position, then covered him with a blanket. He would have a terrible headache when he woke up. And he'd no doubt be furious at the loss of his ship.
Fortunately, after she left him on the next habitable planet, their paths would never cross again.
* * * *
A malfunctioning thruster hammered somewhere nearby. Pounding, pounding, pounding…Spirit, but his head hurt! Sabin clapped his hands over his ears, trying to shut out the infernal noise. His movements blasted shards of pain through his head. He groaned, forcing himself to lie still, and the pounding receded—just slightly. His mouth…that taste…like rocket fuel. What the—
"Oh, Sabin…Sabin, sweetness, are you awake?" a high-pitched, feminine voice trilled. A wisp of sensation brushed across his face. "I have on my feathers!"
Feathers? Oh, no! Don't sneeze. He'd die if he sneezed. The pain would kill him for sure. Maybe he was dead. Pounding, pounding, pounding…No, he needed to pray to die.
"Sabin, honey, you're moving. You must be awake."
He squinted one eye open to a sea of deep blue Saija silk. The glare zapped him like a laser beam, and he quickly closed the eye again. Saija silk? Where the blazing hells was he?
"Sabin?"
He heard a rustling noise, and the surface beneath him dipped. Everything careened wildly inside him and pain exploded through his head. He dug his fingers into the silk. "Don't move! Not a single millimeter," he growled.
"Does your head hurt? Want me to rub it for you?"
He flinched. That voice, that high, grating voice. Where had he heard it before? A memory nagged at him, and he braved opening an eye. The figure before him blurred, then came into partial focus. Feathers. Lots and lots of blue feathers, covering a small body with big…assets. A feathered headdress rested atop fluffed blue hair that flowed over the woman's shoulders and the aforementioned assets.
"Lani? Is that you?"
"It is!" she squealed, shimmying the bed. "Oh, Sabin, you have such a good memory."
He waited until the room stopped spinning. "Lani, be still and tell me something. Where are we?"
"We're in the Pleasure Dome. In our usual room. Don't you remember?"
Pleasure Dome? He struggled to focus his thoughts. Lani. Where had he last seen her? As the answer came to him, he started to bolt up, but then thought better of it. Sinking back with a groan, he rubbed his face. He ached all over. "What planet are we on?"
"Oh, Sabin, you are too funny! Saron, of course."
Saron? The last thing he remembered, he'd been on his ship…with Moriah…in her cabin. That brought him more alert, as he tried to piece together his last conscious memory. Moriah, warm and incredibly sensuous, spreading shapely thighs for him, responding wantonly to his touch…Was that real? What in the Abyss was going on?
He forced both eyes open. The room settled after a moment, and he turned his attention to Lani's gamine face. "Lani, I want you to tell me exactly how I got here."
She giggled. "You should know better than to drink so much, sweetness. Some woman left you here. Came to the Dome and said you'd had a little too much Elysian liquor, but that your last—how did she put it?—oh, yes, your last conscious request was to leave you at the Dome. She even gave us your credit disc and said to charge everything to it."
His credit disc? Before Sabin could assimilate all this information, Lani cooed, "By the moons of Alta, you are the most generous man."
He thought he might throw up. Breathing deeply to settle his heaving stomach, he gritted out, "What did this woman look like?"
Lani's bright blue lips rounded into a pout. "Oh, she was tall, with reddish hair." She arched back, jutting her generous breasts forward. "Not very well endowed."
That's not exactly how he remembered it, but Moriah's actual measurements weren't important right now. "How did I get here ?"
She tsked and shook her head, feathers swaying. "You don't remember anything, do you? That's not at all like
Fortunately, after she left him on the next habitable planet, their paths would never cross again.
* * * *
A malfunctioning thruster hammered somewhere nearby. Pounding, pounding, pounding…Spirit, but his head hurt! Sabin clapped his hands over his ears, trying to shut out the infernal noise. His movements blasted shards of pain through his head. He groaned, forcing himself to lie still, and the pounding receded—just slightly. His mouth…that taste…like rocket fuel. What the—
"Oh, Sabin…Sabin, sweetness, are you awake?" a high-pitched, feminine voice trilled. A wisp of sensation brushed across his face. "I have on my feathers!"
Feathers? Oh, no! Don't sneeze. He'd die if he sneezed. The pain would kill him for sure. Maybe he was dead. Pounding, pounding, pounding…No, he needed to pray to die.
"Sabin, honey, you're moving. You must be awake."
He squinted one eye open to a sea of deep blue Saija silk. The glare zapped him like a laser beam, and he quickly closed the eye again. Saija silk? Where the blazing hells was he?
"Sabin?"
He heard a rustling noise, and the surface beneath him dipped. Everything careened wildly inside him and pain exploded through his head. He dug his fingers into the silk. "Don't move! Not a single millimeter," he growled.
"Does your head hurt? Want me to rub it for you?"
He flinched. That voice, that high, grating voice. Where had he heard it before? A memory nagged at him, and he braved opening an eye. The figure before him blurred, then came into partial focus. Feathers. Lots and lots of blue feathers, covering a small body with big…assets. A feathered headdress rested atop fluffed blue hair that flowed over the woman's shoulders and the aforementioned assets.
"Lani? Is that you?"
"It is!" she squealed, shimmying the bed. "Oh, Sabin, you have such a good memory."
He waited until the room stopped spinning. "Lani, be still and tell me something. Where are we?"
"We're in the Pleasure Dome. In our usual room. Don't you remember?"
Pleasure Dome? He struggled to focus his thoughts. Lani. Where had he last seen her? As the answer came to him, he started to bolt up, but then thought better of it. Sinking back with a groan, he rubbed his face. He ached all over. "What planet are we on?"
"Oh, Sabin, you are too funny! Saron, of course."
Saron? The last thing he remembered, he'd been on his ship…with Moriah…in her cabin. That brought him more alert, as he tried to piece together his last conscious memory. Moriah, warm and incredibly sensuous, spreading shapely thighs for him, responding wantonly to his touch…Was that real? What in the Abyss was going on?
He forced both eyes open. The room settled after a moment, and he turned his attention to Lani's gamine face. "Lani, I want you to tell me exactly how I got here."
She giggled. "You should know better than to drink so much, sweetness. Some woman left you here. Came to the Dome and said you'd had a little too much Elysian liquor, but that your last—how did she put it?—oh, yes, your last conscious request was to leave you at the Dome. She even gave us your credit disc and said to charge everything to it."
His credit disc? Before Sabin could assimilate all this information, Lani cooed, "By the moons of Alta, you are the most generous man."
He thought he might throw up. Breathing deeply to settle his heaving stomach, he gritted out, "What did this woman look like?"
Lani's bright blue lips rounded into a pout. "Oh, she was tall, with reddish hair." She arched back, jutting her generous breasts forward. "Not very well endowed."
That's not exactly how he remembered it, but Moriah's actual measurements weren't important right now. "How did I get here ?"
She tsked and shook her head, feathers swaying. "You don't remember anything, do you? That's not at all like
Similar Books
