Sparx pulled his hood around his face, shivering at the flow of cold air sneaking around his neck. “As ready as we can be. We’ve listened to the suggestions the women have given us, and I cannot see them finding fault with our execution. Colby even said that Charlotte convinced Bitters to shave.”
“Really?!” Matrix asked in shock, his blue eyes wide. “I told him plain to his face that he needed to shave whatever he had growing there, yet he listened to Saber’s little mate?”
“Apparently,” he answered with a chuckle. “I’ve also instructed the cooks to have the ovens at full flame while they’re here. We have more than enough to burn to make sure the women are comfortable and not freezing during their stay.”
“I don’t mind seeing them a little cold,” Matrix interrupted with a wicked grin, appearing a bit sinister combined with his scar. “In fact, I admit that it is a mesmerizing sight to see when they’re just a tiny chilly.”
“If K’hor catches you staring at Juniper’s tits again, he’s going to kill you.” Sparx shook his head at his friend. “I was the only thing that stopped him the last time.”
Matrix waved the threat away with the swipe of his hand. “I can’t help it. They’re just right there,” he explained, holding out his hands in front of him and cupping them as if he were holding invisible breasts. “And the cotton the Earth females wear hides absolutely nothing. It molds and forms to their—”
“When was the last time you’ve visited the Pleasure Sector?” Sparx eyed Matrix, thinking it might be a smart idea to send him on a mission in that area before he was killed by an angry mate. There were only so many times Sparx was willing to put himself between K’hor and whoever made him jealous. His friend had already used up quite a few of those instances.
“A really long time,” Matrix groaned, rubbing his face. “A really, really long time. I’ve been too busy in the mines to run the ore transfer shuttles.”
“I know I haven’t had a chance to visit the brothels in at least two years,” Sparx admitted. He’d counted recently during a particularly rough night of tossing and turning in his rooms. The lack of sex had definitely added to his frustration lately, which was different than normal. It felt almost as if his body had been woken up from a deep sleep and was wanting to sate its hungers—all of them.
Normally, Sparx could go long periods—years even—without craving the need for a female’s touch. Since they’d brought humans onto Djaromir, that had changed. The constant reminder of the fact that there were women out there who could be possible mates seemed to awaken something within him. Seeing their softness and hearing their voices did something to him.
Not that he wanted a mate.
“It has probably been twice as long for me.”
Sparx nodded at Matrix, the words bringing him back to the conversation at hand.
“Not that the brothels matter, considering our agreement with Earth for the women they have volunteering,” Matrix continued on, not realizing that Sparx was trying to figure out the next time he’d be able to make a trip out to the Pleasure Sector.
Chapter Six
“Wait, did he say to not buckle that strap?” Lucy asked nervously, trying to figure out the weird space suit she’d been handed moments ago.
“No clue,” Rue said, bent over trying to put it on herself.
“These are obviously not one size fits all.” Pulling it up her legs, Lucy automatically sucked in a breath at the tightness of it around her thighs.
“I hear ya, Luce.” Rue panted as she tugged the thick material over her rounded hips. Pulling it hard, she bounced on her toes as if that would help. “I don’t even think these qualify as a one size fits most.”
“I don’t know what you two are babbling about,” Tabitha said with a tone full of snark as she fastened the buckles on the front of the suit she was wearing, which looked three sizes too big. Her sneer zeroed in on Lucy. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to get it zipped up, by the looks of things. Maybe if you watched what you ate you wouldn’t have to worry about your fat ass freezing.”
A collective “oooooohhhhh” went through the handful of women close enough to hear what Tabitha said.
“Did she just say I had a fat ass?” Lucy mock whispered to Rue, uncaring if anyone else heard her or not. She had lost all of her patience dealing with Tabitha and didn’t give a shit who knew it.
“She sure did,” Rue said back, grunting as she pulled the front of her outfit closed finally. “Need backup?”
“Nah, you know I actually like my ass,” Lucy said before turning to face the woman who’d been nasty to her from the moment they met. “It was her tone I didn’t appreciate.”
She wasn’t keen on confrontation, but there was no way she’d let someone else treat her like shit and not do anything about it. Not only would Rue kick her ass if she didn’t stick up for herself, but Lucy also had more self-respect than that. She was, however, also mature enough to try to give Tabitha a second chance. A chance to redeem herself for all the shitty comments and behavior she’d had towards them. Lucy understood that sometimes people were mean as a defense mechanism; striking out at others because of their own insecurities. In her opinion, Tabitha was exactly that type. The proof was plain to see by the way she was treating everyone even when they’d tried to be nice to her.
She was simply a miserable bitch.
Luckily for Tabitha, Lucy wasn’t going to hold it against her and cut her a little slack.
Plus, she didn’t want to get kicked out of the volunteer program for breaking this bitch’s nose.
Lucy gave Tabitha a sincere smile and held out her hand, her space suit hanging down around her waist as she tried to reason with her fellow woman. Like reasonable adults.
“Listen, I don’t know why we got off on the wrong foot or why you obviously don’t like me, but how about let’s wipe the slate clean and start fresh. Truce?”
Tabitha looked down at the hand Lucy was offering and curled her lip, her expression one of disgust as she turned up her nose at the offer. “How about you stay the fuck out of my way, you dumb cow? You’re such a waste of space. Why are you even here? No man wants a fatty in their bed,” she said, delivering the last line with her hands cupped around her mouth as if Lucy was hard of hearing.
Lucy only had a second to process the nastiness coming from the woman in front of her before she was pushed out of the way. All she saw was a blur of swinging limbs as Rue launched herself directly at Tabitha.
“You fucking bitch,” Rue growled. A fist flew out, clocking the other woman in the mouth. “My bestie is too nice to tear you apart, but I will do so with relish!”
The last word was screamed as if it were a cry for war as Rue took Tabitha to the floor of the shuttle.
“Rue!” Lucy hollered, trying to get a hold of her friend as she grabbed Tabitha’s hand and began making the woman smack herself in her own face.
“AHHHH!” Tabitha screamed, unable to shake off an enraged Rue. “Get her off of me!”
“Not.” Smack. “Until.” Smack. “You.” Smack “Say.” Smack. “Sorry!” Smack, smack.
“I’m sorry!” she blubbered, her cheeks pink where her hand had connected over and over again. “Get off! Get off!”
Rue climbed off Tabitha, shaking her fist at the bully. “I will kick your ass if I see you even look in her direction again. You got me?”
A few of the women helped Tabitha stand, but none stood by to offer her comfort once she was on her feet.
“What’s going on here?” a deep voice boomed from the front of the shuttle, one of the Phaeton pilots apparently having come to the back to check on them.
“Nothing,” Tabitha said quickly as she straightened her hair.
Lucy smirked. She’d obviously read the rules just like the rest of them had and knew she’d lose her spot if it was found out that she was causing trouble.
The man scanned the group, looking for a hint of a prob
lem before giving them all a nod. “Seal your suits. We’re leaving the shuttle as soon as the perimeter has been cleared.”
Lucy sucked in a breath at the announcement, her nerves zinging in anticipation.
“This is it,” Rue said on a gust of air as she closed her suit. Reaching over, she checked the tabs on Lucy’s suit before her friend did the same the same for her. “You ready?”
Picking up her helmet, she slipped it on. When it clicked to the neck of her suit, a screen on the inside of her visor flashed green. Rue put her helmet over her head and gave Lucy a thumbs-up, the large gloves on her hands looking comical.
“These are so cool!” Rue exclaimed, tapping her visor. “This must be what it’s like to be an astronaut.”
Lucy laughed. “Rue, we are literally in space getting ready to possibly live on an alien planet for the rest of our lives. We’re way cooler than astronauts,” she reasoned. Her voice sounded funny inside the helmet; hollow, like she was yelling into a can.
“True dat.” Her buddy held out a fist for her to bump. Lucy obliged.
“Hey, slugger,” Jessie teased, joining the duo as they waited for everyone to be ready.
“I prefer Rue,” she said with a mock bow and a laugh.
“Nice to meet you, Rue.” She held out her hand to shake then laughed when their gloves got in the way. Waving the oversized mitt in the air, she turned to Lucy. “I know we all haven’t formally met or anything, but you two seem to be some of the friendlier ladies that I may or may not be stuck living with in caves for the rest of my life so…”
“We seem friendly?” Rue’s voice and expression were enough to send Lucy into a fit of laughter.
Jessie tilted her head in Tabitha’s direction. “Believe me, you did us all a favor shutting that shit down. We applied around the same time, so I’ve seen her in action much longer than you two have. She just hasn’t messed with me yet because she knows I’ll wipe the floor with her.”
“What’s her deal anyway?” Lucy was honestly curious about why the other woman was so nasty. She also hated to admit it, but it irked her that someone didn’t like her. Everyone liked her. She was a likable person, dammit.
“From what I’ve heard, she’s been waiting for a match to come through with the Phaetons since they first began taking applications. Apparently, she got tired of waiting and jumped at the opportunity to snag a miner because she heard it’s easier.”
“Seriously?”
“I’m not making this up. I’ve had a hell of a time dodging her. She’s the worst. The last time she caught me, I was willing to take a screwdriver to the eardrum instead of listening to the bullshit she was spewing. She’s convinced she’s so amazing that all she needs to do is bag one of the guys in charge and poof, she’s a queen or something. As if her vagina is magical.”
“First, gross,” Lucy said with a frown. “Second, she knows we’re not going to go in there and just pick out the guy we think is the hottest, right? It’s like—”
“Biological and shit,” Rue finished, her frown matching Lucy’s.
“I don’t think she cares about that tidbit of information. She thinks the fact that these guys have been without women for a while will make them putty in her hands,” Jessie said with a shake of her head as she studied Tabitha where she was talking to a few others. “I feel a little bad for whichever Djaromir she sets her sights on.”
Rue and Lucy nodded in agreement.
“Enough about crazykins over there and her Venus’s- flytrap vagina. We have more important things to focus on,” Rue said before she clapped her gloves together once. “We ready to do this?”
“Yeah,” Lucy said, emphasizing her readiness with an enthusiastic fist pump.
“Oh,” Jessie said, pumping her fist belatedly when she realized she’d missed Rue’s cue. “Ditto!”
“Ladies,” their Phaeton guide called, interrupting their huddle. “Please line up over here. Once I’ve checked your bio suits, please wait behind me at the door for Trex to scan your bands. Do not worry. It can be done through your suit. There’s no need to remove your gloves once I’ve let you pass.”
The women nodded collectively and fell into line. Since there were only ten of them, it wasn’t a long one. Lucy lined up behind Rue with Jessie behind her, the line moving fast as their buckles were checked before their wrists were scanned with a handheld device.
The idea that she’d been tagged by the Phaetons still bothered her, but they’d insisted that this was for their own safety. She couldn’t blame them either; especially not after the reports she’d seen about the kidnapped brides. The bracelet she wore was a direct result of the Phaetons’ pledge to make sure brides didn’t go missing again.
Holding out her wrist, she waited for Trex to give her the go-ahead for her to move on.
Not only did it track her location, it also took her vitals, making sure things were A-Okay onboard the Lucy-train. Something she admitted did make her feel a little better about moving to an alien planet. She had trouble keeping both feet under her on Earth, considering her luck, so she had to figure that she’d be just as accident-prone on Djaromir.
Perhaps more, considering how many mishaps she’d had since they’d arrived for their volunteer period. She put some blame on the fact that she was uber anxious. Things tended to get a bit wobbly the more stress she was under. Ever since she was a kid, she’d had bad luck or poor timing.
Generally, a mixture of the two, if she were being honest with herself.
It came part and parcel with Lucy, and there didn’t seem to be a way to shake it. She hadn’t broken any mirrors or anything else that could explain the bad luck. It was just the way things were.
Once she was scanned and ushered to yet another short line, she was practically vibrating inside her snug-as-fuck space suit. She hadn’t been kidding earlier when she said this was definitely not a one-size-fits-all situation.
“You okay?” Rue mouthed after getting her attention with a hip check.
Lucy nodded and winked.
She was totes okay. Excited, nervous, and overall a ball of anxiety, but she was okay. She’d signed up because she wanted what she’d seen between the warlord and his lady during their interview. She wanted someone to look at her as if she hung the moon.
Come hell or high water, she was going to get it.
Chapter Seven
“Sir!”
Sparx came to a halt, looking behind him.
“Is that Colby?” Matrix asked with a frown as he squinted at the figure running towards them.
“Yes, it is,” he confirmed, wondering what the miner was doing following them.
As Colby closed the distance between them, Sparx noticed the other Djaromir sweating.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, immediately knowing that something had to be wrong if his second-in-command had interrupted the journey to greet the women and their Phaeton escorts.
“You’re needed in the command center,” Colby panted, most likely having run at full speed the few miles to catch up. “Earth has sent a message recalling two of the female volunteers.”
“Why?” The question came out as sharp as the anger that split his chest.
“They’ve matched in the Phaeton system as possible brides.” Colby delivered the news with a wince. “In the future, it might be best for us to request our volunteers are not applicants of the Bridal Pact as well…”
Sparx waved the suggestion away. “Their computer has no real say in mating. They simply answer questions, and it spits out a match based on the probability that they will get along. I’ve even heard tales of the brides changing their minds and leaving. Can you imagine something like that occurring here?” he scoffed. “A mating on Djaromir is not questioned. It is fact.”
“What would you have me do, sir?” Colby asked, waiting for his direction.
“Tell them exactly what I’ve told you. We will not be sending any of the brides back until the agre
ed upon cycle, and only if they wish to leave.” Sparx turned to walk back the way he’d been headed before he stopped. “No, I will tell them that myself.”
“Would you like me to tell them?” Matrix said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, the smile he had on his face looking sinister due to the scar running down it. “In fact, considering this could impact the volunteers scheduled to arrive in Gunninng soon, it would be my pleasure to explain what Djaromir will and will not do regarding a situation like this.”
Sparx eyed Matrix, who looked a little too excited to get the chance to yell at their coordinator on Earth, but who was he to take away the simple pleasures his friend found in his duties.
“I appreciate the sacrifice you are making in dealing with those people,” he said, clapping Matrix on the back. “Try to stay civil please?”
“Me? Civil?” Matrix blinked a few times, keeping any expression off his face before giving into a smile. “I will try.”
“See that you do,” Sparx said, giving his friend a narrow look. “The last thing I need is to hear K’hor complain that I had you handle this and muck it all up.”
“Do not worry.” Matrix clapped him on the back. “I will make sure there is no complaint to be heard.”
“Would you like me to escort Warlord Matrix back to command?” Colby asked, his expression hopeful as he looked past Sparx in the direction he’d been headed.
“I know my way back,” Matrix interrupted with a smile. “Maybe you can convince Sparx that having a mate wouldn’t be a bad thing. In fact, we would all reap the benefits of an improved mood if your warlord found himself a female with whom to share his bed.”
“Believe me, I’ve tried to convince him that a human is worth the risk, but he won’t hear any of it,” Colby said with a shrug.
Sparx snorted as Matrix shook his head at him.
“Go,” he ordered gruffly. “Make sure Earth understands that we will not be sending any of the volunteers back early unless they request so themselves.”
Miners of Djaromir: Sparx Page 4
