“I can help her from here,” she instructed, holding out her arms as if she were physically able to take Lucy from his hold. As if she were something he’d pass over without care.
“Who are you?” he asked, tightening his grip in case Lucy thought he was about to let her go.
“She’s my bestie,” Lucy answered at the same time the other woman spoke.
“Veruca Salazar, and who the fuck are you?” her friend snapped, practically baring her teeth in a snarl.
“I am Warlord Sparx,” he answered, walking around her with Lucy still in his grip, ignoring the way she followed at his heels.
“Sir?”
“We will wait here for you to run the Phaetons back to their shuttle,” he instructed, ignoring the women crowding around them. “Make it fast. Lucy needs the attention of our healers, and I do not want to make her wait any longer than necessary.”
“Yes, sir.”
He watched as Colby and Bonner maneuvered Trex back onto the transport, the man still unconscious from the one blow Sparx had delivered. As Bonner buckled Trex into the seat, Colby turned back.
“Go through the ice. Not around,” Sparx instructed, not caring if it made the ride any rougher for the males on board, as long as it made the trip faster.
“Understood,” Colby answered with a nod before climbing into the driver’s seat.
“I will have to put you down for just a few moments while I open the gate,” he told Lucy, with Rue not far from his elbow as she continued to follow the pair.
Looking around, he spotted one of the crates Colby had been in the process of opening. It wasn’t the softest of places for her to sit, but since he needed both of his hands free to operate the gate, Sparx didn’t necessarily have a choice.
The moment he stepped away, Rue was checking over her like a worried mother figure, the pair whispering back and forth quickly.
“Stay,” he ordered, the word coming out gruffer than he’d intended.
“She’s not a dog,” her friend snapped, turning to glare at him through the visor of her helmet.
“I am more than aware of that fact,” he said, giving the pair an abbreviated bow before moving to the gate.
Triggering the lock to open the gate, Sparx ignored the urge to look back and check on Lucy.
“Duty first,” he reminded himself.
His role as Warlord of Fyeir had always come first, just like it had for his uncle before him. His Uncle Rowin had been beloved by the people of Fyeir and rightfully so. Without a mate of his own, he’d focused all of his energy on making Fyeir prosperous, and he had succeeded.
Just like Sparx had done since he’d claimed leadership.
Just like he would do until the day he died or became too weak to lead.
Closing the gate, Sparx stood and stared at the panel that showed the speeding vehicle on the radar as it made its way to the landing field. He could see that Colby was following orders and plowing straight through the ice and snowdrifts, making a straight shot for the landing field. Judging by the distance on the radar, Sparx figured it wouldn’t be long before his second in command was back and helping with the volunteers who seemed to be getting restless as they waited.
The sighs of annoyance drifting to him on the crisp air didn’t bother him one bit though. The women were safe and warm in the matching Phaeton suits they were bundled up in, and that’s right where they’d have to stay until Colby returned. He needed some distance, in order to keep his focus on what was important.
Focusing on the screen, he forced himself to ignore the women behind him.
More specifically, one woman in particular.
Chapter Twelve
“What the hell, Luce!” Rue snapped her fingers in front of Lucy’s helmet a few times before tapping on the glass like she would a fishbowl.
“Knock it off!” Lucy yelped, swatting at her friend.
“Are you okay? What’s going on with you?” Rue’s voice was more than worried; she was freaking out. “Why did he separate you from the rest of us? Did he hurt you?”
“Yes,” Lucy answered quickly, shaking her head to clear it a bit. “I mean, no. He didn’t hurt me.”
“What the fuck just happened?” Rue squatted down in front of her, her face almost as worried as the time that Lucy had tripped and started somersaulting down a steep hill last year.
“I don’t know,” she said with a slow blink.
And it was true. She had absolutely no idea what the hell had happened to her between the time that Sparx had introduced himself and now. Besides her soaked panties, she was only a flick or two away from an epic orgasm. Which was insane, considering he’d only carried her and said a few words.
“For a minute there I thought I was going to have—”
“To what?” Lucy interrupted with a laugh. “Come over and kick Sparx in the knees or something?”
“Hey now! Don’t make fun of me.” Rue bounced around on her toes a few times, punching at the air like a boxer—errr—at least that’s what Lucy assumed she was trying to do in the bulky space suit and boots she was wearing. “I coulda handled him fine. Those self-defense classes showed me where to hit to cause the most damage.”
Lucy shook her head at her crazy friend where she bopped around before casting a glance past her where Sparx was operating the large door they’d driven through. She wasn’t sure why she felt like she had to watch him, but she did. Every now and then she’d glance back at Rue, being her normal weird self, but then her eyes would go straight back to Sparx.
The shitty thing was that he hadn’t looked back at her. Not once. It was as if once he’d set her down, he’d forgotten about her. That thought dug its way into her chest a bit, leaving an ache she hadn’t experienced since she’d seen one of her favorite characters at comic-con.
“Just because he’s gigantic means nothing,” Rue said, still extoling her virtues as a fighter. “That just means I have a bigger target to aim for.”
Lucy rolled her eyes, taking them off the man she’d decided to stalk for a quick second. Then she flinched from the punch Rue delivered to her padded arm.
“Ouch!”
“Don’t ouch me,” her friend panted, breathless from the air boxing she’d been doing. “You know you didn’t feel that at all.”
Lucy shrugged and smiled. “Sorry. Habit.”
“I’m serious though, Luce. What did he say to you over there?” Rue looked around the women gathered waiting. “I heard Tabitha telling Bonner that they needed to take you back to the Phaeton ship because with your ankle messed up you were a liability. She spouted off a bunch of bullshit about it looking bad for the volunteer program. Jessie told Tabitha to shut the fuck up, but the way he’d separated you from the group worried me. For a second there, I thought he was going to shove you back on that train thing and send you back with our escorts.”
“A liability?” she repeated, the anger she’d felt towards Tabitha revving up once more. What the hell was this lady’s problem?
Looking around the gathered women, she scanned the group for the one in particular who seemed out to get her. Unable to figure out which space suit hid the witch, she let out a frustrated sigh.
“She’s over there,” Rue said, jerking her helmet in the direction that Tabitha seemed to be hiding.
Behind Rue.
Standing right next to Sparx.
With her hand on his fur-covered arm.
Stroking it.
“The minute she figured out who he was, she dropped the other Djaromir like a hot potato.”
“Grrrr,” Lucy growled, feeling an irrational wave of anger flow over her. “Help me.”
“What?” Rue asked, her expression one of confusion as she stood and watched Lucy struggle to rise all while keeping her foot from touching the ground. “Help you what?”
“Just help me!” she said through a locked jaw, her angry gaze fixed on Tabitha and Sparx across the cavern.
She was too far away to hear what Tabitha was saying, but if the amount of flutter her eyelashes had going on right now was any indication of her intentions, that woman had another think coming.
“Luce! Think of your ankle.” Rue huffed even as she helped Lucy stand. “What are you gonna do? Bust out the crane on her ass? You can barely stand on your own, and I know for damn sure you ain’t the karate kid!”
Standing on one foot, Lucy hopped a step in Sparx’s direction. The space suit she was wearing bopped with her as she painfully and slowly made her way, hop by hop, closer to her target.
“I got your back, Lucy,” Rue chimed in from under Lucy’s armpit where she was acting like a human crutch. “You’re a crazy bitch, and I have no idea what you’re thinking, but I got your back.”
“I’m just going to—” Hop. “Go over there—” Hop. Hop. “And tell Tabitha what’s what.”
Giving her some serious side-eye, her bestie smirked. “And what exactly is that?”
“That he’s mine,” she hissed, trying to hop faster when she saw Tabitha lean close to Sparx. “Personal space!” she snapped, even though she was still too far away from the pair to hear her.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Rue stopped, bring Lucy to a halt with her. “What the fuck do you mean he’s yours? Are you feeling okay, Luce?” Rue squinted at her. “Your cheeks are bright red and you have a little bit of the crazy eye going on. Did he drug you or something when he had you away from the group?”
“Oh my God.” Reaching up to pat her cheeks, Lucy grunted when her hand hit the helmet. “What’s wrong with me? I feel…hectic inside. You know what I mean? That feeling you get when there’s so much to do and not enough time to do it in?”
“I have absolutely no idea what the fuck you’re babbling about.” Standing directly in front of her, Rue braced her arms on Lucy’s shoulders and peered into her face. “But you’re starting to freak me out a bit, and I don’t like it. Normally, I’m the one acting coo-coo for cocoa puffs.”
“I don’t like it either,” Lucy murmured, her eyes cutting to Sparx and Tabitha again where they stood.
Chapter Thirteen
Sparx leaned away from the Earth female who was annoying him.
“Do you have something in your eyes?” he asked, worried at the amount of blinking she was doing.
“Huh?” she asked with a blank look on her face before swatting at him with her hand and giggling. “Don’t be silly.”
“Silly?” Sparx echoed growing more confused, and uncomfortable, by the second. “Maybe you should join the other—”
“Why would I do that when I’m exactly where I want to be?” Swaying forward, the female squished her lips together in a weirdly exaggerated pout that reminded him of the cluoak fish they hunted in the rivers closer to Gunninng.
It was unappealing. Extremely unappealing.
“Are you well?” he asked when she continued to flutter her eyelids and smack her lips. If these were symptoms of an illness she had, they seemed to be worsening. “I’ve called for the healers to meet us at edge of the city to take care of my—” Sparx stopped and frowned at the claim that was ready to flow off his tongue. Squashing that idea before it could grow, he kept repeating to himself the mantra he’d begun when he’d turned away from Lucy.
She’s nobody to you. You’re simply reacting to a female after abstaining for far too long.
“To what?” the woman repeated with more blinks and odd-looking lip quivers.
“To take care of the other volunteer that is injured.” He gestured to the screen mounted near the gate. “I can call for additional healers before we leave this cavern and begin our walk back. Do you need assistance as well?”
“No, silly.” The female pursed her lips again, giving him a creepy smile. Flicking her gaze to the side, she looked towards the group of women before returning her attention to him. “That woman is a menace, by the way. If I were you, I would’ve sent her back on that bus thingy and let the Phaetons deal with her. She’s going to drive everyone crazy.”
“Who?” he asked, not really caring to continue the conversation but with no idea how to stop it. He wanted to avoid seeming rude, but she made his head hurt.
“That fatty you practically hauled off of our ride just a bit ago,” the female snipped before leaning forward and running a hand over his muscled arm. “You’re so strong. I bet dragging her lard ass around didn’t seem like such a big deal at all. You should have just left her strapped into the seat and sent her back. I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time she was sent home early.”
The venom of the woman’s tone and words disgusted him greatly. Jealousy and hate weighed heavily on each word as she attacked the female with whom he’d already felt such strong desire and to protect.
“Enough,” he gritted as he took a step back and out of her reach. “That is more than enough.”
“What—what do you mean?” she stuttered, her face froze in confusion.
“I am unsure who you are, but I would appreciate being given some space,” he said coldly, glaring at the hand she reached toward him. He had no problem turning his back on her, even as her mouth dropped open in shock at his words. “Once Colby has returned to the cavern and the gate’s secure, we will begin the walk to the city. Until that time comes, it would be best if you remained with the others.”
Figuring that his dismissal was blatant enough that the strange female couldn’t ignore or misunderstand his orders, he proceeded to monitor the radar showing his second in command’s progress.
However, she didn’t move away. In fact, she moved closer. Trapping him between her body and the cavern wall.
“I’m fine right here,” the woman murmured, placing her gloved hand on his back.
“Do not—”
“Personal space!”
Sparx whipped his head to the side at the yell, narrowing his gaze on the hobbling figure quickly closing the distance between them.
“You shouldn’t be up—” he began to protest only to stop as the annoying woman before him patted the furs covering his chest. With a grimace, he tried to step back but came directly up against the screen he’d been so focused on moments ago.
“Don’t worry, honey,” she whispered as if they were sharing a secret. “I’ll handle this.”
“Personal. Space,” Lucy repeated again, this time adding a harsher enunciation as she came to a stop—with her helper—directly in front of them.
Sparx held up his hands, as if accused of a crime. He had no idea why, but he needed Lucy to know that this woman’s attention had not been forced and not desired. He was innocent.
“Not you,” Lucy snapped with a roll of her eyes in his direction before narrowing her gaze on the desperate woman who’d refused to leave him alone “You. What the hell do you think you’re doing, Tabitha?”
“What do you mean?” Tabitha simpered, putting a hand to her chest in feigned innocence. “I’m just over here talking to this fine specimen—”
“He’s not a slab of meat for you to manhandle,” Lucy growled, leaning forward as if she were going to slide straight out of Rue’s grip and tackle the other woman. “Don’t. Touch.”
Sparx couldn’t help the wave of heat ignited in his loins at the ferocity Lucy displayed. With red cheeks and fury in her eyes, Lucy stood firm as she challenged Tabitha’s forwardness. It didn’t matter that she was injured and needed the assistance of her friend to stand. Her protectiveness was only made more endearing as he watched her warn off the other woman, even as she hobbled on one foot.
He knew who this female was to him. And, with that realization, a spark deep within his chest flared.
He knew exactly who she was…even if he didn’t want to admit it.
Chapter Fourteen
Lucy was so worked up, her breath began to fog the inside of her helmet.
Blood pressure elevated.
The words flashed quickly on the inside of her visor befor
e blinking away. If it wasn’t for the roaring in her ears, she would have thought it was her imagination, but yeah…she felt a little worked up.
Okay, a lot worked up.
The only way she could describe it was chaos. Her heart was racing as if she’d downed a cart full of Red Bulls, leaving her almost breathless yet fizzling with energy. Lucy glared at Tabitha so hard she was amazed the woman’s bleached-to-the-max hair didn’t catch on fire. Her mind raced as she thought of all the things she wanted to say to Tabitha, even though the last thing she wanted to do was talk. Earlier, Tabitha had merely annoyed Lucy to the point of wanting to tell her off. Now she wanted to physically assault the woman, something that was completely out of character for her. Rue? Sure. But not Lucy. Not until now.
What the hell was happening to her?
Inhaling through her nose and exhaling out of her mouth, Lucy tried to breathe through the fury that burned in her chest.
“Tabitha?” Rue interrupted the staring contest the two women were having. “I’m going to give you a friendly little warning because I know how much you treasure that dry ass mop of over-processed hair you have on your head.” She shrugged when Tabitha ignored her. “Hey, I’m just trying to save you from having to buy a wig but if don’t want to listen and walk away, that’s your business. I haven’t seen her this angry since the time she caught Willy Dickerson tormenting a puppy when we were fifteen.”
“And?” Tabitha snapped, breaking eye contact with Lucy to wrinkle her nose at Rue.
“And he was a three-hundred-pound upperclassman that I had absolutely no problem dropping to the ground,” Lucy growled. Her voice sounded strange, even to her own ears.
“Yeah,” Rue laughed nervously, her eyes wide at the demonic voice that had come from Lucy’s mouth. “That.”
Tabitha’s Botox frozen face quivered for a moment before she rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’ll go wait with the others for you.” With one last pat on Sparx’s chest, she shuffled away.
She either didn’t hear, or chose to completely ignore, the snort coming from Sparx, but Lucy heard it and it made her smile.
Miners of Djaromir: Sparx Page 7
