The Mammoth Book of Futuristic Romance (Mammoth Books)

by Trisha Telep

  The hangar bay had a giant force field at one end, keeping the air in. Nice. On human battleships, the hangar bays were kept at zero atmosphere. Pilots loaded into the canopies above and were dropped down and secured to the fuselages via a small chamber that was sealed and then evacuated of its precious air before opening to the hangar deck below.

  The pilots who had caught her pod climbed out of their cockpits and moved closer to investigate. One made a sign for her to pop her lid and she shook her head, refusing. They went on like this for a few minutes, arguing via sign language through the window, until suddenly everyone on the flight deck jumped to attention.

  At the far end of the long deck, Lisbet could see a giant of a man – even among the very large Jit’suku warriors – coming toward her at a fast pace. He looked absolutely furious. And handsome.

  Damn. Why did she have to notice how handsome he was? She should be completely immune to men after what she’d been through. But this guy – this angry guy – flipped her switches in all the right ways.

  He grabbed a piece of equipment as he went, nearly tearing it out of a tech’s hands. It had to be magnetic because it clamped onto her canopy the moment he touched it to her hull. He held something on a wire up to his mouth, and suddenly his voice boomed through her internal speakers.

  “Stop playing games and come out of there now, or I’ll have you cut out.”

  Lisbet sighed. She’d have to open the hatch sooner or later. She admitted, if only to herself, that she was scared. These Jit’suku were all massive, and everyone she had seen so far was male. She had no idea what they had in mind for her, but she wasn’t looking forward to finding out. Still, she couldn’t hide in here forever. The time had come to take her punishment. Whatever that might entail.

  Releasing the hatch, the canopy popped with a hiss of equalizing air. Whirring gears indicated the hatch was rolling up and back the way it had been designed to do. As it cleared, she got her first really good look at the glowering man with the captain’s insignia on his uniform.

  Oh, boy. The captain himself had come down to get her. No wonder the crew had all jumped at his entrance. Lisbet wondered what she’d done to rate the captain’s attention.

  Pushing herself out of the seat, she stood within the canopy. She should have been taller than anyone on the deck from where she was, but she hadn’t counted on these giant Jit’suku.

  The captain’s eyes met hers and time stood still for a breathless moment.

  His eyes were dark. The dark of space with a hint of golden brown that made them somehow warm. His molten gaze would have been inviting in another setting. As it was, she could see the flare of gold in his eyes as his expression tightened.

  He held out one impatient hand and she took it before she could think better of it. He assisted her in the big step over the canopy lip and down onto the deck of the cruiser. She was truly in enemy territory now. Goddess help her.

  Two

  Val couldn’t believe what he was seeing as a small human female stepped out of the damaged cockpit. He’d almost killed her, and the guilt and anger ate at him. What were these humans that they sent their women into battle?

  Barbarians. That’s what they were.

  Women were to be protected and revered. Not shot at and nearly killed in battle.

  Val shuddered to think of the stain he’d almost incurred on his soul. Killing a woman in battle was considered one of the most terrible sins among Jit’suku warriors.

  His men were as horrified as he was. This strange female had almost cost them all their honor.

  “Have you nothing to say for yourself, woman?” Val demanded. He was so incensed that he wasn’t thinking clearly. And he had yet to let go of the female’s soft fingers.

  As soon as he realized that, he dropped her fragile hand as if it burned him.

  Her head cocked at an angle that he sensed meant trouble, though he’d seldom run afoul of a difficult female. Those few left in his family were all quite well behaved, and if they ruled the home with an iron fist, they also filled it with nurturing love. He’d been lucky with the matriarchs in his clan.

  “As I told you before, I’m Lieutenant Lisbet Duncan of Earth. Beyond that, I have nothing to say.”

  Val felt his temper rise and knew he must not lose his cool any further in front of his men. He had things to say to this female that were best said in private. If he was going to blow a gasket, better that the whole flight deck didn’t witness it.

  Val grabbed the female’s hand again and tugged her along with him – trying not to use too much force – as he exited the hangar. Mercifully, she followed without too much trouble. She probably had a hard time keeping up with his fast pace and longer steps, but he was in no mood to slow down, and she skipped along at his side reasonably well.

  He didn’t stop until they’d left the hangar far behind, passing a number of startled crew members on his way toward officer country. That was the colloquial name given to the area that housed the private quarters of the captain and his staff. There were also guest chambers that would serve his purpose, and it was toward one of those comparatively luxurious compartments that he made his way with the human female in tow.

  “Could you slow down a bit? Or take shorter steps?” she finally complained as he dragged her along.

  Val stopped in the wide, empty hall, dropped her hand and turned to assess her. He quickly realized she was breathing much too heavily, laboring to keep up. He’d dragged her at doubletime the length of the ship. No wonder she was huffing and puffing. Lady of Chaos!

  He’d caused her discomfort. First he had blown her ship out from under her, almost killing her in the process, then he had made her jog to keep up with him, causing her to nearly hyperventilate.

  Val let her go and bowed his head, holding her gaze. “My apologies.”

  Some of his fury had cooled on the trek across the ship. Rather than anger, he was filled with dismay every time he looked into her pretty green eyes.

  She was small and soft, though she acted tough. She had piloted her vessel well, from what he had observed as she had approached their hidden position, and she was an officer in the human armada that fought surprisingly well against Jit’suku expansion.

  “You’re the captain of this vessel, aren’t you?” Her voice rolled pleasantly over his senses as she asked the question, rubbing her wrist where he’d manhandled her a bit.

  Shame filled him when he saw the red marks his fingers had left on her pale skin. He’d tried to be careful of her fragility, but his anger had gotten the better of him.

  “I am,” he replied, then reached for her hand to examine the red marks on her wrist more closely. “Again, I apologize. It is not our way to harm females.”

  She looked at him oddly for a moment, and then pulled her hand back. He let her go with surprising reluctance. She had very soft skin now that he’d slowed enough to take notice. Smaller than most Jit’suku females, she was oddly fascinating. Her coloring was pleasing in the extreme and even her scent – female mixed with the oils and lubricants he associated with fighter craft – was wickedly attractive to him. He’d been a pilot when he was younger and even though he’d never smelled those scents coming from a female before, he found the mix strangely arousing.

  “It’s okay. My skin marks easily. It’s nothing.” She looked around the empty hall. “Where are you taking me?”

  “To private quarters where you will remain as my guest until I can figure out what to do with you.” He hadn’t meant to reveal quite so much, but he could tell she was skeptical and probably scared behind her bravado.

  “I expected torture and interrogation.”

  He grimaced, his anger returning slightly. “I do not harm females.”

  “You blew up my ship!” she countered, squaring off with him.

  He was just in the mood to argue with her. Arguing wasn’t prohibited, though it seldom occurred with Jit’suku females.

  “I thought you were male! What kind of barba
rians are your people that they send women into battle? Jit’suku women do not make war. They make—”

  “If you say babies, I’m going to slug you!” she cut him off, her voice rising in intensity.

  “They do that too, of course,” he replied, confused by her apparent anger. “Our women are the lawmakers. The leaders of our clans. The power behind our businesses. They do not put themselves in harm’s way by fighting on the front lines.”

  That seemed to set her back on her heels, and she looked truly confused. Adorable and confused. He really didn’t understand why he found himself so attracted to this tiny female.

  “Your women really have active roles in your society?” She blinked up at him as if unsure of the truth of his words.

  “Of course.” What did she think of Jit’suku? That they were as barbaric and backward as her people?

  She looked away, peering absently down the corridor before returning her lovely green gaze to him. “I think the gender roles in our respective cultures must be very different. Among humans, anyone can join the military. While it’s true that most women don’t choose to serve, some of us do and some of us even seek out adventure on the front lines.”

  “You came here by choice?” Val couldn’t credit her words. Patrolling a dangerous border was the work of a warrior. It was too dangerous to risk a female on such tasks.

  “I had to apply three times before I got assigned a fighter patrol. The rim sweep isn’t usually this exciting, but it is important.” Her chin jutted out defensively and Val realized she took pride in her assignment to the dangerous post.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked, hoping to change the subject. She’d given him a great deal to contemplate, but first he wanted to be certain she was comfortable. He’d treated her shabbily up to this point, and he wanted to make amends.

  “I could eat,” she replied cautiously.

  “Then follow me.” He walked more slowly this time, traversing the long hallway in the sector where all his staff were housed. He was looking for one portal in particular.

  Raising his hand to the lock plate, he keyed in his command code, opening the door. He stepped back, allowing her to precede him.

  She walked in with some hesitation and he wondered if she hadn’t believed him about taking her to guest accommodations. Perhaps she still believed that he would throw her in the brig, or worse. She would soon learn that he was a man of his word. And he didn’t harm females. Not on purpose.

  Three

  The room was spacious and fitted with high-quality furnishings. The captain might just be telling the truth after all, Lisbet thought, as she took in her surroundings. This didn’t look like any kind of cell she could imagine and there didn’t appear to be anything more sinister than a couch and some chairs placed along one wall.

  “Guest quarters,” he announced, moving into the room and making it seem a lot smaller all of a sudden.

  Before today, she’d only seen images of Jit’suku warriors. They were all well over six feet tall and built on the brawny side. As big as the biggest human men, they towered over most civilians. But this captain was a good seven and a half feet to her five and three-quarters. And he definitely kept himself in shape. The view she’d gotten of his muscular ass as he’d dragged her along behind him had been epic.

  If she’d been in any other position, she might have found herself drawn to the incredibly handsome warrior. As it was, she was his prisoner – though not, perhaps, in as bad a situation as she’d feared. She was certainly a captive, but the conditions didn’t seem too horrible at the moment. She’d remain wary, but something about the way he’d spoken to her made her think he was as unfamiliar with real humans as she was with real Jit’suku.

  All she knew was what she’d been told by her commanders and seen in the news media. She’d heard about the many battles along the rim, and knew the death statistics. The war, which had been going on for a long time, was taking a definite toll on both sides. Many men had died. Women too, of course, but the Jit’suku were very careful to only attack military targets, and the few female casualties she was aware of were women soldiers.

  Based on what she’d just been told by the captain, she’d bet he hadn’t known before seeing her that women served alongside men in the human armada. She wondered what he’d do when he thought through that scenario. He’d seemed truly upset to discover she was female.

  “I will order food for you. It is almost dinner time. If you have no objection, I would like to share the meal with you, so that we may talk more.”

  “Interrogation?” She had to ask. It didn’t sound like he really wanted to interrogate her – not in the way she understood the term – but he would be asking questions, she had no doubt.

  “Nothing so drastic.” His lips lifted at one corner in a hint of a smile that almost stopped her heart.

  Damn, he was sexy when he wasn’t quite so angry. He’d be devastating if he ever decided to turn on the charm.

  “I wish to ask more questions of you, but I will not force you to answer. It becomes clear to me that I do not know enough about humans. I had no idea your women served as pilots. I’ll have to rethink my strategy if I am to continue this mission with honor, now that I am aware of this fact.”

  That sounded promising. She thought over her options, coming to a quick decision.

  “I’ll answer what I can, but I won’t betray my people. I don’t really know enough to do any serious betraying anyway, so you might as well get that thought out of your mind right now.” She took a fortifying breath, watching his handsome face carefully. “But I’ll answer cultural questions if I think they’re safe. I’d like to know more about your people too, while we’re at it,” she added.

  “Then it is agreed.” He moved toward the door. “The sanitation cubicle is beyond the light green portal, in a corner of the attached sleep chamber. I will leave you to refresh yourself for approximately one standard hour. I’ll return when the meal is served.” He paused by the door. “You will be locked in for your own safety. My crew is all male. I do not wish for you to interact with them at present.”

  She was okay with that, and merely nodded. Privacy in this luxurious suite was better than being in a cell, or being accosted by a bunch of giant men who hadn’t seen a female in who knew how long. And Captain Sexy would be back in an hour with dinner.

  Life had just gotten very interesting, very fast.

  The captain returned with a team of men who brought in two floating trolleys loaded down with multiple domed platters. Both of the serving men gave her quizzical looks before departing with a crisp salute, but neither said a word.

  Before leaving, the men had set the table and served the main course. The captain waited for her to be seated. So far, the dining rituals seemed very similar to human practices, which surprised Lisbet. She’d heard Jits were barbarians, and had almost expected them to be ripping meat from the bones of some large animal with their teeth.

  Instead, she got gleaming, monogrammed silverware and what looked like costly china with the crest of some noble house. Her finger traced over the design on the rim of her plate.

  “It is the sigil of my house. The Fedroval crest.” He nodded toward her hand, still fingering the raised golden symbol as she looked up to meet his gaze.

  “You said your name was Fedroval. As is the name of your ship. Fedroval’s Legacy, right? So if this is anything like human nobility, you’re some kind of overlord or come from a seriously rich family. Am I right?”

  The captain bowed his head slightly, holding her gaze. “I am surprised humans have such things, but yes, to both questions. I am the Liege of House Fedroval, eldest male of the line. And yes, we as a family have more than most. Unfortunately, I am the end of the line for House Fedroval.” His expression turned grim as he busied himself with the snowy white cloth napkin, placing it on his lap.

  The topic seemed painful to him, so she let it drop. For now. She followed his lead, glad of the etiquette her mother had tried to d
rill into her when she was a girl.

  Funny, she hadn’t thought of her mother in years, but she supposed the old gal would have approved of this situation. For once, Lisbet was behaving like a lady, sitting down to dinner with a rich and titled gentleman. Okay, so he was an alien. Lisbet figured it probably didn’t matter – her mother was long dead. Still, the thought brought a wistful smile to her face as he uncovered the steaming dishes that had been laid out for them.

  The silence lengthened, but she didn’t mind. There was a great deal of information to process here, and if she wasn’t very careful, she might succumb to the captain’s charms. He had said he wouldn’t interrogate her, but she wouldn’t put it past him to try to weasel out information while wining and dining her. She had to be on her guard.

  “What amuses you, Lieutenant?” he asked as he poured blue liquid from a wine bottle into her crystal goblet. She watched as he poured another glass for himself. He took a sip before she followed suit.

  The flavor was fruity and delicious – and intoxicating, she had no doubt.

  “I had a stray thought about my mother. She always despaired of my tomboy ways. She taught me the proper way to set a table, and all the womanly things she thought important, but I always wanted to do stuff she thought wasn’t seemly.”

  “Like flying a fighter craft?” One of his dark brows arched, and she got the impression he agreed with her long-lost mother.

  “It was good enough for my older brother. Why should he be allowed to follow his dream into the sky and not me?”

  “And did you truly dream of the sky, Lieutenant? Did the stars sing to you?” He stared at her over the rim of his goblet, seducing her with nothing more than the tone of his deep voice and the look in his dark eyes.