Warriors of Phaeton: Paine and Rowe

by Leora Gonzales

  “Will you quit fussing already,” Indigo snapped, apparently as annoyed with Rowe’s whining as he was. “Hix said we didn’t have to stay locked up, and I want some fresh air.”

  “Our air is recycled and—”

  “You know what I mean,” Indigo hissed, nodding at Hix across the room when he looked up at their arguing.

  Paine led her to the seating area that occupied most of the room. “Are you still hungry? You didn’t eat much of your lunch earlier.”

  “I’m sorry. I hate wasting food, but I’m not a big fan of alfredo sauce on my pasta. It always upsets my stomach.” Indigo stopped and made a face. “Wait a minute. How the hell do you guys have normal food up here?”

  Both men chuckled at the question.

  “Food replicator,” Paine answered, gesturing over to the unit on a side counter. “It can recreate any meal loaded into its database.”

  Indigo’s mouth dropped in shock.

  “After the first brides arrived, the options began multiplying. Pancakes, waffles, lasagna, tacos…it can recreate them all.”

  “Anything?!” she said, her tone filled with wonder. “That’s crazy.”

  “Come on,” Paine said, standing up. “Tell me what you’re craving, and I’ll see if it’s programmed in yet.”

  “Really?” Indigo asked with a big smile on her face.

  “Absolutely,” he shot back cockily.

  Indigo gave a little clap, bouncing in her seat. “Oh my God, lemme think...”

  “This isn’t that tough of a decision, sweetheart,” Rowe teased. “Pick the first thing you think of.”

  “Are you insane?!” Indigo looked at him aghast, her hand flying to her chest. “I’ve been trapped underground on an alien planet with only weird miner food for the last month. If what you’re saying is true, and that tiny box over there isn’t just for making toast, then I’m gonna think up something amazing. Something spectacular. Something I’ve been dreaming about for the last month.”

  Indigo stood up and began pacing, walking back and forth as she mumbled to herself.

  “Chocolate cake!” she yelled before changing her mind and walking some more.

  “She does know she can have more than one item, right?” Leere’s amused voice came from the entryway where he stood with his bride. Tall and blonde, the woman complimented the doctor’s much darker looks nicely.

  Paine and Rowe both stood to greet the pair, keeping their eye on Indigo as she continued to amuse them.

  “I’m Paine and this is my partner, Rowe.”

  “Oh!” the woman said, her eyes wide. “I thought Leere said that you and—”

  “They’re not gay,” Indigo announced mid-pace.

  “Well,” the new bride said, the hint of a smile on her pink lips, “that wasn’t awkward at all.”

  “Cherry pie,” Indigo said, walking over to join the group. “I’ve decided I want a big fat slice of cherry pie—or maybe even a whole pie.” She clapped her hands with a wide smile. “I’ll start with a piece and work my way up.”

  Paine leaned down when she tugged his arm. “Yes, love?”

  “It’s my favorite,” she whispered, leaning against his shoulder. “My abuela taught my mom, and then my mom taught me. It was the first pie I ever made.”

  “Then cherry pie it is,” he whispered back, nodding at Rowe where his partner was watching them.

  ************************************************************************

  Two hours and twelve pies later, the common room was filled with laughter.

  “I still cannot believe you got away with it,” Chloe, Leere’s bride, said in amazement. “I mean, I barely got a glimpse of what it was like outside of the gates before I was frozen with a capital F.”

  “We didn’t get away with it,” Paine pointed out. “We still have to deal with Kaine and the council once we arrive back on Phaeton One.”

  “What’s life on the ship like?” Ramona, Burke’s bride, asked. “Not that I’ve decided to stay yet,” she tacked on when the big Brakken perked up beside her. “I’m just curious.”

  All the men were quiet, looking at one another without offering up an answer.

  “Well?” Indigo prodded, bumping her elbow into his side. “C’mon, Paine. Give us a little something about what we should expect.”

  “It’s big,” he started, unsure what to say. “Other than that, it’s a tough question to answer. Each of us has a different life—a different experience on One.”

  “That’s true,” Rowe agreed, rubbing Indigo’s feet where they were curled in his lap. “Rowe and I are stationed on Phaeton One but spend a lot of time off ship. Our missions take us into different sectors, depending on who we’re guarding at the time.”

  “I’m not sure yet, but I’m guessing Chloe and I will be assigned quarters near the med center,” Leere said with a shrug. “Tamin and Rodin are taking over my training for the indefinite future.”

  “Why?” Paine asked. “Not that I’m not grateful for another doctor on board, but why would we need another? Is the council worried they won’t be able to do their jobs with the babies coming?”

  “I can’t believe you all gossip just as much as the women do,” Hix tsked, joining them where they all lounged in a large circle.

  The general mood of the group, Burke included, was much lighter than it had been since the entire mission had started. Paine figured that’s what happened once you broke up all the testosterone that had been clogging up their ship. Everyone seemed to be on their best behavior, especially under their new brides’ attention.

  “The council isn’t worried about the docs; they’re worried about the brides.” Hix pointed at Leere. “Tamin and Rodin are the only docs to assist the human brides so far. The other docs can read and study all they want, but until they actually treat humans. At least that’s what Andi says,” he said with a shrug. “Once you’re trained, they’ll send you and your wife back to Phaeton Two to head the medical center there.”

  “That makes sense.” Leere nodded. “Crews retrofitting family quarters aboard Two, preparing for the time when we have enough families that the extra space will be needed. It makes sense that if we’re planning on having human wives and offspring, we must know how to treat them when they need care.”

  Paine half listened, his attention on Indigo sitting between him and Rowe. While he hadn’t been happy about leaving the room initially, it hadn’t taken him long to change his mind. Indigo was much more relaxed around the other brides. The women chatted as if they hadn’t seen each other on Djaromir just yesterday.

  He had to admit they did have a lot to discuss, which was why he didn’t get upset when Indigo had shooed him away from their little huddle earlier. That morning, just like Matrix had hoped, four more women had triggered the Djaromir mating call when the miners had arrived that morning. Luckily, none were matched to Phaetons onboard their ship—it had been a close call, all things considered.

  “You look happy,” Bailey said to Indigo. Perched on Brock’s lap, the new bride leaned in. “Actually, you look better than you did just the other day…”

  “Thanks. It must have been that nap I took earlier. Did you hear what happened with Sheila?” Indigo asked, changing the subject. “Honestly, I’d half expected her to stay just because, but the fact that she triggered one of those guys is awesome.”

  “I know, right!” Bailey said excitedly. “I’m so happy for her. She was just the sweetest. Always trying to help out.”

  “Are you guys talking about Sheila?” Jenz’s bride, Willa, asked.

  Paine gave Rowe a look over Indigo’s head.

  When the women nodded, she joined the conversation. In a matter of seconds, all ten females were gossiping.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  She’d been running on fumes for the last few hours and she was definitely starting to feel it. It was nobody’s fault but her own. She hadn’t wanted to leave the common area though, not when everyone had been having such a go
od time.

  “It made me happy to see everyone laughing and smiling,” Indigo said as she crawled into Paine’s bed, smelling the spicy scent on the sheets as she sprawled face down.

  The women had taken turns placing their orders for the replicator, and then they’d all feasted. Pies, cakes, tacos, spaghetti, tiramisu…plates of food were passed around as the women shared everything they’d been craving for the last month. Once they’d filled their stomachs, Hix had pulled out a few bottles of a special brew from Euphoria.

  As the women proceeded to get toasted, the men grumbled about their recent missions and the war wounds they’d received. Eventually, everyone was talking at once; the women were the loudest of them all. They’d talked about everything from life on Djaromir to what they were expecting the mothership to be like.

  It wasn’t until the conversation shifted to the friends who stayed behind that Indigo became uncomfortable. She was filled with such mixed emotions that she’d fallen quiet and withdrawn from the conversation around her.

  Her men had noticed her change of mood. Each asked in his own way if she was okay. Rowe had stroked her ankles and gave her a questioning look when she glanced over to him. Paine’s approach was less subtle as he’d leaned in and asked her if she felt well.

  At the time, she’d shrugged, not quite sure how she felt. But she was sure that answer wouldn’t hold up much longer, especially with the way they were watching her roll around on the bed.

  “What’s wrong,” Rowe asked, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

  Indigo bit back a sigh at the show of his muscled forearms. “You’re too damn pretty for your own good, you know that?”

  “Ah-hem,” Paine cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes at her.

  “Pfft,” Indigo snorted. “I wasn’t going to leave you out, you big baby.”

  “Good.” Paine sat beside her hip on the bed and popped her on the ass with the flat of his palm.

  “Hey!” she yelped, rolling over to protect her ass before he swatted her again. “What’s that for?”

  “Something’s wrong and you’re trying to distract us.”

  Indigo scowled at the men, annoyed that they could read her so easily.

  “You looked uncomfortable when they were talking about the brides that mated—”

  “Do you regret this triad?” Paine asked, interrupting Rowe before he could finish. “Are you planning on leaving? You haven’t given us a chance to—”

  “Whoooa,” Indigo drawled, holding up her hands. “First, I do not regret” –she waved her hands between them— “this.” Giving each of them a pointed look, she waited until they nodded before continuing. “I may still be coming to terms with whatever this is, but I don’t have any regrets. I’m happy for Shelia and the others. They’re my friends, and although I didn’t want a reason to stay on Djaromir, they did. They were hoping to trigger a mating, so I can’t help but be stoked that they got what they wanted.”

  “Then what was it that upset you?”

  “I’m not upset. I’m more spooked than anything. I mean, what if that had happened to me?” Indigo asked with a grimace. “What if you hadn’t disobeyed the council and waited to get me? I guess it made me realize how close I came to being trapped there.”

  “We would have permitted—” Rowe insisted.

  “You wouldn’t have had a choice,” Indigo tutted back with a shake of her head. “I’m guessing you guys have never been around Djaromir mates before. That shit’s serious. Primal instincts-type serious. Those couples were oblivious to everything and everyone around them. Junie once told me that even the idea of K’hor leaving her alone made her feel sick. It’s biological; there’s no fighting that.”

  She shivered, wigged out the more she thought about it.

  “Soooo,” Paine drawled, casting a glance to Rowe. “You’re not upset that we stole you from your bed?”

  “No, not really,” she answered without hesitation. “I’d already said my good-byes at dinner—dear lord, was that only yesterday?” she asked struggling to believe so little time had passed. “So much has happened. Like, it couldn’t have been just last night that I fell asleep in my room.”

  Rowe chuckled as he pushed away from the wall to approach the bed. “I know what you mean.”

  “Same,” Paine agreed, stroking her hip through the jeggings she’d slipped on after digging them out of her bag. “It feels like we’ve been together much longer than a day.”

  “What happens now?” she asked, rolling onto her side to face them both.

  Rowe bit his lip with a shrug, his cheeks turning pink at the question. Paine flashed her his adorable dimple once more.

  “Not that.” Indigo rolled her eyes and struggled to keep a stupid smile from taking over her face. “Are we heading to the mothership?”

  “Why do all the brides keep referring to Phaeton One as the mothership?” Rowe’s brow crinkled in confusion, tempting Indigo to reach out and smooth it away. “It makes no sense. The ship we are on in no way qualifies as its child.”

  “That’s just what they always call them in the movies. Let it go already,” she answered with a shrug and a smile, way too tired for any further effort. “How long will it take to get there?”

  “Only a day or two, unless we run into any problems.”

  “Problems?” she asked, raising a brow. She didn’t like the sound of that. She’d had more than enough problems in her life already.

  “Errands,” Rowe clarified to ease his bride’s concern at Paine’s words. “Nothing of concern, just a few things that the council may want us to handle along the way.”

  “Does that happen a lot?” Indigo asked. Now that she was giving this whole wife thing a try—something that still shocked her—she was curious what their life would be like. “How’s this all going to work exactly?”

  “What do you mean?” Rowe asked with a frown.

  “You mentioned that Phaeton One is your home base.” She shrugged. “I guess I’m just wondering how often you’re actually home. You mentioned leaving for missions but not much else. I mean, I’m guessing they must keep you busy, if you’re the highest ranked paired fighters. You’re pretty valuable to the guys in charge, right?”

  “Correct,” Paine answered, giving Rowe one of their looks.

  “You guys do that a lot,” she observed, waving her finger between the pair.

  “Do what?” Rowe nudged her hip to get her to scoot over.

  “You talk to each other without actually talking to each other. It’s weirdly fascinating but kind of annoying at the same time,” she teased. “I’ve been watching. Pretty soon I’m going read those looks, so you better watch out.”

  “Oh?” Rowe tickled his finger against her exposed ribs just above her tummy. “We better watch out, huh?”

  “Gah!” Indigo squealed loudly, trying to escape.

  “It looks like you’re just a tiny bit ticklish,” Paine joked when he caught one of her legs as it kicked him in the side.

  “S-s-sorry,” she panted, trying to catch her breath. “I don’t take tickling very well. In fact, I kind of hate it because I have no control over my reactions.”

  “I’m sorry, love,” Rowe apologized, his expression earnest. “I didn’t realize you were so sensitive.”

  “Luckily, you didn’t go for my feet.” Indigo snorted and wiggled the toes of the one attached to the leg that held Paine’s attention.

  Both men looked down at the wiggling toes and back up with curiosity in their eyes.

  “You’d have received a kick straight to the face,” she admitted with a look of embarrassment. “I broke my brother’s nose once.”

  “You did what?”

  “It was a complete accident,” she swore, holding up her hands. When Rowe and Paine made the gesture of moving out of range, she giggled. “Don’t look at me like that. I can’t control it. Plus, I’ve given you plenty of warning. Don’t tickle the toes and no one will get hurt.”

  “Wh
at other strange things should we know about you?” Rowe reclined beside her, putting one arm behind his head as he watched her.

  Lying on her other side, Paine adopted an almost identical pose.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Rowe smirked at Paine when Indigo threw an arm over his stomach in her sleep.

  He was surprised she’d lasted as long as she did, all things considered. Yawns so big she couldn’t hide them had started hours ago. Her obvious exhaustion had prompted their return to Paine’s room, and the last thing either expected was for her to stay awake talking until she literally fell asleep in Rowe’s arms.

  “She’s amazing,” Paine whispered, curling around her from behind as he looked at Rowe.

  “She is,” he agreed. “I’d hoped to get her to open up about her family, but she’s determined to keep that part of her life to herself.”

  “Do you blame her?” Paine scoffed, propping up on one elbow to look directly at Rowe over their bride’s sleeping form. “The report said she lost everyone she loved in that fire. I’m sure it’s more than painful to talk about.”

  “I know. I just feel like there’s so much more to her than what we’ve learned so far.”

  “Patience, brother.”

  “Funny hearing you say that,” Rowe snorted.

  “I know,” Paine said with a chuckle, quieting down a bit when Indigo mumbled between them. “It is weird though. The fact that you are the impatient one now. I didn’t think I would ever see you lose the rigid control you have over your emotions. You are becoming quite sensitive.”

  “Shut it,” he snapped grumpily. He was still coming to terms with his out-of-character responses to their new wife. “I’m not the impatient one. I’m simply not as patient as I once was.”

  “I’ve noticed,” Paine replied, his voice dry. “As have others.”

  “What does that mean?” Rowe asked, his brows lowered. It made him uncomfortable to have drawn the attention of others.

  “Nothing, brother.” Paine shrugged a shoulder. “The others have mentioned that you’re acting strange. Kaine was shocked you let me talk you into going down to the surface. That’s it.”