He shrugged, his broad shoulders stiff. “You did what you believed necessary to protect your son.”
“Our son.”
Baird’s golden gaze flicked to hers. The rage she’d sensed blazed up in his eyes. “I do have one more question. Were you ever going to tell me?”
Her mouth went dry. “As soon as we were free, we were going to come to you. I wanted to be with you. That’s why I got pregnant. I saw a baby as the physical embodiment of our bond. Then he was born, and I realized how much more he was. He was so precious, so fragile, and he depended so completely on me.”
A fine muscle worked in Baird’s jaw. “And you didn’t trust me to protect him. That’s what really galls me—not that you didn’t tell me your plans, not even that you smuggled for that bitch. I always trusted you.”
“Baird…”
He stopped and spun to face her, big hands fisted at his side. She forced herself to meet his angry gaze. “Deep down, I trusted you even when my superiors, logic, and simple common sense told me you had to be knowingly involved in treason. Part of me knew Alina Kasi would never stoop to treason. Period. Hell, when you coldcocked me and I woke up in a torture collar, the minute your son showed up with another explanation, I leaped at it. But you wouldn’t trust me to do the one thing I was born to do—the one thing I took an oath to do: protect the innocent.”
It was then she saw the pain. Deep beneath the incandescent anger was a stark hurt that she hadn’t believed possible in him.
“And you did find a way to protect him,” Alina said softly. “Nobody but Baird Arvid would have thought to reprogram the same torture collar the Xer had used on him to save Galar. I kept trying to come up with ways to block Rajin’s signal to the comp. It never even occurred to me to block the comp’s signal to the reservoirs.”
He said nothing, simply staring down at her from his great height, his eyes burning.
She gathered her courage. “You’re right. I didn’t trust you, and I should have.” Reaching out, she took one of his hard, strong hands. “I’m trusting you now. I love you, Baird. I’ve loved you from the time I was fifteen years old. Forgive me. Bond with me. Give our son a father.”
He blinked as if she’d said the one thing he hadn’t expected. “Alina, I’ve never been a father. I’ve never even had a father. How do you know I won’t get it wrong?”
Alina smiled, despite the hot prickle behind her eyelids. “I trust you.”
His smile was so white and wide, it was blinding. Then she was in his arms, so strong and sure around her. “Thank you for our son, Alina,” he said, the instant before his mouth covered hers, hot and joyous. They clung together in the kiss as the pain drained away.
Ten
Alina leaned her shoulder against the bulkhead, watching her son and Ualtar play some alien board game the Tevan had produced to kill time on their trip back to Vardon.
His little face lighting with triumph, Galar moved his stone piece and clicked it against the reptile’s. “Hah! Got your behrooz!”
The big alien sat back with a grunt of disgust. “Kid, you’re a menace. You sure you’ve never played this game?”
“I learn fast. Gimme.”
Ualtar shook his horned head and reached into a pocket of his unisuit to pull out a credit chip. As he handed it over to her crowing offspring, he said, “You’ve raised a hustler, Alina.”
Baird stepped up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. “It’s like I keep telling you, partner—if they’ve got a battlecomp, don’t play strategy games with ’em.”
“That wasn’t just computer. He’s definitely your kid.”
Baird grinned. “Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.” To Galar he added, “Set the board up again, brat. I want my credits back.”
Baird cleared his throat. “If you two are going to be busy for a while, we’re going to go in the back and…check the prisoners.”
The boy looked up at his new friend, his expression mischievous. “They want to get gooey again, don’t they?”
Ualtar reached over and ruffled his hair. “Get used to it.”
With a laugh, Baird tugged Alina back out of the wardroom and into the hall. “Man knows me too well.”
She threaded an arm around his waist. “I can’t believe you had me convinced that scaly teddy bear was a killer data thief.”
Baird shrugged. “Ualtar’s a good actor. We’ve been running scams like that for years.” He slanted her a look. “Though that particular fight got a little rougher than I intended. I’m sorry about that, by the way.”
“Considering you thought I was selling the plans for the next Vardonese warship to the Xer, I wouldn’t have blamed you for shooting me on the spot.”
“Well, we did need you to lead us to your contact.” They started down the corridor of the little ship together. “And as I said, I couldn’t believe you knew what was happening.”
“I didn’t, but I certainly should have. I did know Rajin had been stealing from Kasi House.”
“It’s quite a jump from there to treason.”
“Maybe, but the Kasi board of executives will probably bring me up on charges anyway. I knew what I was doing when I transported those gems for Rajin.”
Baird laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Given the threat to Galar, I doubt they’ll charge you. Particularly when you’ve got excellent grounds for a lawsuit. According to the evidence we’ve collected, our source at Kasi House wasn’t the only one who knew Rajin was dirty. The others cooperated because she paid them off in advancements and incentives. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them even knew about what she’d done to Galar. Somebody definitely helped her poison his implants. When we find out who they are, they’ll be charged as an accessory to attempted murder.”
“I only wish I could get to them first.” Alina gave him a wicked grin. “Hey, there’s an idea. How about looking the other way while I slip off to the brig and beat the bitch out of Rajin?”
Baird grinned back. “No. First, I need her in a large enough piece to stand trial, and two, you’re about to be much too busy to worry about her.” A corridor door slid open, and he waltzed her into his quarters, a room scarcely big enough for both of them and his bed.
“Does this mean we’re about to get gooey?” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Oh, yeah.” He leaned down to take her mouth with his.
His lips were just as warm and clever as she remembered, and she sighed in pleasure. “You know, you’re very good with that mouth,” she told him when he let her come up for air.
“Want to find out what else I’m good at?” He slid his hands under the hem of her tunic.
Alina smiled as his long fingers caressed and explored their way up her ribs. “I’ve already got a…” He reached a nipple, and she caught her breath. “Ah!…Pretty good idea.”
Baird withdrew his hands and started to turn away. “Well, if you’re not interested…”
“Wait one minute! Where do you think you’re going?” She bent, caught him behind the thighs, and hefted him off his feet. He made an awkward armful even with her enhanced strength, so before she could lose her grip, she turned and tossed him lightly onto the bed.
Flat on his back, Baird smirked at her. “Now, is that any way to treat a Warlord?”
“Yep.” She pulled her tunic off over her head and popped open her breastband. Her breasts bounced free and bare.
“Okay, you’ve got me there.” He sat up to watch with lecherous interest as she bent and started wiggling her way out of her tight pants. “Why don’t you bring those pretty little nipples over here, and I’ll show you all my favorite tricks.”
She propped her fists on her hips. “Take off your pants, and I’ll show you mine.”
Laughing, Baird started stripping off his uniform. Alina took advantage of his distraction to pounce just as he got his boots off, knocking him back so she could straddle his broad, brawny chest. “Got you.”
�
��Possibly.” He caught her thighs in his big, warm hands, high up, right at the groin. His thumbs stroked her labia. She gasped at the sweet rise of pleasure. His golden eyes glinted up at her. “Then again, maybe I’ve got you.”
Alina settled back on his muscled belly, gazing down into his handsome, angular face. The joy that swelled in her heart was almost giddy. Finally, she was free to touch him, love him as she chose. “Or maybe we’ve got each other.” She sobered and touched his tattooed cheek. “I’m sorry.”
He lifted a dark brow. “Sorry you’ve got me?”
“Sorry I hurt you.”
He gave her a tight smile. “I got you back. I sicced the three-hundred-kilo Tevan on you.”
“Mmm.” Alina bent low over him and licked one of his nipples, her gaze on his. “And yet, I feel the need to atone.”
Baird drew in a breath as she gently nibbled. “Well, if you insist.”
She smiled, spreading her hands over the warm, muscled ridges of his chest. Licking, suckling, she stroked her way gently downward, exploring the tight line of his abdominals. They flexed as he gasped. Tenderly, she raked her nails through the thick ruff of hair on his chest. She inhaled, drinking in his scent.
One of his hands slipped between their bodies to cup her breast. He squeezed gently, then rolled her nipple between his fingers, sending sweet pleasure radiating through the peak.
But this was for him, so Alina drew away and moved lower down his body. His cock curved over his belly, thick and silken, more of that thick hair covering his balls. She cupped him with one hand, and the big shaft leaped in anticipation. “Hi, there,” she purred, bending over the silken head.
“Hi, yourself.” His voice sounded hoarse with need. A bead of pre-come gathered on the tip of his cock, silent testimony to his hunger.
She flicked it off with her tongue, enjoying his moan, then circled the thick rod with her fingers. Angling him upward, she took him into her mouth, slowly, taking her time. His skin felt slightly nubby against her tongue as she swirled it back and forth. Tightening her lips, she began to suck in deep, slow pulls.
“Goddess, Alina!” Baird gasped. One hand came up catch the back of her head, fingers tunneling through her hair.
Smiling around his width, she slid him deeper, slowly, a centimeter at a time, spinning out the pleasure as long as she could. At the same time, she cupped him, stroking his heavy balls through the velvet skin of his sac.
He twisted under her. There was something so delicious in his arousal that she felt her own cream gathering. Baird wasn’t a passive lover; she knew it wouldn’t be long before his control snapped.
He lasted longer than she expected under her slow, delightful torment. But when he finally broke, there was no doubt about it.
“Enough!” Baird sat up, grabbed her around the hips, and rolled her under him. She spread her thighs eagerly as he settled between them, wrapping them around his backside as he lifted himself just enough to aim his cock for her slick core.
He entered in a single hard, deep thrust that took him all the way to the balls. “Goddess!” When he threw his head back, the cords stood high and stark on his powerful throat.
“Oh, more!” Alina writhed in mingled pleasure and joy as he began to shaft her in long, hard strokes. Each deep entry raked her clit with sweet friction, while every withdrawal pulled her inner flesh.
Her climax began to gather like a hot offshore storm, building every time his hips slapped hers. In the instant before they blew into pleasure, Baird’s golden gaze met hers. “I love you.”
“Yes! Goddess, Baird, I love you!”
The fire poured over them, blinding and hot, slinging them into sweet, dizzying heights. When the pleasure faded, he collapsed panting beside her, then promptly pulled her into his arms.
She lay across his hard chest, listening to his heart pound a fierce rhythm her own echoed. Her mouth drew into a sleepy curl. “It took me twenty years, but I’m back where I belong.”
Baird’s strong arms tightened, drawing her even closer. “We both are.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Though previously unpublished, the next two shorts—“The Warlord and the Fem” and “Baby, You’ve Changed”—were actually my first stories set in the Warlord universe. I have a Yahoo! group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/angelaknight/, and I penned the two stories as a gift for the fans there. Even though I was really just fooling around, I liked the universe I’d created, so when Cindy Hwang at Berkley asked me to submit a novel, I immediately thought of doing a Warlord novel. And so Jane’s Warlord was born.
Be warned: “Baby, You’ve Changed” is really kinky compared to most of my Berkley fiction. I tend to go a little more hard-core for my Yahoo! group than for New York publication. You’ll also notice both stories have a similar core idea. And yes, I know the hero in “The Warlord and the Fem” has the same name as the hero in “Warfem.” Since I hadn’t planned to publish “The Warlord and the Fem,” I decided to reuse the name, which I really liked. There are also some background details that are a little different in the stories. Still, I hope you enjoy them!
Best,
Angela Knight
The Warlord and the Fem
I had no idea everything was about to change that day. We were all killing time in the ship’s big recreation hall, some of us sprawled on the thickly upholstered couches and chairs, either drinking or watching simmies on VR glasses, while others played cards or simmie games at the scattered tables. Most everybody was waiting their turn to go on leave.
Planets usually don’t like a big group of mercs hitting the bars at one time. Leads to public disorderly conduct and the occasional drunken homicide, so the captain liked to send us out in shifts to keep the trouble down.
Me, I’d already found trouble at the Dirtside Grill the day before, so I wasn’t all that eager to go out again anyway. I suspected the Warlord would be looking for me, so I was just as happy to play poker with Lyonet and keep my ass safely aboard Drunna’s Victory.
So when the Warlord walked in with Captain Drunna, I damn near swallowed my tongue. His narrow black eyes locked in on me, and my heart leaped into a hard, fast beat at the dark determination in his gaze.
Oh, Lady! He’d found me.
“This is Baird Airell,” the captain announced, and the entire company looked up from whatever they were doing to study the Warlord with calculation. “He wants to join the unit. Says he’s genetically engineered for combat.” Drunna sounded justifiably skeptical, since every merc says he’s genetically engineered for combat. In the Warlord’s case it happened to be true, but I sure wasn’t going to vouch for him.
“Looks to me like he’s genetically engineered for sex,” Lyonet whispered in my ear. “And a woman designed him.”
Though he was all the way across the rec hall, Baird’s gaze sharpened as he looked at us. He’d heard her low murmur, of course; a Warlord’s hearing could put a ringbat’s to shame. He smiled slightly, the barest curve of his hard, erotic mouth. I felt my face heat. Lyonet was right, damn it. He had been genetically engineered by a woman. And it showed.
He had the unearthly beauty of all the Warlords. Chiseled cheekbones and a broad, square jaw, a narrow nose that flared slightly across the nostrils, a wide mouth with full, sensuous lips framed by a short, dark goatee. On his right cheekbone glittered an iridescent blue tattoo—a sharp slash of color against his tanned skin. His hair fell around his shoulders in careless waves, one lock of it twisted into a thin braid that swung beside his cheek. He’d worked a red gemstone and silver beads into the braid, and they gleamed against the dark silk of his hair. In a fight, I knew, he’d club back that long mane and leave the gems at home.
Looking around at my fellow mercenaries, I saw the males looking skeptical, the women, sexually interested but doubtful. I knew what they were all thinking. On the one hand, he was just too damn pretty. On the other, that body was one you had to take seriously.
I was probably the only one who knew
just how seriously you’d damn well better take it. The others had never even heard of Vardon and its Warlords, and had no idea what Baird was capable of.
He had the big, powerfully muscled build of a Warlord gene-gineered for hand-to-hand; he probably could have put his fist through a deck plate without so much as a scrape across the tough skin of his knuckles. But he was also lean, with long legs and long arms, so he also had speed and reach. Not a Pershing, then. Commanche Class, maybe. I couldn’t be sure; I’d never seen anything but a Pershing, and that was long ago.
But the captain and the others didn’t realize what they were dealing with. I did. I also knew something they didn’t. Baird Airell didn’t give a rat’s ass about joining Drunna’s Rangers.
He was after me.
Captain Drunna lifted one dark hand for silence, and the murmur of speculation flooding the ship’s recreation hall cut off. Drunna was a big man, with a round, merry face and the coldest eyes I ever saw, and when he gave an order, you damn well obeyed. “Mr. Airell, here”—he nodded at the Warlord standing beside him—“has offered to give a demonstration of his skills with one of you….”
“Me, me, me!” Lyonet whispered, grinning, and I kicked her under the table. Baird would probably be more than happy to give her the demonstration she meant, though. Unbonded Warlords were notorious womanizers, and Lyonet, with her curvy little body and wicked green eyes, attracted the attention of every man she met. Men looked at me, too, but it tended to be the kind of look that mixes intrigue and caution. They liked the breasts and the legs and the ass, but I looked too much like the fighter I was. Besides, I was taller than damn near every human male in the rec hall. Except for Baird Airell. Next to him, I’d look delicate.
Why did I find that thought intriguing?
Captain Drunna looked the length of the hall and said, “Mr. Jogox, would you mind giving Mr. Airell a hand here?”
“Or a fist,” someone shouted. “Or maybe a kick…” Everyone laughed.
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