Second Chance Read online

  An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

  www.ellorascave.com

  Second Chance

  ISBN # 1-4199-0776-X

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  Second Chance Copyright© 2006 Rebecca Airies

  Edited by Nicholas Conrad.

  Cover art by Syneca.

  Electronic book Publication: October 2006

  This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

  Second Chance

  Rebecca Airies

  Chapter One

  Shadows gathered in the dim light of the deserted tan-walled hallway. Nervousness coiled within her belly as she paced down the quiet passage, her footsteps echoing in the corridor. Stopping before a large door, she took a deep breath to calm her rioting nerves. Placing her palm against the wooden surface, she opened the door and stepped into the room.

  Her eyes fell on the lavish green silken coverings on the bed on top of which a dark-haired, dark-skinned god lounged nude. His body was large, muscled, gleaming in the softly flickering light. The breadth of his hairless chest and the darker stripe of skin on either side of his collarbone drew her eyes and whetted her appetite. Deep, velvety brown eyes surveyed her with lecherous intent. Her eyes ran over the thick, muscled thighs and the long, dark cock which rose from between them. He had more than enough to satisfy a hungry woman. He raised his arm and held out his hand to her.

  Oh yes…

  * * * * *

  A steady, throbbing ache in her shoulders pulled Laci Trion from the dream about that gorgeous man. Just the memory of that body made her want to drool and brought a pool of warmth to her sex. What she wouldn’t do to get her hands on a man like that. She might not even have to remember to play nice with someone built like that. Now, that would be nice. Often, worry about hurting her partner with her strength held most of her attention during sex.

  She blinked, her eyes gritty and slow to focus, and then stared in confusion at the cold, gray tile on the floor. She could tell it was the floor, because she could see a small puddle of saliva in front of her bare suntanned thighs and knees. Without having to look, she knew that her arms were secured. She could feel something cold and metallic at her wrists and elbows holding them out at a ninety degree angle from her body.

  Secured in a kneeling position, she strained to gain as much information as possible before she moved. Her toes didn’t touch a wall. She didn’t know if she was in the middle of a room or just held away from the wall. She desperately tested her sense of hearing. She could hear the light sound of breathing, more than one person. Inhaling, she found that the scents in the room had blended, making it impossible to distinguish how many people were in the room. The only thing she knew for certain was that they were all male.

  I’m in trouble this time, Laci acknowledged, fear and adrenaline racing through her. She couldn’t remember how she could possibly have landed in this situation. Her last memories were rather innocuous.

  She’d checked into a dive of an inn after landing the shuttle on Viaga, a haven for criminals of all types as the government refused to take a stand on anything. She had climbed the stairs, entered the room and that was it. After eating in the room, she’d fallen into a deep sleep.

  Laci grimaced as she lifted her head. Her neck ached, informing her that she’d been in this position for some time. She saw four blurry, black columns. Confused, she blinked and the columns came into focus. She stared at four muscled legs encased in tight black pants and shiny black boots. She tilted her head farther back and wished she hadn’t.

  She gawked at the two angry men standing a few paces away from her. The twin of the dark sex god from her dream glowered at her, and the fuming redhead beside him seemed oddly familiar as well. The two men drew an immediate reaction from her. Her lust flared, instantaneous, intense and in blatant disregard of the hazards of this situation.

  The man with deep brown skin appeared to be just as hard-bodied and luscious as he had been in her dream. His hair was long, silky and black as a moonless night. A scar on one cheek stretched from his hairline almost to his nose. The rugged, fierce lines of his face were accentuated by a slightly crooked nose and a square jaw. The harsh glint in those brown eyes made her blink. The savage warrior within him waited to pass judgment and she knew her life rested on his decision.

  Short and spiky, the red crown did nothing to soften the second man’s looks. Because of that haircut, she could see the pointed tips of his ears and knew he wasn’t human. The gold in his slanted eyes glittered as he stared down at her. Light, gold-brown skin highlighted the high cheekbones and smooth lines of the redhead’s face. The fact that his face just missed beautiful couldn’t hide the forcefulness, the dominance within him. This man was a predator.

  They were both very tall, the redhead a little more so than his companion. Both well-built, they leaned against the wall, almost seeming relaxed. The breadth of their chests and the muscled arms was defined rather than hidden by the blue shirts of the uniforms they wore. Laci felt a trickle of warm, slick moisture on her inner thigh as her eyes lowered to the bulges between those muscular thighs. From the outline of the ridges visible against that black cloth, they were long and thick.

  “Why were you sent after us?” Red’s cold, smooth baritone rolled over her.

  Confusion swirled within Laci’s mind. They might seem familiar, but she’d never seen them. She didn’t know them. They were not her prey on this particular hunt. That she would remember. Laci had no idea who they were or why they were so angry with her. “I wasn’t sent after you.”

  “That’s true enough. I don’t think that she even knew that we’d be here. The only thing on the reading is confusion and anger, Jatohn,” a voice observed from behind her, surprising her.

  She stiffened and turned her head in a fruitless attempt to see the man who was behind her. She’d become so focused on those two men that she hadn’t noticed the others in the gray room.

  The air was chill on her nude body and she felt distinctly exposed and vulnerable. She didn’t like the feeling. It reminded her too much of a past she wished she could forget. This whole situation reminded her too much of her time in captivity.

  “Who are you after?” The second man’s glossy black hair rippled as he crossed his arms and crossed his right foot over his left.

  Laci looked at the dark-haired man apprehensively. With a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, his brown eyes ran over her exposed body. His voice was rumbling and deep and seemed to flow right into her, tugging at her. Strangely, he looked relaxed, almost happy, since she’d answered that first question. A shiver of unease at the sudden good humor exhibited by both men rippled down her spine.

  Laci felt compelled to answer the question. She fought that push. She didn’t know who these men were or why they were asking these questions. They could be one of those who wanted to hurt her and those like her. As she resisted, a burning pain burst to life in her abdomen. Laci grimaced as the pain increased in strength with each passing moment, tearing into her with fangs and claws.

  “Tell us who you hunt and the pain will go away.” The dark eyes of Black Hair gave no indication that he cared if she answered and stopped the pain.

  “A woman…” The pain became unbearable and she could no longer keep her silence. There was no softness or mercy in those golden eyes or the chiseled face as her eyes clashed with those of the redhead. The bastards kne
w that she wasn’t after them, yet they insisted on continuing this torture.

  “Who?” Red’s predatory golden eyes watched her face, as if he was reading the emotions as they crossed her face.

  Laci looked into those eyes. Confusion swirled inside of her. His features were more refined, but they were every bit as implacable, unrelenting as those of the man beside him. Despite her unease over his mercurial switch of moods and his unknown motives, she found this man just as appealing as the dark-haired man at his side. They both inspired a heat, an intense need that she couldn’t ever remember feeling before.

  Laci couldn’t defy the need to answer the question when the pain came back full force. It felt as if she was being ripped apart from within in very slow increments. “Vanya Steryan.”

  “Why would you be hunting her?” Red tapped his hand against his thigh.

  “I’m to return her for trial before the Tribunal on Gesed 3 for her crimes on multiple planets in four galaxies.” Laci wished she could move her arms. The muscles in her stomach were still twitching, her breathing shallow and uneven as the pain faded.

  “Truth,” the voice behind her said again.

  “Very good.” Red gave her an approving nod. “Just a few more formalities and then we can get better acquainted. Give us your name.”

  She suspected the nod was meant to encourage her to be more forthcoming. She wished they’d just get to the point. And by Panicea’s three moons, what did he mean they would “get better acquainted”?With clipped precision, she replied, “Laci.”

  As the interrogation had progressed, she’d discovered what they had known all along. These men had been created in the labs, just as she had. When she concentrated, she could feel the hum of the signal which was emitted by all of the lab’s creations and she knew that there were more than three men in this room.

  Laci grimaced. It spoke of just how high her emotions were at that moment that it had taken her so long to notice it. Considering how long she’d been after Vanya, the feel of even a Third Generation signal—the same signal her nano-cytes emitted—should have been a sharp continuous drone through her mind and body. The difference of a First Gen signal from her own should have made it even more obvious.

  “Laci what?” Black Hair prompted with a raised eyebrow.

  “Trion.” She could see no way out of it. The pain would return if she didn’t answer them. She was in no hurry to test her endurance again.

  “You’ll shortly be released from the restraints. Do not come at us like a spitting traik.” Black Hair’s brown eyes narrowed as he pointed a finger at her.

  Red paced to within an arm’s length of Laci. His eyes heated as they ran over her pale breasts and the red nipples. Before her eyes, his cock lengthened, pressing against the fly of his black pants. “As to the eminent Vanya Steryan, you’ll have to wait. She’s done some damage and we have to convince her to tell us how to fix it.”

  Laci digested that last bit of news. “Would it be possible for you to get me some clothing?”

  Considering what she knew of Vanya Steryan, Laci was almost certain that she knew what kind of trouble Vanya had caused. She was a scientist who created programs to attack those who had escaped the labs. The woman was vicious, especially when she felt cornered, but her downfall was her predictability. Like many associated with the labs, she showed a blind inability to see that their creations were not unfeeling lab animals.

  “I like the view.” Black Hair openly stared at her, a definite leer on his face. “You’re beautiful, but if you insist on walking around the ship, you do need some clothing.”

  Just what are they playing at? First, they interrogated me, then threatened me and now they’re flirting with me? Laci eased her arms down with careful deliberation as the restraint loosened, but couldn’t stop the groan which slipped from her lips as her muscles protested the movement. Rubbing at her right arm she wondered how long she’d been in that torture device. She glanced around the room.

  There was only a small table behind the T-shaped device that had held her arms away from her body and kept her in a kneeling position. Although the room wasn’t very large, at least six other men gathered in the confined space. Apparently, interrogations were a spectator sport among these men.

  They’d admitted they had brought her aboard a spaceship. Judging from the space in even this small room and the absence of vibration from the engines, this was probably a large ship, probably a Battle-class ship such as the Taurog or the Monical models. This was bad.

  Darion looked over at Alek. Alek’s golden eyes were shot with sparks of lust and determination. Darion could well understand. She was here, in front of them. They’d been looking for her and she surfaced in the last place they expected to find her.

  He lowered his eyes to the darker stripe of brown skin on either side of her collarbone. She was full-figured, just as he remembered. Her body was toned, but padded in all the right places. His eyes traced over her full breasts, down her stomach to the flare of her hips. Appreciative of the bounty before him, he took in the lush curve of buttocks, naturally hairless mound and rounded thighs.

  He swept his eyes back up to her face. Her hair was curly and glossy black with burnished streaks, falling only to mid-back—much shorter than it had once been. Her wide, green eyes flashed with emotion—at this moment, anger. She had a short nose, generous deep pink lips and rounded cheeks. His body throbbed with the need to touch her. His hands itched to glide over her silky, lightly golden skin.

  Alek had to be rejoicing at the proof of his error. His worries had been unfounded, all of them. He’d been predicting that their woman would be much as they remembered her. Already, she had proven that wrong. The scent of the desire simmering within her swirled in the air around them.

  The differences in her would be obvious even to cynical Alek. The anger radiated from her and Darion could read the other emotions on her face and in her eyes. He enjoyed the treat of being able to watch her emotions rise. Never before had he been able to do that with her. He was certain now. This time would be different. This time they wouldn’t lose her.

  The interview had been necessary, but he’d wanted to tear her loose from the bindings the moment the first sign of pain had crossed her face. He hated to see her in pain, but they had had to be certain that she wasn’t an agent for their enemies. With her history, the precaution was merely prudent.

  Darion knew she was still angry. He could read it on her face just as easily as he could the confusion and the desire. Satira—no, Laci—had much to learn about them. The first lesson was that they wouldn’t be manipulated. She would play by their rules.

  Without a doubt, these weren’t Second Gen men. These men had to be of the First Generation of creations. They were known to gather in large groups. The Second Generation men shunned associations with other Arceins—Artificially Created Beings—of the same sex.

  The First Generation had disappeared over fifty years ago from the lab where they had been held. That had been before Laci had been created. She doubted that they’d aged a day in the intervening time. The alien species which made up most of their DNA was long-lived and then there were the nano-cytes. These were nano-bots that flowed in their bloodstream, repairing damage and preventing aging from the inside out.

  Now that she could really focus, the difference between the feel of Third Gen nano-cytes and these men’s nano-cytes leaped out at her. Their nano-cytes pulsed at a faster, lower tone. Her skin tingled and she could feel the thrum of their nano-cytes—a pulsing tug in her chest and stomach. She’d been tracking Vanya for nearly forty days and her isolation probably increased her sensitivity.

  A standard white robe was brought to Laci. She put it on without question and then scowled in annoyance. The robe hung a little below her mons unbelted. If she belted it, she’d bare half her ass and expose most of her pussy. She gritted her teeth and struggled to keep her breathing deep and slow, trying for serenity as she buttoned the three buttons meant to hold the robe
together.

  “What has Vanya done to you?” Laci glanced up at them, considering her options. She didn’t want to spend too much time here. She needed to put some distance between herself and these two men. Her reactions to them worried her. They were too intense. As well, there were other scientists and bureaucrats on the watch list that she could be tracking. “If it’ll get me away from here quickly—with Vanya Steryan—I’ll help you.”

  Red’s golden eyes narrowed in suspicion at her knowledge of the situation. “How do you know that she has done something to us?”

  Laci resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the redhead, but raised a brow. “You said that she had done some damage. It wouldn’t be the first or second time that she’s attacked an Arcein. Do you two have names? Other than Jatohn, which I presume is a title and will not call you.”

  “We both bear the title of Jatohn,” Black Hair clarified with a toothy smile.

  Laci turned her head to the raven-haired man. That broad smile would have appeared goofy if it wasn’t for the hunter’s intensity in the dark brown eyes. She didn’t fail to notice that neither of them had given her an answer. They were typical stubborn, arrogant men. “Fine. I’m sure that you have everything under control, but I can tell you that Vanya won’t give you any answers. She doesn’t have them. She creates mayhem and destruction with her devices and programs. Everything is meant to destroy, to decimate. She never goes to the trouble to create a way to stop the destruction.”

  “What did she do to your group?” Black Hair tilted his head, curiosity clearly evident.

  “She managed to infect one of us with a replicating program designed to kill us all. It used the nano-cytes’ cooperative communication to spread within the body. Once infected, the nano-cytes attacked the host.” She swung her gaze from the black-haired man to the redhead. She was still very confused by the attraction she felt for these two men, the instantaneous lust. Why were they so familiar? Why had she dreamed of them?