Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (60 page)

It
was sad, thought Jack, as he walked the short distance to his
quarters,
that such a good group of people, should have had to serve under a
man such as Kidd. He wondered why one of Kidd's own people hadn't
killed him in his sleep. Surely, most of them despised him. Ok,
granted, half the survivors of the ship's pirate crew, were as
crooked as he was... That's why they ended up prisoners of the UFW
patrol vessel that answered the Princess Hedonist's distress call.
But the rest of these people were dedicated and hard working. He
wondered how many other pirate vessels were run just like this one
had been, how many good people had been caught up in the clutches of
men like Kidd. It
was
nice to know, however, reflected Jack, that at least humans had not
invented deceit and treachery, nor did they curb the market in it.
What did bother him was that they spent so much time trying to
perfect it.

FREEDOM,
DEPARTING BAHIA SYSTEM:
HEAD
OVER HEELS

All
thought escaped Jack Steele when he entered his suite. Alité
stood
near the bar in a long, flowing white gown, of the sheerest material
he'd ever seen. He froze in the doorway and swallowed hard when she
turned silently away. The gown was mostly backless to the waist, and
the wispy material fluttering in the breeze of her movement revealed
side slits from her ankles to the top of her thighs. "Wine?"
she asked, turning back. She extended a glass toward him but did not
move.

"YoOu..."
his voice cracked and he cleared his throat, "always seem
to
be asking me that..." He stepped forward and the door swished
closed behind him, plunging the room into semidarkness. He stepped
forward, hand outstretched, and she slid the glass into his hand.
"Thanks..."

"You're
welcome," she breathed. "It is my pleasure to serve you."

"Stop
that," he scolded mildly. "You're not a slave or a
servant. I
want
you to be here, because you
want
to be here. Not because you think you
have
to..."

"Oh,
but I am, I do" she corrected. "No one could make me give
my love
if
I didn't want to... not even Kidd." She looked down at her
glass then back up at Jack. "He used to try though."

"Did
he punish you?" Jack was almost sorry he asked, the second it
came
out of his mouth. He could imagine Kidd's cruelty, and he didn't
think he could bear to hear what she might have been forced to
endure.

"Sometimes.
But not much." She didn't want to say more.

Jack
could see this was an uncomfortable topic. "So," he
smiled,
changing
the subject, "how do I get you to give
me
your love?"

Alité
grabbed the folded-down flap on his tunic and pulled him
closer.
"You're doing just fine," she cooed. "Now if I could
just get you to loosen up a bit. Quit being so proper..." She
unbuttoned his tunic with one hand and put her glass on the bar with
the other. "Quit being such a gentleman, I won't break."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "I am yours," she continued, "I
want you to do what you're thinking, let loose, take me..."
Jack grabbed her by the hair and pulled her face to his. "Yesss..."
she hissed. He pressed his lips against hers and backed her against
the bar.

She
let him kiss her for awhile, then fought him back. He glared at
her
and she could see the smoldering want, in his eyes. She held him at
bay, with one hand on his bare chest, the other gripping his hair,
holding back his head. She felt his chest muscles ripple under her
fingers. "If you want me," she whispered, "you'll
have to take me."

Dropping
to one knee, he dragged her down on top of him. Toppling
to
the floor, they rolled and he pinned her to the carpet. "You
are mine..." he growled, holding down her hands.

"Never..."
she teased.

"Yes,"
he countered, easing his body down onto hers.

"Yesss,"
she breathed.

Jack
Steele had always been fascinated by the human body's capacity
for
sensations, and he always knew the mind could manipulate those
sensations either heightening or reducing their intensity. He always
felt he had a rather good grasp on how to use them to his best
advantage, until now.

In
Alité's world, much like Earth, its people placed a great
deal
of
effort and value on giving and receiving personal pleasure. The
biggest difference being, their elevated use of the mind and its
psychologies to effect, expand and intensify. He knew for some time
he'd been falling in love with her, but this sealed it, wrapped it,
and tied it with a bow.

She
was the first woman Jack had been with in a long time who gave
as
much as, or more than, she got in return, physically, emotionally
and intellectually. He hadn't thought he'd ever get
those
feelings again... He simply didn't allow a woman that close. Maybe
it was because he wasn't naive enough anymore, to fall for the
unrealistic fantasy expectations of what love should be. Maybe it
was because once burned, twice shy. At any rate, keeping a safe
distance from the flame seemed a wise way to provide insulation
against injury.

But
she had found the chink in his armor, she had gotten under his
skin.
She knew how to treat him, what to say, when to say it, how he felt,
how to reach him and how to get him closer. He had forgotten how
good the warmth of that flame could feel. And after feeling it
again, he wondered how he'd gotten along without it.

There
was no getting around it, no sense in denying it, he was in
it
up to his neck. He was in love with her. And frankly, it scared the
shit out of him.

He
rolled on his side and stared at her profile in the darkness...
she
was quite possibly the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. He
slid his arm under the covers and across her stomach, drawing
himself closer to her. She uttered a soft little moan and rolled on
her side with her back toward him.

Even
in her sleep Alité felt him there, his thoughts, his being,
his
soul. Or as they called it on her planet, his Rae. She snuggled back
until her body touched his, fitting together like two spoons in a
silverware tray. With one arm under her neck, his other draped over
her body and across her breasts, she felt comforted by Jack's
warmth. Alité became more lucid as her breathing gently
rubbed her right nipple on the palm of his hand. As she awakened,
growing more conscious, she could feel the contemplation in his Rae,
it was like a disturbance in its completeness. He must have sensed
she was awakening and lightly kissed her shoulder and neck. She
inhaled deeply and smelled the sweet musk of their combined bodies.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" she whispered.

Jack
had not realized he'd wakened her. "Nothing," he replied
softly,
"go back to sleep, I didn't mean to wake you."

"You
didn't," she replied. "Why are you awake? Can't you
sleep?" She
felt
him shrug. "Tell me..." she urged, "what are you
thinking about?"

"I
don't know, nothing I guess." He was feeling a bit vulnerable,
exposed,
like she knew what he was thinking. "Just thinking..."

Alité
reached back and ran her hand up his thigh, pulling him
against
her. "Tell me..." she whispered, "it'll make you feel
better."

"I,
well... ahem," he had to clear his throat. He wanted to say
something,
tell her what he was feeling, but he just couldn't form the words or
put them in a coherent sentence. It seemed like his thoughts ran
around in his head, like a circus gone mad. "I um... lo..."
He stopped himself.

Alité
could feel his inner conflict and it worried her. She turned
over
in his arms and touched his face. "It's Ok... just tell me."

He
wanted to tell her, he
needed
to tell her. But his brain said no
and
his heart said yes. So he wrestled with it.

She
could feel the waves of emotion. Then it grew calmer, more
whole.

When
Steele pulled away, he touched his hand to Alité's face and
brushed
the hair from her eyes. "I..." he swallowed hard, "I..."
he didn't expect it to be so difficult.

"Go
on..." she murmured.

"Christ,"
he breathed, "I love you..." There, he'd said it. Fine. It
was
out. And he'd never meant it more. He felt a wave of relief.

Alité
shivered as the thrill raced up her spine. "And I love you,"
she
sighed, "with all my heart... more than life itself."

Jack
wanted to jump out of bed and scream at the top of his lungs.
But
he pulled her close and hugged her instead. He didn't want to let
her go. There was just one little thing that nagged at him... "What
about LaNareef?"

Alité
realized at that point, Jack was far more perceptive than
he
let on. "What about him?"

"I
don't know," said Jack, rolling on his back and drawing her on
top.
"I just get the feeling like there's something more, like you
were more than acquaintances or something. He's not too fond of me,
I can tell that, for sure." She attempted to speak but Jack
continued. "Like he calls you Princess..." He looked up at
her, "That's a kind of endearment, a familiar you use when
you're real close with someone." He decided to take a stab in
the dark. "Do you still love him?"

Alité
giggled. "Yes, but not in the way you think. We could
never..."
Her voice trailed off. She wasn't sure what affect it would have to
tell him about her lineage, her capture...

"Why
not?" interrupted Jack. Alité didn't want to lie, and
she
realized
she had to tell him sooner or later... it seemed it would have to be
now. "So you love him like a brother then?" asked Jack,
pressing on.

"Well,
yes, I guess you could look at it like that." She noticed
another
disturbance in his Rae, but it was so fast it escaped before she got
a good feel for it. What she
could
feel though, was his heart pounding against her chest as she lay on
top of him. She decided she would tell him now and settle his mind,
get the matter out of the way. "I..."

Steele
cut her off with a kiss, his heart pounding like a drum. She
mistook
it for arousal and began to slide her body sensuously down his
torso. He grabbed her and pulled her face back to his. "I love
you..."

"I
love you too..." she cooed.

"I
want you to be my wife." Even as he said it, he thought maybe
he
shouldn't
have. But he wanted to say it before he lost his nerve. The little
voice in his head was absolutely screaming...
Nooooooo!