His Virtual Bride Read online

  "What paperwork?" Keely sounded belligerent and suspicious.

  "To share whatever information you gather equally," the queen answered, a warning in her voice. "To share the reward for Le Roi's capture equally."

  Geoff recognized irritation when he heard it. Paris clearly was fed up with arguments about whom the information belonged to and who would earn a large reward for returning her great-uncle. Or her undying enmity, if Le Roi was caught by someone else or managed to escape forever. But Geoff couldn't keep from saying, "Keely will only slow me down. Get in my way."

  "Bull…" Keely automatically started to reply. Her eyes narrowing and her chin jutting out, she added, "Besides, Le Roi knows you. I have a better chance of getting close to him."

  "And spiriting him away without having to share the reward."

  Paris deactivated the screen, then stood. "After you requisition supplies from Marsienne City, you'll be taking a short trip to Jupiter before you go to Saturnalia You remember Jupiter, don't you, Geoff? That's where you acquired my face."

  "That's a story I want to hear," Keely said, standing and pulling Geoff to his feet.

  "When Mercury freezes over," he muttered. "Or after I'm dead and buried."

  "Whichever comes first," Keely cheerfully agreed.

  "Stay a moment, Flight Commander."

  Keely quirked her eyebrows and sort of smirked at Geoff. Without a word, she backed out of Paris' office, softly closing the door.

  "Majesty?" Geoff prompted when Paris just stared at him.

  "Flight Commander." Cocking her hips like a runway model for one of her favorite clothing designers, she paced to him. With her hands on his chest she batted her dark green lashes and smiled seductively. Getting no reaction, she sighed. "You used to flirt with me, Geoff. Even after I became queen, you teased me. I thought sex with you would--"

  He stiffened like a soldier reporting to his commanding officer. "And I may flirt again. Later. Once I find your great-uncle and you figure out what to do with him. Once I've recovered my ship."

  "Your precious ship," Paris muttered resentfully.

  He resented her tone. Resented her flirting when she knew nothing would come of it. Resented the fact that she was his best hope of recovering his ship and clearing his name. Jove blast it! He resented her.

  Two years ago, he'd enjoyed flirting with her while she tried every trick to lure his cousin Connor away from Kendra. Geoff thought he could make her feel better about losing Connor. But all Paris had done was switch her interest to Geoff.

  Willing his voice to indifference, he said, "If I had The Honey now, my search for Le Roi would go a lot faster. Can't you give me something better than Keely's puddle jumper?"

  "Speaking of Keely, what do you think of her?"

  "She's a decent pilot. Seems to know her way around this part of the galaxy. A little reckless when surfing wormholes."

  "I know her skills, Geoff. What do you think of her personally?"

  "She's pushy."

  Paris laughed. "Like me?" Geoff grinned. "Oh, go away. Find my great-uncle and return him to Pluto. Have Sylva put him in chains if she must. Anything to keep him with her."

  "And away from you?"

  "I could always have that Venusian whore your cousin Connor married kill Le Roi for real."

  "Careful, Majesty. Kendra could as easily kill you." Geoff turned his back and then strode out of the room.

  * * * *

  Paris watched him leave, appreciating his wide shoulders, narrow hips and firm buttocks. It wasn't fair that men had such nice asses while women of a certain age had to work to maintain theirs. Keely--Venus blast her! --had a derriere of perfect size and shape. Good genes that, unfortunately, came from that Venusian--

  Breathing deeply, Paris banished Kendra from her mind. She'd taken the steps she'd needed to win Geoff for herself. By the time he and Keely left romantic Saturnalia, Geoff would come to resent Keely's depending on him to help her recover…

  Ah yes. Saturnalia was the beginning of the end…for Keely.

  En Route to the City of Paris

  Having overcome his anger, his stomach full of the best pb and j sandwiches he'd ever had, Geoff settled against the bulkhead and relaxed completely. He fell into a light doze, but awoke when he felt more than heard a soft footfall. Holding still, he waited to see what Keely might do. Just how he knew she stood at his feet he didn't know. A slew of explanations presented themselves.

  First, as far as he knew, she was the only other person aboard her no-name ship. But that was far too rational an explanation. When it came to Keely, his animal instincts went on alert whenever she neared.

  She smelled different than other women he knew. Not unpleasant--just different. She struck him as too fastidious to let body-odor become a problem. But no matter how many people surrounded him, he knew when she entered a room. Every atavistic sense his Jovian ancestors possessed came alive. Like now, his body hair stood at attention and he had to will his muscles not to tighten. She presented no physical threat. He outweighed her by at least seventy pounds, but somehow she always made him feel off-balance.

  "You can stop pretending to be asleep," she finally said in that low, sort of sultry voice he remembered, but couldn't place.

  Stretching, he watched her gaze track over his flexing body. He flashed a grin as he stood. "I'm not gonna tell you about my brief encounter with Jupiter's droids."

  "As long as it doesn't interfere with our mission, I really don't care how you got Paris' face."

  "Bull--horse hockey. You're dying to know."

  Grinning up at him, she lowered her jutted chin. "Sooner or later I'll get it out of you."

  "I can't wait for you to try." He waggled both eyebrows. Sobering, he added, "How much do you know about Jupiter?"

  She frowned. For a long moment, he thought she wouldn't answer him, but at last she shrugged, saying, "The common knowledge stuff."

  "Such as? I got routed directly there from Earth, so I didn't have time to learn anything about it or its people," he lied in an even voice and without blinking.

  She looked at him, suspicion rampant in her sea foam green eyes. How much had Paris told her about his heritage? he wondered. He also wondered if Keely might be contemplating holding back information. Or was she was sifting through an entire databank of information and filtering it?

  She chewed on her lower lip and her eyes took on a faraway look. "Okay then. This is just a broad brush.

  "When the last interplanetary wars ended in 2123, Jupiter--being closer to Mars than any other Alliance planet except Earth--was allowed to keep its military forces. In addition, since Jupiter is also far enough away from Mars for its own security, Jovians were allowed to design, manufacture, and sell weapons to other Alliance planets. Mars excluded, of course."

  "Of course," Geoff agreed dryly.

  Keely cocked her head, giving him the impression she was listening to a far-off voice. After a long moment, she continued. "Jovians also have developed many personal type weapons. Like handheld lazers and rope-cuffs. Oh, and nifty little jewelry items like bracelets and necklaces and what they call a DeMedici ring. Silence cones and--" She slanted a puzzled look at Geoff. "And some masking devices that allow people to look like other people. So that's how--!"

  "I'm not going to tell you about Paris' face."

  "Maybe not now. But I'll get it out of you. Somehow. That's it. All I know about Jupiter."

  Wondering why Keely had such a single-minded interest in Jovian weaponry, Geoff put in his two cents worth. "After the last interplanetary wars, Earth used cloning to repopulate its forests and farmlands. Even its pets and wild animals."

  Keely's eyes again got that faraway cast. "But not its humans," she said at last.

  "Nope. Mars left enough of us alive that cloning humans remained illegal."

  "Why? Did he hope you'd starve to death?"

  "Dunno why he let so many of us live. Slave labor maybe? And he didn't destroy all our food sources. Just en
ough to keep us subservient."

  "Left enough so you'd feel beholden, eh?"

  Geoff thoughtfully groomed his mustache. "A whole world of new worshippers. I never thought of that."

  City of Paris

  "What is all this…stuff?" Keely had opened her case and had emptied its contents on a nearby table. She was surprised that the pack held a seemingly endless supply of… stuff.

  Standing in the middle of the supply wing, she glanced at the ceiling, down row after row of floor-to-ceiling loaded shelving and then back at her stuff. She missed the noise, the voices of others collecting supplies, Paris' grandfather Pushin shouting that they were robbing the queen blind.

  "How in hell have you survived this long?" Geoff demanded. "If you don't know what this equipment is, how did you bring in that snitch--what's his name?"

  "If you mean Jor-d'el, I just batted my eyelashes at him and he followed me home."

  "Uh-huh." Geoff picked up a set of innocent looking ropes that fooled lawbreakers into laughing fits. When fastened around their ankles and wrists, the captives stopped laughing. He slanted a speculative grin at his partner.

  Keely cocked a red-gold eyebrow. "Don't even think about it, Snake. I'm not hitting the sheets with you."

  "Pack it up, Shrimp. We're off to Jupiter."

  "Goodie! En route, you can tell me all about you and Paris' face."

  "Make you a deal, Ketch-um. Share my sheets and I'll tell you all about me and the queen."

  "I'm not that desperate, Just-Geoff. But," she snagged her case with one hand, looped the other around his elbow, "I'll make you a different kind of proposition. Bet I can find Le Roi before you can figure out where he is."

  "Done!"

  "Great!" Now all she had to do was figure it out for herself.

  Jupiter

  Geoff had no idea how Keely did it. Somehow she'd gotten permission to fly her spacecraft into the middle of the arms factory on Jupiter. Of course, she'd had to shrink the ship to what felt like a miniature coffin to Geoff--but at least they didn't have to don walk-about suits. They debarked in their flight suits, only to be surrounded by a troop of robots and androids.

  Armed robots and androids, Geoff amended, holding up his hands, palms out.

  Keely, her thumbs hooked into her hip pockets, stared at the very human-looking droid leader. To Geoff, she looked like an old-Earth gunslinger facing the wannabe top gun. The droid looked…puzzled. To Geoff's amazement, the droid held out his hand to Keely. A courtesy he hadn't extended to Geoff when he first visited Jupiter.

  "I am called Jo one-two-seven."

  "I'm Keely," She jerked a thumb at Geoff. "He's Geoff. I believe Queen Paris--"

  "Has given you carte blanche. If you will follow me, I'll show you to our store." He half-bowed, clicked his booted heels and turned smartly.

  "All he needs," Keely muttered, "is a quirt and a swastika." She followed the droid.

  The sotto voce threw Geoff off-balance. That was a trick Kendra used when she wanted someone--usually her husband Connor--to hear her while she pretended to talk to herself. How in hell did Keely know that ploy? Or was it just something women did? Not that Geoff could recall.

  "Coming, Snake?"

  Keely's voice brought him back to the moment. He wouldn't let her know he felt gut-punched. He gave her a look that usually made reluctant females swoon at his feet. Keely just turned away and continued to follow the droid.

  So she intended to play hard-to-get. That suited him just fine. He liked a challenge. Hadn't had one since he left Earth. Sooner or later he'd get Ms. Keely Ketchum into bed and learn every secret she had. Right after he recovered The Honey and took whoever had stolen her back to Earth for trial and punishment.

  He caught up with Keely and their escort in a room that resembled a high-end jewelry store. The chairs seemed sturdier and looked as if they could grow or shrink to accommodate the occupant. Display cases artfully showed off the "jewels" Jupiter offered for sale. One wall held a collection of wicked- and lethal-looking daggers. Keely stood nearby, obviously fascinated.

  The droid droned on in a voice suited to an Earthling used hovercraft salesman. "These particular weapons are made on Eris. We carry them as a convenience for our clients."

  "I love the colors." Keely took the cobalt blue hilt in her hand, testing the weight and balance of the ten-inch blade. The blade itself twisted like a pale blue corkscrew streaked with a more pale blue. She sighed. "Impractical for my purposes. I wouldn't risk staying so far away." She laid the dagger on the glass case, going on to the next display.

  Geoff snorted. In his estimation the ten-inch blade would put him too damn close to whomever he fought.

  "This is gorgeous." Keely quivered like a puppy expecting a treat.

  The droid smiled, looking more and more like that used hovercraft salesman--one about to sell the last lemon on the lot. At a huge profit.

  "Ms. Keely has exquisite taste." The droid took a silver necklace from its velvet-lined box. "This is called a lasso. If you buy it, it will be keyed specifically to you. Anyone else who touches it…"

  "What?" Keely sounded as if she was about to dig into a succulent steak.

  "Would suffer greatly. These links form a whip-like lariat, the clasp a set of barbs that can rip out someone's throat."

  "Clean up must be a bitch," Geoff muttered, employing his cousin Kendra's under-the-breath trick.

  The droid looked nonplussed.

  Keely laughed, clearly delighted. "I'll take it. And the matching ring, which looks like it could hold poison." She grinned at Geoff, making his belly clench. "I've never seen a stone like that."

  "Oh yes. Our most famous and most lethal piece of jewelry. The DeMedici ring. It changes color. You can match it to what you wear or to your eyes. Or, if you wish, you can match it to your lover's eyes."

  Keely's pale green gaze flicked to Geoff. For some inexplicable reason that brief glance gave him hope. Ms. Keely Ketchum was not as immune to his charms as she wanted him to think.

  "I'm done," she announced. Turning her back and bowing her head, she allowed the droid to fasten the lasso around her neck. He put the ring on her left thumb.

  "Sizing it to fit your marriage finger will only take a moment."

  "I like it where it is. Thanks." Which sounded to Geoff like an afterthought for his benefit. Keely and Jo seemed to have some sort of connection that made words unnecessary.

  Geoff cleared his throat. "Is there a way to shut that thing off?" He wouldn't risk having the necklace slaughter him when he and Keely did hit the sheets.

  Keely and the droid stared at each other for a seemingly endless moment.

  "Ms. Keely knows how to turn it off," the droid answered, still not looking at Geoff.

  "Then I guess we're done," said Geoff.

  "Not quite," Jo one-two-seven said, grinning evilly. "Her Majesty asked us to provide you a new H-FDD."

  "What's that?" Keely demanded.

  "A Herma-Frodie Disguise Device," the droid explained. "One that specifically prohibits Mr. Geoff here from stealing the queen's face. Again."

  "Jove-blasted hermaphrodite," Geoff muttered, wondering how in the universe Kendra's holographic pals had gotten to Jupiter, let alone designed a masking device.

  Chapter Two

  Geoff expected Keely to cross-examine him mercilessly. To his surprise the only question she asked was "Where to?" And that didn't come until they'd cleared Jupiter's armaments showroom and hovered at the edge of its wormhole.

  "You heard Paris." Geoff raked his fingers through his hair. "We're going to Saturnalia."

  "We could take a little detour," Keely suggested, looking hopeful. "Spend a day or two with Pushin. Find ourselves some new snitches and use them to find Le Roi."

  "I doubt Pushin's palace would be safe for us. Paris gave us orders to proceed directly to Saturn and environs."

  "Damn! I had my mouth all set for Pushin's pomme frits." She sounded so much like the pompous former ambas
sador to Earth that Geoff had to laugh.

  Sobering, he said, "I know why I'm reluctant to visit Saturnalia, but why are you?"

  As if the question caught her completely off-guard, Keely blinked. "Dunno. Don't know that I am reluctant."

  "I know you are."

  "Oh yeah?" Her chin jutted out.

  "Yeah. You wouldn't disobey Paris if your life depended on it."

  "Would you?"

  He chuckled. "Only if I thought I could get away with it."

  "A huge if." She sighed. "Take us to Saturn," she told her ship. Looking at Geoff, she asked, "Saturn, huh? What dive have you chosen this time?"

  "Not Saturn exactly. We're going to one of its rings." Geoff huffed out a sigh of his own, then named the glitziest, most expensive resort in the entire galaxy.

  Keely whistled before she looked down at her plain black flight suit. "I don't have anything to wear. And--thanks to a thieving, nameless snake--I can't afford to buy anything suitable."

  "You can charge what you need to Paris. Or…" Geoff stroked his mustache and out waited her.

  "Or?" she challenged, slanting him an I know what you're thinking look coupled with an I ain't buying it one.

  "You could just don your new jewelry. Nobody'd care what you were wearing."

  One red-gold eyebrow quirked upward. "Or I could go shopping--on your nickel."

  "Sounds like a plan," Geoff agreed, wondering how Keely knew about old-Earth money.

  * * * *

  Keely closed her gaping mouth with a click and wondered what had gotten into cheapskate Geoff. He'd stolen her information and her reward, by the Goddess! Now he was willing to pay for a whole new wardrobe?

  "Saturn," Geoff explained, as Keely waited for permission to land her No-Name spacecraft, "is second in population to any other planet in the galaxy. Its rings are considered the vacation spot for most wealthy humanoids. The string of islands around the inner ring is called Saturnalia. We'll be setting down near The Embassy."