'I apologize that we cannot offer private accommodations, but I believe you will be more comfortable here,' he said as a door opened, revealing a room perhaps twice the size of the one she'd spent the past several hours in.

She could see as soon as she'd scanned the small room that every effort had been made to make it more comfortable than the room she'd had, she just wasn't sure if it had been specifically for their benefit or if he had, for some reason, booted someone else out of their quarters to offer the room to them. She was inclined to think the latter. The furnishings didn't look military issue. The colorful linens and pillows that covered the narrow bunks inside looked like personal belongings. Of course, she was basing that on her own experience and she had no idea of what their military might be like.

She also didn't know, for a fact, that the group that had captured them was military. She a.s.sumed they were, but she didn't know. The facility might be civilian.

'Thank you,' she said hesitantly, wondering why they'd been moved and if Powell was right.

He nodded. 'I am Anka l'Kartay, Commander of Sumptra's forces here.'

Sumptra? Undoubtedly their country or world. The hesitation before he'd said here could mean anything, though, she realized, or nothing.

Something did become clear to her as she looked up at him, though. Looking at him made her uneasy even when she was across the room from him. Standing so close was enough to heighten that agitation and create a flutter of b.u.t.terflies in her belly, making it very hard to maintain eye contact even though it seemed important that she should.

She wasn't certain if the fact that he'd told them who he was was a courtesy or if it was meant to further intimidate them, but she realized after a moment that he was waiting for her to return the courtesy and that there was certainly no reason not to tell him who they were. Captives were not supposed to volunteer any information, but they were allowed to give name, rank, and serial number. 'I'm First Lieutenant Sybil Hunter.'

He nodded again and his gaze flickered over her face and down her length in a way that was so human-like-so like the a.s.sessing gaze of a man-that it threw her further off kilter.

It should have made her skin crawl. Instead, she felt a shuddery, knee weakening sensation filter through her. Dismissing it with an effort, she met his gaze with a hard look when he'd finished looking her over. 'I'd like my flight suit back.'

Something flickered in his eyes, but she had no idea what he might be thinking. She didn't think if he'd been human he would've been an easy man to read, but he wasn't human and she had no idea how they might perceive things, how their minds might work. It was almost more disorienting to realize that his mind could be so different as to be completely incomprehensible to her.

He frowned, but she didn't know if it denoted deep thought or anger or if the thought was a lie he was concocting, a memory search for where it might be, or even of the language to figure out what she was talking about. He hadn't seemed to have any trouble at all with the language, despite his thick accent-either understanding or speaking-but that didn't necessarily mean he fully understood it. He might have rehea.r.s.ed the little he'd said to them.

'You are cold?'

She would've like to think the question hadn't been prompted by the fact that her nipples were tenting the front of her under shirt but she had a bad feeling he hadn't missed much when he'd looked her over. 'A little. More importantly, I'd prefer not to stand around half-naked.'

He frowned and this time she didn't doubt his confusion. 'I had thought the suits were protective gear? You do not need it here. I a.s.sure you.'

'They are, but I wasn't wearing anything under it,' she said uncomfortably.

The comment drew his gaze to the thin undershirt and her panties again. He looked as if he was about to say something else but appeared to dismiss it. 'I will escort you to the room where it was removed. Perhaps it is still there. If not, I will see if one of the women has something to offer.'

A jolt went through her at the offer. Reluctance immediately descended upon her to allow him to escort her anywhere at all, but she was the one who'd insisted.

She still didn't see why he couldn't send someone for it and have it brought to her, but she didn't want to either show her reluctance to go with him or risk having her request dismissed altogether. For that matter, he seemed in some doubt that it still existed and, whether she needed it at the moment or not, she certainly needed it if there was any chance of leaving. 'Thank you,' she managed finally.

He gestured toward the wall where they'd entered. Trying to ignore the shakiness in her belly, she led the way, ignoring the questioning looks her fellow crewmembers cast at her. She wasn't certain which way to go when they'd left the observation room and entered the narrow corridor and sent him a questioning look. He closed the distance and settled a hand lightly around her arm just above the elbow to guide her. The warmth of his hand sent a shiver through her and made her belly tighten more.

'You are cold?'

Sybil gritted her teeth. She was chilled, but she knew her reaction was neither from the contact of his warmth or revulsion. 'A little chilled.'

'We are on the dark side now. The temperature is still difficult to regulate when we must compensate for the excessive heat of this world.'

Sybil threw him a look of surprise even though she'd intended to hide her reactions to him by keeping her face averted. 'The days here are almost a year long Earth time.'

'The facility is designed to move. We stay close to the dawn horizon and allow for brief periods of full exposure for the sake of morale, but when it begins to heat up we move into the darkness again.'

Sybil digested that in silence. The suggestion that they found it depressing to always be in darkness was a clue about them. She wasn't certain if he'd intentionally revealed it or not, but she found it oddly comforting to learn that they had something in common with the aliens after all. 'It is depressing to be in the dark all the time. You begin to really miss the sunlight. I've been stationed at the moon base for a couple of months now.'

He flicked an a.s.sessing glance at her. 'The base receives hours of sunlight every day.'

It was a leading question if she'd ever heard one, but it also made it clear that they knew exactly where the base was located-no huge surprise. 'True, but it isn't the same.'

'As Earth?'

'Or even Mars.'

He grimaced. 'Nothing is the same as home.'

Was he suggesting he missed his home? Or asking if she did? As intriguing as it was to consider that, they arrived at their destination at that moment and she missed the opportunity to pursue it. She halted just inside the door, looking around the dimly lit room.

'Shukala!'

She glanced at him sharply when he spoke, but the room flooded with a harsh white light that explained what he'd said before she could ask. She could see at a glance that her suit wasn't there, but she moved around the room anyway, partly to put some distance between herself and him and partly from agitation about the missing suit. 'What would they've done with it?'

His lips tightened. 'Very likely they would've disposed of it in the disposal chute. I was afraid of that.'

Sybil stared at him in disbelief, wondering if he'd deliberately misled her to get her alone for some reason. 'But you said they were droids! They wouldn't have done anything without being told to! I don't understand why they took my suit to start with!'

His expression hardened at the accusing note in her voice. 'They are autonomous. They would be useless if they weren't.

'They removed the suit to examine you. The transporters were not designed for humans but for us. We recalibrated it using our knowledge of humans, but you were unconscious. I thought it would be best for them to examine you.'

Sybil stared at him as that sank in. 'It was you In the ship.'

'Yes.'

She didn't know how she felt about that. 'We aren't that different,' she said a little doubtfully.

He c.o.c.ked one eyebrow at her. She had the feeling that he was surprised at the comment. 'No. We are not, but we are not the same either.' He hesitated. 'Its standard procedure to dispose of possible contaminates. Very likely that is what has become of the missing suit.'

That was inarguable since it was standard practice for them, as well-except she'd been decontaminated before she'd gone aboard, d.a.m.n it! If they knew so much, they should've known that, too! 'You're saying it's been destroyed?'

'Recycled-though not necessarily-not yet.' He seemed to debate with himself. 'If it is that important to you, wait here, and I will go to the disposal unit and look for it.'

Sybil followed him when he turned to leave. 'Why can't I go with you?'

He halted and glanced at her. She could tell just from his hesitancy that he didn't want to tell her or that, maybe, he was debating just how much he wanted her to know. Before she could try to press him, an enormous explosion somewhere close by caught them both off guard. Sybil hadn't managed to react with more than a shocked intake of breath before Anka grabbed her, shoved her against a bulkhead, and curled himself around her. She clutched at him instinctively as the explosion shook the building. 'What is it?' she gasped fearfully.

'A volcanic eruption,' he responded, his voice harsh with his own fear, distracted, threaded with just enough doubt that it flickered through her mind that he wasn't any more certain than she was.

She clutched him more tightly as shockwaves traveled through the wall behind her and the floor. 'Oh G.o.d! Are we safe?'

'The doors seal automatically,' he said absently.

Protecting each room individually, she realized, but it didn't necessarily follow that it would protect them if the room took a direct hit from a volcanic missile. She didn't know how long they huddled together before the shockwaves petered out and her focus shifted from a fearful expectation of imminent death to the body shielding hers. Little by little, though, as the fear began to subside she became more and more aware of him and less aware of her surroundings.

He didn't feel alien to her. He felt male, strong, protective. Surprise flickered through her when it dawned on her that he'd instinctively sought to protect her, to shield her with his own body. A tingling warmth followed that that had nothing to do with the warmth filtering through her from his warm body. She became aware of their mingling scents from the warmth they were generating, most particularly his. A wave of dizziness swept through her.

He eased away from her finally and looked down at her. She discovered when she lifted her head to look up at him that they were far closer than she'd realized and yet, once she'd met his gaze she couldn't seem to look away. She felt the heat between them magnify.

His gaze flickered over her face. 'Curious?' he murmured in a deep, husky voice that sent a quivering through her.

She swallowed with an effort, commanding herself to turn away, to pull away. Reluctance to do so filled her. 'Yes,' she whispered.

He expelled a heavy breath, seemed to debate with himself briefly and then closed the distance between them, brushing his lips lightly along hers. She waited for revulsion to set in, tried to summon it, and then licked her dried lips, tasting him when she did and feeling an instant surge of want.

He nibbled at her lips with his, as if trying to decide if he also wanted more, and then abruptly covered her mouth. Her heart slammed into her ribcage, began to surge against it, but it wasn't fear. It should have been, but it wasn't.

There was nothing threatening about his kiss, nothing to dredge up a sense of self-preservation. His touch appealed and his taste appealed even more. She opened her mouth to him in invitation and felt a drugging wave of desire flood her the moment he slid his tongue along hers and filled her senses with himself.

It was wrong, she thought dizzily. She shouldn't feel any of the things she felt, but she was more disappointed when he pulled away than she could recall. For several moments, he met her gaze when he'd withdrawn. She found herself hoping he would want to kiss her again and then he pulled away completely, stepping away from her.

'That wasn't wise,' he muttered-to himself, she thought, but he spoke English.

And he was right. It had been stupid, really stupid.

'I will take you back to the others and then see what I can find for you to wear.'

She didn't argue. Wryly, she admitted she wasn't exactly cold anymore. She was far more conscious of her scanty attire than before, though.

Chapter Four.

Spencer was awake, completely alert, and bristling with hostility when they returned to the observatory. His gaze flicked over the two of them and then skimmed over her more slowly, insultingly accusingly. She didn't believe her *guilt' had shown until he made her feel dirty from that look. Without glancing at Anka, she strode quickly across the observatory and into the room that had been set aside for her and Holly Rains.

Holly had already claimed one of the bunks. She was sitting up, though, wedged in one corner as if she thought she might be absorbed by the wall behind her. Her gaze wasn't accusing as Spencer's had been-Powell's, for that matter-but there was speculation in her eyes.

Sybil climbed onto the empty bunk since there was no other place to sit and drew the cover up to cover herself.

'Are you alright?'

Sybil swallowed with an effort. She didn't think so. She didn't especially want to think about what she'd done, though. 'Yes. I guess. I'd hoped to get my flight suit back, but it wasn't there. Anka said the droids had probably disposed of it in case it was contaminated, but he said he'd see if it was still useable and get me something else if it wasn't.'

Holly's brows rose. 'That's where you went!' where you went!'

Sybil grimaced. 'Not that I think the guys won't be able to control themselves-there certainly isn't anything s.e.xy about the t-shirt and panties!-but I'd be a lot more comfortable with clothes.'

Holly nodded. 'Why did they take it off, do you think? Did they?'

Sybil's stomach rolled, more because she knew immediately that the others were speculating about the same thing than because she felt that she had. 'It was droids that examined me. I doubt anything happened.'

'But you were unconscious.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Sybil demanded angrily.

She could tell from the guilty look that Holly tried to hide exactly what was running through her mind. 'Nothing. I'm just saying you don't know and maybe that's a good thing.'

Sybil's lips tightened. 'Suggesting they couldn't contain themselves? I doubt very seriously that they find us the least bit attractive,' she said dryly, if not with complete truth. She'd felt Anka's arousal. She didn't think she was mistaken about that. 'Anyway,' she added, looking away, 'from what he said, there are women of their species here. I can't believe they would consider f.u.c.king an unconscious woman-especially a different species and one, moreover, that they must consider of inferior intelligence given their advancement.'

Shock registered on Holly's face and Sybil felt a touch of satisfaction that she'd elicited it. 'There's no need for that kind of language. I find it offensive.'

'Too bad,' Sybil said tightly. 'I'm an adult and free to say whatever the h.e.l.l I like. And I'm I'm offended by your insinuations. You think you're the only one ent.i.tled to be offensive?' offended by your insinuations. You think you're the only one ent.i.tled to be offensive?'

Anger flickered across the other woman's face. 'I didn't mean to be offensive. I was just concerned.'

Liar, Sybil thought. t.i.tillated, more likely. 'Well I appreciate that,' she said caustically.

Holly's lips tightened. 'We won't get anywhere being hostile to each other. We need to stick together.'

Except they'd already closed ranks, leaving her on the outside. They'd decided she was *tainted'. They'd seen her flight suit was missing and instantly drawn their own nasty conclusions, and it hadn't helped that she'd willingly followed Anka off.

f.u.c.k her! And f.u.c.k them! 'I won't argue that, but I'm d.a.m.ned if I can see that it's going to be much help. There are only five of us and no telling how many of them. Aside from the fact that not one of us has a d.a.m.ned weapon, exactly what do you think banding together is going to do? You think we can overpower them? Escape? Where the h.e.l.l to? Don't tell me they conveniently brought the lander with them so we'd have a way to escape.'

She could tell from the look on Holly's face that they hadn't.

'They have ships,' Holly said pointedly.

Sybil uttered a laugh that lacked humor. 'And you think there's a chance we could get to one, steal it, and actually pilot it home?'

'It isn't beyond the realm of possibility,' she said stiffly.

'But it isn't likely either.'

'What do you suggest, then?' Holly demanded.

Sybil frowned. 'Negotiation. If they wanted to kill us, they could have. There's some reason they're keeping us alive.'

'To study us?'

Sybil's belly clenched but she rejected the idea. 'I'm not saying that isn't a possibility, but why bother? What do you think they haven't already learned? They can speak our language. They understand it and that means a lot more than simply being able to translate from their language to ours. They'd have to understand us-our customs, our civilization-all of it for the language to make sense to them. Think about it! If they didn't know what a home was, they wouldn't use that word and Anka did.'

'He told you his name?'

Sybil looked at her in surprise. 'You didn't hear that?'

Holly shook her head. 'I was staying as far from him as I could and neither of you were speaking very loud. We were wondering what the conversation was about.'