Brianna by Judy Mays - Celestial Passions 01 Page B

Alalakan for stealing his specimen. If only they were back on Drakan, he would be enjoying that lush body at this moment.
    His tail moved sinuously as if it had a life of its own, and he moaned deep in the back of his throat. Gasps and sighs of pleasure deepened as his tail disappeared beneath his robes.
    He did not acknowledge the door opening with a quiet hiss.
    Odam’s breath quickened as he watched his superior. “The communication probe has been sent, Doctor.”
    Bakom turned his head. “Good!” he gasped as his hips jerked. His hands moved to his belt. “Would you care to join me?”
    Odam didn’t need a second invitation.
    *
    Brianna struggled wildly against her bonds. She could feel hands groping and pinching her body. Something probed between her thighs. “No!” she sobbed.
    “Shhhh, you’re safe.”
    The soothing voice penetrated her hysteria, and her struggles ceased when she realized she was held in strong arms. The hand tenderly stroking her hair eased the tension in her body and she relaxed. Sighing, she snuggled closer, seeking the safety of dreamless oblivion.
    Cradling her against his chest, Char relaxed his hold but continued to murmur quiet platitudes and stroke her fiery hair— hair that clung to his hand and wrapped itself around his body with what seemed to be a life of its own. It was as soft and silky as that of his own people, but no one on his planet had any this thick or this long. And the color! Red such as he’d seen only once before on a planet halfway across the galaxy. Red that was a mixture of the rich, earthy auburn of the forest loams on his family’s estate, the shiny, burnished red copper of Gattan gold, and the deep, dark orange of the Varcian sun. The thick waves fell to her hips, and it fascinated him. Visions of the fiery locks wrapped around his aching erection appeared in his mind.
    He groaned and shifted as his cock stiffened, responding to his fantasies.
    Brianna’s hair tangled about Char’s hand, and it was inevitable that he pull it.
    While the sudden tug on her hair did not hurt Brianna, it did force her back towards consciousness. Once again she registered the soothing voice and gentle hands. Tilting her head back, she opened her eyes. Not yet fully awake, she smiled contentedly as she gazed into velvety, brown eyes. She closed her eyes as he continued to stroke her hair. This must be how a contented cat feels , she thought to herself, snuggling closer in his arms.
    his arms.
    Then her eyes flew open. She wasn’t dreaming! Gasping, she sat straight up, pushing herself out of his arms and then clutching the fallen blanket back to her breasts.
    With amusement and wonder, Char watched the pink blush that stole rapidly from her breasts to her face. He chuckled and said, “I’ve already seen you naked.”
    She lunged from his lap to stand half a room away. “I didn’t know you were there! You didn’t know I was…” she babbled.
    Then she stopped. She grasped the blanket firmly with one hand and threw her hair back over her shoulder with the other.
    Locking her eyes with his and raising her chin, she demanded, “What are you doing here?”
    “I heard you cry out. You refused to quiet until I held you.”
    Her nightmare returned, vividly.
    Compassion appeared on his face. “Bakom?”
    She nodded.
    “He can’t hurt you here, and no one else on this ship would seek to do so,” Char stated firmly as he rose from the bunk. “I’m Alalakan don al’ Chardadon, captain of the Restoration . My clan —and I—owe you a debt of honor that can never be fully repaid.
    We—I will protect you.”
    Brianna gazed into his dark eyes, searching for the truth.
    “Dr. Sendenton told me about the Academy and their Tests of Humanity,” she said finally. “How do you propose to protect me from those?”
    Char sighed and clasped his hands behind his back.
    Glancing into her expressionless face, he said, “I had hoped to explain under different circumstances,