Jin-Bennu
Vivienne Savage
Jin-Bennu
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By Vivienne Savage
All material contained herein is Copyright © Vivienne Savage 2020. All rights reserved.
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Other Books by Vivienne
About the Author
1
The chaos created by dozens of warriors filled the alien warship’s gymnasium with the clatter of heavy equipment and the rumble of huge bodies clashing in friendly sparring matches.
Veryn Barclay loathed coming to the Exemplar’s gym, because hell if she could focus with so many examples of beefcake flexing their sculpted physiques and throwing one another across the mats. Even the Lexar women were impressive, futuristic Amazons with enviable physiques. She tucked a sweat-dampened lock of blonde hair behind her ear and repositioned her body beneath one of the many fans when an eight-foot-tall woman abandoned the cooling space, ceding it to Veryn with a kind smile on her golden face.
Aliens occupied every inch of an expansive chamber. Few of their people, even the runts among their kind, stood at less than seven feet tall. Fortunately, they were generous when it came to sharing their facilities with the two human women engaged in their own training exercise, especially respectful of Veryn’s close friend, Nia.
For the past year, Nia’s heart had been promised to Exarch Tal-Amun, and she would soon be a queen in the eye of every alien figure aboard the ship who had the good sense not to challenge their leader’s decision to bond to a mere human. Amun ran the show with all the authority of a king, granted such a distinction by the emperor and empress of their race. The latter happened to be his aunt. He was doubly blessed.
In a way, Veryn supposed the Exemplar was its own kingdom, home to thousands of civilians, its own economy, and a sizable army large enough to crush any human colony within an hour if their alien commander gave the order.
Good thing they were all allies these days.
The fleeting yet humiliating war between humanity and their friendly overseers would forever remain in the past, having occurred long before she was born. Decades later, most Lexar saw humans as naïve younger siblings to protect.
Nudging aside to make room for Nia to cool off, Veryn used her oversized sleeveless shirt to continue fanning her body, drying the sheen of sweat glistening on her abdomen. Was it the jog alongside Nia or the team of sexy warriors in a psychic training exercise that had her hot and bothered?
Definitely the latter.
Alpha Jin-Bennu was an exceptional example of the alien figure. He stood shirtless opposite three aliens pitting their psychic prowess against him. He flicked aside the shimmering waves of power with a barrier that glimmered in iridescent hues beneath the gymnasium lighting. With his long dark hair, chiseled jawline, and silver eyes, he cut the most impressive on the mats.
One of his trainees rushed him to initiate physical combat, weaving in and out of the lazy—those were definitely half-hearted attempts to land a psychic thrust; he wasn’t even focused on the kid—psionic blasts Jin-Bennu threw at him.
No wonder he’s Amun’s second-in-command.
The younger Lexar Marine reached his target. Their fists flew and their intimidatingly muscled bodies twisted in a form of martial arts capable of paralyzing human opponents in a single strike. It was an elegant yet brutal artform, and watching it stole her breath.
What else made her breathless?
An effortless psionic kick from Bennu, led by his actual foot and followed by his power, thrust the younger Lexar twenty feet into the air. He landed in a way that would have pulverized Veryn’s spine and shattered her skull.
Someone would have taken me away on a stretcher.
The other two engaged Bennu, flanking him to take the alien war commander on from each side.
Crushes were for teenage girls, not adult women. No matter how many times Veryn repeated that to herself, the hunk of extraordinarily gorgeous Lexar Marine gave Veryn enough flutters to remember childhood again.
“Psst,” Nia cut in with a sharp hiss. “Nia to Veryn. Nia to Veryn. Mayday, boys, we’ve lost her. We appear to be suffering a critical mission failure.”
Veryn snapped of it. “I’m right here.”
“Uh huh. Girl, I timed you. You’ve been staring for three whole minutes. Almost without blinking. How am I going to learn this if my combat instructor can’t keep her eyes off the alien hunks?”
“Says the woman bonded to an alien hunk,” she deflected, rolling her eyes.
“You’re drooling.”
“It’s called sweat, and it’s what you’d be doing if you were actually putting forth effort. So let’s go through the exercises again from the top, shall we? Give me ten laps around the gymnasium to start.”
“But I want to do more fighting drills. What do laps have to do with learning to fight?” Nia demanded, her voice rising enough for a passing Lexar to glance at them.
“Stamina,” a towering alien answered in Veryn’s stead. “Running and other strenuous activities prepare the body for combat, enhance endurance, and strengthen lung capacity.”
Irritability fled from Nia’s face in an instant, replaced by mortification. “Oh.” She spun, clearing her throat, and faced Veryn again. “I’ll get on that then.”
Veryn chuckled, surprised her friend hadn’t come back with some witty retort regarding stamina. Nia had to have plenty of it to keep up with her promised mate.
“Amun will not be pleased if you break her,” a voice spoke from behind her, clear as the midnight expanse of deep space and smoother than velvet, the depth immediately bringing goose bumps to her skin. She turned, slowly, coming face-to-chest—no, abdomen—with the very object of her fascination. Sweat glistened on his bronzed skin, bringing attention to his perfectly defined muscles. She lifted her gaze to his face to find him smirking down at her.
“I’m not breaking her,” Veryn countered. “He’ll be thanking me.”
“Will he?” Jin-Bennu raised one brow. The man was the manifestation of perfection wrapped in one flawless package.
Veryn hated that Jin-Bennu had seen her at her worst, at her most vulnerable, over a year ago when Nia had been forced to send out a distress signal. Veryn had been the only combat-trained researcher on the project when the Zaecady launched their initial attacks, sending in drones and soldier beetles to scuttle the facility’s scientific progress and slaughter all humans on the project.
He’d seen her injured and near death.
He stepped closer, near enough for her to feel the body heat he exuded. At her height, she barely made it to the top of his abdomen. Lexar were, by genetic evolution, enormous beings similar to humans in appearance but scaled up to behemoth proportions.
/> “Absolutely,” she said, forcing herself to turn away. She crossed her arms over her chest and watched Nia’s stride, pointedly trying to ignore the Lexar at her side.
“Why does a researcher know how to fight?”
“The Lexar people have more than one skill.”
“We do, yes. It is not as common among humans, however. Many of your scientists are...” He paused, as if struggling to find a diplomatic term.
“Soft?” she offered.
“I would not say soft. Merely…”
“You can’t think of a better word, can you?”
“Apologies, Dr. Barclay. It was not my intention to offend.”
“You haven’t. I like to think humanity is branching out and striving to do better. Besides, I wasn’t always a researcher. I wanted to join the Royal Marines, actually.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Why are you suddenly so inquisitive when you’ve spent months pointedly ignoring me?
“I never said I didn’t,” Veryn replied, to which the psychic blinked at her.
Was that a blush?
It was.
The accomplishment tugged the corners of her mouth into an involuntary smile. In a year of living on the Exemplar, Veryn had come to learn the Lexar were protective at the best of times and arrogant older brothers at the worst of them, frequently making assumptions about the humans they deemed worthy of their protection.
As a child, she had been amazed by the giant race of aliens.
She’d been mystified by their physical perfection, their glowing silver eyes, and the aesthetic that had once inspired Ancient Babylonian and Egyptian culture.
“I served for six years, discovered I had a love for science during that time, and—” Was stationed on the planet Killandor 2 to protect UNE assets and sensitive data. “—chose not to reenlist once I had my doctorate in genetic engineering.”
His gaze narrowed ever so slightly, and so briefly that in the span of a blink, his expression had returned to normal, leaving her to wonder if she imagined it.
“You do not appear old enough to have served six years. Time has treated you well.”
“Well, I’m not that old. I entered an accelerated program geared toward naval officers,” she said, flustered. When his lips twisted upward in another smirk, she frowned and smacked a hand into his abs. It was like slapping marble. “You’re awful, teasing a lady like that about her age.”
“I meant it with full compliments,” he assured.
He did not object to her touching him. If only her hand could have lingered and traced the ridges of sculpted muscle.
Touching Jin-Bennu had been a mistake indeed. Now that she knew the sensation of his skin under her fingers, she’d never be able to stop thinking about it.
“Would it make you feel better to know mine?”
“No. You’re probably like a hundred or something. Don’t all of your people live an extraordinarily long time?” she asked, refusing to fess up to already knowing everything scientifically related to the Lexar. She studied their kind in depth for years and worked on a secret project at one point in the event their people became hostile to humanity. The UNE wanted a fallback. Just in case.
“As you wish. I shall let you return to your torture.” He bent into a half bow then stepped away, only to pause after four steps. When he looked back at her, the intensity of his gaze held her trapped in place, breath caught in her chest. “Tomorrow. Sixth bell. I will instruct you in the art of Lexarian weaponry. Do not be late.”
“What?” she blurted.
“Nia is not the only one who must learn, Dr. Barclay. I have decided you will be my student.”
With that final, ominous statement, he strode away.
What the fuck was that about?
By that point, Nia rounded the track on her second lap. Barely any time passed.
The bewildering situation was still on Veryn’s mind when Nia trudged up to her, pouring sweat down her stomach and chest.
“Okay. I did it. I might lie down and die now, but I did it,” she managed to wheeze between thirsty gulps of air.
“Don’t bend over. That won’t help.” Veryn urged Nia to straighten.
“So, what’d you and Bennu chat about?” Nia asked when she finally stopped heaving.
“Nothing much. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t breaking you. I guess he figured Amun would hurt him before me if I made you drop dead on the floor.”
Nia laughed weakly, a shudder of breath from exhausted lungs. “You’re probably right. Ugh, I feel gross. Are we done now? Can I go hit the showers?”
“Yeah, we’re done. We’ll work on your fighting form more tomorrow. Right now, a shower sounds like a brilliant idea.”
“Good. Then we can meet up with Dusty for dinner and go over the latest lab results.”
Veryn snickered at her friend again before they parted ways. Nia lived in the exarch’s quarters now that she and Tal-Amun were soon to become a bonded pair. The ceremony was set to take place on the Lexar homeworld of Aaru, which neither woman visited before. Veryn looked forward to immersing herself in their culture and exploring everything the planet had to offer.
Lexar customs stipulated Veryn was to stand in for her friend’s deceased mother. It seemed like years ago that the two made a pact to attend each other’s wedding in lieu of the family they lost.
Parting ways, she returned to her personal quarters and let the door slide shut behind her. Since their arrival, Veryn and Dusty stayed in relatively comfortable private rooms aboard the ship appointed to guests. The ship’s A.I. set the cabin to privacy mode before she even stripped out of her gym gear.
“Veryn Barclay, one message awaits you at your terminal. Shall I play it?”
“Ugh, no. Messages can wait until after I’m not sweaty and gross.”
She just wanted a shower without worrying about some report owed to United Command or the latest letter from home. She undressed and stepped into the steaming shower, grateful for the instant blast of heat. Not having to wait for water to warm was an absolute treat.
“Veryn Barclay, a second message from the same sender has come through,” the AI reported, its mechanical voice projected from an aperture above her over the sound of pounding water. “It appears urgent. Shall I play it?”
She sighed. “Fine, go ahead, Isis. Who is it from?”
“The message was sent by Queen Catherine. Playing now.”
The last time she had spoken with Her Royal Majesty had been at her mother’s funeral five years earlier. Not long before the UNE relocated her to Killandor 2.
As both a distant relative and close friend of her mother, Catherine had been a constant figure in Veryn’s childhood. Cerise Barclay and the queen had been closer than sisters, and Veryn had fond memories of sharing tea and playing chase in the gardens with both women. Hearing her voice inspired happiness and pain in equal measure.
“Veryn, my dear, I wish we had more time and that we could have this conversation face to face, but such is not to be. The royal delegation should arrive soon, no later than the fifth evening hour of New London time. God, I hope this reaches you on the Exemplar and you aren’t taken completely unawares. There are issues with the communication systems between our worlds recently. I’ve tried five times to send this message. Please listen with an open mind to the request they carry.”
“What?” Veryn fumbled the shampoo bar she’d been running through her hair. “What royal delegation? What time is it?”
“The time is approaching the fifth hour,” the AI responded. “A UNE vessel has taken position at our port side.”
“Fuck!”
She rushed through what should have been a relaxing shower and nearly hurled herself face-first on the floor as she hurried out. By the time she dressed, she was no calmer, her stomach a tangled ball of nerves and anxiety. Stranger still, no one sent for her.
Veryn opened the door and came face-to-chest once more with Bennu. He blinked, seeming startled, his hand ra
ised to the panel on the wall.
“Are they here?” she asked, skipping to the heart of the matter.
“How did you know?”
“A really, really late message from Her Royal Majesty. I assume I’ve been requested?”
“You have. Please follow me.”
Bennu led the way down the corridors of the residential deck to a quarter of the ship she never visited before. Key areas of the Exemplar remained off limits to her throughout her stay. According to Nia, even she was barred from traveling certain areas until their bonding became official.
As she trailed behind Bennu, she couldn’t help but admire the grace in his movements and the way planes of muscle rippled down a broad back decorated by gorgeous ink. The enormity of the artwork, which seemed to depict some of their animal-headed deities, must have taken hours to acquire the level of detail she studied.
A scanner swept dull green light over Bennu then obeyed his command in Lexar to open a secured door. Beyond, a small entourage of five stood gathered around a familiar figure in burgundy robes of state.
It’s bad news.
Their faces spoke for them, accompanied by the buzzing of anxiety filling the room.
Veryn made it a point to never admit she was psionically sensitive. The secret was part of her cover as one of many agents spread across the galaxy.
“Ambassador Thalia, what a pleasant surprise,” she said as she stepped around Bennu into the room.
“Ah, there you are, Veryn. What a delight to see you again,” the woman said lightly, stepping forward for air kisses to her cheek. “I swear, each time I see you, you’re unchanged.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to greet you upon arrival, but Queen Catherine’s message was delayed. A relay must be malfunctioning somewhere.”
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