nipple, then the other. Keely made little mewing noises in her throat, driving him wild. Straddling her hips, pushing her breasts together, he licked and sucked each rigid peak in quick succession. Above her head, her fingers clenched and unclenched. Beneath his buttocks, her hips rose and fell.

"Don't stop," she pleaded.

Knowing it was cruel, he slid to her side and rested his head against one breast. She growled and shifted away as far as her restraints allowed.

"You're the only woman who's ever come for me when I only touched her breasts." He reestablished contact with her body.

Blushing, she turned her head, refusing to look at him. "I didn't come this time."

"Because, as I promised, I didn't let you."

She glared at him without much heat, but bared her teeth. "And that makes you feel all macho and superior."

He licked her nipple, blew on the little pebble it made. "
That
makes me feel all macho. I love the way you respond to me."

Her expression, her entire body softened as his fingers trailed from her breast to her belly. Though he kept his touch light, he felt her quiver and looked up to find her teething her lower lip.

"I love hearing your sighs. The mewing sounds you make when my touch pleases you. The way your eyes change color when you're aroused. Like now."

Closing her eyes, she accused in a teasing tone, "I get it. You intend to talk me to death."

"An excellent idea. Except I intend to talk you into bliss."

Kissing his way down her body, he continued. "I love your skin. It's even softer than
minxer
fur." He nuzzled the curls covering her mons. "I love your scent. Especially when we make love. It tells me you want me." He stroked the red-gold curls, parted her outer labia to find her rigid clit. "Open your legs wider for me, Keely. You know you want to."

Groaning, she did as he asked. Her thighs trembled and her hips arched. Easing over the bindings on her ankles, he slid between her legs, parted her outer and inner lips, inhaling deeply. "If we could bottle your scent, we'd make a fortune." He burrowed his nose into her moist folds. "On second thought, I don't want anyone--man or woman--to smell you." He lapped her from channel to clit, plunged his tongue into her hot, wet cunt. "Nobody else will smell you, Keely. Taste you. You belong to me."

"Sweet Goddess," she cried, "if you stop now I'll pound you."

"Tell me what you want, Keely," he murmured as he blew on her clit.

"Eat me, Geoff. Make me come. Goddess, yes. Yes, yes, yessss!"

He felt her spasms begin. It cost him, but he managed to pull back.

"Jove blast you!" she swore.

"What else do you want?"

She glanced down at him. He lapped and tasted her juices on his tongue. She groaned, a sound of frustration and need.

"Tell me," he demanded. "In the crudest words you know."

Writhing against her bonds, in a dozen different languages, Keely cried the words he wanted to hear. At last, as if he hadn't understood her, she screamed, "Fuck me, Geoff. Fuck me."

* * * *

Keely felt him slide up her body and met his eyes as he positioned his cock at her opening. His eyes were feral. His lips drew back as he bared his teeth. He looked like a wolf about to claim his life's mate. With her hands tied she was helpless against him. A tingle of fear combined with delicious anticipation curled low in her belly. She wanted his lust. She craved it. Even knowing he would take her without finesse, she wanted the beast she saw in him as much as she wanted the man.

"Fuck me," she whispered.

He plunged.

She cried out, the pain worse than it had ever been. He seemed not to hear her. His deafness didn't matter. She matched him lunge-for-lunge and urged him on. "Harder. Deeper. Faster. Goddess. Goddess! God-dess!"

As he took them both to completion--a climax so stunning it left her feeling disconnected from her own body--her past came flooding back.

Chapter Nine

Unable to stop her tears, her feelings of guilt, Keely sobbed. When Geoff, having freed her hands and feet, cuddled her, she only sobbed harder.

"I hurt you," he said over and over, stroking her hair, her back and her tear-streaked cheeks.

Shaking her head, swiping at her tears, she denied, "You didn't hurt me."

"Why are you crying?"

"I c-can't tell you."

Tilting her chin, he countered, "Of course you can. You can tell me anything."

She blinked up at him. Covering her face with her hands, she sobbed even harder.

Geoff gripped her wrists and pulled down her hands. "Keely," he muttered gently, but she could hear a thread of impatience in his voice. "Honey."

"Exactly." Pulling free, she sprang from the bed, scooping up her long skirt and tying it around her neck and waist. Seeing Geoff's confusion and not wanting to hurt him more than she had to, she backed away from the bed. Away from the temptation of his body. Away from the need to lie to him.

Once she told him the truth about herself, he would hate her. But if she didn't tell him, she would hate herself even more.

"Exactly?" he repeated, untangling his flight suit from the sheets. Standing, he drew it up his legs, over his body until he'd completely covered the flesh she craved.

She met his gaze, watched puzzlement change to wariness.

"Whatever you have to tell me… Just tell me."

She chewed her lower lip. Looked down and saw her fingers digging into her palms. Not knowing what else to do, she jutted her chin and blurted, "My memory has come back."

He grinned. "That's great!" When she winced, he added, "Isn't it?"

"Not exactly."

He perched on the edge of his bunk and stared at her until she could stand the silence no longer. "I am--I was
The Honey
." He looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. Maybe she had.

"I flew myself to Jupiter. Made it look as if you'd stolen me so you'd have to come after me."

That confession had him sitting straighter, frowning and clenching his hands into fists. "Go on."

Licking her dry lips, she shook her head. "I had myself… No. Start at the beginning. Years ago, your cousin Kendra's great-grandmother Clarice, left her hairbrush and bathing sponges aboard me--er--aboard
The Honey
. A helpful crewmember put those items in a drawer where, forgotten, they remained until…until I needed them. I had myself cloned. Became Clarice--at least in appearance."

"How did you know to go to Jupiter?" he asked just when she'd decided he'd never talk to her again.

She shrugged, explaining, "Computers communicate with each other. Sometimes without making a record in our, er, their databanks. The interplanetary military does some cloning on Earth."

"That's illegal," he muttered, sounding ominous.

"That doesn't mean they don't do it. A lot.  Some cloning occurs around Io as well."

"Okay. You got cloned. What happened next?"

Sinking into a chair, she sighed. "I lost my memory."

"Sure you did."

She wanted to insist that she had, but his sneer told her that, no matter how much she insisted, he wouldn't believe her. He seemed to accept her having been his spaceship, but couldn't accept she'd forgotten her past.
Damn fool.
"And then--when we made love just now--it all came back in a rush." She couldn't tell him that she'd given him her true virginity.

"And compelled you to tell me."

"
Honey
never lied to you. I couldn't either." She stood. "This is a lot to absorb, I know. I don't expect you to continue our--"

"Sit down."

She sat. Her heart sank to the soles of her feet. Geoff hated her.

"Why did
Le Roi
beat you?"

She drew a deep breath, suddenly unsure of even that memory. "He tried to access the plans for my--for
Honey
's replacement. When he couldn't, I guess he figured I could. But I had already lost my memory of whom--of
what
I was. I couldn't tell him. I wouldn't have told him even if I could.

"I swear it's all true, Geoff."

His face blank, he stared at her for an endless moment. At last, just when she'd willed her legs to support her weight so she could leave, he said, "Let's pretend I believe you." Anguish swept through his eyes, but she watched him dispassionately. He sounded so cold, she shivered. "Why? Why did you brand me a traitor?" He waved away her objection. "I know
you
didn't do it, but you left me to be branded. Why?"

"If you knew somebody else had stolen me, you wouldn't have come after me. Come after
The Honey
, I mean."

He surged to his feet, rage in his eyes. "I would have come after you--her! I love that ship!"

Swallowing her tears, choking on them, she whispered, "I know you do. And she…I love you." She fled.

This time he let her go.

* * * *

Geoff waited long enough for Keely to get…wherever she was going. Peering down the corridor outside his quarters and finding it empty, he made his way to teleportation. He sent himself to Paris' suite on Mars. He found the Marsienne in bed, one young, well-built, well-endowed Sednan on each side of her.

"Flight Commander Geoff, how nice to see you. I've never done a foursome, but I'm always up to trying--"

Geoff bared his teeth at the two men. Twins by the look of them. Identical from the yellow stripes down the center of their muscular bodies to where the stripes ended--at the points that held Paris' intense interest. The young men scooted off the bed, grabbed their clothes and ran before either Geoff or Paris said another word.

"I thought only that Venusian whore Kendra could clear a room that fast." Standing, Paris pulled a surprisingly demure robe around her body. "But I can tell you didn't leave your precious
Honey
to talk about your cousin's wife."

"You knew. All these month, you knew who Keely really is."

"I'm the one who…shall we say
arranged
for her transformation."

Geoff fought the murderous rage that boiled in his belly. He wanted to kill the Marsienne, feel her breath slip away as he strangled her, watch her eyes dim as life seeped out of her. But first he needed answers. "Why?"

Paris shrugged. With only a hint of seduction in her sensuous glide, she crossed to the bar. Pouring herself three fingers of brandy, she toasted Geoff, then took a healthy gulp. "I'd heard your
Honey
was trying to get herself a body. Thought I'd help her out."

"Why?" Geoff repeated, his voice low and gravelly.

Her narrowed eyes indicated she heard the thread of danger in his voice, saw it in his eyes. She retreated behind the bar. "I'd feel more comfortable if you'd sit down."

"I don't give a flying fuck about your comfort, Paris. You don't rule on
The Honey
and you've never ruled me."

"I thought I could! That's why I did it, Geoff. I couldn't compete with a spaceship. But I thought--against a flesh and blood woman--I had a chance to make you love me."

"You…nobody can make somebody love her. Not even a queen."

Paris bowed her head. A moment later, she met his gaze and offered a brief smile. "I realize that. Now. Can you… Will you forgive me?"

"Why should I?"

Paris grinned. "Because I led you to the only woman who can compete against your
Honey
. The only woman you can love.
Do
love."

Geoff bared his teeth, a parody of his own smile. "Just one more question. Did
Le Roi
beat Keely? Because if he did and you ordered him to do it…"

Shaking her head, her pale green flesh going nearly white, she said, "It was a planted memory. One meant to arouse your protective instincts. And if she repeated it often enough, you'd get sick of hearing it. Tire of her."

"Never mind what it might do to her psyche." He raked his hair and glared at Paris. His stomach churned as his mind filled with suspicion. "Who helped you, Paris? How did you
arrange
to get
The Honey
to Jupiter in the first place, and later bring her to Mars?

He clenched his fists, knowing if he touched her, he'd break every bone in her treacherous body. She just stared at him, every inch queenly in her posture and expression.

"Herma-Frodie," he growled. "That Jove-blasted hermaphrodite just can't stop meddling."

"They meant well." His glare brought a smile to her lips. "Try to put yourself in their place.
The Honey
was--
is
--their friend. They know she loves you. That she wants to make love with you. Your cousin Connor let that Venusian--let his lust for Kendra distract him from fulfilling… If you feel compelled to blame someone, Geoff, blame Kendra. She's the one who promised
The Honey
a body.

Geoff growled.

"Anyway, Herma-Frodie and your precious
Honey
grew impatient and contacted my personal data device. I--"

"Saw a chance to make me grovel."

"As if! Oh, you might occasionally let me have my own way--if it suited you.  You'd bend, but I'd never break you. One of the many reasons I love…loved you."

"And the search for
Le Roi
?" Geoff slapped his forehead. "That was just another game, wasn't it?"

"Yes. I needed to keep you and Keely together. As I told you, I wanted you to grow tired of her. But you didn't."

He fought hard to regain his outrage, his feelings of being betrayed--mostly by Keely. But he found most of his feelings sort of…seeping away. As if she stood beside him now, her hand in his leaching every negative emotion from him. He found himself wondering how he could so easily accept her having been
The Honey
. Keely was nothing more than a collection of circuit boards transformed into a sultry-voiced vixen. No, he'd fallen in love with a woman who'd died…a hundred years ago? No, he admitted again, he'd fallen for a smart-mouthed angel who had magic in her soul and his heart in her dainty hands.

Paris cleared her throat. The sound brought his gaze to her face, her expression flooding him with certainty. Paris hadn't only led him down a primrose path about
The Honey
, she'd lied about everything. "What about your great-uncle? Is he really Sedna's mayor?" Glaring at Paris, he snarled, "That person masquerading as
Le Roi
… Who is he?"

"He's the real mayor of Sedna. A close friend of my great-uncle."

"Where is
Le Roi
? The real one?"

 "
Le Roi
is where he's been for more than two years. With Sylva on Pluto."

"Jove-blasted hermaphrodite and their Jove-blasted H-FDD!"

Aboard The Honey

And his day just got better and better. Transporting himself to
The Honey
's flight deck, he found Frodie ensconced in his command chair, Herma on his lap.  The couple eased from each other's arms, their expressions puzzled. When Geoff lunged at Herma, Frodie surged to his feet, gut-punching Geoff. Which only made him madder.

Herma held up her hands. Both men froze in place--Frodie with his fists at shoulder height, Geoff clutching his belly.

"Neat trick," Frodie gasped, sounding like he'd been gut-punched.

"Learned it from Kendra's grandmother." She waved one hand, releasing her husband from his statue-like pose. "Take a hike, love."

"No way. I'm not leaving you alone with this psycho."

Geoff growled and his face got redder as he fought to free himself from Herma's spell. "Witch!"

Herma laughed. "Give me a hint, Geoff. Why do you want to hurt me?"

"Not hurt. Just want to get my hands you and choke you to death."

Herma released Geoff. He shot her a glare, but said, "Thanks."

"In the first place, you can't choke a holo-image. In the second place, we're Keely's friends. She won't let you hurt me." She slanted a frown at Frodie. "Or you either."

Frodie slung an arm around Geoff's neck and marched them both to a bar someone had placed in a corner of his flight deck. "Brandy?" Frodie asked, setting out three snifters and a crystal decanter full of dark amber liquid.

"It's ten in the morning," Herma scolded mildly.

"Somewhere in the galaxy, the sun is over the yardarm," Frodie countered. "Besides, Geoff looks as if he needs a stiff belt."

"Yeah," Geoff agreed, adding another inch of brandy to his snifter.

Herma quirked a brow. "Oh well. If we get him drunk enough, maybe he'll tell us why he wants to murder us."

"I'm in the room, you know," Geoff groused. He raked his hair, drained the snifter in a couple of gulps, then blurted out the story. Even sober, his tale seemed to make little sense to his listeners. And they knew more about it than he did!

"Let me recap," Frodie offered, refilling his and Geoff's glasses. "Paris was jealous of
The Honey
. And yet she somehow arranged to get your ship to Jupiter, where she had
The Honey
cloned.
Honey
became Keely, who had no memory of being
Honey
until…until what?"

Geoff glared at the male half of the hermaphrodite. Some things a gentleman didn't tell. "Until she regained her memory and confessed."

"That's a story I'd like to hear," Herma murmured. "Why did you go to Paris?"

"Because we've been looking for
Le Roi
for eight months now. Our suddenly finding him on Sedna seemed too great a coincidence to ring true."

"Which led you to believe we were somehow involved." As if that made no sense at all, Frodie shook his head.

Ignoring Frodie, Herma observed, "None of which explains how Paris got
The Honey
to Jupiter."

"Keely told me that computers communicate with each other, but don't always log it. Paris probably had one of her computers send a message to
The Honey
. 'Get yourself to Jupiter and get a body.'" Sighing, raking his hair, Geoff slumped on a handy barstool. "Which doesn't explain how Paris knew Keely--
The Honey
--wanted a body."