She climbed down the ladder, and Haze followed her, grumbling about faerluns and water and a few things she didn’t catch.
The translator described the faerluns as some sort of small animal, similar to a house cat.
She turned to him. “These faerluns… they don’t like water, or they do?”
“Faerluns? Hate water. Supposedly, we evolved from them, at least our Vargys half did, hence the green coloring and tails. And our preference for trees.”
“Preference for trees?”
“A lot of us grew up in trees. We build elaborate shelters, beautiful layered nests. It’s quite peaceful.” His eyes took on a faraway look.
“We have a few tree houses on Earth. Mostly for the kids, but every so often someone will build their homes in a tree. The pictures do always seem peaceful.”
He smiled at her and took a step closer, cocking his head to the side.“You would wish a home in the trees then?”
Vi did a half-smile. “I don’t know. I guess I never really thought about it before.” She shook her head. “I’ve always been kind of a city girl to be honest. Big, narly buildings with lots of glass. I guess they are sort of tree houses. People try to live as high off the ground as possible. It’s sort of a status thing.”
He nodded. “Interesting. Vargys and Earth share some traits in common.”
“Do all of the Vargys have these tattoos on their skin? I noticed your whole crew has them. They’re beautiful.”
“Nah. We get these from our fathers. It’s part of being Mahdfel.”
Vi leaned close. “I thought, at first, that maybe you’d had them done, but you’re born with all these markings?”
“Yes, they’re– actually there’s more. If you touch my skin here…” He held out his arm, gesturing to it.
“I. Uh…” She reached over and touched his skin lightly. A soft glow began under her fingertips.
She glanced up in amazement, and he was studying her, his eyes hooded as though he’d offered something private and wild and was curious how she would react.
He smiled as their eyes met. “Just something it does sometimes.” His voice had softened. His gaze drifted down to her lips, inviting her closer.
The rush of heat that jolted through her surprised her at its intensity.
Then he glanced back up. “I should let you sleep so you will be well-rested for our battles tomorrow.” He grinned as though he were toying with her. Even so, she felt this overpowering urge to kiss the grin off his face, hard.
Vi took a step back, trying to regain her composure. Was he toying with her?
“I’ll see you in the morning.” He waved the door chime to the next room over from hers, and the door slid open. Apparently, his room was next to her room.
As he walked into the room, his eyes didn’t leave hers.
The expression on his face was all dark smolder that he wasn’t bothering to hide, an open invitation for her to follow him.
Yes, he was definitely toying with her.
Perhaps, there should be bolts. On her door. On the other side of the door. To keep her in.
She swiped her door to let herself in, shaking her head. She wrapped her arms about herself.
Yes, battle tomorrow. A trickle of desire ran through her. What had he said before? Tussling? Yes, tussling.
Man, that guy was going to be fun to tussle with.
The first thing she did, when she entered her room, was toss all of her clothes on the floor, searching for her favorite, sexiest workout gear.
12
Haze
That morning, Haze headed straight for command, to see if there’d been any change of heart. Unfortunately, no. They would be at their new coordinates in a few hours.
Wasn’t that great?
They were headed for the ass-end worst place in the galaxy to mine the life-saving mineral, Varstath. The selected location possibly had some small amount more than one squat in it. But a whole lot of breaking his back to get it.
They’d probably start the dig early the next morning, so at least he had today off.
He walked back toward the crew cabins and glanced at his wristband. It was 07:00.
He paused by Vi’s door.
…Civilians slept in way too long.
Man, what was taking that girl so long? Sure, Oz and Molly were probably busy. Heh. But, what was Vi’s excuse?
Finally, at 07:05, he’d had enough. He chimed the bell.
The door reader transmitted her sleepy voice. “Hallo?” she asked, stifling a big yawn. “Who is it?”
He fidgeted. “It’s Molly, uh, no, I mean, it’s Haze. Molly isn’t up yet, so I thought I might offer you some breakfast.”
“Oh, man.” Another big yawn. “Sure. Give me a few minutes, would ya? Meet you in the dining room?”
“What? Okay. Sure. I’ll see you there.”
Haze felt disappointment seep through him. He’d kind of hoped to see her, that she’d swipe open the door so he could see her smile again. Something about that cute little crinkle around her eyes made him want to smile too.
Haze headed up the ladder, trying to think fast about what he was supposed to do now. Had he really offered breakfast to the human? He’d fallen kind of out of practice with Molly onboard, and really, what did one cook for a human? He never really paid any attention to Molly’s eating habits, just what Molly fed him.
He hung out in the kitchen like a nervous, wild faerlun hoping for scraps, his whole body tuned to the slightest movement signaling Vi’s arrival.
At one time, he turned and found nothing and realized it was probably the atoms themselves moving against each other; the dust motes getting frisky.
…Or maybe it was just nerves.
He shook it off himself. He’d won battles worse than this before. He leaned against the counter to wait. Immediately, his mind began to wander in one direction: picturing bending Vi over the counter. He pulled his mind back from the thought and moved to the long side of the counter, facing the entrance, trying to hide his erection. He grabbed a cutting board, debating about trying to pretend he was busy.
What was he going to do? Actually chop things to eat?
Uh, no.
…Not that he wasn’t good with knives though.
For a moment, he weighed the pros and cons of grabbing something out of storage so she could see his prowess with a blade.
Cons won out.
But really: adding water to powdered protein drinks was more his style or heating up the pre-packaged mush that pretended to be food.
Vi breezed in through the doors, her hair done up in braids, and she was wearing some sort of soft material. It looked sort of like a workout outfit but with bright colors, like she didn’t worry about being seen by her enemy. Not at all the grays and blacks the Vargys trained in.
“You taking me up on my offer?” he called to her, liking the way her curves looked in her shorts and t-shirt.
She shrugged but smiled. “Maybe…”
The girl was good with eye contact. He liked it.
“All right. So I suppose we better hydrate you and fatten you up. Come on over; I’ll make you a shake.”
“A shake? You mean like workout food?” She made a face.
“Well. Unless you want to cook me something?” He tilted his head and wiggled his eyebrows at her, trying to look as charming as possible.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest, indignant. “Yeah, buddy. Don’t get your hopes up on that happening, ever.”
“All right. So ‘Haze cooking’ it is then.”
“Why do I not like the sound of that?” She put her hands on her hips, coming over to the counter.
Haze grunted in enjoyment at her quick perception of the matter. “You’ll see. I mix a mean protein drink.”
“Okay. Mix away.” She leaned against the counter, watching him as he bustled about getting ingredients and the tools of his trade.
After a minute, he shook it all together and poured her a frothy d
rink.
She stared at it with a slightly judgmental face, not quite touching it.
“What?” He took a large gulp. “It’s good. I even added tamlin for you, since you three chopped so much of it yesterday.”
“Is it supposed to be green?”
“Of course… —Oh! One second.” He spritzed in some sweet flavoring which added a red glow to the drink.
Haze had gotten so used to the natural flavor that he liked it better without the cloying, sugar flavor. Better on the body too, purer fuel.
“Now, feast.” He gestured to his latest concoction of Protein Power.
She spun the glass around on the counter, looking at it distrustfully. “Here goes…” She took a small sip and grimaced, setting it down. She wiped her mouth. “That’s really something, isn’t it?”
“You get used to it.” He shrugged, taking another large gulp.
“So.” She looked apologetic. “You think there’s any leftovers I could harvest?”
“Probably in the fridge. We have a re-heater here. Or the ship is equipped with a reconstituter, if you want to try one.”
“Reconstituter? I like the sound of that. I don’t suppose you have pizza or fried chicken I could reconstitute, do you?” She came around the counter to stand next to Haze.
For a moment, Haze tried to figure out what ‘pizza’ and ‘fried chicken’ were but quickly grew distracted by her nearness. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again, staring at her. She returned his gaze, looking soft and a little vulnerable.
He felt himself pulled toward her, his body drawn to hers and his tail tapping against the wall under the counter in time to his breath. He started to reach for her face, but then he heard the sound of footsteps on the ladder.
He drew himself back quickly and turned away, nervousness overcoming him. He stooped down by the back counter, trying to collect himself and look busy as he pulled out a few meals for her to choose from. They were dehydrated messes, but she might find something she liked.
What did he care anyway? He’d heat all of them until she found one that was agreeable to her.
Xain and Seban walked in.
“Hey, Vi,” Xain greeted her. “Things are gonna be a little quiet today. Care for another game of Claren? I think we might talk Seban into joining us.”
Haze tensed up, waiting, fiddling with the food packs, trying to look like he was straightening them and not straining himself from listening.
“Actually, Haze, here, has offered to train me up today. Gotta be prepared for anything out here in — what’d you say, Haze? — the dankest end of the galaxy.” She laughed softly. “But maybe after?”
Haze glanced at Xain and over at Vi, feeling warmth and breath flow through him again. “Yes.” He cleared his throat as his voice threatened to crack on the word. “Vi is our newest Warrior Sister. She needs to be prepared for anything,” he finished lamely, realizing she’d just said that. Smooth. Very smooth.
Annoyingly, Xain gave Haze a knowing nod of encouragement, like Haze was some scared faerlun, new from the nest.
“Doctor?” Vi asked. “Molly said you spent some time near Earth, on our moon base?”
Seban nodded his head. “It was a few years ago, but yes.”
She gestured at the meal packets. “Got any suggestions for me? I thought I’d try the ship specialties, see what it’s like.”
“Honestly,” Seban said, “you’re better off with some of Molly’s leftovers, but let me think…”
13
Violet
Certainly, Haze’s drink had been an adventure. But the re-hydrated sludge from the ship’s stores? Not all that much better, to be honest. After a couple bites, she gave up and heated some of Molly’s food. The girl really was a wonder.
Perhaps Vi would have to do some kitchen duty after all. Not because she was a woman, but because she was very, very, very grateful. No wonder they called Molly a vada… whatever… Chef… whatever.
Haze glanced over as she leaned back in her chair.
“Ready?” Haze asked her.
At her nod, Haze piled his plate onto hers and disappeared with them through the kitchen doors. He returned with a wolf-like grin on his face. “Follow me,” he said, cocking his finger at her.
She felt a tingle of nerves as they walked down the short set of stairs to the bottom of The Pit. An image of the man flying through the air flitted through her mind. What exactly was she getting into?
He handed her one of the smaller sticks in the set and walked her through the moves.
After a few minutes, Vi realized she was out of breath but feeling invigorated from the challenge.
Haze was an even better teacher at fighting than he was at cards. He seemed to enjoy sparring with her. He faked her out a few times – of course, very easily. She always ended up swooped around with a strong arm wrapped around her and his stick tapping her shoulder. She started to feel a zing each time it happened. Being pressed against his hard body was… She felt like she wanted to melt.
She fell hard against him to try and throw him off balance, somehow trick him. It was as he fell back in a far too-controlled movement – taking her with him – that she quickly realized she hadn’t tricked him at all. He was still just playing with her.
He rolled over quick on his side, putting one hand down by her head, so he hovered over her. Vi caught her breath.
“Well, you got me here,” Haze said. “Now what do you want to do with me?” His face hovered inches from her own.
A flash of lightning zipped through Vi’s belly.
His face started coming toward hers. She held her breath and closed her eyes. As his lips touched hers, she felt the softness press against her own lips, the tentative way he kissed her. She felt the hunger fill her and draw her deeper into his kiss. He touched her shoulder lightly and tenderly. He drew back to watch her. Vi reached up to touch his face. He moved his face so that he kissed her palm, his eyes never leaving her face.
Vi pulled him in to kiss her again, and his hand went around her head, lifting her toward him.
She pulled back, taking a deep, shuddering breath. “Something tells me you’ve done that before.”
“Not in a long time, and only just to play at it. There’s never been a girl I could get serious with, before you.”
That’s when Vi remembered the curse. Of course, he couldn’t have dated when he was younger, not really. Get hot and heavy some evening, take things too far, and his girlfriend’s dying because she wasn’t compatible with him. The Suhlik had screwed the Mahdfel royally.
“That must have been so hard, growing up like that.” She reached up, putting a hand on his chest, holding him away. “I can’t even imagine. How old are you now?”
“I am thirteen cycles. I’m not sure how old that is in your way of counting. Oz would know.”
“Well, you’re definitely not thirteen. I guess it doesn’t matter. I think you’re about my age, and I’m twenty-three.”
“Let us kiss again,” he requested with a smile. “Worry later.”
Haze bent down, and his lips danced over her mouth, warming her belly. Her thoughts flitted away as they kissed.
She pushed him away, giggling. “You’re trouble,” she said.
“Trouble?” he asked, confused, probably taking her words literally. “We are mates.”
“True. It makes no sense. You’re stuck with me. I can’t quite wrap my head around this whole thing.” She shook her head.
“I shall prove myself worthy to you. Let us return to your cabin. I will bring you much pleasure.” His voice dropped as he said it, and her stomach whooshed in anticipation.
Vi’s mouth dropped open, and she struggled to think of a response. She tapped him on the chest. “Oh, my. Up, Haze.”
He spun up in a graceful, agile movement and pulled her to stand beside him. His hand rested on the small of her back, holding her close. He was so masculine and solid. Warmth spun out through her body, making her dizzy.
“Okay, big boy. Let me go,” she managed.
He released her slowly and took a step back, and it made her feel like she could think again.
She’d jumped Rafe’s bones after twenty-four hours and a misadventure with a minibar his friends had stolen from a hotel. Those guys had not been big thinkers.
But she was going to be with this Haze guy for a lot longer. Did she really want another Rafe on her hands? How exactly did she date her own mate, anyway?
She gazed up at Haze and contemplated jumping into his arms anyway – to heck with all this stupid logic – when the ship shuddered and everything went dark. Red lights flashed, and a siren called out a warning.
Haze froze. “Something’s happened.” He clicked his wristband and spoke into it. “Everything okay up there?”
“Oz is headed to engineering. Looks like we got hit by something.”
“Something as in Suhlik or…?”
“We don’t think so.”
Vi felt her heart immediately unfreeze. It’d been her first thought too. The Suhlik were the ones who had enslaved the Mahdfel and altered them. They were the ones who had tried to enslave Earth, too, until the Mahdfel had come to rescue them. The thought of them being anywhere in the vicinity filled her with fear.
“I’ll head, Captain, unless—” Haze offered.
“Yes, go. See whether Oz needs anything.”
A moment later, the lights came back up.
As Haze slid down the ladder to the crew deck, headed to the back of the ship, and slid down the ladder to Engineering, Vi did her best to keep up.
She’d arrived through the portal in a small room off engineering, but she’d been too out of sorts to take much in before. There were machines everywhere; on one side, a floor-to-ceiling wall of them. Disconcertingly, there were a lot of red flashing lights going off everywhere.
Oz knelt by one of the machines, pulling off data. He was scrutinizing something. He glanced up. “Haze, it’s not good.” He shook his head. “The warp drive’s busted. I don’t see how we can fix it either, not with the parts I have on hand.”
Haze (The Telorex Pact Book 2) Page 5
