Read Ride the Stars/once Bitten for Free Online

foreign tongue, he bent his head--brilliant shades of red and pink flared around them, and suddenly vanished. While they’d been talking, the program had run its course. Now they faced a fish-eye shaped door. It spiraled open, prompting action.
    Domino’s sigh held regret. "Another time, sweetheart."

Chapter 9
    He wasn’t as sanguine as he sounded. This thing between them was dangerous. Her vulnerability and shy sensuality were a lodestone to his protective instincts. When she looked at him with the eyes of a lost child, he wanted ... too much. It was time he got back his perspective. She wasn’t here for that.
    They stepped through the door. Seconds later, his fine resolution was shot all to pieces.
    Bali took one look at the tunnel under the water and froze. Moments later, she was trying to back out a sealed door with surprising strength, her eyes wide with horror. He got in the way, braced with effort against her retreat. The amusements didn’t allow people to go back, just forward.
    "It’s green." She was panting with fear. Sweat stood out on her skin.
    He glanced at the water on the other side of the glass tunnel. Fish swam harmlessly by, uninterested in the drama inside. "It’s blue, love. Clear blue. Look again."
    She shuddered and waited long moments before opening her eyes a slit. They slammed shut again.
    Her fear hurt and dragged him back in time to Itara’s lab. Rage swamped him, and he wanted to kill her father.
    "Blue, you say?" Bali’s question wavered, though she infused it with a humor that was endearing. "My mistake." She drew in a shuddering breath and looked again. "I can do blue." It was clear she was fighting to believe that as she calmed by force of will.
    A pride he had no business feeling swept him, and he tightened his arms before slowly releasing her.
    Pretending as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn’t suffered a panic attack moments before, she squared her shoulders and looked around with determination. "Nice fish. How long is this tunnel?" She started walking at a rapid clip.
    He caught up and threaded his arm through hers, slowing them both. Running away from her fears would never slay them, and this tunnel was as good a place to start as any. "You’re missing the coral. See that pretty formation over there? It reminds me of a cluster of pink cactus."
    She spared it a brief glance. "Very nice." Then she did a double take. "What the...?" Beyond the glass a figure was swimming closer. It took only moments to realize it was no fish. Domino looked away from the glass and watched the emotions play across Bali’s face. Shock, then a wariness settled in.
    He’d known who they would see here. The mer was a decent sort, and he often frequented the club. He was also a biologist, and well paid to care for the aquarium’s diverse life forms. Sometimes Domino thought he enjoyed being a merman, though nobody questioned his feelings about Itara and the mutation process.
    Rabid hate was a pretty transparent emotion.
    Domino would never tell Bali, but this was a test. He knew she was a mutant, but did she accept others of her kind? Or had Itara poisoned her mind against them?
    The merman swam closer. Handsome, with the tanned torso of someone who spent plenty of time in the sun, he had diamond in one ear and a military cut. His eyes were bright and sharp as he looked her over, mere inches from the glass. Recognition set his face to stone. Baring sharp teeth at her, he flipped her the bird.
    Her head came back slightly, and her eyes narrowed. Coldly, she mimed a kiss.
    "His name’s Sirocco, one of--" Domino began.
    "I know who he is. Mutant 347, one of my father’s military specimens, though our government denies involvement. I bought his ticket here. Obviously, he’s decided on a new career as a circus freak." Her tone was clipped. "I see he still adores me."
    "--many of the mutants who relocated here," Domino gritted out. He hated being cut off. "Not one of your fans, obviously, but not