He licked his finger and reached between them to touch her c.l.i.t. At his contact, he felt her muscles tighten and vibrate around his shaft. She ground against the contact, bouncing madly on top. She sucked in a breath and cried out. Her o.r.g.a.s.m pushed him over the edge. He let go of what little restraint he had left and began to pound mercilessly into her.

Their screams chorused in the room. In the back of his mind, Kamran wondered if Taber would come bursting into the room to see what the problem was. He didn't and they fell in a tangled heap back into the bed. Kamran sighed and wondered if he would ever get used to such a wonderful feeling of contentment.

They lay in each other's arms. Unlike the night before, Kamran knew the name of his mate. He also knew he would do everything in his power to stay with her. But what he wasn't sure of was what was to become of them.

"I don't think we need to worry about Taber." Haylie's voiced sounded otherworldly.

It was going to take a lot of getting used to, having her being able to sense his thoughts.

"What do you mean?"

"He must have put two and two together somehow. He gave us an excuse to be together tonight, knowing what would happen."

"I trust him with my life. But Taber has always been a man who believes in the letter of the law, not the spirit. By all rights, he should have reported us to the council."

Haylie moved against him. "Perhaps he would rather see his friend happy than forced to give everything up?"

Kamran chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Let's hope so."

Another puzzle for another time. His thoughts were quickly consumed by a peaceful slumber. With Haylie in his arms, her thoughts and feelings intertwined with his, he found contentment like he'd never known before.

When the intercom chimed, he hadn't even realized he'd been asleep. Haylie miraculously hadn't woken and he took great pains to slip from the bed without waking her.

It only took a moment for him to slip on his tunic and right his hair.

"This is Amba.s.sador Kamran." His voice was surprisingly smooth despite the exhaustion he was feeling at the moment. If only he could climb back in bed...

When Councilwoman Tia's face appeared before him, Kamran immediately knew there was trouble. He adjusted his stance so there was no way she'd be able to see his bed, or the fact it wasn't empty.

88.

"Amba.s.sador? I'm sorry to disturb you at such a late hour." Her voice was strained and held a slight edge.

"No apologies necessary, Councilwoman. What can I do to help?"

"I'm afraid we have a problem. Our envoy to the Ecada home world sent a partial transmission. Only a portion of the message managed to get through to us, which was quite disturbing. I have my opinion as to what this means, but the council wanted to get your opinion as well. You know these beasts better than any of us."

"Of course, Councilwoman."

"Oh, and bring me some of that human coffee. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night."

"I will." He smiled.

"Thank you."

The screen blacked out and Kamran started to scramble.

"What's wrong?" Haylie's sleepy voice floated from his bed.

"Nothing to concern yourself with. I have to attend a meeting."

"Meeting? It's past midnight..." She pulled back the blanket, revealing her rounded b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

He almost fell back into bed with her. Almost.

"I know. Councilwoman Tia thinks we may have a problem. I need to check a transmission that was sent to the council."

"Do you need help? I can get dressed."

"It may be nothing. I'll let you know if it's something serious. Go back to sleep."

Haylie's head flopped back on the pillow. "Okay."

"Rest. I'll see you a bit later."

He a.s.sumed the m.u.f.fled noise emanating from her was her agreement.

It took his eyes several minutes to adjust to the harsh glare of the hallway lighting.

As a result, he didn't notice Taber right away.

"She's sleeping. It was a very long day for her in front of the computer."

His friend had the decency not to laugh. "Would you like me to stay here and wait for her, or accompany you?"

"Please stay with her. I'm on my way to meet with Tia. It would be noticed if you were to accompany me."

"Be careful tonight, Amba.s.sador. I've heard rumors in the past few days. There is something strange taking shape here."

Kamran felt his stomach tighten. Taber wasn't an alarmist. "If that's the case," he nodded toward the room, "keep close watch."

"No one will get near her."

89.

The promise of a Briellian protectorate was unbreakable. Taber slipped back into the shadows as Kamran made his way to his meeting.

There were even fewer people around than normal this evening as he made his way to the opposite end of the station. Even the human coffee vendor had disappeared.

Councilwoman Tia would have to suffer without her beverage.

As Kamran turned the corner close to the meeting room Tia opened the door and stood in the opening.

"Thank you for coming as such a late hour, Amba.s.sador."

Kamran slowed his approach when something caught his attention. A movement from the darkness.

"Is everything all right?"

"A moment, Councilwoman."

He'd caught sight of someone turn the corner to an adjacent hallway. The human guards who normally held post in this area were absent.

"h.e.l.lo?" He called and began to make his way toward where the man had gone.

The last thing they needed was trouble from some of the human miners. His short pursuit left him empty-handed and he turned to make his way back to the meeting.

Kamran saw the flash of light as he turned. His brain didn't register what had happened until the blast of burning air from the explosion threw him to the ground.

90.

Chapter Nine.

Haylie bolted from the bed and stood shaking in the room. The smells of burning wire and melting plastic were everywhere. Bile rose in her throat and she swallowed down the sick taste. Why the h.e.l.l were her ears ringing?

She shook her head several times, trying to clear away the numbing sensation in her neck. That was some dream she'd had. Or else she'd slept funny. Or both. But even as she thought it, she knew it was more than a dream.

The door chime sounded, cutting through the other noises in her head. It took a minute, but she managed to find her jumpsuit and squeeze it back on. Without thinking, she ran to the door and opened it.

"What?"

"Did you check to see who it was before you opened the door?" Taber barked at her.

Her brain kicked into gear. "I forgot I wasn't home. What's wrong?"

"There's been an explosion. The Amba.s.sador-"

Explosion. She tried to reach out to Kamran using their strange new connection. But she couldn't. She swallowed a lump in her throat and put her hands on her hips.

"Where is he?"

"My men are looking for him, don't worry. I need to see that you get back to your room safely."

Haylie's mind kicked into security mode. A loud dismissive grunt escaped her, as she pushed past him and she stalked down the hall. "Like h.e.l.l. I need to get to the scene."

It only took Taber a moment to catch her. "Ms. Bond, you can't do that. Humans shouldn't be in this section of the station at this time of night. It would raise suspicions if people saw you leave here."

She didn't pause. "A few hours ago, you didn't seem to have a problem with it."

"A few hours ago, most of the station wasn't on high alert. Many have been injured or killed. I need to get you to safety and get back to the scene quickly." As he spoke, Taber moved Haylie down the hall.

But once she got into the junction of the corridor, Haylie stopped. She didn't need Taber to tell her where Kamran was. A large crowd of people were being held back from a corridor on the other side of the bazaar. Large blast doors had been secured preventing further onlookers from getting close to the crime scene. At least something was working properly.

91.

"I'm the security chief on this station. And while the Briel people are your main priority, this station's wellbeing is mine. It would look strange if I wasn't there."

He lightly touched her arm. Not enough to stop her, but simply to catch her attention. "I promised him I'd keep you safe."

"You should have promised to keep him safe!" she snapped.

Much to his credit, Taber didn't back down.

"I promised," he said simply.

She wanted to scream at him, but Haylie knew it wasn't his fault. When she really looked at him, she could see the worry and concern for his friend. His conflicting emotions between wanting to keep his promise and needing to find Kamran. Haylie knew exactly how he felt.

"Fine, you can keep me safe at the explosion site." When he didn't move, she added, "How would you feel if someone wouldn't let you do your job?"

He stared at her long and hard before releasing her arm.

The two proceeded through the throng of people. Many patrons from the bars two corridors down were standing around with their drinks, trying to catch a glimpse of the carnage. Sick b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! Haylie had to push and yell at people to make a path large enough for them to pa.s.s. It was only once she was on the other side that the horror of the scene hit her.

She knew there was supposed to be a large meeting room at the end of the corridor.

Instead, blasted metal and acrylic plastic were strewn about the hallway. Blast marks scorched the once-gray walls, leaving the telltale signs of where the bomb had gone off.