Invasion Earth (16 page)

She was wearing too many damned clothes. He
reluctantly left her mouth and knelt to yank the zippers down on
her boots. They sailed through the air as he removed them and when
he reached for the buttons on her pants she was already ahead of
him, shoving them free. He pulled them off and stood, lifting her
so she could wrap her legs around his waist as he slid home.
Turning, he leaned back against the hovercraft, bracing his legs
apart to support them, before moving inside her. Thrusting harder
and harder, faster and faster, he kept his mind firmly locked to
hers, felt her thoughts splinter apart as her body followed.

He slowed his strokes, holding back his own
orgasm, and kissed her again. This time slowly, drinking her in as
he felt his control of the emotions that had raged through him all
day slip. He poured it into the kiss, into the movement of his cock
stroking her. The joy in finding her, claiming her. The fear of
losing her. The frustration and anger that she fought him step by
step in doing what a Delroi male was supposed to do. Protect his
mate. Honor his
der’lan
.

He’d gone from absolute terror to fierce
pride and back again watching her climb that cliff side earlier.
Now he wanted to cling to her, hold her close and never let her
leave his side again. His to protect, to honor, to cherish, to
love. He shied away from the last, uncertain what loving a woman
would do to the warrior.

She laid one palm on the side of his face and
pulled away from his kiss. He couldn’t stand the reluctance he saw
shining in her eyes and pulled her face back to his. He kissed the
tip of her nose before turning to nibble at her lips.

“Give it time. Remember?” he whispered.

He wasn’t sure if the words were for him or
her, though. Then he was kissing her again, more urgently this
time, trying to banish his own conflicting emotions and the
unwillingness he sensed from her to risk her heart. He stood
straight, driving as deeply into her as possible and felt her pussy
convulse, clench around him. She threw her head back and cried out
as she came. The sweet sound pushed him past the thin edge of his
control and he thrust into her once more, twice more, before
releasing.

They clung together in the aftermath,
gasping, hearts beating erratically yet somehow together. He slowly
disengaged his mind and body from hers, setting her down on
unsteady feet. She stepped back. For the first time since he met
her she looked vulnerable. With her hands on her hips, her breasts
rising and falling in alluring tandem with her heavy breathing, she
looked up to meet his gaze.

“Well. That was ... intense.”

His smile was slow in coming, but real and
she blinked in surprise. “That it was.”

He pulled his clothes back together and
stepped away to gather hers. He didn’t like the shadows in her eyes
and wanted to give her a moment to compose herself. He liked her
strong and fighting, not defenseless and confused. She didn’t speak
as he handed her her pants and boots. Didn’t speak as she dressed,
or got in the hovercraft, or even after they were speeding on their
way.

***

As it turned out, his worry about going to
her base was unwarranted, but Laney was careful to keep that
observation to herself. The base her apartment was on was a small
satellite of the larger base where division headquarters and her
office were. The installation included senior enlisted housing, a
small exchange and commissary, and not much else. It was a small
close-knit community and the guard at the gatehouse knew her well.
He raised an eyebrow at her arrival with a Delroi warrior in one of
their hovercrafts, but didn’t question her right to be there. He
waved them through without asking even one question. She wasn’t
sure if she should be relieved or alarmed at that. She’d mention it
to Bob later.

She directed Alrik to her place and was glad
habit had forced her to hide a key near the door. She dug the fake
rock out of her potted fern, removed the key, and opened the door.
She hadn’t been here for months and the air was musty. If she were
staying longer than the time it would take to pack a bag, she would
have opened some windows to air it out. Since she wasn’t, she
shrugged it off and walked through the small living room and
kitchen to her bedroom at the back of the quarters.

Alrik followed silently, but she got the
impression he took everything in. What did he think of the mess
she’d left? The books and knick-knacks cluttering every surface?
She tried to view it objectively and decided the place was her, but
didn’t fit what people believed about her. Nothing she could do
about that.

She shrugged and opened her closet. Standing
back, she set her hands on her hips and studied the contents. What
did she want from here? From her old life? Her books. Her files and
computer. Her private weapons.

The closet was full of uniforms. Formal and
battle dress, all obviously Alliance. After today she felt like a
hypocrite wearing them. She dug into the back of the closet and
began pulling out civilian clothes. She didn’t have much, but the
bed was soon full of her small supply of jeans and t-shirts,
dresses and skirts. She eyed the jeans and then the baggy
camouflaged combat pants she was wearing and went to the other end
of the closet. It took some searching but she finally found her
black combat pants, the ones reserved for missions where she didn’t
want her allegiance easily guessed at. They were added to the pile
on the bed.

What else? Shoes. She grabbed sneakers and
sandals and eyed a pair of tall black leather boots. With a slow
smile crossing her face, she grabbed them too. They almost reached
her knees and resembled the boots the Delroi wore, unlike her
mid-calf Alliance-issued footwear.

A soft chuckle broke her from her resumed
study of the closet. She met Alrik’s amused gaze. “I thought you
just wanted a few things?”

“I wasn’t planning on taking all of it,” she
answered cringing at the defensiveness in her voice.

He was leaning against the doorframe, his
arms crossed over his chest, when she started pulling off her
clothes. It suddenly seemed very important to her to get out of her
uniform and into something that didn’t proclaim commitment to
either side. She didn’t realize he’d moved until she was naked, and
felt a moment of unease. She was getting so used to him she hadn’t
considered he might take it as an invitation. She had the black
pants on and was pulling on the tall boots before he reached
her.

He stopped and grinned. “Need some help?”

She scowled, refusing to get pulled into the
sexy undertone. “Nope. I want to get out of here before anyone gets
curious.”

He sighed. “Need some help?”

“There’s a duffle bag and box in the top of
the closet,” she answered while she sorted through the pile on the
bed.

He handed her the bag and she stuffed the
other black pants and two pairs of jeans into it. She hesitated
over the dresses. She almost never wore them. Would she find a need
for one any time soon? She decided to pass and examined the shirts.
She picked simple, dark colored and un-patterned t-shirts and added
them to the bag.

What else? She went to the dresser and opened
the top drawer tossing out underwear and bras. Everything he’d seen
so far was no nonsense white cotton, so Alrik raised an eyebrow and
fingered the lacier black and red under garments with interest. She
shrugged.

“Can’t be the soldier all the time, can
I?”

He handed her the box he’d retrieved and she
opened it with relief. Her spare knife and pistol, both in leg
holsters, were inside. She drew them out and strapped them on. He
took a deep breath, but didn’t protest. After today, there was no
way she would continue going unarmed. She could see it disturbed
him and he turned away. He walked to her small nightstand and
opened the top drawer.

She remembered too late what he’d find there
and hurried forward to stop him. He held up the vibrator and
flipped the switch, watching in interest as it swirled into action.
She closed her eyes and wished she could sink through the floor.
Did the Delroi have sex toys? Even if they did, hers being
discovered like this was embarrassing.

“Very interesting,” he muttered and buried it
in the middle of her duffle bag. “Anything else?”

She couldn’t find her voice while her head
was suddenly filled with Alrik’s speculation of how he might make
use of the vibrator, so she turned her back and unbuttoned her
uniform jacket and then pulled off the t-shirt underneath it. She
felt more than heard Alrik suck in a deep breath. Surprised, she
turned to see what the problem was this time. His eyes roved her
body.

“You’re pushing your luck, woman.”

She hurriedly reached for one of the black
shirts left out on her bed and pulled it on.

“Better?”

He groaned. “Not much.”

Frowning, she turned to the dresser mirror
and examined her appearance. She liked it. Dressed all in black,
the shirt tight across her torso, the pants loose fitting enough to
maneuver in, knee high boots, a gun strapped to one leg and wicked
looking knife on the other, she looked a dangerous soldier but she
wasn’t in the green shades of her people or the tan of Alrik’s. She
was something else. She smiled. Yes. It was fitting. Wearing all
black might become her new signature look.

Turning back around, she reached for the bag,
zipped it up, and slung it over her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

She could tell he wanted to say something but
he choked back the words and followed her out. She paused in the
living room.

“Before we leave for Delroi, I want my
books.”

He nodded. “I’ll make the arrangements.”

“Thank you,” she replied softly.

She wasn’t sure what meant more to her. That
he was willing to haul her books across the galaxy or that he
hadn’t protested her weaponry. She thought about the toy he’d put
in the bag. On the other hand, he might have his own special kind
of reprimand for that planned for later. She was grinning as she
entered the hovercraft and they left to meet his shuttle. She was
learning to like his idea of punishment.

Chapter Thirteen

Laney had been surprised at how relieved she
was to be back on board ship, but when Daggar met them in the
shuttle bay and dragged Alrik off right away she was pissed. He’d
spent the ride getting her good and horny. His fingers had stroked
the sensitive underside of her arms, her nape. Brushed the swell of
her breasts. Feather soft touches, designed to enflame just as much
as the explicit images he shared with her. Leaning over her with
the vibrator, face tense with desire as he imagined her coming over
and over again, screaming his name and begging him to stop, both
knowing damned well she wouldn’t want him to end the torment, to
end the pleasure, And now he was disappearing? And it didn’t even
seem to faze him. He kissed her distractedly, murmured
I’ll see
you tonight
, and left. She wanted to stamp her foot and howl at
the frustration flooding her body. Instead she picked up her bag
and went to their quarters.

Inside she paced and tried to calm her mind
enough to unpack the bag. Her eyes narrowed on it where she’d
tossed it to the bed. There was always the sex toy. After a moment
she shrugged off the idea. She knew it wouldn’t come close to
satisfying her in her current state and instinct told her Alrik
would be angry if she tried it without him. Why that suddenly
mattered she couldn’t begin to guess.

Sighing, she made a decision and stepped to
the door. She had to get out of here. Jaxon was waiting outside and
smartly saluted when she stepped through the doorway. She
smiled.

“Jaxon. Do you know where Cilia is?”

He cocked an eyebrow. She was beginning to
associate the action as the default non-verbal
why
of Delroi
warriors.

“Probably in the Healer’s bay, my lady.”

“Lead the way, then.”

“Of course, my lady.”

“Is everyone going to call me that?”

It was irritating. It had been a long time
since there was a class system on Earth that included nobles. She
only knew them through history books. It implied a position she
hadn’t earned. He just shrugged in response to her question. She
took it as a yes. One more thing to add to the growing list of
things she had to get used to and not something she wanted to worry
about now. She had two priorities—verifying she was pregnant, and
finding and dealing with whoever was behind the planet-side attack.
She didn’t want any other surprises.

The first should be easy enough to
accomplish, but it might be too early to tell. She followed
nervously, not sure if she was ready to hear confirmation of her
gut instincts. But then, maybe she wouldn’t. It had to be too soon
to know anything for sure.

The walk was short. She walked into the large
room and Jaxon took up position near the door. There were only a
handful of healers there, mostly men, and one by one they met
Jaxon’s cold gaze and exited. Cilia watched the scene play out with
an amused expression on her face. Laney didn’t bother to hide her
exasperation with either of them.

“Was that necessary?” Somehow she managed to
keep her tone mild.

“Yes.” She narrowed her eyes at his laconic
answer. He’d been talkative enough Earth side. “Did you want rumors
of why you came to the healer’s bay all over the ship by dinner
time?”

She hadn’t considered the possibility and was
relieved he had. Odd to have a virtual stranger looking out for
her. She shook her head, hoped it would clear her thoughts. No time
now to consider the dynamics of her new relationships. She met
Cilia’s gaze instead and dived right in.

“How early can you detect a pregnancy?”