Shield's Lady

love. You just think you do.”

    A long time later they lay together, saying nothing, just drifting in and out of each other’s satisfaction. The intimacy of their link faded slowly to be replaced by the old-fashioned intimacy of lovers enjoying the sweet aftermath of joining.
    Gryph reluctantly stirred to reach down and pull up the quilt.
    “About that prisma,” Sariana murmured sleepily, “I have an idea.”
    She never got the chance to finish. There was a faint movement on the shore and a soft hiss from Lucky. Sariana recoiled as Gryph rose to his feet, his hand reaching for an object in his trousers.
    Sariana knew the intruder had to be the third bandit. Old business, she suddenly realized, should never be left unfinished.

Chapter
    20

    IT was over before Sariana could kick herself free of the quilt. She heard a choked yell from the attacker soon after Gryph’s hand sliced through the air in a short, lethal motion. Something connected with the other man’s throat.
    The bandit crumpled and fell over the low railing into the water. Silence descended. Gryph walked to the edge of the sled and glanced over the side.
    “He’ll drown,” Sariana said weakly.
    “Probably.” Gryph didn’t seem overly interested in the matter. He reached over to unlock a storage locker and remove a small vapor lamp.
    Sariana felt a chill go through her. She peered over the edge of the craft. “I think we ought to pull him out of the water, Gryph. It isn’t right to just leave him there.”
    Gryph switched on the lamp and scanned the shoreline. He was obviously preoccupied. “He was trying to kill us in case you didn’t notice.”
    “I noticed!” irritated, Sariana started to climb over the edge of the railing. “What did you use on him?”
    “The belt buckle you gave me. It was the closest thing available.”
    “Is everything you touch a potential weapon?” she demanded, seriously incensed. Reaction, she told herself. She was suffering from reaction.
    “Not quite.” He spoke absently, his attention still on the shoreline.
    “Name one thing that isn’t a weapon for you!”
    “You.” He turned to glance at her, frowning as he realized she was almost over the side. “Where do you think you’re going?”
    “I’m going to pull that bandit out of the water.” She landed knee-deep in the black water and began fumbling for something that felt like a body. Her hand connected with a boot. She started hauling it toward the shore. “And don’t tell me you can’t turn me into a weapon just like you do everything else. What about the way you used me to neutralize that prisma ship?”
    “Storm and light, Sariana, you really take things to extremes at times, don’t you?” Gryph set down the lamp and vaulted over the side. Impatiently he jerked the half-conscious bandit from her grasp. “Here, give him to me. I don’t know what the point of saving him is, but if it will make you happier—”
    “That’s one of the things I love about you, Gryph,” she said in dulcet tones. “My happiness always comes first with you.”
    He glanced at her sharply and then shook his head with a rueful grin. “Mouthy wench.”
    “You love it. Tell me something, Gryph. Would you really have let me go home to Rendezvous?”
    His teeth flashed in the shadows. “What do you think?” She grinned back. “I think we’re both very lucky we won’t have to test the limits of your loving generosity.”
    “I think you’re right. How could I have let you go, Sariana? You’re part of me now. But don’t I get some credit for at least trying to do the noble thing?”
    “Of course, my love.”
    She watched him drag his victim to shore. The bandit sputtered and coughed and then proceeded to lose the contents of his stomach.
    “Keenshee guano,” Gryph muttered, yanking his bare foot out of the way. “This is my reward for humoring my wife. I’d like to know what you plan to do with this piece of garbage now that you’ve saved his neck.”
    “He should be taken back to Little Chance to stand trial,” Sariana said stoutly.
    Gryph just looked at her as if she weren’t very bright. “We already know he’s guilty of everything from dealing with live prima to attempted murder.”
    “That’s for a jury to determine.”
    “Sariana, have you gone mad? This man is Shield business. My business. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am his judge and his jury.”
    “Well, you’re not going to be his executioner,” she told him