Parallel Fire

by Deidre Knight

  At least she knew she was in good hands, she thought wryly, listening to the heavy sound of her own breathing inside the oxygen mask. What if he thinks I’m breathing heavier than normal? What if he knows that he’s got my heart beating like crazy?

  She watched over Nevin’s shoulder as he worked the controls. Damn, even his hands turned her on, what with the black gloves fitting like a second skin, making him seem all fighter pilot. She couldn’t help it—pilots in general had always, always turned her on—and Nevin’s taking her on these sorties had done absolutely nothing to dampen her enthusiasm for him in particular.

  He startled her when he cut right over the mountains, and with his left hand, rapped on the canopy. With a gesture, he indicated the view below, and she pressed up against the dark glass to discover the twinkling lights of town.

  “Very pretty,” she breathed through the comm.

  “It’s always beautiful to me.” His husky voice, so immediate and right in her ears, was like the feel of velvet across her skin. She shivered, and he continued, “Everything here is still so pure, so…pristine. Especially the snow.”

  By the gods, the lieutenant was actually conversing with her—and opening up to her. It was the first time in all these months, the first little breakthrough since their “moment” in the meeting room.

  “Do you miss it?” She leaned forward in her seat, just slightly, yearning to be closer to him.

  “Miss our home?” He shook his head. “Not very much, I’m afraid. It’s easy to grow accustomed to our more peaceful existence here.”

  Peaceful? They spent all their time on the run from Antousians and humans, while trying to just protect humanity from the same fate that had befallen their own planet.

  “I’m surprised you would call things on Earth peaceful.”

  “I haven’t been shot in the six years I’ve spent here.” His husky, throaty laugh rang in both her ears.

  “You were shot back on Refaria?” she asked incredulously. This was something she’d never once heard about the man.

  “Three times,” he told her in a formal, clipped tone.

  After a long moment of waiting for him to elaborate, she pressed, “When? Which battles?”

  He made a sudden adjustment with the throttle, and her unanswered question hung suspended between them for what felt a near-eternity. “Sir?” She reached forward and touched his shoulder, wondering if perhaps he’d not heard her question. “Which battles?”

  She kept her gaze trained on the back of his helmet, watched as he turned to glance at her hand briefly. Still, he said nothing.

  Blowing out a heavy sigh, she stared at the black sky above the plane’s canopy. Probably way too loud—so loud, in fact, that the lieutenant could read her frustration with him.

  “Lieutenant Draekus,” he told her gently, “as my fellow soldier, surely you understand the ghosts that still haunt me…ghosts from our home.”

  Unbidden, tears prickled Anna’s eyes. Tears of comprehension and sympathy; tears of the connection that they shared in their lost home world. Nothing on Refaria would ever be the same again, and she understood that it wasn’t the battles so much; it was the heartbreak of what had befallen them all that kept Nevin Daniels from talking.

  “Of course, sir,” she whispered into the comm link, and gave his shoulder a slight pat before removing her hand.

  He brought the craft in low over the lake, and it was a perfect, routine approach until the last moment when a loud scraping sound began beneath the underbelly of the plane. There was a jolting jerk that sent Anna’s head slamming into the side of the canopy. For what seemed a long time, everything went black until she heard herself muttering a string of expletives in low Refarian. Her head felt as if a grenade had exploded inside her helmet, and strange lights were flashing in front of her eyes. She clasped at her helmet, wishing she could rub the side of her skull.

  “What’s going on?” she slurred, feeling the craft tilt and gyrate. Dimly, she realized the terrain below looked all wrong, that they weren’t anywhere near their planned landing area.

  “Hang on, Anna!” Nevin worked frantically with the controls, flipping switches and struggling to control the craft. A bright red warning light flashed within the cockpit, then a woman’s urgent voice began, listing off a series of malfunctions. Funny, but even though she should have been upset, Anna felt oddly calm, noticing that the emergency warnings were programmed in English, not Refarian. Maybe in case the plane is ever captured by human officials.

  Capture, she thought dully, the world growing dim again. Sure hope we don’t get our asses captured after we crash…

  Nevin circled the downed craft, trying to assess what, precisely, had gone wrong. Trailing his fingertips along the plane’s side, he emitted his natural energy, working to power the machine. No reaction. With a quick glance back at where Anna lay off to the side, unconscious—he’d carried her there immediately in case the craft blew—he opened both of his palms.

  Dropping to the ground so he wouldn’t have to steady himself, he concentrated on his open hands. He cupped them in front of his chest, closed his eyes, and allowed his natural energy to build. It was his one true blessing from All, his gift of energy; that it was such a markedly unusual one only made it all the more special. Perhaps now it would be the thing that could save both their lives; if his natural power could somehow infuse the craft—if it had been a simple matter of a ruptured tank—then he might be able to power them back out of this isolated place.

  A glowing ball of pure energy formed between his hands, and manipulating it carefully, he began directing it toward the plane.

  Behind him, Anna’s soft voice startled him. “I’ve never seen anything quite like that before.”

  He focused his entire being on wielding the power sphere, but nevertheless, it changed hues from a bright golden shade to a warmer and richer one. Of course his energy would react to Anna; if there were any woman alive on this planet who could cause a reaction like that, it would be her.

  “I have to…use it. Wait.”

  “It’s your energy, isn’t it?”

  “Anna…a moment,” he barely managed to gasp before finally catapulting the powerful orb of energy into the craft. He watched as it seemed to explode into a million pinpricks of glowing power, then hoisted himself back into the cockpit and, in vain, attempted to start the damned thing once again. After several long moments of manipulating the controls, he dropped back to the ground, and strode purposefully to Anna’s side.

  “How are you feeling?” He took her bare hand into his own gloved one. “You took quite a nasty hit to the head.”

  She smiled up at him wanly. “Not so good.”

  Searching the area around them, he knew he had to get her someplace safe for the night. Bears were already coming out of hibernation, and there were wolves and other predators. “We could sleep in the plane,” he suggested. “Probably the safest bet tonight.”

  Her eyes drifted shut. “I wanna lie down.”

  “You don’t really need that, Anna. In fact, you should stay awake until we can determine the extent of your injuries.”

  “Can we at least warm up? Make a fire or something first?” She struggled to sit up. “Wait! I have an idea. I just need to shapeshift, then I can go for help.”

  Anna pressed a hand to her temple. “I know I can,” she insisted, but by the way her face drained of color, she was obviously fighting a wave of nausea, “Just a minute…” she attempted weakly.

  Nevin cupped her shoulder, aware that the warmth of his body radiated through his glove and her uniform, but he didn’t move his hand. He liked the idea of her feeling his heat, and besides, he had the perfect excuse: She needed his warm touch after tonight’s shock.

  “You need to rest, Anna. It would be dangerous for you to shapeshift and make that long trek back to base. You might grow too weak.”

  “I’d be fine,” she tried to argue, but he cut her off.

  “Lieutenant, I am ordering
you to stay here, with the downed craft, and pass the nighttime hours within the cockpit.” His voice was stern and pointed. “Understood?”

  From where she lay staring up at him, she gave him a weak salute. This earned her a grudging, sideways smile from her commanding officer. “Good work, soldier,” he said, returning her salute.

  Looking back over his shoulder at the craft, he thought through the logistics of the cramped space. He had to determine the best way to help Anna recuperate without putting her through any more pain—and without winding up holding her in his arms which was, truthfully, the thing he wanted most desperately of all. More, even, than getting the craft working again. It was pure insanity, but once he’d landed safely his first thoughts had been of Anna. Of having her all to himself, here in the wilds, of them being alone for some period of time. It had taken everything within him to assume command of the situation as his training dictated.

  “You never answered about your energy,” she called out to him softly. He spun to face her, shocked by the vulnerable expression on her face. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.”

  Nevin’s entire body tensed, grew tighter than a drum. “It’s nothing.”

  “You should have told me that day in the meeting room. If I’d known that you had the gift of energy, I’d have trusted you with my Madjin mark. I’d have shown you.”

  He wasn’t sure how it happened, but suddenly he had both hands braced about her face, leaning over her. His breathing was intense, his hunger for her so palpable and real, he could feel it coursing throughout his body. Damn it, she was injured, but he couldn’t stop himself. He drew his mouth close to hers and whispered, “One’s energy, Anna, is quite personal. Remember? You said it.”

  His whole body blazed with unleashed heat; his chest rose and fell with heavy pants, but still he stayed hovering just over her. “Intimate, Anna,” he continued, feeling his cock harden at the thought of her having seen his own energy—and of her showing him her mark.

  She stared up into his eyes, her gaze flitting over his features, down to his chest, back up to his eyes again. “Yes, that’s all true.” He’d never heard her voice so hoarse, so rich and filled with emotion. “But you let me see yours.”

  He shook his head, adamant. “Inadvertently.”

  She reached a hand to his face, tracing the outline of his jaw. “Show me again, Lieutenant.”

  He lifted off of her, ruing his actions. Maybe he was the one who’d hit his head. He gave it a light shake, adjusting his pants as he turned from her, afraid that she’d see the prominent hard-on that she’d just given him. “We need to get back inside the plane for the night.”

  “Show me again,” she repeated, and suddenly she was behind him—right behind him—and he froze. Both of his hands were against the wing and both of hers were flat against the middle of his back. “What are you doing, Anna Draekus?” She kept her hands there, right against his body, the only thing separating his skin from hers the thin material of his uniform.

  “I’m not sure.” She snorted with laughter. “I hit my head and woooo! Suddenly I go all sla’skai on you.” Her hands dropped away; he heard her take several steps back, but still he could only stand, both hands gripping the wing as if it were a lifeline. If only he’d turned; if only he’d been able to transcend his natural shyness and had kissed her like he yearned to do.

  But the moment was gone.

  Chapter Two

  Nowhere to stretch, nowhere to get comfortable, and sleep just wasn’t happening in the rear of Nevin’s cockpit. What a word, she thought in amusement. Here I am, alone in the man’s cockpit, my feet practically in his lap, and we’re both trying to sleep.

  Nevin on the other hand, seemed to be dozing nicely. She sighed, rubbed at her head, and shifted her right foot until it was propped on his right thigh. He stirred in the seat in front of her, nestling his head against the back of his seat, and slid a warm, gloved palm over her foot. Her entire body lit with fire—deep, mystic fire, the kind only a Refarian warrior like Nevin could possibly set within her.

  Wake up, she thought, wiggling her toes. “Nevin,” she murmured, burning warmth radiating from where his hand covered her foot.

  “Hmm?” he asked sleepily, and only then did she realize she’d whispered his name aloud.

  “Uh, nothing.”

  She felt him tense, his fingers twitched against her instep, and she knew he was going to move away—or move her foot, even worse. She stretched her toes, flexing them, and slid her foot a little closer toward the interior of his thigh. Although she only had a view of the back of his head, she could tell that he stared down into his lap, uncertain—until, at last, he slid his fingers back around her instep, gently massaging the bottom of her foot.

  She leaned back in the seat, staring at the twinkling lights above their closed canopy. “Will they be able to track us?” she voiced into the darkness between them.

  “Probably. Depends on the state of the craft, any number of factors.” He kept his voice low, hushed, and the sound of it in such an intimate space caused her body to tighten in sharp awareness of him.

  He kept rubbing her foot, working his thumb and fingers along her instep. Without meaning to she released a soft moan. “That’s…amazing.”

  “Give me the other one.” His voice was husky, throaty with need—a need that she had no trouble guessing at because she felt it just like he did. “I’ll rub both.”

  She swallowed, carefully sliding her left foot onto his other thigh, keenly aware that she practically had her legs wrapped about his waist—well, if only he weren’t in the seat in front of her. Still, the suggestive position, the proximity of her feet to his most intimate areas, caused the place between her legs to grow warm and damp.

  In the darkness, she heard his breathing quicken as he took hold of her other foot, rubbing it as he’d done the first. She closed her eyes, and slowly—ever so slowly—inched her right foot inward between his thighs. It didn’t take long for her to bump into a hard ridge, long and thick against his thigh. When she curled her toes against it, Nevin physically jolted in the seat with a low-pitched groan of pure pleasure.

  He said nothing; she didn’t utter a thing, but for many silent moments she massaged his erection, then worked her toes between his thighs, back and forth across his balls until he slammed a fist against the side of the canopy, uttering her name over and over. “Gods, help me!” he cried out, turning in the seat.

  When their eyes locked for that first moment, she could hardly breathe. She’d never seen so much passion and need in any one man’s gaze. “You have to stop, Anna,” he hissed in a tight voice, staring at her over his seat back. “Now. Gods, as it is…” He shook his head, muttering a quiet curse in Refarian.

  “I can finish what I started,” she offered with a defiant smile.

  Again, he slammed a fist against the canopy, putting his back to her. With a gentle shove, he moved her feet out of his lap. “We need rest—you need rest, Anna, to recover from your injuries.”

  “You didn’t like that?” The question was sincere; she wasn’t a virgin, but she didn’t have a long list of men in her past either. “Was it not pleasurable?”

  Nevin made a tight sound as if he were gritting his teeth. “It was the most pleasure I’ve felt in such a long time, Anna.”

  She leaned forward, wrapping her arms about his neck and pressing her mouth close to his left ear. “Then why stop?”

  He touched her arm lightly. “Because I’m your commanding officer—and I have to lead you in this army. Because”—he blew out an edgy breath—“I’m too old for you, and, Anna, because with as much as I crave you, I don’t trust myself to be honorable. Not out here, not in the wilds.”

  “Who said anything about being honorable?” she countered, releasing a hot breath against his cheek.

  He jerked his head sideways. “This isn’t going to happen between us, Lieutenant.” He sounded every bit the pompous, tight-assed leader she’d always
thought him to be. “I will not allow it to.”

  “Fine, sir. Just perfectly fine.” She sank back into her seat, feeling humiliated and confused. “But just one thing: If you didn’t want this, then why have you worked so hard to make it happen? All these sorties, everything?”

  She studied his profile as he gazed sideways, staring out the canopy. His expression was thoughtful, and far more emotion-filled than she would have imagined—and all of her anger faded away. Nevin Daniels was a man constantly at war with himself; she’d only just begun to figure that out.

  He pressed a gloved hand against his temple, giving his head a light shake. “You have always left me muddled and confused, Anna Draekus. If my behavior regarding you is inconsistent, I have only that to blame.”

  Always? Always muddled and confused? That one simple word would imply that he’d always been aware of her, thinking of her, which changed absolutely everything between them. Including the new determination it forced within her, the need to penetrate the reserved lieutenant’s superficial coolness—to get to the heart of the lion hidden within—and unleash him.

  Chapter Three

  Nevin squatted down beside the bubbling stream, propping an arm against his knee as he watched the cold, rushing water. “We have to find a way to store some of this in our pack.”

  “We can fill the plastic bag from mine.” It had been almost a full day without any sign or hope of rescue. Anna had worked to shapeshift earlier in the afternoon, but the magnetic energy emitted from all the volcanic activity in the area—as well as from the mitres—had made it impossible for her to do so. Just as, they figured, it made it equally impossible for the base to track their downed craft. Finally, in the mid-afternoon they’d set off on a quest for fresh water, and had just located a good source after only two hours of hiking and searching. They exchanged a grateful look; each knew only too well that they might have come up empty-handed for much longer.