by Cora Blu
They both stepped back out of the flow of traffic as the corridor began to vibrate with the voices bleeding through the air, and boots scuffing the floor during shift change.
She pulled her lapels together. “The captain listens when I talk, that’s about as much pull as I have. I can’t promise what he retains. What’s up?”
The woman’s attention moved around the corridor before settling on Sadie. “Can you put in a good word…get me assigned to their station? You know, on the shuttle bay with the karuntee.”
From the look in her eyes, Sadie knew exactly why she wanted to work up there and it would always be the same answer. No! “You met Commander Montage on the beach when you vacationed on Sector Four, didn’t you?”
The lustful grin of karuntee fever brightened the woman’s brown eyes seconds before reality struck and her face dropped. “Ah, don’t tell me…he’s already mated or married, isn’t he?”
Sadie eyed her watch in an attempt not to see the disappointment in the woman’s eyes. She would be late getting to Aroc’s. “Listen, before you get your heart set on a karuntian lover, Montage is not tolerant of humans. Never has been, but I’ll let you know if the criteria changes for working on their station.
“Thanks. Mmm.” The woman sighed. “Are you sure about Montage? That male is delicious.”
Sadie chuckled. “Believe me, he’s not interested.”
She chewed her lip. “Too bad,” she said angling her body away to leave. “Remember, keep an ear open for me, I have to get up there where everyone’s equal.”
“Hey, the grass is only greener on the other side because it rains a lot.”
The woman whirled around, her eyes serious. “When has the Captain allowed you to get wet?” Sadie watched her slip behind the shuttle bay doors, seconds before she depressed the butterfly under her collar. Earth or the moon, the bad boy was appealing. She’d need more than an umbrella to handle a karuntian male. She held her breath as she travelled through space… in particles.
Inside the glass atrium overlooking the great expanse of black space dotted with shuttles coming and going, Sadie gathered her bearings. Curved arm-like braces supporting the landing bay entrances surrounded the station. It was a fishbowl for anyone traveling by an oddity for a private species, yet it resembled the human station. But who would transport to a colony of warriors without a reason? Not her. Although their technology was centuries ahead of Earth’s, the Karuntee carried themselves as ancient warriors, ready for war. Inside, the different levels were connected by a glass lift. A catwalk circling each floor resembled a sidewalk on Earth.
The hum of voices filled the level two floors down from Aroc’s home. Every height and disposition of Karuntee filled the circular hall.
Nodding to the many karuntee milling through the hall, Sadie adjusted her backpack and nudged her way into the foray of bodies, all at least a foot taller than her. Once through the weapons detection bay, she hopped on the lift to Farkus’s wing of the station.
She felt like a kitten in a kennel with bulldogs as a young karuntee bared his serrated teeth gesturing with a quick nod then continuing on his way. She wasn’t afraid of the males. Even though she felt comfortable, the clenching of her heart while being in the presence of so many karuntian never eased.
They knew assisting Aroc with Norese freed his mind to better run the clan. Over the year, she grew to have friendships among the males as they came to Aroc’s home for meetings. And with that trust, Aroc travelled the galaxy more frequently now that Norese was safe and happy.
Some weekends he stayed home with them and enjoyed being a father, which Norese loved.
The female karuntee were the one’s that left her the most uncomfortable. According to them, she was an obstacle to one of them becoming a mate to the captain. Females and women of Earth were territorial and she respected that to an extent. She hadn’t asked to enter their world, nor was she ever even given the option. She would be lying if she said she didn’t think about their one time together, and wished they were a couple, but he wanted a nanny not a mate.
It’s not as if the females weren’t attractive, they were gorgeous. The women didn’t carry the pelt of hair. Their skin held a warm, watery-shaped shadow over the curve between the throat and shoulder. The red hair made up for it, Sadie thought. Luxurious and coarsely thick, the red underlit by blue unlike the orange of human red. Sadie liked it actually. But with most karuntee towering over six feet and the men topping off at seven, it’s not like she’d tell them if she hadn’t liked it.
Tall and proud, more males traveled down the corridor, their soft spines exposed, swaying slightly with the movement of their muscled bodies. Their skin held a hint of burgundy. Their scalps shaved clean other than the burgundy ponytail at the back of their head with a tattoo above one ear of a moon so detailed she’d checked to see if a cloud would roll by. The pelt of hair on their shoulder signified a full-grown male.
Maybe she could talk Aroc into growing his ponytail back.
She stood before the keypad on the wall, then punched in the code to Aroc’s home and turned toward the sound of someone approaching.
A male, about her age—Crandall she realized—approached breathing fast and bouncing on the balls of his booted feet. He was easily one and a half times her height, impossibly handsome, almost pretty. However, the beginnings of a burgundy goatee dotting his chin said all male.
“Detective Ochi, tell me you’re staying for the weekend? I’d kiss your feet, but I like my back in one piece. We all know the Captain would torture me for mentioning touching you.”
Sadie cocked her head in disbelief. Where had that come from? Letting her eyes drift out the tall windows, she caught the numerous shuttles departing the bay below in a line of metal filling the atmosphere. How many of those males trained with Aroc, knowing she was the cause of their overstrained and bruised bodies?
“You have to step in before he kills us with surprise drills and challenging us to battle him.” Crandall rolled his shoulders. “Bat those eyes or whatever you females do, but get in there and relax our Captain…please!”
Curling around him in bed so he could sleep was the magic, nothing more.
“Why would he be running drills? Isn’t that Montage’s responsibility?”
Sadie watched his chest constrict with each labored breath. “Because he’s not the same when you’re not here,” he stressed, punctuating his words with hand gestures. “We can’t take you being away all week. Whatever you do to relax the Captain…do it please, before we’re all crippled with exhaustion. He’s driving the station crazy. Drills run late into the night, followed by attack scenarios three times a day.”
She drew back, her pack hitting the keypad. “He’s running attack scenarios three times a day? Oh great.” What’s happened? “I’ll do what I can, Crandall, no promises. The captain is the captain. There’s not a lot I can change.”
He groaned. “You could visit more often, Detective. Norese loves you, and well...” he trailed off; a concerned pallor tinged his burgundy skin. “He’s happy when you’re on the station.”
“I doubt that. The captain and I are friends, and if my time here helps him relax, then I’ll do my best. I wouldn’t be so tough on him. It’s not easy raising a toddler and being leader of such a strong species. You need to give him space.”
“That’s why he has you, Detective, to keep him calm.”
Four other males approached. Crandall replayed her words and the laughter banged around the corridor.
“Detective…you’re more than a friend to the captain. You hold his ear, and to some, that’s a deadly weapon.” Eyeing the bare chests encircling her, their bodies bulging, deep caverns bisecting abdominal walls into six squares of concave muscles earned through long hours of hard training. Powerful arms shaped, corded, and roped, the definition appeared to be carved with a thin layer of skin protecting it. They were walking weapons, claiming her absence affected the captain deeply.
As her
eyes moved from body to body, a rush of agreement bled through as the males spoke in unison, spouting off about Aroc’s supposed attraction to her.
The upholstered navy and cream walls muffled the sounds of all those hulking voices. A regal intricately woven pattern in the shape of the moon scattered its surface like falling stars.
The whisper of the door mechanisms brought Sadie around to see her host, large and imposing.
“Does the detective require an escort to visit my home?” Aroc’s deep timber poured over her, warming every inch of her skin.
Again, in one solid voice the males answered. “No sir, Captain.”
She couldn’t let them receive more crazy training. “Captain, you look well-rested.”
“And you are a poor liar, Sadie Ochi.” His gaze travelled past her to the males at her back. “Now that you’re here, I’m done torturing my males.” He gave her a wicked grin. “Want to explain why you’re late?”
“Not out in the corridor, I don’t.”
Chapter 11
He nodded behind her. “Dismissed.” The males left in all different directions. Under the shadowing stance of the fiercest karuntee alive, Sadie found a friend. And a desire to kiss him from his bald head to his strong calves. His clean scent filled her nose, making her body pulse from the inside out. She stood there taking in his thick, masculine body filling the doorway. Trailing the lines of his cargo pants to the proud way he held himself, her breath caught as it always did when she took in the massive expanse of his shoulders.
She walked up as he stepped back, allowing her room to enter. The girth of his frame nearly created a vacuum tugging her inside his home. Tucking his long fingers under the strap of her backpack, he slid it from her shoulders hooking his hand behind her neck to place his normal, chaste kiss on her cheek. Aroc was always affectionate, but closer to her mouth, this kiss held heat that held the beginnings of passion. Was he flirting or just her hormones because her cycle would start in a week? When he pulled away, the heat from his mouth remained as his eyes drew away from her.
“They like you, Detective. That’s rare.”
She shrugged. “I see them as individuals, not just your males. I like them, too.” Their last few conversations had been laid back and easy, more personal.
“We have a lot to discuss, come in to my office so we can talk before dinner.”
Shrugging her flight jacket off, she pressed the panel in the wall revealing the concealed closet behind the door. She tucked it away on the hooks he reserved for her things.
“I would have been here sooner, but I had a brief meeting with Captain Holston. Then under extreme duress, I helped Commander Cantrell in the shuttle bay check in a shipment. Should I have called first, giving you time to clean up?” Teasing Aroc wasn’t normal for her, definitely not something she’d have attempted months ago. Oliver left her choking on sarcasm.
Aroc groaned. “So he knows who you are now? Does he know why you’re here with me?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Not exactly. He’s certain I’ve lost my mind, spending my free time with the enemy. And Captain Holston explained about the Domestic Assets and that I work for both sides.” She had a question. “He was more upset about our relationship…why? What’s between you two?”
His vest swung open with each step, revealing his bare chest. A body perfectly defined, holding shadows and deep furrows. As if outlined with artist charcoal ranging from the densest black to a soft pale burgundy. A rosy pink, but she’d never tell the captain she like his pink skin.
Muscles crisscrossed over his exposed shoulders and ran down his forearms that were the girth of her thighs. Her eyes continued down ripples and valleys of his torso. Having slept in his arms pressed to his body, her fingers now tingled with phantom memories playing along each digit.
She followed into the heart of the home. His living room. Despite being on a space station, his home wasn’t stark and cold, but warm with its grey, taupe, and dusty rose interior. Upholstered walls cocooned the perfectly placed contemporary furniture. Selected by his deceased wife, Sadie was certain. The easy hum of violins floated in the air from speakers set inside the ceiling panels.
She followed him out of the living room.
Padding down the hall, they passed his meditation room. A mat covered the floor and a hologram of a black moon surrounded by a white sky filled one wall. Such a peaceful place. Different from his home office.
Before she crossed into his stark office in the back of his home, little hands closed around her thighs. Norese squeaked, her little fingers digging into Sadie’s skin.
“Hi sweetheart,” she greeted the smiling face full of flesh tearing teeth. Sadie dipped low, scooping her hands under Norese’s butt to hoist her onto her hip.
“Sadie home,” Norese said in her tiny voice. “No more Earth. Stay home.”
That stopped her and she snuggled her warm body closer. “I’ll visit more often, I promise. Now what is your father feeding you?” Kissing the little girl’s face, she gave her a gentle squeeze. “Farkus what are you feeding her? She’s solid as a boulder.”
Grumpy angled his face back to look at her over his shoulder. His surly glare had a way of making her blush down to her knees.
“It’s your fault, Ochi. You stay away too long, making it hard to sleep.”
She curled her lip at his accusation. The twist of his waist when he walked distracted her anger down to a mild irritation.
“I know you’re frowning, Detective. I can smell the heat rolling off your body as your temperature rises.”
Annoyed by his ability to read her, she cupped the face of the slightly pink-skinned toddler on her hip. “Your father’s company is an acquired taste, Norese. If it weren’t for your sweet smile I wouldn’t put up with his surly disposition.”
Like she had a choice.
Releasing a mild groan, he lowered to his chair behind his desk, his broad body crowding the husky piece of furniture, which spoke to the severe girth of his body. Thick arms folded over the molded surface of the strange wood. He sat disgruntled, mimicking a warrior from hundreds of years ago, frustrated there were no villages left to conquer or pillage, and they’d walked around chopping trees all day.
How the mighty grumbled and mumbled.
He locked eyes with her when her hips perched on the edge of his desk. She brushed a hand down the little girl’s slightly raised spikes under her T-shirt. Too young to retract her own spikes Norese sighed as Sadie massaged the nodules until they relaxed and retracted inside their housing of muscle. The soft whisper of the violins added serenity to the ambience.
“How often do you do this for her? Every night I hope.”
“I’m too rough,” he uttered grimly. The veins in his neck pulsed behind each word.
“Aroc Farkus—don’t try and sell me some wimpy excuse I’ll never believe. You touch me all the time and I’m more fragile than Norese.” She didn’t resist when his fingers curled around the edges of her uniform lapels, the space between them reduced dramatically until they breathed the same breath.
“Calling me a liar, Sadie Ochi?”
Not even if he wore chains securing him to the floor. “You know what I mean, Captain,” Sadie murmured, fighting the blush rising up her throat and certainly spreading across her face. His fingers loosened on her collar, yet his dark eyes remained focused on her face—her eyes to be exact. She adjusted Norese on her lap until her little legs were straddling her waist. Norese’s pudgy cheek rested on her breasts. “You’re afraid you won’t do it right, hurting this sweet child, and I’m telling you to try. Don’t overanalyze things.” A year ago, she’d have fainted had he handled her that way. Now, with her body melting under his touch, a dry pair of panties would be wonderful.
This moment was too perfect and Aroc’s long stare wasn’t helping.
You’re helping him and shared an intimate moment, one time. That doesn’t make him love you. He misses his mate, that’s all. You’re a stand in, face it
. You’ll always be on your own without someone to come home to, so enjoy this time while you have it. No man’s ever been able to handle your independence and Aroc will tire of it soon as well.
Relaxing her knees, she widened her legs out, allowing his broad shoulders enough space. Pressing his palms together, he rubbed briskly. That simple gesture to warm his hands tugged at her soul.
She touched his face, her fingers rasped by the stubble on his cheek. “Give it a try. I know first-hand you can be gentle and patient.”
What was happening between them today? He was normally more reserved and stoic.
Aroc’s hard chest rubbed her inner thigh when he spoke. “Teach me.” The words held heat. “Teach me how to be a better father, Sadie,” he implored, stroking Norese’s hand on Sadie’s chest.
Short of breath from the look in his eyes, Sadie reached down, took his hand, held it to Norese’s back, and showed him the correct pressure to use. “Feel her tension right around here where she seizes up? Gently apply pressure around each ring. She’ll let you know if it’s too much.” She guided his hands with hers. Together they made tiny circles on Norese’s back.
“See,” she said with a smile. “You’re already a good father. Look at your daughter, Aroc.”
Norese released a drawn out sigh under his touch, her dark eyes slowly shielded by her lowering lids and long burgundy lashes sweeping low.
Sadie let her mouth curve up on the ends as she watched Aroc’s pride fill his handsome face. The moment took Sadie back to her childhood.
“When I was a little girl my father and I laid on the lawn after dinner on our backs to count the stars.” She caressed Norese’s face in her hand. “When he spoke, I felt the rumble in my back laid stretched out over his chest. I loved it. Inevitably, I’d fall asleep and wake up in my bed where he carried me up, tucking me beneath the thin cool sheets.”
