Free WOLF DAWN: Science Fiction Thriller/ Romance (Forsaken Worlds) by Susan Cartwright Page A

between worlds is too great for real-time access. Updates are provided by UWG info ships.
    — Distinguished Professor Emeritus Allan Dyen-Shapiro, Icompedia
    L arren Forseth, Captain of the police cruiser
Darla Wu
, sat in the galley of
Assurance
, holding Lady Sartha’s hand.
    He wasn’t really holding her hand, he realized with an internal smirk. It was more like he had captured it. And the woman may as well be in handcuffs, because he didn’t plan on letting her go anytime soon. Larren picked up his cup of coffee and drank down the last of it without once taking his eyes off the Lady Sartha. He made his movements casual, almost languid, but his mind was alert, his body tense and ready. The satisfying taste of coffee on his tongue only added to the pure pleasure of the moment. Larren was a big man, and he was more than happy to use his size to intimidate or subdue a suspect. Right now he was looking forward to doing just that, because he intended to get some answers.
    The silence in the room extended between them all, Mathes, Keorta, Larren and the woman. But between the Lady Sartha and Larren there was more than silence.
    Tension stretched, linking them both like an invisible magnetic force.
    Abruptly Larren stood up, intentionally towering over the Queen of Delian. His expression implacable, he gave her a stern glance. The woman looked up at him with wide eyes. Larren thought she looked frightened.
    Good,
he thought.
So she should be, lying to the police.
His lips curled in a derisive grin. To hell with what the men would think. He could explain his actions to his team later. Right now he was going to call her bluff and find out what was going on.
    “Gentlemen,” he said, nodding toward his security detail, while keeping his relentless grip on the Lady Sartha’s hand. “Stay put. No one in or out; weapons at the ready. Send a message to our pilot that we’ve been delayed, but tell him everything is under control. I will be temporarily occupied in an inspection.” He raised his eyebrows at Sartha, daring her to refuse him.
    The Lady Sartha didn’t refuse him.
    Leaving his officers staring open-mouthed with surprise and envy, he pulled Sartha to her feet. He retained possession of her hand and pulled her along, unwillingly trailing in tow. She was wearing a subtle scent that made his stomach clench with desire. Her slender, feminine hand was dwarfed in his, and her skin was soft and smooth. He could almost feel perspiration beginning to form at the back of his neck. It had been so long since he had held a woman, especially a woman like her. He became aroused at the prospect. And she was Royalty. Yet here she was, claiming to be alone in normal space.
    Accessing
Assurance’s
floor plan through Icom, Larren strode briskly down the corridor. He knew exactly where he was going.
    He remembered when he first set eyes on the woman. He had known the Lady Sartha was trouble even then. Her gown had matched her eyes. They were the most beautiful light cobalt blue that he had ever seen. Had they been enhanced? Not an uncommon procedure these days. A thin dark blue rimmed each eye. Fascinated, he had wanted to look more closely, to examine those unique colors. But of course he had suppressed the impulse. Why was he always burdened with the good-looking ones? He could handle any number of hardened criminals while on duty, but a lady, especially a beautiful lady, was impossible. They made him nervous.
    “Worlds of Perdition,”
Larren swore under his breath. The woman was up to something. He knew it. But a full-scale ship search would be an embarrassing insult, and it seemed so unnecessary. It was hard to imagine her as a member of the Alliance, and even more inconceivable that she could belong to a pirate’s guild. Her ID checked out. She was Queen of Delian. She wasn’t engaged in something criminal, he’d bet a year’s pay on it. More likely she was in some sort of trouble. Queen or not, she was still trying to cover