His Virtual Bride Read online

  "Waited for what?" He asked the question without looking at Keely. The sky he'd longed to explore as a kid held him captive in her embrace.

  "For that celebratory drink that left you with a hangover."

  "If we both got drunk who'd fly No-Name?"

  "She'd fly herself." Keely chuckled. "Until we got to that tricky half-jump anyway."

  Smiling, Geoff confessed, "I've never been out this far."

  "Pluto's nearest now. We could swing by en route to Sedna."

  "Why?"

  Keely's shrug looked stiff. "See if Le Roi's still there?"

  "You think Paris would lie about him escaping?"

  "She's lied about other things. Why not lie about him?"

  "I…I don't think she'd lie about her great-uncle. His supposed death keeps her on her throne. She needs him found and put where she knows his whereabouts."

  "Wouldn't it be easier to make his death real?"

  Geoff started to object, but couldn't. He barely knew the girl named Kiki. He knew even less about Queen Paris.

  Chapter Six

  "Stop it, Geoff." Laughing, Keely pushed out of his arms and ran. Her long train impeded her attempt to escape him.

  Or maybe she wanted him to catch her, he thought as his long strides easily brought him to her side. Catching her arm, he pulled her into the shallow alcove outside his chambers' doors.

  "Paris will kill us," she protested, gazing up at him. Longing glowed in her eyes. "She'll kill me at least."

  "Would it not be worth it? One night of exquisite passion?"

  "Followed by a too brief journey in a tumbrel to Madame Guillotine? I think not."

  "I would die for you." With her pressed against him, he opened his door and spun her into his chamber. Kissing her, he used their bodies to shove it closed, his fingers steady as he turned the lock.

  Breathless, Keely pushed against his chest. "She'll not put you to death. She--"

  "Wants what I shall never give her. What I'll give only to you." Drawing her deeper into his candlelit quarters, he released her only long enough to discard his sword and ornately embroidered jacket. His breeches and long gaiters he intended to leave for Keely to remove. Before or after he rode her to heaven he would leave to the gods.

  "Don't be afraid, petite. I swear I'll not harm you."

  Blushing, looking at her clenched fingers, she murmured, "I have never been alone with a man."

  "I know." He poured them each a goblet of wine. Handing her one, he circled her waist, then guided her to the settee in front of the fireplace.

  "I shouldn't drink this." She looked around for some place to put the crystal down.

  Catching her hand, he urged the glass to her lips. "Only a few sips to relax you."

  Sighing, she parted her lips and took a delicate taste.

  He followed the path the rich pinot noir would take. Over her rough velvet tongue. Down the slender length of her satin-cool neck to the silky warmth of her stomach. He took the glass from her trembling fingers. Tilting her chin, he saw her eyes widen and darken before her lashes drifted closed. Her lips, made even rosier by the ruby wine, parted in soft invitation. An invitation, a temptation too irresistible to resist. He fought the raging need to drain the sweetness on her lips, in her mouth. Cupping her cheek, he feathered butterfly kisses over her eyebrows, lashes and the little button at the tip of her narrow nose. That slight imperfection took her face from beauty to rarer and soul–ravaging uniqueness. He could stare at her forever. Smiling, he silently amended, At least until that ravening need--that lustful beast inside me--demands more than just looking.

  "Geoff?"

  Her soft murmur beckoned him to kiss the lips that formed his name. He brushed his lips over hers. Returned to savor their soft, damp fullness. His tongue teased one corner of her lips. They parted and her tongue darted to his, inviting him into her mouth. Like a man dying of thirst he drank her. Savored the lingering taste of rich red wine. The underscore of whatever she'd used to clean her teeth. Inhaled her sigh as if he could not breathe without her.

  His own fingers trembling, he untied the filmy fichu hiding the swell of her breasts from his hungry gaze. Stroking the valley they formed, he deepened the kiss. Her soft moans fueled his hunger.

  Fighting primeval need to plunge into her, he willed gentleness into his hands and dealt with her bodice laces. Inch-by–inch he eased the satin and frothy lace from her torso.

  "No," he whispered against her trembling lips. "Don't hide from me, sweet." Spreading her arms wide, he took in every stunning detail her naked flesh afforded him. Her breasts were high and firm, the perfect match for his hands. Her pink-tipped nipples and dusky areolas would fit in his mouth and nurture the babes he'd plant in her fertile garden. Tempting him, her nipples furled. He did not--could not--resist sampling them. Bending, he lapped one rigid peak and gently rolled his fingers over and around the other.

  "Oooooh." Arching her back, she silently begged him for more.

  "In a minute, sweetheart, I'll give you everything you want." Compelled to rush, he pulled off his clothes and returned to her arms. Breasts to chest, they shared their warmth. But she shook as if overcome by fever. "Sweetheart, what ails you?"

  "It isn't enough."

  Smoothing an errant red-gold lock from her forehead, he kissed the tip of her nose. "This is just the beginning."

  She pouted. He kissed it from her lips.

  "I am wearing too many clothes while you are wearing none."

  Standing, he pulled her to her feet. Scant moments later she stood in a pile of pale green satin skirts and sheer, ivory silk petticoats. He thought her a vibrant flower. Her pale body as slender as a stem. Red–gold petals a halo around her head and at the apex of her thighs. Slender, trembling thighs. Her nipples rosehips begging for his lips.

  Her need or his own? He didn't know. Whoever owned the lust pounding in his cock and pulsing in her neck no longer mattered. Sweeping her into his arms, he carried her to the turned down bed, it's dark sheets the perfect contrast to her pale skin and burnished copper hair. He laid her down, positioned her arms and legs to display her attributes the way he'd wanted for months. One hand at her breast, the other on her mons. Her legs splayed as if awaiting his cock and eager to have it buried deep within her. Still wearing her hose and riband garters, she seemed a wanton. The perfect courtesan longing to truly respond to a man's touch. Her lips red and plump, their kisses belied the doubt in her eyes.

  "You're beautiful, Keely."

  She closed her eyes, shutting out whatever she saw on his face or in his eyes that made her afraid. Her tongue moistened her kiss-ravaged lips before her teeth worried her lush lower lip.

  "The most unique woman I have ever met."

  Her lashes flew upward and a blush suffused her body from her delicate toes to her eyebrows.

  "You are beautiful," she whispered as he stretched out at her side. Her gaze swept over him, lingering for an infinitesimal moment on his engorged cock. "And very…endowed." As if immobility had freed its hold on her, she cupped his balls and stroked his cock. "Very…endowed."

  His breath hitched. Hissed out. Drew her gaze to his face.

  "I hurt you."

  Capturing her fingers around his cock, he showed her how much her caress excited him. Surrounded by her tender ministrations, his cock grew longer. Harder. While she glided her hand up and down, he licked and sucked her nipples into rigid peaks. Whisper soft, he drifted his fingers from her breasts to the curls surrounding her damp and swollen labia. He stroked her clit. She widened her legs and moaned. Arched her hips into his hand and the rhythm he set for her. He found her channel. Plunged his fingers deep inside. Swallowed her howl of pain as he took her virginity.

  Keely's elbow in his belly, her knee dangerously close to his cock and balls, brought him back to reality like ice water poured over his head.

  Had she had the same visions? She must have. Otherwise she'd have been in her pilot's chair, not draped all over him as
if a willing participant in his wet dream. Glancing at her profile, he saw that a blush still stained her cheek.

  "We're approaching Sedna," she muttered, adding, "Jove–blasted hermaphrodite."

  And he wondered how she knew Herma-Frodie had made them dream.

  "Tell me again," Geoff demanded as he and Keely settled into their transpo-scooter. "Why did we actually land on Sedna?"

  "Because," she started to explain, her jaw clenched so tight it hurt, "I don't want any Sednans shooting No-Name--and us--out of their skies." Eyeing the healthy male specimen stowing their suitcases in the scooter's saddlebags, she counted to make sure they had everything. "Sednans like being at the edge of the known galaxy. What they don't like are strangers touring their asteroid belts without their permission."

  "What have they got to hide?"

  She shot him a glance of pure disgust, silently reminding him his precious spaceship was why they were here in the first place. And The Honey could be one very large item they wanted to keep hidden.

  "Now," their porter-driver said proudly, "is the perfect time to visit Sedna. This week it is neither too hot nor too cold. Neither too dry nor too wet. Perfect. Lots of things to do and see." He flexed his pecs, drawing their attention to the green stripe that ran down the center of this face and body and disappeared under the waistband of really tight briefs.

  Geoff put his arm around Keely and pulled her tight against him. She felt her eyes go wide at the proprietary gesture, but it also pleased her. A lot.

  Their driver started the engine and they went a few feet off the ground. "Inbound traffic," he explained, "goes low. Outbound at about one hundred feet up."

  "Shouldn't he look where he's going?" Geoff groused.

  Her gaze fastened on the numerous scooters overhead, Keely said, "Not necessary. We are on some sort of…conveyor belt. Aren't we?" She looked at their driver.

  "Your lady is very smart. Most tourists never figure it out."

  "How many beltways are there?" Geoff asked.

  "Just two. One in, one out. 'Course the definition changes depending on the direction you're heading." He laughed.

  * * * *

  Keely and Geoff just glanced at each other, but quickly looked away. The memory of their shared dream had put a barrier between them. That sexual awareness, she admitted as Sedna's landscape slid by in a blur, had existed for quite a while. At least on her part. But Geoff must've felt something too. Otherwise Herma-Frodie wouldn't--couldn't--make them dream that dream. Could they?

  She wished she had someone she could ask. The hermaphrodite, she was certain, would play innocent. Maybe even act insulted that Keely would accuse them of such an intrusion. Judging by Geoff's silence about their dream, Keely suspected he knew it wasn't an accident. But if she did muster enough courage to ask him, would he tell her the truth? And if he did what would it mean? Would making love for real stop their dreams? Or would the dreams get worse? Hotter? More explicit until they lost their minds? And what might happen if they just ignored the subject completely?

  I'm making my headache.

  Blanking her mind, she focused on Sednania rising in the closing distance. No-Name had given Keely what little information she had. The city --the only city on the entire planet--was a sprawling megalopolis built over an aquifer--the planet's only source of water. Because the climate was inhospitable at best, walkovers and tunnels connected the buildings. To get from one side of Sednania to the other took several days on foot, a few hours by some kind of internal transpo-system. The planetary government resided in the tallest building, the mayor's office on the top floor.

  Mayor was the closest word No-Name could provide for the highest-ranking official on the planet. Or rather the object, as astronomers on Earth had designated it in the late twenty-first century. Just like they had demoted Pluto from planet to object. Colonization of both objects hadn't changed Earth's collective scientific mind--never mind what the rest of the galaxy thought.

  And where had her resentment come from? she wondered as the scooter stopped at the first building it came to and their driver dismounted. Looking around, Keely credited Sednans with great organizational skills. Hundreds of scooters and drivers discharged or picked up humanoids of every description from designated locations in the enormous marble terminal. While there seemed to be no particular order of who went first, everything and everyone moved smoothly in an endless flow of arrivals and departures.

  "Impressive," Geoff muttered, slowly turning in a circle.

  "Sino will escort you from here." Their driver handed their cases to another male Sednan, this one with a red stripe down his body.

  Keely and Geoff reached for credits, but their driver shook his head. "All part of Sednan hospitality." He hailed his outbound passenger while looking at neither of them again.

  "This way, please," Sino ordered, motioning them to follow him.

  "Do you know where we're going?" Geoff kept his voice low as if any sound could carry to the farthest corners.

  Which, now that Keely thought it about it, was really quiet. Especially with several hundred people moving through the terminal.

  "All visitors are housed here," she explained. "I understand this facility is very much like Saturnalia. It has hotels, boutiques, restaurants, parks and playgrounds."

  "Casinos?" Geoff's voice contained dread.

  "Yes, but I don't need to go to any. Do you?"

  "Jove, no!"

  They followed Sino into a large glass tube. Seconds later, without their feeling any movement at all, he bowed them out before one ornately carved door.

  "If you will each place your hands on this plate." They did and the door opened to admit them. "I'll put your luggage in the bedroom."

  Keely bit her lips.

  Geoff groaned. "Doesn't any hotel have more than one bedroom?"

  "Not for only two people," Sino explained. "Enjoy your stay."

  "Hey!" Keely called to his back. "We need to see your mayor."

  "He will contact you as soon as possible."

  "When might that be?" Geoff demanded, but the Sednan had vanished. Closing the door, Geoff asked Keely, "What's wrong with this picture?"

  "Nothing that I can see." Keely had opened the drapes and was studying the landscape. "I think it's all a mirage. Something the Sednans have created to make visitors feel…"

  "At home?"

  "See for yourself." She paced away, scanning the room as she went. An ordinary room with a couch, tables and chairs, a bar, a few pictures on the wall. A communications console with a book at its side, probably advertisements for things to see and do. Maybe menus for room service.

  "Central Park," Geoff said from the window.

  "Pardon?"

  "The view reminds me of vids taken of Central Park before the interplanetary war. Isn't that what you saw?"

  "I've never seen Central Park. Where is it?"

  "Earth."

  "I figured that much!" She shrugged a half-hearted apology for snapping.

  "New York City."

  "Not ringing any recognition bells here, Geoff." She tapped her head as she plopped down on the couch. "How much will you bet this doesn't open into a bed either?"

  "Keely, honey." He had his arms around her, her head pressed to his shoulder before she could move. "What did you see?"

  "Not a thing. Nothing at all."

  "Jonathan Jacob Jones," he softly swore.

  "Care to explain the etymology of that phrase?"

  "No. Not now anyway. You're hurting, honey, and I hate it."

  "So do I." A small sigh escaped her lips.

  "I hate that I can't take away your pain. That I can't--"

  "Restore my memory?" Easing from his arms, she swiped at an errant tear that had escaped her control. "Careful, Snake. You're starting to sound as if you care."

  "I do."

  "Not what I need to hear right now." Covering her face with her hands, she burst into tears.

  * * * *

  For sever
al interminable minutes, Geoff just let her cry. Even kept his hands to himself until, unable to stand her soft sobs any longer, he pulled her into his arms. Feeling more helpless than he'd ever felt, all he could do was rock her a little. Rub her back a little. Hand her a tissue someone had put on a nearby table.

  "I thought we left you on No-Name," he griped to a solidifying Herma-Frodie.

  "You need us here," Herma said, shoving another tissue into Keely's outstretched hand.

  Frodie looked as uncomfortable as Geoff felt, watching Herma's mate square his shoulders and pat her back.

  "Go away. All of you." Even as she spoke the words, Keely burrowed into Geoff's tear-soaked chest. Fortunately his flight suit material could absorb even more moisture.

  "We have to talk," Frodie murmured, almost whispering.

  Nodding, Geoff murmured, "Later. For now… Please go."

  "You too," Keely mumbled, sounding stronger.

  "I'm not going anywhere," he vowed, wondering if Herma-Frodie had taken up residence in the walls. He couldn't see them or any space dust smoke trail they might have left.

  Keely reared back, taking a quick glance at his damp chest. Grabbing the container of tissues, she turned her back and blew her nose. "I hope this bathroom is half as nice as the one on Saturnalia."

  "Why don't we take a nap first? You're tired. I'm tired. At least get into bed. Maybe your body will take the hint. Being prone, et cetera."

  "It's not my body that needs rest, Geoff. My mind seems to be going in a thousand directions."

  "I have a suggestion."

  She looked at him. A tiny glint of humor lit her eyes. "I'll bet you do."

  "A bath, Keely. A nice long bath. If you want, the tub can provide those perfumed bubbles women seem to enjoy so much. It can also massage you. That should help you relax."