He groaned softly and combed his hand through her hair, tugging some of it free of its ponytail and leaning in to smell it. To smell her. She couldn’t imagine she was anything but dirty and gross right now, but maybe against all logic, he found something alluring about her scent, the same way she did about his.
One of his hands shifted, moving down her back to cup her ass. He squeezed, pulling her up and more tightly against him, and this time, she gasped as his hard erection pressed not against her stomach but against her sensitive core.
He lowered his head, his goatee scraping her cheek and sending delightful shivers through her and down to that need growing within her.
“This is not the time,” he whispered, his mouth right beside her ear, his warm breath creating more shivers inside of her. “Not the place.”
But he didn’t let her go. He nipped at her earlobe, and a charge of electricity zipped through her. She knew she should be quiet, but she couldn’t hold back a gasp of pure pleasure.
His other hand slid down, so he could fully cup her ass. Her toes barely touched the ground now. She gripped him by the back of the neck and one shoulder and started to rock into him. He ground right back, and she could hear the hitch in his breath, the desire. He must want to turn around, to jam her back against the tree, tear her pants off and thrust into—
He froze. Leaves crunched behind Juanita.
Her heart hammered against her rib cage—and his. Was it the captain?
“You want some company?” a husky voice asked from a few feet away.
Juanita’s heart went right on hammering as she tried to figure out what that meant. She didn’t even recognize the voice.
“No,” Orion snarled, his voice hard, dangerous. Possessive.
It sent a weird, excited shiver through her. She didn’t quite know what the other man was implying, but she felt safe from him. Orion had his arms around her. She was his.
Leaves crunched again, the man coming closer. “You sure?”
“What do you think you’re going to do in your armor?”
“I can take parts off.”
Juanita could hear the man breathing behind her, breathing hard. Had he heard her and Orion and gotten excited? She had no idea how to feel about that. She wasn’t the kind of person that people spied on through peepholes and used in their fantasies.
“Back off now,” Orion said, “or I’ll knock you on your ass.”
“Shit, brother, why’re you doing that so close to everyone else then?” The man sounded hurt and disappointed rather than belligerent. Like he’d truly believed they would say yes and invite him into some threesome? Did these people do things like that often?
Orion didn’t answer the man, instead locking his wrists behind Juanita’s back, creating a protective embrace for her. But he didn’t go back to rubbing her, and she moaned softly with disappointment.
Whoever the man was, she heard the crunch of leaves announcing his departure. She wanted Orion to grab her ass and pull her against him again. They would rock and grind together, or even better, they could take off their clothing and truly lock their bodies together. He could thrust her against the tree, grab her hips, and dive into her as she gripped him, fingers digging into his taut flesh, crying out at the pleasure of having him fill her again and again.
Orion chuckled and rested his face against her head. “Definitely not the time and place,” he murmured, but his voice was husky, and she sensed the longing in it, his need as great as her own. He was tense under his clothing, as if he had to consciously lock down his muscles to keep from doing the very things she had been imagining.
She wondered if there was anything she could say to convince him that there was nothing wrong with this time and place. But even as she had the thought, she realized how ridiculous it was. There were probably more of those slavers out here, maybe sneaking up on their group right now.
“When will be the right time and place?” she asked softly, tilting her head back to gaze up at him, even though it was dark.
“When you’re… not anybody’s prisoner or unwilling guest.”
“I’m not an unwilling guest now.”
“And when we have a bed,” Orion said.
“A bed? Is that truly necessary? I was getting excited about this tree.”
“Just the tree? Was I involved?”
“A little bit.”
“Huh.”
She grinned, rose up on her tiptoes, and kissed him. Knowing how close they had been to tearing each other’s clothes off, she kept it gentle and sweet. When he returned it, she also sensed his restraint. She also sensed a sweetness to the kiss. A gentleness. Almost as if he was letting her know that he appreciated her and that he would be happy to be with her whether they were able to have sex or not.
Maybe all that was her imagination, but the kiss filled her with longing rather than lust. A desire to do things with him in the future, to see the galaxy and walk across strange planets and distant space stations, hand in hand with him. Would he want to do those things with her? To be with her for more than the few days it would take for her to make it home?
Home. A place she was expected to return to. A place where her parents were, where her novels were on submission, where she volunteered at the animal shelter. Where her life was.
But was it that interesting of a life? She’d hate to disappear forever without letting her friends and parents know that she was safe and she would be back, but was there any chance she could be allowed to stay out here? To see the galaxy? To walk it beside the surprisingly gentle man kissing her in a manner that made her think he’d like to go on doing it for a long time?
“Get ready,” a voice said in the distance. Was that the captain?
Orion broke the kiss and let his arms drop, though Juanita could sense that he didn’t want to let her go. She didn’t want him to let her go, either.
“We’ve got company on the ground with us that we need to take care of,” Sagitta said. “They’re getting ready to advance on the ship. We might not take them completely by surprise since they’ll be missing their men by now, but we’ll do our best to attack on two fronts and trust Zakota and Hierax to do their parts.”
Orion shifted away from the tree, and Juanita stepped back. He put his hand on her back and rubbed it gently, seeming to promise that they would be fine, that they would survive the battle.
“Where are our two fleshies?” Sagitta asked.
“Over there, humping against that tree,” one man said.
Heat scorched Juanita’s cheeks. Why did she end up blushing and being embarrassed so much around these men?
Sagitta made a disgusted—or maybe disappointed noise.
“We’re right here,” Orion said before his brother could call for him.
He shifted away from Juanita, and when Sagitta looked over, a couple of feet stood between them. Now, she was glad they were fully clothed and hadn’t given in to their base urges. Especially hers. She just hoped that combat armor didn’t come with night vision, or Sagitta, whose faceplate was pointed right at her now, would notice that her blouse was untucked, and her hair had fallen free of its ponytail.
“As much as it pains me to say this,” Sagitta said coolly, “I want you two to stay back here in the woods and well away from the ship. A battle is about to break out, and without armor, you’ll be at great risk.” His faceplate shifted toward Orion. “Mom would strangle me if I got you killed.”
“The real threats are Aunts Kalliope and Khloe. They have those pointy hiking sticks they wield like other old ladies wield knitting needles.”
“If you call them old to their faces, you’ll deserve to get pronged.”
“I usually do.”
Sagitta turned to his men and started barking orders. In seconds, the area was cleared, leaving Orion and Juanita alone. In silence, save for the garbled cries of something that might have been this world’s version of an owl. Juanita listened for the rumbles of engines, but no longer heard them. Had t
hose three ships landed? Were they all full of slavers looking to take her and the others back? Would Sagitta and his men be enough to battle crews from that many ships? How had all these enemies come to know where the Star Guardian ship was, anyway?
Orion found her in the dark and clasped her hand again.
“We’re going to be good out here, right?” she asked, though memories of rubbing and kissing leaped back into her mind at the warmth of his touch.
“I would feel foolish if I died in the woods with my pants around my ankles.”
“Back in Ancient Greece on my world, men wore togas. Or was that the Romans? I know the Greeks wore something that didn’t involve pants.”
Orion chuckled. “Yes, the chiton. That’s mentioned in our historical documents, and there are ceremonial rituals where one is still worn. I believe Dethocoles is colder than where we originally came from. Socks, boots, and long pants have been the preferred garb for quite a while, as well as fur coats and hats. Too bad. It would be amusing to see the great Captain Sagitta run into battle in sandals with a chiton flapping around his knees.”
“His enemies would be tempted to shoot at his bare ankles.”
“Indeed. Let’s head up to that hill where they were looking down on things earlier. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do anything to help, or if they’ll even need my help, but I want to keep an eye on the battle.”
“I’m with you.”
He rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. “I’m glad.”
As they maneuvered their way across the dark mossy ground, Juanita thought about sharing her earlier thoughts, of broaching the idea of staying, at least for a time. Would that be possible? And if it was possible, would he be amenable to that? Or did he simply want to have a few days with her and then continue on about his life? He’d promised to make sure she got home. If she mentioned staying, would that freak him out? It occurred to her that she had no idea if he had someone else out there, a wife or a girlfriend, in another part of the galaxy. Also, what would she do for a living if she didn’t return home? She couldn’t mooch off him. And she barely had skills enough to make money at home, much less in some galactic economy.
Maybe it was premature to be contemplating anything but surviving the night and rejoining the others.
18
Orion and Juanita knelt atop a hill that looked down over the lake. Trees dotted it and partially hid the view, but the Star Guardian ship and the boggy area where it had landed were visible through the woods. Normally, without night-vision equipment, they wouldn’t have been able to see anything down there, but two bright moons had come out, shedding silvery green light on the water. That light also gleamed on the hull of the Falcon 8.
“She’s a beautiful ship, isn’t she?” Juanita whispered.
Orion realized she was seeing it from a distance for the first time. When he looked over at her, he caught a hint of the moonlight glimmering in her dark eyes. She was more beautiful than the ship, and her spirit for adventure and exploration made him smile. More than that, the loyalty she’d shown, standing up for him with Sage and doing her best to deflect his ire… It made him feel more than he’d felt for anyone in a long time. Since he’d left home and fully committed to becoming a bounty hunter, he had often filled his days with no other company than that of his ship’s AI, the criminals he hunted, and the books he read. His dalliances with women had been brief and more about sating physical needs than anything else. The types of women who were attracted to bounty hunters usually had the jaded hearts of bounty hunters themselves. They weren’t playful and adventurous, and they would have mocked him if he’d ever spoken of his family problems with them.
“It’s said to be a great honor to serve on a Star Guardian fire falcon,” Orion said quietly, shifting his attention back to the spacecraft and the surrounding area.
He couldn’t let himself be distracted by his growing attraction to Juanita, not again. He had been foolish to get so wrapped up with her—figuratively and literally—against that tree when there were so many dangers around. But having her pressed against him had been beyond stimulating. And when she’d started running her hands up and down his arms and licking his neck? He’d been seconds from pulling down both of their pants and rutting like a Bracorean Stag. The fact that she’d seemed to want the same thing? It had only fueled his passion.
But they couldn’t sate their mutual urges out here. He didn’t even know what women on her world did for birth control. Did they have such a thing at all? The massive population of Gaia seemed to suggest otherwise. What kind of ass would he be to send Juanita home pregnant when he might never be able to see her again? The thought almost made him wish he was a fleet soldier or a Star Guardian, since women and men received contraceptive shots that lasted several months at a time.
A light came on across the lake, pulling his thoughts back to the here and now. It wasn’t from the Falcon 8—the Star Guardian ship remained dark, as if it had been deserted. Were Hierax and Zakota truly the only ones left on board aside from the women? Orion had noticed the corridors were deserted when he’d woken up, but it had been early, according to ship’s time, so he hadn’t thought anything of it then.
“What’s that light?” Juanita whispered, seeing it too.
It was on the opposite side of the lake from the ship, and as they watched, it started moving through the trees. A couple of other lights appeared, also moving, parallel to the waterline.
“One of the slaver ships must have landed over there, and now a team is on its way to investigate Sage’s ship. They’re being brazen, aren’t they? Not worrying about hiding themselves.”
“Maybe they want to avoid the quick mud.”
Orion smiled at the term. He’d only ever heard such spots called sinkholes, but he supposed the words were apt.
“There’s another team coming from over there,” he said, pointing toward their own side of the lake. A couple more lights were visible, bobbing as their owners walked along the waterline.
The lights should mean that the slavers didn’t have combat armor. They would be using the night-vision capabilities of their helmets if they did. The Star Guardians would have an advantage when it came to close combat. That was good, but it did look like they were going to be outnumbered. If these new ships had crews as large as Captain Cutty’s ship had claimed, there could be as many as two hundred people tramping through the woods to join the fight. Sage had closer to forty, maybe fewer if there were more people back on the ship than he had mentioned.
“But the Star Guardians are prepared, right?” Juanita leaned forward peering toward the ship.
The moonlight would have made it bright enough to see the armored figures of the men if they had been in the clearing around the ship. They weren’t. They were probably hiding in the trees, waiting to spring their ambush.
“I hope so. Sage doesn’t give away anything, but Treyjon sounded surprised when we learned there were three enemy ships.” Orion grunted, disgusted anew that Sage had let him sleep and hadn’t included him in the planning for this trap he was trying to spring. Did his brother truly think he couldn’t be of use out here?
Juanita turned toward him. She didn’t ask a question, but he sensed that she had one.
“I hate not being included in the planning,” he explained.
“They should include you. You’re a really good fighter.”
“But I’m not one of them.” Orion lowered his voice, almost keeping the next words to himself. “They didn’t want me.”
“Who didn’t? Your brother?”
“No, he has no say in who becomes a Star Guardian or not. Or at least not much say. He may hold an ear or two, but even so, he wouldn’t have put a word in for me. He never believed I had the discipline for the job.”
Orion couldn’t help but emphasize the word. It was the exact one Sage had used many, many times with him.
“He’s almost twenty years older than you, isn’t he?” Juanita asked. “Nobody thinks someone th
at much younger has discipline. He probably had to walk ten miles to school every day as a kid. In snow and rain. And uphill. Both directions.”
He snorted. “Actually, our father was something of a war hero, a retired general. We didn’t have a rough childhood. We took shuttles to school. I heard Sage even had private tutors when he was younger. By the time I came along, our parents seemed to think that was a waste of money. Or that I was.” He snorted again. “No. I’m whining. Don’t listen to that. My childhood was fine. But in regard to the Star Guardians, you can’t apply or go to an academy to get in. Their ships aren’t as big as military battleships, and they’re not an army or a fleet. They’re elite handpicked troops that are chosen to go places where a battleship would be overkill—or a sign of war. There are only eight Star Guardian ships out at any given time, and usually fewer than fifty people on a crew. If those that run the organization want you on one of their ships, they find you and they choose you.
“There are careers you can pick to be more likely to be discovered by them, and to gain the right kinds of skills for the job, such as the military or law enforcement, but sometimes, it’s a mystery as to who they pick and how they discover you. I remember one year, they recruited a couple of champions from the Olympics.”
“You have the Olympics?” Juanita asked, sounding startled.
“Of course. It’s an old tradition that originated on Gaia, the stories say. Originally, it was just on our planet Dethocoles, but people from the other planets sometimes come and compete.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot that it was originally a Greek thing. I think it disappeared for a couple thousand years on Earth. Gaia. That’s neat that we both still have it.”
“It is.” Orion found himself pleased to learn that his people’s custom existed elsewhere too. This almost seemed like proof, more than anything else the women had said, that their world was Gaia. “I didn’t try that route to get noticed. I joined the military, the same as Sage had. But the war was over by the time I got out of the academy. It’s hard to stand out and be noticed during peace times. And I had a penchant for finding trouble. Maybe if we had been at war, I could have channeled my energy and rebelliousness toward a better cause, but I, uhm, eventually got kicked out for fighting with a superior officer. He deserved it, but I broke his nose, and that’s frowned upon. It’s acceptable to break an enemy’s nose, and even brutalizing a peer isn’t going to get you kicked out, but a superior officer is a different thing.” And, admittedly, that incident hadn’t been the first time he’d gotten into a fight with one.
Orion: Star Guardians, Book 1 Page 18
