Daegan
Page 20
“Time to go,” he said as they approached. “I sent Jill and MARL out on the last flyer to depart and now it’s our turn. MARL said the pings were coming more frequently and then he intercepted a voice com demanding status. I’m going to fly home with Gabe over there. As soon as your soldiers are onboard, lift off. I’ll see you in the valley.”
Not wasting any more time or words, Aydarr pivoted and sprinted to the craft he was taking. The ramp closed as soon as he was onboard and the ship went nearly vertical.
“Gabe always has to be so dramatic.” Chuckling, Flo hastened up the ramp into her assigned flyer and straight to the cockpit. Daegan followed her, taking the co-pilot’s seat. “Were you trained as a pilot?” she asked, doing her pre-flight check.
“Yes, although the Khagrish never allowed us to actually fly. Only in simulators so why they bothered training us, I never understood.”
“It was the same for Aydarr’s pack. He told me once he assumed the customer wanted to see if the Badari could acquire the skills. My most recent assignment was flight qualifying as many of the guys as I could and doing one on one advanced training.” She smiled at him. “I’ll be glad to do the same for you and any of our soldiers you’d like.”
All the men are on board, said Ivokk in her head.
“Sealing the hatch now, takeoff in thirty seconds,” Flo responded over the com, in order to be sure all her passengers could hear her. She was a bit wary of her own telepathy range. Smoothly she lifted off and banked, heading north along the course she’d memorized, not directly to the valley but along a trajectory meant to confuse any long distance tracking devices the Khagrish might deploy. At a certain point she’d enter the zone MARL protected with his alien capabilities and become invisible to the enemy.
Daegan watched the island grow smaller in the rear vids for a moment before squaring his shoulders and gazing at her. “Our new adventure begins.”
“Can you sound a little more enthusiastic?” She laughed as she adjusted a control and gave the engine more power. “Life in a northern forest, living in a cave, next to a lake instead of the ocean will be so much fun.”
“Anything and anywhere will be good, as long as you’re there,” he said with breathtaking simplicity.
Flo got a burst of warmth through the mate bond and relaxed a bit, although she knew there’d be many challenges ahead, completely aside from defeating the Khagrish. Together forever, she said on a tight mental link.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Two weeks later…
“I’m exhausted,” Flo said as she and Daegan walked hand in hand toward their cave. “But it was an extremely moving ceremony.”
“I’m relieved now, having all of my pack blood sworn to us. I can finally relax my vigilance on the issue,” he said. “And the stone circle Aydarr’s pack constructed is amazing. I could feel the presence of the goddess tonight.”
Nodding Flo said, “Yes, I kept expecting to turn my head and see her, although I’m told she never reveals her face and you have to be dying or close to it.” She stopped and shivered. “Do you—do you think she did actually come to us when you were giving me the blood transfusion?”
“Yes. I smelled the perfume of her flowers.”
“And I believed I saw a woman in the room with us that night, briefly.”
“You said so at the time, I recall.” He tugged her forward. “We’ve been blessed in so many ways.”
“It was nice of you to invite Aydarr and the other Alphas and their mates to attend tonight.”
He shrugged. “Good strategy. I wanted them to see our men connected to us as firmly as all of their soldiers and mates are tied to Aydarr. We’re allies but we’re our own pack as well.”
“Enough statecraft.” She laughed. “I’m in a good mood, we don’t have any assignments or missions tomorrow, so I vote we celebrate. Privately.”
“You see me a willing participant in whatever you have in mind, my inventive mate.”
Now they were climbing the hill to their cave. “The organization here is astonishing,” Daegan said as he allowed Flo to precede him into their home. “I still can’t believe the barracks cave was ready for our men and this was all ready for us when we arrived from the island.”
“Operations tightened up immeasurably once Darik brought Nicolle home with him and Aydarr was smart enough to make her the admin for the whole place. She’s got the most organized brain of anyone I ever met. I only hope one of our pack finds and mates someone like her. It’d make all our lives easier.” Laughing but also serious, Flo kicked off her boots and headed toward the kitchen. “I’m thirsty—do you want anything?”
He shook his head. “I’ll meet you in the bedroom.”
When she walked into the sleeping quarters in the cave, lit and warmed by a MARL-provided power unit, he’d taken off all his clothes and was lounging naked on the bed. Casting her gaze over him appreciatively and becoming aroused simply looking at her sexy, well-endowed mate, she focused on his rigid cock pulsing against his stomach and said, “I can tell what’s on your mind for the rest of the night.”
“Well, if you’re too tired, we can go to sleep,” he said in a teasing voice. Eyes glowing, he pulled the sheet over his lower half, which did nothing to disguise the aroused mood he was in. The tented effect of the covers was eloquent testimony to what he really wanted to do for the next few hours.
“Oh no, you’re not getting off so easily.” Flo grabbed the sheet and yanked it away. They tussled briefly and she ended up in his lap, facing him. Watching his reaction, Flo pulled off her tee shirt to reveal the new emerald green and cream lace bra she’d bribed Kelli at the valley’s Stores to put aside for her.
“This I like,” he said, voice a purr as he slid one black talon carefully along the edge of the lace, teasingly.
Her nipples became tight, sensitive buds under his attention.
“I think I should take it off though.” Tilting his head he placed the talon at the front seam. Flo shrieked in mock horror and pushed his hand away. “Don’t you dare ruin this one like you did the others! We’re not living in the Sectors, I can’t order up a new set of lingerie. You have no idea how lucky I was to get this set. If you want to keep seeing me in sexy underwear, you have to treat it with respect.”
“Oh I have infinite respect,” he said, sliding his hand over her skin with a deliberateness which made her squirm in anticipation and undoing the fastening with the ease of all the practice he’d been getting since they claimed each other. Grinning in triumph, Daegan slid the bra down her arms and tossed it to the floor.
He kissed the golden mate mark on her shoulder, which had appeared the morning after their claiming, along with a matching one on his body. As he nuzzled her neck and worked on the fastening of her pants, she threw her head back in sheer pleasure. “I have something for you,” she managed to say.
Daegan raised his head, eyes gleaming. “What’s the occasion? Have I missed a human gift-giving event?”
Shaking her head, Flo extricated herself from his grasp and slid off the bed to remove her pants, standing in only the skimpy panties matching the bra. She dug through the pockets of her pants, not finding what she sought in the first one and then triumphantly raising a small box in the air. “No, you didn’t miss anything, although this might be our three week anniversary now I stop to think about it.” She kissed him on the lips and laughed. “Not to worry, we humans may enjoy giving and receiving presents but not for a thing like lasting three weeks as mates. I’m teasing although I do have something for you.” She handed him the box and sat on her heels, a bit nervous as well as hopeful he’d like her gift.
Raising his eyebrows, Daegan used a claw to lift the lid. He stared into the box in puzzlement for a moment before picking up what lay inside and displaying it for her—a black cord necklace, with the beautiful blue and green stone suspended from the end by a simple network of extremely thin silver wires, twisted to hold the rock but not to disguise its beauty.
Since he was silent, nerves prompted Flo to babble. “I found it on the beach as we were leaving the island and I thought it would be perfect for you, a symbol of home but if you don’t like it—”
“The ocean,” he said, raising his head and staring at her. “It’s the colors of the southern ocean. How did you make it into something I could wear?”
“Actually Camron, the senior soldier you met at the shelter island? He’s taken up silversmithing and jewelry making as a hobby—his one of kind pieces are getting to be in high demand among the Badari here. So I showed him the rock when we got to the valley after things settled down a bit and asked him if he could design necklace appropriate for the Alpha of the Southern Seas and he did.”
Daegan looped the cord over his head and adjusted the stone. “It’s perfect, a piece of home to keep with me, as you said.”
“You’re pleased then?”
He gathered her close, holding her in a warm hug. “It takes a rare woman to bring tears to a Badari’s eyes but you’ve managed it, Flo, tears of happiness. You’re the true gift, from the hand of the goddess herself. I couldn’t be more pleased by the necklace and the meaning behind it but I love you.”
“I love you too.” She kissed his lips, her tongue tracing the seam and being granted immediate entry into his warmth, to savor the spicy taste that was his alone. Flo shifted to bring herself closer. Daegan reached between them to snap the lacy string holding her panties on her body and she couldn’t find it in her to object because he immediately took advantage of his unfettered access to her body to plunge his shaft into her already slick channel. The ridges set off ripples of pleasure as he thrust and she tightened her muscles to enhance the effect for them both.
He broke off the kiss and whispered in her ear, “After this we’ll adjourn to the hot springs pool and then—”
“You talk too much, Alpha.” Flo captured his lips again and moved her hips in a slow circle against him, which she’d learned always drove Daegan to new heights of arousal. There’d be no more conversation until much, much later.
As he laid her on the bed in one smooth motion, never wavering from his focus on pleasuring her and himself, she lost herself in the storm of emotion and sensation her mate provided, the feedback from the golden mate bond pushing them both even higher. And as she climaxed and felt him respond with his own release, Flo held on tight and savored the intimacy and the connection.
Much later, as they were lazing in the pool included as a feature of the Alpha’s cave, she played with his mane of hair, relishing the heavy silken feel, and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier, despite the fact we’re at war with a deadly enemy and their even more dangerous allies.” Kissing him on the cheek, she said, “My present state of mind and sheer contentment is all due to you, mate.”
Daegan gathered her close. “I don’t know what I would have done without you, Flo of the Sectors, now my mate. Truly we’ve both been blessed and the future can only be bright. “
“And we will make it back to our beach and our islands and build a happy home for our pack,” she said with such intensity that she surprised herself.
“A prophecy?” he asked, regarding her. “Did the Great Mother speak through you?”
Flo touched her lips with the tips of her fingers and blinked. “Maybe. I know we’ll have the future there we both want, for ourselves and for the pack…someday. Not a doubt in my mind.”
“Then we’ll make it happen. I harbor no doubts, having seen what you and I can accomplish as a team.”
“A team,” she murmured, remembering her long ago conversation with Gabe, at the storm shelter, and how being part of a team was the best part about her Special Forces service. And those teams had nothing on this one, where she and Daegan were connected by love, the unbreakable mate bond and their telepathic link. She settled against him and closed her eyes in unaccustomed contentment, no fears about the future to plague her tonight.
*****
Thank you for reading DAEGAN! I hope you enjoyed the adventure (and, of course, I’d love a review if you have time and the inclination to write one. Even a few sentences would be wonderful. Authors relish reader feedback).
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USA Today Best Selling Author
Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own stories.
Seven time winner of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Veronica is also the proud recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal relating to her former day job, not her romances!
She read the part of Star Trek Crew Member in the audiobook production of Harlan Ellison’s “The City On the Edge of Forever.”
Keep in touch with Veronica, via Facebook, Twitter, and her Blog.
Also by Veronica Scott
Science Fiction Romance
Sectors New Allies Series
Aydarr: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel
Mateer: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel
Timtur: The Teacher’s Alien Healer (Badari Warriors): In the Stars Romance
Note: Timtur is book 2.5 in the series timeline.
Jadrian: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel
Darik: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel
Gabe: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel
Kierce: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel
Camron: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel
Reede: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel
Badari Warriors: Sectors New Allies Book 1-3 Box Set
The Sectors SF Romance Series
Wreck of the Nebula Dream
Escape From Zulaire
Mission to Mahjundar
Hostage to the Stars
Trapped on Talonque
Star Survivor
Danger in the Stars
Two Against the Stars
The Fated Stars
Lady of the Star Wind
Star Cruise Series
Star Cruise: Marooned
Star Cruise: Outbreak
Star Cruise A Novella:
Stowaway Plus Rescue and Golden Token Short Stories
Star Cruise: Songbird
Star Cruise: Mystery Dancer
Historical Paranormal Romance
The Gods of Egypt Series
Priestess of the Nile
Warrior of the Nile
Dancer of the Nile
Magic of the Nile
Ghost of the Nile
Healer of the Nile
Lady of the Nile
Song of the Nile
Return of the Dancer of the Nile
Fantasy Romance
The Captive Shifter
Winter Solstice Dream