Salvaged Destiny

by Lynn Rae

  Del daubed at her eyes with the edge of the sheet and all of his speculative thoughts misted out of his brain. She was hurting.

  Trying not to cry yet again, Del struggled to forget the disturbing nightmare in which she had been repeatedly falling off wobbly chairs and narrow stairs and finally a cliff, the sensation of which had made her wake suddenly and now shake, weepy with fear. Lazlo’s big shape moved in the darkness and he sat next to her on the bed, tilting her into his solid, warm side as his arms loosely held her.

  It wasn’t an unwelcome sensation. It was hard to be frightened of dreamtime threats when such a muscular and kind male was in the vicinity. Since it was the middle of the night and dark and she was feeling weak, Del relaxed against him, even reaching out to hold on to his shoulder.

  “What was your dream?”

  “I kept falling off things, or maybe I was being pushed, and then at the end, it was a cliff and I can still feel the cool air rushing by me—”

  Lazlo made shushing noises and pulled the blanket around her, thankfully holding her close again once he was done arranging bedclothes. He smelled good and felt good, like a bulgy moving wall.

  Del felt a rush of warmth through her body and gave herself a mental shake. The last thing she needed was to develop an infatuation for Lazlo Casta. It was inappropriate and unrequitable in so many ways. She was simply tired and feeling appreciation for all of his help and support. By morning she would be back in control.

  Lazlo stroked her shoulders, thankfully avoiding her bruised back, and she began to melt into a hot and cold pudding, skin prickling and insides shivering. Desire flamed over her inhibitions and she slowly pressed herself closer to him, not wanting to scare him off with any sudden moves.

  Wrapping her arms around him more tightly, Del spread her fingers on his back and relished the muscles she could feel there, hard and flexing as he held and touched her. Letting her body have some reactions meant she didn’t have to pay attention to her worried thoughts. She wanted to crawl on his lap, but instead moved her head so she could bring her cheek closer to his. Hopefully Lazlo would attribute her rapid breathing as a byproduct of her bad dream.

  He felt so good she wanted to groan. His chin had a little stubble that tingled against her skin and she could hear him breathing slowly. She could probably touch his earlobe with her tongue if she tried.

  “Feeling better?” Lazlo rumbled, sounding entirely normal, as if he were asking her if she needed a spoon to stir her coffee.

  You have no idea. Del merely murmured an agreement—she didn’t trust her voice not to squeak if she tried to speak. Taking a deep breath and nodding, he stopped stroking her arms and looped his arms around her waist for a hug. Stars, he was a nice man. Del knew they would stop touching soon so she pressed against him, unable to hold back a small gasp of satisfaction.

  “It’s going to be all right,” Lazlo whispered and Del almost dropped her open mouth to his solid shoulder for a taste. Calm down, she warned herself, don’t be foolish. She made a sound low in her throat that she hoped sounded coherent and then with an enormous force of will, leaned away from him. Lazlo released her and searched for her hand. He touched her hair and leaned his forehead to hers and she shivered.

  “I’m going to have to work so hard to make it right again,” Del whispered, overwhelmed again by all the tasks ahead of her, her libido descending back to her subconscious where it belonged.

  “I’m so sorry all of this has happened to you and to your family. If I hadn’t gotten you involved, you and they would be just fine right now,” Lazlo said quietly in her ear, his hand squeezing hers.

  “And you would be lost in the Outlands with Avo Kirk or worse. If you’d hired him instead of me, he would have turned you and the weapons right over to Harata,” Del countered, shaky at the thought of him being stranded in some lonesome canyon at that sneaky idiot’s mercy. What if she’d never met him at all?

  “So you saved my life. Harata would have murdered me out there as soon as he knew the cache was found.”

  “No.” Del was shocked at the idea, but was even more distressed to realize he was right. Lazlo would have been expendable to those treacherous men. He would have had to fight them off alone out there in that canyon and the thought of him being hurt and dying on the sand, his body being hidden, was too much and she started to cry again, not caring she was making Lazlo’s shirt wet with her tears. Shushing her again, he pulled her to him, stroking her hair.

  “That didn’t happen though. I had Del Browen with me, the best hammer fighter I’ve ever seen.”

  She chuckled through her tears.

  “It was a lucky shot. I was aiming for his head.”

  “We’ve had some good luck and some bad, haven’t we?” Lazlo mused, sounding as if he regretted everything.

  Del nodded, unseen in the dark. “Will tomorrow be better?”

  “I hope so. Let’s plan on having a good breakfast, so we’re ready for what might come up.”

  “That seems as if it might be something we can accomplish. At this point, basic functions like eating and sleeping are about all I think I can manage.”

  “Better get back to sleep then,” Lazlo suggested and shifted the blanket and sheet for her as she leaned back and burrowed into his very comfortable bed. Stroking her hair again, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, then rose and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

  Del tried to relax but her body was tense with stress and frustration, and her brain was unwilling to take on yet another problem. And how she was feeling about Casta was certainly a problem. Not as monumental as trying to get her family’s business back and operating, or repairing all the damage to her own, but being attracted to him wasn’t good. But he’d held her and comforted her and kissed her. How could she not think about it?

  Lazlo left the bedroom as soon as he was decently able, more than adequately woken up by Del to embarrass himself if he’d lingered. He paced in the living room and tried to stop thinking about how overwhelmingly nice she’d felt as he’d held her, how attractive her sleepy voice had been and how her body had been so round and welcoming underneath the soft clothing she’d borrowed.

  The uncivilized part of him wanted to walk back in, pull back the bedding and start tasting her, feel her move under his hands. The tiny kiss he’d dropped on her cheek wasn’t even close to enough but she’d be shocked and outraged by any such interaction. As she should be. As he should be.

  But he wasn’t. Blast, his brain wasn’t working correctly. Of course it wasn’t. He was exhausted, awake in the middle of the night, and just a few feet away there was a woman he wanted to undress and touch, but couldn’t. Because he was a nice man. Wasn’t he? Letting out a frustrated sigh, Lazlo sat on the sofa, slowly lay down, careful of his bumps and bruises. Sleep, he commanded himself. You need sleep, not lustful distraction.

  Chapter Twelve

  Taking a deep breath before pressing the entry alert at Major Sekar’s very imposing door in the exclusive Swaminithan corridor, Lazlo tried to calm himself. He was anxious about the dinner to come and hoped Dugal’s advice as to what to bring was going to be correct. He had a box of dark and light chocolates under his arm, hopefully not melting from his body heat, and a bouquet of vivid pink lilies in his hand. The flowers’ scent had grown stronger and more exotic the longer he’d carried them, and he was almost dizzy from it. Lazlo hoped the major liked lilies.

  Pressing the chime and trying to maintain a calm expression, he waited only a moment before the door was opened by a flushed and smiling Bara Kidd. She was dressed in soft gray trousers and sweater, her dark-blonde hair tied up on top of her head in a silky knot.

  “Welcome, Lieutenant Casta. Come in, please.” She beckoned for him to enter and he couldn’t decide if he should apologize right away for allowing her to be stunned by her kidnapper or wait for a more appropriate moment. But when was it appropriate to make apologies for such a thing? It certainly hadn’t been covered in
any protocol class he’d ever taken.

  “Thank you. Citizen Kidd, please let me apologize again for what happened on the docks. I am so sorry you were injured.”

  Bara Kidd shook her head, greenish eyes alight with good humor. “No need, you didn’t do anything wrong. But if that’s a making-amends box of chocolates, I will certainly take them. And I won’t let Theo have any because he didn’t get stunned at all. But I understand you did recently, so I suppose I should share.” She led him through a large foyer containing an enormous light fixture and a small aquarium filled with tiny darting yellow fish. They emerged into a spacious living area filled with well-worn antique rugs, books and leather furniture. It also contained Major Sekar, a large dimensional display of some section of the Outlands and a smiling Del Browen.

  Having two good-humored females in his apartment must have agreed with the major—he looked positively cheerful. But Lazlo was too floored by the sight of Del to spend much time contemplating a smiling major.

  “Ah, Lazlo has arrived. Now we can eat,” the major announced, rising and shaking Lazlo’s hand as he awkwardly handed the bunch of lilies to his commander. “Citizen Browen was just showing me some likely hiking trails. She certainly knows her way around the Outlands. Flowers for me and a lovely color too.”

  “He brought me chocolates,” Citizen Kidd piped up and looked devilishly at the major, who returned her taunt.

  “Are you that easily impressed?” Sekar questioned her. “I could have saved us a lot of time and simply sent you chocolates.”

  “But the pursuit was so enjoyable.”

  “I agree.” Lazlo was shocked when the taciturn Sekar leaned over and gave Citizen Kidd a solid kiss, which she returned enthusiastically. Glancing away, he caught Del’s eye and she raised her eyebrows. He tried to signal his confusion to her but she just looked perplexed.

  “I’m not sharing the chocolates.” Bara Kidd smiled up at the major as he tightened his grip on her waist.

  “Then I will have to try harder.”

  “Yes you will.”

  Lazlo moved away from the engrossed couple and headed over to Del, but before he could say anything to her, the hosts remembered their guests and announced dinner was ready. Sekar carried the flowers off to presumably find a vase and Ms. Kidd directed them to the dining room, which was spacious and dominated by a wall of terrace windows that looked out over a spectacular sunset.

  Admiring the view before he sat, Lazlo went to the seat Bara Kidd indicated, which placed him across from Del. She looked a bit uncomfortable as she glanced around the large room and shifted her chair closer to the table. He wanted to speak with her, suddenly and completely, with no one listening. He felt as if he had several hours of conversation he needed to have with her.

  The major returned and placed the lilies on the table, now housed in an extravagant crystal optic vase. He had also brought in a platter of warm appetizers, which they passed as they made small talk. Del responded to the other couple’s questions but kept glancing at him.

  Lazlo felt as if he couldn’t be himself with her there, as if there was something unsaid between them that created a barrier to him participating. Or perhaps he was intimidated by being a guest in his commander’s obviously happy home.

  Bara Kidd rarely took her eyes from the major and he always watched her in return. Their obvious rapport was both inspiring and envy-inducing. To have someone in his life he could trust and feel such comfort with had been something he had wanted for some time but circumstances had never allowed it. And his last relationship had damaged him enough he doubted he ever would.

  *

  Rising with a sigh, Major Sekar began to clear the table, announcing dessert would be served in the living room. Lazlo complimented his hosts on the fine dinner—cheese puffs, braised greens and a wonderfully luxurious roasted chicken. He hadn’t eaten that well since the last time he’d visited home.

  They had spoken about the events of the weapons recovery, with both the major and Citizen Kidd heaping praise upon Del. There had also been some lively discussion of Harata’s upcoming trial, with Bara Kidd recalling how difficult it had been to testify against her former friend. Lazlo knew he was going to have a great time testifying against Avo Kirk and Sheriff Harata and anyone else he could think of.

  Citizen Kidd followed the major out of the room, balancing some plates in her hands and shaking her head at his offer of assistance. This left Lazlo sitting at the table alone with Del for the first time that evening. She looked at him and he didn’t know what to say. He’d sent her a few messages, which she had courteously replied to within twenty-three hours each time. She hadn’t initiated any messages or calls. Lazlo had spotted her once at a distance as she drove a cart laden with recyclables along the Boulevard, her brown hair gleaming in a beam of light, but she’d been moving away from him and he hadn’t been able to catch her attention.

  He missed her.

  “It’s been awhile.” Del brushed her hands along the smooth surface of the table.

  “Yes. A month. How are you?”

  “Well enough.”

  “How is your family? Your mother?”

  “All improving at various rates. She’s still not well, but recovering, so I’m grateful.” She leaned forward a little and Lazlo couldn’t help but mirror her movements.

  “That’s good.”

  “It is.”

  “How are the repairs going?”

  Del grimaced then. “Well enough,” was her terse reply.

  This was becoming painful. What had happened to the easy camaraderie they’d developed in the Outlands? Maybe she was feeling repressed by their environment. He was. The major’s home was imposing—large, luxurious and clearly a slice from a more sophisticated background than anything normally found on Sayre.

  “Let’s have dinner. I still owe you one.” Maybe afterward they could go on a hike and Del could tell him what to do for a few hours. That would put her in a good mood.

  Del blinked and shared a hint of a smile with him. Her shoulders relaxed and she leaned his way. There she was, Lazlo thought with relief—the Del who could find a joke in the bottom of a dusty canyon. If he could just find a few mineral samples for her to fondle she’d be back to normal.

  “We just ate.”

  “Another time.”

  “You do owe me.”

  “Anywhere you would like,” Lazlo offered with a hint of anxiety. He really wanted her to say yes, to agree to see him. Before she could answer, Citizen Kidd entered and encouraged them to return to the living room. He reluctantly rose and followed her out of the elegant dining room, reentering the living area to find coffee and a gleaming fruit tart arranged on a low table in front of the sofa.

  Del took a seat on the sofa where the major gestured and Lazlo followed instructions and sat next to her, trying not to roll in to her as the sofa sighed and engulfed him. Bara Kidd buzzed back and forth from the kitchen, bringing plates, cups, silverware and napkins, all while Major Sekar admonished her that one large tray would have solved the problem very efficiently.

  “Yes, Theo, I am aware that a large tray would have been useful for this,” she replied tartly, taking a seat on a chair and busying herself with slicing the dessert. “But you don’t have one and neither do I.”

  “Are you certain? I thought I remembered one from your old apartment, leaning on the wall…” The major trailed off, thinking as he poured coffee and handed cream porcelain cups around. Lazlo took his with thanks and tried not to look at Del as she listened to the discussion.

  “That wasn’t a serving tray. It was part of my oven door that had fallen off.”

  “Oh.” Corrected, the major looked decisive. “Let’s get one then, or two, or whatever you like. What do you think, Citizen Browen? You’re a native Sayrian. Where is the best place to shop for a serving tray?”

  “I have no idea. It would probably be best to order one from off-planet,” Del gamely replied and Lazlo empathized with her discomfort
. Most of what little she owned had been damaged or destroyed, so the purchase of new elegant serveware was hardly something she would consider.

  He tried not to lean in to her on the sofa but it was difficult—the cushions seemed to conspire to collapse and incline him in her direction simultaneously. Remembering how good it had felt to touch and hold her was also making it difficult to avoid some contact. His body just wanted to be near her.

  “Of course,” Major Sekar smoothed over her confusion with good manners.

  “I’d rather not buy anything right now,” Citizen Kidd piped up as she handed around the desserts, serving the major a double-sized portion. “We might get one as a wedding gift.”

  Lazlo was shocked. He had no idea they were even engaged. “Oh Lieutenant Casta, were you wanting a larger serving?” Citizen Kidd must have misinterpreted his look of confusion for disgruntlement with his portion size. “I automatically serve Theo extra sweets. He needs to gain some weight. But I’m sure you would appreciate more as well. You look as if you burn up a few calories with your physique.”

  She boldly sliced another piece of tart and slid it on to his plate. He thanked her and retreated to silence to consider the staggering news that Major Sekar and Bara Kidd were engaged to be married. Major Sekar, the coldest, toughest man on the planet, was getting married to this sweet, humorous woman. Remarkable.

  “Congratulations. Have you scheduled a date?” Del asked, shaking her head at Citizen Kidd’s offer of another slice of dessert. The major nodded quickly.

  “We’re still negotiating. I’d be happy to commandeer Judge Titus into officiating first thing in the morning, but he is busy with the cases against our arrested deputies. Judicial imperatives take priority.”

  “That prosecution is wonderful for every citizen on Sayre, but wedding folderol is going to take a break until you have that all squared away,” Bara Kidd said as she ate a bite of tart and smiled. “And you will soon enough. Are those military police working out?”