Fallen Star (48 page)

Fallon lunged to intercept, diving under Mohr’s blades, with both her blades out. She caught them on hers and held them.

Khan reached for her. “Isabeau!”

Sobehk grabbed Khan by the shoulder, pulling him back. “No! Let her go!”

Khan fell back with Sobehk.

Fallon’s world closed down to herself, the blades of live-steel she’d engaged, and the man who had the answers to her questions. Rage seared the back of her mind, but she wasn’t about to set it loose. Not yet anyway.

She bared her teeth at Mohr. “Hi, there, remember me?”

Chapter Forty-Two

“Feral!” Mohr snarled, and the sour stink of ripe fear washed from his body.

“So you
do
remember me.” Fallon grinned with her long teeth. “Care to answer a few of my questions, Mohr?”

He twisted to disengage his blades and stabbed in attack. “That’s
A’syr
Mohr to you,
rehkyt!
”

Fallon turned his blades, avoiding him with disgusting ease. He obviously knew his weapons better, but he wasn’t anywhere near as fast or as flexible as she was. She caught and trapped his blades again. “That’s
upuaht
rehkyt
, or haven’t you been paying attention?”

“Bitch!” His blade danced down her blade and he slashed with the other.

She blocked, shifted around him and twisted her blades around his, trapped his blades again. She smiled. “I can be.” She slid up his blades and nicked the bottom of his chin. “Who picked me to play assassin?”

He jerked back two steps, the back of his hand automatically wiping at his chin. It came back scarlet. His eyes widened. “You know?”

Fallon rolled her eyes. “Of course I know, you idiot, I’m a programmer. I know what’s in my own head.” She raised her brow, “Or did they leave that bit out?”

Mohr snarled and lunged, slashing. “You’re no programmer.”

Fallon blocked and closed, trapping his blades very close to his face. She grinned from a kiss away. “Wrong.” She whirled, dropped, and side-kicked him hard where his kidneys should be.

He gasped and was knocked two steps sideways.

Fallon lifted her blades and dropped her chin. “Ever hear of the Fallen Star?”

Mohr pressed a hand to his side, winced, and moved up another step away. “Fallen Star, the ship-breaker, is a myth.”

“Is that so?” Fallon smiled grimly. She’d bruised something. “Guess who found and then broke
‘Syr
Khan out of that Moribund Company ship?”

He stiffened, his eyes widening. “You?”

Fallon nodded hugely. “Yep. Me.” She raised her swords and took a step toward him. “Who picked me to play assassin, Mohr?”

Mohr backed up a step and raised his swords. His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. I was told to watch for you by name.”

Fallon inched closer. “How did you get my name?”

Mohr held his ground, swords up and plainly ready. “The cyborg gave it to me.”

Fallon froze. “What?”

Mohr lunged into a slashing attack.

Fallon whirled under his blades and slammed a hard side kick into his stomach. “How? What did he say?”

Mohr gasped and fell back three steps. “The cyborg said it was waiting for you.” He lunged at her, launching into a flurry of spinning kicks and slashes.

Fallon dropped under him then came up, diverting one blade and then the other. “Who sent him?” She slipped behind him and slashed the back of one knee joint. Blood threaded down the calf of his armor.

He gasped and staggered, but turned to face her, staying upright though his leg was clearly not working properly. “Who sent who?”

Fallon frowned. She nicked him in one the tendons. She’d been aiming for both. “Who sent Tusk? Who set him up to die?”

Mohr lifted his blades and stalked closer, favoring his nicked leg. “I have no idea who picked him, I was just told to watch for him.”

Fallon’s eyes narrowed and a smile curved her lips. This was what she was waiting to hear. She stayed where she was. She didn’t even raise her blades. “Who told you to watch for him?”

Mohr stopped and frowned. “My contact.”

Fallon eased one foot back and tensed to spring. “Name, please?”

Mohr’s frown deepened. “Rudi”

Fallon smiled broadly. “Thank you.” She let the banked rage take her in a white-hot rush. She lunged ... and was swallowed by a white rushing storm.

The world slowed to a dreaming crawl. Mohr seemed to stand perfectly still, his blades up but frozen.

Fallon moved in on him, riding a burning white wave. Her blade slid across the back of one knee then she turned and took the back of the other.

He slumped slowly, achingly slowly. His chin lifted and his eyes went wide. It looked like an invitation.

Fallon had all the time in the world to simply reach out and caress his throat with first one blade then the other.

Pearls of bright scarlet spilled and flew outward in an elegant and slow arc all the way around his neck.

She turned away from the floating pearls, coming up on her toes, and she gently spun all the way around, and around, until the world just ... slipped ... away.

Someone was screaming very, very far away.

* * * * *

Fallon shifted sleepily. Her cheek was jammed against somebody’s armored chest. She took a deep breath. Warm silk, sweat, rich musk ... She sighed. Khan. She shifted and discovered that she was curled up tight and pinned against him. It was not a comfortable position to be in. His armor was pointy under all that silk. She groaned.

Her chin was lifted. “Isabeau?”

Fallon opened her eyes.

Khan’s eyes were wide and his mouth tight. He abruptly relaxed and smiled. “It’s passed. She’s out of it.”

“Damn. That was fast.” Sobehk sounded relieved.

Fallon looked around and frowned. She was curled up on Khan’s lap in the front passenger seat of the sportster. No wonder she was so cramped. Between his armor and the length of her folded legs, there wasn’t a whole lot of room. She turned her head. Lights passed as the shuttle sped through a tunnel marked by broad gold bands.

Sobehk’s hands held the steering wheel easily as he drove. He glanced at her briefly and smiled. “Hey, kitten, welcome back.”

“Isabeau?” Khan encouraged her to turn back and look at him. “How do you feel?”

Fallon shifted. “Your armor is all hard and pointy.”

Sobehk laughed. “She’ll be just fine.”

Fallon pushed to sit up so she could straighten her legs. “So, what happened?”

Khan shifted her so she could sit facing front, but he seemed disinclined to let her off his lap. “You killed Mohr.”

Fallon frowned. The memory was fuzzy and very dream-like. “I think I remember doing it.”

Sobehk snorted. “Oh, you definitely did it. You separated his head from his shoulders.”

Fallon’s mouth fell open. “I did not!”

Khan winced. “Yes, you very much did.” He raised a hand to his temples. “In fact, it made quite an indelible impression on my entire company of officers.”

Sobehk snorted. “I seriously doubt you’ll ever have another discipline problem in that company again.”

Khan rolled his eyes. “At the very least.”

Fallon frowned. “But I don’t remember doing that at all.”

Sobehk pursed his lips. “Probably because you were too deep in
rahyt
to remember.”

Fallon did not like the sound of that. “Did I do anything else?”

Sobehk smiled. “Nope. Once you had a couple of swallows you passed out and we left.” He lifted his wrist, showing a deep bite and a livid bruise that had already faded to yellow and orange.

Fallon licked her lips. She could almost still taste him there.

“Out of curiosity, why the interrogation?” Sobehk frowned. “You already knew who set you up. I remember you saying his name, right before the cyborg’s attack.”

“I wanted to be absolutely sure.” Fallon looked away. “Alice, the station master, has been in contact with Peter.” She flinched. Peter wanted her back, but she didn’t want to
go
back. “She’ll get word to Peter, and Peter can ... remove the problem.”

Khan caught her chin and turned her to face him. “Why is this Rudi’s removal so important?”

Fallon crossed her arms. “Tusk was my friend, and Peter’s.”

“Your friend?” Sobehk’s brows shot up. “That insane cyborg that tried to kill you?”

“He wasn’t always like that.” Fallon stared out the window. “When I was little, Tusk was one of Peter’s lostlings.” The pain was old. She had lost her friend a very long time ago, but it still hurt. “His augmentations soured and it ... did things to his mind. Peter had to ... remove his memories of ... Neverland, because he was too dangerous.” Her fingers tightened on her arms. “And I had to help him do it.”

Sobehk hissed. “Shit ...”

Khan stroked her arm and her hair.

“Tusk was the one who opened the door, when I first came to Neverland.” Her heart clenched and it became hard to take a breath around the pain. “And I ... killed him.” She leaned against Khan’s chest and closed her eyes.

Sobehk grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

Khan swept his palm across her wet cheeks. “I’m sure your Peter will find a fitting end to this Rudi.”

“Oh, I’m sure he will.” Fallon sniffed and smiled tightly. “Peter is very handy with lift shafts.”

* * * * *

They were in the lift rising from the parking deck when the headache hit Fallon right through the temples. She staggered and fell back against the lift wall panting. “Shit ... My head ...”

Khan sighed. “It would hit now.”

Sobehk leaned over and scooped Fallon into his arms. “I’ll take care of it as soon as we get in.”

Fallon took a deep breath and smelled the rich aroma of Sobehk’s skin. Her nipples tightened to hot, urgent points under her suit. Her belly clenched violently, hot, wet, and hungry. She moaned and clutched at Sobehk’s armor. It was seriously pointy against her side, but at that moment she didn’t care.

Sobehk took a deep breath. “Oh, yeah, there she goes.” He smiled. “Rage fever.”

Khan crossed his arms and stuck out his bottom lip. “Damn that medic.”

Sobehk snorted. “You can have sex tomorrow.”

Khan rolled his eyes and sneered. “Oh, that makes me feel so much better!”

The lift doors opened into the small side hall of Khan’s monstrous suite.

Khan stepped out. “I’ll file the reports and join you ...”

“No ... please.” Fallon looked over at Khan, wincing under the throbbing in her head and desperate with a deep aching hunger. “I ... need you.”

Sobehk’s brows shot up.

Khan sighed. “Screw the medic. Come on.” He strode down the wide hall and headed for the bedchamber, jerking at his robes.

Sobehk followed, grinning broadly. “You have internal injuries! That means I get to do the driving!”

Khan tossed an annoyed look over his shoulder. “Fine, then, you drive.”

Sobehk set Fallon on the bed, then turned and made haste to remove his armor.

Fallon grabbed for her crotch with both hands, but it only made the hunger worse.

Khan and Sobehk were out of their armor faster than Fallon had thought possible. Of course, it was scattered all over the room when they’d finished removing all the pieces.

Mouthwateringly naked, the two of them climbed in among the gold silk blankets and scarlet pillows and attacked the buckles on her suit.

Sobehk glared at Khan. “Did you design this?”

Khan snorted. “Just keep unbuckling.”

Fallon writhed under their hands. Heat coiled, clenched, and tightened with demanding hunger. “Hurry! Please!”

Her boots and then finally the suit were tossed out of the bed and onto the floor.

Fallon reached up to grab Khan around the neck, pulling him down to kiss him. His moan tasted delicious. She raised her knees and wrapped her legs around his hips. She needed him in her body with violent urgency.

His knees spread under her, tipping her hips up to receive him. His primary cock nudged for entry.

Fallon released his mouth to gasp and arch. The bar piercing him was a delicious intrusion. His secondary cock pressed.

Khan gasped. “Sobehk.”

Sobehk knelt behind him. “I’m right here.”

Khan tilted his head to the side. “Deep and hard.”

Sobehk closed his arms around Khan’s chest, his hands splayed open over the black rings piercing Khan’s nipples. Sobehk’s mouth opened, revealing his long teeth. He sank them into Khan’s shoulder and growled.

Khan’s head came up, and his eyes closed, his mouth open on a gasp. “Ah ... yes!” He thrust and surged hard into Fallon’s ass and cunt, raking her tender walls with the bars that pierced him.

Fallon bucked and cried out with the brutal pleasure of his possession.

Sobehk lifted Khan, and Fallon with him, and spread Khan’s knees over his thighs. He pulled his fangs from Khan’s shoulder.

Khan fell forward over Fallon.

She arched up to take his mouth in an urgent, possessive kiss, her hips undulating under him, squeezing his hips with her thighs and fucking him.

Khan held still, balanced on his palms, letting her surge and retreat on his cocks. He moaned into her mouth.

Sobehk chuckled. “Somebody’s hungry.”

Khan rocked forward and shuddered. He pulled his mouth away from hers and groaned, then winced. “Fuck ... you’re big.”

“Ah ...” Sobehk’s eyes closed, and his head tilted back, his mouth open. “No, you’re ... tight!” He licked his lips and sighed. “Oh, it is so nice to be in here.”

Khan groaned. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

Sobehk grinned. “And you’re not?” His hand closed on Khan’s thighs. “Remember, I’m driving.”

Khan growled. “Then drive, damn it! I have a nice, tight cunt and ass here that need attention.”

Sobehk thrust.

Khan gasped and was driven forward into Fallon.

Fallon felt Khan’s pierced cock strike something deep and delicious within her. She writhed to get more of it, but couldn’t quite reach it. “More!”

Sobehk smiled. “More?”

Khan turned his head and bared his teeth. “You heard her. More!”