Page 14 of Black Star

Chapter Four

Trust a man to ruin a perfectly good mood. Phoebe’s movements were crisp and jerky in her anger as she cleaned her kitchen. Still, a smile tugged at her lips when she thought about it. Her kitchen! Maybe not in reality, but no one else seemed to even try to invade her domain. She’d had several offers of help with the clean up, but she’d refused. If she was going to earn her keep, she’d do just that. Everyone here had their own area they were responsible for. The kitchen was hers.

When she finished cleaning, she set things up for the next meal -- in the morning -- and left. Her choices of where to go were limited. The only place she knew how to get back to was Damon’s -- Captain Singh’s -- quarters, but that didn’t seem proper. They hadn’t had time to discuss living arrangements, and she wasn’t sure she was comfortable living with a man she didn’t know. But, with a certain amount of trepidation, Phoebe headed toward the captain’s rooms. As uncomfortable as she was going back there, it was worse to think she’d accidentally wander into someplace she wasn’t supposed to if she explored on her own.

The door slid silently open when she pressed her hand to the entry pad, which surprised her. She figured Damon would have reprogrammed the thing by now so that it wouldn’t admit her so easily. Damon sat at a small desk, staring intently at a computer screen. A fierce looking man spoke from the screen and the two of them seemed to be having an intense discussion.

“I don’t have any choice in the matter, Mikiel.”

“You always have a choice, Damon.”

“Right. The same choices you’d have in the same damned situation.”

Mikiel chuckled. “I didn’t say you had much of a choice, just that you had one. We should be in the sector within eight standard hours if we take the scenic route.”

“That should work. Just make sure you’ve got at least one ship that can get there in the event these guys are more persistent than I think they’ll be.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem.” The man on the screen grinned. “Good luck, my friend. I have the feeling you’ll need it.”

Damon growled when he punched a button disconnecting the interface. He sighed and rested his head in his hands. “Stars, I’m too old for this.”

“Too old for what?” It was as good a way as any to announce her presence.

He spun around in his chair. “Phoebe. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just come in.”

There was an awkward silence. Phoebe fidgeted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Damon didn’t take his eyes from her. Phoebe couldn’t help but return his gaze. The man was scrumptious. She would have no problem simply staring at him all day, but she’d prefer he not catch her at it. The heat she saw in his eyes, the lust shining bright, shot straight through her. Had he been just a little closer, she’d have tackled him to the ground and forced herself on him. Not that she’d have had to force very hard. If the look in his eyes was any indication, he was as close to desperation as she was.

He cleared his throat. “Well, I apologize about not getting you your own rooms. Unfortunately, the only private quarters we have are for the senior officers, of which we have a full complement. Junior officers share one large bunk area. Considering they’re all male, I didn’t think you’d be comfortable.” He waved a hand around the room. “At least here, you only have to worry about one man pawing at you.”

Phoebe giggled. She was nervous, but she recognized a joke when she heard one. Though, honestly, she didn’t think she’d mind if this man pawed her a bit. “Somehow, I’m sure you’ll be able to restrain yourself.”

Damon stood and crossed the space separating them. Phoebe could see the war he waged with himself clearly on his face. “Don’t bet your life on it.” His normally husky, soft-spoken voice sounded strained and on the verge of being out of control.

With no further warning, he swooped down and fused his mouth to hers. Phoebe felt like she was flying. Her head spun and her whole world existed where his tongue delved into her mouth to find hers. His kiss wasn’t sweet or tender, but conquering and demanding. There was no way she could do anything other than respond to such blatant sexuality.

She gripped his powerful, muscular shoulders and held on. His arms snaked around her waist, and she felt herself being pulled against an impossibly hard male chest. His cock trapped between them was hard and unyielding, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

There was a brief flash of fear when she got her wits about her enough to realize what she was doing and she shivered, pushing away from him slightly. Immediately, Damon stopped his onslaught of her body, if not her senses.

“I -- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean --”

“No! It’s OK. I just -- I mean -- if we’d been caught doing that on the Outpost, they’d have…” She trailed off, not wanting to relive what she’d witnessed many times in her life there. She took a deep breath. “They give women of questionable morals to the unattached men on the station. Not just within the community, but to the men visiting the station. They pay a fee to the proprietor, and the women are given to them for a time. It’s the worst life imaginable for a woman on the Outpost. The men who frequent that establishment aren’t very… nice.”

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Phoebe. You’re a member of my crew now, and contrary to my actions a moment ago, I don’t fraternize with my crew in this manner.” He seemed to think about that a moment and added, “Even if there were any women on board. I mean, I personally prefer women to men and --”

She felt that giggle bubbling up inside her again. This man was even more uncomfortable with the attraction between them than she was.

“What’s so funny?”

Phoebe quit fighting the laughter. She let it go in a joyful surge as she wrapped her arms around Damon’s neck. When he tightened his arms around her waist, Phoebe sighed in contentment. Never in her wildest dreams would she have guessed she’d want a man in her life. Now, she found herself wondering what it would be like to have such sinfully wonderful physical contact with such a powerful man every day.

“You. Me.” She buried her face in his neck and kissed the bit of flesh she found exposed by his uniform. “We’re both so afraid of what’s happening, we’re liable to miss out on something great and beautiful. Something many people wait their whole lives to find and never do.”

“The great Damon Singh fears nothing.”

“Right.” She snorted. Then they both held each other and laughed. A good, warm, healing laugh.

Damon scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his bed. Following her down, he spread her thighs with his knees and settled atop her, his weight resting on his forearms as he gently stroked her hair with his fingers. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. With the most tender heart. I’m not sure why I’m doing this, but I’ve worked out a strategy with my commander and his ships. We’re going after your friends.”

She felt like she’d had the wind knocked out of her. This was the last thing she expected. “What?”

“We all knew there was something wrong at Graves Station. One of my men commented on the conditions at the only brothel on the station -- it has to be the one you were referring to. That, combined with the bits I’ve learned from you, decided my course of action. I can’t stand by and know people are suffering.”

Tears came to her eyes. She couldn’t stop them. But she also couldn’t let him do this. “They’ll kill you, Damon. If you try to take something they see as theirs, or worse, threaten their entire way of life, they’ll fight to the death.”

“They’re no match for the Black Star . We’ve seen their ships. They’ve taken the best of what they could scavenge, but they’re still vastly inferior to us.”

“But are you willing to risk your lives to achieve your goal?” She struggled until he let her rise up onto her elbows. “Those men will do anything they have to, including sacrifice themselves, to keep their community intact.”

“Let me worry about that, Phoebe. I’m smarter than you give me credit for.” He grinned. “If all goes according to plan, we’ll have the women and girls in the lower decks out of there and be long gone before anyone even knows they’re not where they’re supposed to be.”

“Just promise me one thing, Damon.” She took his face in her hands, caressing his cheek with her thumb. This was so surreal. The lust shining in this man’s eyes was matched only by the tenderness she saw there.

“Anything.”

“Don’t do anything that would get you taken away from me.”

His smile was full of promise, and something Phoebe was afraid to name. She wanted it to be love, but if it wasn’t, she didn’t want to know about it. She wanted this illusion as long as she could have it, because she was very much afraid she’d fallen in love with him when he’d first found her in his cabin.

Damon descended on her once again, kissing her until she no longer feared anything that might happen. The only thing that mattered was the here and now. This man’s arms, lips, and body loving hers so completely she felt like the most treasured woman in the universe. He broke their kiss only long enough to unzip her uniform and help her out of it, and loosen his pants to free his cock.

“Have you done this before? I don’t want to hurt you.” He probed her pussy with his fingers, stroking her deep, testing what he found.

“I’m not a virgin. You won’t hurt me unless you stop.”

As he stroked her cunt, his thumb brushed her clit lightly, and Phoebe arched her back. Her whole world centered around what Damon was doing between her legs. She cried out and spread her legs farther, inviting him inside, needing him as she needed to breathe. Never in her life had anything compared to this.

The man in her arms trembled as he readied his powerful body to enter her. “By the stars! I’ve never wanted a woman more.” Damon guided his cock to her entrance before resting over her once again.

“Damon, wait.” Phoebe couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid. “I don’t have a contraception or disease prevention implant. I don’t think I’m infected, but I can’t be sure.”

He kissed her nose. “I have both, sweet. I’ll protect you until we can get any implant you want.”

She smiled. “Then love me, Damon. I need you.”

He needed no further encouragement. With one smooth, slow stroke, he entered her. Phoebe was stretched, full. The sensation was so erotic it was almost unbearable. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer. His body was flush with hers, his hair-roughened skin abrading her tender flesh exquisitely.

Both of them gasped for breath as their movements became more erratic. Sweat slickened their skin. The sweet smell of sex hung heavily in the air, combining with their own musky personal scents. Phoebe’s tongue tingled when she tasted Damon’s skin and lips. It was an experience unlike anything she’d been prepared for.

Damon surged into her faster and harder with each stroke. The slight burning sensation in her cunt only added to the intensity of the moment. It wasn’t long before a tingling sensation started where their bodies joined. She gripped him with her arms and legs ever tighter. Her breath caught, and she struggled to look Damon in the eye. “Oh, sun and stars!” Her voice barely worked.

“Push, Phoebe. Reach for it and push through it.” Damon buried his fingers in her hair and locked his gaze with hers. “Now, Phoebe. Come for me. Now!”

Phoebe screamed. And screamed and screamed. Her whole body convulsed. She wasn’t alone. Damon’s own shout of release shook the walls.

Eventually they both came down from the orgasmic high they’d taken each other on. Damon collapsed on top of her and rolled them to their sides.

“By the moons of Solum.” Damon pulled Phoebe close. Her naked body felt so good against his, he didn’t ever want to let her go.

“I second that.” She sounded about as content as a woman could possibly be. And she might have stayed that way for a long, long while.

Gods. Just looking at her made him hard all over again. Damon wanted nothing more than to sink his cock into Phoebe’s sweet, hot cunt over and over again till she screamed out his name with her every breath. Unfortunately, Viktor -- and a couple of security guards -- chose that exact moment to barge in.