The Lost Finder Read online

  She took the purple disk and wound it in a small cloth, which she worked into a foamy lather. She then rubbed it all over his body.

  He pulled her close and fell against her mouth, letting loose his hunger. She was firm and curvy and melded against him perfectly, as though they had been created by some mythical power just for each other.

  Brooke laughed. “I can’t wash you like this!”

  “Wash later,” he mumbled, devouring her mouth. “Kiss now.”

  She gave in, pressing her breasts against his chest as she teased him with her tongue. Her kiss was tender and soft, and he closed his eyes as he memorized the feel and taste of her.

  He would take these memories into the darkness of battle. She would be his light.

  Brooke rubbed the cloth over him as far as her arms could reach while she continued to kiss him, caressing his back, shoulders, and buttocks, and even the cleft between his cheeks. He was mad with need. He thrust his hips, pushing the swollen crown of his jannuk against her soft stomach. He felt her smile against his mouth.

  The cloth dropped to the floor with a sploosh. She reached behind, turning the dial on the wall to increase the temperature. A blossom of heat against his back added to his eagerness. Small, clever hands found his jannuk and squeezed.

  Jager groaned. Her hands were slippery, lathered with the sweet-smelling soap.

  “Nice?” she asked innocently.

  “Gods of Lancia!” He braced one hand against the wall and gripped the railing above the glass with the other.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  She squeezed, up and down, hard and soft, running her hand from root to straining bulb, and back down to cup his natees. She squeezed gently, pressing them upward and tugging them down.

  “Romak nogal fyree!” he gasped. If she kept squeezing his jannuk—he searched his lust-fogged mind but couldn’t remember the Earth word for it—he was going to explode.

  He’d never needed anything as fiercely as he needed to be inside her, now.

  “I think we should move this,” she said.

  He gripped her plump buttocks and brought her against him, pressing his hardness into her soft middle as he seized her mouth. He kissed her powerfully, showing her how close to the brink of ecstasy she’d lifted him.

  “Mmm. Definitely time to move this,” she said against his lips. She shut off the water and slid open the door. He didn’t want to let her go, to let even a few inches separate them.

  Brooke rubbed him over with a fluffy cloth similar to the wet one in the shower. She tried to wind it around him, but he was too hungry for her. She laughed as she resisted his attempts while guiding him out of the tiny bathing chamber and backward to the bed.

  “By the Lords of Rota, I have never felt such need.”

  She knelt on the bed, still facing him, and the mattress dipped under his weight as he followed her. His rigid jannuk bumped against her middle, as if it had a mind of its own.

  He kissed her again, lifting her against his body and capturing her in his arms. It was easy, as she was clearly more than willing to be captured.

  He stopped. He was a Fugara beast’s arse, and Brooke deserved better. “I am sorry, I did not allow you time to make yourself ready.”

  “Next time.” Her breath came in short gasps. “Just take me before I die!” Elation roared inside him. She wanted him and needed him as much as he did her.

  Her small, tight hand seized his jannuk and aimed it between her legs. He bent at the hips enough so he could angle himself beneath her. She suddenly seemed so tiny and fragile he was afraid to unleash the raw need boiling in his loins.

  “Now,” she demanded.

  He didn’t need to be told a third time. He lifted her up, positioned her over him, and thrust. He easily invaded the delicate flesh guarding her warm center.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist as he sank into her. Brooke threw back her head and cried out. He thought he had hurt her, but she rotated her hips toward him and dug her fingers into his back, urging him to fill her completely. He bent his head to suck a mouthful of the skin at her throat, marking her like a beast as he growled out the satisfaction ripping through his body.

  The first time she gifted him with her body had been an unexpected and sweet surprise.

  This time, anticipation burned in his veins, and every muscle and nerve screamed for release. He dug his fingers into her flesh, holding her helplessly impaled on his jannuk. She wrapped her arms around his neck while he lifted and dropped, sliding her up and down an erection as hard as Oberian stone.

  Was it Earth’s atmosphere? No, it was Brooke, all Brooke. She did this to him.

  He leaned back, holding her straddled across his hips while his thighs, calves, buttocks, abs, forearms, and shoulders all strained toward universe-shattering pleasure.

  “Oh yes, oh God. You’re incredible.” Her fast breaths came hot against his neck.

  The room grew dark. There was nothing but the scent of her, the feel of her, his own body straining to delve as deeply as hers would allow.

  Warm spirals of pleasure unfurled inside him with growing speed until there was nothing but his release flowing into her. Her nails raked his back as tiny screams escaped her throat.

  “Yes. Oh yes.”

  They flew toward the pinnacle, soaring over it together. It seemed they hovered above terra firma, rocked by a shattering climax.

  He eased over slowly until her back found the mattress, and gently settled his weight on her. It took several long breaths for the climax to fade, like a great mother ship powering down.

  “Oh.” She smiled, a slightly surprised look on her face. “You’re still hard.”

  “It has taken a lifetime to find you. It will take more than once to sate me.”

  “Mmm,” she purred. “Then by all means, let’s see how many times it will take.”

  She moved slightly, shifting her hips in a way he couldn’t describe with words but absolutely drove him wild. She was inviting him to have her with her movements, he realized. Offering herself, beckoning him to take what he needed.

  “Ah, Brooke.”

  He gave a gentle thrust with his hips, earning a soft sound of pleasure.

  “Love me, Jager. All night long.”

  “I will love you for the rest of my life.”

  He took her mouth to convey as much without words as he took her body to prove it. Minutes stretched into hours, waking moments into drowsy dreams.

  They ate delicious, flavorful food and drank fizzy liquids that tickled his nose, and made love again slowly and tenderly.

  And then wildly and ferociously.

  She was an amazing lover, too, begging him to tell her what he wanted, and then eagerly obliging him.

  She showed him positions and techniques that made him laugh with wonder, and want to shout in frustration for knowing he could experience them only once.

  * * * * *

  A golden knife of sunlight slipped through the parted window coverings. Morning had arrived much too quickly. Jager lay spooned up behind her, one muscular arm thrown over her body, her breast ensconced in his warm palm.

  She knew he was awake, and knew he was aware she was as well, but neither spoke as the beam of light traveled across the wall.

  Finally, her bladder decreed she rise. She padded to the bathroom naked, feeling his eyes on her backside like a warm caress.

  Funny, she’d imagined her loss of privacy one of the negatives about entering a relationship again. Now, it wrapped around her like a soft blanket and made her yearn for a lifetime of mornings waking naked in a shared bed.

  “Did I show you how to use the toilet?” she asked as she bounded back into bed.

  He chuckled. Lordy, how she’d love to hear that sound forever. She missed him already.

  “I think I will be able to figure it out. I am an engineer.”

  She nestled close, delighting in the way he gathered her against him as though fitting her into a place that had
been made for her.

  “Mmm. First class lieutenant, giant spider hunter, medical officer, and engineer. Is there anything you can’t do?”

  “I cannot sing.”

  She laughed as she slipped her arms around his neck. “Let me add First Class Lover to that list,” she whispered against his lips. And then they were joined before she hardly realized they were moving that way. Suddenly he was inside her, and she felt whole again. Jager was a Herculean lover, both generous and demanding at the same time. Though he was the only space traveler she’d ever known, somehow she knew he was unique among his kind. When her orgasm neared and her moans turned to cries, she felt him hold his pace and strength for her benefit. He took her high atop another pinnacle, leaving her floating in pleasure.

  Brooke couldn’t remember the last time she had stayed in bed until eleven. Jager had a little over an hour until he would be picked up, and there was much to do. He rose and walked about the room in glorious nakedness.

  She rose up on her elbow, watching him. “I never asked you about the pendant you wear around your neck.”

  “It is the family name of the man who raised me.” He returned to the bed and sat on the edge, holding it for her to see. “On Ocreon, the second son, or third born, are surrendered to the military. I was very lucky that my Patrone, or trainer, was a kind man who treated me like his own family. The symbol represents his family name and his rank within society.”

  She swallowed down a knifing of hot sadness. It cut straight down her middle. “What about your own family?”

  “My parents and my brother and sister live in comfort thanks to my service. They are a good family, but I have a much closer relationship to my Patrone. He is now retired, but together we fought side by side for the preservation of entire worlds.” He gave her a smile that lifted her spirits, and what he said then doubled it. “Much like what you and I have done together here.”

  He had a point. She’d never been through anything so big, and certainly never felt responsible for saving an entire planet.

  Her stomach grumbled. “Are you hungry? I could buy you another burrito. You could take a few with you for your superiors. What good space traveler goes home without a few souvenirs?” She forced herself to grin, but it felt pathetic.

  He glanced at his device, and she felt another pang of regret. It was a reminder they were soon to be worlds apart.

  “I do not have time. But I would like to take this, if I may.” He picked up one of her oatmeal bars.

  “I have a whole box you can take.” Her throat constricted. When you go.

  “I must remove the OMaGS device from my ship when I retrieve Roall Vinill from the medical chamber.”

  The mere mention of the traitor made her stomach quiver. Jager moved close and took her in his arms. “You have nothing to fear. He cannot escape confinement.”

  A million thoughts went through her mind. What if the ship’s battery had died, or whatever it was that powered it? What if someone else came along and freed him? What if he had some special escape artist skills?

  She smiled up at him and let herself enjoy the feeling of his warm skin against hers in the cool air. This was Jager. She had nothing to worry about.

  “I would like to shower once more before I leave. We do not have such devices where I come from. Water is too rare to use in such a way.”

  “Mind if I join you?”

  “I would be disappointed if you did not.”

  * * * * *

  They drove back to the empty factory in silence. Alex Christy’s car still sat abandoned on the old gravel road. Brooke turned her car around by the fallen tree as she did the night she’d first driven down the lane to discover it. That night felt like a lifetime ago.

  “I will leave you with vaccination for the townspeople. If there were any other infections, you will be able to treat them after I am gone.”

  She’d been nervous about broaching the subject with him, but with that statement, he’d opened up the perfect opportunity. She stepped out of the car and waited as he walked around to the driver’s side.

  “Is there a way I can get in touch with you?” The words came out shy and unsure. Since leaving the hotel, she’d been experiencing her typical “morning after” discomfort.

  What if Jager looked at his forced departure as a relief? It was possible he wouldn’t want to stay, even if he could.

  He stopped and faced her.

  “I mean, on the one-in-a-million chance there is another Tetra running around looking for a place to lay its eggs, wouldn’t it be a good idea for me to have a way of reaching you?” She braced herself for the rejection.

  “I intend to leave Polin’s Faron device with you. It is linked to mine. I will have OMaGS translate yours into the English language and show you how to transmit messages. You will be able to reach me anywhere in the universe. However it is not like your Earth communication devices; a message sent to me may take days to reach me, depending on where I am.”

  Off saving other damsels whose planets were in distress. The idea cut deep to the heart. This had been a life-changing event for Brooke, but for Jager, it was just another assignment in a first class Interplanetary Alliance lieutenant’s life.

  He lifted her chin with a finger. “There may be stars between us, but I will never be farther from you than a thought.”

  His hand slipped under her hair and he pulled her close. The kiss he pressed against her mouth was hard and possessive. It was all she needed to be assured she was his only love.

  “Will you get into trouble for that?”

  He smiled. “I will.”

  “I’m going to be selfish and let you.”

  His expression grew serious. “A mere few punitive marks will not diminish my record. I would take greater risk than that to ensure your continued safety.”

  Her heart felt a few ounces lighter as they trudged through the forest.

  “Door open,” Jager commanded.

  Brooke drew her .45, now fully reloaded. She met Jager’s eyes. “If he’s gotten out of there, he’s dead.”

  She trailed behind on the ramp.

  “He will remain securely confined,” Jager assured her. “OMaGS on.”

  Sure enough, the chamber was still milky. Brooke didn’t relax. “I need to see him.”

  “Medical chamber normal?” Jager asked.

  “Medical chamber normal,” OMaGS confirmed. The cloudy vapor evaporated and Roall Vinill appeared, still unconscious. “Good day, Jager Tolon. Good day, Brooke Weaver.”

  “Hiya, OMaGS,” she said. “Sleep well?”

  “I much prefer active state to that of reserve, so I am happy you have returned. Did you sleep well?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “If I may offer the comment, your voice patterns indicate higher spirits today.”

  “You may.” She and Jager shared a secret smile. “How’s our guest? Is he still immobilized in there?”

  “He is prevented from any form of voluntary movement. I have monitored his vital status through the night. His recovery is slower than ideal, but that is to be expected considering the extent of his injuries. Earth weapons do much damage to the body.”

  “These Xinotypes aren’t exactly toys either. Dead is dead, OMaGS, no matter how you get there.”

  “You are quite right, Brooke Weaver.”

  “Can he be moved?” Jager asked.

  “If you place him in laser binds, the stress to his injured organs will be reduced.”

  “Laser binds restrict and manipulate movement,” Jager explained. “They are programmed to control gait and pace, to walk, stand, sit, or lie down. I will make him walk to the car, but he will not extend the effort with his own muscles. It is ideal for a situation such as this where he is physically incapable of moving on his own without furthering his injuries.”

  She nodded. “It’s a short walk to the car, but a long, uphill walk to the mountaintop.”

  “I will use the Areon with the levitation beam if it be
comes necessary,” he told her. “I intend to keep him alive to face the repercussions of his actions.”

  Brooke glanced at the unconscious traitor. She wished she could see what his punishment would be. There were billions of people on this planet who would scream for justice if they knew what he’d tried to do.

  Jager went to the cockpit area and keyed commands into a control panel in front of the navigator’s chair. “Program Faron device for long-distance communication.”

  “Please specify quadrant,” OMaGS requested.

  “This device will be left on Earth with Brooke. She will use it to contact me in the event of an emergency.”

  “Level five authorization required.”

  Brooke experienced a prickling of worry. She would only use the device if, by some horrid bad luck, a Tetra hatchling had escaped. But to think she might be declined this last inkling of communication brought the sadness alive with a painful kick.

  “Field command override, Jager Tolon, class one lieutenant.”

  “Affirmative.”

  She breathed out an irrational sigh of relief. The control panel flickered with lights as OMaGS went to work on it. This didn’t change anything—Jager was still leaving—but she found it reassuring nonetheless.

  “Do you have any paper on this ship?” she asked him.

  “Paper?”

  “A material made of cellulose pulp, derived mainly from wood, rags, and certain grasses, processed into flexible sheets or rolls by deposit from an aqueous suspension, and used chiefly for writing, printing, drawing, wrapping, and covering walls,” OMaGS recited.

  “Well now, you make it sound complicated.” Brooke tried to keep her voice light. Again, irrational sadness gripped her heart. Knowing how computers crashed and were infected, she would feel better if she could write down her phone number for Jager, but it seemed they didn’t use paper in outer space. “OMaGS, I’m going to give you a series of numbers. Keep them for Jager, will you? They make up my telephone number.”

  “Telephone. An instrument that converts voice and other sound signals into a form that can be transmitted to remote locations and that receives and reconverts waves into sound signals.”