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  Aura sighed. “Where is she now?”

  “I have her under house arrest in Tavik’s quarters. He doesn’t mind. They have a future together. They just don’t know when it will start.”

  Ravikka rubbed her forehead as the thought of her great, great, great, great grandson with the second Terran Nameless ripped through her mind. As speaker for the seven, she could see the situation of all of the Nameless at any given time and right now, she was trying very hard not to think about her descendant and his new partner.

  Some things were better off left out of her imagination.

  Chapter Seven

  Tavik’s voice was a low growl, “Submit, Sky. This will go easier if you simply surrender.”

  Sky’s muscles tensed as the heat of battle was upon her. “I will never surrender. E6.”

  Tavik winced. “You sank my battleship.”

  She clapped and raised her arms in triumph. “Woo!”

  He shook his head as he reset his side of the game. “I cannot believe that you won the third round.”

  She snickered. “I can’t believe that acquisitions were able to find this for me. I love Battleship.”

  Her hands picked the tiny spikes from her board.

  It was day two of her house arrest while the council argued about her. The previous evening, Tavik had offered her the bed while he took the couch. Surprised at his thoughtfulness, she had demurred and told him to take the other half of the bed. When they woke up tangled together, they very calmly extricated themselves without mentioning that both of their bodies had responded to the embrace.

  She was attracted to Tavik and his obtaining Earth board games to keep her entertained while she was waiting for a decision endeared him to her even more.

  Sky stretched and wandered out onto the balcony. She never got tired of staring at the star-scape in front of her. A strange glittering started on her right and she turned to watch something taking shape on what had been an empty plain. “Tavik come see this.”

  He appeared at her side and together, they watched a pillar of stone take shape.

  “What do you think it is?” Aura was standing next to Randr on the balcony in a flash of light.

  Sky blinked. She would never get used to that. “I have no clue.”

  Aura grinned and stepped forward, turning Sky back to face the pillar. “The Orb is making you a private prison.”

  Sky’s heart pounded. “What?”

  Aura laughed. “Don’t worry. A prison is required by the letter of the law, but in case you hadn’t noticed, we don’t need doors to get where we need to go.”

  Sky’s lids flickered as she absorbed the ramifications. “So, I will be able to come and go?”

  “And food will be provided on a daily basis by the acquisitions department. The official ruling will occur in a few minutes, but I thought you would like to know what is coming.”

  Sky took Tavik’s hand and squeezed tight. “This sucks. I was just getting used to you.”

  He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I am not going anywhere. You are not the only one who will be able to come and go from that prison.”

  Her skin tingled at the slight touch on her skin and she tried not to let the surge of emotion show in her expression, but based on the look in Aura and Randr’s eyes, she failed miserably.

  She felt the blush climb her chest and into her cheeks.

  The communication device inside the apartment chirped insistently and Sky felt a certain amount of relief. Anything was welcome if it broke the cycle of knowing glances being thrown her way.

  Tavik went into his home and answered the call of the device.

  The shimmering stone was rapidly growing into an indefensible tower with no doors or connecting bridges to the other buildings of Home.

  If Sky were to call it her own, she would be on her own with no access to any of the others.

  Aura came and took her hand. “Don’t worry. It won’t be forever. They will accept your particular task set just as they accepted mine. It isn’t every race that takes killing those who must die in stride.”

  Sky coughed a laugh. “Mine seems to be the opposite. I am drawn to move the ones who should have died. Perhaps, it is balance, a little life for a little death.”

  The stars in Aura’s eyes swirled wildly. “You may just be correct.”

  Randr chuckled. “You would know.”

  Sky saw the tie between them as clearly as if it was drawn in the air. It was more than just the shackle of energy that bound them. It was the fire of attraction and affection that kept them together.

  Tavik returned. “The council wants to speak with you, Sky. It’s time.”

  She looked into his eyes and lunged upward, grabbing the back of his neck and kissing him for all she was worth. Light flared around them and they were standing in the council hall with a group of shocked councillors staring a moment later.

  Tavik’s hands were on her waist and her ass, making her giggle as she slid from his grasp. His expression was dazed to say the least, but he firmed up his lips when Ravikka cleared her throat.

  “Well, this is not well timed. Tavik, please stand aside from the defendant. Sky, you are about to receive your sentence.”

  “Good. The prison looks lovely.”

  The councillors looked from one to the other and Ravikka cocked one eyebrow. “You saw?”

  “I did. It looks lovely.”

  Gwetho leaned forward and stared at her. “You know what it means?”

  Sky straightened her shoulders. “I guess that I will transport into the tower and there will be no where for me to go. I will not be allowed to circulate with other Nameless and be left to my own devices.”

  He sat back. “How did you deduce that?”

  She couldn’t help her look of amazement. “I noted a large tower coming into being that did not have any doors and only had windows on the top floor. Either you are going to turn someone into Rapunzel or I am going into the tower.”

  “I don’t understand the reference.”

  “It doesn’t matter. The tower is designed to keep someone alone and away from the casual visits of others.” Sky looked at Ravikka. “I am ready when you are.”

  Ravikka lifted one hand and then clenched her fist. “Before I send you, I want you to know that we know that the Orb will still send you where it will. This is to keep others from getting the idea that stealing their loved ones from the hand of fate is acceptable.”

  “I understand. There are rules here and the Orb is asking me to break them. We will get through this eventually. How long is my sentence?”

  Ravikka opened her hand, a glow flaring out. “It will last until the Orb ceases sending you to avert death. Know that we do not do this lightly, but you need to live apart.”

  Sky inclined her head as the other councillors got to their feet and extended their hands. A bright light swelled and engulfed her as a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind.

  Tavik’s whisper in her ear was low and deep. “Where you go, I go.”

  A moment later, they were both in her new prison and suddenly, Sky really wanted to check out the bed.

  Chapter Eight

  “Why did you grab me?” Sky turned in Tavik’s arms and wrapped her own around him.

  He pressed his lips to her forehead and whispered, “Since I did not know what the interior of your new home looked like, I could not transport here and I really did not want to leave you alone. Who knows what you would get up to?”

  She went up on her toes and met his lips with hers. “Let’s find out. I am a little out of practice, but I believe that I can remember how it goes when two adults have a room to themselves with no threat of interruption.”

  He smiled against her mouth and worked at the ties of her gown. The bodice loosened and he slid the straps off her shoulders, baring her to the waist.

  Her bra was a silky black and stood out starkly against her skin. “Lovely. I am assuming that it is an undergarment of your people?�
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  Sky trembled as he stroked his fingers over the fabric and her nipples beaded and pushed against the interior of her bra. “It is. It supports and gives a morale boost to the women wearing it. Sort of an I know something you don’t know moment.”

  “I am a fan of it right now and very glad that you have chosen to share this moment with me.”

  She tried to chuckle, but his hands were caressing, squeezing and stroking her skin through the confines of her clothing.

  She moaned and squirmed when his mouth joined the mix. Sky reached behind her to unclasp her bra, but Tavik gripped her hands.

  “No, the first night is not for consummating the union but rather for getting to know each other. Undergarments stay on.”

  Her mind reeled in shock, but her body didn’t care as he worked his way down her ribs and belly with first hands and then his mouth.

  Her belt clanked as the scissors hit the floor. He worked the rest of her dress off her hips with deliberate slowness and then he ran his hands over her from shoulder to ankle setting off a cascade of shivers and a distinct slickness seeped onto the interior of her panties.

  Blushing, she watched his nostrils flare as he neared the black silk.

  His lips curved and his lids grew heavy as he breathed in deep. “Your scent is intoxicating, it makes me crave a taste, but that will have to wait for the second night.”

  “Second night?”

  He laughed and stroked up the back of her thighs with his fingertips. “There is a night for every romantic advancement in my culture. Each one is embraced and celebrated so that no new sensation is ever lost in the mix.”

  She blinked at him, owl-eyed. “That seems sensible.” Her voice was a breath of sound during his tracing of her inner thighs.

  He laughed and got to his feet. “I believe that we should adjourn to the bed. A level surface makes things so much easier.”

  His clothing disappeared while she slowly edged her way to the bed, keeping her body facing his so she wouldn’t miss the great reveal.

  His blue and gold colouring continued under his clothing and the shading made the ridged muscles of his abdomen stand out in sharp relief. Her fingers curled with the urge to touch and her mouth watered at all of that exposed skin. He kept his tight trousers on and her belly clenched when she realized that he wasn’t wearing anything under them.

  He had to sit on the edge of the bed to remove his boots, so she took advantage of her target and stroked her fingers over the slabs of muscle on his back. He felt even better than he looked and she didn’t think that that was possible.

  Warm, hard and silky soft at the same time, his skin was an exercise in contrasts. He arched under her hands and she heard a low rumble come from his throat.

  On impulse, she ran her fingers through his hair, along his scalp and he shuddered at her touch. Sighing happily, she slid her hands over his shoulders and down the planes of his chest, enjoying the feel of him as she explored.

  When her fingers reached his waistband, his hands covered hers and pressed them to his belly. “That is a little too much for my self-control, Sky.”

  She sighed and wiggled her fingers teasingly. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

  When he freed her hands, she trailed them back up his chest and then down the powerful columns of his arms.

  He twisted in her grip and lunged, forcing her flatly to the bed. “Something tells me that you will always test my patience and my self-control.”

  She snorted. Her mind had shown her a number of couplings with Tavik, stretching far into the future. “It seems that it will become my hobby to push you to the edge of sanity and you will enjoy every moment of it.”

  He pressed his lips against her neck before he started laughing, but when he opened his mouth and the press of his teeth against her skin made her moan and arch violently, he stopped and groaned instead. “I am beginning to think that there are detriments to knowing your lover’s weaknesses before you have come together.”

  She paled. He knew about her penchant for being bitten, a secret that only one lover had unearthed in the past. “It does seem to make things too fair too soon. Where is the spirit of discovery?”

  He chuckled and pressed soft kisses up her neck and eventually made it back to her lips.

  She tasted her skin on his lips and she was surprised at the heady nature of her own scent.

  Tavik licked her lips for entrance into her mouth and she opened just far enough to let him slip in to taste her.

  Sky had not been involved in a clothing-on, heavy-petting session since she was a teen, but when he started to rock against her and the only thing working in her favour was friction, she pursued it with a violence that shocked her and delighted him.

  She rocked, pushed and ground her crotch against his, until finally, the blunt force sent her spinning into a sharp orgasm that left her panting and shaking, ready for more.

  Tavik groaned and his hips slid against her panties a few more times before he shook and jerked. “I will return in a moment.”

  Laughing softly, she watched him carefully make his way to her new lav and as he removed the cum from the inside of his trousers, she sniggered, relieved that she got away lightly. Her body was still humming with energy as it always did after her first orgasm of the night. It was her primary reason to stop masturbating. She had never had the urge to continue after one climax, but her body often demanded it.

  She finally realised that if you never started the engine, you didn’t have to take the road trip.

  Sighing, Sky lay back on the bedding and looked around at the ceiling. There was a skylight that allowed her to see the swirling cosmos in the distance and the wide windows did the same for the panorama of Home. It really was a nice location. There didn’t seem to be anything that she could possibly need that wasn’t there.

  If her sense of the future was correct, there was even a direct link to acquisitions to help her prepare for her law-breaking assignments.

  The moment that Tavik left her lav and approached the bed again, she was swamped by a wave of fatigue. She tried to yawn but her body simply started to drop onto the bed.

  Tavik cursed, “I knew that I should have let you sleep first, but it obviously wasn’t that brain that was in control.”

  She chuckled, but he was covered with bright and black spots as she tried to bring him into focus.

  He swiftly folded down the bedding and tucked her neatly between the sheets, holding her tightly against him. “This was a long first few days and your body has not acclimated yet. Give yourself some restful sleep and things will look better in the morning.”

  She smiled and looked up at him. “Things look pretty good now.”

  His smile was pleased. “I am very happy to hear you say that. While many of the Nameless have casual relationships, I am not one of them. If you don’t wish to proceed any further, tell me now.”

  She sighed and snuggled as close as she could get. “I am very happy with the future presented to me by the Orb. You are in it rather frequently and I have no inclination to change my future.”

  Her body was humming softly, her nerves alert and full of energy. Despite the enervation, she fell asleep in his arms, looking forward to waking up the same way.

  Chapter Nine

  A swish and a hiss woke Sky. She blinked and finally examined the room in which she had fallen asleep.

  A chute was slowly closing. A box that reminded Sky of the clothes box from the clothing repository was waiting for her.

  She sat up and realized that she was alone. Sky fought off a surge of disappointment and slid out of her bed.

  The box did indeed contain a change of clothing. Oddly enough, it was another one of Sky’s designs. She had no idea how the Nameless were getting them, as far as Sky knew, they were exclusive to her shop.

  A note fluttered to the ground when she lifted the dress from the box.

  Dear Sky, I was called by the Orb and didn’t want to wake you. I selected this dress
so you would have a change of clothing. I will return as soon as I am done with witness duty.

  Yours always,

  Tavik

  Sky smiled and caressed the sweeps of the letters written in Alliance Common. It was her first note from him and she was planning on keeping it.

  She placed it on the bedside table and continued exploring her new home in the bright light of a new day.

  The place was huge and it was all hers. A large living room faced a bank of windows that let in all the morning light. She had a view of the entire expanse of the Nameless city. She knew that she couldn’t do anything to communicate with them, but it was nice to know that she was not alone.

  A sitting room beckoned to her, as did a kitchen that contained another chute. When she approached it, a screen came up with a variety of pictures and she tapped a selection of foods she thought she would enjoy and waited.

  Glasses were above a sink and she poured herself some water while she waited, and in four minutes, the chute opened and a covered tray skidded into view.

  “Cool.”

  She took the tray to the table and opened the cover. Some of the scents were not complementary, but she shrugged and proceeded to eat her breakfast.

  The moment that she finished the food, she put the tray back on the chute and smiled as it was retracted back from whence it came. Sky made a mental note to do the same with her clothing from the day before.

  With hope that the day would bring her something to entertain herself, Sky took a shower and then changed into the brilliant blue underwear and dress that was waiting for her.

  She started walking around her prison in slow laps, finally noticing a mirror that shifted whenever she walked past it.