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Cryonic thaw is complete, a computerized voice droned into Lorie Walker's foggy brain.
The solid, curved front cover on her freezing chamber slid open with a soft hiss, allowing the warm air of
the ship to wash over her cold body. She squinted against the light glowing from the emergency lamps
inside the compact spacecraft. When her eyes adjusted, Lorie blinked at Communications Specialist Dodd
Henderson's back as he floated just above the gravity-enhanced floor in front of the control panel, typing
at lightning speed. Completely
engrossed in his work, he didn't seem to hear her soft groans as she stretched her stiff arms and legs.
For a long, unfocused minute, she admired his wide shoulders, trim waist, contoured buttocks and long
muscular legs showcased within his snug, shiny gray flightsuit. In the four years she'd worked on Space
Station 5423, Dodd was the only man who'd made her pulse race. Luck had been on her side when the
Interplanetary Defense Council reassigned them to Pluto IV together.
Or maybe not. Her gaze shifted to the black expanse outside the cockpit window. A shiver trickled across
her shoulders. Where were the stars, the streaming comets and floating asteroids? She'd never seen
space so dark, so empty. So lifeless.
This is what purgatory must look like.
She rubbed her cold arms in an attempt to chase away the bone-deep chill. After taking a deep, lung-filling
breath, she stepped out of the cryotube on unsteady legs. The door hissed closed behind her. The
unusually weak suction in the gravity-enhanced floor threw off her equilibrium. She slapped a palm on the
hull wall for support.
Dodd spun around as if surprised to see her, and then relief eased the strained lines on his face. "Thank
God I'm not in this nightmare alone." A muscle jumped in his tight jaw. "Simulation training didn't prepare
me for this."
Lorie cleared her raw throat. "Where are we?"
"In a black hole."
"No." She took a step and her knees buckled.
Dodd lunged across the small space and clasped her arm in a firm grip. "Take it slowly, Walker." He clasped
his other hand on her opposite arm to steady her, and looked deeply into her eyes. "You've been immobile
for fifteen years."
"What?" She squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden pain in her head. "Fifteen years! What are you
talking about?" She forced her gritty eyes open again and glanced up at her handsome crewmate. A
wheat-colored five-o'clock shadow covered his jaw, as if he'd awoken from one long hard night rather than
years in cryostasis. Concern darkened his dazzling eyes and furrowed a crease across his forehead. Still
wobbly, and drawn by his heat, she leaned into his side, but only briefly, determined not to show her
weakness. "The journey to Pluto IV was supposed to take no more than five years."
"Yeah." He looked beyond her at the closed cryotubes. "Something went wrong. The gauges are out of
whack, which would explain why the cryotubes deactivated without the proper destination approach signal."
Dodd flipped down a nearby jump seat and gently pressed down on her shoulders until she sat and the
magnetic discs in the chair linked to the clips on her belt. The brittle material of her flightsuit tore at the
knees, bearing evidence of long exposure to sub-freezing temperatures.
"Five years," she emphasized softly, as if repeating it might make it true. "Not fifteen." Her legs bounced up
and down in a nervous tremble.
Dodd plucked the serum injector from the wall bracket. A piece of metal flashing caught the back of his
hand and he absently rubbed the bleeding cut before he held the injector to her neck. "This will make you
feel better."
The prick barely registered, but the medication rushing through her veins jolted her back to life. She sighed
at the warmth. The tingle of instant thaw danced in her fingers and toes, and then spread inward to her
belly and nipples.
When she glanced up at Dodd's probing gaze, a surge of lust shot through her system, making her clench
her quivering thighs together. Certain her reaction was due to the therapeutic properties of the medicine,
she disregarded the heat swirling low in her belly the best she could, and concentrated on the perilous
situation.
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The solid, curved front cover on her freezing chamber slid open with a soft hiss, allowing the warm air of
the ship to wash over her cold body. She squinted against the light glowing from the emergency lamps
inside the compact spacecraft. When her eyes adjusted, Lorie blinked at Communications Specialist Dodd
Henderson's back as he floated just above the gravity-enhanced floor in front of the control panel, typing
at lightning speed. Completely
engrossed in his work, he didn't seem to hear her soft groans as she stretched her stiff arms and legs.
For a long, unfocused minute, she admired his wide shoulders, trim waist, contoured buttocks and long
muscular legs showcased within his snug, shiny gray flightsuit. In the four years she'd worked on Space
Station 5423, Dodd was the only man who'd made her pulse race. Luck had been on her side when the
Interplanetary Defense Council reassigned them to Pluto IV together.
Or maybe not. Her gaze shifted to the black expanse outside the cockpit window. A shiver trickled across
her shoulders. Where were the stars, the streaming comets and floating asteroids? She'd never seen
space so dark, so empty. So lifeless.
This is what purgatory must look like.
She rubbed her cold arms in an attempt to chase away the bone-deep chill. After taking a deep, lung-filling
breath, she stepped out of the cryotube on unsteady legs. The door hissed closed behind her. The
unusually weak suction in the gravity-enhanced floor threw off her equilibrium. She slapped a palm on the
hull wall for support.
Dodd spun around as if surprised to see her, and then relief eased the strained lines on his face. "Thank
God I'm not in this nightmare alone." A muscle jumped in his tight jaw. "Simulation training didn't prepare
me for this."
Lorie cleared her raw throat. "Where are we?"
"In a black hole."
"No." She took a step and her knees buckled.
Dodd lunged across the small space and clasped her arm in a firm grip. "Take it slowly, Walker." He clasped
his other hand on her opposite arm to steady her, and looked deeply into her eyes. "You've been immobile
for fifteen years."
"What?" She squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden pain in her head. "Fifteen years! What are you
talking about?" She forced her gritty eyes open again and glanced up at her handsome crewmate. A
wheat-colored five-o'clock shadow covered his jaw, as if he'd awoken from one long hard night rather than
years in cryostasis. Concern darkened his dazzling eyes and furrowed a crease across his forehead. Still
wobbly, and drawn by his heat, she leaned into his side, but only briefly, determined not to show her
weakness. "The journey to Pluto IV was supposed to take no more than five years."
"Yeah." He looked beyond her at the closed cryotubes. "Something went wrong. The gauges are out of
whack, which would explain why the cryotubes deactivated without the proper destination approach signal."
Dodd flipped down a nearby jump seat and gently pressed down on her shoulders until she sat and the
magnetic discs in the chair linked to the clips on her belt. The brittle material of her flightsuit tore at the
knees, bearing evidence of long exposure to sub-freezing temperatures.
"Five years," she emphasized softly, as if repeating it might make it true. "Not fifteen." Her legs bounced up
and down in a nervous tremble.
Dodd plucked the serum injector from the wall bracket. A piece of metal flashing caught the back of his
hand and he absently rubbed the bleeding cut before he held the injector to her neck. "This will make you
feel better."
The prick barely registered, but the medication rushing through her veins jolted her back to life. She sighed
at the warmth. The tingle of instant thaw danced in her fingers and toes, and then spread inward to her
belly and nipples.
When she glanced up at Dodd's probing gaze, a surge of lust shot through her system, making her clench
her quivering thighs together. Certain her reaction was due to the therapeutic properties of the medicine,
she disregarded the heat swirling low in her belly the best she could, and concentrated on the perilous
situation.
buy link: http://www.jasminejade.com/m-467-elayne-s-venton.aspx
ADRIFT
(Jewels of the Nile III anthology)
by Elayne S. Venton 2008
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
genre: futuristic erotic romance
(Jewels of the Nile III anthology)
by Elayne S. Venton 2008
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
genre: futuristic erotic romance
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