Ghost in the Machine (Corwint Central Agent Files) Page 21

  A tawny skinned slender female Ruisk was directing and chiding the workers on their slow pace. When she noticed Ethan, she looked him up and down with an appraising smile. “Torque wasn’t kidding about you. I’m Emry, that fool Larx’s sister. Volarra told us to just go ahead and get it loaded.”

  She scowled over her shoulder at the last three crates and growled loud enough for the attendants to hear. “And we would have been done by now if I had better help than these yexkas!”

  “Slave driver!” A blonde Corwint male shot back as he and another man picked up a crate.

  Emry smirked. “And you like my whip, Gryph, so stop your bitching.”

  “No argument there.” Gryph flashed her a smile and carried the ale up the ramp.

  Tara looked up at the tall female Ruisk. “Is Volarra already on board?”

  Emry nodded. “Said she had a headache, which reminds me!” She turned to Ethan. “Torque wanted to see you if you had time before leaving port. Something about tea and how to properly steep it. Are all Mecha so particular?” Before Ethan could respond, she looped her arm through his and pulled him in step with her as she headed back toward the promenade.

  19 Velstrae

  Orynn paced the floor of her room with her arms crossed at her chest. The room remained at normal gravity and her footsteps were slightly labored. Her fury fueled each heavy footfall against the floor. The muscles of her body ached to return to low gravity, but it was hard to pace the floor when your feet were floating a foot above it. She needed the movement and the solid impact of boot heel against metal to keep her thoughts grounded.

  Memories of the last hour swam through her mind, each image causing her to frown more deeply or utter a hushed curse. The crew of the Zera must be so disgusted with me.

  Central had sent her here to help Captain Eros avoid situations like the one she had just created. Her objective was to help them avoid chaos, not be at the center of it! Her lips spit out another curse in her native Vesparian. “Tihgaros!”

  Idiot. You acted like a child newly released from the confines of the homeworld. Have you lost your senses? You let that Trexen get under your skin. You wanted that to happen!

  Orynn stopped her pacing and stood still in the middle of the room as she analyzed her last thought. “That is a lie.”

  Is it?

  Her feet put her back in motion again as her mind fought with itself. The Wraith within her coiled around her heart and mocked her with every step.

  You wanted them to see it. You wanted to show them you were not weak, that you did not need him to hold you down. You wanted to show him what kind of monster you really are so you could see the disgust in his eyes and be done with your pointless infatuation.

  “Ethan.”

  She stopped again as she said his name. He had grasped her arm and refused to let her trade herself to the T'jaros. He really had held no true understanding of what she was capable of. With the gentlest push from Merik, she had shown him. She had shown them all just what kind of creature a Wraith was, and what kind of cold blooded beast they had let onto their ship. Her mind replayed it all again for her. The gasp from Tara, the curse from Hank, the deeply troubled frown from Brom and the look in Ethan's eyes.

  You failed! Her bitter heart mocked back at the Wraith.

  When Ethan had held her arm the last time and looked down at her as the T'jaros ripped each other to pieces, she had seen no hint of disgust in them. There had been no anger, no blame. There had been only concern and she had seen that look before in the eyes of another. It sought to comfort her and threatened to tear down her defences. Before, it had come from a cherished friend who, in the end, had lost everything because of her. Now the look had come from someone she thought that she may be falling in love with.

  Love? The Wraith laughed with a hissing spite at her foolish heart. You are incapable of love. You know what those feelings really are. You just want to fuck him.

  Orynn blinked.

  Where did that thought come from?

  A shiver ran up her spine, followed by a cold sweat erupting across her skin. Her eyes narrowed as she fought the twitching sting of arousal. She felt the lingering presence of a jaded black aura toying with her mind. Her jaw set as she loathingly growled out the name of its source “Merik.”

  She was going to murder that Trexen! She took in a deep breath and resumed her pacing. Her hand reached up to her forehead and rubbed the muscles of her brow. That devil had snaked his way deep into her emotions. A sudden smile broke her anger and she shook her head. That kid had some gall trying to manipulate her. He wasn't even a quarter of her age, but he had the arrogance to make the attempt. He had not been entirely unsuccessful, either, and that troubled her the most.

  Have you learned nothing? Are you still so incapable of controlling yourself?

  When he had tempted her and begged her to show him what she was capable of, she had struggled to keep control. It had been learning who had sent the bounty hunters after them that had finally thrown her over the edge.

  Merik’s true success had been when he slipped his hand along her waist and dragged his nails across her thigh. He may have been whispering the thoughts of the T'jaros he had read, but in the background, his mind was attempting to penetrate her. She had felt it, of course, and in the heat of the moment she had allowed him to feed his desire into her aura. He had wanted to ravage her body with his fangs and make her cry out his name with each thrust of his cock. He didn't desire any connection beyond that. He had simply wanted to use her and release the lusting tension they had both been feeling.

  A small gasp escaped her as her thighs crossed at just the right angle. The tension she was still feeling.

  Sleeping with Merik wouldn’t have succeeded in quenching this fire. She admitted that he was dangerously attractive and his raw power was intoxicating. He was also a child and she wanted a man. She turned and leaned back heavily against the cold wall with a sigh. She wanted Ethan.

  “Tihgaros.” Orynn let out a moan of frustration and leaned her head back against the wall. She could call Merik a child due to his age, but she was being no less a child for the mistakes she was making.

  You mean repeating.

  Her fist slammed back against the wall as her mind continued to chide her heart. The emotions were different this time, but the danger was still the same. Friend or lover, attachments to anyone was a fool’s errand for a Vesparian. Despite all her mother's training and having experienced the true cost, it was still hard for her to remain disconnected. She knew it was wrong, but she desperately wanted friendship. Now, she wanted even more.

  “Why did I let Jehdra talk me into this being a good idea?”

  She knew why. She owed Jehdra a great deal. Jehdra had given her a chance to repair past mistakes, but now she was only making more of them. How was she to have known that Ethan would affect her this way? How was she to have known that a friendship from so long ago would still influence her feelings this strongly?

  She sighed and lowered her head at the memory of her friend’s smiling face. Brel would have told her not to give up on friendship. He would have told her to fight for it.

  Do you want Ethan to end up like Brel too?

  Her teeth clenched as she fought against the deep sadness growing from her heart as her mind began winning the fight raging within her spirit. Ethan may have shown concern for her in the hangar, but any chance she had beyond that was ended the moment she asked Flick to vaporize himself. She winced as the memory of their kiss sent another pain of unheeded arousal coursing through her body. He had obviously wanted her in that moment, but she held little hope that want still existed.

  Even if what she was feeling for him was love, she could not allow herself to admit it. Rule five strictly forbid it. The last time she had broken the rules of her people, the price had been unjustifiable. She was a danger to everyone around her, including Ethan. Kicking herself off the wall, she resumed her pacing. She was acting like a foolish child again, and
she needed to end it now before it got them all killed.

  A beep from her com unit alerted her to someone outside her door. Her frown deepened, and she suspected it was Hank here to reprimand her for her behavior, or perhaps even to request that she relieve herself from the mission. How would she explain that to Jehdra?

  I am sorry, Jehdra, but I was removed from the mission because I let a Trexen youngling push me over the edge. I still have not learned to control my emotions. Oh, and I tried to get into the Mecha's pants.

  Her pace quickened and she answered the beep with an angrier tone than intended. “Come in.”

  “Are you alright?”

  She stopped dead in her tracks and tensed. That wasn't Hank's voice. Her heart beat doubled as she listened to Ethan's footsteps carrying him into her room and her door shutting behind him. Despite her best effort, she was unable to produce her well trained smile as she turned to face him. “I am fine, thank you.”

  Ethan raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. Her rigid motions told him she was anything but fine. “We are about to disembark from port and head to Gokem to pick up the limiks you arranged. Hank thinks it should take us just over twelve hours before we arrive.”

  “Thank you for the update.” She nodded curtly to him, then turned around and pretended to stare out the small port window.

  He frowned as she turned her back to him. Perhaps he should of let it go there and left her to her thoughts. It was obvious she was still dealing with what happened in the hangar, but he didn’t want her dealing with it alone. “No one blames you for what happened.”

  “What?” She almost laughed and kept her eyes locked on the activity of the port’s flight deck that was outside her window. “Of course I am to blame for that T’jaros corpse pile.”

  “Merik was manipulating you.” He said with spite in his voice.

  She glared at her reflection in the port window glass. Had it been that obvious?

  It didn’t matter. She couldn’t let them dismiss what she had done so easily. That was something friends did and she didn’t have room in her life for the chances it took to have friends. “Merik is a child trapped in a man’s body who has the mood swings of a toddler and about the same self-control when it comes to his abilities.”

  “No argument there.” His mood lightened and he smiled at her back.

  His light hearted reply annoyed her. “What I mean is that he could no more manipulate someone of my age and abilities as Zera could control you. What I did in that hangar, I did because I am what I am.”

  “You and I both know that’s not true. We all saw the way he taunted you on... the way he was acting around you, the way he touched...” He stopped and gave a silent curse as he remembered the sight of Merik’s claws sliding along her thigh. Ethan reached out and grasped Orynn’s shoulder. Her whole body went rigid at his touch.

  She tensed as his touch rekindled her arousal. Moving away from his hand, she fought to keep her breathing steady. “It does not matter, Ethan. I still let it happen.”

  He wanted to shake her for being so stubborn. “Okay, fine. You did let it happen. You let a bunch of barely sentient criminals, who if you remember had every intention of killing us and probably raping Tara, kill each other instead. The Universe mourns their passing, I’m sure. That doesn’t mean we can’t forgive you for it, Orynn. Like it or not, we have forgiven you, and we want to help you deal with whoever is after you. It’s what friends do.”

  Her breath caught in her throat as a voice from her past echoed ‘It’s what friends do’.

  She wanted to scream.

  It is too late. Look what you have done. You have gone and made friends again that will die for you later. Congratulations.

  “Wraiths do not have friends, Ethan. We cannot. You have now seen what I am capable of, and that I am hunted. I put all of you in danger. A friend does not do that.”

  He grabbed her shoulder again and turned her around to face him. The empty look in her eyes chilled him. “There is more to you than this Wraith. I’ve seen it. I’ve felt it.”

  The ship rocked suddenly as the Zera lifted from the port and turned toward open space. She stumbled at the shift in gravity as Zera’s internal gravitational coils compensated for the loss of the port’s magnetic field. Unable to control her floundering movements as her own neuro-stimulator tried to compensate, she fell against his chest and lacked the ability to push away from him. Instead of steadying her back on her feet, he wrapped both arms around her and cradled her with a gentle strength that took the breath from her.

  “Zera, engage optimal environmental settings for crew member Orynn.” He held on to her as Zera confirmed the order and sealed the door. The lights dimmed to the moon-glow setting, the oxygen mix ratio of the air increased by fifteen percent and the gravity began to slowly lower. He stroked the strands of her hair against her back, and his voice became a soothing whisper.

  “Please, let us help you. Tara and Brom do think of you as a friend, even if you aren’t ready to accept it. Hank... well Hank likes anyone who isn’t pointing a gun at his head, and I...”

  His voice caught in his throat. And I...

  Her body tensed against his chest, causing him to suck in a breath out of reflex. Her body drifted upwards with the changing gravity and he caught the full scent of her hair. His grip on her tightened as the arousal surged through his system.

  "And I want to continue what we started, Orynn. Vorsithkae.”

  She lifted her eyes to look up at him and the connection between them sparked to life. It raced through her body and directly into her heart. All the fight in her was taken away by the sight of his sapphire blue eyes staring into her spirit. The power of his aura penetrated beyond the dark abyss of the Wraith’s domain and struck into the churning fires below. The connection dove into the blackness and pulled from her heart the last remaining pieces of joy and hope that she had kept for herself. It amplified them and gave them courage. The walls within her fell to dust and all control was lost.

  I am such a fool, but I do not care anymore. “Vorsithkae, Ethan.”

  Before she could change her mind, he leaned down to her and loosened his grip on her so she would float up to meet his waiting lips. When their lips touched, the connection finalized and the feelings that erupted in his mind were unfathomable. There were so many that he couldn’t put a name to all of them. The brightest emotion of them all was joy. The kiss deepened and the joy turned to desire. Her tongue brushed against his and the desire shifted to lust.

  Her soft moan filled the quiet room as she broke from the kiss to regain her breath. “Ethan...”

  We should not do this...

  The sound of his name ushered from her on the breath of a moan sent him over the edge. His hands grabbed onto her hips, refusing to let her run from him this time. He buried his face into the nape of her neck and her white locks surrounded his face with her scent. Brushing the skin of her neck with his lips, he paused as she arched her head to the side. Her shoulders relaxed and he knew this was what she wanted. He nipped and suckled at her exposed skin above the high collar of her shirt.

  She closed her eyes and melted into a symphony of tingling pleasure as his mouth ravaged her neck. It was her weakness, and she lost all remaining resolve to end what was taking place. Her hands moved through his hair and held him to her.

  The clip at the top of her head bit into her scalp with a warning. Angrily, she reached up and unlatched it. She let it go from her fingers and sent it floating off into the room. It pulled away the black and red ribbon with it, giving her an immediate sense of freedom.

  He looked up from her neck at the movement over him and watched as her freed tresses moved behind her like waves on a moonlit sea. His hand reached up and swept through her hair as he searched her eyes to understand the expression on her face. For a moment she looked angry, but it had not been directed at him. His eyes looked to the clip as it floated past them.

  Her hands cupped his face and bro
ught his attention back up to her. She was smiling again and it made the rhythm of his chronometer miss a beat.

  “You are so beautiful, Orynn.”

  Her cheeks flushed at the unexpected compliment as her heart raced at the look in his eyes. It wasn’t the hard carnivorous lust that Merik had glared at her with. It was a deep longing desire wrapped by a genuine happiness to be near her. The connection between them arced with a pulsing energy, and when they kissed again, she could feel the sparks racing across her skin.

  He felt her hands moving across the chest of his black shirt, sliding up under the unzipped sides of his jacket. His muscles flexed and tensed under her fingertips, and his jacket suddenly became annoyingly uncomfortable. Letting go of her body, he pulled the front of his jacket over his shoulders and let it slide down his arms, the black and red ribbon of ownership still tied around one sleeve.

  Her body had moved a few feet away from his and she surveyed him from afar.

  “Come back here.” He reached out with a smirk and grasped her ankle, pulling her back to him.

  She let out a rare giggle at the playful tone in his voice as he pulled her back to him. Her hands grasped at his shirt, curious to see what lay hidden underneath.

  He took hold of her wrists with one hand and spun her around. When his chest pressed against her back, she shivered. When his mouth pressed against the sensitive nerves of her neck above her stimulator control node, she arched her body against him with a moan.

  His lips lifted off the sweet skin of her neck to let out a hiss as she pressed against him. Number one hundred and twenty-four, and it was the first time he had felt anything close to this.

  Number one hundred and twenty-four, his mind analyzed, and this was the most foreplay time he had ever been allowed. His hand let go of her wrists and he clasped both of his arms around her, holding her tightly to him.