“Let’s get going then.” She encircled his neck with her arms and curled into his embrace as he lifted her effortlessly from the pavement.
Fallyn couldn’t ever remember being carried since leaving childhood and wasn’t sure she was comfortable with the idea. After all, she was a trained recon scout with combat experience. To her relief, there was no awkwardness to being in Reede’s arms because he was so matter of fact about the situation and he set a fast pace she could never have matched even in good weather. Her choice to trust him on this was a good tactical decision, or so she told herself. He was incredibly warm and although she was drenched in cold rain within the first few minutes of their excursion, she was sure she’d avoid hypothermia thanks to his body heat.
Good thing none of my fellow soldiers can see me now.
“Is this why they sent us out despite the storm? Because they were sure you’d survive?” she shouted over the howling wind.
“Undoubtedly.” He jumped over some obstacle and veered east, but kept his speed steady.
“Way to impress a prospective mate,” she said.
Laughter rumbled through his chest but he saved his breath for running.
Fallyn wasn’t sure how long the trip lasted but eventually Reede slowed and the next thing she knew, she was out of the storm, inside a primitive structure. Dashing the moisture from her face, Fallyn peered into the darkness. “Where are we?”
“The Khagrish erected faux caves in the Preserves attached to each major lab,” he said, setting her carefully on her feet. “Although there’s no sign this lab ever housed a Badari pack. No scent.”
“I can’t see a thing. We’re not sharing this with any wildlife are we?” Her question was only half joking. Any creature with an ounce of sense would seek shelter in this storm.
“I assure you, even in a gale like this, any predator would flee rather than face a Badari.” He kept his hand on her shoulder.
“I suppose you can see perfectly well in this gloom?”
“Enhanced vision is one of our strengths,” he said. “Normally there’s a stack of dried wood inside a shelter such as this but I’m not seeing one. I’d like to make a fire for you—I know humans find them comforting, not to mention you need the warmth.”
She felt him gathering himself as if he was going to plunge into the storm to collect wood and grabbed at his hand. Trying to quell her shivering, she said, “I’ll be fine. You’ll never find anything dry enough to burn tonight although I appreciate the thought. We aren’t staying here long any way, right?”
“Only until the storm blows over and then we’re heading for the rendezvous point.” He tapped the bracelet on her arm. “The Khagrish can track us with these so we need to move fast.”
“We can’t even see well enough to play cards,” she said, striving for a light tone. “I can’t anyway. Unfair advantage to you.”
“You should rest and keep as warm as you can.” He drew her to the right and kept her from stumbling over anything until they reached the wall of the curious shelter. “You probably noticed I generate a lot of body heat—”
“Another attribute, I’m guessing?”
“We believe because our bodies run at such high efficiency in all respects, our temperature remains elevated.” His tone was clinical but turned more personal with his next remark. “We can sit close and I’ll do my best to keep you warm.”
They sat and she curled up next to him. Reede drew her closer. Even with her eyes growing used to the dark, she couldn’t see much beyond the length of her arm, although wind howled and rain blew past the open doorway across the room.
“I’m sorry I dragged you into the storm,” he said as she shivered a bit. “I’m concerned if something happens to Enishiggama, if she gets any sicker, the lab tech will remain in charge and she is definitely an enemy to us. Both of us. She’s low caste and I can tell she’s reveling in the power of being in charge for now, which makes her extremely dangerous. Not to mention her valid grudge against me.”
“I respected your restraint, not killing her yesterday,” Fallyn said.
“I’ve killed Khagrish females in combat situations. She was unarmed and no physical threat to us at the moment. Tonight it was better to be on our way despite the storm.” He changed the subject abruptly. “You have combat experience, I gather?”
Straightening her spine, she repressed a few graphic memories and was pleased to be able to answer in a level tone. “On a few of our missions we’ve landed in contentious environments so even though we’re supposed to observe and report, occasionally I’ve had to fight my way back to the ship.”
“But this time you crashed.”
“Yes.” She rubbed her arms and tried not to think about the moment of impact, or the shock of awakening chained to a table in the alien medlab and being told her captain was dead. Panic rose in her body and her mouth went dry as she flashed back to the moment. Just breathe. I’m not in any danger here. She hoped Reede wouldn’t be able to tell she was close to losing it emotionally.
“My pack and I have been taken off planet on numerous occasions to perform various military missions, never into the Sectors but on unaffiliated planets. We were closely observed and under psychological constraint, with the well-being of our younger brothers back here in the labs at stake. How are you actually doing? You’ve had a lot thrown at you since you arrived here.”
His voice was deep and soothing and the dark created a welcome privacy and intimacy. Fallyn swallowed hard. “Had flashbacks to the crash. The nights are the worst. Being in the cell in isolation was…challenging. I couldn’t sleep much. And the Khagrish guards kept coming by to stare and harass me. Not physically, thank the Lords of Space but—”
“I know their techniques. Be glad there’s only one senior scientist at the lab right now, who was obsessed with another issue, because the bastards are masters of psychological warfare and torture. You’re lucky they never sent you to the central facility.”
“Lucky I got diverted into your orbit,” she said. “The guards debated if I should be tested for compatibility with you, to put it delicately.”
“We’d have made another effort to locate you, if my mission failed.” Reede hugged her. “You have my company now. My point in mentioning my own combat experience was to let you know I’ve had experience with post-traumatic stress. We all have, no shame in that. Once the rush of the adrenaline is over and the danger is done, the memories don’t simply evaporate. The emotions and the imprinted sights and sounds have to be processed and dealt with but there’s no set time limit or methodology. Be kind to yourself.”
She appreciated his words but wanted to redirect the conversation away from her emotional state. “What were you hoping to accomplish with the fastlink?”
“Get the Sectors to send someone to check the situation out.” From the tone in his voice when he made his next remark she guessed he must have a smile on his face. “Of course we were kind of hoping for a battleship and the accompanying fleet but I’m happy to see you.”
“Not sure what good it’ll do to rescue me, unless you can send another fastlink message. I don’t have the necessary implant since I’m not Special Forces.”
“Our people can’t broadcast again. It was traumatic for them and we nearly lost one. Her mate and the Alpha said there’d be no further attempts.” The grim tone in his voice testified to the finality of the decision.
Intrigued by his reference to a mate, she asked, “So there truly are human women married to some of your brothers? Enishiggama wasn’t lying?”
“Mated for life is our term and yes, we have a few couples who have been so blessed. The Khagrish even tried to play matchmaker in a lab for one pair before we rescued them, but not with the scientific rigor Enishiggama was applying to me.” He chuckled, deriving amusement from the Khagrish efforts.
Fallyn remembered her first sight of him, proud and defiant even though he was naked, restrained and spiked with painful sensors. “How can you be so light h
earted about it?”
Reede shrugged and his muscles shifted under her hand. “I’ve been subjected to much worse. We Badari never allow their treatment of us to impact our own self-worth, no matter how hard they try to humiliate or embarrass, or what torture they apply. Badari don’t break. For centuries pride in our endurance was our only path to any kind of victory in the conditions under which we suffered and died. Now we’re free of course, we have access to far more effective weapons and we do exact vengeance, believe me, for ourselves and our ancestors.”
Mulling over what he’d shared, she asked, “So you volunteered to be captured in order to get inside the lab and search for me?”
“I didn’t know at the time it was you I was searching for, but yes. Usually the Khagrish throw us in with the humans when they manage to take one of us prisoner. No one expected Enishiggama to go down this other route of selective testing. We had a backup plan. There’s always an alternate plan.”
“Speaking of which, although I’m deeply appreciative, believe me, what good will it do to make all this effort to rescue me? As I said before, my ship is a broken wreck—it’ll never fly again. I can’t get home to the Sectors to carry the message.” Fallyn combed her fingers through her damp, tangled hair, reluctant to deliver the downbeat news.
Reede was undaunted. “But you know where we are in relation to the Sectors, right?”
Puzzled as to why her knowledge would make any difference in the situation, she worked on a snarl and said, “Generally. The navcomp module on my ship would have the specifics. We did have to make quite an extended jump in hyperspace to get here.”
There was a hint of triumph in his answer. “We have an artificial intelligence who swears he can plot the course if someone can give him even a rough idea of the co-ordinates.”
As she had on several other occasions, Fallyn had the definite feeling Reede wasn’t telling her the full story. There were odd gaps and even though he never hesitated when he answered her questions, she felt she could interpret his tone and body language. Which was odd, since he wasn’t human and they’d just met. “So you have a ship then? How is that possible? Or a solid plan for capturing one?”
“Certain subjects are better left unexplored until we’re safely beyond the Khagrish grasp.” His answer was made in a neutral tone of voice. “You’re still shivering.”
“Half of me isn’t getting warm enough,” she said, ignoring the magnifying effect of the stress over her memories of the crash and the ordeal in the Khagrish medlab.
“We need to fix the problem—can’t risk you getting sick. I’ve seen how fragile humans can be.” Without warning he pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Despite the suddenness of his move, the full body contact conveyed nothing but an aura of safety and the warmth was welcome. Leaning her head against the solid wall of his chest, Fallyn pondered her unusual reactions to this man. All sense of caution had fled.
Was he exercising some kind of mind control over her? Or was there a kernel of truth in this fated mate business? Reede was certainly one hell of an attractive male, whose no nonsense personality appealed to her as much as his physical form did. And maybe it’s the coziness of this situation.
Under her, she felt the hard steel of his arousal, although he wasn’t making any sexual overtures to her. His reaction was pleasing and could be an invitation. They were in after-action downtime, weren’t they? Decision made to follow up on what she perceived as mutual desire, Fallyn twisted in his hold as Reede loosened his embrace in answer to her movements.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“I think maybe something is right,” she said in a husky whisper, framing his face with her hands and drawing his head down to hers. “I think we shouldn’t waste this opportunity to do a little theory testing ourselves.” Fallyn found the right angle to place her lips against his and kissed him. He allowed her tongue entry into his warm mouth and she was entranced, tasting a spice she’d never encountered before, unique to Reede and utterly addictive. He wasn’t shy, kissing her with skill and enthusiasm, while his cock pulsed under her, despite their layers of clothing. Fallyn ran one hand across his chest, savoring the feel of his skin and pausing to flick one flat nipple teasingly, enjoying the way he reacted.
Desire built deep inside her as their mutual exploration continued and Fallyn began to seriously consider whether she wanted to take this intoxicating activity to the next level. She hardly knew him but what she did know, she relished. But it’s not like me to move so rapidly.
As if sensing her inner debate, Reede broke off the kiss. He nipped her ear lobe and said, “Beautiful and enticing as you are to me, difficult though this is for me to say, the mate bond is not a thing to toy with. I want to make love to you but not here, in a Khagrish cave, as prisoners. Be honest, it’s too soon for you, isn’t it?”
“We—we can’t act on simple mutual physical desire without triggering this bond?” she asked, captivated by the sensations of his taste, his scent and his overwhelming attractiveness. Desire was pounding in her pulse.
Reede hugged her, his arms like bands of steel enclosing her and his arousal hard under her bottom. “Of course we could, we’re both sentient beings. But I can’t in good conscience agree with you this attraction is simple in any way. It never is, not for the Badari. You don’t know me. You might not like what you’ll learn in the coming days, about me, about my pack, about life here on this planet. If it’s possible, we’ll be sending you back to the Sectors to sound the alarm about the Chimmer and the Khagrish, while I stay here to fight. Badari mate for life, Fallyn, not for one night.” He lifted her gently from his lap, set her on the ground and then rose and stepped away.
Lightning illuminated his silhouette as he stood in the entrance to the shelter. “Better for you to get some sleep. The storm is tapering off so we should be able to move out in an hour, maybe two.” Reede turned and his eyes glowed like liquid golden fire. “I’ll wake you when it’s time.”
Shaken by the intensity of her desire for him, and the realization she wasn’t going to have satisfaction, Fallyn nodded and did her best to curl up, pillowing her head on her arm and drifting off to sleep. She missed his warmth and the closeness they’d had for a few precious moments but she had to respect his decision not to proceed. Badari mate for life.
CHAPTER THREE
Reede sat beside the cave’s entrance, watching the rain, alert for any threat, whether Khagrish or from nature. His attention was split, however, listening to Fallyn’s gentle breathing. Good, she’s asleep. Staunch companion that she’d been so far, she was plainly still in some degree of shock from the crash, the death of her crewmate, and everything else she’d undergone since arriving on the planet. Had she felt the pull of the mate bond the way he had experienced it? Probably not. The humans weren’t directly linked to the Great Mother the way a Badari was so it took longer for the attraction to become irresistible to them.
Idly he deployed his talons and studied them, displeased to see a faint tremor. He took a deep, cleansing breath, rose and stepped outside into the cold downpour, letting the rain sluice down his body and ease the ache in his loins and his heart.
Putting a stop to the intimacy between them was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, bar none and as a Badari he’d faced horrific challenges on many occasions, more onerous than denying himself what would have undoubtedly been a night of wondrous pleasure. But Fallyn’s soft curves and delicious scent drew him dangerously close to losing his self-control. With any other woman he might have been tempted to celebrate their freedom in a no strings attached few hours of shared bodies and mutual satisfaction. An enjoyable way to pass the time until they could be on their way again to the exfil point and his waiting packmates. She’d been completely willing, as she’d said plainly or he never would have proceeded as far as he did. Never would have indulged himself in the fantasy of wanting her under him.
With Fallyn he didn’t dare take the risk. There was no d
anger of him losing control, no possibility of him claiming her for his mate without her permission. As one of the top enforcers in the pack he possessed much more self-discipline than even making love to his prospective mate could affect, or so he believed. But the danger to his heart was palpable and irreversible, especially if he took the final step of joining his body to hers.
A Badari with a broken heart couldn’t function at the level he was required to maintain for the good of his pack.
And he’d never been one to conduct casual affairs with the human women.
Raising his face to the sky, he shook his head and appealed to the goddess. “Why send me a mate now? Here? This mate?”
Predictably, there was no answer. He was an enforcer, an efficient fighter, hunter and killer, not a healer with gentle gifts and the ability to speak to the Great Mother. He could pray but he’d never hear a response.
He was already lost of course, from the instant the human woman stepped into the room where he was held and he first saw her. Fallyn was his mate and there’d be no other for him. Could a man get over the awakening of the bond, if the woman refused him or, as it would be in this case, left with no hope of ever being reunited? The Sectors would never send her back to him. Her command would assign her a new mission to another sun and off she’d go. That was the life of a soldier.
Leaving him with a raw gaping hole in his heart and mind where the mate bond should be and he’d never heal. Well, he was going to do his best to minimize the damage. The pack needed him and they needed him to be at the top of his game, not wounded and mourning his chance to mate.
You have so little faith tonight, warrior.
The voice was on the wind. Startled, Reede raised his head, seeking whoever had managed to come close without detection but there no one. An odd flurry of rain swirled over him and then blew away as if a curtain parted, leaving the scent of delicate flowers in his nostrils. For an instant he stood in a perfectly dry, warm space.
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