Raptor's Desire (A Planet Desire novelette) by Delilah Devlin Page B

it?”
    “A possession. You are mine.”
    Irritation cooled my body. I unwrapped my legs from his waist, and he lowered me until my feet sank into the sand. Although my knees trembled, I fisted my hands and stepped away from him. “I’m no man’s possession. This hallucination ends now.”
    “The choice isn’t yours.” His words, not spoken, echoed around me, inside me.
    I pointed my finger at him. “You’re my prisoner.”
    He folded his arms over his chest. “Am I?” Again, a small, mocking smile curved the corners of his lips.
    “Damn you and your questions! I won’t let you change the course of this ship. I’ll never give you my password,” I cried out, angry and frightened. Surely this was only a nightmare. “Leave me.”
    The sun glinted behind him, a corona so bright I raised my arm to shield my eyes. When I opened them again, he was gone, and a hawk perched upon my arm. The bird sat so calmly, I wasn’t alarmed. “Is this a trick?” I shouted over the endless red peaks.
    The bird stirred, drawing my attention. His golden, unblinking gaze held mine for a long moment.
    “Are you his, as well?” I dared to lift my hand and stroke the brown and black feathers on his head. “Such a proud creature. You know you’re beautiful.” I stroked his chest, and the action calmed my heart. “I shouldn’t be dreaming. This is his doing, isn’t it?”
    His talons pricked me, and I raised my arm, hoping he’d take flight into the aqua sky. His wings unfurled from his body, and a gust of wind arose. He flapped, his talons now digging painfully into my skin to keep his perch. Then he flapped again, and his tawny wingtips fluttered across my nipples. The sensation was ephemeral, but erotic, tightening the tips into buds, and I gasped—
    Andromeda O’Keefe choked. The aspirating tube had retracted, and she was drowning.
    “You’re coming out of suspension too quickly,” a deep voice, disembodied, came from beyond her gel-filled capsule.
    She opened hers eyes, blinking against the light shining down through the clear hatch of her chamber, and met a golden-eyed gaze. She recognized him instantly. Her prisoner was free!
    She fought the urge to inhale more of the suspension gel and searched with her hands for the hood latch inside her chamber.
    Before her hand connected with the latch, the panel popped, and the dark-haired man tossed back the hatch and reached inside. A large, rough-skinned hand slid beneath her shoulders, another beneath her thighs, and he lifted her easily from her warm cocoon to the cooler air on the bridge of her ship.
    Andromeda sucked in air and gagged. He knelt to lay her on the floor. Once her chest quieted, she realized her predicament. She was naked and wet, lying on her back with her prisoner, Khalim Padja, also naked, and standing over her. He held out his hand, palm up. Not an offer of aid. His implacable expression demanded she accept.
    As she didn’t have a choice, she laid her hand in his, and he drew her up. Her legs threatened to buckle beneath her from disuse after her slumber. He’d obviously been free longer for he seemed to suffer no such weakness, and he slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close.
    Still coated with a thin film of suspension gel, her body aligned with his from breast to hip. Disturbingly, her mind recognized they fit together well—just as they had in her dreams. Her body seemed just as accustomed to his embrace, and she found herself instantly, embarrassingly, aroused. Would he notice how tightly her nipples puckered against his chest? She tilted back her head to gauge his reaction.
    A muscle in his jaw flexed, and his nostrils flared. The heat in his golden gaze seared her. He’d worn the same expression in her dreams each time he’d seduced her. Oh God! How could she have known what he looked like when aroused, unless they really had shared those experiences? She shuddered, fear and desire warring inside her body and mind.
    He reached a hand