The G-force brought her body solidly against his, increasing his discomfort. And his arousal. His hand trembled as he clutched the throttle.
Nykyrian was tempted to abort the launch and avail himself of the woman in his lap.
Instead, he availed himself of his fam ed iron-will.
Within minutes, they cleared the orbit.
Kiara watched as the murky gray planet shrank out of sight. For some inexplicable reason, she felt safe in this stranger's arms. Com mon sense told her he was a trained military assassin and she should be very much afraid, but her heart discounted her fears.
For some insane reason, she didn't think he would ever hurt her.
Shifting in the seat, she heard his sharp intake of breath.
"Sit still," he ordered, his voice hard.
His tone irked her. "What do you expect with me crammed in front of you?" she asked.
"I expect you to sit still."
With a harrumph, Kiara leaned back. Her ire melted as his heart thumped heavily against her shoulder. She became aware of his body heat, of the strong masculine scent of leather and musk. She wanted this man more than she had ever wanted anything.
Kiara sighed, knowing he was beyond her abilities to claim.
Nykyrian felt Kiara relax against him. He knew he should apologize for his curtness. But apologies were not something he had ever concerned himself with. Besides, it was just as well she not like him. There was no hope for anything between them. He rem inded himself he had chosen his life carefully, but never had that decision weighed so heavily upon his mind.
They remained silent the rest of the long journey.
Kiara was ecstatic as her world came into view. She heard Nykyrian's deep voice speaking her native Gourish flawlessly, explaining his business to the controller.
The controller's voice cracked as he gave them coordinates.
Kiara blinked, unable to believe her eyes as an air squadron surrounded them. The ships were not a welcoming party, they were military fighters, fully armed and ready to fire.
Nykyrian's arms tightened in expectation. Her heart pounded. What if one of her father's soldiers panicked and fired for no reason? Though the pilots were carefully trained, mistakes happened and she didn't want to be included in a statistics book. "Release the fighters!" she snapped.
"Kiara?" her father's relieved voice burst through her headset. "Angel, are you all right?"
"Papa, please," she begged before a misfire happened. "He is here only to return m e.
Call your troops off."
Silence greeted her for a few seconds. Finally, her father sighed and recalled his soldiers to base.
Nykyrian's arms relaxed around her as the fighters dropped away.
It took several minutes to reach the main landing bay. The huge glass and masonry structure welcomed Kiara. Never had she experienced such a happy homecoming. The capitol city hummed with activity as they lowered their altitude.
Nykyrian executed a smooth landing inside the bay.
After releasing the canopy, he unbuckled Kiara from her seat. She removed her helmet and turned to face him. She raised a questioning eyebrow as she noted he made no moves to remove his own gear. "Will you not join us for awhile?"
Looking over the side of his fighter, he noted the large gathering of her father's troops.
He shook his head. "They look nervous," he said dryly.
Kiara handed him the helmet. "I can never thank you enough for what you've done."
"My pleasure. I live to transport beautiful women."
Kiara thought he was teasing, but his voice never changed. "You are a mystery," she whispered, entranced by him. "Why don't you come to my opening perform ance tonight?
I'll leave you a couple of passes."
He sighed. "No, thank you. You should refrain from performing until the people trying to kill you are found and terminated."
She disregarded his advice. She was home now and everything would be fine.
Impulsively, she leaned forward and kissed the side of his helmet. "Thanks again," she said, then dropped over the side of his ship.
Once her feet touched the ground, she ran to her father's outstretched arms. Her heart was light now that she was safe and returned.
Tiarun had dark, drawn circles under his eyes and he regarded her face with a deep, forbidding frown, tracing the outline of her swollen cheek. Kiara gave him a tight hug.
"It doesn't hurt," she assured him.
"The OMG told me they killed the ones responsible."
Kiara trembled at the reminder. "They did."
Tiarun squeezed her to the point she feared her ribs would crack. "You shall have an armed guard in the future. I don't know what possessed the OMG to return you unharm ed. But I thank God you're safe."
Safe. Kiara gave a nervous laugh. She found it difficult to believe she had been inside the fabled OMG Center, seen Nemesis, and none of the mercenaries had even threatened her life. Just the same, she wouldn't tell her father about them, about what little she had seen. She owed them that much and more.