Hinekiri (11 page)

She gripped the controls and braced for a sharp turn to the left. The Torgon craft flew so close she could see the smirking colorless face of the pilot, his pale eyes large and hideous as he grinned through the viewing porthole.

“Fire underneath,” Killer ordered. “Weak underbelly.”

Hinekiri squeezed off a shot but it was difficult to fire and fly the ship at the same time. “Richard, you need to man the guns for me so I can concentrate on flying.” She took one hand off the controls and grabbed his. She slapped it on top of the weapon control unit before glancing at the dog and jumping with instinct. “Killer will help.”

By the goddess, she hoped this Earthling was made of strong grit and wouldn’t turn spineless when she needed him most. She wanted to live through this to see the wildebeest in Africa and to chart the next galaxy. Dammit, she intended to fulfill her next contract.

“Richard,” Killer barked, taking control without another word. Craning her neck, she balanced on Richard’s lap barely able to see out the porthole.

Richard swallowed, watching the craft peppering them with fiery shots with horror. Hinekiri took evasive action, turning the ship in a rapid one-hundred-and-eighty-degree roll. Richard braced his feet against the floor and tightened his grip on the dog. Fear curdled his stomach. Terror kicked him in the gut. Not even the gunman who’d tried to rob the Sloan branch of the Bank of New Zealand had brought such icy dread.

Killed yelped. “No hold so tight. Need to concentrate.”

“Sorry.” Richard loosened his grip, his heart racing while his mouth turned dry as if he’d tied one on the night before. Damn, he was too old for this excitement. Hinekiri went into a loop. He screwed his eyes shut, swallowed and held the dog so she didn’t get hurt.

The ship leveled out. Richard opened his eyes and searched for the ship. He couldn’t see it. Perhaps—no, there it was coming up beside them.

The dog peered out the porthole, quivering with eagerness. Her black nose twitched and her floppy ears cocked in alertness. “Ready to fire.”

Richard tensed watching the approach of the Torgon craft. His fingers hovered above the gun ignition switch with a sense of disbelief. A Kiwi cop playing space pirate. It was too far-fetched even for the movies. He froze when the ship flew in front of them, intersecting their flight path.

Killer went rigid, eyes fixed on the porthole. “Wait. Wait. Fire!” Killer barked. “Fire!”

Richard fired. The flash blinded him, burning the back of his retinas until all he saw were dazzling, whirling white patterns in front of his eyes.

“Fire!”

Richard’s finger depressed the button. The ship bucked, throwing him forward against the restraints.

“Hit! Woof! Fire ’gain!”

“Woo-hoo,” Hinekiri cheered. “You’ve crippled him. Let’s watch those Torgon fry!”

“One more time,” Killer barked.

Richard fired again, blinking rapidly in an attempt to restore his sight. He glanced across at Hinekiri. She was flying the ship, running through a series of rolling maneuvers that brought severe discomfort to his stomach. Enjoyment blazed on her features while her violet eyes shined with the thrill of the chase. Even the dog looked as though she was enjoying herself. Richard merely felt sick with each rock ’n’ roll of the ship. How could they both act so nonchalant?

An enormous explosion boomed through his ears, echoing for long moments afterward. The Torgon ship detonated into a white fireball. Flecks of purple flared within the body of white as they flashed past.

“He-haw!” Hinekiri threw back her head, her right hand held up in the air as she rode the bumps caused by the Torgon craft’s explosion. “Africa, here we come!” She let the rounded nose of the ship dip into a steep dive.

Richard had an instant to take in the dark black of space and pinprick shine of distant stars before the ship went down. He gripped Killer with one hand and the seat with his other. “Is the ship okay? Have we been hit?” God, don’t say they were going to crash. The bands of tension around his chest tighten until he could scarcely breathe.

Killer yipped deep in her throat. “Steep dive into atmosphere easier on ship. Less wear and tear to body.”

“Oh.” Hell, it was sad when even the dog knew more than he did.

“We’re fine, Richard. The good news is we’ll arrive in Africa much quicker since the new trajectory is closer.”

Richard didn’t release his grasp on the seat until the ship leveled again and fluffy clouds sailed in front of his eyes. A different time zone meant daylight approached.

“Let down,” Killer demanded.

Richard loosened his grip and the purple dog leapt from his lap. Slowly, his heart rate returned to normal. A thin film of sweat coated every inch of his skin and he could smell lingering traces of fear on his body. He needed to wash and sleep in that order.

“Hinekiri, where can I wash? And sleep?”

“It should be okay to put the ship back on autopilot.” Hinekiri flicked several switches then released the controls. She leaned back, popped her restraints open and stood. She stretched but Richard was so wound up he couldn’t even appreciate the picture she presented. “You can use my chamber. I’ll show you.”

Richard stood and followed Hinekiri from the bridge. They walked down the same passage they’d used before, but instead of turning into the chamber where he’d woken, Hinekiri kept moving. At the end of passage, Hinekiri hit a green button on the wall. The door slid silently across and she stood back, indicating he should enter.

Instantly, he guessed it was Hinekiri’s room. The floral scent was a big giveaway. He stepped inside, studying the contents with curiosity. A large bed, complete with restraints was the focal point. It reminded him of an old-fashioned, four-poster bed with gauzy silver curtains and a dark gray cover. Tiny green and red embroidered flowers decorated the cover. A foldaway desk and a set of drawers filled an entire wall while a large porthole took up most of another.

Hinekiri stepped across to the porthole and pushed a button. A screen whirred across, blocking his view of the clouds.

“I’ll show you how to use the vac-shower and to operate my bed then leave you to it. I’d like to stay on the bridge in case we come across another Torgon craft.” She pushed another button and a door he hadn’t noticed slid across. “The vac-shower is in here. Stand within the square, hit the button on your right and the cleansing starts. We don’t use the same system as Earth. Pity really. There’s no better sensation than water sluicing down a body.”

Oh yeah. Richard received the vision, picturing Hinekiri naked beneath his shower with water rushing over her breasts and trickling down her pelvis before creeping between her folds. He shuddered before clearing his throat. “A vac-shower will work fine. It looks simple enough.” Something else new and strange to add to his day. He’d never thought he’d miss normal and settled.
Old dog
…

“You’d better use the bed restraints just in case we fly through turbulence. The controls for the restraints are on the wall above the bed. Fasten them around your arms and legs or your waist if you prefer, click on the control button and you’re set. When you want to get out of bed, hit the control button again and that will turn the gravity controls back on.” She grinned, tipped him a wink and sauntered from her chamber with a very feminine roll to her hips. Although her rainbow-colored robe was loose, it seemed to accentuate her ass.

Richard pursed his lips and blew a soundless whistle.
Hot Mama
. Her life might contain more excitement than his, but his libido busily ignored every warning issued by his brain. He wanted to lie horizontal with her and engage in rumpy-pumpy until she needed to leave for her job. Did that make him some sort of hypocrite? Richard rubbed his chin, noting absently he needed a shave. Hell, he was so confused he didn’t know what to think. He sighed, headed for the vac-shower and decided to sleep first and worry about his confusion later.

* * * * *

Hinekiri’s head jerked up when she heard footsteps behind her. “Hi, sailor. Feel better now?”

“Yeah. Much better.” Richard walked right up to her, swept Hinekiri from her chair in front of the control panel and kissed her. He growled deep in his throat and explored the moist interior of her mouth, swirling his tongue across her teeth and soft inner cheek. He drew back a fraction to nibble at her bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth and then releasing it with a smacking sound. Breathless and very aroused, she stared at him. What was that about?

“Um…we’ve arrived. I’ll put the privacy cloaks on and go down lower so we can follow the migrating beasts for a while. I’ve spotted them on the micro radar system. With the porthole screens down, we’ll get good views of the gnu.”

Hinekiri slipped from Richard’s embrace, instantly feeling bereft. She wanted to ask him to go with her on the next mapping assignment but each time she opened her mouth to utter the suggestion, fear paralyzed her tongue. The marriage sorcerer on Dalcon had read her charts when she’d become of age to mate. He’d declared she’d have many relationships with none of them lasting or successful. A courtesan. Although he hadn’t uttered the damning word outright to her family, they’d understood his insinuation without difficulty. Her father had stormed off at that stage, her mother shortly after to placate her father’s anger. Only Hinekiri had stayed to hear everything the sorcerer had to say. She would write her own destiny, the sorcerer had told her in a tired, musty voice she recalled to this day.

The voice of doom.

The voice that had changed her destiny.

Hinekiri remembered walking back to their hilltop home, the tiring trek up the winding, dusty road to the top. One glance at her father’s face had spoken of his fury. His disappointment. His daughter wasn’t fated to mate. A courtesan. Nothing could bring him greater shame.

Hinekiri had left that day determined to prove her family wrong. She had created her destiny, shaped it and done everything her way. These days she owned fame. Torgon mercenaries hunted her to steal valuable galaxy charts because she was good at her job. But for all her fame, she was still alone. Her parents had died without speaking to her again and she hadn’t met anyone who tempted her to consider changing her lifestyle.

That was until Richard.

Richard was different. From the first moment she’d woken in bed with him, she’d wanted to know more, to learn more and spend private time with him. He didn’t treat her like the little lady who required help at every turn nor treat her with awe because of her renowned achievements. The Kiwi cop respected her. He rubbed away the raw edges of pain and filled the gaps she hadn’t fully understood until now.

“Hurry,” Killer barked, wriggling with clear impatience. “I wanna see a gnu. Dumb name. Wanna see if they look as bad as name.”

“Take it easy,” Richard said in a lazy tone as he turned away from the porthole. “You won’t see them clearly yet. Hinekiri needs to check the privacy screens are working after the run-in with the Torgon. We don’t want anyone to see us.” His brown eyes twinkled when his gaze scanned her body, making her tingle from head to the end of her toes. With her favorite rainbow gown clinging to her curves, Hinekiri knew she showed to advantage. She certainly felt sexy and desirable.

Warm heat appeared in his expression. The twinkle in his eyes and the way his gaze skimmed up and down made her suspect he knew she was naked beneath the gown, and even if he hadn’t, her nipples broadcasted the fact loud and clear. Suddenly, she wasn’t too bothered about watching the wildebeest. She could always come back another time, but Richard might not be free during the next visit. Her pussy moistened at the thought of another vigorous loving. Maybe she could introduce a little kink to the equation…

“Will the ship scare the wildebeests?” he asked.

Hinekiri sighed and realigned her thoughts. She moved away from Richard to avoid temptation and depressed a button on her control panel. A drawer opened. She unbolted the safety catch used to keep her image machine from rumbling about the drawer and lifted it free. Richard was right. It didn’t seem like the time to play right now. Back to business.

“The ship isn’t noisy but I intend to turn the silencer on as a precautionary measure. I want to take as many images of the creatures as I can to store in my knowledge banks.”

Hinekiri gestured at her image machine. It fitted in the palm of her hand and was useful when it came to recording images of the landmasses and unexplored planets for the charts she drew.

Richard crossed the distance between them. His hands closed over her shoulders and he squeezed lightly. His eyes lingered on her mouth. The heat inside Hinekiri intensified and she squirmed, trying to ease the ache that had sprung to life.

She tried to concentrate on the panel of instruments between them, the glowing lights and the glossy black surrounds. Difficult when every sense screamed for him. She reached out to tap the shield control button and noticed her hand trembled.

“Where are we staying?” Richard murmured. “I’m looking forward to loving you in a soft bed where I don’t have to concentrate on avoiding the ceiling.” He rubbed his backside and gave a rueful smile. “I think I’m minus a layer of skin.”

Killer pushed between them with a disparaging yap. “No sex talk. Not polite.”

Richard chuckled, two charming lines bracketing his mouth. “Later,” he mouthed at her, closing one eye in a wink.

Hinekiri melted inside, but this time when she operated the controls, her hand was rock steady. He wanted her and that was good enough to cement her confidence back in place.

The privacy screens slid across without a hitch. According to the control panel, the silencer was working correctly. It seemed as though her temporary repairs were holding. The covers across the portholes widened, allowing a sweeping panoramic view of the savannah lands below. Hinekiri sighed at the beauty. Grasslands as far as the eye could see with a sprinkling of flat-topped trees, knolls and kopjes to break the monotony. To her delight, she recognized many of the animals. Herds grazed the plains—zebra, wildebeest and a sprinkling of gazelles. The grasslands appeared green with lots of vegetation instead of the dust and brown patches she’d expected. It seemed as though the rains had arrived earlier than her research indicated.