snagged the edge of it, bringing them to a halt. He released her waist and grabbed the other side. He spread his legs once he had them turned around, bracing his entire body in the opening.
“Wouldn’t this have been faster with gravity? You know, like to just walk?”
“I’d already turned gravity off on my ship before I realized you were on that shuttle. It was only supposed to be carrying plasma crates.” He met her gaze. “Let go. This is my cargo hold.”
She peered at the room that looked a lot like the one where her dream had started, only this one stood empty of crates.
He released the doorway with one hand and fisted the back of her sports bra. “Let go.”
She unwound her arms and legs. Her body started to drift away from his, but he kept hold of her.
“See the chair over there with the belts? Strap in.” He adjusted his hands, opening one of them along her lower back and giving her a push. It sent her flying. It wasn’t fun without him to cling to. Her arms and legs flailed.
“Relax,” he called out. “Put your arms out to stop you from hitting the wall. I’ll be back. Strap in.”
She stopped fighting the lack of gravity and put her arms straight out as the wall loomed closer. “This is going to hurt,” she muttered.
She hit the wall—then started to float away from it.
“Shit!” She frantically grabbed for something and caught hold of a part of the chair. She reached out her other hand to snag one of the belts. It reminded her of a child’s car seat.
“This dream sucks,” she muttered. “A hunky pirate and no sex. At least I don’t have to deal with Sherlock anymore. I hate robots. Horror movies are full of them.” She had to work to maneuver her ass into the seat and get the harness straps secured over her shoulders. It buckled at her waist, and at least, she was secured.
Gemma lifted her head, staring at the open doorway. “Now what?”
Chapter Two
Big glanced at the device on his wrist that linked him to the main computer on his shuttle. Finding the female had put him behind schedule. Not that he could regret that. He didn’t. To hit a transport heading toward Clone World—with a clone onboard—was a blessing he hadn’t expected.
She was a fellow clone, and she needed help. The fact she was an attractive woman was another bonus. She had beautiful pale blue eyes and dark blonde hair.
He was still shocked that he’d hit a transport with a clone aboard. Clone World always had more security when they were hauling bodies. A well-armed cruiser escorted those shipments, as well. Clones were much more expensive than plasma crates.
Then again, Gemma was an illegal purchase Rico Florigo would have wanted to hide from the authorities. The company who’d made her clone wouldn’t have wanted anyone to know about her, either. They’d broken a major law by creating a clone with source material memories. That would get them massively fined, if not temporarily shut down.
It also explained the repair droid. It was there to hide the fact that the clone was an illegal one, in case of a stasis failure. The droid would have been programed to take charge of the situation by refusing to allow the clone to order the automated ship to send a distress signal.
Big had been lying to Gemma when he’d said the asshole owner of Clone World had probably built her a stage to perform for guests. It would be stupid to allow the public to get close to her. Someone might figure out her memories weren’t blanked if they asked her questions about her life and realized she wasn’t speaking from a script.
Birthed beings feared clones with memories. The humans would have demanded that she be destroyed.
Big snorted, imagining it wasn’t just Gemma’s voice Florigo wanted for entertainment. She was a very attractive woman. The Clone World owner must have had her made for his personal use.
He unstrapped another container and sent it floating into the corridor. The repair droid rattled off threats of his pending arrest. He ignored it. He’d have shot the thing to keep it silent but then he’d have to contend with any floating parts that broke off. It wasn’t worth the hassle.
He glanced at the device on his wrist again. Time was almost up. A lot of traffic passed through the shipping lanes to Clone World. The planet not only got regular