Alien Revealed

by Lilly Cain

  With a groan, he shut the water off. He didn’t need to be thinking about fucking the psychtech, if that was even what she was. He’d already overstepped his bounds, privately investigating material from the crash site. That was definitely someone else’s job. If his curiosity raised enough red flags, there’d be no way he’d be assigned to lead the team on a permanent basis. He had to get things back on track.

  David stepped out of the shower and checked the vid. Eight hundred hours. Too early to meet with the psychtech and get her moved out of the medlab. She’d probably be going through her release forms right now. He stopped, staring at himself in the mirror. Perhaps now would be a good time to go and meet her, listen to the answers she gave to the medtechs as they went through her medical record and she retrieved her belongings. Then there was the matter of that strange little sack…

  David slapped his hand down on the counter. He had to get it together, get back to his mission. He had to get the woman checked into her lab and set up so she could run her tests, pass him and his team on these final fucking evals. Get through it. Pass the test, get assigned, lead! He ran a hand through his spiky hair. A flick of a switch, and his laser exfoliator took care of the shadow on his jaw line. Moving with brusque efficiency, he strode to his room and pulled on a fresh uniform. The sight of his stripped bed had his cock hardening again. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Moments later, he was striding down the hall toward the medlab.

  “Branscombe to Brown, requesting secure channel.” The hail came across David’s compad. David tapped the pad and flipped over to the sub-vocal communicator imbedded in his ear and vocal cords. No one passing by would hear him.

  “Brown here.”

  “My little lab rat pal here has traced those red flags. I don’t think we have much to worry about there. The flags are coming from the You-fo Squad.”

  The so-called You-fo Squad was a small branch of Starforce Intelligence Department that regularly investigated possible alien incursions on Earth—given their nickname because they were looking for little green men and their UFOs. At least, that was one version of the meaning. Personally, David thought the name could stand for the fact that to land in that division meant “you fucked-up.” No one took them seriously, as there hadn’t been a proven instance of any alien activity in the centuries humans had been venturing into space. Even his team, a force meant to defend the space settlers, wasn’t expecting to defend them against aliens. The only real danger in space was another group of humans. David felt some of the tension in his shoulders ease.

  “Gotcha.” But something wasn’t right. “So why the secure channel?”

  “I took the liberty of reviewing our survivor’s records,” Branscombe hedged.

  David shook his head, ignoring a curious stare from a group of enlisted personnel as he strode down the hallway toward the medlab. Branscombe took chances and bucked the system. That was the real reason she was still a captain and hadn’t moved up in the ranks, despite her length of service.

  “I don’t want to know, Captain.”

  “Oh, yes you do, Major.”

  David hit the corridor leading to the medical facilities. He hesitated, seeing Dr. MacPherson—Alinna—standing with two of the medtechs at the admin desk. They appeared deep in conversation.

  “What do you have?” he growled into the com.

  “Well, unless she’s been taking some serious growth hormone, the woman we found isn’t Janet MacPherson.”

  Chapter Four

  Alinna felt a wave of emotion slap against her before she saw him. David pulsed with anger. The power of his fury forced her to take a step back as he approached, yet he barely glanced at her as he greeted the medtechs with a smile.

  “Is our patient ready to go, then?” he asked the tech behind the counter. His voice was calm, belying the feelings she sensed from him.

  Alinna reached out with her empathic senses. The anger was there, hot to her psychic touch, and definitely directed toward her. She suppressed a shudder. Had he realized his dream last night had been more than a dream? He’d shown more awareness than she’d thought possible in one untrained in psychic powers. Had he guessed she’d imposed herself into his fantasy? Not that she’d actually meant to invade the dream. She’d been pulled in by him. But she could have stopped it. Although his powers were strong enough to envelope hers, his strength couldn’t match her training.

  Perhaps David felt she’d invaded his privacy. She grimaced. Such an invasion, if it had been on purpose, was Inarrii taboo. But David was human and would have no such aversion. Thoughts raced through Alinna’s mind. Even in his dream, David has sensed something was off. Perhaps he’d realized she wasn’t human. A ripple ran across her L’inar nerve lines, and she fought to control the panicked reaction.

  David turned his gaze to her, his eyes cold. She swallowed hard.

  “Let’s go, Dr. MacPherson. Your lab is waiting.”

  David’s voice lacked any of the warmth of last night. Alinna missed the soft way he’d called her “sweetness.” He’d held her and kissed her like she meant something to him, and his psyche had reveled when she’d given in to his control. But today, he was ice, not the languid heat of sex or caring. Alinna swallowed her shock at his anger and watched him carefully. Surely if he suspected she was anything other than human, she’d be under arrest right now.

  “After you.” David gestured down the hallway and gave her a wide smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes. The medtechs laughed, their psyches emoting mild amusement at his apparent flirtation. Alinna was anything but amused as she moved ahead of David. She could feel his cool gaze on the back of her neck and thanked the gods she had left her hair long enough to cover her L’inar. She couldn’t completely hide them, but between her free-hanging locks and the high collar of the Starforce suit, her nerve lines were safe from casual inspection. Alinna fought the urge to hunch down within her collar. David’s presence behind her felt far from casual. She needed to distract him and disarm his anger as quickly as possible. She hesitated as the corridor split in two directions. David brushed past her to take the lead.

  “I’m sure you will want to rest. I’ll take you to your quarters first.” The brusque tone in his voice finally revealed his inner turmoil.

  “But I thought you said my lab was waiting for me. I really don’t want to rest anymore. I’ve had enough of that at the medlab.”

  “I’m sure your lab can wait. If you don’t want to rest, you must have other things you need to…accomplish.” He glanced at her, his deep blue eyes holding her gaze as though he was waiting for her to reveal something to him.

  “No…” She stumbled over the word. Lying to him made her stomach twist. “No. I’m sure you want to get started on the psych tests for you and your pilots. I understand deployment of your team is being delayed until I issue a final release.”

  David stopped, turning back to clutch her elbow. “So you’re going ahead with the tests?”

  “Of…of course I am.”

  His eyes searched hers. She wondered, as she marveled at the dark blue eye-color that would never occur naturally in her people, what he could be looking for. She reached out, using her senses to touch his psyche. Anger, confusion, distrust, lust. His feelings surrounded her, boiling like gas bubbles in a hydroponics web. She probed deeper, looking for the source of his feelings. Her empathic touch recoiled as it ran into a rough wall within him. The implications burned through her thoughts. He had a block, something she hadn’t felt within him last night. How did he learn to do that?

  David let go of her elbow as though it burned his fingertips. Whatever he looked for within her eyes appeared to remain elusive. His brows drew together, and his lips tightened. Even as a scowl marred his face, Alinna reveled in the beautifully masculine curve of his jaw. Pleasure ran from the L’inar lacing the inner edge of her elbow where he’d gripped her. Even an aggressive touch from him reminded her of the release she’d felt last night, and of how she’d like to feel it again. />
  David turned away, striding once again down a long barren corridor of the Starforce building. Alinna stared at his back for a moment and then followed. Whatever was wrong, whatever he suspected, she couldn’t reach it by looking within his emotions. She stiffened her back and marched after him. For now, she’d follow his lead, and she’d do her duty. By running those tests, she’d find out far more about the human species than she ever would by only watching them from the safe distance of the spy shuttle.

  A few moments and several turns later, Alinna found herself following David outside of the building. David strode on, so she continued to follow him. She shaded her eyes from the bright sun. Although the yellow star reminded her of home, the blue skies on Earth were nothing like her own planet’s red heavens. David turned away from the buildings and led her to an open field. Behind him, she could see the open gates to the hangar storing the newly built Star ships destined for his squadron. The Inarrii were well aware of the humans’ new ships and their technical aspects. That wasn’t what she’d been sent to study, but their unusual shape caught her attention.

  When David stopped suddenly, she nearly stumbled into him. Catching her balance, she looked up into his dark blue eyes.

  “Why are you here?” he demanded.

  “What…what do you mean?”

  “Cut the crap. I know you’re not Dr. Janet McPherson. I don’t know who the hell you are. But no one can hear you out here, and I want some answers. Because I sure as hell am not going to sit there while you do some crazy pretend psych test and risk putting my team out of the running for the next security mission.” David gripped her upper arms and pulled her closer to him. She could feel the outline of his fingers as they pressed into her skin through the material of her borrowed Starforce uniform. The touch, while not gentle, quickened her desire as he pressed against her L’inar nerves.

  Alinna fought to keep her longing in check. Her lips parted, and her tongue darted out to moisten their suddenly dry surface. Part of her wanted to tell him the truth. Lying felt wrong, foreign. But she had a duty to perform. Before she could lie again, he interrupted her.

  “I don’t want to hear another story. Maybe you can’t tell me the truth, but we both know you aren’t who you’re pretending to be.” David let go of her and paced a few steps away. He turned his back to her. “You’ve altered the records, but not far enough back. If anyone else had been looking, they wouldn’t have noticed the inconsistencies. But my captain is former Starforce Security. Clearly, you have the clearance to change those records and they’re top-class Starforce docs. There’s no way to make those changes unless you have authorization from security level nine.”

  He turned back to look at her, his hot gaze running the length of her body. “You look nothing like her, by the way.”

  Shock kept Alinna silent. His suspicions were so close to the truth. All he needed was to take one further step, to imagine her not within his own organization but a spy from without, and her cover would be completely blown. If she were taken into custody and investigated, it would only be a matter of time before they discovered she wasn’t human. Anxiety forced her heartbeat into a rapid patter. She wasn’t trained for the possibility of capture, but she’d known it was a risk when she took this path.

  * * *

  She just stood there, looking like the sex kitten from his wet dream last night. A minute crawled by. She didn’t deny his accusations, but she didn’t say he was right either. For an instant, he wondered if he’d made a mistake. If she really was a Starforce spy, he’d blown her cover. A breeze flitted between them, its light kiss lifting her hair away from the back of her neck. He caught a glimpse of the edge of her neck tattoo and swallowed hard. If she was what he suspected, Starforce Intelligence, then she was here for a reason. Blowing her cover could be as dangerous to his career as following his instinct to press his lips to her neck and follow that tattoo wherever it led.

  “What else do you know?” Alinna finally spoke. Her soft voice shook, and he noticed the way her eyes darted past the ship hangars and across the empty field, as though looking for escape.

  At that moment, David knew he could never let her go. He wanted her nearby for a number of reasons, not the least of which was how frightened she looked. He needed those psych tests done, needed her approval for his team to accept the mission. And now, he needed to find out the truth. He couldn’t let it go. She was scared and obviously out of her depth. She might be a Starforce spy, but something was wrong. Her vulnerability hit him like a punch to the gut.

  The woman he’d fucked in his dreams last night feared for her life today. No other worry could put that look in a person’s eyes—desperation.

  “I know the You-fos are pretty interested in something we found at the crash site.” David watched her closely. Her eyes flicked to the left, as they had when he’d questioned her in the medlab. She knew exactly what he was talking about. He watched the pulse at the base of her throat jump, and blinked as the tattoo on the edge of her hairline seemed to move. He swallowed hard. Focus.

  “What? What is it, Alinna? That is your real name, isn’t it?”

  She took a deep breath. “I think we’d better go to the lab. Start the psych tests.” She caught his gaze, held it. “I don’t know what You-fos are, and I don’t care. I’m here to do a job, and it’s a job you need done, as well. So let me do my duty.”

  David ground his teeth together, but something told him he wouldn’t be getting any more from her right now.

  “Let’s go, then.” He let her step past him, then caught her gently by the elbow, swinging her around to face him. “But, we’re not done with this.”

  “We are, Major, if you want to see your pilots in space.”

  She had him there. He needed her to conduct those tests, whether she was qualified to do so or not. As long as he didn’t reveal her true identity, or lack thereof, she could still give his team the green light to go. They deserved the chance to prove themselves in space and were the best option for the job.

  He let go of her, although the urge to pull her closer and end the argument the way he really wanted to was strong. She had the control now, but he’d dearly like to take it back, take her in his arms and kiss her into submission. She’d ignored his offer for help last night, just like she was pushing him away now. She needed him but wouldn’t admit it, yet.

  David led the way back into the building. Inside the base, there was no privacy. It was the Starforce way. Almost every conversation would be recorded somewhere. Alinna followed him slowly. He looked back at her as he reached the doorway. She limped slightly, each step appearing to inflict a flash of pain.

  “Is the wound on your leg still bothering you?”

  “Let’s just get to the lab, Major.”

  “The medtechs said you were good to go.” He heard the accusation in his voice. Damn. He wanted to help her, but she was determined not to let him anywhere near, shaking her head at his concern.

  “Fine.” He reached toward the side of the door to pass his secur-ident over the monitor, but she slammed into the door before he had a chance. He reached out to steady her, his shock mirroring hers.

  “You aren’t okay.”

  “It didn’t open.”

  “No…” He stared at her. “This is a secure exit. You need a pass.” He showed her the chip in his wrist unit. He considered the quick way her eyes darted to his wrist and back to the door. The technology couldn’t be new to her; perhaps it was old? “Did you have something different?” He fished for information.

  “Open the door, David.” She glared at him, clearly aware he was looking for more.

  A flash of interest raced down David’s body. The way she said his name, tinted with desperation, was with the exact inflection she’d used in his dream last night. Slowly he passed his wrist unit over the scanner. The door slid open, and she pushed inside, her limp disguised but still apparent to his watchful eyes.

  He took his time as they walked to the lab. He didn’t
want to rush for a couple of reasons. One, she really shouldn’t be walking if her leg hurt that much. Two, the sooner they were at the lab, the sooner she would start the psych tests. All the members of his team had to pass, or they wouldn’t get the sanction to begin the security mission to escort the new settlers. So he wouldn’t be alone with Alinna, wouldn’t find out more about what she was really doing. Wouldn’t get to stare at her hot body without someone in the team taking notice.

  “Captain Branscombe to Major Brown.” David’s compad recorded the irritated sound of his second–in–command’s voice with perfection. “Requesting a secure line.”

  David switched to the silent sub-vocal channel. “Brown here.”

  “Well? Did you tell her we know she’s an imposter? What did she say?”

  “She doesn’t admit to anything, but there’s something going on. She’s in trouble.”

  “Great. Don’t tell me she looked at you with those big green eyes and immediately you knew she needed you.”

  “I think you know you should stop right there.” Anger swelled in David’s chest, the taste of it bitter on his tongue. “Report with officers Lee and Yancy to psychometrics lab three at ten hundred hours.”

  “Yes, sir. One final note, sir.” Cynicism was one of Branscombe’s more annoying talents. “The You-fos are expected to arrive in two days’ time to investigate the findings on the crash site.”

  “Let them. All we did was find the stuff. We’re going to live and let live, Captain. By then, the tests should be finished, and we’ll be waiting on our assignment.”