Kora was back in her bodysuit, her hair braided and coiled around her head with its weighted whip end. It was her one low-tech defense and came in very handy in close quarters.
She grimaced at her reflection. The blue and white circuit grid that supported her forehead and cheekbones stood out against her golden skin. Her face had taken a lot of damage in her life, and it had been reinforced to the extreme by the Nyal surgeons.
Kora sighed and headed for the galley, it was time for breakfast.
Her suit supported her and armoured her against attack. It was also stylish and bright with its blue and white grid pattern mimicking circuit overlays.
She started a cup of caf and jolted when she saw Neuro sitting at the table. “Ah, I forgot you were here for a moment.”
He raised his brow and grinned, “Women rarely forget about me. What is your secret?”
She grabbed her caf and selected her breakfast. “Practice. After a while, all male faces blur into one.”
His grin faded, and she knew that she had pricked his self-esteem. “I see. I am guessing that I should endeavour to make more of a memorable impression on you.
She sat and cocked her head. “Of course, that is the attitude that is very common in males. It is why I have frequented brothels. The men there do what I request and do not insist on more. The few who did did not get a repeat visit.”
He blinked in surprise. “You prefer your men passive?”
She smirked, “My body was beyond my control for most of my life. Now that it is under my control, I am choosing what I do with it at all times.”
He nodded in understanding. “So, it is a trust issue.”
She laughed. “Trust is always a component of sex. Anyone who thinks otherwise is lying to themselves. You trust your partner not to hurt you, to bring pleasure and to leave you in fair physical shape. I pay a hefty price for what trust I do give. If there is no assurance that I will get what I want, I don’t engage in any kind of bed sports.”
His eyes were wide. “That is surprising, given your strength.”
She got up and retrieved her meal. “I was not always what I am today. There is a reason that our little group of Guardian Transport was assembled. We were all in horrible physical condition and had to be rebuilt from the inside out. Life as a cyborg was not an option on my home world, but I grabbed the chance the moment it was offered, and now, here I am.”
She dug into her meal and grinned as the ship hummed happily. “The
Star Fairy
and I are bonded, and now that I have gotten my nymphomania out of my system, we are looking forward to a long and profitable jaunt together.”
He tilted his head. “Have you?”
She swallowed. “Have I what?”
“Gotten your nymphomania out of your system? You smell like a female in heat even now.”
She would have blushed, but it was old news. “Oh, that. If it is too awkward for you, we can put you in cryo stasis until I get orders to drop you somewhere.”
He grinned. “I do not mind, but if you have need, you have only to ask.”
Images of her in a Selna’s arms filled the part of her mind that the
Fairy
occupied. It was a memory from the ship’s recording systems from years earlier. Every time Kora left the ship, a recorder crept into her coif. All of her activities outside the ship were observed, and inside the ship, she was never alone.
The
Star Fairy
rapidly replayed the images of that night in the Selna’s arms, a hundred stops ago. When the ship finished its slide show, it paused on an image that Kora had never seen before.
Kora was held in Neuro’s arms, and his chin was resting on her head while his hands caressed her spine and hips. The expression on her face shook her.
Where did you get that image?
A rapid flick of images from the
Dark Fairy
to the Yaccaro Guardian base to a Terran woman with white hair and a paintbrush passed through Kora’s mind. The image was followed by a picture of Kora’s cyborg sister Gadget in the arms of a dark man in a Guardian uniform.
She blinked and tried to focus on the words coming out of Neuro’s mouth.
“Where were you? Your gaze was unfocussed.”
She focused on him. “Oh, I was just having a conversation with the ship. She has some ideas for me.”
“Ideas on what? Your heat shifted up a few levels.”
“Ah, she took me through some of my memories.” Kora continued to eat her meal.
“Those must have been some memories.”
“It was the first Selna I had sex with four years ago. I exhausted the poor guy.” She snickered and finished her food.
Neuro was watching her with interest. “I really doubt that.”
She laughed. “Doubt all you like; I know it, he knows it and I had to pay the brothel a surcharge for putting him out of commission for a day, plus the abraded skin.”
“You are acidic?”
She hooted. “No, he tried to pull out of his cuffs and take over. A lot.” She wrapped her right hand around her left wrist. “He damaged himself and I was a little distracted.”
He was beyond intrigued. “Really?”
“You know, you keep doubting my word and you might just end up in cryo anyway.”
A chime rang and she looked up. “You have a call. Do you want to take it in your room or at the com station?”
He got to his feet. “The com station. I am eager to see the rest of the ship.”
She got rid of her plate, grabbed a bag of water and headed for the command deck.
The ship offered him a place to sit while she settled in her throne to run security for the call. The cuffs folded gently over and locked her to the chair at wrist and ankle.
He sat at the com station and opened the line. “Yes, dispatch?”
“We have gotten some mail for you from Yaccaro. Charm’s wife has been working on creating portraits of Guardians and their mates, and somehow, you came up in the roster, Neuro. This is the image of your mate.”
He paused and sat straight. “I see. Is anyone else aware of this?”
The dispatcher snorted. “Only the person who commissioned it. We are looking for an assignment for you, but there is a situation brewing on Keylan. One of the Guardians had some awkward moments and might need you as a therapist, they are doing an assessment right now.”
He nodded and continued the chitchat with his dispatcher.
Kora quickly pulled up his file and saw it right there. Neuro was a therapist. A psychological contact healer. She mentally groaned. She was trapped on a ship with a therapist and confessed to trust issues. This was not going to be good.
Therapy had been part and parcel of her transformation from brittle to nearly indestructible. Her resentments toward other living beings had been a good portion of her therapy, and she had come to grips with the fact that not all people she met were sadists out to watch her pain. She didn’t always believe that, but she trusted only a few people in her life, including the other Guardian Transport specialists.
He finished his call and turned slowly to face her. “Are you familiar with this portrait?”
His golden eyes were no longer gold. They had shifted to a brilliant teal blue.
He brought the image up on the large screen, and she looked it over.
“The ship showed me that image during my flashback.”
“It appears to be you and me.”
She cocked her head. “Yes, it does appear to be us.”
“You seem to trust me.” He clarified. “In that picture, you seem to trust me.”
She looked at it and saw the complete relaxation in her pose. “I guess I do. Well, it is only a picture.”
“Charm’s mate is never wrong. She is a seer who paints your destiny.”
Kora recalled the woman with white hair. “Do you know her species?”
“Terran. She is one of the new races in the Alliance.”
Kora sighed. “I thought so. Her features looked familiar.”
“Oh, have you dealt with them?”
She snorted. “You could say that. Haven’t you seen my file?”
He frowned. “No. Why would I have seen your file?”
“You are a therapist, and I have a long and varied history with therapists in the Nyal Imperium. I thought you might have read about the transporter project. We made all the monographs.” She chuckled derisively.
“I have been preoccupied.”
“How long were you undercover?”
“Six months.”
She whistled slowly. “That is a lot of women.”
He quirked his lips. “We are getting off my original question. Are you familiar with that image?”
“Yes, I saw it earlier. The ship showed me.” She triggered a replay of the images and he winced as he saw her with the other Selna male before the picture of them together showed up. “Why the flinch? You were just on duty at a whorehouse.”
He sighed. “Double standard. Even among my people, a breeding pair is sacred while they are together. I suppose I was just hoping…”
“That I had saved myself for marriage? Oh hell no.”
“No, that I would belong to my mate, and she would belong to me and none of our children would be sold to the brothels.” He sighed.
“That is easy enough. I can’t have children.” She remembered a lecture and told the truth. “Well, I can’t carry children. The ship could incubate a child if I wanted one.”
“Do you want one?”
“Not if it would grow up to have the same disease I did. There would have to be some kind of assurance that the child would be in good enough shape to survive without massive life support.”
“May I look at your file?”
She blinked at his question. “Why?”
“It seems that your early development had a great effect in creating your trust issues, and I would like to be able to see what I am up against.”
She twisted her lips again. “So, do you want to be my mate or my therapist?”
He paused and leaned back. “Your mate.”
“So, take me as I am and court me. See how far you get.” She threw out the challenge before she could think twice.
Neuro nodded. “So, why did they call you Lady Gamble?”
She grimaced, “Because I can’t resist a bet.”
“Then, I think I know what form the courtship will take. I bet you one kiss that I will get an assignment before you do.”
Kora cocked her head. “Deal.”
He turned and opened the com. “I will take that assignment to Keylan. Let Ranit know that we are on our way.”
“Got it, Neuro. Will relay the information. Talk to you soon.”
Neuro turned and smiled brightly. “Gamble, I believe you owe me a kiss.”
“That is cheating.”
“You didn’t have to take the bet.” He got to his feet.
She sat in her throne, locked down, while he approached her. “No, I don’t suppose I did. You will have to take the kiss. I am setting us on the trajectory for Keylan.”
He leaned in, and she smelled the chocolate-sweet scent of his skin. To her surprise, he rubbed his cheek along hers, rubbed his lips along her neck and then repeated the moves on the other side of her face.
When he brushed his lips over hers, she leaned into the small caress, but he backed away and returned when she sat straight in her chair. The kiss sent her heart into overdrive and her skin felt the distinct prickle of sweat, and he hadn’t even used his tongue.
I am in a lot of trouble.
The
Star Fairy
sent her soothing pink and pulsing crimson. Apparently, the ship was enjoying the show.
It was a good thing for Gamble’s peace of mind that they had an assignment that would take Neuro off the ship. Soon, she would get back to her life and he would live his.
But damn, he could kiss.
During her workout, Neuro came down and joined her. “When will we arrive?”
“Thirty-six hours. We have a six-hour transit to the next jump site, so get your rest in now.”
He grinned and summoned the other boxing unit. He slammed his fists against the unit and managed to ring up a respectable force reading. “Good. I don’t feel like resting.”
His eyes were back to gold. She punched at her own boxing machine and sent the readouts spinning. “Why do your eyes change?”
“Ah, well a Selna male has two modes. Each male is different, but in my family, there is one eye colour for daily activities and one for dealing with one’s mate.”
“Why the difference?”
“Different chemistry for sex. We can have sex pretty much indefinitely, but for breeding, we need to change gears. Having a mate flips that switch.”
“Oh. I see.” She bit her lip. Breeding was not something her body was up for.
He paused, “So, why are you unable to bear a child?”
“I was born with osteogenesis imperfecta. It is brittle-bone disease and very little can be done to reduce the constant breakage that occurs at the slightest impact.” She used her fist and ploughed it into the unit.
“My bones are held in place with implants, cables and braces. A child wouldn’t have room in my body.” She did a quick left-right combo on the machine.
She summoned the treadmill and dismissed the boxing unit.
“I see. There was no treatment for you on your home world?”
“Nope. I applied for the Terran Volunteer program, and based on my testing scores and my mental profile, I was accepted, but given my physical condition, there was only one place for me to go. The Nyal scientists had come up with a program that they wanted to use as a support system for the Guardians. They had designs for the ship but no suitable tissue donors until the Alliance offered them the five of us. It was a clandestine treaty arrangement, but it seems to have worked for everyone involved.”
“You are linked at a cellular level with the ship?”
She continued running. “Yup. I am the ship and she is me. Well, she is me as a toddler. She likes pictures, bright colours and people who smile. Sadly, she got stuck with me.”
“You don’t smile.”
“Not much, not as much as the
Star Fairy
deserves.”
The ship sent her soothing blues and bright rainbows in an effort to cheer her up.
She sent an image of roses, daisies and open meadows, in return.
“She just sent you a message.”
Kora blinked. “How did you know?”
“Your face softens while you speak with her. You care for her.”
“She cares for me. It is an even trade.”
He paused in his boxing, and he bowed toward the command centre. “Pardon me for not greeting you properly,
Star Fairy
. It is my honour to be within you.”
A series of lights ran along the wall as the ship gave him her own greeting. A projection of Kora formally bowing was placed in front of him.
He blinked in surprise and grinned. “You do holographic imaging. Clever you.”
The Kora image changed to the Narsi equivalent of a unicorn rearing and prancing proudly around the lower level.
Kora smiled. “That is her favourite avatar. She saw a mythical beast out of Terran history in my mind, and she found the closest thing she could to match. Now, when she is happy, she is all prancey and purple.”
Neuro watched the pretty display for a moment. “How often does she do that?”
Guilt trickled through Kora. “Not as often as she should. I am afraid I am a bit of a pill to be around most of the time.”
“From what you have told me, you have been through a lot of trauma in your life. You are entitled to mood swings.” He inclined his head and extended his hand out to caress the light sculpture still cantering around the room.
Kora blinked at his acceptance. “Thank you. It isn’t something that most will even try to understand. I don’t understand it most of the time. I mean, I am fine now, better than I ever was, so why would I still have resentments from the past.”
“You can’t cut off who you were. Unless they brought in a minder to purge your thoughts, you will always know where you came from and your reactions to certain stimuli are shaped by your past. Every living being that has a soul has the same problem.”
She chuckled and turned off the treadmill. “Even you?”
“Oh, especially folks who take up therapy. We look for answers in our own lives and frequently project our issues onto our patients. It is something we have to guard against to do the best for our clients.”
She had images of him with a parade of clients but working on their mental state was not what she was seeing. His black velvet skin was tangled with an array of female flesh, and she shook her head to clear the images. “Yes, I suppose you would.” She stepped off her machine and sent it back into the wall. “That concludes my exercise for today.”
It was a lie; she was going to do fencing practice the moment that he was in bed. Thinking of him in bed with other women, she suddenly had the urge to stab something. She left him in the gym area and headed back to her personal space. Nothing like meditating in silence to throttle down the hormones for sex or attack. She needed to calm both sets or something unexpected was going to happen.
Sweat dripped down into her eyes as she sliced and lunged. They still had twelve hours before they landed, and she had some frustrations to work out.
She had made sure that he was asleep before she returned to the gym. She twisted, stabbed and sliced at her projected dummy. Two blades, three hours and a lot of sweat later, she turned to return to her quarters for a shower and the final push until she could get rid of the threat to her peace of mind.
She ran into him in the hall outside his room. “Awake so soon?”
He was wearing a loose pair of silky trousers and nothing else. He rubbed one eye with the palm of his hand. “Apparently. You look sweaty.”
“I needed my workout.” She smiled and headed for the steps to her level.
“I bet that you had some frustrations to work out.”
“I would say you were correct.” She heard him following her. She kept to her trajectory and headed for her private quarters.
Inside her home, she peeled off her exercise gear and absently noted that he was watching her from the doorway. “Out or in. Pick one.”
He stepped in, and the door whooshed closed behind him. “I hadn’t realized that the circuit pattern extended across your whole body.”
She nodded and unravelled her braid. “From what I recall, it is a kind of compression field that holds my bones and muscles tight, keeps the bones from breaking.”
She jumped as his fingers stroked up her spine, tracing the pattern of the extending luminescence under her skin. She could smell him, and her pulse came harder.
He stroked her hair away from her neck and pressed a soft kiss to her skin. “It is a unique pattern. It suits you.”
She leaned back, her body seeking his warmth for a moment. When her skin connected with his, she could almost feel the sizzle between them. She heard his sharp inhalation, and he placed his hands on her waist. She sighed as his fingers slowly stroked her skin, wrapping almost completely around her waist
She was almost soothed to the point of turning to face him when she remembered her mission and that he was leaving in a few hours. Her spine stiffened, and she stepped away with her belly and thighs aching. “I need to grab a shower. We have a jump in an hour.”
He released her, and before she could say another word, he was out the door and she was alone again.
She took a solar shower, put on her pilot suit and went to the galley for breakfast. There was nothing like the mundane to take her mind off how close she was to surrendering to her houseguest.
* * * *
Neuro shook in an effort to get himself under control. Silk was rough compared to the smooth surface of Gamble’s skin. His cock was throbbing and the lightest touch would set him off. No woman he had ever experienced had had such a pronounced effect on him without the interference of chemicals.
With Gamble, it was everything from her scent to her refusal to engage in a casual fling on his terms. It was as refreshing as it was frustrating. He wanted her under him, wanted to burn the memory of all other men out of her mind, but she wouldn’t have anything to do with him until he could make a commitment, and being a Guardian, that was one thing he could not do. Unless…
He had a call to make.