flesh and feminine contours pressing so seductively against him.
Abruptly, he lowered his arms to his sides and took a step backward.
Lainey glanced up at him, felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the raw hunger that blazed in the depths of his silver-blue eyes.
"You should go now," Micah said tersely.
"Yes," Lainey replied, "I think you're right."
She didn't take time to say good-bye, simply grabbed her handbag and headed for the door. Her hand was on the latch when his voice reached out to her.
"Will you come back?"
Just say no. Wasn't that what addicts were taught to say?
Ignore the faint hint of pleading in his tone, the barely suppressed need.
Just say no. Before he becomes a habit you can't break.
"Tomorrow night." She didn't turn around, afraid that if she looked at him again, she would throw herself into his arms. "I'll bring some candles."
Her words filled him with a deep and all-encompassing sense of relief.
He hadn't frightened her away. He would see her again.
Part One Chapter Five
Micah stared at the transmitter, wondering how he'd ever fix it. Without the radio, he had no way of contacting his sister ship, no way of letting them know he was still alive. How much longer would Pergith wait, hoping to hear from him? He looked out the window. Perhaps they'd already given up.
Picking up the transmitter, he ran the tip of his finger over the distress signal mechanism. It could be activated only once, and was meant to be used only in cases of dire emergency. Should he activate it now? To do so would bring any spacecraft in the sector to his rescue, yet such a rendezvous could be dangerous, for him and for them, unless it took place in a location where there was little chance of discovery.
Brow furrowed in a thoughtful frown, Micah turned the small black box over in his hand. He'd barely had time to grab his flight kit and the transmitter and eject from his craft before the ship crashed and exploded. Badly shaken, he hadn't had the strength to disintegrate what little had been left, so he'd camouflaged the wreckage of his ship as best he could, and sought a place to hide.
Even before he entered the house at the top of the hill, he had sensed that it had been vacant for a long time. Near exhaustion and badly hurt, he'd managed to drag himself up the stairs. Taking refuge in the welcome dark of the topmost floor, he had treated his wounds, using the emergency medical supplies in his flight pack.
Micah placed the transmitter on the table and sat back in his chair, but it wasn't communication with home that filled his mind now. It was the woman, Lainey. From the moment he first saw her, there had been a strong bond between them, a telepathic link he had never experienced with anyone else. She could hear his thoughts if he projected them her way; he could read her mind with very little effort. It was impossible, but true. Frightening but fascinating. What a rare creature she was, open and outgoing, trusting.
"Lainey..." He spoke her name aloud, liking the sound of it.
He couldn't wait to see her again, to hear her voice, savor her nearness, feel the touch of her hand. Ah, but she was so warm, so soft, like nothing he had ever known.
He glanced out the window. The position of the sun told him she would be there soon.
Soon.
Lainey's fingers flew over the keyboard. It was such a great feeling, when the ideas flowed like water, when the words came almost faster than she could type them. And yet, even as the story took shape before her eyes, a part of her mind was always on Micah. He was a strange man, so different from anyone else she had ever known. Strong and tender. Virile yet oddly innocent. She wondered how many women he had loved, how many hearts he had broken - if he would kiss her, just once.
She glanced at the clock on her desk. It was almost five, almost time to quit for the day.
Her heartbeat accelerated and butterflies of anticipation danced in her stomach. Soon she would see him again.
Soon.
Micah's head snapped up. She was near. He could feel her presence drawing ever closer.
Rising, he covered the transmitter with a scrap of cloth he had found in the basement, quickly assumed the shape she expected, and hurried down the stairs to meet her.
Moments later, she entered the