Chapter Two
Scent of a

When the two young women had left, Travis Mayweather stayed at the helm of the closed shuttle, totally humiliated and angry with himself. Despite his intentions, he had embarrassed himself with Liz Cutler, felt like a complete fool, and to add to his aggravation the sensations he was feeling, which had led to this major embarrassment, were not alleviated in the slightest.

He didn't intend to leave the ship, knowing the pair could perform their duties just fine without him, and the longer he could prevent himself from looking at either of them, the better chance he had of regaining his control. So he sat, going over instrument displays, noticing again and again that seductive, that distracting scent of roses that had made him think so strongly of Jennifer and had gotten him so busted!

But the longer he sat, with the door shut so he could not see them, the more uncomfortable he became. Despite himself, he could not stop thinking about her, and how she looked when she….

But then, to get his mind off her, he tried to think of something else – anything else, and in the next moment all he could think of was Liz Cutler and the way her breasts pressed against her uniform top. He wondered what those breasts….

No! This would lead to madness. Think about something else. Anything else.

And then his mind drifted to Hoshi, as he had always seen her just out of the corner of his eye as they served together on the bridge and how he secretly stared at her and sometimes ached to –.

He wrenched his mind off Hoshi and it had nowhere to go but to T'Pol and that how that damned painted-on Vulcan uniform clung to –

He hit the door control, wrenched himself up from his seat with a blistering oath, turned and stalked out of the shuttle into the fresh air.

Liz Cutler, about two meters away, her back to him, was bent low over a sample container, legs slightly spread, her blue uniform pants stretched very tightly over her –.

Travis clenched his fists and choked back a strangled scream!

x

Tia Anlor, a few meters away, had seen Travis come out of the ship, saw his reaction to Liz Cutler, and felt ashamed.

She wanted to go to him, or to Liz, and get this corrected somehow, but could not dare. In fact, the further away she stayed, the better. That is, unless he went back into the ship.

When he turned sharply from the vision before him reentered the small shuttle and closed the door, she knew it was too late. "Elizabeth?" Liz looked up, straightening. "Kisnan … um, speak to you may I?"

x

x

x

"Oh, Hell! You're kidding me!"

"I 'kidding' am not. Know you the Dasreer do."

She remembered that chaotic Auran distress all too well. "We thought it was going to kill you."

"No, only wish it sometimes do I. The end of my glisnic … 'biological' cycle is it. This, today, the peak of my cycle is. I fertile am, today alone. If lialu with a … if … if in me he logler place, refnali would I become."

"All right, all right, you don't have to spell it out, I get it."

"So now Travis Mayweather does."

x

Something in those words sent a chill through Liz Cutler's body. "What do you mean?"

"The scent you called 'roses'? She nodded. "Pheromone it is. Should on humans work not, but …

"On Enterprise happen it did not; once only in eighteen of your weeks. Forgot I the dates did; lost track. Your hours are twenty four in a day; mine on Aura twenty seven and one fifth of yours. Last time, I on Aura was. In my rooms I locked myself. This time … this time by surprise it caught me. Should on humans work not, Auran you are not, he is not."

"But the shuttle…"

"Concentrate the effect it does. Should be noticed not, but he avoid it can nyasi. Too powerful to ignore." Liz looked back at the closed shuttle.

"He's got to get out of there."

"And I go in can not."

Liz nodded. "Stay here. In fact," she pointed to a spot at the far end of the clearing, "stay there! Downwind!"

x

Travis Mayweather paced the length of the shuttle in black abstraction, feeling more tense by the moment. Activity would not help, concentrating on work would not help, nothing would help! He thought if his hair were a bit longer he would be able to rip it out of his scalp, but neither did that offer any solution. He didn't know what was happening, this hadn't afflicted him since he was a teenager on his family's ship when the only ones around to excite his attention were Barbara and Renee and neither was reachable. He'd gotten through that nightmare, how he doesn't want to remember but whatever was doing it to him again he didn't know how to deal with it. The only thing he did know was that he was very rapidly going out of his mind!

He like he couldn't trust himself not to embarrass himself. He was so …. He couldn't even get his blasted mind off thinking about Jennifer – or Hoshi – or Lisa – or Ann – or T'Pol and that damned spray-painted uniform – or Lucy or –

It was at that moment that the shuttle door opened and Elizabeth Cutler climbed in.

x

Travis froze, staring at her. All he could see was her, Liz, a stunningly alluring woman, the way her body looked in the formfitting uniform, the way he could imagine, in fact could not stop from imagining, the way she looked without it!

The more he thought about her, the more he wanted herm needed her, ached for her. It hurt to stand there, to look at her, to want her so badly!

But if he took a step toward her he was lost! He was terrified about what would happen; that he would start something and wouldn't be able to stop himself!

Something he couldn't control was driving him out of his mind, he knew that, but couldn't help it! He wanted to rip the clothes from her body, shred everything to reach her! It didn't matter that she was a fellow crewmember, didn't matter that if she didn't want to and fought him, he was going to … didn't matter that his career could be ….

All he could think of was her, the sight of her, the feel of her body! He could reach out and just rip that damned uniform off her and …

He tried desperately to think of a reason – any reason – not to grab her and ravage her whether she participated or screamed!

x

Liz looked at her friend, and was afraid.

There was a carefully restrained yet barely contained wildness in his eyes that sent a chill of terror through her, and at the same time that thrill made her realize she was also feeling a budding moistness that …. The knowledge of what he was feeling was making her – or was she also succumbing to the pheromones too?

Very likely.

And if they didn't get this under control –

x

"Travis…" She said carefully, realizing her own voice was trembling. She tried to keep her voice steady, but her breath was starting to come hard. She felt a familiar, a very powerful, sensation in her breasts, and knew that she definitely was not immune to the concentrated effects of the pheromones.

Or was it the knowledge of what was raging inside the man that was making her start to …?

"We have to get out of here, Travis. We – we both have to get out of here! Y – you have to come outside. Now."

He took a step toward her and she backed away, unable to endure the look deep in his eyes. She knew what was in those eyes, and knew all too well what it was doing to her! She didn't know if it was that pervasive scent or the knowledge of what was in the man's eyes, but her body was starting to ….

And if it were any other time ….

"Travis Mayweather, I love you very much as a friend, but if you even try to touch me I'll kick your treasures through that bulkhead!"

x

x

Tia watched from about fifteen meters away as her friends came out of the shuttle, how they conversed quietly for a long time as she stood, tense from guilt and shame. They stood well apart from each other, trying to enforce the distance, hands carefully kept from

"WHAT?"

Birds seemed to explode from every tree in sight.