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

something up, and it was his job to get to the bottom of it. But what would someone like her need to conceal from the police?
    He passed the first door in the corridor — he wanted the next one on the right. As he walked he could feel Lady Sartha’s weight as he pulled her along behind. She didn’t want to go with him, but she would do what he said, he thought with a growl. She had lied, and tried to trick him, and she had nearly succeeded. But he was calling the shots now.
    The woman was a poor liar, which really was to her credit. The Lady Sartha had been unaware that the United Worlds Government stopped all travel to Seira Nuvon two months ago except for service personnel. And that business about a pet monkey named Romeo — ha to that. He had truly caught her out there. Five minutes with a DNA sampler would prove no monkey had ever been on board. No, there was someone else on this ship. Someone she wanted to hide, maybe more than one person.
    How had she known that he felt uncomfortable when dealing with a beautiful woman? She had taken him by surprise with that sexual innuendo. She had practically thrust her breasts in his face and said,
“Tell me, sir, is there something else you wish me to provide?”
Somehow she knew his vulnerability and had been trying to make him leave. It had almost worked, too. The Lady would have gotten away with it, if she hadn’t slipped up.
    He smiled. Well, he had the upper hand now. He located the largest bedroom and mentally opened the door. Without preamble, he pulled the Lady Sartha in and swung her heavily down on the double bed. The door shut and locked.
    Sartha sat rigid, hands clapped in front of her, chin up, defiant. She stared straight ahead, not yet able to meet his eyes.
    Larren studied her. The pulse pounded in her throat. She trembled and moistened her lips. A momentary twinge of conscience pricked him, but this was quickly eclipsed by the pleasure of triumph. He had certainly gotten even with the Lady Sartha! He sat down beside the woman and hid a smirk as she instinctively shrank away.
She was really frightened.
    The insanity of the situation was too much. Larren began to chuckle. The idea that a woman would be afraid of being molested —
by him.
That he would either need or want to resort to such methods. He chuckled at first almost noiselessly and then with more and more volume. Eventually he stood up, hands on his stomach, his laughter quite unrestrained.
    As his mirth grew louder, Sartha turned toward him. “What?” she demanded
    “You,” he pointed at her. “You look so funny!”
    Sartha’s eyes glittered with fury. “What, pray tell, do you mean?” Her voice was caustic. Her now seething expression caused another uncontrollable outburst from Larren. It seemed that being raped was one thing, but being laughed at was another.
    “I want to know the joke,” she said, “even if it’s apparently at my expense.”
    Larren soon had his irrepressible laughter under control.
    Sartha glared at him.
    He met her angry gaze for a few moments, unrepentant and still amused. He grinned. “I’m sorry,” he offered, sitting back on the bed beside her. “However, you did take unfair advantage of me, you know.”
    “I took advantage of you!”
    “Yes. Yes, you did.” The woman, still beautiful, was no longer daunting. Having solved one problem he felt much more himself. He gave her a slow, thoughtful smile and leaned his broad shoulders back against the wall with his hands behind his head. “I don’t know how you knew, but I’m uncomfortable when the execution of my duty involves a good-looking woman. Even more so when the woman makes advances.”
    Sartha frowned and her brows drew together, clearly bewildered.
    Larren leaned forward again, enjoying her consternation. “Ha!” He said. “You still don’t know what’s going on, do you?”
    “No, I don’t.” Chin held high, Sartha stood up in an attitude of moral indignation. “I believe you’re out of