Ride the Stars/once Bitten (3 page)

"Icki here."

"Icki ... I got your card. Care to explain it?" He watched the woman lean back in the booth and close her eyes momentarily, as if her head hurt.

"She didn’t tell you her name." It wasn’t a question.

Domino laughed. "We haven’t gotten that far. She passed out on my front step and Hari deposited her at my table. I was more interested in getting her cooled down than in learning her name."

There was an interesting silence on the other end of the line. "Hm. She wouldn’t have liked that. Prickly about showing weakness. Not surprising, when you consider who she is."

Goaded, Domino drawled, "And who is that?"

"Bali Itara."

Domino stiffened and looked at his phone. Shock kept him mute for long seconds. Of all the.... "Are you sure?" he asked carefully.

"Very. If you’d mentioned you were looking for her sooner, I could have hooked you up years ago. Bali and I went to school together."

Memories, and raw emotion, crashed over Domino. He turned his face away from Bali, concealing his turmoil. He hated the name Itara with a soul deep loathing, but he owed the girl. He’d spent years trying to locate her, never dreaming that the child who’d set him free was actually Itara’s daughter.

Pushing aside his anger, he said harshly, "What does she need?" He wanted his debt over with.

This time there was silence on Icki’s end. "She’s in a bad way. I’ve given her some drugs to slow the damage, but she doesn’t have much time. Less than she thinks, in fact. Give her some fun. Whether she wants it or not, she needs it badly. It’s really all there’s left to do for her."

Fun. Domino glanced at the morose figure at his favorite table. She was built for fun, that one, but he wasn’t in the mood. Especially not now. Itara! Just the thought of that name iced any heat he might have felt. Fun. He thought not. It would hardly soothe his honor or even their score. Well, she was Itara’s daughter, wasn’t she? She was bound to have someone hunting her head. Perhaps he’d even have a chance to save her life, and they would be even. With her face frequently on the newscasts as it was, she’d soon be recognized. A bodyguard was the least she needed, and she was stupid to travel without one. Then again....

She doesn’t have much time. Less than she thinks, in fact. Icki’s words came to him and he grimaced.

What was the use of saving her life if she was about to die? Would she even thank him? For all he knew, the death she faced would be brutally painful.

He frowned as he remembered what the card had said. "She doesn’t know you know, and she doesn’t know who you are." If she didn’t know, then why was she here? Granted, Tantalus was where he’d choose to spend his final days, given a choice, but she didn’t look the pleasure seeking type. Instinct told him he wasn’t seeing all the pieces.

"What aren’t you saying, Icki? You didn’t send a dying girl with no hopes to see me. That’s not your style." He’d known Icki for a long time. They’d met here on Tantalus and struck up a friendship that had withstood the yawning space between planets. They were men of the same mind, and Icki never gave up without a fight.

Another long pause. "That’s her call, Dom. She’s got ... morals." He said the word distastefully, as one would say head lice. "Combined with her peculiar sense of honor and her dislike of being beholden, it’s going to take a minor miracle to get it out of her."

"Or you could just tell me," Domino said menacingly. His patience was wearing thin.

Icki snorted. "I’m shaking, Drac. You’re a sly enough hand with the ladies--you figure it out." He hung up.

Domino gritted his teeth and closed the connection. One of these days, he was going to murder Icki.

Bali ignored the Drac and nursed her headache. Handsome men made her nervous, and he was all of that. Sleek black hair touched his broad shoulders. And for a tall man, he was well proportioned. A fashionable black goatee framed his sensual mouth, and his teeth flashed white and straight when he grinned. The slightly elongated canines and golden eyes that marked him as a Draconian just added to her tension.

She did not do men. Not for the first time, she wondered what she was doing here.

He rejoined her at her table. "Well, that was informative."

Her eyes widened and she drew in a quick breath. Icki had promised.

The Draconian blinked slowly at her, his posture hinting at annoyance. "I was being sarcastic. Icki delights in jerking my chain. He didn’t even hint at why you traveled light years just to deliver a birthday card."

Wariness edged her eyes. "I’m sightseeing."

His gaze moved over her leather clothes. "I hope you brought some lighter outfits to do it in."

That arrogant note of his set her teeth on edge. "Oh, I don’t know. I rather like walking around feeling like I’m trapped in a sauna."

His teeth flashed in a quick grin. "There are worse things than looking at a sweating woman, I suppose."

Those canines of his caught her eye. A frisson of interest hit her, sharp and sudden. What would it feel like to have them graze her neck? She looked away too late. He’d noticed.

"Are you hungry, Bali? I can get you a bite, if you like."

She appraised him for a rigid moment. Did he know? Icki had told him her name, but had he broken his word? He’d sworn the bite thing would be her secret to tell. Giving Icki the benefit of the doubt, she decided the comment was either the Drac’s way of flirting or a subtle rebuke. "I rarely eat out, thanks.

Nor am I known for my sweet tooth." A lie, for though she rarely indulged, she had a decided weakness for dessert.

"Too many sweets can ruin the palate. I was thinking of something more hearty." His low, rough voice made the comment suggestive.

Feeling the water close over her head, she dropped the conversational ball with a thud. "I need nothing."

She stood and tossed some money on the table to pay for her drink. "Excuse me. I have a ship to catch."

Not if he had anything to say about it. Domino stayed her with a light touch to her arm. A fearful look flashed into her eyes and she stiffened. Just as fast, the signs were gone.

She feared men. Or perhaps it was only him.

Keeping his touch light, he stroked the underside of her wrist with his thumb, just once. "Stay. Be my guest for the night. The ships will still be there tomorrow. Icki would not like it if you ran off and deserted me." The soft tone and careful choice of words weakened her. She cared what Icki thought. Useful to know, but it faintly annoyed him. Were they lovers?

Looking far more vulnerable, she slowly resumed her seat. "He does nag. I never needed a brother with him around."

A brother. Domino smiled and sat back. He ordered her another drink, this time something with a kick.

Ignoring her words about not being hungry, he requested a sample of food to be brought and settled down to learn her secrets. "Icki said you went to school together. Did you become lovers afterward?"

"No! We’re friends. I’ve got more sense than to get my heart mashed by a dragonfly like him. Besides, he’s my doctor."

Domino didn’t see what one had to do with the other, but he let it go. "Then your haste to leave was because of another man? Do you have someone else waiting for your call?"

"I’m not involved with anyone," she said impatiently. "I like it that way." She gave him a hard look.

"Though I would be missed if something happened to me."

He laughed. "I’m not about to make you disappear, sweetheart. At least, not without your consent." He winked. That ornery streak of hers was cute in a backwards sort of way. No wonder Icki had taken to her--she was just the sort of pet a man would enjoy taming. As an amusement, that is. She was far too prickly to consider as a lover.

Their food arrived. He hid his smile as she attacked it with good appetite. He’d have to remember that she made a secret of even basic needs when she didn’t trust someone. The smile slowly died as he remembered that she had good reason to distrust.

Helpless and chained to the wall, he’d watched his captor run tests on the girl. He couldn’t speak her language, but he’d understood her screams too well.

The madman chattered on, then said something to her. He left through the heavy door.

After a time, she struggled up and looked at him. The green gel had dried in places, giving her skin a plastic sheen. She said something to him. Unable to answer, he just looked at her.

With a fearful glance at the door, she went to him. By the time she reached him, there were tears in her eyes. He knew what movement cost after a dip in the hellish waters.

Again she said something. The plea in her eyes was clear enough. She didn’t want him to hurt her.

Warily, he held still.

She fumbled with the control panel that restricted his chains, glancing often at the door with a dilated gaze. He couldn’t tell if it was pain or an effect of the pool that caused the unfocused look.

She found the right command, and his chains dropped away. Hardly daring to believe it, he rubbed his wrists.

She sagged to her knees. He caught her and carried her back to the bed. He’d been a strong youth even before the experiments and she would have been light anyway. Thanks to his immense new strength, courtesy of the demon pool, he felt like he was carrying a shadow.

Groaning as he set her down, she caught his arm in a weak grasp. The words were foreign, but the entreaty in her expression tore at him.

"I’ll help you," he had promised in Draconian. "I’ll repay this debt." He hadn’t been fool enough to think he could take her with him. There would be no hope if he tried to bring a sick child along. Their only chance would be if he could find someone of his own race to help. "I’ll find you again."

She stopped eating, a fried tuber halfway to her mouth. "What?"

Shaking the memories out of his eyes, he made a dismissive gesture. "Just an unpleasant bit of business I remembered. How do you like your dinner?"

She blinked and looked at it, as if surprised to find she was eating. A frown gathered on her brow. "It’s ... good. And you’re as bad as Icky." She said it as if she’d just figured it out.

A slow grin curved his lips. "How so?"

"Feeding me. Tricking me. Managing people." Annoyance was sharp in her face.

Domino laughed. "Why do you think we get along so well? Besides, sweetheart, you could use a little managing." Mischief glinted in his eyes. A little flirtation would do her good.

Flustered color brushed her cheeks, and she glanced away, fixing her eyes on the musicians making the floor vibrate. Stylish veterans of the club and curious newcomers mingled below, flowing between the tables on the upper balcony and the dance floor. A few wandered into the game room, enjoying the pool and chess battles within. The atmosphere was relaxed and buoyant, and she watched it with the lost eyes of one who didn’t know how to belong.

Surprised at her shyness, he lightened up a little. "Do you like them? They’ve become popular this year.

By the next season, even Earth will have heard of them."

"It’s an exchange for you, isn’t it? Sponsoring an upcoming band, then trading on each other’s success to enhance your status." The thoughtful frown warned she was taking his light question much farther than he’d intended.

A vague annoyance settled deep, mixing with rampant curiosity. Save for his sisters, he never took relationships with women too seriously. She was making this more challenging than it had to be. "I pay them, of course. And yes, we trade on each other’s fame. That’s the nature of business."

‘Business’ seemed to be a magic word for her. A confidence settled about her, and she visibly relaxed.

Unwittingly, he’d stumbled onto something she could relate to.

It annoyed him.

Oblivious, she said coolly, "I do the same thing with my mutant relief project. It’s surprising how getting the right names on board--"

"Do you dance?" Pushing away his drink, Domino stood and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. He was not going to let this discussion degenerate into a board meeting. Nights were for fun, and he was going to have some.

Bali sent an anxious look toward the dance floor. "No. I’m--"

"I’ll teach you." Sliding from the booth, he took a firm grip on her hand and towed her toward the stairs.

Suddenly breathless, likely with nerves, she protested, "I have awful reflexes, Domino. You’d be happier with someone else."

The band changed to a slow ballad with sweet bass. Ignoring her jitters, he pulled her into his arms.

"Relax. We’ll go slow. I promise not to bite." He gave her a cocky grin.

Bali’s blood was steaming. No man had ever taken her in his arms. Certainly no one had stood so close.

When he slid his knee between hers and rocked them to the sultry beat, she stumbled and nearly swallowed her tongue. Fire shot from the point of contact straight to her stunned brain. A fine tremor shook her.

"What’s wrong?" Curiosity glimmered in his dark gaze, but he didn’t release her or lose the beat.

"I...." Tongue-tied, she looked down to escape his eyes. It didn’t help. A few more centimeters and she could rest her cheek on that chest. If it felt anything like his arms and waist, it would be solid steel.

Another shiver wracked her.

Murmuring something reassuring, he placed his hand on the back of her head and gently closed the inches between her head and his chest. Holding her close, he stroked her nape and back in a soothing rhythm.

Certain she was going to die of sensation, she closed her eyes and tried to come to grips with her feelings.

Domino knew what he held. Innocence. Sweet passion. If he wished, seduction. It had been a long time since he’d encountered something that pure. When had he grown so jaded? Bali might be a woman, but she’d never played with fire. For a Draconian, it was pure temptation.

Feathering a kiss over her hair, he told himself to watch out. She was damaged. Her father had probably killed what little trust she had of men. Icky must have fought like crazy to give her as much confidence as she had. As it was, she could be easy prey, whether he wished it or not.