Page 13 of Escape Velocity

Chapter Three

The cabin door burst open, and Amber reared back. Then, in the light coming in from the hall, she saw Max Cassidy standing in the doorway.

She stared at him, trying to lie still, but she could not stop herself from rocking back and forth in the bunk.

When he crossed to her, she struggled to control her features, but she knew she probably looked like a panicked orex.

“What is it? Did the food make you sick?”

“It is not my stomach.”

“What hurts?”

Trying to explain, she said, “Not hurts exactly.”

“Then what?”

She looked away. “I cannot tell you.”

“I can’t help you unless you do.”

She swallowed hard, then pressed her hand against her breast before moving it to the juncture of her legs, where the throbbing was worst. “Here. And here,” she whispered. She wanted to keep her hand there because it felt good, but she forced herself to pull it away and press it against the mattress.

“Slat.”

A jolt of alarm seized her. “Is it something bad?”

“Not under ordinary circumstances.” When he crossed the small space, the lights came up, and she blinked and turned her head away.

He pressed a plate on the wall to lower the illumination.

“What is wrong with me? Did I catch some disease when I left Naxion?”

“I don’t think so. I think it’s fallout from the drug they were feeding you.”

She was still struggled to lie still. “How?”

He dragged in a breath and let it out before speaking. “You said you were forced to take something that . . . repressed your sexuality.”

“Yes.”

“But they skipped your latest dose.”

She answered with a little nod.

“It looks like it’s worn off—with a vengeance.”

“What does that mean?”

“I guess we’ll find out.” As he spoke, he lowered himself to sit on the edge of the mattress, his feet still on the floor. He was close to her now, closer than he had been except when he had hurried her into the shuttle. She was suddenly aware of the male scent of his body, of his breathing that was not entirely even.

She was not sure why she closed her fingers around his arm, but her panicked grip made him wince.

“Sorry.” She loosened her clasp.

“It’s all right.”

“No, it is not. I feel like something bad is building inside of me.”

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