The change in position drove him deeper. Cellie cursed and entwined her legs around him. He headed to the bed, and this time positioned himself on the bottom with Cellie on top. “Is that a yes or no?”
She glared down at him and muttered, “Game on. I can fuck so quietly you won’t hear a peep.”
Jax eased free of her slick passage, arms stretched up as he held her aloft. “Ten credits says you’re screaming the minute I get back in you.”
Cellie tipped her head back and laughed in sheer joy. “Done.”
In one minute, Jax had her sweating.
In five, he had Cellie moaning uncontrollably.
At the ten minute mark, Cellie cursed, on the verge of coming even though he hadn’t entered her again.
When he did slide home, her lips parted on a whimper but his palm covered her mouth. His brow arched as he whispered, “Calm and quiet or your ass forfeits.”
She bit his hand. As soon as he removed it, Cellie clenched her lower muscles and rolled her hips. This time Jax’s curses spilled out, then he groaned and gripped her at the waist to slam her up and down on his shaft. With each smack of his flesh against her, Jax’s rough grunt filled the air. Cellie playfully teased his nipples with her tongue, enjoying his every twitch and flinch.
Together they rocked, his bed hitting the wall repeatedly until they exploded and collapsed into a pile of limp limbs, sweating and shaking. Cellie fought to catch her breath and rolled to the side of him, dislodging his still semi-hard erection. “You’re going to kill me. No more bets.”
Jax snorted a laugh into her shoulder as he tugged her close.
“I don’t know if I can love you the way you love me, Jax,” Cellie admitted after a moment of silence. She hated the weakness in her voice.
“How do I love you, Cellie?” His hands smoothed over the rounded curves of her shoulders.
“With everything you are,” she whispered, relaxing into the gentle touches.
Gaze cautious, Jax said, “I love you. Now you say it.”
Cellie rolled her eyes and flopped to her back, arm thrown dramatically over her face to block his view. “Maybe I don’t even like you.”
She peeked up. His brow lifted and Cellie gave in to the desire to elbow him in the gut. Jax oomphed on a broken off chuckle.
“Idiot.”
“Cellie,” his deep voice rumbled, the threat implied in the dangerous sound.
She huffed and dropped her arm to glare into steady grey eyes. “I love you, Jaxon Brom. I hope you’re happy.”
His lips curved slowly as he leaned on his side to face her, one hand going to her chin. He tilted her face up, and in the most sincere tone she’d ever heard him use, he said, “I’m very happy, Cellimina.”
She groaned and closed her eyes. “Idiot.”
Jax burst into laughter and cradled her into his arms. Cellie snuggled against him as his big chest continued to shake in amusement.
Chapter 14
The alarms brought Jax partially awake. Cellie stepping on his chest in haste as she leaped from the bed finished the effort.
“Damn, damn.” She cursed and hopped from one foot to the other, dragging her clothes on.
Years on the force had Jax blinking away sleep in an instant and looking around the floor for his own pants and shirt. He dressed as fast as Cellie, but her wide eyes and shaking fingers as she buckled her holster around her hips worried him.
Ignoring the boots propped by his bed, Jax walked to Cellie and grabbed her shoulders. “Cellie.”
“Cordie. The Queen,” she rushed out, gaze skittering away from his. “I have to get to Cordie. I wasn’t supposed to fall asleep.”
“Calm down.”
She rammed her fingers through her hair and cursed again. “Let me go, Jax.”
Cellie looked panicked. Memories of her intimate disclosure reflected back from her wild brown eyes. He was losing her already. Jax tightened his fingers as his pulse thundered out of control. “Take a deep breath first.”
The claxon alarm continued its discordant notes. Cellie blew out a sigh, then gazed at him. Her lips pursed and her glare promised retribution, but she no longer looked ready to jump out of her skin.
“Alright?” He asked.
“Yes,” she snapped.
Jax released her slowly after a lingering caress, then left her alone to tug on his boots. When he opened the door of his room, people hurried through the hall. Since Xenol wasn’t prone to violence, very few guards were among those rushing about. Cellie shoved at the arm he had blocking the doorway to clear her way through.
“Cellie.” He snagged her arm, halting her flight. As he’d guess, fear of what was between them stared back at him.
Beautiful brown eyes clashed with his. Love, lust and confusion swirled from the depths then her gaze hardened. “I need to go, Jax. My first job is to the Queen.”
That hurt. He knew where she stood, but nothing would dispel the churning in his gut. Especially since she’d finally admitted to caring about him. “Will I ever get that same level of dedication?”
Jax knew it was the wrong place and time for the question the moment the words left his mouth. Disappointment clouded her gaze. He could see the doubt crowding in. His heart lurched.
“Really? Telling you I had feelings for you doesn’t give you the right to put me in this position.” She let out a snort and laugh combined, the sound full of bitterness. “And this is why I know love is a trap for the weak.”
His gut flinched, taking the verbal blow. Jax wished he could take back his words. “Damn it, Cellie. You know I didn’t mean it like that.”
When Jax attempted to pull her close, she stiffened like a hot poker.
“No.” Her eyes remained dry, but no way Jax missed the pain and hurt staring back at him. She yanked the arm he still held. “Stay away from me, Jax. You’ve done enough.”
Jax had no choice but to let his fingers slip, afraid to push right now. “We’ll talk later, Cellie.”
She jerked back a step and mouth firm stormed from the room. Jax watched her lithe figure jog away until she turned the corner and he could no longer see her. Slamming his palm on the door frame, he turned away. Jax only hoped she remained safe so he could apologize later. As soon as he was back in his room, he pinged the comm code he knew by heart and contacted Aran. When his Chief of Security answered, Jax launched his demand. “What’s going on?”
“I’m almost to you. Merc attack specifically concentrated on the buildings in this area. I already reached out to the Zanian IX and transported Ellie back to the ship.”
Jax didn’t blame him. The Argoran’s protective instincts regarding his mate were notorious. “Any details from the base staff? Number of attackers?”
“Nothing.” Aran huffed a moment and then appeared around the corner, rushing toward Jax.
He tapped his comm off and locked the door behind him as they both headed toward the base admin building. “We need to go to HQ. With so many dignitaries present, this could be a disaster of epic proportions.”
“Could be a random gang of thieves looking to loot,” Aran suggested as they raced passed the panicked people shuffling along in the corridors.
Muffled arguing reached them when they arrived at the white brick HQ building. A crowd gathered outside the front door, bystanders appearing frightened and worried. He and Aran went directly inside. Jax stopped a shaken uniformed guard with pale features. “Any word on these attacks?”
A loud boom reverberated through the building. Someone screamed. Jax ducked as one of the windows exploded inward, sending shards of the manufactured plexi-glass everywhere. He dove for the floor, Aran copying his actions.
“My baby,” a woman cried out.
Heart thumping and adrenaline spiking through his veins, Jax turned. Tucked in the corner near the destroyed wall, a tiny girl hid by a potted plant. Large blue eyes overflowed with tears and the short green antennae on her head quivered amongst her wavy black hair.
&nbs
p; Aran bulldozed by Jax and shifted into a growling white cat as he soared over the floor and the heads of those standing around. When the Argoran landed on plate sized paws in front of the little one, Jax expected wails. Instead the little girl rubbed Aran’s head as he crouched next to her. After more nudging from the cat, she climbed onto his back.
Another explosion ripped through the sky. Spiked tail straight out, Aran leaped from the crumbling support to a table, making his way back across the room until he landed near the distraught mother, who snatched her child and fled the building. He shifted again, naked as the day he was born.
The corner of Jax’s mouth ticked up. “One day you’re going to blind me if I have to keep seeing you like this.”
Aran snickered and rose to his feet, giving Jax a view he could have done without. “Let’s go and see if we can figure out what’s going on.”
Together they crossed the room and burst into the Director’s office. Jax immediately classified the situation as clusterfuck. A quick glance identified the arrogant men all planning on how to handle the attacking rebels. Aran took up position behind him.
“Gentleman?”
The Xenols spun around, eyes wide and mouths gaping. “Commander Brom.”
A large cloth flew through the air. “Cover yourself, Chief T’Kar.”
Jax bit back a grin as Aran unwrapped the material, revealing a pair of pants. “We need to know what you have here to martial a defense.”
The Director straightened his shoulders and pushed to the forefront. “Xenol is neutral. We can’t fight back.”
Jax refused to accept that response. “The base is under attack, sir. Pardon me for saying this, but we already need to fight back. With the peace meetings going on, there are a number of valuable hostages here. Easy pickings for a clear minded individual with a short term goal in mind.”
The truth of what he said slowly sunk in. The three men looked aghast. “What do you suggest, Commander? We defer to your judgment.”
Exactly what he wanted to hear. Jax contacted the Z, all the while praying Cellie maintained true to her character and got the Queen somewhere safe. Trust and faith in her instincts was all he had to go on or else he’d flip and charge back to where she was and drag her out himself.
Tuning out the conversation around him, Jax made arrangements to have more of his men transferred planet side. The attackers were in for a surprise. They probably hadn’t expected the Zanian IX and her crew to still be present.
But Jax had stayed for Cellie. To spend time with her before the Alliance called him out. His actions, his love for the contrary woman, might be the game changer in this attack.
***
As soon as Cellie entered the Queen’s room, Cordie said, “This will go down in history as the worst trip ever. How many times can something go wrong?”
To Cellie’s surprise, the comment drew a weak laugh from her. Considering her anger with Jax right now, amusement was the last thing she’d expected to feel. Thoughts of the Commander pissed her off. How dare he question her role to the Zephil Queen? He knew how important her job was.
Cellie hadn’t wanted or needed love since she was a little girl. Jax brought back all those emotions. Made her yearn to be held. Loved. She snorted. Cellie wanted to run as far and fast as possible from the emotion.
Jax’s actions served to remind her how right she’d been to avoid that particular trap. But her heart hurt. Hurt because she hadn’t expected his question. It hit like a betrayal of the deepest kind, pain gathering in her stomach and chest at the same time.
Cordelia’s smile fell. “What’s wrong?”
Cellie shook her head. “I think we need to get to the HQ building. Xenol’s under attack.”
“I’ll grab a few things, Your Majesty.” Talire sighed but proved her resilience and left them to pack a bag.
Cellie ordered Cranz and Efan to take up a stance outside the room.
“Now that it’s you and me, tell me what happened that put such a dark look in your eyes. Then catch me up on what’s going on here.” The Queen braced her hands on her waist and cocked her hip to the side. She wore a deep purple fitting gown with a split up the front, revealing a matching purple body suit underneath and low heeled boots.
“Jax.” Cellie blew out a breath. No need to lie to Cordie. His name said it all.
Cordie’s eyes narrowed, her hands falling to her side. “When you didn’t come back last night I figured you’d finally stopped fighting your feelings for the man.”
Cellie stiffened. “What!”
Cordie’s grin screamed mischief. “Let’s face it, Cellimina. You’ve been in love with the Commander for months. Maybe longer.”
She could only sputter. “It’s over before it started. I have a job to do and nothing will come between my loyalty for you.”
“Oh, Cellie.” Cordie came to stand beside her. “Do you really think that’s what he wants to do? The man is head over heels for you and makes no attempts to hide it. If Jaxon Brom wanted a woman who’d stay at home while he goes off to patrol the neutral zones, he never would have started something with you.”
Cellie absorbed the words, letting their meaning wash over her. She never hid who she was from Jax. He knew from the beginning she had obligations, yet his question before she left threatened the foundation of the life she’d built for herself. “It doesn’t matter now, Cordie. It’s over.”
“You’re a woman in love. It makes you act foolishly.” Cordie tapped a finger to her chin as if contemplating. “In fact, I think it’s a requirement.”
Cellie snorted. “Enough about my twisted path to romance. Xenol is under attack. I think it’s best we make our way to the HQ and see what’s going on.”
“The shooting does seem concentrated to our area.”
Which worried Cellie. The buildings over here all housed the prominent officials present for the peace meeting. “Let’s get Talire and go.”
Cordie opened a drawer of a side table, withdrawing her stash of weapons. Next she pushed back the skirt of her gown to strap a blaster to her thigh and added two fighting blades.
Together they locked up the room, ignoring the other residents who foolishly didn’t seem concerned at all. Cranz and Efan covered Talire between them. Cellie stayed on Cordelia’s heels as they exited the building and walked into a nightmare.
Chapter 15
“They’ve employed some sort of blocker.”
Aran’s words snapped Jax’s head around. “What?”
“The Z can’t send anyone down. The Mercenaries now have a barrier of some sort up. It’s covering all of Center City.” Aran raked a hand through his hair. “I got Ellie out in time.”
Jax inhaled sharply. “How many men do we have planet side?”
“Six. They’re coming now.” Aran lowered his voice, eyes on the three sweating leaders. The Director’s tanned skin had lost its color when he realized the serious nature of the attack. His assistants looked completely lost and on the verge of hysterics. “Plus us, the Queen’s three guards, and anyone we can muster not afraid to fight.”
The odds didn’t look good. Many here for the peace talks hadn’t brought a security force. There’d never been a need. Nothing in the planet’s history compared to this. It violated the hundred year old protocol in place to prevent this very thing from happening.
“Do you have any good news for me?” Jax meant the words to be snide.
Aran smirked. “Dar says there are a dozen or more mercenaries razing the place. If you can get your girl over here, we might be able to hold out until the Z can get through or the Alliance sends reinforcements.”
Jax fought the tight feeling coalescing in his mid-section, thinking of the last words between him and Cellie. Hurtful words, though it hadn’t been his intent. “So communication’s not jammed?”
“No. They don’t seem to be bright enough to realize that.”
Hopefully that could play in their favor. Jax turned away and walked to a corner of the
room for privacy. He plugged in Cellie’s personal comm. A code he’d made sure to memorize while on the Z after the Marenian attack.
The sound of explosives ripped through the air, the blast ringing in his ear.
“I don’t have time right now, Jax,” came her terse greeting.
Jax bowed his head and gripped the back of his neck with one hand. “Where are you, Cellie?”
She exhaled. “Trying to get the Queen away from the resident buildings. The fire power seems aimed directly for the officials here. I warned the others, but only a few heeded my words. I have a handful with me but a group of the insurgents have us pinned down outside the main pathway.”
Jax blocked his immediate fear. He shut down the personal and concentrated on the professional. “Can you get to HQ? Aran and I are here with the Director. Whoever’s leading the attack is using a block, keeping me from getting my men from the Z.”
She hesitated. “Hold on, Jax.”
Laser fire sounded in the background, followed by Cellie’s muffled curse as she spoke to someone. When she returned, steel lined her voice. “How secure is where you’re at?”
“Very.” Jax glanced up and made eye contact with the six men from his security team coming through the door. Aran stared, waiting for Jax’s direction. “If you can get here, we have a better chance of holding out.”
“Carpa.” Her tone took on the slick confidence he was familiar with. “I can get there as long as you cover us coming in. We’ll roll up from the left, running full press.”
“Do it!” Jax ordered. He lowered his voice to a threatening whisper. “Don’t think it’s over between us, Cellie. Get here without a scratch.”
She snarled and disconnected without responding. Jax grinned. Yeah, it was far from over.
Aran joined him. “What’s the plan?”
***
Cellie couldn’t believe Jax’s audacity. Snarling under her breath, she leaned back against the building, eyes on the four men in all black attempting to overrun the small group with her. All around fires burned. Screams intermixed with cries of pain rang out as she and her men made their shots count.
Love Like No Other Page 9
