"Hmm."

He fingered the material, driving her wild with the need to move. And then ever-so-slowly, ever-so gently, he tucked the material between her cheeks, then tugged the tiny side straps up over her hips, creating pressure, the tiniest of pinches, making her all-too aware of the throbbing heat between her legs.

When he straightened with the most satisfied of grins, she realized that his idea of foreplay was making her crazy. And yet, as his eyes lingered on her breasts, as he contemplated his next move, she loved the heat bubbling inside her, the clenching of every atom of her being, the expectation he incited.

There was something utterly powerful in waiting for this man, in knowing that he wanted her, of being able to give him whatever he wanted to take.

"Would you like me to kiss you?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Here." He cupped her breasts, flicked his thumbs over her nipples, and shot a bolt of heat straight to her center.

"Yes."

"Here?" He moved his hands from her breasts to her bottom, but he'd adjusted her suit so to her it felt as if his hands remained on her breasts, his thumbs still teasing her nipples. But now she also had the warmth of his hands caressing her bottom and holding still became almost impossible.

"Kiss my mouth, Kahn," she demanded.

He slanted his mouth over hers, teasing, nipping, taunting. He tasted like fresh rain during a summer storm, and she strained toward him. Oh my, could he kiss. And when she forgot to hold her pose and just before she lowered her arms to draw him closer, he locked her there.

With muscle power no longer required to maintain the pose, she relaxed into his deliciously demanding kisses and seductive caresses. At the pure decadent pleasure of the silken licks of heat he'd ignited, both from the inside out and the outside in, she sighed a throaty moan of need.

When he pulled back from their kiss, she murmured into his ear, "Dance with me, Kahn."

"Rystani men don't dance."

"Men from my planet do. It's sexy," she coaxed. "Let me show you."

He did as she asked, the gleam in his eyes a tangle of hot interest and cool wariness. She immediately lifted her arms over her head, and snapping her fingers and clapping her hands to the heady beat, she slid up against him, wriggled her hips enticingly.

"Come on. Try it. You'll like it." Grabbing his hands, she fused her hips to his. "A friend of mine on Earth once had a t-shirt that said, 'one should dance as if no one's watching, play as if there's no tomorrow, and make love as if it's the last time.'"

Kahn had an innate sense of rhythm and fine control over his body from years of training. At first, he moved stiffly, uncertainly, but she encouraged him with the sway of her hips, the appreciation in her eyes. Soon he was moving as if he'd done this many times before. And as his confidence grew, as he loosened up, she shimmied up his leg, pressed her breasts against his chest and enjoyed the moment.

Her breath came in gasps and when the music sped up in preparation for the next pose, she flicked back her hair. "Your turn to pose."

He hesitated. She lightly ran her hand up his leg, stopped just short of his sex. "It's not fair if I have all the fun."

The tempo sped to a crescendo, and she danced around him, mesmerized all over again by his powerful shoulders, his broad chest. She ached to dance flesh to flesh, hoped that if he agreed to the reversal of roles that he'd remove his shirt.

After seeing some of his effortless moves, she decided it was a good thing that Rystani men didn't dance in public. She'd have to fight the women off him with a stick. Part of his appeal was all those muscles, his exotic amber eyes, the hard line of his jaw, and sleek black hair that reminded her of a panther, but what really made him special was how he let her see how much he wanted her.

When the music stopped, he posed for her. Standing warrior straight, legs spread, hands on his hips, he removed his vest, his pants. Totally nude, he could have posed for an ancient Greek statue-except for his tavis. She didn't think the Greeks carved their men with erect phalluses.

Reaching up to him, staring straight into his eyes, she placed one fingertip on his chin, slid it down his neck, over his bronzed chest, dipped to his waist and threaded her fingers through curly dark hair. She skipped his sex, skimmed down the insides of his legs, then walked around to his back, lightly teasing his hip. He looked just as yummy from this side, and she slipped her hands around his waist, allowed her breasts to press against his warmth.

Staying close, her breasts soaking up his heat, she rested her hands on his shoulders, slowly kneaded the tight muscles. "Relax. This is supposed to feel good. We call it a massage."

"That's a very strange place you've chosen to rub." His voice sounded rough, thick with desire.

"Is it?"

"Especially when other parts want you so badly."

She moved one hand to his hard buttocks. "You mean here?"

He sucked in his breath. She giggled at his reaction to her touch and her tossing his own words back at him. Lightly she stroked the sensitive skin behind his balls. "You mean here?"

His tavis jerked so tight he let out a soft growl. She figured she'd pressed his patience far enough for now. "Let's dance."

And she turned her entire suit transparent, tipped her face up to him. "We can kiss and dance at the same time, can't we?"

"I don't see why not." His mouth was alternately tender and demanding. She clung to him and he to her, their bodies swaying to the music in a dance they had made their own.

He cherished her mouth and her breasts, using his psi until she was nearly frantic.

When the music hit a note, warning her the next pose would be soon, she was a mass of quivering desires. Using her psi, she stroked his tavis. At the same time she floated herself into the air as if she was straddling a non-existent chair and his breath once again fanned her mons.

"Excellent choice. You're so beautiful." He gazed at her with wolfish hunger, then licked her right there.

She quaked with a passion. Let herself burn. "Ah . . . oh . . . oh . . . oh."

Kahn locked her in place, all the while savaging her with his tongue, his hands, his lips and his psi until she trembled all over.

"Please."

"Please what?"

"Ohhh . . . I can't think . . . when you . . . ah."

"Had enough foreplay, yet?"

"Oh . . . my . . . more than . . . enough. Yesssss." Her muscles quivered, clenched. She clung to the intimate and delicious edge of sanity. Her thoughts spun and her simmering blood reached a scalding boil.

"Don't come," he ordered. "I want to be inside you for that."

"Then you'd . . . ah . . . better . . . hurry."

She tried to hold back. She really did. But his tongue between her legs created a wild, crazy, frenzied frothing that made her chest hitch. Out of breath, unable to wait, she exploded and screamed his name in a tidal wave of pleasure.

He kept his tongue and fingers and psi on her until she rode the wave and peaked again. And again. She'd never known this volcano of need boiling just below the surface. She'd never known she could swim so far, surf from crest to crest until the next swell broke and left her brutally breathless.

And when Kahn finally came inside her from behind, his pace fast, fantastic, frenetic, she savored his psi feeding off of her, ravishing her, in a pleasure loop so intense that she screamed in the ultimate surrender. He cradled her hips, his voice tender and raw, saying her name over and over as he emptied himself into her.

She exploded one more time. And recovered with him holding her tenderly against his thudding heart.

Chapter Twenty-Four.

AFTER A QUICK shuttle ride, Tessa stepped onto the strange world of Laptiva to face the Challenge with her suit, a knife, and a test kit that would allow her to know what was safe to eat and drink. Kahn had told her they would monitor her progress through the star fire necklace, and she should never take it off. Although she was sure the Challenge would not be easy, her instructions from Kahn had been simple. To succeed she had to reach an obelisk shaped much like the Washington Monument. She had three days to complete the task.

The morning was windless, the silver-white and gold summer sun shone brightly in Laptiva's azure sky with hints here and there of high cirrus clouds, as if some celestial artist had brushed and feathered the scene with just the softest of strokes. The obelisk shined in the distance clearly visible, but between the pewter-sand beach where she stood and the distant obelisk were a chain of islands that appeared to be stepping stones through a calm emerald sea.

A boat with a paddle rested on the beach, as if awaiting her. Tessa looked behind her and saw nothing but endless sand dunes. No trees, no signs of life. She pushed the boat into the warm water, climbed aboard and paddled to the nearest lushly landscaped tropical island that seemed no more than a quarter mile from shore.

Already she missed Dora's companionship. While she still wore her earrings, communication with the starship was forbidden during the Challenge. As for her husband, she wished she could go back to last night and repeat their time together all over again.

"I'm in the boat, paddling easy," she reported but had no way of knowing if anyone on the starship was currently monitoring her through the star fire necklace.

She paddled for maybe fifteen minutes before she realized that her boat was no longer moving-although she'd kept paddling at a steady rate. Equi-distant between the island ahead and the beach behind, her stroking had ceased to propel her forward. Nor could she turn the craft around. And the distance was too far to consider using null-grav.

"I'm stuck. Looks like I'm going for a swim, but I'll test the water first."

Tessa dipped her kit into the sea. The water contained no poisons or acids. After making sure her kit and knife were firmly attached to her suit, she jumped overboard, expecting to swim. Except she sank to the bottom like bendar.

KAHN PEERED INTO the monitor, listening to Tessa's play-by-play, his heart dancing up his throat, his fists clenched, his thoughts unsteady. Three quarters of the candidates who attempted the Challenge failed. The test was complex. While he had every confidence in Tessa's abilities, one mistake could be her last.

"Breathe," Zical teased him.

"She'll do fine," Dora agreed. "She's very adaptable. And she . . . Purple alert! Ships dropping out of hyperspace." Sirens blared. Warning lights blinked.

Kahn tore his gaze from Tessa on Laptiva and the monitoring device to count three ships dropping out of hyperspace. Those ships shouldn't be here.

"Who are they?" Kahn demanded.

"Endekians." Dora's voice changed into the clipped tones of battle mode. "They are locking cannons on our communications and flight bay. They are firing."

Damn. Normally, he'd order Dora to retreat, but he wasn't abandoning Tessa.

"Shields up," Kahn ordered. "Return fire."

"Compliance. Brace for impact."

Kahn used his psi to lock his body to the deck, used his shields to protect him from a sudden depressurization in case of a hull breach or from flying debris. Everyone on board did the same, except for the baby whom Miri and Etru secured between them.

Several explosions rocked them. "We've taken three hits. Communications are down. There's a fire in the shuttle bay. Engines are damaged."

"Estimated time to repair?" Kahn asked.

"Unknown."

"Get on it. I'll help."

"Compliance."

Kahn turned back to the Laptiva monitor. He could no longer see or hear Tessa. The screen had gone blank.

UNDERWATER, TESSA shut down her shield tight. She could hold her breath for maybe a minute, not enough time to walk to the island. Swimming was out of the question. She needed to induce her null-grav. Summoning up the proper frustration wasn't so difficult with her life at stake.

She shot to the surface with her null-grav, gulped several deep breaths of air, then again sank to the bottom. She walked across the sand, until she once again used the null-grav to breathe. She had no idea if this was the process she was supposed to use or if a more efficient system was possible. However, she made slow but steady forward progress.

When hours later, she finally reached the shallow waters of the next island, she didn't immediately crawl onto the beach. Watching from the water, she surveyed the place for danger. When she saw a boat like the one she'd abandoned pulled up on the shore, the hair on the back of her neck prickled.

All was not as it seemed. Was she alone here?

Thirsty and hungry, she realized that she needed to drink soon or risk dehydration. Food she could do without for the entire three days if necessary, but after her exertions, her body was demanding nourishment and liquids. The moment she rose from the water, a table laden with food and drink appeared on the beach out of nowhere. She'd suspected the Challenge might have been constructed by the same race that had invented the suits, but the technology still astounded her.

"How convenient. I think up what I need and it appears." Cautiously, Tessa strode past the sumptuous repast into the tree lines beyond, snagging a drinking vessel and a piece of fruit on the way. While it appeared the food was her reward for reaching this stage, she didn't make any assumptions. Kahn had taught her that much. And more.

Thanks to him, she'd survived the water test. The foliage reminded her of Puerto Rico, but instead of tropical palms and dense underbrush in shades of green, here the dominant colors were henna, fawn and hazel. Tortoise-shell colored birds nested in the trees and cawed to one another. She saw no insects, but tiny lizard-like creatures sunned on- "What the hell?"

The fruit in her hand vibrated. Tessa dropped the fruit and moved back several steps. A tiny bug-like creature ate through the dun-colored rind, it's sharp teeth ripping the fruit and devouring it in slurping gulps.

"Well, I'm glad I didn't eat you." She imagined that ravenous bug biting her face, or worse, suppose she'd swallowed the creature and it had eaten through her stomach to get out?

The bug finished its meal and slithered away, leaving nothing behind. Thirsty after the long "swim" and with the hot sun drawing moisture from her skin, she had to replace the body fluids she'd lost. Reluctant to abandon the beverage container without further examination, Tessa set it down and eyed it. "Are you another trick?"

Strengthening her shields, she unscrewed the cap, waited for something nasty to crawl out. But nothing did. So she poured a few drops into the tester, waited the requisite thirty seconds and when the light burned bright purple, signaling it was safe to drink, she allowed herself one swallow.

"Tastes fine, but we'll give it a few minutes in my stomach before drinking more." She carefully recapped the weird-shaped vessel that reminded her of a mix between a canteen and a thermos, attaching it to her suit. With no desire at all to return to the feast and the possibility of more bugs, she headed straight across the island's interior.

Along the way, she spied some fruit growing within easy reach and popped them into the tester. The yellow fruit tested green, poisonous to her system, and she threw them away. However, the red fruit were okay, but she remained cautious, taking just a few bites and washing it down with more water.

Two hours of solid walking brought her to the farthest beach where she could clearly see the next island in the distance, which she hoped to make before nightfall. Another boat waited there for her use, but this time, she saw no paddle. She supposed leaving the other paddle behind was her first mistake, but one she could overcome. After a half hour of scrounging through the jungle, she found a short wide branch that would do. However, when she returned to the boat, it was no longer there.

And the next island now appeared twice as far away.

"KAHN, WE'VE got another problem," Zical's face was grim, his purple eyes fraught with worry.

"What?" Kahn snapped as he perused the damage reports as they came in.

"We struck two of their ships that appear dead in space, but the other one is operational and-"

"They're about to attack again?"

"Worse." Zical peered at his instruments, his eyes drawn together in a frown. "The Endekians are focusing sensors on Tessa. Dora says there's a high probability they may try to interfere with the Challenge."

"Stars!" Kahn dropped the damage reports onto the console. He'd figured Jypeg was after him-not her. "We have to warn Tessa." The Challenge was difficult enough for the candidate without hostile interference. Stress kicked adrenaline into Kahn's system, and he ached to fight someone, smack his fist into Jypeg's yellow face. But he had to think, suppress the rage erupting in him like a volcano. "We need to warn Tessa," Kahn muttered. "But how?"

"Even if we could warn her, won't that break Challenge rules and cause her death?" Zical asked.