Ignite: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance (Inferno Force of the Drexian Warriors Book 1)

by Tana Stone

  He dropped his voice so that it was no more than a rumble. “I’m not announcing anything. It is no one else’s concern.”

  I let out a breath, leaning one hand against the metal shelving that lined the walls of the storage room, crates and boxes stacked high. “Exactly what I think. There’s no reason for anyone to know but us.”

  He angled his head at me, as if trying to figure something out. “You didn’t tell your girlfriend? I thought females shared these types of things.”

  That gave me a moment of regret that I was keeping a secret from Nina. Not only that, but she would have been happy for me. Or at least relieved that I was finally getting some. “Not always. Not yet.” I scrunched my lips to one side. “And you didn’t brag to your Inferno Force buddy?”

  He flinched as if I’d hit him. “I do not need to brag to my friends.”

  He seemed genuinely offended that I thought he’d brag about his exploits. Maybe that was another way the Drexians were different from human guys.

  “Okay, so neither of us talked. That’s good. It means this thing might actually work.”

  He rocked back on his heels. “What thing?”

  I waved a finger back and forth between us. “You and me.”

  The captain stopped rocking and scraped a hand down his scruff. “There is no you and me. We can’t be in a room without fighting. Last night was…”

  “Last night was something we both needed,” I cut in and finished the sentence for him. “Don’t even try to lie to my face and tell me you regret it.”

  “I’m the captain and you serve under me,” he said. “It can’t happen again.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I know the Drexians don’t have any rules against crew mates sleeping together.”

  “It hasn’t usually been an issue.” His gaze roamed my body. “None of my Inferno Force brothers have looked like you.”

  “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

  “It might not be a rule, but I assure you that we would both answer to the Drexian High Command if it was discovered.”

  A thrill went through me. “Then we’ll have to make sure we don’t get caught.”

  His mouth fell open. “You would risk your position on this station?”

  I dragged in a breath and spun away from him, wondering how much I should tell him and how much I wanted to tell him. I walked a few steps down the long room, running my hand along the metal crates of supplies and finally pivoting back around. “I know you don’t know me, but it’s been a really long time since I’ve been with anyone. I’m not looking for a boyfriend or even a friend. I just want someone to have some fun with. Nothing serious.”

  He studied me for a moment. “And by fun, you mean…?”

  I sighed and walked back to him, pressing a hand to his chest. “Just what you think I mean.”

  “But you dislike me.”

  “That’s not true,” I said. “You do make me want to murder you, but that doesn’t mean I dislike you.”

  His eyebrows went skyward then he twitched up one shoulder. “I’ve also considered putting you out an airlock to shut you up.”

  I grinned at him. “See? It’s perfect.” Neither of us would ever fall for the other, which meant no chance of me getting hurt or my heart getting broken. No hearts would come close to being involved.

  He shook his head. “This makes no sense.”

  “It does to me. Now, are you in or are you out?”

  He pursed his lips then we both stumbled as the door swung open and hit Kalex in the back.

  “They said you were in here,” Serge said, as he poked his head around the door. “But I didn’t believe them. Why would the captain and Zoey be talking in a storage room?”

  “You are in here,” Reina said, her head popping in above Serge’s. “How fascinating.”

  I stepped away from Kalex. “We were discussing a security issue, and how the captain needs to keep me better informed, if he doesn’t want his precious schedule to be left in the dust.”

  Kalex looked startled by my response, but twisted his neck until it cracked, glowering at me and then at the two aliens who’d interrupted us. “And I was explaining to our astro-architect that I can’t change my command style to suit her every whim.”

  Even though I knew we were both acting to convince Serge and Reina, his statement still made me bristle. “The safety of this station is not one of my whims.”

  “As much as I’d love to stay here and watch the two of you fight like a pair of wet hens,” Serge said, stepping fully into the room, “I have some news.”

  “Wet hens?” I mouthed at Reina.

  “You know Serge and his Earth expressions,” she giggled.

  “Is it the station?” The captain asked, his face instantly alert and his body tensed.

  “Nothing like that.” Serge fluttered one hand and then fluffed his lime-green ascot with it. “It’s actually news for Zoey.”

  “For me? What kind of news could you have for me?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew exactly what kind of news he meant. Precisely the kind of thing I didn’t want Kalex to know about.

  “Why your match, of course.” Serge pulled a tablet out from the inside pocket of his floral-print jacket. “I told you that when I can’t sleep, I work.”

  I noticed dark circles beneath Serge’s large, round eyes. “Have you been working on this since last night?”

  “Match?” Kalex’s question was nearly drowned out between Serge’s fluttering and Reina’s giggles.

  I avoided the captain’s gaze, instead focusing on Serge. Even though the little Gatazoid practically vibrated with excitement, I could tell he was running on fumes. “This is hardly something you should be pulling an all-nighter for.”

  “Nonsense. I told you I’d find you the perfect mate, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

  I could feel Kalex’s gaze boring into me, but I kept my eyes on Serge. “Why don’t we talk about this later? I need to get to work, and I’m sure the captain needs to return to the bridge.”

  “I’m sure the captain can decide for himself,” Kalex growled.

  I shot him a look. If he pulled some sort of possessive crap, Serge and Reina would know something was up.

  “There’s no time for us to talk about it later,” Serge continued as if the rest of us hadn’t spoken. “I set up a date for you later today.”

  “A date?” I asked, my voice cracking. “Today? I thought you weren’t looking for anyone already on the station.”

  Serge took my hand. “It’s a video link date. The Drexian I’ve found for you is actually serving on an Inferno Force ship.”

  “What?” Kalex’s sharp voice made all of us jump.

  “Maybe you know him,” Reina said, drumming her long fingers together in front of her. “I believe you served on the ship he’s on.”

  “You’ve set up a video date for Zoey with a Drexian who’s serving on Captain Brok’s ship?” Kalex asked in a voice so calm it sent a shiver down my spine.

  “It might be a giant universe, but when it comes to love, it’s a small world,” Serge said. “Do you know Dryx?”

  Kalex’s expression darkened. “I know him.”

  “I’m not sure this is such a great idea,” I said. Not only were my palms sweaty, my throat was so tight it was hard to swallow.

  “Don’t be silly,” Serge said. “I know it’s a fabulous idea because I had it. Besides, we need to do this before the real tribute brides arrive and suck up all my creative energy.” He waved Reina forward as he turned for the door, pulling me with one hand. “Now let’s go get you looking suitable for your date.”

  Before Serge could pull me through the door, Kalex caught my arm, leaning down and whispering in my ear. “About your proposal…?”

  I looked up at him, trying to get a read on his expression, but his intensity only made me shudder.

  He released my arm. “I’m in.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kalex

&n
bsp; I leaned one hand on the console and stared out across the bridge to the view of space. Our fighters swooped across the wide view screen as they made their security fly-bys, the shiny black hulls flashing against the inky sky that was dotted by pinpricks of glittering starlight.

  As part of Inferno Force, I’d spent most of my time in deep space. It was the task of the elite fighting unit to monitor the outskirts of the galaxy and the border of Kronock space. The seemingly endless stretch of blackness was nothing new to me, and the deep-space location of the station reminded me of my time spent patrolling the No Man’s Land between Drexian and enemy space. Gazing out at such immenseness made the problems of the space station seem small by comparison, and my personal issues insignificant. If only I could convince myself of that.

  “Captain?”

  I twisted my head to look at the Drexian who stood beside me. He gave a quick but pointed glance at my hand, which was squeezing the edge of his console so tightly that the bones showed white through my skin. I released my vise-like grip, straightening and giving myself a mental shake. “All systems operational?”

  The officer nodded, cutting his eyes briefly to the readouts on his glossy black console. “All readings within normal parameters, sir.”

  I exhaled and left his station, positioning myself in the middle of the half-moon shaped command deck as the other officers at the standing consoles tapped away and the computer emitted an occasional whir or beep.

  I pivoted to face the science officers seated at the consoles that ringed the back wall. “Have you picked up any energy fluctuations?”

  A tall Drexian with sandy-brown hair cut short spun around in his swivel chair. “None, Captain.”

  More good news, I thought, turning again to face the view outside the station. Then why did I feel so on edge? It couldn’t be because of what had happened with Zoey. I’d agreed to her proposal, which meant I should be pleased. No-strings-attached sex with an attractive female. What could be better than that?

  I clasped my hands behind my back, squeezing them as I my mind went to Serge and the virtual date he was setting up for Zoey. Dryx. Why did it have to be with Dryx?

  I didn’t understand why Serge was so hell-bent on finding a match for Zoey anyway. Hadn’t the woman told me she didn’t want anything serious? Wasn’t that why she wanted to keep our encounters so secret? And then moments after she tells me that, she agrees to a vid date that Serge sets up with a total stranger?

  I curled my hands into fists and dropped them by my side. I didn’t understand females, and especially human ones. As pleased as I was that Zoey wasn’t going to report me, it didn’t make sense that she would want nothing but sex from me while she simultaneously pursued a match via Serge.

  Then it hit me like a flying chunk of space debris. Maybe she didn’t consider me good mate material. Even though I’d never considered taking a mate myself, the thought that I might not be considered a good mate made me bristle. I was a highly skilled Drexian warrior who’d risen to the rank of captain. Not only that, but I took great pride in my ability to please females in bed. How could she think Dryx would be any better?

  I scowled at the thought of the pretty boy I’d served alongside when I’d been first officer of Captain Brok’s ship. He’d been a tactical officer and good at his job, but he’d also had a reputation for seducing females that were not pleasurers. I’d gotten in more than one bar fight in a backwater outpost because an angry, cuckolded boyfriend had tracked him down. And this was the Drexian Serge had picked for Zoey?

  “You mind if I ask what that view screen ever did to you?”

  I started as Vekron sidled up to me. I hadn’t even noticed him enter the bridge, much less walk up so that he was standing beside me. I eyed my friend, his dark hair knotted at the top of his head. “I was thinking.”

  “Mmhmm.” Vekron nodded as he faced the view screen. “Is this about what went on in the storage room?”

  I jerked my head to him. “What?” Did he know what Zoey had asked me in that room? No, that was impossible. No one had heard us.

  “I saw your face when you followed Serge, Reina, and Zoey from that room.” He inclined his head at mine. “It looked just as stormy then as it does now.”

  I thought about denying it, but then I changed my mind. “Did you know that Serge is finding a match for Zoey?”

  Vekron’s eyebrows lifted. “As in a mate?”

  I nodded, twisting so that we were shoulder-to-shoulder again. “He set up a vid date with her and Dryx.”

  “Dryx?” His voice was so loud it caused several nearby officers to stare at us.

  I gave them all severe glances that told them, without me having to speak, to return their attention to their stations.

  “The warrior we served with under Brok?” Vekron asked, his voice more measured.

  “The very one.” I was pleased that Vekron seemed as shocked by this news as I was.

  “Since when does that Drexian want a mate, much less a human one? I thought his taste ran to alien females with wings and tails.”

  “And mates of their own,” I added. “Don’t forget that Dryx likes his females already attached.”

  “Serge clearly hasn’t served with the warrior,” Vekron said with a dark laugh. “Or fought off one of his girlfriends’ angry mates.”

  “Clearly.”

  Vekron was silent for a moment. “You sure this has nothing to do with you and Zoey?”

  I tried to keep my voice even. “There is no ‘me and Zoey.’”

  “I’ve seen the way you look at her, Kalex. Besides, didn’t you tell me you kissed her?”

  Grek. I had told him that. “To shut her up. She can’t seem to stop herself from arguing with me about everything.”

  Vekron made a noise in his throat that indicated his disbelief. I didn’t respond, instead turning as one of my officers cleared his throat.

  “Captain,” the Drexian said, from his post at comms. “Incoming transmission.”

  “High Command?” I asked, grateful that the interruption had saved me from what was sure to have been more questions from Vekron.

  “No, sir. It’s from one of our fighter patrols.”

  Both Vekron and I swung our heads back to watch the fighters fly by the command deck’s wide window into space.

  “Is there a problem with any of the ships?” I asked.

  “Not according to our sensors,” my tactical officer said.

  Vekron and I exchanged a wary glance.

  “On screen,” I said.

  The faraway glittering stars were replaced by a full-screen image of Jax in the cockpit of a fighter, his energy helmet humming around his head.

  “Everything okay out there?” I asked.

  “I wanted to see if the station’s sensors are picking up anything.” Jax’s brows pressed together to form a wrinkle between his eyes.

  I glanced at my tactical officer, who narrowed his eyes at the readouts on his console.

  “Nothing I can pick up, sir. I’ll run a more intensive diagnostic.”

  “Do that,” I said, pivoting back to Jax. “Nothing yet, but we’re going to do a deep dive. What did you pick up out there?”

  Jax rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Maybe I’ve been out here too long, but I thought I saw a flicker of something.”

  Vekron took a step forward. “What do you mean, a flicker?”

  Jax’s mouth twitched into a half-smile. “I knew the science guy would want a better description than that, but I don’t know how else to explain it. It was so fast and just a shimmer in the corner of my eye that now I’m thinking I must have imagined it.”

  “Deep space will do that to you,” I said, even as Vekron paced a small circle in front of me.

  “Was it a flicker or a shimmer, Jax?” Vekron asked, ignoring me and focusing entirely on the screen.

  Jax paused for a beat before answering. “Both, really. A shimmer in space that flickered for no more than a second.”

  “You didn’
t see anything solid?” Vekron asked when he stopped pacing.

  “If I’d seen something solid, I’d be making a lot more noise out here,” Jax said.

  Vekron strode over to the tactical officer’s console. “I think I know which scans we need to be running and what we need to be searching for.”

  My gut tightened at the serious set of Vekron’s jaw. “You don’t think—”

  But my question was cut off as the image of Jax vanished from the screen, the entire bridge went dark, and alarms started to wail.

  Chapter Twenty

  Zoey

  “I’m telling you,” I said, tapping my foot in the inclinator as we surged up. “Today is not the best day for a date.”

  Serge stood across from me, openly assessing me, as soft-pink light pulsed along the white walls of the compartment and an instrumental version of “Ice, Ice Baby” played in the background. “I can see that you were more casual with your grooming than usual. Is it because today is one of those ‘casual Fridays’ that are so popular on Earth?”

  I looked at Serge, who’d probably never dressed casually a day in his life. “You know about casual Fridays?”

  “He knows all the classic Earth traditions,” Reina said, her voice brimming with admiration. “Taco Tuesdays, Throwback Thursdays, Sunday Funday.”

  “Those aren’t really traditions,” Nina said. “Not for the whole planet, at least. They’re more like cultural quirks. And trust me when I say that Taco Tuesdays are not a thing in Puerto Rico.”

  The inclinator came to a stop and the doors glided open, revealing more curved white corridors, these with windows to space on one side.

  “I don’t know what day of the week it is up here, much less if it’s a casual Friday,” I said. “All I know is that I got a late start to the day, and I need to put in some work to catch up.”

  “Is work really more important than finding your perfect match?” Serge asked, nearly running to keep up with me as I took long strides down the hallway toward the executive and design offices. His white, patent-leather, platform shoes tapped like machine-gun fire as he ran.