Flames of Arousal

by Kerce, Ruth D.

  Are you telling me if Braden disappeared, and the Council said ‘we’re not going to help’ that everyone would just sit on their ass and forget about the man?”

  A look of guilt crossed his face. “No, I can’t tell you that. I’m sorry nobody helped you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there and able to support you when you needed a friend.” He paused, then in a rush added, “I haven’t turned, Halah. I’m here undercover.”

  Finally. She’d suspected as much and was so glad he’d admitted it to her, but she still needed to be certain he wasn’t trying to trick her. She wanted some questions answered before she opened up to him any further. “You went through the reinitiation?” She held her breath.

  “Yes.”

  The air whooshed out of her, and her heart sank. Too late. No matter what he thought, what he said, he’d been turned. But she’d try to find out the details. Whatever explanation he offered should be interesting. “How did they not turn you?” If someone went through the Rite of the Dome, they served the Dome. Period. He might be lying as part of a bigger plan to gain more information from her about Xylon and the Lair. As a higher-ranking officer, even though no longer commissioned, she knew things that even Kam wouldn’t have had access to. She hadn’t told Daegal most of what she still knew, only using information when she needed it for survival or to negotiate a deal.

  “Leila came up with an experimental formula to prevent Warriors from being turned. I came here to test it, and then infiltrate and destroy Marid’s systems. Now that I know the formula worked, as soon as I contact Laszlo, we’ll begin to distribute the synthetic to all Warriors. The compound should release those Warriors turned against their will.”

  Was it possible? She eyed him warily. A formula that could release turned Warriors? If so, that could completely change the direction this war took. At full strength, Xylon could never be defeated. Something else Kam had said caught her attention, raising her interest immediately. Something he wouldn’t have said, if not true, for it served no purpose. “Since when is Laszlo in charge again?”

  Everyone in the system knew about his disappearance. The Lair leader had tried to help her at one time. More than once actually. The only one who’d tried. And although powerful, he’d refused to go completely against the Council, giving her some kind of philosophical excuse, while talking about the future and fate. All things she didn’t understand at the time. Hell, she still didn’t understand his reasoning.

  “It’s a long story, and there’s no time to fully explain now. Although I removed all the surveillance equipment I found, I don’t want to take a chance of being overheard, which is why we’re talking in the shower.” He filled his hands with cleanser, then began to stroke her body. “Let me quickly run down the plan. I’ll explain in more detail later. I’m here to upload viruses into the Dome’s computer system. I need you to take out their weapons system after I hack into the controls.”

  While she listened, she tried to avoid thinking about his hands slowly gliding down her body. “Why should I help you do this?” Was that why he’d fucked her? Trying to get her on his side by giving her an orgasm so strong that she’d do anything for him, just for the chance of getting more? She didn’t like the thought. His hands cupped her breasts and she resisted the urge to moan.

  “You don’t want Daegal in control of this system. I know you don’t, Halah.”

  She stiffened her spine, determined not to let his touch sway her. She needed to make her decisions based on facts, not feelings. “I hate Daegal, but once I get out of here and find Josella, I’d planned to just leave the system. So why should I care, one way or the other, what he does?” Which would mean she’d be leaving Kam, too. Damn it, why did that thought make her miserable?

  “If Daegal wins, he’ll not only control the quadrant, but he’ll expand to more systems outside the quadrant. Will you just continue to run?” He slid his hands down her back and cupped her butt, holding her close.

  Although his touch made her want to melt against him, his words angered her. “I’m not running! I just want to make a new life.” She was quite familiar with all the different habitable planets and moons within reasonable travel range. She and Josella could build a completely different life for themselves. A safer life. And if they needed to continue venturing farther out to system after system, well, so be it.

  “You don’t even know where Josella is. This war will be over before you find her. If Daegal wins, do you really think you’ll ever be free? If you don’t realign with the Warriors, you’ll pay the consequences for the rest of your life. And so will Josella.”

  “I’ll find her.” Somehow. With or without his help. “And we will decide who we support and how we will live.” No government would decide. No man would decide.

  “The knowledge you’re using now for negotiating privileges and freedom will hold no further value if all Warriors are killed or imprisoned. Your own imprisonment here is just a preview of what’s to come.”

  A sense of unease skittered down her spine. “I’m only here because of Rave. If I could speak to this Frost woman in charge, I could negotiate my release. I’ve always been able to do so once I get access to the person in charge. I’ve very good at what I do.”

  Kam didn’t say anything in response. After washing the cleanser from her body, he looked into her eyes. “I know where Josella is.”

  Halah’s heart skipped a beat. She stared at him silently for several moments, trying to figure out if he spoke the truth, or if his words were some new sort of ploy. “Like you did the last time?”

  “That was a mistake. We had her, but she disappeared and couldn’t be located.”

  Disappeared. Always a convenient excuse. Her sister had been abandoned on the Sand Moon. Supposedly. Josella should have jumped into anyone’s arms with a functioning ship to get off this rock. How could she get away from a trained Warrior and then just disappear? His explanation didn’t make sense. He couldn’t be telling her everything. “And if she conveniently disappears this time too?”

  “Not possible.”

  Of course. What else could he say? He wanted her help and how better to get it than to dangle her sister as bait. “Prove it.” She wanted to trust him more than she’d ever wanted to trust anyone, but he’d betrayed her in the past. She had to be certain.

  “Prove it?” He grinned. “How did I know you would say that? I’ll prove it, but you need to wash my body. Make this shower look real, in case we have an audience.”

  No problem. Without hesitation, Halah glided her hands down his chest. Touching his body was a pleasure she’d never tire of. Any excuse to do so was acceptable to her.

  Kam groaned, then shook his head, as if trying to get his thoughts in order. He took a deep breath, let it out, then discreetly pulled a small antenna out from his wrist sensor.

  Halah’s interest piqued. A communication device?

  He pressed a sequence of buttons and waited, switching his gaze back to her. Any vid-monitor would simply pick up him making adjustments to his sensor.

  Meeting the intensity of his eyes, Halah curled her fingers around his cock. Oh, how she’d love to feel his thick shift inside her pussy again.

  He sucked in a sharp breath. “Careful. We don’t have time to see that through.”

  “See what through?” she asked in an innocent tone of voice. A small smile tugged at her lips. “I’m just washing you like you asked.”

  “Yeah. Right.”

  * * * * *

  Forests of Xylon

  Braden checked the readings on each of Laszlo’s display screens. “Looks like Brianna is doing a good job.” Pride in his twin laced his voice and he didn’t try to hide it. She’d developed into a beautiful woman and a fine officer. He only wished he could be by her side right now, leading this fight himself.

  Leila pulled a three-pronged needle out of Laszlo’s arm. “Done. You should start feeling better soon.”

  “Thank you.”

 
; “I should get back to Alexa now. Call me if you need anything.”

  He patted her leg. “I’ll be fine. Is the satellite in position yet, Braden?”

  “Yes. The readings are coming in now. Kam should be checking in before too long.”

  He watched Leila leave the control room, waiting to voice his opinions on the situation.

  After she’d gone, he again addressed Laszlo. “We can win this war, Laszlo.”

  “In the end, yes.”

  Braden grumbled under his breath. He hated Laszlo’s cryptic answers, as if the man didn’t think he could trust any of them. Well, soon Erik would be back inside the Lair, and he could get some real answers after the man let Brianna know the rest of them were all right and reassumed command.

  Being isolated from the other Warriors like this frustrated the hell out of him. Only the need to keep Alexa and his soon-to-be-born children safe kept him in control of his temper and the need to engage their enemy. Since Daegal didn’t know about this facility, here was the safest place for his family at the moment.

  “Are you reading any Marid malfunctions yet?” Laszlo asked him.

  “Not that I’m aware of. What am I looking for?”

  “Trouble with their fighters. An energy drain in the Dome. Transports turning back.

  Unusual pulses in their atmosphere. Computer irregularities. Anything like that?”

  Braden shook his head. “Nothing. Their fighters have moved into range for attack on the planet. Their foot troops are taking a hit from our ground lasers, but their transports keep dropping more into the cities. Although, I am reading now that our fighters are in position to start taking those transports out. Brianna staggered the fleet.”

  Laszlo nodded. “Good.”

  Braden wondered at the odd look that entered Laszlo’s eyes when he mentioned Brianna. “I’m also picking up a breach on the Control Center floor in the Lair. They’ve issued an alert. The Egesa must have accessed that level.”

  Laszlo sat up straighter in his seat. “Have they contained the threat?”

  “I don’t know. They’ve stopped making log entries. Or maybe Daegal took out the database, because I can no longer access it.” Worry for Tara and Torque rolled through Braden. He should be there to help, damn it! He turned to Laszlo. “Let me materialize over. At least until I need to be here for Alexa.” Leaving his mate now didn’t feel right, but not doing his duty was tearing him apart.

  “It’s too dangerous, Braden. If anything happened to you while down in the Lair, Alexa would never survive it. You know that. Besides, I need you here. One more Warrior over there isn’t going to make a difference anyway.”

  “All right. If you and Erik go—that’s two highly trained Warriors. And if we call Kam, Pitch, and Halah back, and if she’s on our side, that’s three more. Then I can materialize over as soon as I know Alexa and the babies are fine. Leila can stay here with Josella, Alexa, and the newborns.” He pulled his hands through his hair. “I feel useless down here, Laszlo. What can we do from this location?”

  “Nothing until Kam uploads the viruses and Halah takes out their weapons system.

  Then I’ll need you and Erik to keep their computers busy so they can’t reestablish control. We’re not going anywhere, so get any ideas to the contrary out of your head.

  Don’t try to defy me, Braden. I’ve taken steps to ensure nobody leaves here without my clearance. Everyone is exactly where they need to be right now.”

  His frustration neared the breaking point. “Need to be? What does that mean? Need to be for what?”

  “For the best outcome.” Laszlo’s voice hardened. “Now stop questioning my orders.”

  Braden bristled. He didn’t like being told what to do. After being in charge and making the decisions, it was hard to step back into the role of second-in-command, especially when his ideas didn’t match Laszlo’s on how to handle things. He’d bet the transport-connectors Erik found were useless to them. Laszlo wouldn’t have issued the warning if he hadn’t suspected them of planning something. He needed to speak to Erik and try to come up with an alternate plan, something Daegal could not control.

  A beep drew their attention. “That’s Kam,” Laszlo said, excitement in his voice. He pressed a button on a nearby panel. “Erik, bring Josella over here now. Braden, put Kam on speaker.”

  Braden flipped a switch. “Kam, is that you?”

  “Affirmative, Braden.”

  Hmm. The man had recognized his voice immediately and didn’t even seem surprised that he was on the other end. Kam must have a lot more knowledge of this mission than he or Erik did. Not that it surprised him. Kam had always been loyal to Laszlo, no matter the situation. And Laszlo had confided in Kam about things in the past. “What’s that noise? You’re not coming in clearly.”

  “Water. We’ll have to deal with it.”

  “The formula worked?” Laszlo asked.

  “Obviously. If I’d been turned, I wouldn’t be contacting you now.”

  “Nothing is obvious. Punch in the code on your sensor for it to transmit your brain waves.”

  “Stand by.” Silence, then a moment later, he replied, “Done.”

  Laszlo checked a screen. “All right. You’re cleared.”

  “We need to begin the distribution of the formula before it’s too late. I have Halah with me. Do you have Josella?”

  Josella and Erik walked in right as he asked. “Yes, she’s here,” Erik said.

  “Let her talk to Halah,” Laszlo said.

  “Halah?” the young woman repeated and rushed over to the communications panel. “Halah, are you there?”

  “I’m here. Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, but they’re holding me here, somewhere. Warriors. I don’t think we’re in the Lair. It’s too small and confined.” She glanced warily at Braden, as if expecting him to stop her from saying too much. “Where are you?”

  “I’m on the Sand Moon. I’ll be there to get you soon. I have someone who’s going to bring me to you. Stay put.”

  “All right. I’ll be waiting, Halah. I love you, totvis.”

  “Me, too.”

  Totvis, Braden repeated in his head. A Sunevian word. He recognized the accent.

  But he didn’t know what it meant. An endearment perhaps. Or maybe a code. He didn’t trust the women. They’d been smart and wily up to now. And now was not the time to drop their guard around these two.

  Kam’s voice came over the speaker. “We’ll be logging into their system soon.”

  “Do what you can quickly,” Braden told him. “The Lair is in trouble. The Egesa have breached Control level.”

  “Understood. Out.”

  “Out.” Too calm. Kam had known exactly what was going on, as if Laszlo had disclosed everything to him beforehand. And Kam hadn’t asked about his sister, which meant he must know Alexa was all right. Kam would have a lot of explaining to do once he returned to Xylon. Explaining to him.

  “Braden, send the pods with the synthetic formula to Marid and to each of the Banishment Zones,” Laszlo ordered. “Have the pods drop their load over the cities and into the water containments.”

  “Will do.” Laszlo had explained the procedure to him earlier. Pods required no pilots, so the distribution plan was actually quite brilliant. The small, computer-controlled objects could enter the atmosphere quietly, disguised as weather and environmental pods, drop their load, and leave without anyone being the wiser.

  “How long will it take?” Erik asked.

  “Depends on how quickly our people consume the needed amount,” Laszlo answered. “An estimate would be less than eight hours, if we can get the pods there before the next water system pumping schedule kicks in and refills city supplies.”

  Erik shook his head. “I hope that’s soon enough.”

  Chapter Ten

  Sand Moon

  Halah moved to exit the shower. The faster they got this mission over and done
with, the better she’d feel. She needed to get to her sister and make certain Josella was all right. Only when they were reunited would she finally be able to fully relax.

  Warriors must have her sister contained in an underground security chamber.

  Josella had said it wasn’t the Lair. The young woman had never been down to the Lair, but she’d be able to recognize a smaller facility from the main military center.

  Kam grabbed her arm.

  With her hand poised above the door handle, she stopped and cocked an eyebrow at him. When he didn’t immediately say anything and didn’t release her, she dropped her hand to her side and turned more fully toward him. “What?” As his eyes grew intense, her heart picked up its pace.

  “The mission can wait a few minutes.” He pushed her back against the stone wall, blocking her escape.

  “Kam—” What was he up to now? The mission couldn’t wait. Time was a factor here. Braden had said so.

  “Shh.” His hands glided over her breasts, down her stomach, and along her hips.

  The air immediately filled with sexual tension. “The database with the viruses won’t unlock for another fifteen minutes. It’s on a timer for security purposes.” Kam went over and shut off the water then returned to kneel in front of her. “Spread your legs for me.”

  Halah swallowed hard, then widened her stance as he’d asked. “Shouldn’t we be trying to get inside—”

  “Most definitely. I want inside.” He leaned in and kissed her stomach. His hands gently cupped her butt.

  When his tongue delved into her bellybutton, she moaned. He knew how to get her so hot. Even just a look from him got her hot. Kam’s mouth lowered. His hands slid around to her thighs, and he spread her pussy with his thumbs. After a quick glance up at her, he leaned forward to stroke her clit with his tongue.

  “Oh!” The feeling shot straight up to her stomach and down to her toes all at the same time. It had been so long since she’d been licked. Her knees buckled, but his hands gripped her thighs, holding her up while he gave her more.