Gadget Read online

  “Calm down. Just because the emirate is an ass, it doesn’t mean that there is no benefit to dealing with him. As I said, I will simply remove myself from the event and get some needed rest.”

  Prince Naroz nodded. “I will speak with the com officer if I may. We will make a new series of arrangements.”

  “That is a good idea. Set the terms, and see if they meet them.”

  “That is my plan. I will head to the com unit, you stay here with Shatter until I am sure that everything is set. He will take care of you, I am certain of it.” Naroz smiled.

  She rested her cheek against Shatter’s chest. “Thank you for the comfort. It was an unexpected stressor that I should have been prepared for. It caught me off guard.”

  “There is no reason you should have been prepared. Have you ever come under psychic attack before?”

  “No, but he ran his mind through my wiring, not my thoughts. I can’t defend against my own nervous system.”

  He pressed a kiss to her head again. “I will hold you as long as I am able. You are not alone, but if duty calls, I will have to leave you for a time.”

  She smiled. “I understand. Duty first and mate second.”

  “No, making sure that my mate is safe comes first. Duty comes second, but you are safe here. The ship will assure that no harm comes to you. You are as safe as you can be.”

  She snickered. “Safer than you think. I charged my weapons before we went out. With one punch, I could have had them looking for a new emirate, but I held back, and now, Naroz has a chance at his treaty.”

  The prince in question returned to the galley and sighed. “The emirate is issuing a formal apology to you for his behaviour and while he understands your refusal to participate in any further meetings, he will treasure the memories he shared with you.”

  Toby smiled and got to her feet. “Even a tree can make an apology sound skeevy. Well, gentlemen, you had best be going. I am going to get myself into a deep nap. Enjoy yourselves.”

  Shatter got to his feet, and he wrapped his arms around her. “I will be back soon. Don’t have any fun thoughts without me.”

  She enjoyed the hug and felt surprisingly cold when Naroz and Shatter left her alone. Just a few days earlier and it would have been the norm to be in the silence of the ship, now it rang empty.

  It was amazing how quickly things could change.

  Chapter Seven

  Surprisingly, Toby was bored. Instead of napping, she sat in her throne and sent out the eyes of the Fairy. Minute insect-like fliers blended with their surroundings and let her see through their eyes.

  She took a quick look around the ship and made sure that there was nothing hinky going on near her ship before she sent her eyes to watch over Prince Naroz and Shatter.

  In the chair, her lips quirked. The Dark Fairy was rife with little gizmos and gadgets. It was why her cohorts had named her Gadget. She did so love to pack her ship with every bit of new tech she could manage.

  Her eyes flew around the court and investigated the bark and the leaves of the locals. The conversation down below was indeed all about trade routes, but the hand signals and gesturing vines of Naroz and the emirate told her that there was more than just cargo ships being discussed. She was flying with an intelligence officer. The hand signals were unmistakable.

  So, when they arrive, we will hide them from view. Your terms are fair. The emirate’s vines were hard to figure out, but she examined them from three angles and it came out in a steady translation.

  Your payment will arrive with the refugees. Break down their ships immediately, and they will be retrieved over a course of months.

  As I said, your terms are fair. We have a deal. The vine wrapped around Naroz’s wrist.

  Shatter watched, tense and ready for action.

  Naroz completed his handshake with the tree and inclined his head.

  They then resumed their boring talk about environmental impact of an increased spaceport.

  Toby sent her little eyes for miles, gathering images of daily life and the peculiar life cycles of the Yaviilianika. The mature trees threw seeds, the seeds were collected and germinated in tidal pools before they sprouted into small versions of the adolescent population.

  It was the adolescents that did all the legwork and raised their young siblings. There were no shelters on the surface, only forests of the elders.

  The emirate held his position because of his immense age and his placement of his root system. Choosing your rooting spot was how your position was asserted in your dotage. The current population was looking for their sites on a daily basis, trying to decide which of the current elders was going to become the next emirate when the current one gave up his leaves and let himself turn into compost.

  It would be decades if not centuries before that occurred, so it was a guessing game when it came to placement for the rooted lifetime of the Yaviilianika.

  Toby sighed and recalled all of her eyes but one. She settled that one in Naroz’s hair and set the relay to record while she settled back to take her nap. Toby was always able to sleep when she felt like she was in control of the situation.

  Her pulse pounded and her skin was hot when she woke. Images of Shatter’s hands swamped her mind. His hands holding her, caressing her and claiming her. The funny thing is that they were all repeats of the kiss in the control room.

  “Damn it! Do you want me to go nuts or something?”

  An image of a portrait of Toby in Shatter’s arms played into her thoughts.

  “Seriously? You believe him?”

  Images of couples traipsed through her thoughts. Several of them were Guardians with Terran-looking women.

  “So, you are telling me that she has been correct before—the artist, I mean. Is that it?”

  A green light came up in Toby’s mind followed by the image of the portrait again.

  It suddenly came to her. “You like him, don’t you?”

  The light turned green again.

  “Oh, for the love of…A man finally talks directly to you and you turn all mushy?”

  Images of Shatter getting undressed for the night overlaid the green.

  “Fine. He’s hot.” The images continued. “And naked. I get it! Knock it off.”

  She rubbed her forehead. “You know how I feel about playback when there is no hint of subterfuge.”

  A purple colour flared in her mind.

  “Fine. I accept your apology. I know he is pretty, but shortly, I will have firsthand knowledge. We don’t need to spoil the surprise.”

  Blush pink followed bright yellow.

  “Yes, I know you are excited. We will have a third in our weird relationship. If you behave, I will ask him if he wants to get a bio-tag that will link him to you. You never know. He might be up for it.”

  The image of Toby in the pilot’s seat was outlined in black and stars.

  “Yes, I am and will always be your pilot. I wouldn’t trust a man to drive anyway. They don’t like to take direction.” She laughed and the mechanisms of the ship chirped and chortled.

  Her eye told her that the men were returning. Shatter was still on alert as they walked through the populace, but his shoulders relaxed when she opened the door for them and they entered the ship. She sealed the ship immediately and did a sweep for life forms. They were the only ones there.

  She got to her feet as they approached and greeted them in the hall. “So, is everything ready for our departure?”

  Naroz grimaced. “The emirate offers you sincere apologies. He had no idea how painful or long-lasting his intrusion would be.”

  She sent her eye back to its holding area, and Shatter chuckled. “I did wonder about that. It was yours, obviously.”

  “Correct. It is one of my personal critters, designed to operate in concert with this ship.”

  Shatter laughed. “One of?”

  She batted her lashes at him. “A lady needs her secrets. Now, where are we off to?”

  Naroz grinned. “Get
us off this world, and I will make it up as I go along. Is my private com set up?”

  “It is. Even the ship won’t listen in.”

  “Good. Then, I will retire to my chamber and you can put us in orbit around that moon.” He jerked his head at the huge pink sphere in the sky.

  She grinned. “Shatter, either get to your quarters or strap in. We are going to get clearance in a moment.”

  He looked around, and the ship provided a handy seat out of one of the walls. It folded down and locked in place, straps and all.

  Toby stifled a grin and settled in her throne, locking into place.

  “What is happening to you when those cuffs come down?” Shatter’s voice was genuinely curious.

  “Hypo spray and life support. It keeps me awake and functioning while I drive.”

  “Where do the injuries go when the cuffs are off?” He blinked at her, his gold eyes interested.

  “I have ports installed under my skin. I have small pinpricks that are visible when I am naked, so I have tattoos running down my arms.” She twisted her lips as she did her pre-flight checks.

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Vines and flowers run from my biceps to my wrists, and from mid-thigh to my ankles. Anywhere the ports are visible.” She blushed. “Are the designs a problem?”

  He grinned. “I have always been a fan of body art, but my own skin makes it difficult to get a mark to remain.”

  She chuckled. “You could get piercings.”

  His brows rose. “I suppose I could. My people do not normally do that sort of thing, and as a Guardian, I don’t want to give an enemy anything to grab hold of.”

  Toby grinned. “Fair point. I am about to take off.”

  She got clearance from the spaceport and lifted off the surface of Yaviilianika with a sigh of relief.

  “Did you get any rest while we were gone?”

  Toby laughed. “Not much. I did a study of the society of Yaviilianika and am compiling it for the Nyal archives.”

  “Do you do that often?”

  “As often as I can. I rarely have time on a world where I am not hauling someone with me or picking someone up. For me, the entire Nyal Imperium is fresh and new.”

  The ship shivered under her, and they forged through the atmosphere, heading for a moon that glowed with all the dignity of an irate pixie.

  Chapter Eight

  Once in orbit, she declared a day off. With a groan, she headed to her quarters and gave Shatter a quick kiss as she left him at the stairway.

  The Dark Fairy kept sending her images of Shatter partially clothed. Toby grimaced and dropped onto her bed. The wait was going to drive her nuts.

  “What the hell?” She sat up and looked down at her body. She was stark naked with the exception of her ink, and the locks of hair falling over her shoulders were her normal non-descript brown.

  A knock at her door brought her up on her feet. “Hello?”

  “You called?” Shatter’s voice came through the door an instant before he walked in.

  Toby looked left and right, “Damn it.”

  She dove back to her bed and wrapped herself in a sheet. “I didn’t call you.”

  “It was your voice.” He stepped into her room and the door shut behind him.

  She held up her hand. “Give me a moment.”

  Toby used her overrides, and she ran through the images from her room the night before. Her body had gotten up, her eyes glowing green, and crossed to the delivery port. A bottle of something had been waiting and her sleepwalking self had gone into the lav. There were no monitors in the lav, it was one of Toby’s rules.

  The time stamp moved forward and when she emerged with her eyes still green, her hair was its normal brown again.

  “You skanky ho.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Shatter was staring at the images on her limbs.

  “The ship took me for a test drive last night and decided to move our intimacy along.”

  “I don’t understand.” Shatter came toward her and touched the vivid ink on her right arm.

  In the flowers and vines were tiny pixies etched in a dazzling array of colours. She extended her arm for him to examine.

  “I mean, the same way I control her, she can apparently control me. She likes you and wants you to stay, that means making my appearance match the image in the portrait as quickly as she can manage. She did my hair last night and sent you a message. She doesn’t understand how these things work.”

  He trailed his finger across one of the minute females on her arm. “How what things work?”

  “Attraction.” She looked up at him, and he wasn’t looking at her arm. He was staring into her eyes.

  “Yes, the attraction is there. What else?” He trailed his fingers up her arm and across her shoulder in a slow stroke before he dragged them back again.

  “Intimacy.” She bit her lip as her naked body took in the warmth radiating from him. She shifted closer until only a breath could get between them.

  “I think this is pretty intimate.” His other hand caressed her other arm and mimicked the stroking.

  She blushed. “Yes, it does seem to qualify.”

  He leaned in and kissed her. The lights in her room dimmed, but Shatter lifted his head. “Leave them on.”

  Toby blushed, but she had no objection. She wanted to see him as much as he wanted to see her.

  As he lowered his mouth to hers again, she wrapped her arms around his neck, the friction between them holding her sheet up. He ran his hands over her spine, and she deepened the kiss, as the embarrassment of having a naked backside required a distraction.

  She let lust take over and pushed her ego aside. The surface of his tongue was slightly rough, and she moaned when his hands gripped her waist, pulling her solidly against the distinct outline of his erection.

  Toby laced her hands through his hair and held tight. She whimpered in frustration as he pushed her away from him, but she took a step back as he stripped out of his Guardian uniform. Her sheet dropped to the ground, and she didn’t care.

  His skin had a blue tinge that gleamed in the light, and his eyes burned like hot coals, molten gold as he looked at her from head to toe.

  Her hair dropped to mid-waist in a heavy curtain. The stylist must have used a growth stimulant on it when she plugged her into the machine. If she shook it forward, it would cover her breasts, but with his appreciative gaze on her, she didn’t want to hide.

  Removing his boots was awkward, but she ignored the lack of grace for the relief she felt when he embraced her again.

  He turned her and lifted her against the wall, using his body to pin her there while he kissed her neck and trailed his tongue along her skin.

  She clutched his shoulders and revelled in the feeling of hot skin over smooth muscle. Shatter shifted his attentions to her breasts, and he drew hard on her delicate skin, sending a shudder through her and a heady throb to her clit.

  He lifted her higher and pressed kisses along her belly. She shuddered and her hands slipped along his skin as sweat slicked him.

  When he slowly lowered her against him, she sighed in delight at the feeling of his skin pressed to hers.

  Shatter murmured against her ear. “You taste even better than I imagined, and I have not yet tasted all of you.”

  The images that her mind conjured had nothing to do with the ship and everything to do with the slow stroke of his hands across her thighs, pulling her legs around his waist and opening her to him.

  She stared into his eyes as he stroked her sex and parted her slick folds. She was extremely wet, and the flare of appreciation in his eyes as he slid two fingers into her heat caused her to close her lids. To her extreme embarrassment, her mind automatically went to the monitor cams, and she watched and felt at the same time. She was a voyeur at her own seduction.

  She felt the world spin at the same time that he placed her on the bed and hovered over her, stroking his fingers deeply into her and pulling them nearly all the w
ay out with the tips curled forward.

  Toby exited the monitors and returned to her body as she opened her eyes wide. The release struck her quickly, and she arched into his hand as her back twisted and she gasped in shock. It had been a while, and the ferocity of her orgasm had her whimpering until her body finally relaxed.

  His grin was fierce as he shifted to cover her. He pinned her arms above her head and pressed his cock to her opening.

  Toby lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, opening herself completely. She was trying to relax, but he still had a difficult time as he eased his way inside with short thrusts.

  It took concentrated effort on his part and a bitten lower lip on hers, but he finally worked his way to the hilt and paused with his breath coming in harsh groans. “You are very tight.”

  Sweat slicked her body as her inner muscles clasped at him. She didn’t think that his comment required a response. She let her body do the talking for her, arching into him, raising her hips to his.

  He took the hint, withdrawing almost completely before sliding into her again. She gasped and sighed softly as he rocked into her, and she rocked back. The tight fit increased the friction, and she was soon thrashing against him, fighting to gain release from the inner tension.

  She flexed her fingers and pulled at her caught wrists, but her hands were firmly confined. She finally whispered, “Harder, please.”

  His golden eyes narrowed, and he answered her plea, thrusting deep and fast.

  Toby shook as her orgasm approached, and she felt like she was waiting for an earthquake. When it finally struck, she screamed, her hands forming fists so tight that her nails bit in to her skin.

  She gasped as light glowed and shattered behind her eyes. She dimly heard his shout as he thrust hard and held himself to her. He relaxed on her body with a groan.

  Toby waited and then wriggled her hands. “You can let me go now, Shatter.”

  She felt his lips smile against her throat before he said, “I am not letting you go, Tobitha. And my name is Raol.”