Invasion Earth (10 page)

Stepping out of the shower, she hurriedly
toweled off and dressed in a clean uniform. She wasn’t sure if she
still had the right to wear it, but she didn’t have any
alternatives on board the ship. Digging through her bag, she found
a comb and worked it through her wet hair, pinning it up in a
makeshift bun rather than trying to braid it wet. Once she thought
she was presentable, she opened the door and stepped into the next
room.

The first thing she noticed was the smell of
coffee and she looked around for the source. There was a table to
her side with a coffee pot and several mugs. She would have gone
straight for it, but then she noticed the silence. Her gaze swept
the room and froze on the woman lounging on the couch next to
Alrik. Laney felt her eyebrows arch so high they had to hit her
hairline. They looked awfully cozy. What was all that talk about
perfect mates the last couple of days?

Alrik stood and smiled at her, as if he
wasn’t looking entirely too comfortable with some other woman. She
couldn’t believe the possessive streak she suddenly felt. She
didn’t want him, right? He held his hand out and spoke.

“Laney, come and meet my aunt.”

She blinked. Okay, time to beat back the
jealousy. She approached cautiously, not quite sure what to expect.
This was the first Delroi woman she had seen. She realized with a
jolt that wasn’t true. There had been women in the hangar bay when
she’d been searching for Alrik the first night and again yesterday
in the lounge. She’d just been too angry to notice them the first
time and too distracted the second. Laney took Alrik’s hand and let
him tug her to the couch. The grin was back, this time mischievous
instead of sexy and she braced herself for another shock.

“Sergeant Major Laney Bradford let me
introduce you to Cilia, the Overchief of the Healer caste and my
mother’s sister.”

It was a good thing she was sitting down.
What was all that talk on the shuttle about a woman’s place? All
his show of superior male dominance? She frowned. Come to think of
it, it seemed to focus on women in the Army. She realized she still
had a great deal to learn about these people and glared at Alrik.
Why did she suspect he’d misled her intentionally?

Laney turned to Cilia and smiled. “It’s nice
to meet you.”

Cilia smiled demurely at Alrik, but her voice
had enough bite to make Laney bite her bottom lip to stop the
smile. “I see my nephew hasn’t exactly been fostering diplomacy
between our worlds.”

Alrik winced in response. “I had other things
on my mind, Cilia.”

“Hmm,” she murmured with an amused smile. “I
can see that.”

Laney watched the big soldier fidget
uncomfortably under his aunt’s sharp gaze with amusement. Maybe
this wouldn’t be as bad as she thought.

Cilia took a dainty drink from her cup and
set it on a side table, then stood. Stunned, Laney caught her
breath. Would she be expected to dress this way? The woman wore
thin gauzy pants and a tight shirt that left a thin strip of skin
around her midsection exposed. Her braided hair fell to the small
of her back. She didn’t fit the pampered image Laney had of the
Delroi women. She was tall and lean, well muscled and strong
looking. Cilia smiled at her perusal, amusement lighting her
eyes.

“Definitely gave you the wrong idea, I
think.”

Laney grinned back and nodded. “I think
so.”

“I’m stealing her for a little while, Alrik.
You have things to do and the poor girl is going to need a crash
course in Delroi society.”

Laney stood, looking back and forth between
the two of them. “I need to check in with my people. I’m kind of in
limbo here.”

Cilia took her hand between hers. “No dear.
You aren’t. Alrik should have explained this already, but we’ll
talk in the gardens.”

“Gardens?” They had a garden on board a
spaceship? She knew they had far superior technology but gardens
seemed a little out of character.

Cilia noticed and grinned, tugging her
towards the door. “Men don’t seem to notice pretty things other
than women, so we usually have it to ourselves.” She winked at
Alrik. “That’s where you go when you need a break from all the
testosterone.”

“Excuse me?” Alrik said. “Don’t go corrupting
her, Cilia. She’s not an Overchief and she’s mated into the Warrior
caste. She can’t get away with what you can.”

Cilia just grinned back unrepentantly and
pulled Laney into the hall. They chatted about nonsense while Cilia
led her through the ship and the pattern of the corridors finally
began to make sense to Laney. They walked a spiral deeper and
deeper into the heart of the vessel. Finally, they stopped before a
door that slid open to reveal an elevator. After stepping inside,
it zipped up, stopping a few seconds later at a large platform.

Laney looked around in wonder as she followed
Cilia off the lift. There was a high, clear dome above them,
revealing the vast blackness of space; but around her was a lush
green jungle. Paths wound out from the center like the spokes of a
wheel and the sound of gurgling water filled the air.

“Amazing,” she whispered.

Cilia looked around. “It is, isn’t it? Let’s
walk.” She chose a path and Laney fell into step beside her.

“Does your world look like this?”

“Oh no. Only our private gardens. Our planet
is mostly desert.”

Laney arched an eyebrow. Alrik had said that,
but it hadn’t really registered at the time. She’d been distracted.
“Then how are your scientists going to help us? We were led to
believe they could heal the Earth.”

Cilia nodded. “They can take what’s damaged
or polluted and restore it in many cases. Certainly enough to
restore the most fertile lands of your planet. But they can’t make
an arid desert something it never was. They can’t breathe life into
something that wasn’t meant to be.”

“I see.”

It made sense, she supposed, and for the
first time she found herself curious about the planet that would be
her new home. She’d never liked the desert, but if there were
gardens like this she’d learn to adjust.

They wandered the paths, Cilia asking
questions about Laney and her life, and pointing out various plants
often listing their medicinal qualities. When they came to a
clearing, Cilia pulled her to a stop and nodded to the opposite
side with a small smile. Laney searched out the shadows and spotted
two warriors leaning against a tree.

“I thought men didn’t come here. What are
they doing?”

“Watching over the next generation, I
suspect.” She pointed to two very pregnant women sitting on the
edge of a pool and laughing together.

Laney bit back the snort of disbelief that
hovered on her lips. Cilia linked their arms and stepped onto a
side path.

“I know it probably seems very strange to
you. As strange as your ways seem to us.”

That was certainly true. She was well past
the age of needing a babysitter. She resisted the urge to rest a
palm over her belly. If she was pregnant, Alrik would be unbearably
overprotective, she just knew it.

“You’ll find Delroi women doing most of the
same jobs as women on Earth do. In most of the same positions of
power. With the exception of the Army, of course.”

“Of course,” Laney agreed dryly. The one
thing she knew how to do.

“The biggest difference in our cultures seems
to be our men.”

Cilia laughed and Laney didn’t fight the need
to join her, though her laughter was more nerves than mirth. The
men were definitely different. Not only was their race just bigger,
but they seemed so dour. Every time she saw one of them, he was
stern-faced and cold-countenanced. Even Alrik’s smiles were rare
and private.

“They’re possessive and autocratic, but
completely devoted.”

“What good is devoted when it comes with a
gilded cage? When I’m losing all my independence? My ... purpose?”
she asked bitterly.

“Alrik didn’t tell you
anything
, did
he?” she asked disapprovingly.

Laney arched her eyebrows. He had left out a
lot, but had seemed pretty clear on his expectations.

“We have a job in mind for you. Something I
would imagine a good strategist should find interesting and
fulfilling.”

Curious, she stopped and studied Cilia a
minute before asking, trying to gage her seriousness. “What?”

“A diplomatic sort of position. Someone who
can coordinate between our people, run interference, so to
speak.”

Laney blinked, considering the possibilities
of such a position. It didn’t sound like a bullshit,
make-the-Earth-girl happy kind of job. It sounded like a retirement
opportunity, the kind of thing she’d probably have found herself
doing on Earth in a few years if the Delroi hadn’t shown up.

Cilia stopped walking and Laney saw they were
back at the clearing with the lift about fifty yards away. She felt
Alrik before she saw him, lifting her gaze to clash with his.
Beside her Cilia snorted.

“See what I mean? Possessive.” She smiled at
Alrik and continued. “He was always my favorite. He’s a good man.
You should give him a chance to prove that.”

With that parting shot, Cilia returned to the
depths of the garden, leaving Laney to face the challenge of her
future alone.

Chapter Eight

Alrik was furious when he sought her out, but
when he saw Laney with his aunt his body did what it predictably
did in her presence.

She plotted against them. He’d finally read
Barak’s report, knew she’d had a meeting with one of the other
Earth hostages about continuing the war and hadn’t mentioned any of
it to him. The betrayal hurt worse than he would have believed
possible before he met her, before he bound her to him.

He remained on the lift, gripping the rail as
she sauntered towards him. If it had been a more pliable material,
his fingers would have gouged grooves in it. He ruthlessly
repressed his lust and concentrated on his anger.

He tried to force some objectivity into his
observation of her. Saunter was not the right word. It implied she
intentionally flaunted her femininity, and that couldn’t be farther
from the truth. No, she approached with her back straight, her
stride brisk. All professional soldier, and yet that wasn’t what he
saw at all.

He saw a gentle sway of hips, a faint
welcoming smile on her lips, the gleam of fire and intelligence in
her eyes. He saw a woman more alluring than the brightest star. And
it was all a lie. Well maybe not a lie exactly, but none of it was
meant for him. When she finally reached him and stopped, he saw
uncertainty briefly flash across her face and realized she wasn’t
aware of her appeal at all. And he realized with a force that
nearly brought him to his knees that he wanted her for a lot more
than the succor of her body or the heirs she would give him.

His anger disappeared as if it had never been
and for the first time since he’d begun this enterprise he began to
doubt.

Since he’d first seen her, he’d been
determined to own her, possess her. He’d sought her compliance with
a single-minded determination that virtually guaranteed her
non-cooperation. Was it any wonder she was involved in conspiracy?
Barak’s report shouldn’t have caught him by surprise.

She was a soldier, a warrior worthy of the
name. The Butcher of Roses. He’d had moments of misgivings about
her, but he hadn’t
really
allowed himself to think of her
that way. He’d let his Delroi prejudice against women going to war
color his judgment. He’d assumed she fought because she had no
choice, because the male half of her species was so depleted. He’d
also assumed she’d maybe not welcome but at least quickly adjust to
a lesser role.

She came to a stop before him. Tilting her
head to one side she frowned, but she didn’t reach out. Didn’t come
closer. What would he have to do to solicit her comfort?

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He swung the gate open on the lift and
motioned her forward. She joined him and he pushed the button to
take them down.

“How did your meeting with Colonel Eldridge
go last night?”

She pressed her lips together and shrugged
one shoulder. “I wouldn’t call it a meeting.”

He turned to fully face her, resisted the
urge to reach out and yank her to him.

“There isn’t a way out of this. I won’t let
you go.”

Brilliant, idiot. Keep pushing her like that
and she’ll wield the knife against you herself. Or die trying if
the little I know of her is true.

He struggled to instill calm and reason into
his racing heart. He wasn’t entirely stupid. Everything they were
trying to accomplish here depended on Laney. His error had been in
assuming she’d meekly fall into line.

Both her eyebrows lifted together and she
spoke softly but he heard the dissatisfaction in her voice. “You
can force my compliance, just as you can enforce this treaty.”

Her words were a shock. The more so when he
realized he didn’t want to force her into anything. Something of
what he was thinking must have been evident on his countenance. She
pressed her lips together again, crossed her arms across her chest,
and shook her head.

“I saw your armada, Alrik. My people may not
have seen it yet, but I know what that means for us. That doesn’t
mean any of us will be happy about it. It doesn’t mean you won’t
still have opposition. I meant what I said ... that first night. I
can’t deny the physical connection between us, but my heart and
mind are mine. And always will be if you insist on casting me in a
submissive—not to mention uninformed—role. I’m used to being part
of events. If you continue on this course I’ll always feel like a
captive. Like a spoil of war. Is that
really
what you
want?”

It was more words than she’d ever shared with
him and several things were obvious. Cilia had filled her in on her
future job, he’d bet. The not so subtle reminder of having nothing
to do was a dead giveaway. He’d have to speak with Barak and Daggar
about that.