Brianna (8 page)

His shoulders are so broad, and he’s so tall.
She shook her head to clear her senses. My God, she was naked! And she’d thrown away her blanket! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
His eyes are
so brown…like rich chocolate.
She swallowed and wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to hide her nudity, but his intense gaze wouldn’t let her step away.

He traced delicate whorls on her cheeks. “I want to protect you.”

Brianna closed her eyes. Her breath quickened, and her nipples pebbled. She had to step back, had to get away from him.
His touch is so gentle.

His fingers slid under her chin and stroked her neck. After another nervous swallow, she opened her eyes to find his face closer, his chocolaty-brown gaze locked with hers. She was tall, a shade over six feet, but he towered above her.

Char trailed his fingers down the length of her arm until he reached her hand. Lifting it to his mouth, he kissed her palm and then cradled it against his chest. Leaning forward, he brushed her lips with his.

Brianna’s breath quickened. She lifted her free hand to her lips.

With his tongue, Char traced a gentle line along her jaw and down the side of her neck. Then, after he captured the hand she still held to her lips, he kissed her palm and pulled it to his chest.

Both her hands now nestled there.

Her mind a jumble of uncertainty, Brianna tried to pull away.

But her body had no doubts. Her last relationship had ended months ago, and Char’s caresses had elicited an immediate reaction. Physically, she wanted him, wanted him to continue to caress her, to kiss her, to plunge his long, hard cock into her body.

Lifting his hand, Char traced her jawline back to her ear where he threaded his fingers through her hair and cupped the back of her head. Exerting gentle pressure, he pulled her closer until her tense body rested against his. Lowering his head, he nibbled and nipped her ear and neck until her body relaxed. As shivers ran down her spine, Brianna sighed and turned her mouth to his.

Settling his right hand in the small of her back, Char pulled her closer and nuzzled and sucked her lips.

With a low moan, Brianna opened her mouth, and his tongue swept in to mate with hers in a kiss that became more carnal as it lengthened.

She slid her hands upwards and clasped them behind his neck.

Char cupped her buttocks, lifted her hips, and pressed her rhythmically against his aching erection.

Sighing, she tilted her head as he kissed a passionate trail down the side of her neck.

Sweeping her into arms, Char lifted her high so his mouth could fasten on her nipple.

Brianna moaned as the logical part of her mind struggled to regain control. What was she doing? She had to stop this right now.
God, this feels so good.

He sucked her other nipple into his mouth.

As jolts of heat stabbed her groin, Brianna ignored logic and listened to her body, a body that was aching to be loved. Lost in a sensual thrall, she did not fight her passion. This alien’s practiced caresses and

deep,

soul-searching kisses

overpowered all resistance. Never had any man made her
feel
like this. She melted in his arms.

Carefully, Char laid Brianna on the bunk and stretched out beside her, his mouth returning to hers, his hands beginning their quest to know her body more intimately. His lips left hers, trailing hot kisses across her neck and collarbone until he reached her breasts. Once there, he laved and sucked first one then the other, until she sobbed with desire. His fingers slid between her thighs to play in the slippery folds until he found the hard nub hidden there.

She thrust her hips against his hand as his fingers began a slow, circular play. She tugged at his uniform.

Char reveled in her passion and gave himself up to his own.

Her hands skimmed down his body and brushed against his erection. Then she caressed the hard length of him. With a moan of frustration, she tugged at his one-piece uniform. He lifted himself off of the bunk until only their mouths were touching, his hands jerking the fastenings of his uniform open.

Lost in their mutual passion, Brianna’s reason, fear and defiance melted away. All that existed for her was the aching need between her thighs and the hard body next to hers.

Later, after she’d had time to ruminate over all that happened, she came to the uncomfortable conclusion that she’d have given herself to him unconditionally, would have wrapped her legs around his hips and urged him to thrust his rock-hard erection deeper and deeper into her achingly hot body—if they hadn’t been interrupted. As it was, her hands had found their way inside his tunic to the bare skin of his chest, skin that was stretched smoothly over taut muscles, when her brain registered the sound of the door sliding open.

Fully aware of the door opening, Char chose to ignore the intruder. Lorilana was the only other person who could enter his quarters without tripping the alarm, and he knew she’d discreetly withdraw. She was, after all, fully aware of his plans. Brianna’s reaction, however, took him by surprise.

Tearing her mouth from his, a horrified Brianna pushed him away and scrambled from the bunk to the far corner of the room.

Trembling from both frustrated passion and newly awakened fear, she turned her shocked gaze to the woman who stood in the doorway, desperately trying to hide her nudity with her long, flowing hair.

Noting Brianna’s near panic, Lorilana refrained from the teasing banter that usually accompanied a situation such as this. Instead, she noted how Char’s fists clenched the sheets as he struggled to regain control and composure. He rose stiffly and turned, making no attempt to hide the erection that strained so blatantly against the uniform that sagged about his hips.

“Your timing, Lorilana,” he said hoarsely, locking his gaze with hers, “is impeccable as usual.” Turning his head, he directed a long, passion-filled gaze at Brianna. Wincing at the fear in her eyes, he berated himself mentally.
Fool. You acted
like a boy with his first woman. Now she’s terrified.

Pulling his tunic back up over his shoulders, Char smiled at Brianna then winked. “Your breasts are the most beautiful I’ve ever kissed.” Spinning, he left the room without another word.

Her body tight and unsatisfied, Brianna shivered. His voice was so sexy.

Lorilana chuckled.

A blush that began at Brianna’s breasts crept up her neck and onto her face.

Lorilana watched with amused fascination. “That,” she said, “is absolutely amazing.”

With Char’s presence gone, defiance replaced the confusion in Brianna’s gaze and her chin came up. “What?”

“Why, the way you change color, of course. No one on our planet or any of the other four can turn such a rosy shade of pink.”

That comment demanded Brianna’s full attention. “Nobody blushes? Doesn’t anyone ever get embarrassed?”

“Of course,” Lorilana answered as she walked over to the bunk and laid the neatly folded clothing she carried there. “We just don’t turn another color.”

“I

have
not
turned another color,” Brianna snapped.

“Blushing is a perfectly natural expression of embarrassment on my planet.”

Lorilana smiled to herself. Any anger at the situation in which Brianna had found herself didn’t seem to be directed at Char.

And it seemed as if he’d taken the proper steps to ensure his plan of marriage to her would proceed without any delay.

“I’m here to check your shoulder, and I brought you some clothing,” the doctor said abruptly changing the subject. “I apologize for the delay, but your own clothing was destroyed.

You must thank Princess Merilinlalissa. You and she are of a size.”

Shoving all thoughts of Char and her passionate reaction to him into a tiny corner of her brain, Brianna hurried to the bunk.

Clothing would make her feel much less vulnerable. “You don’t happen to have a brush here somewhere, do you?” she asked eagerly. “And is it possible to take a bath on a spaceship? Our astronauts can’t, but you’re certainly more advanced than we are.”

Lorilana laughed. “Women are the same throughout the galaxy. There’s nothing like a warm bath to relax the nerves.

Bring those things and follow me.”

Brianna followed her to the door. After a quick glance to make sure Char was nowhere in sight, she stepped through the doorway. She hesitated when she saw Lorilana palm the door to his bedroom.

“Char’s returned to Command,” she said. “He won’t be back for three or four hours, so you’ll have privacy. I must warn you, however, he’ll have his evening meal served here.”

Brianna followed her into Char’s sparsely furnished room, which contained nothing more than a large bed, a nightstand, and dresser. Leading the way to a control panel located on the far wall, she motioned Brianna closer.

“The translator in your ear allows you to understand everything anyone will ever say to you, no matter what the language. Unfortunately, you don’t gain literacy in a language with the translator, so pay close attention. The door to the bathing room hasn’t been keyed to you yet, so you’ll have to override the lock from this panel. Flip this green switch,” she said and demonstrated, “and the door will open.”

Stepping through the doorway, Brianna entered a small room that contained a combination bath/shower and toilet facilities. “Red for hot and blue for cold?” she asked.

“Color coding must be fairly standard throughout the galaxy,”

Lorilana said dryly as she removed the bandage from Brianna’s shoulder. “I don’t think you need any more bandages. Your wound is healing quite nicely. Enjoy your bath. I’ll be back in about an hour. Oh, Princess Merilinlalissa has expressed an interest in meeting you. She and her husband will also be among the dinner company tonight.”

Lorilana turned to leave but Brianna’s voice caused her to pause as she reached the doorway. “Doctor, just whom have the captain and you decided I must marry?”

Lorilana looked back over her shoulder, surprise evident on her face. “From what I observed earlier,” she said with wry amusement, “I’d thought Char had informed you.”

“Well, he didn’t.”

Lorilana chuckled. “Why you silly child, he’s going to marry you himself.”

The door opened with a quiet hiss, and a hand gripped Lorilana’s forearm. “What are you and that damn Alalakan plotting?” Bakom snapped.

Lorilana drew herself to her full height of six feet, six inches and stared down at him.

Bakom flinched. Lorilana towered over his own six-foot height.

“Take your hand from my arm. I won’t answer any of your questions if you can’t behave in a civilized manner.”

Gnashing his teeth, he snatched his hand away.

Lorilana waited, hoping Bakom would do something stupid.

Any kind of physical attack on her, and he would lose support in the Academy.

Muscles tensed, Bakom clenched and unclenched his fists.

After a deep breath, he said, “Forgive me, but as First President of the Academy, it’s unlawful to deny me access to a new specimen. This is an opportunity to study a new lifeform. Surely you can understand my excitement?”

Lorilana returned to her instrument panel and sat down, her back to Bakom. “Captain Alalakan is vehement in his belief that she be treated with all the respect due an honored guest for saving members of his crew.”

“Then she should be housed in guest quarters rather than in the private quarters of the captain,” he answered levelly. “Isn’t that the usual procedure on an interplanetary ship?”

Swiveling her seat, she faced Bakom. “I’m neither an expert on interplanetary travel nor the customs aboard such ships.

You’ll have to ask the captain for his reasons.”

His fists remained clenched. His tail jerked. “But you, my dear Dr. Sendenton, are a close friend of the family. Surely the captain’s confided in you.”

Lorilana shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I may be an old friend of the family, but Captain Alalakan is a grown man who makes his own decisions and keeps his own council.”

Bakom stared at her for a moment, face white, lips pinched together. When he finally spoke, his voice shook. “You will rue the day you allied yourself with the Alalakan clan against
me
, Dr. Sendenton dem al’ Lorilana.” Without another word, he spun about and stomped out of Medical.

Lorilana watched the door close. Turning her seat back to her panel, she flipped a switch and said, “Did you hear everything, Char?”

“Everything’s been recorded. Oh, and Cindar’s succeeded in her attempt to break the code to Bakom’s personal computer via his connection to the ship’s mainframe. All his medical records have been downloaded to your private files.”

“I’ll start checking them immediately. By the way,” she continued, “Brianna’s relaxing in your bathtub as we speak, if you’d like to continue your explanation as to why marrying you would be of great benefit.”

Only silence answered her chuckling.

Char sat in his chair, elbows propped on the armrests, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. Set on its predetermined course and with its autopilot activated, the ship could navigate itself with only one man to monitor the computer’s activities, so he’d dismissed the rest of his crew with orders to report back in three hours. Then he’d be free the rest of the night.