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Copyright ©2004 by Jaide Fox

First published by New Concepts Publishing, March 2004

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Chapter One

Space ... the final frontier.

And it looked just about as appealing too. Blackness here. Blackness over there. A few stars sprinkled

in like grains of salt. Colette Marshall stared out the front view port of the space rocket and released a

heavy breath.

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She was bored.

"I wish you'd get out of the way. You're blocking my view,” came the irritated voice of Kerel Cadao

behind her. She didn't even have to look to know he was frowning at her. He had been ever since they'd

taken off from Tanji, the capital city of Vulkahn. It was iffy who she disliked more—him or his cousin,

Hauk. On the other hand, she could aggravate the hell out of Kerel and havesome enjoyment.

Cole turned around with a do-you-mind? look, planted one hand on her ass and said, “My butt isn't that

big. Besides,"—she shrugged, looking out at the window for emphasis before turning back—"there's

nothing to see anyway."

Kerel grunted and continued glaring at her until she moved and dropped into the copilot seat of the

space ship.

"I don't know why you don't just let Bunny take over.” Of course, Bunny didn't seem like the most

capable entity aboard for flying—what insane alien had named a computer Bunny?—but Kerel was

getting on her nerves with all his stunt flying and speeding.

Kerel grunted again. He did that a lot.

Kerel Cadao was the ‘lucky’ S.O.B. who'd picked the shortest straw and had to take her home, back

to Earth. She just wished they'd taken a faster ship than this pile of junk.

Of course, when they'd taken off, it had been a lot nicer. A few scrapes with asteroids and running at

speeds above and beyond recommended levels hadn't improved its condition. It clattered in protest from

time to time, and though she'd always considered that she had nerves of steel, her nerves were really

wearing thin on this trip. She expected any moment for the annoying computer to announce that they had

three minutes to live because all the oxygen had leaked out.

Really, being royalty and whatnot, she would've thought he'd have the best of everything. What she

strongly suspected though, was that that jerkwad Hauk Desal—Kerel's cousin of all things—had given

them this ship only to irritate her. It seemed the man lived only to torment her. He was the whole reason

she'd gotten into this crap to start with any way. It still irked her that he was the first perp that had

managed to thwart all her efforts at subduing himand managed to kidnap her from Earth.

She slanted a look at Kerel, who was frowning down at the controls. He looked enough like Hauk to

thoroughly irritate her just bylooking at him. If the guys at home knew how foul her disposition had

gotten, she knew what they'd say—she needed a good screw to get the stick out of her ass. Men were

such assholes.

Cole glared at Kerel.

"Honey,” Bunny addressed Kerel in a purring, sex kitten voice. “Hyperocity engines have failed.

Switching to auxiliary."

Kerel looked up at the intercom unit, surprise etched across his face. “What the hell? What did you do,

Bunny?"

"There is a blockage in the fluid lines,” Bunny murmured flirtatiously. Cole could practically imagine the

computer batting her lashes.

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Kerel scowled. “Bunny, stop it. This is serious. Can it be fixed with the engines running?"

Bunny didn't answer.

"Bunny?” Kerel cursed for a few minutes before collecting himself enough he didn't growl when he

talked. “I should kick Hauk's ass for putting a personality enhancement program in the ship. Okay, I'm

sorry, Bunny. Did I hurt your feelings?"

Cole snorted.

Kerel glared at her.

"Yes, but you can make it up to me later,” Bunny said.

Cole arched a brow at Kerel. He ignored her smirk and said, “Can the lines be fixed with the engines

running?"

"No. Immobility is required to access the blockage. Hyperocity fluids are low. Warning! Coolant

systems malfunctioning. Decreasing speed."

The ship shuddered like a toy in a toddler's hand. Cole's teeth chattered with the movement. Kerel

looked mildly alarmed. Cole would've thought it funny if she hadn't been so concerned herself.

"This is bad, isn't it?” she asked, her voice wavering with the bumpy ride.

"We're screwed. Damn Hauk and his little jokes! This ship was supposed to be in top running

condition."

"It was until you engaged hyperocity above recommended levels, Honey,” Bunny pointed out.

"Shut up, Bunny. I know what I'm doing."

"Of course you do, Honey."

Kerel glared at the intercom.

"We're not going to die, are we?” Cole asked.

Kerel rolled his eyes, seeking patience. “No one is going to die but Bunny if she doesn't get us out of this

shit. Damn computers. Bunny isn't good for anything but sex."

"Huh?"

Kerel turned red. “Uh ... nothing. I said she's not good for anything."

"Well, what do you want to do?” Cole asked, suppressing a grin at his lie. “What about Zampi?” she

added as the thought occurred to her. She'd been checking the maps almost from the time they'd left the

Nebulosium Galaxy, trying to figure out how long it would take to get home—interspersing her research

with annoying questions to Kerel like: are we there yet?

Kerel held his chin with one hand, frowning in concentration down at the controls. “We're not supposed

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to go there. Tor and Hauk forbid it after that shit you and Samantha got in to last time."

That wasn't her fault and he knew it. How the hell was she and Samantha supposed to know that they'd

get kidnapped bymore aliens? Really, aliens didn't seem to have anything better to do than running

around abducting women.

Cole chose to ignore his last comment. “It was just a suggestion."

"Uh huh."

Cole glared at him. “Do you always do what you're told? Besides, I don't really relish the idea of

spending any more time with you than I have to. I'm ready to go home. Now. At any rate, is there even

another optionbesides stopping there?"

Cole got up and waved an arm at the front view port to emphasize her point. “I don't see any gas

stations we can walk to. And you know the escape pod isn't good for anything but floating in space and

waiting for someone to come rescue you, or plow through your pod."

Kerel groaned, seeming to recognize that he'd get no peace stuck with her in the middle of nowhere, and

that they reallydidn't have any other option but to limp to the closest port ... and that was Zampi. She

didn't like it any better than he did, but she wasn't going to waste the opportunity either.

Kerel fiddled with the controls and looked a long time at a computer screen that scrolled the weird

Vulkahn language as if trying to make up his mind. He looked up at her after a few minutes. “All right. I

guess we could limp there. It's not too far. You have to promise to behave yourself though. I'm going to

be keeping an eye on you."

"Whatever you say,” she said. As if any man could keep up with her, especially Kerel. She tried very

hard not to grin evilly, but a small smile slipped out. He gave her a suspicious look but faced the controls

and set the heading for Zampi.

Smart man. Maybe he wasn't a dumb blond after all?

Cole felt like rubbing her hands together. Knowing it was a dumb move to go back there couldn't

change her excitement—she was looking forward to this. She just wished the boys at the police station

back home could see her in action—they'd been dumb enough to put her on desk duty of all things! And

all because of one little mistake! The sexist jerks. Men were always afraid of a woman with skills.

It wasn't that she was an idiot, ready to rush headlong into battle with a half a dozen giants. She knew

her limits, and more than one was more than she could handle. In point of fact, since she'd been abducted

she'd been working harder than ever on her training. She'd even learned how to use a few Vulkahn

weapons and half ass fly a ship.

She didn't see the harm in pointing it out to Kerel that Zampi was the only option since they had to go

there anyway, even if theyweren't supposed to go there. Besides all that, she was really annoyed that as

a cop, she'd been rendered pretty much without power and considered a nuisance more than any type of

threat or worthy of even the most grudging respect.

She wasn't sure she could do anything, or if she even dared, but she wanted to check out the lay of the

land, so to speak. If nothing else, a good bar fight would improve her spirits. She felt pretty certain Kerel

could guard her back in a fight. He could use an experience like that, the baby. This time, she was going

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to be the one kicking ass and taking names. The troglydons had no idea what they were in for.

It was time for a little payback.

* * * *

They'd barely limped into port when the ship gave out. It choked and dropped to the docking space like

a tired old man collapsing into his LazyBoy recliner.

"That tears it. Guess we'll be here a while,” Kerel said as he unbuckled from his seat and got up. He

stretched as he walked out of the cockpit. Cole sauntered behind him, following to the exit ramp.

"Well, I'll go inside and check things out while you take care of business out here. Meet you inside!"

He stopped in his tracks and whirled on his heel, facing her. “No!"

Cole stopped just in time to keep from breaking her nose on his chest. She peered up at him. “What?”

she asked innocently.

"You know what."

She laughed, shaking her head. “You're worried about me, aren't you?"

"I am not!” he said sulkily.

Cole grinned. “Yes, you are.” She sidled against him, batting her lashes. He reacted as if she'd burned

him and stumbled back, nearly falling to get away from her.

"And here I thought you didn't care."

"No, Cole. You can't go inside,” he said emphatically, crossing his arms over his chest and blocking her

path on the ramp. “It's out of the question. Don't even think about it. Don't even look at it."

Cole tried to edge around him, but he wasn't going for it. She sighed in exasperation. “Look, I can't

stand being in this cramped little ship any longer.” It wasn't like she was going to try anything ... not right

now . In fact, she wasn't going to do anything until she was certain Kerel would be there to protect her

ass, just on the off-chance that she needed his help. She wasn't brainless.

Besides which, having the ship out of commission pretty much nullified any illusions of grandeur. She

wasn'tabout to try something brave and stupid without a route of escape. It never hurt to be prepared for

the worst. And she was a girl who liked to be prepared forany eventuality.

Kerel said nothing. Even batting her lashes wasn't working on him.

"Look, do you really want me under your ass while you get these repairs done?” She narrowed her eyes

at him. “I can be more irritating than you'll ever realize."

She could tell his willpower was wavering from the glazed look in his eyes. Whiny voices and ultimatums

did that to men.

He threw up his hands. “All right. Just stop it. My head is going to explode. I'm taking you to the games

room. You are not to leave it until I come and get you. Understand?"

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"Of course. I've got a translator on, I'm not dumb, you know. You don't have to spell it out for me or

yell. I'll behave—promise."

Kerel gave her a long, doubting look, but he finally turned around and led the way down the ramp and

inside. The ovular door at the entrance spiraled open for them, and they stepped inside the bar.

It was just as bad as she remembered, maybe even worse. She didn't remember it smelling this

rotten—like fermenting gym socks. So much for the exciting image of the intergalactic cantina.

Kerel planted a hand on her shoulder and pushed her all the way through the bar, straight to the back,

not even allowing her to get a good look in. She did manage to snatch a glimpse of a table full of the

Troglydons. It was the same table as before. Obviously, they were regulars. At least, that's what she

supposed they were, she hadn't really gotten that good a look. That blood red skin would be

recognizable anywhere, though.

"Wait, can't I get a drink? I'm thirsty!” Cole protested, squirming in Kerel's hold and breaking free just

long enough to confirm her suspicions. They were definitely Troglydons. Excitement and a rush of fear

infected her. God, she loved being scared.

Kerel caught her and dragged her back, heading for the door. “No,” he said, punching the keypad and

leading her down a hall. Doors lined it, spaced intermittently, and one large door stood at the end. Kerel

took her to it, opened the door, and nudged her inside none too gently.

Cole ground to a halt and whirled around, looking at him. He stopped in his motion to close the door.

“Wait, shouldn't you leave me a weapon in case something bad happens?"

He smirked annoyingly at her, staying his hand at the keypad. “If you stay in here, you won't need one.

Just my little way of making sure you behave."

The door sealed shut in front of her face, just missing her nose.

Great, just great. Cole stared at the metal door in annoyance, trying to cool down and keep a level

head. If that wasn't the stupidest line of reasoning, she didn't know what was. Why would he assume

she'd be safe if shedidn't have a weapon?

She wasn't going to let something like no weapon get in her way. She was a lethally trained machine all

by herself. Weapons were only superfluous. She wasn't that terribly good at hitting a target with the alien

thingamadoodles anyway.

Besides, she'd already made up her mind that she wasn't going to do anything ... yet. She didn't need a

weapon for reconnaissance. She just had to sneak in to the bar and check them out, see where their ship

was, what they were doing. She was fairly confident they wouldn't even notice her. True, she didn't look

like anyone else out there, but she was a shrimp compared to all the aliens. They'd probably never even

notice her among them. People had a habit of ignoring the short, and she had no reason to believe anyone

here would be any different from Earthlings.

And any rate, looking around, the “game” room didn't offer much in the way of entertainment. Nothing

worked in this crap hole.

After checking everything out, she determined that there was more entertainment to be had in that

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broken down tub than in here.

To hell with it, she thought after a quarter hour had passed. She was pretty certain Kerel was gone and

not waiting just outside to catch her disobeying him. Trying not to hold her breath, she punched the

button to open the door and stepped out. The hall was empty. The lights flickered on and off. A few

close to the other end went out entirely.

What a dump.

A wicked thought occurred to her. That ass, Kerel, needed a lesson. She thought maybe she'd sneak

out and give him a good scare while he was under the ship making repairs. Cole chuckled, imagining his

face as she strode down the hall, whistling off key and feeling more confident than she had in a couple

months.

At least here among the scum of the universe, she felt a little more in her element. She walked a beat

before desk duty, and she'd always enjoyed catching bad guys. Maybe someday she could do something

to help clean up the universe ... especially if she researched the slave traders. In the end, she knew her

efforts would be appreciated. She had no idea why some universal police force hadn't cleaned this place

out long ago, anyway. Maybe later she could help set up some kind of special force for this purpose.

Cole frowned, thinking about that. There wasn't going to be a later. She was going home for good, as

hard as it was to believe that she'd finally be home. She wondered if she'd even have a job when she got

back, or if they'd just written her off as a missing person. Certainly no one had tried to stop that ass,

Hauk, from toting her off. They'd probably had a party after everything went down.

Cole shrugged mentally, attempting to keep her cool as she walked through the shadowy area of the hall.

Getting worked up about her future wasn't going to help her right now. She reached for the keypad to

open the door to the bar.

Something grabbed her from behind, clamped onto her shoulders. She startled, looked down just in time

to see red skinned fingers digging into her arm before the lights went out completely.

* * * *

"Oh shit!” Kerel said, ejecting a mouthful of food on the words before he could choke. He leapt to his

feet, upending the table as he jumped from his chair. Dashing past the bodies closing in on him from the

overview restaurant, he raced through the crowd, barely taking his eyes off the view panel as he ran.

The troglydons were headed straight up the entrance ramp to their ship with Cole thrown over the

shoulder of one of them.

Heart thundering in his ears, he exploded through the narrow opening of the diner's entrance doors,

racing down the hall, tripping and half sliding down the stairs. The exit onto the landing pad was at the

bottom. He slammed into the door with his shoulder, grasping the lock and turning, barely waiting for the

door to crank and hiss open. He burst through the opening just in time to see the landing dock entrance

close.

"Fuck!” he yelled, breathlessly racing toward his ship. He thundered up the ramp inside, punching the

button to close the gangplank, chugging down to flight control. Slamming into the cockpit, he collapsed in

the pilot seat, hitting the buttons that would achieve lift off, gunning the accelerator and the refractor

crystal to fire the engines. The engine didn't so much as grunt.

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"Shit!” He reset the buttons, yelling at the computer, “Get me off the ground, Bunny!"

"Honey, the fuel lines were disconnected to release the blockage,” Bunny said almost worriedly.

"Fuck!” he yelled again, kicking the base cabinet, dropping his face in his hands. He took a deep,

shuddering breath, calming the race of his heart.

They were going to kill him.

Fuck! He didn't care how damned repetitive he was getting, it was his favorite Earth expression and

seemed to be appropriate for this situation.Hell. Damn. Shit. Fuck .

He was stalling.

Sighing into his hands one last time, Kerel straightened up and gathered his nerve to call Vulkahn, his

home planet. He punched in speed dial and was connected within minutes.

Stupidly, he realized he hadn't thought of a good excuse to give when Tor Severian's face came into

view on the computer screen, blinking at him blearily. Good. He'd been sleeping. That ought to make it

easier to lie to him and get away with it.

"What the hell are you calling me at this hour for, Kerel?” Tor croaked, rubbing his eyes.

Kerel rubbed his foot on the floor paneling, trying to think of how best to broach the subject that he'd

screwed up ... royally. “Uh ... there's been some trouble.” Hell, he just didn't think fast on his feet with an

empty stomach.

"Where are you?” Tor asked suspiciously.

"We're at Zampi. The trogs have taken the girl."

That was all he needed to say. Tor roared something unintelligible into the communication unit. He

stopped suddenly, looking behind him. “Nothing to worry about,shertouj . Go back to sleep. I will be

back in bed shortly."

Tor looked back at him and whispered, “How did this happen?"

"The ship broke down. We had to stop for repairs. Someone suggested Zampi.” Great, that made him

sound mature.

"Someone? There are—were only the two of you!” Tor looked at Kerel like a kid who'd just taken a

piss on his shoes. “If I'd known you were going to be a dumbass and do whatever she wanted, I'd have

just sent Galan or Bradan. You're supposed to be the smart one."

Kerel flinched mentally. He was at fault. He knew it, and his damned sarcastic wit had deserted him. He

didn't feel like the “smart one".

"Okay, you're at Zampi. Now, what exactly has happened?” Tor demanded quietly.

"I ... uh....” He didn't want to tell Tor he'd left the girl alone and had been having lunch when he

happened to notice a trog toting a kicking, punching, and probably screaming Cole out and into a

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troglydon ship. “I'm not really sure. It happened very fast,” Kerel hedged.

Tor grunted, obviously disbelieving him. “It doesn't matter now. I'll let Hauk know what happened.

You'll be damned lucky if Hauk doesn't shoot your ass when you come home."

That was the last place he'd be going any time soon. “You want me to come back as soon as I get the

ship repaired? I could help find her."

"I think you've screwed up enough, thank you. Go to Earth and do what you were supposed to—send

word to Sam's family that she's okay.” He paused a minute, rubbing his chin. “You should probably go

see Cole's family, too. You should be able to handle that without fucking up, right?” Tor asked, giving

him a hard look.

Kerel frowned. “It wouldn't have happened this time if I hadn't been chosen to take her back. She was

Hauk's problem—he should have been the one to bring her home to start with since he was the one who

took her."

Tor waved it away. “Yeah, but it was your brilliant idea to break into the earthling prison. Anyway, you

and I both know why he wouldn't. Just don't screw up again. If anything's happened to Cole, you better

find a good, deep hole to hide in ... or some planet that's not under the Federation, like Earth."

Hauk shuddered, closing the connection down to the sound of Tor's laughter. No damned way in hell

would he ever stay on Earth.

Chapter Two

"I'm not so sure it was a good idea grabbing this one. We probably won't get anything for her at the slave

market. She's too much trouble."

One of the troglydon's snorted with disgust.

"She just about tore me a new asshole,” another grumbled, shuffling around Cole's lifeless body. “If it

wasn't for those huge wubblies and that high pitched shrieking, I might've thought she was a man, she's so

damned mean."

"Strong, too,” another said.

Cole smirked to herself. Good. She was glad she'd at least put a hurting on them this time. If she'd

known more aliens were going to kidnap her, she never would have let Kerel talk her into going to

Zampi.

Cole lay still until they finally got tired of goggling over her and filed out of the room. Once they'd gone,

she opened her eyes and looked around the room she was in. They'd confined her to a closet. At least,

that's what it looked like to her. An empty closet.

It was barely wide enough for her to do one good roll over, and she wondered how they'd managed not

to crush her as they stepped around her as they left.

After looking around at the blank metallic room for several moments and seeing nothing of interest or

use, Cole took mental stock of her body. She hadn't sustained any injuries, though her short nails were

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sore at the root from tearing at the hide of the troglydons. She was also bound. Her feet were free, but

her hands were secured with something that felt a lot like flex cuffs.

She frowned, wiggling her hands. There was just enough room to keep her blood flowing but not enough

to get loose. As it was, she was starting to go numb from laying in one spot too long. She sighed and

squirmed around until she had her legs pressed against one wall, then she wedged herself against it,

pushing herself up the wall until she was sitting. With effort, she got her feet under her and stood, slipping

up the wall.

Standing, the room didn't look any better. It looked like they'd hastily cleaned it out. Small bits of trash

and dirt clung to the floor while square, clean patches revealed they'd likely taken out anything useful just

before they'd put her in here. There wasn't a sharp object in sight—nothing that she could rub against to

cut her cuffs.

She knew of a trick some thugs used to get out of handcuffs. They could extend their arms and slip their

hands beneath their ass and then bring their arms around to the front by passing their legs through their

arms. She'd seen it in movies, anyway. Hadn't they done it in Lethal Weapon?

Maybe not, but Cole thought it was worth a try, anyhow. It wasn't like she had anything else she could

do. She sure as hell didn't want to just wait around for them to take her to the slave market.

Shuddering at the thought, Cole slid back down to the floor. Rolling her shoulders, loosening her muscles

in preparation of being stretched, she propped her feet against the other wall until her butt was off the

floor, and then she struggled to get her wrists under it. For not the first time in her life, she wished her ass

was smaller. There might've been a reason she'd only heard of men accomplishing this....

Her muscles stretched, in agony, but she finally managed to get around both cheeks and collapsed to the

floor, panting from exertion, rolling off her hands and falling onto her side as she landed. Grunting and

groaning, Cole strained to move her arms.

That's when she realized she was stuck.

* * * *

"I'll kill him,” Hauk Desal said for perhaps the hundredth time since Hahn Sylo had picked him up and

headed for Ustbol, the hub of the black market and the most likely place the troglydons would have

taken Cole. “I don't give a damn if he is my cousin."

Hahn rolled his eyes at Fuzzy, who sat beside him in the copilot seat. Fuzzy grunted and said nothing,

focused on their landing.

It wasn't like Hauk had particularly wanted to come and rescue Cole—she was aheur t’ asinu —but he

did feel semi-responsible for her, seeing as how he'd managed to kidnap her from her home planet by

accident. Okay, so he'd never admit it aloud to any of his buddies, but he'd thought the angry, yelling,

authoritative, flame-haired woman was sexy as hell in that dark uniform. He'd gone hot all over seeing a

weapon in her hands, caught halfway between horror and complete fascination at her barbarism. He sure

as hell wasn't going to admit he couldn't control the barbarian woman, or that he'd been in any danger of

her bringing him down at that crude jail—he hadn't been, of course, but it still smarted that she was as

immune to him as if he wasn't a man but some castratedbonghy . The boys, of course, could be counted

on to aggravate the livingmecre out of him until he wanted to strangle them. They never could let anything

lie.

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Hauk scowled, imagining what she'd be like now. The woman had a hell of a temper, and she was more

trouble than she was worth. Damn Kerel's scrawny ass! Bad enough that she'd fought him every step of

the way in the beginning, hurled his belongings at him, scratched his back and chest and would've gone

for his eyes if he wasn't faster ... hell, the only thing that had saved him from death by nail laceration was

kissing her.

He groaned mentally at that move—one he never wanted to repeat again. He'd swear his tongue was

shorter. She'd only warmed up enough to him to lull his guard and then her hands were on him like

snapping blades. He grinned, rubbing his jaw. It was worth it though, feeling that minute surrender, even if

only for a minute.

It was possible he'd gone mad. What sane Vulkahn would crave abuse from a woman he barely knew?

Thanks to Kerel, he had to do this all over again. He seriously doubted she'd be all that happy to see

him fly to the rescue. He had only more abuse to look forward to, if they managed to pull off this insane

plan.

The changing view snagged his attention, making his head swim dizzily as the atmosphere swirled around

the sides of the ship past the view ports. “You sure they took her here, Sylo?” Hauk asked, looking out

the windows at the planet rushing up to meet them.

Sylo swiveled his chair, facing him. “Do you know the black market like the back of your hand? Do you

have connections in the underworld? No? I didn't think so."

Hauk yawned, rubbing his belly before gripping the arms of his chair as they pushed down through the

atmosphere, hurtling toward the ground. Swallowing to get his stomach out of his throat, he said, “I didn't

think you were allowed to come back."

"They can't keep me out,” Sylo said, chuckling confidently as he turned back to the console to adjust the

ship for landing. The ship slowly began leveling out as Fuzzy pulled back on the steerage controls.

“Nothing to worry about. We'll be in and out before anyone even notices us."

"That doesn't leave me with a lot of confidence, Sylo,” Hauk grumbled. The landing gear hissed as it

released, and the ship shuddered, settling on the ground.

Sylo swiveled in his chair to face him. “Now, you remember what we talked about, right? Out here,

you're not the Prince of Sharmin. There's plenty of cutthroats here ready to steal and sell off a prime

piece of royalty if he struts his stuff in front of them."

Hauk gave him a look.

Sylo grinned. “Guess it's time for the transformers,” Sylo said with a sigh, switching his on at the neck.

His face immediately began to distort into a grimace as his facial features shifted on a molecular illusory

level. Hauk couldn't tear his eyes off him.

The transformers had been developed expressly for covert Federation agents, but of course, like most

useful technology, they'd gone underground and been made available to anyone with the right amount of

credit disks.

Hauk watched him with sick fascination as the transformation finished. Swallowing his revulsion, he

turned his on. A tingling burn spread through every inch of his face, making it itch. He resisted the impulse

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to scratch, and within a minute, the feeling subsided. He felt like someone had threaded wires through his

skin and pulled his flesh in multiple directions—stretched out.

Sylo examined him, holding his chin thoughtfully. “I think you might want to consider keeping the

transformer on when we leave."

Hauk glared at him. “Shove it."

Sylo chuckled and stood with a stretch, ignoring him and heading for the exit ramp. Fuzzy and Hauk

followed him.

Outside, the engines stirred the dust in a torrent, stinging their eyes. Hauk blocked the wind from his

face, stunned to feel that his normally angular features felt ... fleshy now. His lips were fuller, pouty

feeling. His squared jaw was rounded with flesh, and the dimple in his chin had filled in. Even his eyes

didn't feel as deep-set now. Hauk shuddered with distaste, frowning. This would soon be over.

"Okay, Fuzzy, you wait here. We'll be back in half an hour, tops.” Sylo paused a minute, turning back.

“Better leave the engines running."

Fuzzy nodded, heading back inside.

"What do you mean,leave the engines running ?” Hauk asked as they walked into town.

Sylo looked at him like he was an idiot, not commenting on the obvious. “Better check you com. unit

and make sure it's on."

Hauk's was, and he secured it back to his belt and looked at the buildings they were just beginning to

pass. They were the same sandy material as the ground, blending in with their surroundings until they'd be

nearly invisible at a distance—obviously constructed of mud, though where anyone got water on this

planet was beyond him. Vulkahn at least had a few well-guarded areas abundant in water ... and trees

and plant life.

The alleys were strangely devoid of people, and he assumed everyone was at the market awaiting the

arrival of fresh meat and illegal wares.

They hadn't taken two steps into town when four futts stepped out of a branching alley and grabbed hold

of him and Sylo.

Hauk reacted instinctively, freeing an arm by tossing a futt over his shoulder onto the ground. The futt

grunted and belched, clutching his stomach as Hauk whirled around, his hair flying out around him as he

kicked back and caught another in the groin. He looked up to see if Sylo needed help, but he was just

standing there watching as Hauk beat the Futts off, yelling something indistinguishable at him. Hauk

couldn't hear past the battle roar in his ears, and soon even that was ringing as something hard clobbered

him over the back of the head.

Stars and black spots danced in a swirling pattern before his eyes. He blinked to disperse them, and

immediately felt like heaving his guts out.

Shaking his head, staggering as he felt blindly for blood on his crown, he couldn't resist as two Futts

grabbed his arms and began dragging him down the alley. Sylo walked behind them, but Hauk was too

tired to question him or the futts about where they were going. Trust Sylo to get them into some shit! And

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then not even help out. He knew they could've taken the futts if Sylo had just given him a hand.

Hauk dozed as they dragged him through shadowy alleys, grateful for some relief from the scorching sun.

He woke up with a snort when a door slammed and his arms were released. He fell to the floor in a pile,

laying there for a full stunned minute before he finally staggered bleary-eyed to his feet.

Sylo was beside him, facing their captor. Hauk followed the line of his vision, widening his eyes at the

sight he beheld. He rubbed his eyes, sure they were fogged up or something. They weren't.

A man with an enormous brew gut sat in a sagging lawn chair, surrounded by empty bottles and brew

cans. He wore a shirt that looked like it used to be white, which bared his mottled arms and rode up the

round crest of his distended belly. Straggly hair, cut short in front and long on the sides and back clung to

his shoulders. His bulbous nose was red—a stark contrast to the fleshy beige pattern of his skin.

The futt reminded him of someone, but he couldn't remember whom.

He laughed at them, a high pitched, whining noise that grated on Hauk's nerves like a screaming kid.

Hauk clenched his hands into fists, glaring at the man as he clapped his pudgy hands together in glee,

sloshing brew over his fingers.

The man giggled at Hauk's look and took a swallow of brew, throwing down an empty bottle, which

shattered on impact. “Nice trick, Hahn Sylo,” he said, burping delicately. “Did you really think this

disguise would fool me? You used the same one last time.” He noticed Hauk, perking up in his chair with

interest. “Who are these charming men? Aren't you going to introduce us?"

By the federation ... the thing was drunk! With any luck, they'd get out of this alive and he'd never even

remember they'd been here.

Sylo glanced at Hauk, giving him a meaningful look, but Hauk wasn't presently able to read his mind.

“No."

The futt glared at them. “So, Hahn, you thought landing outside of town would prevent me from knowing

you were here?” he squealed.

Sylo shrugged. “I just didn't want to take a chance on getting my paint job scratched."

The futt snorted, taking another brew from a cooling case at his side and popping it open. “We'll do

worse than put dings in your ship's hull if you don't tell me why you're here.” As if on cue, the half dozen

futts inside glared menacingly at them.

Hauk rubbed his eyes, trying not to fall asleep, and resisted a yawn. He was really sleepy now. He

wanted his bed.

Sylo crossed his arms over his chest, assuming a look of indifference. “Myfriend has come to make a

little purchase from your market, Bubba. He wants a pleasure slave."

"Friend? Oooh.” Bubba slimed a lusty gaze over Hauk. “Will you be buying a male? Please don't tell my

achy breaky heart you're buying a woman?” he said hopefully, fluttering his lashes.

The excited tone in his voice finally roused Hauk's attention. He glared at Bubba and would've taken a

drunken step forward to pound his face in, except Bubba looked a little too eager for him to come

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closer. He thought that maybe the only thing saving him from being raped and molested was the fact that

the futt's ass was practically welded into that chair. Bubba stared lasers at his groin, and it was all he

could do not to put his hands over it and protect his precious. Hauk shifted uneasily on his feet, feeling his

cock and balls sneak up into his belly.

"Don't get your hopes up, Bubba,” Sylo sneered. “Female. You going to let us go?"

"Pity. Such a waste. The ugly ones are always straight,” Bubba said, rubbing his belly morosely.

Sylo barely held Hauk back from pulling the hair out of the futt's fat head.

Bubba giggled like a little girl and waved them away with fluttering, fat fingers. “Let them go. Oh, and

darling, if you don't find something to your liking, come back here. I have plenty ofthings I'm sure could

tempt you."

Despite his weakened condition, Hauk led the way to the exit. Bubba's men pushed them out the door

and slammed it behind them. Hauk glared at Sylo, cupping his groin protectively as if it'd jump off his

body and run back inside to that futt. “What the fuck was that all about?"

He shrugged. “He's always like that, the damned pervert. Pinched my ass a couple times when I came

here looking to make some deals. It was all I could do not to slap the hell out of him. Ever since then,

he's had the impression vulkhans swing that way. Think after this is done you'd like to partner up?"

"What the hell?"

He snickered. “Not that way. Hell, do you think of anything besides sex?"

Hauk grunted. “Let's just get Cole and get the hell out of here before he changes his mind."

Hahn nodded, and together they jogged to the center of town to where the auctions were held. The

inhabitants ignored them, accustomed to seeing odd behavior and all manner of visitors. There were no

vulkahns besides themselves, apparently, but by the looks of the place, most every other Federation

ruled species—and some that were not—were here. Why in the universe black markets were always

held in shitholes, Hauk didn't know. He also couldn't figure why Cole would be brought here, but Sylo

had assured him this was the most likely spot in the universe the trogs would take Cole, and after a few

minutes, Hauk discovered Sylo was right.

By coincidence, they were just leading away a woman to her new master and bringing another onto the

stage when Hauk happened to look up at the raised auction area. The crowd surged with interest, jostling
each other for closer positions, eyes locked on her as she was prodded to stand on the central part of the

stage that jutted out into the crowd like an proffered hand.

Cole glared at the crowd, her eyes blazing, her sun streaked, red hair curling wildly around her shoulders

in the wind. Hauk felt like he'd been punched in the gut, so extreme was his reaction to seeing her again.

How long had it been, a month? Two months? No, three months since he'd forced her to accept his kiss,

trapped her beneath his body. This was no submissive woman, no woman to be sold on the market like a

toy. Though he had every urge to play with her.

His testicles tightened, and his cock came out of hiding and hardened to see her so furious and unharmed

... and to see her in the outfit she wore. It clung to her skin like it had been sprayed on. Silvery, shiny

black and gleaming in the sun, the garment was slit all the way down to her crotch, exposing a wide

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swath of creamy skin; the tiny hole in her middle that he hadn't yet discovered its purpose; and the wide

valley of her breasts. Her breasts bulged at the front, threatening to explode from the neckline at any

moment.

Hauk was riveted, waiting for the wind or a heavy breath to release them. He was disappointed when

they stood there, defying gravity and his fervent wishes.

Sylo whistled, snapping him out of his stupefaction. “Jesus H. Christ,” he echoed one of Hauk's and

Tor's favorite Earth sayings. “Did she look like that on board Tor's ship?"

Hauk swallowed, fighting the rising tide of blood that threatened to make his cock burst free of his

jumpsuit and launch to the nearest female. “Hell no,” he croaked. By the Federation—he had to get her

out of that outfit.

"She looks good now,” Sylo said, giving another long, soft whistle.

The auctioneer stepped up, gesturing at Cole's attributes with a pole, nervously moving around her. Cole

bared her teeth at him, and he stepped back, withdrawing the pole from her reach. He stepped to a

podium, facing the crowd. “Do I hear fifty credits for this prime alien female? She has fire in her aplenty

for mating or whatever your heart desires."

Hauk tipped his head at the auctioneer.

"I've got fifty. Do I hear seventy five?"

"Here!” someone yelled in the crowd.

Hauk glared in the direction of the voice, upping the bid.

"Looks like we've got trouble. That Futt over there is bidding on her too,” Sylo muttered as Hauk fought

to keep the highest bid.

Within minutes, it was up to five hundred credits and jumped to one thousand. Hauk started sweating,

surreptitiously counting the credit chips he had on him.

"Fifteen hundred credits. Do I have fifteen fifty?” the auctioneer called, ringing out over the suddenly

silent, expectant crowd.

"I don't think I have enough credits for this,” Hauk whispered loudly at Sylo, glaring across the crowd at

the futt. The futt smiled at him, baring a row of jagged teeth.

"Don't worry, just win. I can cover what you can't,” Sylo replied with grim determination.

Cole was bravely staring straight ahead, ignoring the proceedings. Determined to win this peacefully,

Hauk continued to bid, throwing caution to the wind and raising the stakes higher and higher. He should
have known those damned futts wouldn't let them do anything easily—damned greedy bastards. Ustbol

was crooked, just like he'd supposed it would be.

Finally, after what seemed an excruciating amount of time had passed, the ferocious bidding stopped.
Hauk felt like fainting as he put in the final, winning bid of ten thousand credit chips—nearly enough to

buy a low end space rocket.

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Cole was going to pay him back for every one of them. He relished the thought of what he'd make her

do, smiling grimly.

Hauk and Sylo pushed through the crowd to the stage. “Okay, Hauk, you get the girl and meet me back

at the ship."

Hauk stopped him. “Wait, don't you need this?” he asked, reaching for his money pouch.

Sylo stopped his hand, shaking his head. “No, I told you I have it covered. You keep what you have.

We'll probably need it later. I'll see you back at the ship in a few minutes."

Sylo turned away and walked off with an auction handler to take care of the payment.

Shrugging, Hauk went up the steps of the stage to take Cole. She gave him a strange look, like she

didn't know who the hell he was. He remembered then that they still had the transformers on. He grinned,

imagining what she must be thinking right now. He couldn't take a chance on someone overhearing their

conversation though, so he opted not to tell her his name. He held a finger up to his lips. “Shhhh. Don't

worry. We're going to get you out of here."

She nodded, and he untied her hands, leading her off through the crowd. They picked their way through,

moving toward the landing site.

They'd barely gotten beyond the central square and past the throng of people when Sylo came hurtling

past them in a cloud of dust. “Run!"

Chapter Three

More so than Sylo's fleeing and yelled warning over his shoulder, it was the hot blast of laser missing his

head by inches that got Hauk's ass moving.

"Oh shit!"

He didn't look back. He just started running, half dragging Cole along with him.

Behind him, he could hear the sound of many feet pounding the hard packed dirt. A chunk of dried mud

exploded from an overhang they ran under through the alley. A potted plant fell out of a window as a

blast went wild and struck it. Hauk cringed, blinking away the dirt exploding around them, wishing he

wasn't quite so big a target. Lucky for them their pursuers couldn't shoot while running ... and were too

dumb to stop and take aim.

Hauk gritted his teeth, praying their brains wouldn't kick in and their own luck wouldn't run out. Another

zipped by, barely missing Hauk's ass. He heard Sylo yelp, saw an extra spring in his step as he leapt

forward.

Panting, barely ahead of them, Sylo pulled the com. unit from his belt, flipping it open and yelling into it,

“Fuzzy! We're coming in hot! Do you read? Fuzzy, answer me!” He glanced back over his shoulder at

Hauk. “I'm not getting anything. I think it caught that last blast. You try getting the ship."

Hauk broke his out, but Cole tore it out of his grip, screaming into it, “Beam us the fuck up, Fuzzy!"

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Hauk wrestled it away from her, giving her an appalled look. “Are you crazy? Only Federation ships

have those,” he wheezed. “Fuzz, listen, home in on my signal and pick us up. Now you asswipe!"

There was no response save for some static and something like a muffled grunt.

He prayed Fuzzy had gotten the message and was on the way. If not ... he'd end up Bubba's bitch.

The thought gave him a burst of energy. He caught Cole's hand again, urging her faster.

Unbelievably, they were pulling ahead of their pursuers through the winding alleyways. Hauk didn't trust

their luck, so didn't slow down, and after heart pounding minutes, they finally passed the outskirts of town

like they'd been squeezed out of a tube. Emptiness opened before them—vast, dusty emptiness.

Hauk couldn't see anything but dirt and dust clouds, and definitely no ship. “Hell!” Hauk yelled, grinding

to a halt, trying to catch his breath. His rear hole was already hurting in anticipated pain at the thought of

what he'd have to succumb to. By the Federation, they weren't going to get him without a fight! Hauk

took out his laser, grimacing.

"You shouldn't have called Fuzz an asshole,” Sylo said, panting.

"I said asswipe."

"Same difference. You know how bad they hate being made fun of,” he muttered beside him, propping

his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

"I didn't know Fuzz was so federation damned sensitive,” he grumbled.

Cole wiped dirt and sweat from her forehead. “We just gonna sit here and let them catch us? Hey, give

me that laser, I aim to take some of them out."

"Get your damn hands off it!” Hauk grit out, fighting for control of the weapon before she managed to

shoot him in the crotch somehow.

Cole let go, nearly toppling Hauk. “What's that noise?” she asked, looking around.

A rumble sounded behind them. The wind stirred, blasting them with sand. Hauk turned, sure he'd see

the mob finally bearing down on them.

The ship hovered above them, lowering the ramp.

"Hot damn!” Hauk whooped, running for it.

They clambered inside, shutting the ramp behind them, running up to the cockpit—saved!

And Hauk was going to plant a fat juicy one on that hairy bastard.

* * * *

Cole was so thankful to be out of that godforsaken Ustbol, she could've kissed both of the guys. She

was almost skipping behind them, following wordlessly to the cockpit, still catching her breath but

grinning like an idiot. As soon as she was sure they'd gotten away, she'd thank both of them—and then

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make sure they took her straight home.

They seemed just gullible enough she thought she could twirl them around her fingers with the right

combination of nagging and sweetness.

"I'd like to know why the hell we had to run out of there. What the hell did you do back there, Sylo?”

the man with the incredibly long blond streaked hair asked the other man, whose hair was cut rakishly

short but with long bangs. Both of them seemed familiar to her, and she was sure she must have met them

on Vulkahn before. Their voices were the same as every other vulkahn she'd heard though—that weird

accent got in the way so there was no distinguishing them there.

"Hey, they stole her first. I figure it was making it even stealing her back,” the short-haired man, Sylo,

said, pushing through into the cockpit.

"That's the stupidest, federation damned thing I've ever heard you say. You planned that from the start,

didn't you, Sylo?” the blond said. He mimicked his friend, “We'll just buy her back and not start any

trouble."

Cole began, “All right, guys. This was a blast, literally, but if you could just—"

Cole stopped at the door and gaped, wide-eyed as a ... monster stood and greeted them with a frown.

It was covered with short, white hair and stood about her height, from what she could tell, and she wasn't

about to get closer. No doubt, this had to be Fuzzy.

"Thanks, Fuzz. You damned near gave us a mecre fit when you didn't show."

The hairy creature glowered at Sylo, who seemed to be the captain, and in a husky, whining voice,

complained at him in an incomprehensible language. Even with her translation necklace on, Cole couldn't

understand what Fuzzy was saying, but she had a good idea. The captain glared at Fuzzy as it—he—sat

down in a pilot seat.

Sylo and the other man grunted in unison, attitudes as similar as twins. “Huh? We were moving around

too much? Well, we sure as shit weren't about to sit still so they could shoot us.” He dropped into a chair

and buckled in, glancing down at a screen on the control board. He turned white. “What the—? Oh shit!

Punch it! Now, now, now!"

Cole didn't have time to so much as brace herself for a fall. The ship slammed into gear, and she tumbled

down as it tipped, heading almost straight into the sky. Cole cussed a blue streak as she felt her balance

slip and disappear completely. She rolled back, down the hall, ‘pulverizing’ every bone and muscle in her

body as she traveled the length of the ship and landed in a bruised, groaning heap at the bottom.

Further ‘up’ the ship, she dimly heard an echoing crash. It was rolling toward her, sounding like nothing

so much like a boulder hurtling down to crush her.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit,” one of the men yelled, falling closer.

Drunkenly, Cole tried to crawl out of the way, but the room was spinning. Her stomach was choking off

the breath to her lungs, and she couldn't move for fear of hurling. As the ship rumbled and quaked from

their ascent, Cole did something she'd never done in her entire life.

She passed out cold.

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* * * *

"Federation damn you to hell, Sylo!” Hauk yelled, gritting his teeth as he pulled himself to his feet. His

hands stung from catching his great weight on a door frame.

"Jesus!” Hauk said, grimacing as the ship lurched. “What the fuck is going on?” he asked groggily into

the intercom before staggering to the back to check on Cole. He found her at the ass end of the ship,

laying on the floor.

"Got some heat on our tail,” Sylo's voice came through the intercom.

"Guess they want that money, huh, numbnuts?” Hauk grumbled to himself, dropping to the floor to

examine her. She was still breathing, strong and steadily.

"Computer, run a preliminary system scan on the female and search for injuries,” he said, feeling his gut

clench as he looked down at her.

A violet laser beam appeared from the wall intercom unit, flashing in one fleeting pass over her body.

His insides twisted as he waited for the results.

"Scan complete. There are no life-threatening injuries. She has suffered a slight concussion and her heart

rate is accelerated above normal due to a hormonal rush."

"But she's all right?"

"Yes."

Hauk studied her for several moments uneasily. He was more than a little disconcerted that she looked

so pale and fragile. She was so strong willed—hard headed—and so competent in taking care of herself,

he hadn't really thought of her as being delicate. Staring at her now, he felt something completely alien to

him—a sense of protectiveness.

Resolutely, he quashed it. The woman was trouble. She might look vulnerable and defenseless, but she

was almost as deadly with her body as she was with her tongue.

Heat surged through him as his cock responded to the thoughts about her body in a wholly unwelcome

way.

He quashed that too.

The woman needed a lesson!

A faint smile curled his lips at that thought. She didn't have the faintest idea of who he was. It was plain

as day that the morph disguises had thrown her. She thought they were just slavers out to buy a pet.

The faint smile widened into a grin as it occurred to him that he could teach her a lesson and have a little

bit of fun while he was at it.

Scooping her up, he carried her into his cabin and deposited her carefully on his bunk. He pulled some

belting from a compartment and lashed her arms and legs securely to the bed. When he felt that she was

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secure and he wouldn't have to worry about her escaping, he left the room and headed for the cockpit.

The ship lurched as he traversed the narrow hall, but despite bracing himself for more falls, he finally

managed to make it to the cockpit.

The view outside the windows made his eyes swim dizzily. He dropped into a chair, strapping in before

he could be dumped out of it. “You lose them yet?"

Sylo ignored him, concentrating on flying. “Find us someplace to hide, Fuzz,” Sylo said through gritted

teeth. A laser blast skated past their right flank, streaming out into the darkness before them like a streak

of sunlight.

Hauk gripped the arms of his chair, bracing as the ship took a hit and shuddered from the impact.

"Damn.” Sylo's fingers flew over a control circuit before returning to the steerage controls. “The shields

are holding. We're just damn lucky they're not outfitted with tracers."

"Some asteroids ahead,” Hauk said, pointing, wincing as Sylo barely scraped beneath two colliding

rocks. “Ooh. You almost got that one."

"You want to do this?” Sylo said, audibly irritated.

Hauk grunted in response and winced as they passed between more shifting asteroids. He didn't know

why the hell they were headed this way anyway.

"I'm trying to shake them off my tail, okay?” Sylo said, as if reading Hauk's mind.

"Well, you're going about it bass ackwards.Everyone hides in asteroid belts."

Sylo fumed over the controls, hunching his shoulders up, trying to block out Hauk's voice.

Hauk leaned forward in his chair, breathing down Sylo's neck as he pointed past the side of his head out

the view panel. “No, don't go that way. That way! Go above them. NO. You're doing that all wrong!”

He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “They're going to catch us."

Fuzzy echoed him.

Sylo glanced over his shoulder, glaring at them both. “Would you two shut up? I'll do the drivin—shit!”

He just missed clipping a wing and set them in a twirl as he veered from folly, diving down through the

belt in a stomach churning move.

"Great.Now you've done it,” Hauk grumbled sickly.

"Fuzz, find me someplace to hide before I do something stupid,” Sylo growled.

Fuzzy pulled up a map on the screen, pointing at a speck.

"Looks close enough to jump. Is it federation controlled?"

Fuzzy shrugged.

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"Well, looks far enough away from every damned thing, they probably won't look for us there. Chart it.

We'll make the jump as soon as I'm through this. I think I lost them far enough back with that last move,”

Sylo said, pushing through into darkness.

Hauk snorted, bracing himself for the jump. “I hate jumping."

"Suck it up. No choice. We have to hide out for a little while. They'll never think to look for us on ...

wherever it is."

Yeah. He'd heard that before. Hauk grunted in response, closing his eyes as the room spun around him

in a colorful blur. His body started to lift from his chair, pulling in a thousand directions as the ship jumped

space.

* * * *

It was the roaring chirp of insects that woke her. For a minute, Cole thought she was back home,

sleeping with the window open on a night after a rain.

Groggily, Cole rolled over, intent in blocking the noise out with a pillow. That is, shetried to roll over.

Her arms and legs wouldn't move. She blinked the sleep from her eyes, squashing her chin as she looked

down at her feet.

Her legs were strapped down to the bed. Craning her head, she couldn't see above, but she could feel

that her arms were strapped down as well.

What the hell had happened? The last thing she remembered was falling after one of those maniacs

started the ship.

Could it be they wereactually interested in her as asex slave ? Cole frowned at that thought, almost

tempted to laugh. She had no interest in being a boy toy—not that her wishes would ever come in to

question—but frankly, she just didn't have what it took to drive the boy's wild. Aliens were weird though.

There was no telling what in the world ran through their minds when they saw her.

Cole examined herself. The rest of her body was basically free. If she could scrunch up a little, she was

sure she could slip out from under the belts....

Cole bounced and jiggled, freeing nothing but one boob from the indecent outfit she was wearing. She

dropped her head on the bunk, exhausted from her struggles.

Her breast poked up at the ceiling obscenely. She chewed the inside of her lip, considering what she

was going to do.

Obviously, the ship wasn't moving. It didn't feel like it, and she could still hear a cacophony of bugs

outside, which told her they'd landed somewhere. Were the guys planning on using her as a sex slave?

Footsteps sounded outside the room, coming closer. Cole panicked when she remembered her chest

was half hanging out. She wiggled, willing it to move back in place, then blew at her hair, trying to cover

herself, to no avail.

The door slid open on a hiss of pressurized air. The blond-haired man stepped inside and stopped. His

gaze seized on her breast, and he stopped breathing.

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Cole didn't stop breathing. She was suddenly panting, and she was determined not to let him think she

was going to just lay still and let him do whatever he wanted. She tried to act unperturbed. “I was

wondering when one of you would come in."

He blinked, catching himself, and suddenly smiled. “Sorry to keep you waiting."

She frowned.

He bent over her. One of the thin braids of his hair trailed over her stomach as he leaned down. “I see

you've fallen out. Let me help you get that back in."

He closed his fingers over her breast, pressing it toward the edge of her jumpsuit. Her nipple

immediately pebbled against his fingers. A flash of heat surged over her skin. Cole looked at his hand

with dismay, unable to believe that so simple a touch could evoke such a response in her. She

swallowed, hard, getting a hold of herself.

He stopped instantly, releasing her, looking at her breast then drawing his gaze up to hers painstakingly

slow. Cole felt it like a caress, and then he frowned, giving her a hard look beneath his dark, heavy

eyebrows. “Are you enjoying this?” he demanded.

She frowned back at him, irritated that he'd noted her response. “No!"

His eyes narrowed. “Sure?"

"I'm positive,” she gritted out, commanding her nipple to lay down as he touched her again. It only made

it worse. A spasm of pleasure shot through her breast, curling down to her belly in liquid fire. Cole bit her

lip, stifling the small gasp that wanted to tear from her throat.

He squeezed her, pushing her back into place, dragging his callused fingertips across her flesh as he

withdrew until she thought she'd scream. If she was able, she'd kick him in the head. Her opposite breast

felt sorely ignored, while the other was hotly alive with pulsing awareness.

He straightened and smiled. “Better?"

She gave him a disgusted look “When are you letting me loose?” It had been way too long since she'd

been laid, obviously, or she'd have never responded to such a perfunctory touch. The urge to beat him in

the head came on her again.

"I hadn't thought about it. I suppose I could now. There's no place you can run off to. You're not going

to run, are you?"

Run? On some alien planet? It was too much to hope they'd reached Vulkahn already. She didn't

remember hearing bugs there. Besides which, she'd be better off with them than on her own—she'd

already experienced enough of the other aliens in the universe to last her a life time. “No,” she said

truthfully.

"All right If you cause trouble, I'll have to punish you."

"Fine by me."

He freed her, and she shook her arms and legs, working the blood flow back into them. She groaned,

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feeling bruised all over. That other guy needed his butt kicked for tearing out of Ustbol like that.

"All right, well, you might as well meet the rest of the crew,” he said, opening the door and heading out

to a common room. The hairy creature and the other man were sitting in front of a view screen, watching

old Earth movies.

Jesus! She had no idea how far couch potato syndrome had spread. If nothing else, Earth could claim

that honor.

"This is Sylo and Fuzzy.” Each nodded, barely taking their eyes from the screen. They were watching

Star Trek.

"And your name?"

His brown eyes twinkled. “You may address me as Master."

Chapter Four

Cole sent a narrow eyed glared toward “Master” who was lounging against a rock a few feet away from
the ship drinking brew and making helpful suggestions to Fuzzy and Sylo who were working on repairing

the damage to the ship.

"Dammit, Fuzzy!” Sylo exclaimed furiously from beneath the open panel. “Will you quit with that damn

cutting torch! We're trying to put this thing back together, not cut it into scrap metal!"

Fuzzy made a noise that was apparently supposed to be a laugh then began to chatter in that strange

language that Cole couldn't understand, but Sylo apparently didn't have any trouble understanding.

"I don't care if they do always use the cutting torch to weld in those old transmissions from Earth. You

have to use the welder to put the metal together."

"I hope none of the indigenous life is anywhere around, ‘cause if they are, the way you two are arguing,

they're sure to hear us,” Hauk said between sips of brew.

"Are they hostile?” she asked the jackass lazing against the rock.

"Master,” he prompted. “Are they hostile,Master ?"

Cole gritted her teeth and mimicked him.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You sure are cocky for a slave."

Cole narrowed her eyes at him again but forced a tight smile. “Maybe because I'm not a slave?"

"Weren't,” he corrected her. “You are now. I bought you fair and square."

"Stole me you mean,” she muttered under her breath.

"What's that, slave?"

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Cole gave him a look. “I'd really like a bath,” she said, changing the subject abruptly. “This place is so

humid."

She fanned her neck and chest, unconsciously drawing his attention to her wide cleavage and the trickles

of sweat there. Cole stopped when his look threatened to set her blood to boiling.

He cleared his throat, shifting in place and resting an arm on his lap. “The facilities on the ship are

working. You don't need to ask my permission,” he said with a wave of his other hand, sloshing his brew.

Cole had to curb the urge to find something big and heavy and whack him on his soft head with it. “I

meant with water, ja—Master."

"Water?” he exclaimed. “This world you're from must bevery primitive."

It occurred to Cole that he was being deliberately provocative. She eyed him with disfavor as he began

to search the ground around him and finally lifted a container. Tipping it up to his head, he opened his

mouth and allowed small wafer-like food to drop on his tongue.

"What are you eating?” she asked abruptly.

"Just some energy chips. We're out of food. Fuzzy ate most of it. Want some?” he offered, pouring a

few into his hand and holding it out.

Cole moved a little closer and inspected them. Picking one up, she sniffed it. It looked and smelled like a

guacamole chip. A segment of an old Sci-Fi movie popped into her head, however ... and a purely

malicious thought. She widened her eyes as if horrified. “It's soylent green,” she cried, slapping the chips

out of his hand. “Soylent green is people! It's people!"

He swallowed audibly, turning a sickly shade of green. “What?"

She snickered. “Just kidding. Heh heh. Don't tell me you've never seen that old Sci-Fi transmission from

Earth?"

Fuzzy and Sylo both snickered. “You fell right into that one, Sharmin,” Sylo called to him.

"Charmin?” She chortled, giggling, and giggling harder when he frowned fiercely at her.

He glared at her. “What is so funny?"

Cole caught her breath, holding her sides. “Oh, nothing.” Cole threw a glance at Sylo and Fuzzy to see if

they'd gotten the joke. Sylo stared at her curiously for several moments, and then light dawned and he

sniggered.

"Oh, you think it's funny too? Well, why don't someone fill me in on the joke?"

"The transmissions,” Sylo exclaimed. “You know, that primitive stuff that Earth people use to wipe

their—"

Sharmin's eyes narrowed. “I'm surrounded by a bunch of children. You can't think of anything better to

do than call names?"

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"I'm hot, tired, and bored,” Cole said plaintively, feeling a little childish, now that he mentioned it. “Didn't

someone say there's a lake near here?"

"About a quarter of a mile from here. That way,” Sylo supplied. “Why?"

"Because I want to take a bath!"

"Oh no you don't,” Sharmin said. “I'm in no mood to chase your shapely ass all over this planet."

"Why would I run,” Cole said indignantly. “It's not like I could get home from here."

"She's got a point,” Sylo put in.

"Stay out of this,” Sharmin snarled irritably. “Even if she doesn't have plans of escape, how do we know

it's safe? We don't know anything about this planet."

"The water is just plain H2O,” Sylo said. “We checked out everything when we landed."

"Yeah, but we don't know anything about the natives. There was nothing in the data banks."

"You could always let me take your gun,” Cole suggested hopefully.

"As if you could use it,” Sharmin said sarcastically.

Cole planted her hands on her hips. “Look buddy, where I come from, I happen to be a cop. I know

how to handle myself, and I certainly know how to use a weapon."

"Right,” Hauk snapped. “Like you did that time when—” He broke off abruptly, realizing that

knowledge of that little incident would give away his disguise. “Anyway, I'm not about to hand my piece

over to a slave."

Cole's eyes narrowed. She hadn't missed the abrupt change in his speech, but he couldn't possibly have

any knowledge about her first visit to Zampi Space Station when she and Sam had first been captured,
unless.... She looked him over critically, but she knew she'd never seen him before. On the other hand,

that didn't rule out the possibility that he knew some of the guys that had been instrumental in her original

capture. “You don't know this asshole named Hauk do you?"

His face reddened. His lips tightened with barely suppressed anger. “No,” he said through gritted teeth.

Cole didn't really believe him, but she couldn't see how it might change her situation either. If he was

friends with Hauk, the chances were better than even that he was as big an asshole as Hauk was, which

she could well believe.Master my behind . “So, can I go?” she asked suddenly.

Sharmin gave her a sulky look. “Suit yourself. But if you get hold of some horrible beast, don't come

screaming to me."

Ignoring that last remark, Cole turned around and stalked off to the pool she'd been directed to.

Reaching it to her relief without incident, she sat down on the bank for a little while, dipping her feet in the

water and glancing around now and then to make certain Sharmin hadn't decided to follow her. It'd be

just like that jerk to wait for her to strip and sneak up and watch.

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Finally, feeling just a tad miffed that hehadn't followed her, she got up and discarded her clothing,

wading out into the water cautiously. The water felt wonderful. She swam for a little while, allowing it to

soothe her chafed nerves and cool her down. Finally feeling refreshed, she looked around again to make

certain Sharmin hadn't sneaked up while she was swimming, and when she was sure she was alone, she

waded out, sloughing the excess water from her body and hair with her hands.

She was still too wet to put her clothing on, however. There was no way she'd get that skin tight outfit up

wet skin. She'd been too ticked off after herdiscussion with Sharmin to think about bringing something to

dry off with. Deciding there was no hope for it, that she had to wait to air dry, she tore off a large leaf

from a plant nearby and began fanning herself to hurry the process along. No way was she going to lay

down and sun dry—that was just asking for trouble.

Abruptly, a high piercing call came through the wooded area that surrounded the small lake. Cole froze,

listening intently. Some kind of bird? she wondered.

"Whooooopeeeee. Whooooopeeeeeee,” the sound came again.

"That's a weird bird call,” Cole muttered. Glancing around uneasily, she began to shuffle toward the

jumpsuit she'd discarded. She'd almost reached it when she heard the sound again, almost directly behind

her.

Gasping, she whirled to face the threat and gaped at the creatures standing not six feet from her in

stunned surprise. A chuckle escaped her. “They look like little teddy bears! How cute!"

The closest one snarled, showing two rows of jagged teeth, and lifted something that looked ominously

like a spear in a threatening attitude.

"Youcan't beserious !"

As a half a dozen of them advanced on her, Cole realized they were deadly serious, and despite their

disarming appearance, she had a very bad feeling that these were not the sort of creatures she wanted to
tangle with. Whirling, she darted off in the general direction of the ship, every part of her body that could

possibly jiggle, jouncing obscenely, as she made a mad dash for freedom.

She hadn't gone far when something hard and furry caught her around the ankles, and she did a belly

flop that knocked the wind out of her. Before she could even catch her breath and try to struggle, she

found herself trussed like a thanksgiving turkey.

* * * *

Hauk jerked upright. Frowning, he looked around, cocking his head to one side to listen for the strange

noise that had startled him from his half slumber. “Did you hear that?"

"What?” Sylo asked, coming out of the ship just then.

"I thought I heard something,” he said, rubbing his eyes before looking around.

"What did it sound like?” Sylo asked curiously.

Hauk shrugged and yawned. “Bird call maybe?"

Sylo looked around. “Cole ain't back yet?"

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Hauk sat up straighter. He'd lost his buzz. “What do you mean she isn't back yet? How long has she

been gone?"

Sylo shrugged. “Seemed to me it'd been a couple hours."

Hauk staggered to his feet, weaving slightly, trying to shake the fumes of the brew from his fogged mind.

“Seriously? Federation damn it to hell! I knew that woman was trouble. Iknew she'd take off at the first

opportunity."

Sylo gave him a look. “Why'd you let her go off then?"

Hauk glared at him. “She probably just got lost,” he said sulkily.

"Well, you better go hunt her."

"What do you mean,me ? You aren't going to help me?” Hauk demanded.

"Somebody has to fix this ship. If I leave Fuzz here alone, Fuzz'll have the whole ship disassembled by

the time I get back."

Heaving a long suffering sigh, Hauk started off in the direction of the lake. “If I ain't back pretty quick,

you better come look for me, ‘cause I've still got enough of a buzz, I'm not sure I can find my own way

back."

"Sure thing, buddy,” Sylo said, settling in the spot Hauk had just vacated and lifting a brew to his lips.

Hauk glared at him a moment. He had a bad feeling that it might be a while before Sylo thought to look

for either of them if he didn't make it back. “If you take off without me, I'm gonna beat the shit out of you

the next time I find you."

"You and whose army?” Sylo called back to him, chuckling.

Deciding to ignore that remark, Hauk made his way slowly to the lake. He was uneasy enough, by now,

that he would have hurried. Unfortunately, the ground was uneven, and several times he stumbled right off

the path and into a tree.

He started yelling her name as soon as he caught his first glimpse of the lake. As tempting as it was to

sneak up on her and possibly get a good view of her charms, he wasn't convinced that he was currently

in any condition to fight her off if she decided to take exception to his interests. At least if he warned her

he was coming, she couldn't try to punch his lights out. On the other hand, the woman was damned

unreasonable—you just never knew about her.

She didn't respond, however, and when he reached the lake, he stood staring at the water for some

time, blankly, before looking around. He found her discarded jumpsuit in a pile nearby, and it sobered

him instantly.

Before his imagination could fully comprehend the ramifications of a jumpsuit and no sign of Cole, a

strange noise caught his attention. “Whooooopeeeeeee."

Hauk jolted to attention, looking around himself so quickly, he almost fell down with the wave of

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dizziness that washed over him. “What the hell?"

The rustle of brush behind him startled him, and he whirled toward the threat, whipping his gun out and

bracing his feet wide apart to balance himself.

A half a dozen small creatures covered in short hair from head to foot emerged from the brush. He

studied them wide-eyed for several moments. “Well hey there, little fellas. You wouldn't happen to have

seen a naked woman running around here now, would you? Did you frighten her away?” he said with a

chuckle.

It was the last thing he remembered before pain exploded inside his head.

Hauk woke with a groan. He wasn't certain whether it was his throbbing head or the sensation of motion

that made him want to puke his guts out. It took a strenuous effort to will the sickness away. In the end,

pain superseded all else, and he opened his eyes.

The first thing he discovered was that he was looking up at the sky. Completely disoriented, he stared

blankly at the tops of the trees for several moments before he realized that his arms and legs were hurting

because he was tied to a pole. His ass was burning because the short little bastards that were carrying

him weren't tall enough to hold him off the ground.

He began struggling to free himself and managed to shake their grip loose. He knew this, because he

landed on the ground and the pole hit him in the head.

When he came to the second time, the sky had begun to darken. Around him, he heard dozens of the

little bastards muttering to each other. One sound, however, was completely out of place. Somebody

was groaning, and he didn'tthink it was him.

Peering around with an effort, Hauk discovered that his group of captors had converged with another

group of hunters. Some little distance away, he could see Cole trussed as he was no doubt trussed, a

long pole between her ankles and wrists as two more of the furry little bastards carried her. She was also

naked. He tried not to think about that.

He tried really,really hard not to think about that.

"Cole!” he called out. “Are you okay, baby?"

"No, I'm not okay, dammit!” she snapped, glaring at him across the distance.

It was just as well she was pissed off, Hauk reflected, otherwise, she might have noticed the slip. But

despite everything, he realized that he was infinitely relieved to discover that she was still able to be so

pissed off.

"Where do you think they're taking us?” Cole asked, sounding more subdued now.

"I don't know,” Hauk replied. “But don't worry about it. I'm sure Sylo and Fuzz will be along any minute

to rescue us."

"I hate to be a wet blanket,” Cole said, “But we've been walking for hours and hours. If they were going

to rescue us, don't you think they could've done it by now?"

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Hauk felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, remembering the brew in Sylo's hand as he left.

“I'm sure they're just waiting for the right moment,” he lied hopefully. “Not that we need them. Sooner or

later they're going to have to untie us, then we'll make a break for it."

"I've got no circulation in my arms or legs,” Cole pointed out. “I don't think I'll be in any condition to run

any time soon."

Hauk was wishing he had no circulation in his ass. He had friction burn, and he was fairly certain he'd

picked up a couple of splinters too. It was becoming increasingly difficult to get his mind off the pain.

It was almost with a sense of relief that he caught a glimpse of first one and then another crude fire.

Obviously, they'd reached a village of some sort, though he couldn't see any dwellings. It was pretty dark

though, but the creatures had slowed down. Soon, they were bound to take them loose from the poles

they'd used to carry them.

"I hope we're not on the menu for dinner tonight,” Cole said.

Until that moment, it hadn't occurred to Hauk that they might be. “You're just a ray of sunshine, aren't

you?” he snapped irritably.

"I don't suppose you have your weapon with you?"

Hauk glanced around his body without much hope. “Uh. I left it at the camp,” he lied, not wanting to

admit that these knee high creatures had disarmed him and tied him to the pole.

Dozens more of the nasty little things crowded around as they were set down in the middle of the village,

all shrieking and gesturing. They were untied and the poles were removed.

Hauk groaned as sensation began to return to his arms and legs. Before he could feel any real relief,

however, his arms were seized and two of the creatures began to drag him across the clearing. Hauk

gritted his teeth as two more grasped his ankles, lifted him off the ground, and dropped him into some

sort of pen, or a cage, made of poles. Cole was thrown in on top of him, and the top was closed and

tied.

Several moments passed, and then they felt the cage being lifted slowly until it was completely off the

ground, twisting slightly. If there'd been room to fall down, Hauk had no doubt that he would've,

unfortunately, the cage they'd been locked in was barely big enough for the two of them to stand, nose to

nose. Or, more accurately, since Cole was a good bit shorter than him, with her nose somewhere in the

vicinity of his breastbone.

Cole twisted her head and looked up at him. “Okay, so let's hear this plan of yours. Now,how was it

that wewere supposed to escape?"

Chapter Five

"Master” twisted his chin and glared down at her over one cheek bone. “I have to assess the situation

first, don't I?"

"Uh huh,” she said doubtfully, oozing sarcasm without words.

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He looked around. At a little distance from where they were, a similar cage built of poles was suspended

by a twine rope from the limb of a tree. Inside was a creature somewhat similar to the screaming demons

that had captured them, except that this creature was even taller than he was.

With an effort, he twisted his head and looked up. A sense of relief flooded through him when he

realized that their cage suspended from a limb the same as the other captive.

"Simple,” he said. “These are primitives. This cage is just poles tied together with twisted vines and hung

from a limb, on a rope made of twisted vines. All we need to do is jump up and down andsomething's

got to give."

"Exactly how am I supposed to jump up and down? I can hardly breathe in here with you. Besides, it

seems to me these vines must be pretty strong, and the tree limb too, otherwise they wouldn't have been

able to hoist us up here to begin with."

Sharmin sighed. “Do you want to escape or would you rather just complain? Maybe they'll get tired of

listening to you and just let us go."

Cole would've glared at him except that she doubted that he could see her face. She contented herself

with giving him a threatening nip with her teeth.

"Ow!” he exclaimed indignantly. “What was that for?"

"As if you didn't know."

"This isn't going to get us anywhere. Are you going to try or not?"

"You meanme? I'm supposed to jump up and down and get us out of here? You'retwice my size. Don't

you think it would be better ifyou did the jumping?"

"Well my head is practically against the top of this thing already. Just how high do you think I can jump?"

With an effort, Cole twisted her head so that she could look upwards. He was right, although she hated

to admit it. There couldn't have been more than six inches of clearance between the top of his head and

the top of the cage.

"All right,” she said irritably. “I'll try.” Cole began bouncing up and down. The cage began a slow

upwards and downwards movement in direct opposition to her attempts. Her breasts jounced along his

chest.

Hauk gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the jiggling globes of flesh. Try though he might, however, he

simply could not close his mind to the fact that she was rubbing her bare naked body all over him. He

groaned. “Stop. You're killing me."

"What?” Cole asked irritably.

"It's my ass,” Hauk lied. “They dragged me all the way here, and I think I've got splinters in it."

"Well if it's your ass that's hurting,” Cole said, “why is your cock digging into my belly."

Hauk glared down at her. “Never mind,” he said. “I don't think that's going to do it anyway. I'll lift you

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up and drop you."

"What so you can impale me on that tree limb that's trying to dig a hole in my belly already?"

"Do you think you can get your mind off sex for just five seconds?"

"I can if you can,” she said. “The question is, can you?"

Hauk concentrated with all his might. Finally, he felt his engorged member relaxing. He gave her a look

of triumph.

She gave him a look that said she was not impressed. With an effort, he slipped his hands beneath her
armpits, trying to ignore the soft breasts pressed against his palm on either side. “Now, I'm going to lift

you up,” he said with a dry mouth, sweat popping out on his brow as he felt his cock growing hard once

more. He thought that either she wouldn't notice, or she'd have the courtesy to pretend she hadn't. No

such luck.

"I've got a better idea,” she said. “Why don't you just lift me to the top so I can chew through?"

"This is no time for levity,” he gritted out, discovering that it was harder to lift her straight up than he
would've thought. His position, however, prevented him from using anything except his arm muscles.

Arms straining, he held her aloft for several moments. “All right, I'm going to let you go now! Ready?

One, two, three!” He released his grip on her. Her collision with his distended cock almost made him

pass out.

"If you puke on me,” Cole threatened, “I swear to god I'll make you regret it."

"Nothing,” Hauk said with an effort, “could make me regret being in this cage with you more than I do at

the moment."

"Look on the bright side,” she pointed out. “I don't think your erection is going to be a problem for us

any time soon. I'm ready to try again if you are. You know, I think I actually heard some crackling and

snapping that time."

"It was my cock,” Hauk said. “I think I might be seriously injured."

"Quit being such a baby and lift me up again."

"Not on your life, lady. Anyway, I don't think I can at the moment. I'm just going to rest here a few

minutes."

Cole turned her attention to the teddy bears, who were very busy building a huge bonfire entirely too

close to where they were at for her comfort. “Don't rest too long. I think those furry little bastards have

something very nasty in mind."

The cage was still twisting slightly, and Hauk strained to get a view of what their captors were up to. He

was inclined to agree with Cole. Things weren't looking very well. He was still feeling more than a little bit

ill, but he decided waiting around for Fuzz and Sylo to rescue them wasn't an option. “Okay, I'm going to

try jumping."

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"This'll be fun,” Cole said sarcastically.

At about that moment, Hauk realized that there was no way in hell he was going to be able to jump

straight up. “Okay, I'm going to lift you up again. I want you to hold on to the poles overhead. Whatever

you do, donot let go."

It took far more of an effort this time to lift her up, but since Cole lifted her arms and reached for the

poles, he didn't have to lift her quite so high. The downside of that was that once he had her dangling like

a piece of fruit, her breasts were practically in his face, and despite it's earlier wound, his serpent came

out of hiding and began sniffing around for the treat at the end of that succulent piece of flesh.

"For federation's sake, don't let go!” he gritted out. Lifting his arms and gripping the poles as Cole had,

he drew his weight up as far as he could, held himself aloft for a couple of seconds, and then dropped.

The alarming/encouraging sound of breaking wood greeted their ears. The cage dipped a good two feet

towards the ground and then bounced upwards again. The second downward descent shook Cole loose,

and her and Hauk landed in a tangle of arms and legs in the bottom of the cage.

One thigh landed over his shoulder. Hauk's nose rooted her cleft. Cole smacked him on the top of the

head. “Do younever think of anything but sex?"

"Hardly ever,especially when it's in my face!"

With a great effort, they disentangled themselves from each other. As long as Hauk was in the bottom of

the cage already, he thought it might be easier to lift Cole up to grip the bars again from down there.

Besides, he wasn't certain he could stand up. “I'm going to lift you up again. I figure once, maybe two

more times and we'll break this thing."

Cole refrained from comment. Instead, gripping as high up on the poles as possible, she balanced herself

as Hauk grasped her legs and pushed her upwards. When she'd managed to grip the poles, Hauk

struggled to come upright once more. In the tight space, his cheek slid up her bare belly.

Cole glanced at him suspiciously, but really, the space was so small, it was hard to tell whether he was

doing it on purpose or not. From the glare he gave her when he gripped the bars at last, she decided that

maybe he wasn't trying to seduce her after all.

Taking several deep breaths to gather his nerve to use his body as a battering ram once more, Hauk

finally released his grip and landed on the bottom of the cage. Again, the impact bent the limb that was

holding them, sending the cage towards the ground. This time, the cage came within a couple of feet of

actually striking the ground.

Cole was heartened until it occurred to her that the harder the downward force, the harder the upward

force was going to be when the tree snapped back. She locked her arms around the pole, bracing herself

the best she could. When the cage shot upwards, she smacked against the top of the cage and lost her

grip.

Hauk caught her tightly against him as the cage dipped once more. Before it could begin its second

upward jounce, the beloved sound of two rapidly fired lasers sang in their ears. All around them, the

demonic little bears screamed, scattering towards the forest.

A well placed laser blast cut the vines that held their cage. The cage struck the ground and tipped over,

and Cole landed on top of Hauk. The door of the cage was jerked upwards, and one hand gripped

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Cole's upper arm, dragging her out before he had time to enjoy the feel of her sprawled on top of him in

abandon.

Hauk, winded by the fall and Cole's impact on top of him, climbed out with an effort. “What took you so

long?” he snarled at Sylo.

"You're welcome,” Sylo said with a grin. “What do you think about the other captive? Take him or leave

him?"

"We can't leave the poor thing to their tender mercies. Cut him down."

Sylo took careful aim and shot the vines holding the cage in the air. The creature screamed like a woman

as its cage hurtled toward the ground and burst open. Groaning, the creature staggered to its feet and

rushed toward them ... and passed them, racing for the woods in the opposite direction from which the

small hairy beasts had disappeared.

Cole and Hauk followed him with Sylo at their heels, laying down fire. He was yelling for Fuzz, who'd
chased after the little beasts, firing wildly. The urgency of his voice finally penetrated Fuzzy's bloodlust,

apparently, for Fuzz turned and followed them.

Cole was at a disadvantage. Not only was she naked, but she wasn't nearly as tall as any of the others.

Within moments, the others began to outdistance her. Gritting her teeth, she poured more effort into it. To

her relief, however, Sharmin cast a glance back and stopped abruptly. Swinging around, he ran at her full

tilt, scooped her over his shoulder, then turned and took off after the others.

They'd been running through the woods for a little while when a horde of great, shaggy beasts stepped

out from the surrounding woods. Sharmin stopped abruptly, and Cole had the unnerving feeling there

were more ahead of them ... staring at her blinding white behind that was surely glowing in the near

darkness.

Sharmin gripped one cheek in a protective gesture. Cole squirmed until she'd freed the cleft of her

buttocks from his encroaching fingers, and smacked him on the back of the head. He grunted and set her

on her feet without a word. Cole hid beneath Sharmin's hair, trying to cover herself while she looked

around.

Sure enough, they were surrounded. The creatures were huge, standing probably eight feet tall at the

least. Their arms and legs were extremely long and meaty—thick—and they were covered in brownish,

grayish hair everywhere except for most of their faces, which had soft, wrinkled skin around the eyes and

mouth, and a black button of a nose like a cat or bear. They looked a lot like some kind of primate. In

fact, they reminded her a lot of fake pictures of Sasquatch or the Abominable Snowmen, except Fuzz

looked more like the Abominable Snowman, and these creatures were a lot cuter than any of the

“pictures” she'd seen of Big Foot.

Cole felt really,really naked with all this hair around.

One of the Sasquatch stepped forward—a leader of some type. “We sure are glad you all came,” he

said in a deep, soft spoken voice.

They stared at him, dumbstruck.

"You speak the universal language?” Hauk exclaimed, catching his voice first.

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"Of course. We're not primitives,” he said with a chuckle. “I am Ug. I thank you for freeing our brother
nagy, Yugy. We'd been watching the whoopi village for some time trying to decide what to do when the

others of your group came and freed him."

"Uh. You're welcome,” Hauk said, trying to not look as uncomfortable as he felt.

"Is there something we can do for you?"

"We're trying to get back to my ship,” Sylo said.

The nagy nodded. “We've seen it. You're going in the wrong direction."

Hauk punched Sylo's shoulder before turning attention back to the nagy. “We'd appreciate your help

finding it."

He nodded. “We'll show you a short cut."

* * * *

"Dammit! I'm going to squash all those little bastards when I get my hands back on the refractor crystal,”

Sylo growled, kicking the dirt and slapping the open panel to swinging back and forth.

Cole adjusted her jumpsuit, itching to pull the butt munching thing off, but thankful to be covered again

regardless. “Can't we take off without it?” she asked with little hope, knowing that whatever it was, it had

to be important. She couldn't help herself though.

"We can't start the ship without it. It's what fires the engines for lift-off."

"Damn. Do you guys know where they might have taken a big blue crystal, about the length of my

hand?” Hauk asked the nagy leader, Ug, holding his hands up and measuring the shape of the refractor

crystal.

The nagy thoughtfully rubbed his chin. “The whoopi are very superstitious. They've probably taken it to

their temple. But you cannot reach it tonight in safety."

"So I suppose the temple is in their village?” Hauk asked.

The nagy nodded and pointed back the way they'd come. “There is a stream that feeds their village. At

the mouth lie the falls, and there, the temple. It is not difficult to find."

Fuzz came out of the ship's hold, chattering excitedly to Sylo.

"Dammit all! They took the food and brew too?” Sylo exclaimed. “Well, we're really up shit creek this

time."

"Come to our village. We will refresh your supplies. It is the least we can do for you for rescuing our

brother."

Hauk nodded. They didn't have much choice, and his stomach hurt from going too long without a decent

meal. “Okay. Lead the way, friend."

* * * *

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The village was made up of dozens of huts raised off the ground on stilts. A maze of walkways were

strung between each hut like intricate lace. Most of the huts had knotted ropes leading up into the middle

of each building, but the guest cabins they were led to had ladders constructed of thick, lashed branches

for easier access.

They were to have two neighboring huts, and inspecting them, Cole saw that they were rather a lot like

something the old Seminoles would have used to keep cool in the summer. The walls were woven,

almost mat-like, and could be tied up to let in a cool breeze on a hot day. Inside, it was lit by a small pot

that held a citrus-smelling wax and a flame that gave off a surprising amount of light. On the floor there

were two grass mats that served as beds.

Sharmin poked at them with his toe, moving them infinitesimally closer—as if she wouldn't notice.

"Damn, you're smooth,” Cole said beneath her breath.

"This hut's for me and you,” Sharmin said, looking up at her and waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Cole bent and threw his mat to the other side of the room, ignoring his indignant gasp. “Yeah, well, don't

get any ideas,” Cole muttered, brushing her hands off and pushing through the vine strung door, leading
the way back out again. She went down the broad ladder, settling on the ground, staring up at Sharmin

as he descended with her hands on her hips. It wasn't until he was nearly at the bottom and stopped to

glance down at her that she realized she'd been staring at the flexing muscles of his behind and thighs the

whole time.

"Do you mind?” he asked, obviously amused.

"Not at all,” she said, curbing a grin as he resumed his descent. Hell, what was the matter with her,

anyway? She normally didn't get so caught up in admiring the male form, let alone the body of a guy that

annoyed her. She wasnot interested in him or any other alien like that. Frowning at herself, she turned

away and headed toward the center of the village to where the feast had been prepared.

Before she could reach the lighted gathering, she was waylaid by some female nagians—not that they

could be identified physically as female.

"We must wash before joining the men,” one of them said.

Cole shrugged. “Okay.” She'd had about enough of getting naked in the jungle, but she felt fairly

confident those little buggers wouldn't come and attack them again tonight.

Hauk strode to the center of the village where the feast had been prepared and set out on a long, squat

table. Mats were set out on the ground—one for each member. The nagy males sat a space apart from

each other, obviously in wait for the women. Torches on tall poles had been placed around the gathering

in a circle, and a tangy, fruity scent whispered through the air from the smoky flames, deterring the flying

monstrosities that craved vulkahn blood.

He found Sylo and Fuzzy and plopped down beside them near the head of the table. “You find anyone

you want to take home with you, Fuzz?” he asked with a grin.

Sylo snorted, choking on his drink. Fuzz made a rude gesture at him. Hauk chuckled.

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His stomach rumbled, and he wondered what was taking the women so long to get back. Sighing, he

examined the food the nagians had prepared. The table was overflowing mostly with fruits and

vegetables, though there were some crocks filled with puddings and others with rice. No meat he saw,

other than fat, grilled fish.

One basket of ... fruit particularly caught his eye. Hauk pointed at the oddly shaped stalk. “What's that?”

he asked Ug, who was sitting diagonally from him at the head of the table. With its slender stalk and the

huge bulb on the end, the fleshy, red fruit looked like nothing so much as a—

"Passion fruit,” Ug said.

That explained its shape. “What's it for?"

The Nagy gave him a look beneath his shaggy brows. “Sex, of course. Whoever eats it goes wild for

their partner."

Why the hell would they havethat at a feast? he wondered.

Sylo snorted. “I'll believe that when I see it,” he said under his breath.

Ug heard him and frowned. “Do not treat the passion fruit lightly. It is a powerful aphrodisiac,” he

warned.

Hauk stood and grabbed a piece from across the table, settling back down in his spot as he looked at

the curiously, sniffing it. “Let's see how this works."

"NO!” the nagy said, looking horrified. “The females haven't returned."

"Works that fast, huh? Don't worry, it's not for me,” Hauk said, chuckling evilly as a thought occurred to

him.

"I still don't believe it will work. This is just some mumbo jumbo the natives made up to make some

credits off tourists,” Sylo said beneath his breath, grunting with disgust.

"What tourists, numbnuts? Shhh. They're coming back,” Hauk whispered, watching as the female

nagians came back with Cole.

Cole settled down on the mat between Hauk and Sylo, crossing her legs in front of her beneath the

table. They were quiet as Ug made a speech about giving thanks to the creator for the bounty before

them, and for giving them new friends.

The nagians applauded and began to eat, selecting food and placing it on the flat tableware set before

them.

"What's to eat?” Cole asked, looking hopefully around at the table. “I'm starved."

Hauk grinned at her, hardly able to contain the mischief from spilling out and alerting her to his plans. He

could hardly wait to see what happened. “Mostly fruit."

She rolled her eyes. “I'm going to be skin and bones before we're off this planet. First those damn chips,

now rabbit food. What I wouldn't give for some Popeye's Chicken right now."

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Hauk swallowed a laugh, watching as she ate. After she'd tried a few bites of different fruits and fish and

found nothing really to her liking, he pulled the passion fruit out from beneath the table. “Here, try this."

Cole took it suspiciously, and it was all Hauk could do to hide his glee. She looked it over. “What is it?"

"It's good."

She looked at Hauk and then Sylo, frowning at their sudden interest in what she ate. “That didn't answer

my question,” she said, holding the fruit up with a skeptical eye.

Hauk's mouth was slowly gaping open, almost as if it could help her put the fruit into her mouth and

chew. She looked up at him and smiled impishly. “You only live once, right?” she asked before flicking a

tongue over the bulb of the fruit.

"Tastes good,” she whispered.

Hauk's groin twitched to life at the unexpected eroticism of her movement. She grinned, rubbing the bulb

over her lips slowly, sensually, watching his reaction.

He swiped the back of one hand across his damp forehead, feeling his skin heat all over as she ran her

tongue around the bulb. His balls tightened, and blood rushed to his groin, pounding with the beat of his

heart. Finally, as if knowing her audience was enraptured, when he was just to the point of jumping her

bones in front of everyone, she sucked the bulb into her mouth. He almost came right then.

"Mmmmm,” she moaned softly, arching her head back, taking it deeper.

All conversation at the gathering stopped as everyone stared at Cole. She didn't seem to notice, only

continued thrusting that fruit deeper into her mouth.

Sylo was gaping at her, a blur he couldn't focus on past her head—only her, only the slow, torturous

movement of that fruit in and out of her mouth, the suckling action of her mouth and throat. He'd never

seen a woman do anything like it, and he wondered what it would feel like to have her mouth wrapped

around his cock mimicking the movement.

His mouth went dry watching her. The pressure built to a feverish pitch in his shaft.

She moaned again, straightening her head to watch him as she moved her mouth on the fruit.

She bit the bulb off.

Around them, he heard frightened gasps, echoing his own.

Hauk's cock screamed and ran for cover. He looked at her, aghast at what she'd done, forgetting all

about wanting to know what effect the fruit would have on humans.

He couldn't get his mind off the head of the fruit rolling around between her teeth.

Cole laughed around her food, chewing it up and swallowing. “Oh god. You should have seen your

face!” she said breathlessly, chuckling, holding her stomach.

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He just stared at her, working his throat muscles. No sound came out.

She laughed harder, rolling onto her back, gasping for breath, tears streaming out of her eyes. He glared

at her.

"That wasn't funny."

"It was! Oh god,” she said, laughing. All of a sudden, she went quiet and perfectly still. Her arms

dropped limply to her sides. Alarm kicked Hauk's belly. He leaned over her, frantically feeling for a

pulse. Her heart beat strong and steady, as even as her breathing.

Hauk turned and stared sternly at Ug he'd talked to. “I thought the passion fruit was supposed to make

her wild?"

The nagy shrugged. “She looked wild to me."

Sylo burst out into laughter. Fuzzy grinned at him.

Chapter Six

Hauk frowned at Fuzzy and Sylo and picked up Cole's limp body, grunting with the weight of her as he

got to his feet. Settling her comfortably over his shoulder, he carried her to the hut he'd been shown was

his for the night and with painstaking progress, climbed the ladder, cursing the whole way. By the time he

reached the top, he was panting and a fine sweat had popped out along his brow and upper lip.

He ducked through the curtain of vines that covered the doorway. They fell back into place behind him

with a soft whisper of sound, and he bent to lay her onto the reed mat that served as the bed. He went to
the back of the hut and rolled up the mat to let a breeze in. The candle flame shied as air kissed it, casting

flickering shadows across Cole's motionless body.

Hauk looked at her worriedly and dropped to the floor on his knees, gently patting her cheek to see if he

could rouse her. She came to life with a suddenness that shocked him, latching onto the side of his index

finger with her succulent lips. He went completely still, looking down at her in stunned surprise as she

moved her mouth and sucked his finger inside, enveloping the digit in wet heat. She peered up at him

beneath heavy lids, looking so incredibly sultry, his chest ached and a spasm of achy pleasure shot

straight down to his crotch.

Blood rushed to his groin in a scalding wave, making his cock harden and lengthen painfully against his

jumpsuit. His fingertips tingled as she scraped her teeth against him, rubbing her tongue around and

pulling at him with her mouth. He didn't dare close his eyes. He didn't dare move.

She pulled her mouth away, sitting up and wrapping her hands around his ass, pulling him straight to her

face. A startled grunt escaped him as she nuzzled his distended flesh through the jumpsuit. His cock

jerked at the muffled sensation, aching to be inside where it was hot and wet and silky.

Without warning, she closed her mouth around the head of his cock, clearly delineated through the thin

fabric. He groaned in frustration, but she reached around to the fastening, ripping it open with a loud zip

of sound.

His belly jerked as his bare flesh came into contact with the silk of her lips, the whisper of her breath.

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His flesh felt tender, bruised, engorged to the point of explosion. By the Federation, how long had he

ached to bury himself inside her? As she wrapped her mouth around his cock head, he threw his head

back and released a long, drawn out groan.

He felt her smile against him, and then she was sucking, sucking him as though she could draw out the

essence of his being. He gripped the back of her head, holding her to him, running his fingers through her

hair, tangling in her curls. Only the briefest thought of what she'd done to the fruit crossed his mind. He

trusted her. He knew she wouldn't hurt him—no matter what state she was in.

She rubbed her tongue against the underside, around the rim and the small hole at the top, pulling at him

with her lips. Fire seared his veins, singed his senses like smoke choking off a room. He closed down to

everything but that bobbing movement, the push and pull of her mouth, the caress of her fingers on his

testicles and around, back to his anus. His hand stilled at her head at the unfamiliar touch. He opened his

eyes, looking down at her with hazy vision. She rimmed his rear hole with one finger, making it tickle with

sensation, and then she thrust her finger inside past tender muscles.

He cried out, deep and hoarse. His hips jerked involuntarily, he clenched on her small finger, ramming

his cock deep inside her mouth, forcing her to stretch her mouth as wide as possible, to take in as much

of him as she possibly could. He was mindless to the probe of her in his rear hole, the stroke in and out

on a place that had never been touched—should never have been touched, the suckling action of her

mouth. Ecstasy whirled through his shaft, burning him alive.

He was yelling in ecstasy and he didn't realize it, only recognized the pain in his throat as he fought to

hold on to the delicious sensations swarming through his body.

He couldn't take it—couldn't be so selfish. He didn't know if he was more uneasy with her now as she

was ... or the repercussions of what she'd do once she found out what he'd done to her.

Hell, it was worth it.

He growled and tightened his fingers in her hair, gently forcing her head back to release him. She blinked

up at him, smiling a slow smile and licking her lips.

His stomach flip-flopped at the eroticism of that move. He lifted her up from her half-lounge until she

was on her knees, pushing his hands under the shoulders of her jumpsuit and thrusting it down her arms.

She grinned and arched her head back as he pushed the garment down her body, following its descent

with his mouth. He kissed the beautiful arch of her throat, ran his tongue in the hollow at its base.

She shivered, pushing her suit down her hips and legs before gripping his arms for support. He slid his

hands around her back, urging her to bend backwards more, until her breasts were in his face and his

hands cupped the firm, generous cheeks of her ass. He grunted with approval at the weight of them,

massaging each cheek as he dipped his head and rasped the valley of her breasts with his lips.

"Oh god,” she murmured, squirming in his hold. “That's so good."

He smiled triumphantly and caught one nipple, tugging it with his teeth, digging his fingers into her cleft

from behind. She was incredibly wet. A fog of lust hazed his mind, made him drunk with arousal. His

cock screamed for the release he'd denied it.

He probed her swollen lips, slipping in her juices, sucking the tip of one small breast into his mouth,

reveling in her cry of pleasure as he took a long draught of her nipple. She gripped his arms, digging her

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nails in his biceps, weakening his resolve to move slowly so he wouldn't hurt her. He pushed a finger into

her vagina, his mouth salivating at the tight, trembling grip of her sheath. She was so damned fragile

feeling—he'd crush her beneath his weight, rip her apart with his cock. She was making him mad with

want of her and he could barely control himself.

Cole cried out as he thrust one large finger inside her, curling it against her vaginal muscles. The wetness

there couldn't disguise the size of him, the stretch of her tissue as he worked inside. She straightened,

forcing his head back as she kissed his bare chest. He still wore his jumpsuit, though it hung open,

revealing a wide swath of his body and the flesh of one thigh.

She thrust his jumpsuit off, baring his arms, his back, forcing him to release her so she could free his

body from the garment until they were both naked. She made an aggressive growl of approval, wrapping

her arms around him to crush his body against hers. He kicked the jumpsuit from his feet before he

enclosed her in his arms, digging his hands into her ass to lift her off her knees and grind her against his

cock.

A wash of weakness assailed her, made her insides flutter with agonizing awareness. His hardness

ground against her mound, so achingly close to where she wanted it. She growled in frustration, using her

body weight to push him back.

He grunted in surprise, losing his balance, falling onto his back on the hut floor. His knees came up as he

landed, and she forcefully pushed them down, crawling on top of him.

She squatted above his standing cock, dragging her swollen lips over his rod, reveling in the sensation of

the head slipping against their wet surface.

He blinked up at her with a foggy look in his eyes, barely visible in the flickering candle light. “What are

you doing?” he croaked, unmoving, as if helpless to do anything to stop her.

"I'm going to fuck you, Master, until you aremy slave,” she said with a husky murmur of promise, feeling

kinky looking down at him in his vulnerable position. His brown eyes went smoky with lust, firing her own

arousal to incredible heights.

She lowered herself, shifting until his shaft head nudged her opening and pushed inside. Pain lanced her

nerves, lessening the pleasure, but strangely enhancing it at the same time. He reached for her, groaning,

and she raised off of him with a warning look. His arms fell back to his sides with chagrin, and she

continued moving downward, stretching, stretching, until she'd swallowed him completely to the edge of

her womb.

She sat on his hips, panting, her chest rising and falling with great gulps of air. Her belly jerked with a

spasm. She'd never been so full in all her life, had never been so wet, so aroused. She was flooded with

moisture and fire. Nerve endings that had never been touched flared to life as she lifted on him and began

a slow, coaxing rock of her hips.

He sucked in a sharp breath as if in pain, enhancing the pleasure blooming inside her. “Touch my

breasts,” she commanded, and he obeyed. He cupped her, squeezing her harder as she quickened her

movement.

She moaned, touching her own neck, the sides of her breasts, down her belly. Her pussy sizzled with a

warning rupture of pleasure, zipping through her veins like a stroke of lightning. Gasping, she touched her

clit, rubbing the swollen nub, needing that bliss that teased her endlessly with its nearness.

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He arched beneath her, releasing her breasts, gripping her hips. He lifted her off him, bringing her down

hard on his erection. Cole screamed in agony and ecstasy, stroking her clit as if her life depended on it.

He lifted her again, raising up as she came down, going deeper than she'd thought possible.

It hurt so good.

She arched her back, throwing her head back, coming down on him again and again, oblivious to the

pain. Wanting and needing it.

Her heart beat in her chest for freedom, rushing in her ears like thunder, making her throat ache. She

screamed again and again, easing the pressure. “Oh master, master. Sharmin ... oh god!"

Her clit throbbed beneath her fingers, spasmed with the warning of impending overload.

He groaned, impaling her on his cock. Her inner muscles rippled as the orgasm seized her, shaking her in

its grip. Her body went rigid as her pussy quaked, convulsing on his shaft as each blissful tremor erupted

inside her. His seed burst forth in a volcanic rush, spewing the hot semen deep in her womb.

She panted, dropping down on his chest, trying to keep from trembling apart. His shaft anchored her to

him, and he wrapped his arms around her back, heaving for breath. Within minutes, she'd milked his

body of all he had to give, and still, she wanted more.

She was unmoving on top of him long enough to catch her breath, long enough to feel his member go

flaccid inside her and slip out when she raised on him.

Her vaginal lips twitched, itching for more. She looked up at him and smiled when she saw his eyes were

closed and he was half asleep.

She tickled his nose with a lock of his hair. He snorted and his eyes flew open.

"I'm ready for more, please."

He groaned.

Chapter Seven

It was like a hangover—except much worse. It wasn't just her head that was hurting fit to split wide

open. Pain messages converged on Cole's brain from every direction. For a few minutes, she lay

unmoving because she didn't think she could move, and because she wanted to be certain she just felt

like she was dying, and actually wasn't, before she moved and possibly injured herself worse. Slowly, as

she struggled to figure out what had happened, bits and pieces of memories began to flood back. At first,

she was inclined to think it was all just some sort of dream—correction, erotic nightmare—or something

like that. When she finally figured out that a good portion of the pain she was in was due to the fact that

she had a tree sized body lying half across her—a naked one—she finally decided she was just going to

have to accept that she'd actually done most of what she remembered doing.

And she'd done it with Sharmin!

Oh, for just a tiny portion of amnesia! Not serious brain damage, just enough to be able to avoid having

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to acknowledge what had happened.

The urge to kill invaded her senses as the last webs of sleep dissipated.

She hadn't suddenly lost her mind and decided to indulge herself in an orgy, especially not with Sharmin,

whom she would have far preferred to neuter. The last thing she remembered was eating that strange fruit

the nagy had given her, but she also remembered that all of them had been watching her eat it. She'd

thought it was because of the phallic image, and theway she was eating it. Undoubtedly, there'd been

more to it than that. Everyone, including Sharmin, had expected eating the fruit to have just the effect it

had had.

Fleetingly, she wondered if it was the drug in the fruit, or Sharmin, or a combination of the drug and

Sharmin that had resulted in the best sex she'd ever had in her life.

Probably just the drug.

It was amazing, though, how much Sharmin reminded her of Hauk.

The question was, what was she going to do about it?

If she acknowledged that she remembered everything, she didn't think she'd be able to lie convincingly

about the mind blowing sex she'd experienced, which would be an open invitation to Sharmin. He was

bound to think, under the circumstances, that she'd welcome another encounter. She had to admit it

would be tempting if she considered it strictly from a pleasurable point of view, but she didn't want to get

anymore involved with Sharmin than she already was.

That left her with only two options that she could see. She could acknowledge it had happened, put it

down entirely to the drug and threaten to cut his balls off if he tried anything like that again.

Or, she could pretend she didn't remember a thing, which would not only save face, but it would give her

the opportunity for revenge for his underhanded trick.

Since the very thought of getting even with him lifted her spirits considerably, she decided a pretense of

amnesia was definitely the way to go.

Opening her eyes finally, Cole looked cautiously around the crude hut she found herself in. With a great

deal of relief, she saw that she and Sharmin were the only two people occupying it. Sharmin was still

dead to the world and snoring slightly. She began inching away from him slowly and carefully. Finally, she

managed to disentangle herself from him and got up. Her jumpsuit had been discarded across the room.

Vaguely, she recalled peeling it off and tossing it. Picking it up, she shook it to make certain no small

creatures inhabited it and tugged it on, working her feet into the boots.

There was a stickiness—dried now—between her thighs that wasn't very pleasant, particularly since it

sent echoes of remembered passion through her mind and made her warm all over. Cole quashed the

feeling. She eyed Sharmin speculatively once she'd finished dressing and finger combing her hair. He was
still unconscious. She was tempted to find something and beat him around the head and shoulders with it,

but that'd make it hard to pretend amnesia.

A thought finally occurred to her, however, and an evil smile curled her lips. Striding across the hut, she

‘tripped’ and came down on top of him, kneeing Sharmin in the solar plexus.

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"Oh! Master, I'm so sorry. I don't know why, but I'm just a little dizzy this morning. I tripped. Are you

all right?"

Sharmin was struggling to catch his breath, blinking at her blurry eyed. “All right,” he grunted, finally

catching his breath. “You all right?"

Cole struggled to her feet and stepped away from him, trying very hard not to look down at the third leg

laying on his flat belly. No damned wonder she was sore! “Except for feeling like I've got a

hangover—which is weird since I don't remember drinking anything last night. In fact, and this is even

more weird, I can't remember anything that happened after we sat down to eat with the Nagy. Last thing

I remember, I was sitting around the table eating, and then woke up here. I don't even remember getting

here. Guess you brought me, huh?"

Sharmin looked her over uneasily, but there was a look of vast disappointment on his features, as well.

“You don't remember ... anything?” he insisted, sitting up on his elbows.

Cole shook her head firmly, hiding her annoyance at finding him so cute and vulnerable when he first

woke up. “Maybe it'll come back to me. Right now, all I can think about is taking something for pain. My
head feels like it's going to explode. For that matter, I ache and hurt all over. I hope I'm not coming down

with something,” she said, feeling her forehead with the back of one hand.

Turning, she strode from the hut and descended the ladder, leaving him staring after her. Allowing herself

a faint smile of satisfaction, she headed for the nearby stream. Lucky for her the Nagy were primitives,

like Earth people, and used water for bathing.

Stopping a short distance from the village, she dragged her jumpsuit off and waded out into the water.

The water soothed her aching body and spirit. Even the headache receded to a more comfortable level.

Feeling more like herself, she climbed out once more and shook as much water from her body as she

could, then sat down on a moss covered rock to wait until she'd dried enough to pull the jumpsuit on

again.

When she got back to the village, Sharmin, Fuzz and Sylo were eating breakfast. Sharmin favored her

with a searching look, Fuzz and Sylo grinned at her like they knew a dirty secret. She felt like belting the

three of them. Instead, she lifted her eye brows at Fuzz and Sylo. “What? Have I got dirt on my nose, or

something?"

Sylo's grin vanished abruptly. He glanced at Sharmin, then her, then concentrated on eating his food.

Cole found that she wasn't particularly hungry, but she ate anyway—small portions of the fruit offered.

She wasn't so certain she trusted anything on this planet anymore. She felt better once she'd eaten,

though.

When everyone had finished eating, the nagy brought baskets and they all went out to gather food to

take with them. Sylo hung back, grasping Sharmin's elbow. “What gives? Last night she was screaming

like a fonktol in heat. Today she acts like nothing happened."

Sharmin shrugged. “She doesn't remember anything."

"You're shittin’ me, man! Nothing?"

Sharmin shook his head. “Guess not. It's probably a good thing. I'm thinking she'd be looking to cut my

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throat this morning if shedid remember."

Sylo slid a penetrating glance toward his friend. “Just the same, I'd be mighty disappointed to think that

kind of performance was completely unappreciated."

Sharmin flushed. “She appreciated it at the time,” he snarled irritably.

"Yeah, but .... never mind,” he added at the look on Sharmin's face.

Cole smiled grimly. Men! You could hear them whisper a half a mile away. At least she had the

satisfaction of knowing Sharmin was vastly disappointed at her reaction.

Strangely enough, though, she didn't really feel all that satisfied.

Shaking the strange feelings, she concentrated on gathering food. The nagy had some food under

cultivation and had gathered together several baskets for them, but nobody wanted to take much of their

food for fear that the gentle people would end up suffering over the shortage. They'd finally agreed to

take only a few and gather the rest themselves. The nagy had come along to help them gather it, and also

to point out what was edible and what wasn't.

They passed a passion fruit tree. Cole glanced at the fruit surreptitiously, but made no attempt to gather

any of it because, when she looked around, she saw that Sharmin, Sylo and Fuzz were all looking the

fruit over speculatively. She had every intention, however, of sneaking back and gathering a couple of the

fruits.

She wasn't through with Sharmin yet—not by a long shot, and as far as she was concerned, tit for tat

was the best sort of revenge—she'd see how he liked being slipped the nagy's answer to Spanish Fly!

Fortunately, the brush was thick. Once they'd paused and began gathering, everyone spread out, their

attention on their task. Cole began working her way back toward the passion fruit tree, slowly,

unobtrusively. When she realized she'd worked her way out far enough that she wasn't within sight of

anyone, she moved more quickly.

She damned near fell over Fuzz before she realized it. Catching herself in the nick of time, she ducked

behind a thick bush, watching as Fuzz, after looking around carefully, grabbed a couple of passion fruits

and shoved them into the basket, covering the fruit with the other food.

When Fuzz turned and hurried back toward the gathering party, Cole slipped from behind the bush and

moved closer to the tree, searching the ground for any fruit Fuzz might have missed. A sound in the tree

drew her attention. Her heart skipped several beats when she thought about the little fury demons the

nagy called whoopies. She was outraged when she saw that, instead of a whoopi, it was

Sharmin—pulling passion fruit from a low hanging limp!

That bastard! Well, forewarned was forearmed. She'd see who spiked whose food!

As soon as he'd gathered a half a dozen, he dumped the contents of his basket onto the ground, tossed

the passion fruit in and then scooped up the other fruits and piled them on top, then grabbed the basket

and, as Fuzz had, trotted back toward the gathering party.

Seizing the opening, Cole grabbed two off the ground and shoved them into her basket. She was

tempted to try climbing the tree for more, but the snap of a twig told her that either Fuzz or Sharmin had

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come back for more or.... She caught a glimpse of Sylo as she ducked behind the tree.

Jeez! They were going to have a fuck-fest if everybody spiked everybody else's food, she thought with a
touch of hysterical amusement. She sobered instantly, however, when it suddenly occurred to her that she

was the only female on the ship.

Fury suffused her but vanished almost abruptly. How conceited was it to think theyall meant to use it on

her? No doubt Fuzz and Sylo had their own agenda—neither had ever shown any particular interest in

her.

Sharmin was another matter all together! The asshole!

She had one distinct advantage over all of the rest of them. She was the only one who'd eaten any,

which meant she was the only one who knew what it tasted like.

When Sylo had gathered his share of the ‘forbidden’ fruit and headed back, Cole followed quickly

behind him. She'd been gone longer than anyone else and ran the greatest risk of being caught—which

wasn't part of her plan.

To her relief, she managed to get close enough before they noticed she was missing and began calling for

her to avoid too much suspicion. Circling around, she rushed back toward the group from the opposite
direction. “Sorry. I didn't realize I'd wandered off so far,” she said, gasping slightly from the exertion of

rushing with the heavy basket.

Sharmin, looking a little pale, glared at her. “The last time you wandered off, you were captured by the

whoopi. Next time, pay more attention to what you're doing."

Cole was tempted to say something nasty, but it occurred to her with a touch of surprise that he looked

like he'd actually been worried about her. “You're right. I should've been paying more attention to what I

was doing."

He studied her suspiciously for several moments, as if he was trying to decide if there was some

underlying thread of sarcasm in her comments, but finally dismissed it. Gathering up their baskets, they all
set out toward the ship once more. It was rough going. The planet was a tangle of vegetation and despite

the fact that there was a trail of sorts most of the way, the undergrowth crowded close. They had to walk

single file and still struggled with slapping branches and tripped over trailing vines. The baskets were

heavy, which didn't make the trip any more enjoyable. Finally, however, they reached the ship late in the

afternoon.

After resting briefly, they set about storing the food. Cole was more inclined to rest a little longer, but she

couldn't allow anyone to handle her stores without discovering her stash of passion fruit. Naturally, since

everyone else was in the same boat as she was, and had their own stash to hide, nobody complained.

With all of them working assiduously, and the nagy helping, they had the ship stocked with food in only a

little while.

When they'd finished, they bid the nagy farewell and settled down to rest a bit and discuss what to do

next. Everybody was anxious to leave as soon as possible. They knew the Futts were probably still out

looking for them, but they didn't want another encounter with the whoopi.

"It'll be best to go in after dark. The primitives only have fire for light, so they're more inclined to settle

down for the night pretty early,” Sharmin suggested. “We might need a distraction, though."

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Sylo frowned, then shrugged. “Two would be able to sneak in a lot easier than four."

Sharmin gave him a look. “We've got better weapons, but we're outnumbered all to hell and gone, and

those little bastards are not only fast, they're strong. We need all the man power we can muster."

"So what happens if they pay the ship another visit while we're all off sneaking into the village? We've

almost got the ship ready for take off. If they hit us again, we might come dashing back here and discover

they've demolished the ship and we can't go anywhere. Then we really would be up shit creek without a

paddle."

Sharmin frowned. “You're right. I'll go. You three stay here, guard the ship and be ready to take off

when I get back. I've got a feeling I'm going to have those little bastards right on my heels."

Cole gave him a look. “You're going alone? With nobody to watch your back? That's chivalrous of you,

Sharmin, but stupid! Two would have a better chance than one. I'll go as your back up. Fuzz and Sylo

are needed here to get the ship ready, and to guard it. They don't need me."

Sharmin's lips tightened. “It'd be easier if I didn't have to worry about you falling behind."

Cole didn't know whether to be pleased about the fact that he was worried about her, or irritated than

he seemed to think she was so useless. “They caught me off guard before. And I wasn't the only one that

got caught,” she reminded him.

Sharmin blushed. “I was drunk. If I hadn't been, they would never have caught me."

Sylo, Fuzz and Cole all gave him a look, and he turned redder. “If you say so,” Sylo muttered. “But I

think Cole's right. You need somebody to watch your back."

Sharmin favored the trio with a sullen glare. “Fine. Suit yourself. Just don't hold me up. I plan on hitting

them hard, fast, and getting the hell out of there. We should be back long before day break. As soon as

it's dark enough that the whoopi have settled in for the night, I'm going in.” Getting to his feet, he stalked

into the ship. When he returned several moments later, he was dressed in dark clothing and wearing two

side arms.

Cole didn't have a selection of clothes to choose from, but her jumpsuit was dark enough not to be a

beacon in the night. To her surprise, Sharmin handed her one of the side arms he was carrying. “Just

don't shoot me,” he snapped irritably, and turned and stalked away.

Shrugging, Cole followed him. He was moving rapidly, and she had some trouble keeping up at first, but

as they neared the village of the whoopi, he slowed and began to creep forward more stealthily. They

stopped when they reached a point of observation and settled down to wait for the cover of darkness.

They didn't have long to wait. It was dusk by the time they reached the village.

The nagy had told them that it was most likely that the whoopi had stolen the crystal for their sacred

temple. By the time they'd found a point where they could see the temple, it was dark enough that they'd

had to move with great care to keep from stumbling over something and alerting the whoopies to their

presence.

The smell of cooking food wafted toward them as they waited and Sharmin's stomach rumbled. Cole

was glad she'd had the forethought to bring a couple of pieces of fruit. Taking them from the small pack

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strapped around her waist, she silently handed one to Sharmin. He smiled faintly in appreciation and Cole

felt an uncomfortable flutter somewhere in the region of her heart. An answering smile curved her own

lips before she thought better of it and looked away, concentrating on eating her own piece of fruit.

By the time they'd finished, the cooking fires of the whoopies were already beginning to burn lower and

the whoopies had begun to disappear into holes dug into the ground. The little things were like termites,

but she supposed it was cooler underground than above. It made her uneasy to wonder how many there

were underground, just waiting for some hapless fool to wander into their midst.

They waited until the stars began to wink on in the night sky, one by one, and they could see well enough

to determine than most of the whoopies had settled in for the night.

Finally, as if on cue, they both rose, stretched to relieve their cramped muscles, and began to make their

way slowly and carefully toward the falls, stopping now and then to listen for movement and peer through

the darkness toward the holes littering the ground. Once they reached the outskirts of the “village", they

scurried quickly toward the temple.

Chapter Eight

The falls were more of a slow trickle than any grand crashing of water, but they produced a small

masking sound that would work in their favor or against them. They might not be able to hear the whoopi

sneaking up on them, but then again, unless something went horribly wrong, she thought their chances

were good of escaping unscathed.

The temple was shrouded in darkness. To Cole's relief, Sharmin fished a light from his pouch. He didn't

dare turn it on, however, until they were fully inside and shielded from view of any of the whoopi who

might still be stirring. Feeling their way along the walls, they moved cautiously inside. Cole's heart was in

her throat as visions of Indiana Jones flickered through her mind. It'd be just like those sneaky little

bastards to plant booby traps for intruders!

To her relief, Sharmin finally flicked the light on and fanned it around the area.

"Watch for traps,” she cautioned.

"Traps?"

"Primitives on my world had a nasty habit of setting up traps to catch people that went into places where

they weren't supposed to be. They'd dig pits, cover it with something so you wouldn't notice it, then put

sharp sticks or man eating beasts in the bottom so you'd fall in and die."

Sharmin looked horrified. “You're kidding, right?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding? I'm as serious as a heart attack. Watch out for anything that looks even a

little out of place—maybe I should go first? I've got some idea what to look for."

Sharmin hesitated. She could tell he was torn between his certainty that she was probably right and it

would be best for somebody that had some clue to go first, and his peculiar brand of chivalry. His

protectiveness was disturbingly endearing-and completely at odds with his willingness to take unfair

advantage of her sexually.

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Shaking her head, Cole moved to the front. “I'll be careful, but the object here is to get that crystal and

get the hell off this planet. I'm not going to be any better off if you trip some kind of booby trap."

He handed her the light and she examined the floor, the walls and the ceiling carefully. “All right, the

entrance looks safe,” she said. Bending to the ground, she took the pack off her waist and scooped dirt

into it, filling it up and then strapping it on again.

"What's that for?” he asked, giving her a curious look.

"Just in case,” she said, straightening and moving cautiously forward.

"In case of what?” he persisted.

She threw him an irritated look. “I saw it in a movie once, okay?"

"Jesus!” he exclaimed. “We're screwed."

Cole ignored that remark and started down the corridor. Irritated by his lack of confidence, she couldn't

resist the urge to fuck with his mind. After she'd gone only a couple of yards, she stopped abruptly.

Placing her back against the wall, she inched very carefully around one particular stone.

"What is it?” Sharmin whispered anxiously.

"Booby trap—whatever you do, don't step on that stone!"

Sharmin turned a little pale and very carefully mimicked her actions. He'd gotten halfway around the

stone when she gave him a shove. He yelped when he landed in the middle of the stone, squeezing his

eyes shut.

Cole giggled. “Gotcha!"

Sharmin glared at her. “You are such a bitch. You scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist."

"You are more trouble than you're worth,” he muttered, getting to his feet. “Quit screwing around. We

need to get that crystal and get out of here."

She nodded, trying to look subdued and agreeable. “You're right. No more screwing around."

She began moving again, more quickly now. They reached an intersection of corridors. Cole examined

each passage carefully. The floor at their feet was clean and free of dust. There was no way to tell which

of the corridors might lead to the crystal. The one they were following, however, seemed to be leading

directly to the heart of the temple.

"This way,” Cole said.

"How can you tell?"

"I can smell their footprints."

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Sharmin gave her a look. “I'm not stupid. If you had such a grand sense of smell, you would've been

running like hell before those whoopies got hold of you."

Cole bit her lip to repress a smile. “I'm guessing. Does that make you feel better?"

A faint smile curled Sharmin's lips. “Not especially."

"You want to try one of the other corridors?"

"We might as well go with your gut instinct."

Cole was a little surprised, but finally shrugged and turned away again. They had been walking for

several minutes when Cole was seized by her demons once more. Stopping abruptly, she flashed the light

over the stones, the floor, the ceiling, the walls.

"What is it?” Sharmin whispered nervously.

"I don't know,” Cole whispered back. “I thought I heard ... something."

"Like what?” Sharmin whispered.

"Shhhh,” she said. “Did you hear that?"

Sharmin was wide-eyed when she flashed the light in his face. “I didn't hear anything.” He looked around

nervously, but blackness surrounded the small puddle of light.

Cole shrugged. “It's gone now.” She started forward again but halted so abruptly that Sharmin slammed

into her back. “There it is again!"

Sharmin's eyes narrowed when she turned around. “Are you screwing with me again?"

Cole couldn't help it. She snickered.

Sharmin ground his teeth. “So help me, if you don't quit screwing around, I'm going to turn you over my

knee and beat your ass."

Cole looked him over, but she doubted she could take him on. “Honestly, can't you ever think of

anything but sex?"

Sharmin's jaw went slack. Before he could think of a retort, Cole, smiling to herself, turned away and

started down the corridor once more. They came, at last, to a great chamber. Cole knew this by the fact

that the light didn't even penetrate far enough to illuminate the walls or the ceiling. A shiver skated down

her spine. The temple hadn't lookedthat big outside.

Advancing more cautiously, she trained the light in first one direction and then another. Finally, she was
rewarded by the glint of refracted light. She brought the light back to that point and saw what looked to

be a huge monstrous beast crouching in what appeared to be the center of the room.

Her heart stopped abruptly, and then began hammering at her ribcage. After several moments, however,

she realized that it was the light that was moving and not the beast. Flashing the light at the floor, she

moved closer and then illuminated the statue again.

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A nervous giggle welled in her throat. The great crouching beast was a giant reproduction of the whoopi.

Undoubtedly, this was their god. Before it on an altar lay the crystal they'd been searching for.

"That's it!” Sharmin exclaimed, surging forward.

"Wait!” Cole said, grasping his wrist as he rushed past her. “It could be booby trapped!"

He gave her a look. “I'm not falling for that again."

"I'm serious,” Cole said, frowning.

He shook his finger at her. “No more screwing around. Let's get the crystal and go."

Cole gripped his arm more tightly. “I'm not kidding this time. Let's just be careful about this."

Releasing his arm, she fanned the light around the area, studying it carefully. There were scrape marks,

she noticed, on the floor near the altar. She couldn't tell what had made them, and even her fertile

imagination didn't supply her with any possibilities, but she decided to err on the side of caution.

Cole handed Sharmin the light telling him to keep it on the crystal. Removing her pack, she balanced it in

her hand, trying to judge whether the weight was the same as the crystal. Finally deciding that the weight

was roughly the same, she grabbed the crystal and dropped the pack in the space it had occupied in a

smooth move worthy of any movie heroine.

The crystal was surprisingly heavy, she thought as she handed it to Sharmin, who tucked it in his pack.

Abruptly, the grinding scrape of rock sounded in her ears. Cole didn't even glance back. “Run!” she

shouted, snatching the light from Sharmin and dashing back across the room.

The floor began to shake beneath her feet. Sharmin, who apparently thought she was fucking with him

again, was slow to react. Cole stopped and shone the light back towards him. “Run, you fool!"

Without further prompting, he dashed toward her. Grasping her hand as he ran past, he dragged her

down the corridor. Behind them, they could hear the crash of stone against stone. The floor shook

beneath their feet, so that they stumbled back and forth, colliding with the walls of the corridor with

bruising force.

"What happened?” Sharmin gasped, racing towards the tiny wedge of night sky they could see at the

end of the corridor.

"Damned if I know,” Cole said, “But I'm not waiting around to find out!"

The sound of breaking stones followed closely upon their heels as they ran for all they were worth. Sand

and debris rained down upon them. With a final burst of effort, they launched themselves from the mouth

of the corridor, landing in a heap just outside.

An ominous roaring behind them galvanized them into renewed action, and they scrambled to their feet

and leapt away from the mouth of the tunnel just as a tidal wave of water burst through it.

"Shit!” Cole gasped, catching her breath. “It reallywas booby trapped!"

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"Must've been tied in somehow with the waterfall,” Sharmin murmured.

Gasping for breath, they looked around to get their bearings. Below them, no doubt alerted by the

ungodly racket emerging from the temple, torches appeared as the whoopi poured out of their burrows.

"Oh hell!” Hauk said. “I think we've been discovered."

Grasping her hand again, Hauk raced around the backside of the temple and began to clamber down the

side of it. There were no stairs on the backside. The temple, built much like a pyramid in tiers, didn't

present as much of a challenge to him as it did to Cole.

Leaping from tier to tier, he reached up to catch Cole as she jumped to him. Finally, they reached the

bottom and began to make their way back around to the path they'd followed to reach the village of the

whoopi.

All around them, even above the roar of the great waterfall that was rushing down the face of their

temple, they could hear the furious cries of the whoopi as they pursued them.

Hauk knew it was dangerous to keep the light. It made it easier for the whoopies to spot them, however,

it was nearly as dark in the jungle as it had been in the temple, and he knew they'd have no chance of

finding the path without the light.

It was risky to follow the path, but it was also the straightest and shortest way back to the ship. They

really had no choice but to find it and follow it. He might have a chance of outrunning the whoopi if he'd

been by himself. He knew Cole wouldn't be able to.

They were both out of breath by the time they found the path. He pulled Cole to a halt, forcing her to

rest a few moments and catch her breath.

"We can't stop now,” she gasped breathlessly. “They're right on our heels."

"Just a couple of minutes,” Sharmin reassured her. “We need to at least catch our breath."

Without argument, Cole collapsed beside the path, struggling to slow her heartbeat. When her breathing

became easier and less painful, she got to her feet with an effort. Catching her hand, Sharmin led the way
once more. They jogged at a fairly slow pace at first, listening as the pursuit behind them gained on them.

Finally, they were forced to run all out again.

Just when Cole had reached the point when she didn't think she'd be able to continue much further,

Sharmin scooped her under one arm without missing a beat and kept running.

"We've got it!” he yelled. “And they're right on our ass!"

Cole struggled to lift her head. To her relief, she could see the floodlights surrounding the ship. Fuzz and

Sylo were running about like mad, tossing things inside the ship.

Sharmin shifted her, tossing her over one shoulder as he dug the crystal out of his pouch. “Fuzz!” he

yelled, then launched the crystal.

Fuzz followed the path of the flying crystal and leapt up, catching it like a baseball player catching a fly

ball, then dashed toward the end of the ship. Without missing a beat, Sharmin closed the distance

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between himself and the ship and dashed up the gangplank.

Within moments, the screaming of a hundred demonic whoopies invaded the clearing. The stomping of

running feet heralded Fuzz's dash inside. As soon as Fuzz cleared the door, Sylo retracted the gangplank,

sealed the door, and kicked the ship into ignition.

Sharmin eased Cole from his shoulder and lowered her to the deck. They collapsed into the passenger

chairs in the cockpit and strapped in just as Sylo lifted off and the ship shot into the sky.

Sharmin peered out the porthole near his chair, smiling grimly at the whoopi, who were jumping up and

down and screaming in fury.

Chapter Nine

As soon as Sylo had reached space and it was safe to do so, Hauk unfastened his belt and tossed it

aside. He was exhausted. He'd been up most of the night outrunning screaming demons. Cole, he saw,

was half asleep in her chair. Unfastening her belt, he pulled her to her feet and pointed her in the direction

of the cabin they shared.

She protested half-heartedly, but he thought it was more for show than anything else. As soon as he

pushed her through the door of their cabin, she staggered across the room and climbed into the bed. She

was asleep even before he'd gotten undressed. Crawling in beside her, he told the computer to dim the

lights. It was the last thing he remembered.

When he woke several hours later, Cole was gone. Still more than half asleep, he patted the bed beside

him in search of her for several moments before it filtered through to his brain that he was in bed alone.

Vaguely irritated, he burrowed a little deeper into the bed and sought sleep once more, but he realized

fairly quickly that he wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore. Grumbling, he tossed the covers aside and

staggered toward the head, weaving drunkenly as he crossed the cabin floor. A long, hot particle shower

revived him and sloughed the grime from his body. The cruder shower system, rather than the laser

incinerators he was used to, relaxed his sore muscles and revitalized his mind.

When he emerged some time later, Cole was sitting at the head of his bed—their bed, her hands curved

around a steaming beverage. On a table nearby sat a second steaming cup. The scent wafting toward him

on the steam told him it was the caffeinated beverage the Earth people called coffee. Just what he

needed! Something to jump start his system.

He hadn't realized they'd even had anything like that on board.

Ruffling his tangled hair, he smiled at the unaccustomed treat of having someone bring refreshment to

him, but it was lost on Cole who, after glancing briefly in his direction, studiously ignored him.

Miffed, he picked up the cup and settled on the bed at her feet, near enough that he only had to lean

slightly to set the cup down between sips.

When he glanced at Cole again, he saw that she was studying the beverage in her cup as if the cup was

some sort of viewing screen. He ran a hand over his jaw and chin, but he hadn't missed any whiskers.

He'd cleaned his teeth. He wasn't dirty. There was only one conclusion to draw from her determination

not to look at him.

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She found his disguise unattractive.

He felt like somebody had knocked the wind out of him.

He couldn't even remember a time when women hadn't found him attractive. Even though he and Cole

had been at each other's throats almost from the moment they'd first met, he'd known, from the way she

looked at him when she thought he wouldn't notice, that she found him physically appealing, at least. They

rubbed each other the wrong way, but he'd still found her attractive, both physically and otherwise, and

he'd been certain she felt the same way.

He frowned, sipping the hot liquid carefully. He'd changed his physical appearance, but underneath, he
was still Hauk and he'd assumed she would still find him irresistible. It was more than a little deflating to

think that it hadn't beenhim women had been attracted to any of the time, but rather his appearance, and

possibly his position.

What if it had only been his position they were attracted to? He thought with sudden horror.

He dismissed that after a little thought. Cole hadn't had a clue of who he was or his position and she'd

still found him attractive.

Oddly enough, that didn't make him feel much better. He was still Hauk. The face might look a little

different, but that shouldn't have made that much difference, particularly considering the marathon love

session they'd had.

Of course, she didn't seem to remember that.

And it didn't seem likely that he was going to entice her without the drug, because she was still very

determined to look at anything except him.

Finishing his drink, he set the cup down and went into the head again, examining his disguise. Damned if

he could see anything wrong with it. His face was fleshier—his whole body was for that matter, but he

couldn't believe Cole was so shallow she couldn't see past it.

He was tempted to discard the disguise right then and there, but it suddenly occurred to him—for the

first time—that Cole might just be a little more than pissed off if—when—she discovered his deception.

He didn't know why he hadn't thought of that before, that it went just a little beyond a practical joke to

continue to deceive her.

He felt slightly nauseated then.

Cole was going to be really, really ticked off when she found out, and he couldn't think of anything he

could do to avoid it, except to continue the deception and that wasn't something he particularly wanted to

do any more. What if she fell for him, looking like this? Would that mean she wouldn't like him the way
he really was? But, if she didn't fall for him, looking like this, then it wasn't the real Hauk she was falling

for, was it? Only his physical side.

"Shit!” This was a hell of a mess!

She was gone again when he came out of the head. He paced the room a while and finally settled on the

bed again. Sprawling out, he pulled the covers over himself, staring up at the ceiling.

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He didn't know why it mattered to him anyway. The woman had annihilated his self-confidence. Now he

was always going to be wondering if it was his charm, or his title, or his physical appearance women

went for.

It occurred to him after a while that it wasn't something he wanted to have hanging over him. He couldn't

discard the disguise now anyway. If he was going to get his self-confidence back, he was going to have

to win Cole over just as he was now.

He wasn't certain what he was going to do after that, because he was pretty sure that she wouldn't take

it well at all when she discovered his deception, but he decided he'd just have to worry about that later.

Throwing the covers off, he rose and left the cabin, heading down the companionway in search of Cole.

She was in the mess hall with Fuzz and Sylo. Fuzz glanced at him and went back to eating. Sylo glanced

up at him and grinned. “Cole was just telling us about the little adventure you two had."

Hauk glanced at Cole. She was gaping at him as if he'd grown two heads. As if his attention had broken

the spell, she looked down at her place quickly. He frowned.

"Sounds like she had you going there, buddy."

Hauk forced a smile. “A couple of times,” he acknowledged. “Fix me something to eat, girl. I'm starving.

I'll have it in my room,” he added, turning and strolling down the companionway again. He could feel her

gaze boring into his back. He tensed, more than half expecting her to launch a missile in his direction. He

relaxed again when he made it to the door of the cabin without incident. Lifting one brow regally, he

turned and gave her a questioning look before he went into the cabin and closed the door.

Cole's eyes narrowed on the closing door like laser beams. He could consider himself lucky she didn't

have the ability to kill with her gaze, otherwise he'd have been a dead man.

When he was gone, she glanced at Fuzz and Sylo. Looking uncomfortable, they got up abruptly and left,

returning to the cockpit. Cole stewed over his orders for several moments, wondering if there was any

strychnine on board.

It occurred to her after a few moments that she had something a whole lot better and a smile curled her

lips. He'd given her the perfect opportunity for revenge. It had to be fate!

Rising, she dropped her plate in the cleaning unit, then took a clean plate out for Sharmin and collected a

knife and an assortment of the fruits they'd brought from the planet. When she'd peeled them and

chopped them into small, bite sized pieces, she looked around to make certain Fuzz and Sylo were still in

the cockpit and went to retrieve her stash of passion fruit. Peeling two, she chopped it as she had the

other fruits and mixed it in. She doubted he'd recognize the meat of the fruit anyway, but she didn't want

to arouse his suspicions by having all of the passion fruit piled on top.

Adopting a carefully subservient expression, she strolled down the companionway with the concoction

and entered the cabin. Sharmin had parked his carcass on the bed. He was lounging—naked as a jay

bird and without even the bed cover over him! He sat up as she came in, propping on one elbow. She

focused her gaze on the plate in her hand.

She couldn't look at his body without remembering the night they'd made love all night and every time

she remembered, her body responded heatedly and her mouth went dry.

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Bowing, she set the plate on the table beside the bed.

Sharmin pushed himself up the bed until he was sitting, propped the pillow behind his back and leaned

back, his arms folded behind his head so that the muscles in his upper arms bulged enticingly. “You may

feed me."

Cole felt color climb her cheeks. Part of it was pure irritation, but, unfortunately, it was also because it

made her hot all over just thinking about feeding him.

Bowing again, she knelt beside the bed.

Sharmin patted the bed beside him. “Sit here."

She complied. Lifting the fork, she stabbed a piece of passion fruit and turned to him. He opened his

mouth and she dropped the piece in, watching in fascination while he chewed. Shaking herself, she turned

to the plate and speared another piece of passion fruit, staring at his tongue as it slipped over his teeth to

capture the tidbit. Her stomach clenched as it curled around the piece of fruit.

Clearing her throat, she decided to give him a piece of the other fruit. She didn't want to be too obvious.

He frowned slightly when he chewed it. “I think I like the other fruit best."

She glanced at him sharply, wondering if he'd figured out what she was doing, but there was nothing in

his expression to indicate that he had. Shrugging inwardly, she forked another piece of the passion fruit

and fed it to him, deciding that she'd been right to begin with. Itwas fate. It was time for the ‘what goes

around, comes around’ thing.

He'd eaten every bite of the passion fruit before he lost consciousness. Cole had begun to worry that she

might have overdone it. It was some sort of drug, after all, and she didn't think she'd even eaten half of

one before she'd blacked out. Sharmin had consumed two whole pieces of the fruit.

Putting the fork down, Cole studied him uneasily for several moments and finally slapped his cheeks

gently. He didn't even flinch.

Satisfied, she got up and studied him. The plan was to tease him unmercifully, not get herself

raped—okay, so it was impossible to rape a willing soul and she wasn't exactly unwilling—but the idea

wasn't to please him. It was to teach him a lesson in humility, to get a really good feel of what it was like

for someone to take unfair advantage.

She'd have to tie him down. Otherwise, he was going to be a real handful. Climbing up on the bed, she

put her back to him and grasped one ankle in each hand, leaning forward. After several sharp tugs, she

managed to drag him far enough back down the bed that he was lying flat. Dropping his feet to the bed,

she went to his closet in search of something to tie him with. No ropes magically appeared, and she

couldn't find the belting he'd used on her before—probably stashed it for just this reason—but she

figured a couple of jumpsuits would work just as well, and he had plenty of those. The man was a regular

clothes horse.

It reminded her of Hauk.

Up until she'd met Sharmin, Hauk was the only man she'd ever known that owned more clothes than she

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did.

Now that she thought about it, it was really a weird sort of coincidence, particularly since there were a

lot of things about Sharmin that reminded her of Hauk. Frowning, she turned to study the sleeping man

for several moments. Sharmin was attractive enough, but he looked nothing like Hauk. Maybe they were

related?

Shaking the thoughts, she grabbed a couple of jumpsuits and set to work. There was no telling how long

he'd be out and she wanted to be sure he was immobilized before he came to.

The bunk, naturally enough, was bolted to the walls and floor. Crawling under it, she found a narrow

crevice between the wall and the platform the mattress rested on and shoved a leg of one jumpsuit

through, then repeated the process a little further up the bed. When she crawled out again, she climbed

onto the mattress and secured the wrist and ankle nearest the wall. Getting off the bed again, she caught

the end of one jumpsuit and tied it securely to the other wrist, then repeated the process with his other

ankle and tested both by pulling on them as hard as she could.

He would be able to move his arms and legs a little, but not enough to grab her.

She was pretty sure he wouldn't call out for Fuzz or Sylo—he wouldn't want them to see what she'd

done to him—but she decided not to take any chances. Returning to his wardrobe, she helped herself to

yet another jumpsuit and moved back to the bunk.

He came to just as she shoved the leg of the pants between his jaws. Ignoring his puzzled look, she tied

the gag securely before she sat back, smiling at him in grim satisfaction. “Today we learn the error of

taking unfair advantage of someone who's defenseless."

Chapter Ten

Sharmin glared at her, twisting his head and bucking on the bed, testing his restraints. She looked at him

worriedly as he moved, half tempted to vacate to the cockpit without doing anything just in case he

managed to get loose, but after a few minutes of fighting, he collapsed on the bed and went perfectly still.

Cole smiled slowly, satisfied now that even with his great strength, he couldn't get loose. She sauntered

back across the room from where she'd retreated when he'd begun struggling.

He was furious, but not so angry that he didn't secretly enjoy being bound. She knew this, because his

cock was standing straight up from his groin. Of course, that could just be the fruit ... Cole didn't want to

think about that.

She knelt on the floor next to him, splaying her fingers flat on his belly. His stomach rippled in response

as if trying to jerk away from her. “I'm sure if you could talk, you'd deny any wrongdoing,” she

murmured, lazily trailing a hand up and down his belly, moving closer each time to where she knew he

wanted her hand. She could practically hear his cock begging.

He shook his head furiously.

Cole shook a finger at him. “Don't lie,Master . You know you're guilty. You're a man, aren't you?” She

chuckled, shrugging out of the top half of her jumpsuit until her torso was bare. Her nipples were hard

from arousal, and she leaned forward, rubbing them against his belly, enjoying the sensation of his warm

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skin against her sensitive nipples. She heard his groan through the gag.

She stood and removed her jumpsuit before climbing onto the bed, easing herself over his legs. He was

so hot, seeping into her like the heat of a summer day. His skin was smooth against her thighs, making

them feel achingly alert to the feel of his muscles flexing between them. Propping on her arms, she leaned

over him and dragged her breasts up and down his chest. He shuddered, vibrating against the tips,

making her nipples engorged and incredibly aware. Tingles of pleasure spread through her breasts,

traveling down to her center. She was wet already, could feel the uncomfortable ache between her thighs

that signaled her arousal.

Ignoring her blossoming desire, she dragged a trail down his belly, coming to his cock. It twitched as she

shifted and rubbed one swollen breast heavily across its tip. He jerked beneath her, his muscles gone

rigid as she slid down until she could rest on her knees between his parted thighs. She lowered, pressing

her breasts together to hug his cock, tweaking her own nipples and gasping as his hips lifted, stroking her

cleavage, urging the blood to well in her breasts until she thought they'd explode from sensation. She bit

her lip, pinching her nipples.

It felt good being in control for once, to have a man completely at her mercy. The feeling was powerful,

made her so wet, she felt it on her thighs.

She scooted back, dipping her head to nip his hairless hips. She loved that he had no hair here or

anywhere else—nothing to impede her complete enjoyment of him.

She swathed the area surrounding his cock, feeling the blood in his veins pump against the tip of her

tongue. He smelled clean, naturally male and bathed. She dipped lower, moving over his testicles. He
dimpled with gooseflesh as she breathed hotly against him. He moved his legs, to escape or not—she

didn't care.

Placing her hands between his thighs, she urged them further apart, nibbling a path down the crook of

one thigh. The under curve of his buttocks loomed. Tight. Tempting. She rubbed her nose against the

crook of his leg, pressing her tongue against the band of flesh separating his anus and testicles.

He jerked furiously, mashing her nose against the band, going rigid as she removed her mouth and

stroked one hand up and down, tickling past that spot.

Never had she done this with another man, but there was something about his vulnerability here that

drew her, made her want to press it, conquer this spot and claim it for her own.

She sucked her finger, wetting the digit and rimming his hole, pushing gently inside. His muscles clamped

down on her, trying to keep her out. She persisted, moving inexorably inside, curling up. His bucking

ceased. She could hear the rapid fire of his breath, see the heaving of his chest. His cock jerked as she

stroked him, milking the hidden gland. She pressed another finger inside, stretching the tight hole, rubbing

her clit as she thrust and curled inside him.

She bit his thigh, pumping slowly, feeling his convulsions on her finger, slipping in her own juices,

exploring her folds as she explored him.

She looked up at him above the plane of his body and met the heat of his gaze like a brick wall.

She was losing focus—fast. She freed her fingers from the suction of his body and left him to go to the

bathroom, catching her breath and focus as she washed her hands. It was her pleasure and his torment

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she was after. Her goal reasserted, she went back and got into the bed.

Cole crawled over him and straddled his hips, leaning back until his cock nestled in the cleft of her

buttocks. There was a high to having power over a man, to have his strength bound between her legs and

at her disposal. She smoothed her palms across his chest, rubbing them over his small nipples until they

beaded beneath her touch.

She felt her wet arousal seeping down onto his lower belly, between her thighs. She pinched his nipples,

twisting them as she undulated back against his cock. The ridges of his muscles, his pubic bone rocked

against her at the movement, connecting with the smooth band of flesh between her vagina and anus. She

shuddered, feeling him tense beneath her as she rocked again, grinding her cheeks ever so slowly against

him.

She could practically hear the grind of his teeth. She smiled, tweaking his nipples as she rode forward

and ground her clit against his pubic bone. Chills of pleasure arced over her skin, raising goosebumps in

their wake over the flesh of her arms and legs.

She leaned forward, bumping her buttocks against his shaft, flicking her tongue up the column of his

throat over his adam's apple. It bobbed as he swallowed hard, and she caught it with her lips, sucking

lightly at his throat.

He was panting, his breath coming harsh through his nose, flaring his nostrils. She smiled against his

throat, nipping him with her teeth, sucking the corners of his jaw until she'd left the small rounded mark of

her mouth there.

She trailed the shallow valley between his pecs, exhilarated to feel the pound of his heart beneath her lips

as she moved over one nipple. It beaded, harder as she scraped her teeth against him.

Cole rubbed her sex on his hips, pleasure blooming between her thighs. She couldn't believe how

worked up she was having him beneath her, unable to do anything but feel her ministrations.

She was covered in a fine sweat, moving slick against him. Her skin was energized, hyper sensitive to

every motion, each nerve attuned to the arousal of her mind.

Cole crawled down him again until his groin was even with her face. She propped above him, lowering

her face down to his cockhead until she could flick her tongue across the tip and catch the droplet of

moisture gathered there. He was sweet from the fruit she'd given him. She moved lower and nibbled him,

following the subtle sway of it as he moved his hips to try and escape her. He gave up after a few minutes

of her relentless pursuit.

She nibbled around the smooth rim. It seemed like hours went by, and still, she kept him hard, kept him

eager to the caress of her lips and tongue.

The feeling was powerfully heady, made her drunk with lust. She couldn't cease her torment and didn't

want it to end. She was starved for the taste of him and the arousing power filtering through her veins.

It occurred to Cole after a while, however, to wonder what had ever made her think she could do

something like this and remain unmoved.

She stopped at that thought and sat back on her haunches, looking him over a little worriedly. His shaft

was angry and red from her sucking. He must hurt terribly bad, as unfulfilled as she was—no, more.

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She'd deliberately set out to provoke this response in him. She bit her bottom lip, and unable to meet the

dark look in his eyes and his swollen cock, she closed her eyes.

She'd only meant to tease him a little, just enough to serve as a strong reminder that there was often a

price tag on things you did to other people. Instead, she'd gotten so aroused herself, she'd gone much

further than she'd intended.

Two wrongs do not equal one right, rang in her head. Her intentions didn't matter as much as her

actions, which were in direct opposition to her intent.

It also occurred to her, rather belatedly, that she'd only pretended she couldn't remember what had

happened. She remembered all too clearly, and Sharmin was going to remember too. It was too much to

hope that the fruit would affect a vulkahn metabolism differently than it did human. He'd eaten a lot more

of the fruit than she had though, so there was that.... Still, she didn't have much confidence in that—he

was just so damned big it took that much to do anything to him.

The question was, what was she going to do about this situation? She couldn't leave him tied up

indefinitely, and she had a very bad feeling that he wasn't going to be a sport about this.

This was the sort of thing that inspired even mild mannered men to violence.

As far as she could see, she had only two choices open to her. She could go through with what she'd
started and pretend that had been her goal all along—in which case he'd expect a repeat performance

whenever the mood struck him—or she could leave things as they were and hope Sylo and Fuzz would

keep him from killing her when he got loose.

She couldn't decide whether the first option was more appealing because she wanted to have sex with

him, or because she was so reluctant to face his wrath.

She finally decided, regardless of her reasons, she had to go through with it. If she didn't, she wasn't

going to be able to live with herself even if Sharmin decided to allow her to.

"Okay, that's enough of that,” she said a little shakily, looking down at him. She took a deep, calming

breath, gathering her nerve for what she was about to face. “I'm going to untie you now."

It wasn't the smartest move in the world, but she had to untie him some time. She thought maybe

releasing him would soothe his anger somewhat. She supposed that he'd probably get madder and

madder the longer he was tied up, rather than be soothed at sexual release and then freedom. Besides,

she thought, looking at him, he didn't lookthat mad.

Knowing she was probably being an idiot, Cole moved beneath the bed, freeing his legs with an effort

and then moving to the other restraints. She'd just managed to get him completely free when she heard

him shift on the bed. Cole lay under the bed, wondering whether or not she should come out now.

A thud sounded ominously behind her and suddenly her ankles were seized and she was dragged out

from beneath the bunk. She didn't even have time to gasp before he'd flipped her over and was on top of

her, plastering hard male flesh against her.

His mouth sealed her lips in a rough kiss that stole her breath away. His tongue surged forward on her
frightened gasp, moving inside like a conquering bandit, stealing her breath, her protestation, her will to

do anything but lay there and have him impale every one of her orifices.

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He growled into her mouth, animalistic, angry. Fury seeped from every pore. Cole pushed at his chest,

fighting for relief from his onslaught, to excited to truly struggle as she should. He caught her hands,

bringing them up above her head on the floor, clamping them together with one great hand around her

wrists.

She was pinned, vulnerable and helpless to his invasion of her senses. He propped on the arm that

bound her, using a knee to roughly part her thighs, bringing his free hand down between them to grasp

one leg and haul it around his hips.

He stroked his tongue in and out of her mouth. He jerked his groin, grinding up against her spread cleft.

Cole gasped, sucking his tongue as he plowed that hardness through her soaked folds, striking her clit

like a hot iron.

Flames licked at her insides. Her pussy trembled, burning for his rod to sear her insides, for his seed to

quench the welcoming fire.

He tore his mouth from her own, hungrily gnawing her jaw line with his lips and tongue as if he would eat

her alive.

"What comes when the slave betrays the master?” he growled against her ear, sucking the lobe between

his lips and teeth.

Cole writhed beneath him, moving her legs against his hips, striving to free her arms from the manacle of

his hands. “Punishment?” she asked, moaning as he ground hard against her clit, bruising her swollen

flesh.

"Pain and pleasure are much the same in equal parts,” he said harshly, scoring the tendon along her neck

with ravaging thoroughness.

She shuddered at the sensual promise in his words. “It's pain enough not having you inside me,” she said,

making hurt, whimpering noises as he slid up and down through her labia.

He grunted in response, shifting his hips until his cock nudged her vaginal opening. “Why should I give

this to you?” he growled.

"You want it as much as I do?” she said, breathing heavily, tightening her thighs around him.

"You are more trouble than you're worth,” he murmured huskily.

He held still, looking down at her, his hair tangled over his shoulders, across his forehead in wispy

strands. Sweat beaded on his skin, on her own. She couldn't meet his gaze and the torture she saw there.

The pressure built inside her until she thought she'd die from waiting for him to complete her. Cole grit her

teeth against the pain clutching her insides.

"If you don't fuck me now, I'll brain you in your sleep,” she said, clenching and unclenching her hands as

if that would help.

A slow, satisfied smile curled his lips.

"Sharmin,” she warned when he continued looking down at her. “I can't stand it!” she panted.

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He moved his hips in a circle, making her muscles twitch. She bared her teeth at him, knowing she

deserved this. It still wasn't going to save him from an ass kicking later.

He nudged her opening, gritting his teeth as he worked the wide head of his cock inside. Cole closed her

eyes and moaned, her womb flaring to instant, achy life.

The ship suddenly shuddered all over.

"What the hell?” Sharmin exclaimed, rolling off of her and sitting bolt up right.

"We've got trouble, buddy!” Sylo's voice came to them over the intercom unit.

Sharmin groaned in frustration.

Cole echoed him and got to her feet, grabbed her jumpsuit and began wiggling into it frantically. “This

sucks!” she said, having a hard time getting dressed as sweaty, and sticky, as she was.

Climbing to his feet, Sharmin looked at the jumpsuits hopelessly knotted and tied to the bed. “Federation

damn it to hell! That was two of my favorite suits!” he exclaimed in dismay.

"How was I supposed to know that?” Cole demanded.

Sharmin's lips tightened, but he didn't waste any more time debating the matter. He rushed from the

room. Cole hurried after him.

"We're in deep shit!” Sylo ground out as they reached the cock pit. “I tried to out run them, but no

good. They've got us in their tractor beam.” He glanced at Hauk and his eyes widened as he couldn't

help but be drawn to Hauk's crotch. “What the hell—never mind. I don't want to know what you two've

been doing."

"Don't ask,” Hauk said tightly, turning to glare at Cole.

Sylo glanced from Hauk to Cole and back again. “It ain't none of my business, but if I was you, I

wouldn't be going to see Bubba the Futt in my birthday suit. No point in giving the old pervert any ideas."

Hauk glanced down at himself as if he had no idea what Sylo was talking about. The blood suddenly left

his face as something occurred to him. “Shit!” Hauk brushed past Cole and headed for the cabin once

more.

When he'd gone, Cole moved close enough to the front that she could see the ship that had attacked

them in the viewing screen. Slowly but surely they were drawing closer and closer to the ship, which must

be a good bit more than four times the size of Sylo's trim little cruiser. There could be an army on the

thing, and probably was. “You think it's Bubba?” Cole asked.

Sylo gave her a look. “Just a wild guess, but since me and Sharmin had a little bit of a dispute with him

when we left Ustbol and they chased us half way across the galaxy, I'm thinking, if it ain't Bubba, it's

somebody he sent to look for us."

Cole wasn't at all anxious to visit Ustbol again ... ever. “I would've thought they would have given up and

left the area by now. We were on that planet for a couple of days, after all."

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Sylo smiled grimly, turning to study the ship that was reeling them in like a fish on a hook. “They ain't the

type to give up very easy. It would've been better if we'd stayed on the planet a while longer."

"With the whoopi?” Cole said disbelievingly.

Sylo shrugged. “It would've been better if wecould've stayed on the planet a while longer,” he

corrected. “Not that it matters now. I'm figuring we've got maybe five minutes before they're knocking on

our door. All in favor of a fight to the death, say aye."

Sharmin, dressed in a jumpsuit now had returned. Fuzz and Cole glanced at each other and then gave

Sylo a look that said they thought he was out of his mind.

"You think we've got a chance?” Sharmin asked.

Sylo didn't bat an eyelash. “Not much, but then we'll have even less once they get us to Ustbol."

"If we're alive, we at least have a chance of escaping,” Cole pointed out. “Anyway, the guy that was

supposed to be taking me home is probably looking for me. There's at least a chance that he'll be around

to help us escape."

Sylo and Sharmin exchanged a look.

Cole glanced from one man to the other, feeling distinctly uneasy at their expressions. “What?"

Sharmin reddened faintly. “I don't think we can count on help."

"Why not?” Cole demanded suspiciously.

"Because we can't, damn it!"

The ship shuddered again, almost knocking them to their feet. Sylo glanced out the forward viewing

screen. “We're out of time, people."

"They'll want to take us alive, if I know Bubba,” Sharmin pointed out.

"Yeah,” Sylo said, getting to his feet and pulling his weapon. “Let's just hope the bounty hunters are

willing to hold out for the ‘alive’ portion of the reward."

The door burst open as if it had been blasted with a laser. Sylo and Sharmin aimed their weapons

toward the opening waiting to take a bead on the first boarders. A canister flew through the opening and

landed on the deck virtually at their feet, a gaseous cloud erupting from it.

"Aw, shit!” Sharmin and Sylo exclaimed in unison.

Chapter Eleven

Cole realized even before she opened her eyes that she was in a place she wasn't going to be happy

about. She was lying on something, cold, hard and completely unyielding. Her feet and hands were numb,

too. Slowly, she opened her eyes. The room was dim, but the little bit of light still made her head hurt.

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She didn't know what the bounty hunters had used to knock them all out, but whatever it was, it packed

a hell of a kick.

Groaning, she tried to roll over. That was when she discovered her hands were tied behind her back.

Trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey again!

A strange sound behind her made shivers run up her back, and she whirled to see what it was. Fuzz,

trussed up just as she was, lay on the floor behind her.

With an effort, she looked around the tiny cell. Itwas a cell, containing nothing but what appeared to be

a toilet in one corner ... not even a bunk. Neither Sharmin nor Sylo were with them.

She glanced at Fuzz again. “You think you can untie me?"

Fuzz began inching toward her, almost like an inch worm.

At least Fuzz seemed to understand what she was saying. Cole just wished the same held true for vice

versa and wondered how long she was going to be penned up in here with Fuzz.

Dismissing the thought, she concentrated on moving her hands, trying to shake the circulation back into

them so that they didn't feel like useless globs of flesh. Fuzz bumped into her and then rolled over with an

effort and inched back again. She held still while Fuzz worked at her bindings. Very likely Fuzz had lost

circulation as well, because it seemed to take an awful long time before the binding around her wrists

finally began to loosen.

Finally, with persistence, Fuzz managed to untie her and Cole discovered that her arms were almost as

useless as her hands. Gritting her teeth, she moved her arms and slung her hands until the pin prickles of

returning circulation began to subside, then pushed herself upright and began working on Fuzz's bindings.

She'd almost got the bindings loose when the grinding sound of metal against metal drew her attention

and she discovered a door in one wall. A small opening appeared and a tray was shoved through.

Abandoning her efforts, Cole dove toward the tiny opening. “What have you done with Sharmin and

Sylo? Where are they?"

A growling, snorting sound was the only response and Cole decided the guard wasn't wearing a

translator and wondered, as the slot was closed once more if he'd even understood her. She clawed at

the slot and finally managed to push it open a sliver. “Hey! What about the others?” she demanded.

"Cole?"

Cole's heart leapt. “Sharmin?"

"We must be in the next cell over. You okay, baby?"

Cole felt a sudden urge to burst into tears at the concern in his voice. “Yeah. What about you?"

"I feel like hell, but I'm okay. Don't worry. Me and Sylo are working on a plan."

Fuzz made a noise behind her and Cole glanced in that direction. “Sorry. I've got to help Fuzz."

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Allowing the slot to close, Cole moved back to Fuzz. “I'm sorry. Hang on. I'll have you loose in a

minute."

Her fingers were still clumsy. She had to use her teeth to loosen the bindings enough to untie them.

Finally, though, spitting out the fur she'd collected with her mouth, she managed to free Fuzz's hands and

turned her attention to untying the binding around her ankles while Fuzz moved both arms and legs to

work the circulation back into them.

She discovered her feet were asleep and she couldn't walk. Crawling back to the tray that had been left

by the door, she examined it suspiciously, particularly the two cups, but finally decided there was no

reason for their captors to poison them. If they'd wanted them dead, they could've killed them while they

were unconscious.

The food wasn't bad—either that or Cole was just too hungry to notice it wasn't. In any case, she and

Fuzz ate and she felt a good deal better afterwards. Moving back to the door, she used the tray to push

the slot back. “Sharmin!” she whispered loudly.

The slot on the door of the cell across from theirs was pushed open. If she strained, she could just get a

glimpse of his eyes. A weightless sensation gripped her as their gazes locked. A wave of dizziness

followed it. Why hadn't she noticed it before? His eyes looked just like Hauk's—but that was ridiculous!

Unless she'd been right before and he was related to Hauk?

"Yeah?"

It took her several moments to remember why she'd called out to him to start with. “Anything good yet?"

His eyes slid away. “We're still trying to work something out. I doubt an opportunity will arise before we

reach Ustbol, though. Just—when they come to get us, stay alert for anything."

He was lying to make her feel better. He hadn't a clue of how they might get out of this. Her heart sank.

“Any idea how long that might take?"

She could hear their muffled voices as he turned and discussed it with Sylo. “A couple of days,

probably. I wouldn't think it would be more than three."

She nodded. “Fuzz and I will see what we can work up from our end.” She let the slot close and moved

to the opposite side of the room, propping her back against the bulkhead. Fuzz was propped against the

bulkhead adjacent to her. Cole glanced toward Fuzz. “What do you think? Any chance we might get out

of here?"

Fuzz stared at her a moment and then studied the walls, the floor, the ceiling and, lastly, the door. Finally,

Fuzz shrugged and began speaking. Cole didn't understand one word of it. She'd never been able to

figure out how Sylo understood Fuzz, or at least seemed to.

"A translator would be nice,” she muttered when Fuzz finally stopped speaking.

Fuzz nodded.

Sighing, Cole turned her thoughts inward, wishing they'd at least put her in with Sharmin—or even Sylo.

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At least she'd have had someone to talk to. She was still frustrated by the interruption to their

lovemaking, and wondered if he was as uncomfortable as she. Hell, something was wrong with her if she

could think of that at a time like this.

She wondered if it had been pure imagination that had made her think Sharmin's eyes looked so much

like Hauk's. She decided it wasn't. She knew she hadn't been thinking about Hauk. There was no reason

for her to connect, except recognition. The question was, was there anything to it? Or was it purely

coincidence?

Sharmin reminded her a lot of Hauk. He had from the first. She supposed that was one of the reasons

he'd rubbed her the wrong way; that cocky self-assurance that just begged for a little deflating; his

devil-may-care attitude about things she felt he should have considered important; a smile that could

charm the pants off of 4 out of 5 females.

She'd been attracted to Hauk, though, in spite of what she saw as a host of gargantuan flaws. If she

were truthful with herself, she supposed the main reason she'd been so determined to make his life

miserable was to hold him at arm's length, because she knew she could easily become another notch on

his belt.

It almost made her feel better that she felt much the same way about Sharmin. At least now she knew

that the attraction wasn't something that could be fatal. If she'd been as vulnerable to Hauk as she'd

feared, she didn't think there would've been a chance in hell that she would've found herself equally

attracted—maybe evenmore attracted—to Sharmin.

To her way of thinking, Sharmin had all the sex appeal Hauk had, but had the added appeal of some

sensitivity and even a pinch of vulnerability. He'd made every effort to act like he suffered no doubts or

anxieties about himself, but she could tell he wasn't quite as confident as he wanted everybody to think.

It was also very endearing the way he always looked out for her. He mightsay she was more trouble

than she was worth, but, even in the worst sort of circumstances, he showed concern over her

well-being.

Cole brought that line of thinking to a screeching halt. What was she thinking to let Sharmin, of all men,
get under her skin? He'dbought her for chrissake! It didn't matter that it had probably saved her from a

far worse fate, the fact remained.

It must be Stockholm syndrome, she decided.

She couldn't let that man grow on her—like lichen! She had to keep her wits about her. Right now, the

main thing was to escape from the bounty hunters, but even that wasn't going to fix her own situation.

She had to figure out some way to get loose from Sharmin and go home.

Despite what Sylo and Sharmin seemed to think, she knew Kerel must be looking for her. He might

even have gone back for reinforcements ... or called for help.

But would they think to look for her on Ustbol? This Bubba the Futt Sylo and Sharmin kept talking

about seemed to be some sort of galactic mob boss, and pretty well known. It was possible they'd figure

it out and come to look for her, but she thought it was more likely that, as much as she hated the idea,

she was going to have to figure out how to get back to Zampi, where they'd last seen her.

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Realistically, there didn't seem any hope of escaping at the moment. It was a huge ship, and even if she

did manage to get out of her cell, she doubted she'd be able to figure out a way off of it.

She would just have to bide her time and look for opportunities once they reached Ustbol.

It might not have been so bad if she'd at least had Fuzz to talk to, but with no real company beyond her
thoughts, time dragged on her hands. The lighting in the room, naturally enough, never changed. She had

no way to count passing time at all and there was little sensation of movement. There didn't even seem to

be any particular schedule used to feed them. Apparently, whenever the guard happened to think about

it, he brought something. Four meals arrived in a space of time Cole roughly calculated at three Earth

days.

There was nothing to do but sit and stare at the walls, or think, or sleep. She didn't suffer deprivation,

but it would've been nice to have found some sort of feeding schedule to help her calculate the time, or

even for entertainment.

The only way she knew they'd arrived at their destination was the tramping of more than one set of feet

along the companionway that separated the cells. The stomping feet stopped outside their cell and the

door abruptly opened. The man in the doorway barked something at her that she couldn't understand,

probably something like ‘on your feet!', but the order, if that was it, was unnecessary because she and

Fuzz surged to their feet the moment the door swung open.

The lighting outside the cell was brighter and Cole blinked, trying to adjust her vision as she left her cell.

Something cold and hard closed around her upper arm like a handcuff and she peered up to discover that

it was a robot that gripped her. Looking around, she saw that there were four robots and two

disreputable looking humanoid beings.

It was worse than being handcuffed. She might have been able to break loose and flee if she'd been

handcuffed and then escorted by one of the humanoids. The robot served as both restraint and tether.

She was fairly certain nothing short of chewing her arm off was going to get her loose from the robot.

They waited in the companionway while the door to Sharmin and Sylo's cell was opened. There was a

scuffle inside, but it was a short one. In a few minutes Sharmin and Sylo, looking a little the worse for

wear, appeared, escorted by the other two robots.

They were dragged down the companionway, passing through two airlocks before they arrived in what

must have been a docking bay. Sylo's ship, looking none the worse for wear, had been pushed off to one

side of what looked like a runway. On the runway sat a tiny cruiser that wasn't much bigger than an old
luxury land cruiser, as they'd once referred to the huge cars built in the mid 1900's on Earth. They were

seated inside and strapped down and the two humanoid's took the pilot and copilot seat in the front.

Almost immediately, the doors of the bay began to open. Beyond the doors, Cole caught a glimpse of

space and a drab brown sliver that must be the planet Ustbol. The vehicle shot out of the bay doors

almost soundlessly and dropped toward the planet below them.

As they hit the atmosphere, the cruiser began to buck so wildly Cole's heart leapt into her throat. It

nearly shook her teeth from her head, but the bucking and shuddering began to subside within the space

of a few minutes. Her stomach went weightless, righted itself and went weightless again as the vehicle

dropped toward the surface like a stone. Just when she thought they were going to plow into the dirt

nose first, the cruiser leveled out and began to race just above the surface of the world.

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Cole couldn't see much from her position near the rear, but it looked arid and rocky. Ridges of reddish,

rocky mountain rose up on either side of them, then dipped once more and finally petered out altogether.

Abruptly, the rocky ‘outcropping’ Cole had glimpsed directly in front of them resolved itself into a stone

city, or possibly something more like a fortress. This was nothing like adobe market she'd been in before.

Her hopes immediately sank.

She was almost relieved when they landed. None of them had even attempted to talk from the time

they'd been taken from their cells. It had seemed pointless to risk it when it appeared pretty obvious they

weren't likely to see any opportunities for escape any time soon.

Cole glanced at Sharmin. He was looking grim, and so was Sylo. That didn't bode well. “Any ideas?”

she whispered.

"Bubba's a trader. We're going to feel him out and see what we might have to trade for our freedom."

Relief washed through Cole. It hadn't occurred to her that they might actually have a chance to barter for

their freedom. “You think he'll go for it?"

Sylo shrugged. “With the right incentive, yeah."

They didn't have another opportunity to talk. They were unloaded by the robots and escorted off the

landing platform across a narrow rock ‘bridge’ that spanned a gully between the landing area and the

fortress. There was nothing really remarkable about the fortress itself beyond the fact that it looked more

like a natural formation of rock than the result of design and labor. Once inside, however, that changed

dramatically.

The floor of the hallway they found themselves in was paved with what looked like pink marble tiles

about two feet square. The hallway itself was wide and tall, probably ten to twelve feet high. Light pink,

ultra sheer curtains fluttered from several doorways along the hall. Beyond, Cole glimpsed hazy images of

chambers draped with gauzy curtains and piled with plumb cushions—sort of an Arabian Nights theme

except she doubted they generally decorated with shades of pink.

Finally, they came to a set of double doors. The taller of the two bounty hunters tapped on the door.

The door opened a crack and a low voiced conversation ensued. The door was closed again. Minutes

passed. At length, the doors swung wide and they were ushered into an enormous room with a vaulted

ceiling. At the far end, a throne or dais of sorts had been erected. Gauzy pink drapes fluttered all around

it, ruffled by the breeze vented into the room via dozens of arrow slit narrow openings that Cole

supposed passed for windows. The ‘throne’ that sat upon the dais was almost completely obscured by

the mountain of fluffy pillows surrounding the creature that lounged there.

Chapter Twelve

The creature lounging on the throne looked like little more than a glob of undulating fat with two tiny pig

eyes barely visible in the round face. It wore a “wife-beater” tank top that was distastefully stained

stretched over its gullet part way, covering its chest but not its belly, and scraggly brown hair cut in a

mullet framed its round face. As they approached, it grinned and giggled, clapping its pudgy hands

together in delight, then waving away the attendants who'd been busy fanning it with huge feathered fans.

Raging homosexual.

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Cole resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This had to be the villain, Bubba the Futt—fat and homosexual.

She was surprised he wasn't smoking. The really evil villains always smoked.

As if he'd read her mind, he summoned a slave forward. The slave offered up something that bore a

striking similarity to a fat cigar and held flame to it. Bubba puffed on it, then waved the creature away.

"Sylo!” the creature exclaimed as they neared the dais, and then turned to study Sharmin speculatively.

“And who is this ravishing creature?"

Sharmin paled and then turned three shades of red as Bubba batted long, curling eyelashes in his

direction. Obviously, he didn't remember seeing Sharmin from before. Cole wasn't sure if that was a

good or bad thing. Maybe he just had a really bad short term memory...?

Sylo cleared his throat uncomfortably. “My friend, Sharmin—and that's Fuzzy and Cole, an Earth

woman."

Bubba didn't even glance in her direction, or Fuzz's for that matter. “Really?” he giggled, looking

Sharmin up and down. “I didn't recognize you."

He frowned then, looking more like a pouting baby than a real threat. “But I don't know why I'm so glad

to see you! You've been naughty, naughty, Sylo! Whatever made you think you could steal from me and

get away with it?"

Sylo shrugged, grinned wryly. “A fast ship?"

Bubba stared at him a long moment and finally began to giggle, flicking a limp wristed wave at him.

“Oooh, stop it! You know I think you're just so cute when you tease me like that, but, really, I have to

punish you. If I was to let you get away with something like this, before I knew it I'd have all sorts of

creatures stealing me blind.” He placed one pudgy hand to his mouth thoughtfully. “I'm just not certain

what I should do with the two of you. I don't suppose you've got the money you owe me? Of course,

there would also be a fine of say....” He broke off and thought it over and then mentioned an amount that

was undoubtedly staggering. Both Sylo and Sharmin blanched.

They glanced at each other. Finally, Sylo forced a laugh. “Actually, this is all a big misunderstanding,

Bubba. Me and Sharmin were just going back to Vulkahn to get the money we owed you. If these

morons of yours hadn't picked us up, we'd probably be halfway back now with your money."

Bubba studied him petulantly. “I hate it when you lie to me, Sylo. You know very well you were headed

in the opposite direction when you were captured."

Sylo's lips thinned. “Well, it ain't like Sharmin here isn't good for it. You know he is. I tell you what, why

don't you just let us go get the money for you?"

Bubba waved that suggestion aside. “That would involve trust, though, and I don't trust you Sylo."

Sylo shrugged. “Then send an escort with us."

Bubba studied him a moment and finally grinned. “I don't think so. Really, I believe I'd much rather have

you and Sharmin work it out in trade."

Sylo and Sharmin abruptly made their move. Whirling almost simultaneously, they darted toward the

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door across the room. Before Cole could do much more than gape at them, the bounty hunters whirled

and fired a half a dozen shots at them. Both men went down. Cole screamed and tried to wrench her arm

free.

"Such theatrics!” Bubba exclaimed. “They're not harmed. What use would they be to me then? Of

course, I really have no use for the two of you."

He began speaking rapidly to the bounty hunters. Cole couldn't understand any of it and in any case she

was too caught up in fear for Sharmin to have noticed if he'd been speaking a language she could

understand. Sylo and Sharmin's limp forms were lifted and carried away. A servant came forward and

handed each of the two bounty hunters a bag, which Cole saw as they opened them to check the

contents, were filled with some sort of gleaming jewels.

Securing the pouches to their belts, the bounty hunters gestured to the robots that still held Fuzz and

Cole and the robots obediently began to drag them from the room. Cole's fear for Sharmin jostled with

fear for herself. She had no idea what was happening or where she was being taken.

It looked very much like Sylo and Sharmin were about to meet with ‘the fate worse than death’ if she

and Fuzz couldn't figure out some way to rescue them, but there was no telling what the bounty hunters

might have in mind for her and Fuzz.

"What's happening?” she demanded as they reached the corridor once more. “Where are you taking

us?"

One of the bounty hunters glanced at her. “Slave market."

Cole gaped at him.Again? She thought, outraged. It suddenly dawned on her, though, that that might not

be the worst thing to happen, at least for her. It was possible Kerel had traced her to the market. If he

was still there looking for her....

That seemed far fetched, though. He'd have to know she had already been sold.

In any case, that wasn't going to help poor Sharmin and Sylo. From the way Bubba was salivating over

the two of them, they would already be....

She couldn't bear to think of it. There didn't seem to be any way out of their current situation, though.

As they crossed the rock bridge to the landing pad, she caught a glimpse of a ship that had arrived after

they'd landed. Something about it seemed vaguely familiar and hope surged inside her. It began to

dwindle as they came nearer and nearer to the ship the bounty hunters had brought them in and nothing

happened.

She was caught completely off guard when the bounty hunters opened the doors of their vehicle.

Fortunately, the bounty hunters were caught off guard, as well. Both bounty hunters and their robots went

down in a hail of gunfire. Cole ducked, too stunned to assimilate what was happening. When the dust

settled and she looked up, she was even more stunned.

Emerging from the bounty hunters craft was Kerel and Ryan and Luna—her brother and sister!

Letting out a joyous whoop, Cole launched herself toward her brother and sister. “How did you get

here? My God! I'm so glad to see you two, and your timing couldn't have been better. They were taking

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me to the slave market again."

Kerel grinned. “I needed reinforcements. It took us a while to track you down."

Cole shook her head. “I'm just glad you came when you did."

"Let's get the hell out of here before somebody discovers us,” Ryan said.

Cole shook her head. “Bubba's got Sylo and Sharmin. We can't leave without them."

Kerel gaped at her. “Sharmin's here?"

Cole frowned. “You know him?"

Kerel gave her a strange look. “Of course I know him! What's going on?"

Cole shook her head. “I don't know exactly. I didn't understand everything that was going on, but

apparently when they bought me at the slave market, they didn't have enough money. Bubba's bounty

hunters tracked us down and now Bubba's decided to keep Sylo and Sharmin and ‘take it out in trade'."

Kerel looked like he was going to puke. “We can't leave them here. That's all there is to it."

"But what can we do?"

Kerel thought it over for several minutes and finally looked Cole and her sister over speculatively. “We'll

need disguises. I've got a couple of transformers on the ship."

Confused but willing, they followed him back to the ship that had been parked behind the bounty

hunter's craft. “You might not have noticed, but Bubba's got a ... uh ... thing for males."

"It would've been hard not to notice,” Cole said dryly.

"Well, the one thing he likes even better than good looking young men is pretty boys. Me and your

brother are too big to pass, but you and Luna, with the help of the transformers, could be boys. Me and

Ryan will pose as slave traders and go in to offer the two of you for sale. Once we're inside, we'll grab

Hahn and Hauk and blast our way out."

Cole looked at him blankly. “Hauk?"

"Yeah. Lord Sharmin, Hauk—"

"Wait just a minute,” Cole said, feeling her temper begin to rise. “You're telling me that Hauk is Lord

Sharmin? That guy in there doesn't look a thing like Hauk!"

Kerel shrugged. “He's probably still using the transformer.” Moving to a console, he pulled out two

objects that looked very similar to the translators they wore around their necks. He placed one around

Cole's neck, adjusted something and then stepped back. Immediately, she felt her muscles begin to

contract and bunch. Nausea washed over her until it was all she could do to keep from being sick.

Waiting, apparently, until the effects wore off, Kerel caught her shoulders, then guided her to one of the

cabins and turned her so that she could look at herself in the mirror.

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Cole felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. She looked like a boy. Her breasts had vanished, her hair

was shorter, even her face looked rounder—like a young boy.

A red tide of fury washed over her. “I'll kill him!” she growled.

Kerel studied her uneasily. “I'm sure he had a really good reason for ... uh .. keeping the disguise."

"What's going on?” Ryan and Luna demanded almost in unison.

Cole glanced from one to the other and tamped her anger. “Nothing. Never mind. Let's just get this over

with."

It made sense now. That was why Sharmin had reminded her so strongly of Hauk, even though he hadn't

looked anything like Hauk—except around the eyes.

She dismissed it. She didn't have time, at the moment, to consider what his motives had been—she had

a fair idea what they were anyway.

She pulled Kerel aside as they were leaving the ship. “Swear to me that you won't let on that you told

me about Hauk's disguise!"

Kerel shook his head. “No way. I'd just as soon not be in the middle of this anyway. Hauk's going to be

really pissed off when he finds out I spilled my guts."

Cole's eyes narrowed. “You just leave Hauk to me."

Kerel seemed all too happy to do just that. Once everyone was disguised, he produced small weapons

and hid them in Cole's and Luna's clothing. Bubba's guards were bound to search Kerel and her brother,

but nobody, they hoped, would expect the two slaves to be carrying weapons. Taking two more for

show, Kerel and Ryan bound her and Luna's wrists behind them loosely and escorted them back inside

Bubba's fortress.

It was probably the smoothest any plan of Kerel's making had ever gone. As expected, the guard

searched both Kerel and her brother and relieved them of their weapons before allowing them to enter

the throne room.

Cole began working surreptitiously at her bindings as they slowly crossed the room toward the dais. A

sense of intense satisfaction filled her as she saw Sharmin—correction—Hauk and Sylo. Clad now in

nothing more than tiny loincloths that barely covered their jewels and left their buttocks bare, each man

now sported an ankle manacle and a heavy chain that linked them to Bubba's throne. Bubba was idly

twirling a finger through Hauk's long, blonde hair as he watched them approach.

A lascivious look crossed his features as they came nearer, however, and he released Hauk's hair and

sat forward, staring at Cole and her sister as if they were tasty bits of food.

"They're for sale?” Bubba exclaimed excitedly, clapping his pudgy hands together.

Cole glanced at her sister, saw that she, too, had managed to remove her binding. “Now!"

Whipping a weapon from her clothing, she tossed one to her brother and one to Sylo, then pulled her

own weapon out and began blasting at anything that moved. Her sister tossed a weapon to Kerel and

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one to Hauk before grabbing her own weapon. Open mouthed with shock, Hauk and Sylo nevertheless

managed to catch the weapons thrown to them. Training them on their chains, they blasted their way free

and leapt from the dais. The six of them whirled almost as one, like a well trained fighting unit, and

dashed for the exit, firing as they went.

Guards swarmed toward them from every direction, but they'd had surprise on their side and had

managed to incapacitate the guards in the throne room before reinforcements showed up. They fled

down the corridor toward the landing site.

"I'm not leaving without my ship,” Sylo announced. “Me and Fuzz will take the bounty hunters’ pod

back to the main ship."

"I'll go with you and help,” Ryan volunteered.

Cole would've argued, but it seemed more important at the moment just to get off Ustbol. While

Sharmin and Kerel lay down fire, she and her sister dashed for Kerel's ship and up the gang plank.

Sharmin and Kerel practically fell through the door behind them and then raced for the control room.

Within moments, they were airborne. Kerel cut a circle and returned, firing on Bubba's ships before they

could launch and disabling them.

Hauk insisted on meeting Sylo at the bounty hunter's ship, however—he wanted his clothes!

Cole knew, without any doubt whatsoever then that he was Hauk. Kerel grumbled but finally agreed and

followed the pod Sylo was piloting.

Cole and Luna cheered when they made it safely away and hugged each other tightly. Linking arms, they

left the two men and went into the cabin her sister had been using. Once there, they discarded their

disguises and sat down on the bunk facing each other. “I can't believe you and Ryan came after me!”

Cole exclaimed. “I mean, I can. You've always looked out for me. I just can't believe you're here, that

you managed it."

Luna smiled wryly. “Actually, we almost didn't make it. When Kerel showed up with his tale, we didn't

believe him—naturally. But wedid believe he'd had a hand in kidnapping you. He kept insisting that he'd

been bringing you home, though, and that you'd been taken captive. We didn't trust him, but we knew the

only chance we had of getting you back was to go with him—so, here we are!

"What I'd like to know is, what happened to you? How did they capture you in the first place and how

did you end up here?"

"It's a long, long story, but I guess we've got time."

Chapter Thirteen

Cole could hardly believe everything she'd gone through since that fateful day months ago at the jail. But

finally, at long last, she was on the way home. Not that it truly mattered, she supposed. Her entire family

was now in space. Ryan was off somewhere with Hahn Sylo and Fuzzy, doing god only knew what, and

Luna was in the cockpit with Kerel, making his life a living hell.

Cole chuckled. Luna was more aggravating even than her—well, that's whereshe'd learned all her tricks

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from.

Hauk hadn't caught on yet that she knew who he was, and Cole didn't have any intention of letting him

know she knew. She was still pissed about it. Actually, she was surprised the urge to hit him over the

head wasn't stronger, but she could use subtler means of revenge than that.

He hadn't tried to touch her either.

Which was another reason, she could admit, why she was so damned pissed. Not that she would have

welcomed any attempts to make love to her now that she knew what a dirty trick he'd played on her, but

the attack of the bounty huntershad interrupted them in the heat of the moment and she still felt an

uncomfortable sense of dissatisfaction.

She dismissed it. She'd rather resort to her dildo than give him the satisfaction of encouraging him to

finish what they'd started.

She was far more interested in paying him back for his deception. She was willing to bet he'd been

laughing inside the whole time.

Hauk had left their cabin to eat. While he was gone, Cole readied herself for payback. She didn't start

straightening up their room until she heard the heavy approach of his footsteps.

When she heard the hiss of pressure as the door slid open, she bent and leisurely shook out the sheets

on the bed.

"Cole, I ... brought...."

She smiled to herself, then looked at him over her shoulder. He was standing stock still just inside the

door, a cup held in one lax hand, staring at her ass, his eyes glazing, his mouth gaping slightly.

"Hmmmm?” she questioned, straightening to face him. “Something wrong?"

Her movement seemed to break the spell. He blinked, shaking himself from his stupor. “I brought you

something to drink,” he croaked, surging forward, clumsily handing her the cup.

She accepted it, taking a sip of a drink that reminded her somewhat of orange juice. “Thank you.”

Returning her attention to bed making, she bent over at the waist, fluffing the pillows. “You know, I'm

sure glad Kerel finally showed up. If it had been up to that jerk, Hauk, to save me, I'd probably never

have gotten off of Ustbol. Of course, it was his fault I was taken in the first place. You'd never take

advantage of me like that, would you, Sharmin?” she asked, glancing up at him innocently.

His eyes were glazed again. As she watched, his adam's apple bobbed convulsively. He looked at her
like he wanted to kiss her ... desperately. She averted her gaze to the glass, picking it up again, looking

anywhere but at him ... and the bed.

"Hauk's not as bad as that,” he said in a strangled voice.

"Humph!” Cole disputed him. “I think I'm being easy on him. After all, it was his fault I ended up at the

slave market! I was so lucky it was you who bought me."

He opened his mouth and shut it again, and finally turned and stalked out of the room without another

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word.

Cole sat on the bed and set her cup down before pulling the covers over herself. She sighed, leaning

back on the pillows, waiting for the sense of satisfaction that failed to materialize. She'd done what she'd

set out to do. She'd given him a taste of his own medicine, and told him what she thought about his

behavior while she was at it.

The only problem was, she didn't feel half as satisfied at her success as she ought to have. In fact, the

way he'd stomped out with that hurt little look on his face ... well ... it just made her feel bad.

Irritation surfaced. Why should she feel guilty about hurting his feelings? For that matter, how did she

know, for sure, that she had?

He'd probably just been playing for sympathy with that wounded puppy dog look.

She didn't believe it for a moment. He didn't know she'd found out about his deception. If he had, he'd

have realized she was saying it to him because sheknew he'd feel the stab. Instead, he thought she really

felt that way.

Which she did, of course.

An unaccustomed sense of depression settled over her. She was going home. She should be dancing,

not moping in the cabin.

She thought it over for a while and finally arrived at the conclusion that she was horny. There was just no

getting around it. If he just hadn't left her hanging that last time.... Not that it was his fault the bounty

hunters chose that moment to attack, but nevertheless....

Anyway, she was curious to know if it had been the passion fruit or her that had driven Hauk wild.

Maybe the fruitdid work differently on vulkahns....

That thought depressed her even more.

Sighing, she climbed out of the bunk and paced the cabin, trying to think of something to do with herself.

Finally, spying Hauk's belongings piled in one corner, she decided she might as well make herself useful

and actually clean the cabin. As she was shaking the jumpsuits out, something round and semi-hard

tumbled out and rolled across the floor.

A slow smile curled Cole's lips. Passion fruit. Free, wild sex, without restraint and without guilt!

Now all she had to do was figure out a way to slip it to Hauk, which wasn't going to be easy considering

she'd hurt his feelings. After a little though, she decided she could offer it to ‘Sharmin’ for being her hero

and rescuing her on Nagia, and for agreeing to allow her to go home. All she had to do was wait for the

opportunity.

To her surprise and disappointment, the opportunity didn't present itself that night. Apparently, she'd hurt

Hauk's feeling a lot worse than she realized, because he avoided the cabin as if typhoid Mary was holed

up in it.

Well, she decided the following morning, if Mohammed won't come to the mountain....

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Dressing, she left the cabin and wandered into the rec. room. As she'd expected, Hauk took one look at

her and decided to vacate. She watched until he disappeared down the companionway toward the cabin

and then set about making a fruit salad for him. She reached the cabin just as he emerged from the head,

freshly scrubbed and looking delicious.

Feeling suddenly shy, she smiled at him a little nervously and showed him her offering. “I fixed this for

you."

Hauk's gaze flickered to the fruit and then returned to her face. He studied her searchingly for several

moments, obviously torn. Finally, he smiled faintly. “Thanks."

She'd planned on feeding it to him, but she didn't argue when he took the bowl and settled on the bunk

to eat. Instead, she went into the head to take a shower. When she came out, he was sprawled limply on

the bed.

Cole smiled and felt a tug in her chest. She shrugged out of the robe she'd slipped on after her shower,

dropping it to the floor, and strode quietly toward the bed. Moving carefully, she eased onto the

mattress, sidling next to him and resting her head on one outstretched arm.

She placed a hand over his heart, rubbing a soft circle on his smooth, firm skin. She nuzzled his neck,

breathing deeply of his scent. He smelled so good, untainted by modern perfumes and deodorants,

simply, Hauk Desal.

She kissed the crook of his neck and shoulder, sliding a bare leg up and over his lap. Her knee brushed

against his groin. He was hard.

Heat suffused her at the knowledge, fueling her desire, making her cleft ache with a needy emptiness.

She ran her tongue over his skin, rubbing her fingers over a nipple until it hardened. His response never

failed to fascinate her.

He moaned, grabbing her wrist. Cole went still, looked up and met his eyes. Her breath caught in her

throat at the look there, the passion simmering in his expression, the dark, heavy brows and eyes that

seemed to reflect a myriad of emotions.

His other arm closed around her suddenly, tightened. He pulled her trapped hand, lifting her until she

was splayed across his chest and his mouth was inches from her own.

She'd found her breath. It came in droves now, making her lungs hurt. Her throat felt closed on her heart

as she stared helplessly down at his mouth.

His gaze flicked to her parted lips. His fingers tightened on her wrist, almost painfully, as if he was afraid

she'd flee him.

Her blood rushed in her ears with the roar of a water fall, heady, powerful. She closed her eyes, feeling

dizzy with the rush that flowed through every part of her body. She couldn't stand this, this suspense, this

waiting for him to do ... something.

As if sensing her breathless impatience, his lifted his chin, nipping her bottom lip and tugging it with his

own. She jerked subtly, surprised at his tender aggression as he sucked her lip. With a whimper of need,

she closed the distance between them and sealed her mouth over his, thrusting her tongue into his mouth.

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He groaned and suckled her, tangling his tongue with hers. His hands were moving, shifting her on top of

him until her thighs fell on either side of his hips. He cupped her buttocks, spreading her cheeks, forcing

her down as he thrust up.

Fabric encased steel connected with her naked cleft. Cole whimpered into his mouth, stroking his face,

rocking her body against him, needing to feel him everywhere, inside.

He tore his lips from hers with a groan of impatience. He rolled, flipping her beneath him, releasing her

from the muscular cage of his body just long enough to free his engorged length. It sprang from the

binding, falling heavily against her hip as he thrust his jumpsuit off with jerky movements.

Free of his confinement, he landed on top of her, bearing her down into the mattress. He parted her

willing thighs with one knee, forcing her legs wide to except the breadth of his hips.

He locked his hands around her biceps, holding her down, burying his face against her neck as he drove
his unfettered cock hard against her cleft. Cole heard the wet sound of connection, cried out at the erotic
slip of his cock through her engorged folds, up to the white hot center of her. The rigid stroke against her

clit threatened to undo her.

She cried out, digging her hands into the sheets, frustrated at her imprisonment, her inability to move

against him as she wished.

He bit her neck, dragging in a ragged breath as his hips shifted and moved again. His entire body was

hard and unforgiving as his erection, every point of connection with his flesh made her quiver in response.

Her nerve endings tingled with the vibration of his movement.

She couldn't speak, couldn't beg him with anything but her mind. Her knees moved restlessly against his

hips, her heels under his buttocks, urging him to complete her, to ease the painful emptiness.

He growled against her neck, scoring her flesh with his teeth, burning her with the scrape, urging the

sensations in her higher and higher. She strained against him, felt tears sting her eyes and wet her cheeks.

The rough slip changed, became a push that made her wince and gasp in agony. The thin flesh stretched

around the head of his cock as he wedged it into her pussy. She felt as substantial as gossamer, close to

tearing apart at the breadth of him.

He grunted against her neck, a purely masculine sound of approval, and then he was pushing again,

forcing her to accept him.

She wanted to—god, she wanted all of him, every rigid inch deep inside, ramming into her womb.

Her muscles tensed against the forceful invasion, threatened to push him out. He was stronger than she,

unwilling to accept retreat ... nothing but utter surrender. With a hoarse cry, he plunged to the hilt inside

her, arching his back until he filled every inch she had to give.

Cole screamed, tossing her head. Pain bloomed like a strike. Beneath it, tremulously holding her together

hovered the promise of pleasure. Her muscles spasmed, clenching and unclenching on the fist of flesh

plunged into her core.

She panted, bright lights dancing before her eyelids, blood leaving her head to pound in her heart. She

thought for a moment that she would pass out.

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"Don't stop,” she managed to whisper past the sobs burning in her throat.

He leaned close to her, freeing her arms, propping his elbows on either side of her head. She touched his

back, weakly holding on, squeezing her eyes tight as he withdrew and plunged in again.

Her body wept at his possession, the forceful, piston strokes of his cock through her core. He tenderly

kissed her lips, drawing her eyes open. There was something in his gaze that frightened her, made her

ache more than she'd thought possible. She wanted to close her eyes against this new invasion, but she

couldn't. He held her trapped with his gaze, boring into her even as he plumbed her deepest depths.

She bit her lip, trying to hold the cries that threatened to spill out. He ground his pubic bone against her

clit with each stroke, searing her, sending her nerves to spiraling out of control.

She felt the bliss coming like an old lover. She welcomed it, knew its face, but it was different this time,
stronger, unrestrained, pouring deeper through her. She felt it in her toes, her fingertips, like the pulse of

blood rush after regained circulation. It tingled, prickled her skin with gooseflesh.

Sensing her approach, Hauk crushed his mouth to hers, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, pouring his

essence inside her, his taste, his scent all around. Cole sobbed into his mouth, breaking inside, clinging to

him for life as the orgasm unrolled inside her and twisted, churning through her depths like the rough

waves of a stormy ocean.

Her kegels seized on him, wringing the seed from his body. He cried out into her mouth, going rigid one

heart stopping second, and then he was pumping madly inside her as his cock jerked with climax.

She bore the brunt of his strokes, digging her nails into his back, holding him close, tight. He broke away

from her mouth, releasing a hoarse cry that reverberated through her bones. She followed him with her

moans, soaking up the milk of his body until he collapsed weakly on top of her, his body shuddering and

jerking with the force of his climax.

She trembled beneath him, barely breathing, loving the weight of his body on top of her, the press of his

muscles against her skin, and the ragged movement of his chest dragging in shuddering breaths.

She sighed, stroking his back, soothing the madness that had claimed them both.

After the raging beats of their hearts had tempered to a normal rhythm, Hauk lifted his head and looked

down at her. “You are more trouble—"

"Than I'm worth?” she murmured lazily.

"You're worth every moment,” he whispered, kissing her softly.

Cole smiled against his lips, stretching beneath him. She could almost forget about all he'd done if he

would continue talking like that.

Cole was still luxuriating in the aftermath of their torrid love making when Luna's voice abruptly broke

the silence of the intercom unit. “Hey, kid. Earth off the port bow. You should come have a look!"

Chapter Fourteen

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A jolt went through Cole.

Earth.

God, how had they reached it so soon?

She sat bolt upright, clutching the covers to her. The wave of joy that washed through her lapsed like a

quick adrenaline rush, though, followed almost instantly with a wave of ... what?

She glanced at Hauk. Without looking at her, he rolled off the bunk and began dressing. Cole stared at

his back for a few moments and finally got up and dressed and left the cabin.

She felt like crying when she saw Earth. It was beautiful. She was so happy to be home!

Grinning from ear to ear, Luna turned to look at her. Her expression faltered. “You're crying?"

Cole sniffed. “I'm just so happy,” she sobbed. “I'd begun to think I would never see it again."

Luna climbed out of her seat and put her arms around her and Cole cried harder. Finally, however, she

managed to get herself under control. When she looked around, she discovered that Hauk hadn't

followed her ... either that or one look at her tears had been enough to drive him back into hiding.

"We'll be entering the atmosphere in about five minutes,” Kerel reminded them. “You'll need to strap

yourselves in."

Nodding, Cole moved to a seat and strapped her belt on. After a few moments, Hauk appeared from

the companionway and, without a word, strapped his belt on, as well.

The sudden bucking and jolting of the ship heralded their piercing of the earth's atmosphere. Cole closed

her eyes and gripped the arm rests tightly. She would never get used to this. Space flight wasn't really all

that bad, but take offs and landings were the pits.

To her surprise, she felt a warm hand cover hers. Opening her eyes a crack, she saw that Hauk had

settled his hand comfortingly over hers. A sense of peace settled over her, easing her fear.

It was dark when they landed, naturally enough. Kerel hadn't dared enter American airspace until he had

a chance to sneak in and sneak out again without having missiles launched at them, but then he threw

caution to the wind and landed the thing in their backyard.

When they emerged from the hatch, the first thing Cole noticed was the neighborhood dogs barking their

heads off. The second thing she noticed was the homey smell of smog. God! She was crazy to have

missed something like that! It was amazing the stupid things that one missed about home.

Hauk and Kerel escorted them halfway down the gangplank, but neither of them stepped off it. Cole,

acutely aware of Hauk despite her joy at being home, stopped when he did. She turned to look at him,

feeling a sudden desire to burst into tears again.

What was wrong with her?

Must be some sort of hormonal imbalance! And, now that she thought about it, she should be just about

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due for her menstrual cycle.

That had to be it.

Who was she kidding? Now that it came right down to it, she knew she didn't want to leave Hauk.

Hauk cleared his throat awkwardly. “Guess this is it."

Cole nodded. “Guess so.” She licked her lips, trying to think of something to say. “You guys could come

in for coffee ... or something."

Hauk glanced at Kerel. “We should be going. I didn't want to set you down in the woods, but it's a risk

bringing you here. The sooner we take off, the less chance we'll have of getting shot down on our way

out."

It was hard to argue with that, and Cole knew suddenly that she wouldn't be able to think of anything to

say even if they had decided to come in for refreshments. She couldn't just ask Hauk to stay. After

everything that had happened between them ... he'd probably think she was trying to play some sort of

trick on him anyway. “Right. You should go."

Hauk nodded, but he didn't move back up the gang plank. “Cole ... I ... uh...."

"Yes?” Cole said hopefully.

"It's been a wild ride, but I'm glad we got to know each other."

Cole felt her chin wobble. “Yeah. Same here.” Moving down the gangplank, she stepped off onto the

grass and turned to wave.

Kerel and Hauk waved back and ducked into the ship. A moment later, the door closed and the

gangplank was retracted.

Cole and Luna retreated into the house to watch as the ship rose into the air, slowly at first, almost

hovering. Almost in the blink of an eye, it zipped away and disappeared into the night sky.

Sighing, Cole made her way to her bedroom.

It was more of a struggle to take up the life she'd left behind than Cole had anticipated. Her boss

welcomed her back, but a replacement had already been hired and she felt unnecessary. Not that it really

mattered. She had a job. She thought, eventually, she'd get back into the swing of things and enjoy her

work as she once had, but the truth was she no longer had the heart for it.

She discovered she didn't really have the heart for much of anything. Luna wasn't a lot of help. She

seemed subdued herself and Cole strongly suspected that she'd formed an attachment for Kerel.

The two of them were sitting in the living room one evening about a month after their return to earth,

staring blankly at the television when the doorbell rang. The sisters exchanged a look and shrugged.

Finally, since Luna seemed more inclined to just ignore it than to see who it was, Cole got up and went to

the door.

Hauk was standing on her front porch, looking determined and scared at the same time. Cole gaped at

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him. “We need to talk,” he growled.

Cole's brows rose. “We do?"

His lips tightened. “Look, I owe you an apology, so just hear me out."

"Do you want to come inside?"

"Is your sister here?"

"Yes."

He grabbed her hand and dragged her out onto the porch. “I don't know what I was thinking ... guess I

wasn't thinking. It just sort of came over me when I realized you didn't recognize me. Maybe I was a little

bit miffed that you didn't, because.... Well, you should've known it was me."

Understanding dawned, but so, too, did irritation and Cole folded her lips, refusing to help him stumble

through it. He was right. He owed her an apology.

"I was disguised. I mean, it was me that rescued you and ... uh .. pretended I was somebody else. We

needed the disguises to rescue you, but I should've let you know right off that it was me and ... I'm

sorry."

Cole smiled. “You came all the way back just to apologize?"

Hauk cleared his throat. “Actually ... uh ... yeah, but....” He raked a hand through his hair. Obviously, his

nerve had deserted him. Finally, he knelt in front of her and grabbed her hand.

Cole looked at him blankly. “What are you doing?"

He blushed. “I've been studying the earth customs and this is the way its supposed to be done ... I

think.” He drew in a deep breath. “Cole ... would you, will you marry me?” he growled hoarsely.

Cole's jaw went slack with astonishment. “What?” she said vaguely.

"If you don't marry me I'm going to...” His shoulders slumped. “I'm going crazy without you, baby!"

Laughing and crying at the same time, Cole threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Yes! Yes!"

Hauk looked at her, doubt and hope warring on his features. “You mean it? You'd leave earth and come

to live with me on Vulkahn?"

Cole laughed. “It's not like you couldn't bring me back to visit if I get homesick."

Hauk stood up, lifting her into his arms. “I've missed you like hell,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck and

nipping at her ear.

"Plleease!” Luna said behind them. “All this billing and cooing is making me ill!"

Cole turned to look at her sister guiltily.

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Luna was smiling. “I'm invited to the wedding, right? When are we leaving? Do I have time to pack?"

Hauk chuckled. “Kerel was to give me fifteen minutes tops and then come back for me. I figured either

Cole would say yes, or she'd be chasing me down the street, tying to shoot holes in me."

When they'd settled once more in their bunk in their cabin on the ship, Cole sighed. “I've got a

confession to make,” she said tentatively.

"What?” Hauk said, nuzzling her ear.

"Passion fruit doesn't work on humans."

Hauk lifted his head and stared at her for a long moment, then burst out laughing. “It doesn't work on

Vulkahns either."

The End

Glossary of Terms:

Bonghy: Horse-like animal. Used for riding in ancient Vulkahn times, but used now only for recreational

purposes.

Fonktol: stinky mangy creature similar to a cat.

Shertouj: Keeper of my heart

Heur t’ asinu: A wound in the ass. In Vulkahn slang, this is the English equivalent of pain in the ass.

Asinu: Slang for buttocks

Mecre: Excrement

Nagia: The planet Fuzzy finds for Sylo to land the ship on.

Nagy: Gentle native of Nagia. Often serve as sacrifices and food for the whoopies.

Whoopi: An inhabitant of Nagia. Extremely ferocious, no member of the Federation has been able to get

close enough to enter their language into the translators. They are named for the sound they make when

on the hunt.

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