by Averi Hope
The battle was over so fast that it took the other cadets a moment to respond. There were some forced cheers, but overall, she thought they all must be in awe as much as she was. Or in fear.
Caleb might look like a human. He might have been gentle in his training. But in this battle, he was all Keltair.
When he strode off the mat, the professor gave his shoulder a pat. “That is a fight.”
Caleb didn’t look at her through the next battle, when Gurlock destroyed Peter on the mat. His gaze seemed to be fixed on the window at the far end of the room, tension radiating from him.
It was a relief when the professor faced them, ready to announce the next pairing.
“Gurlock and Caleb.”
She fought down a wave of disappointment, even knowing Caleb and Gurlock were a better match. Gurlock never seemed to know what to do with her. She was far faster, but she got the feeling he wasn’t comfortable fighting a woman. When he fought the other men, it was violent and bloody. When he fought her, he blocked and moved but rarely went on the attack.
Stupid sexist Andorian.
She turned her attention back to Caleb as he stomped to the mat. The two massive aliens squared off. For the first time, Erin had a flicker of doubt whether Caleb would win. Gurlock was stocky, with razor-sharp teeth that curled over his top lip. His wide shoulders and huge muscles made Caleb look lean in comparison. So far, Caleb had always won, but the Gurlock looked particularly dangerous today.
Do you seriously feel worried? She shouldn’t be. Logic already told her who would win.
Still, she inched closer to the mat as the battle began.
The Andorian’s skin was thick and tough, so his moves lacked finesse, but he was also less sensitive to pain. Caleb rained punches onto the other alien, but it was awhile before Gurlock started to struggle. The Andorian had one leg crumple beneath him, and then the other. Caleb was so aggressive that the other alien was bleeding and bruised by the time the professor called an end to the match.
“Erin and Caleb,” the professor said, followed by a few hoots of excitement from the other warriors.
It was exactly the way she expected things to end, but as she and Caleb strode to the mat, butterflies slammed around the inside of her stomach. His dark eyes were darkened further with rage, and the gaze he pinned her with made her growing sense of unease deepen even further. If the others didn’t make it, I don’t have a hope in hell.
She shoved away the thought. Caleb was one of the best fighters she’d seen in her life, but even he had weaknesses. And she was pretty sure she knew every one of them.
“Go!”
They circled one another. Caleb leaped toward her, and she slammed her fist into the side of his face. He moved back, rubbing his jaw as he continued to circle. She closed the distance between them, pretending to kick with one leg but sending the other one into his nose.
Caleb caught her leg before she could bring it down and shoved her back, throwing her off balance and forcing her down onto the mat. She turned to scramble back onto her feet, but he caught her from behind.
And suddenly, she was pinned face-first to the mat.
She struggled to turn over, but his sheer weight was impossible to move. He lay on her entirely. She struggled harder, trying to kick, twist, and strike out at him, but he didn’t budge.
When she caught sight of his face, rage fueled her. He was enjoying every minute of her ass rubbing against his hardening cock.
He leaned down, his lips brushing her ear. “I win.”
She froze. She couldn’t let this happen. I am my father’s daughter.
Very slowly, she rubbed her ass against him.
He groaned softly into her ear.
Placing her palms against the ground, she lifted slightly and twisted so she was facing him. He settled in above her, his mouth widened slightly. She gave him her sexiest smile, leaned close to his mouth as he leaned closer to hers. Then she hit him as hard as she could in the ear.
He swore and reared back, and she scrambled out from under him.
As he started to rise, she kicked him, sending him sprawling forward. She got behind him, placing her forearm against his throat and her other arm behind his head. He managed to stand with her still choking him. His balance was uneven.
Reaching behind his head, he tried to grab her, but she held tight. His knees buckled.
“Enough!” the professor shouted.
She held on a second longer and whispered in his ear. “No. I won, sweetheart.”
Releasing him, she strutted off the mat. Professor Irtun placed the dagger in her hands, but his gaze was trained on Caleb. “Nothing is off-limits in battle. But remember, distraction can kill you as effectively as a knife.”
She smirked as Caleb made his way to the edge of the mat. But instead of seeing defeat in his eyes, she saw raw determination. She shivered.
Something told her she might not like it when he got even. Or maybe I will.
Chapter Fifteen
Caleb paced the rooftop. It was the perfect night for a date. A slight breeze teased the air, carrying with it the scents of the blossoming garden far below.
So why am I so nervous?
Everything was perfectly in place, but where was she? He’d setup candles, laid down a large blanket with pillows, and put out some of her favorite types of foods. The woman does like to eat, and damn if I don’t like watching her eat. As much as she hates noticing me staring when our eyes met across the cafeteria.
But why wasn’t she here yet? Was it possible she hadn’t seen his message?
She stormed out the open door, which he’d left carefully propped open with a rock as large as his head.
“Where is it?” she hissed.
He probably should’ve been worried about the rage seething from her. But he couldn’t think of that because he was too damn turned on. Her hair was still wet from her shower, and flowed down her shoulders in the sexiest way possible. The skintight white tank top she wore was enough to set his pulse racing, but underneath it, a black bra stood clearly visible. And her shorts… good God, they were shorter than even her sweats. Her long, perfect legs had him envisioning all the ways he could make her spread them for him.
“Caleb! Answer me!”
Shrugging off his jacket, he knew the moment she saw the dagger at his side.
Her face blackened with rage. “I want it back. It’s mine, and I earned it.”
Was it wrong he liked her angry just as much as he liked her laughing? Both turned him on.“You’ll get it back, little human. But I still think you owe me a date, since you didn’t exactly play fair.”
She put her hands on her hips and glared. “You heard Professor Irtun. All’s fair in battle.”
He studied her. “I believe the saying is ‘The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war’. You sure you agree with that?”
“So you’re saying this is love?” she challenged, looking at the blanket.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Are you saying today was war?”
She avoided his gaze. “I have to be able to return that dagger to him if I need to.”
Caleb gestured to the blanket and food. “Come take it, and then we should get on with our date.”
Striding toward him, she stopped not two feet in front of him. “I’ve got things to do. Just give it back.”
He reached out and brushed his thumb along her cheek. Something was off. “I think you’ve been working too hard and deserve a bit of a break. But if you really want me to give you the dagger back, I will.”
The anger seemed to drain out of her, and she leaned closer to him.
Wrapping his arms around her, he drew her closer. He held her for a long time, running his fingers through her hair. Concerns and desire battled within him. Was this simply exhaustion, or something more?
She looked up at him, those perfect jade-colored eyes of hers filled with an unnamed emotion. “If we start something between us, it needs to stay casual.”
Something twisted inside his chest. “Of course.”
“Just sex.”
It took him a second to nod.
“And we should set a limit. After that, we agree to stop altogether.”
He frowned. She must know it’s going to be good. “You mean to limit the number of times we can have sex?”
“Yes.” She pushed his hand away from her hair, but brought it down to rest on her hip. “I’m thinking three times.”
She thinks three times will be enough? “Ten,” he countered.
A grin stretched across her face and, for the first time, she laughed. “Five, and not a single time more.”
Her offer bothered him. He would not be finished with her after five times of lying together. In his mind, he could imagine the dozens of things he wanted to do to her, and all of them would require time. But if he argued with her, she would simply refuse him altogether and that would be the end of things.
Show her that she wants to have you more than that.
“Agreed.” She seemed so satisfied that he had to add, “Unless, of course, you demand more. Then I will reconsider.”
Her eyebrows rose so high they disappeared into her hair. “You’re setting my expectations pretty damn high. I hope you can meet them.” There was a slight tinge of desperation to her voice.
Pretend all you want, female. I know you want me too.
He wrapped his arms around her again and pulled her close. For a minute, they simply stood, holding each other. And then, she drew away from him.
He cleared his throat. “Food?”
“All right.”
They sat together and ate. And for once, he didn’t have to be across the cafeteria from her, watching her from afar. It felt right.
When they were done, he pushed the food aside and drew her close to him.
“Just sex,” she repeated.
He exhaled. “Just so you know, I’d agree to just about anything right now to get those clothes off your sweet little body. It torments my dreams.”
Despite the urgency in his voice, he leaned down slowly. He brushed his lips against hers with a soft caress. Then he touched the side of her face, drawing her closer to him. Her lips welcomed him so he kissed her hard, running his tongue along the outside of her mouth.
She shivered, parting her lips.
His tongue drove inside and, with a groan, the spell of gentleness was broken, replaced by blinding need. He pulled her onto his lap, one hand drawing up the edge of her shirt. His fingers slid over the clenching muscles of her belly to close around one perfect breast.
She gasped when he feathered his thumb over the nipple. He teased it through the lacy material, squeezing and rubbing until it hardened. Pushing back the cup, he uncovered her large breast and rolled her nipple between his fingers. She was panting by the time he switched to the other breast.
He was hard.
Her hand strayed to the front of his jeans, and he maneuvered slightly to allow room for her to grip him. Now, it was his turn to gasp.
Her touch was firm, full of need, and soon her fingers were sliding up and down the length of him.
Desperately, he pulled up her shirt to reveal her naked breasts. His mouth descended to cover them in seconds. His lips rubbed over them, he licked, then taking her nipple in his mouth, he sucked.
She cried out, digging her fingers into the back of his hair.
He couldn’t get enough of her. She squirmed eagerly against his arousal, while he grazed his teeth against her sensitive nub.
“Caleb,” she whispered.
He heard the need in her voice, knew what she wanted, knew what she was asking for. Because he wanted to be inside her, too. Cupping her ass, he squeezed it, his lips going to her neck as he did so.
“Enough, God, enough! Caleb, I need…”
Moving his hand from her ass, he slid his fingers up the inside of her thigh, into her short shorts. She spread her legs and, suddenly, he was touching her hot, wet core. She arched her back and cried out.
His dick throbbed. He needed to take her. Needed to be inside her. She was wet and ready for him.
But he waited. Using his fingers he stroked her, driving the fire hotter and hotter until his fingers dripped with her need.
“Please, please…” she begged.
And all at once he knew it was enough. Enough waiting for them both.
Rolling, he laid her down on the blanket. He started to undo the buttons on his jeans when she pushed his hands aside, tugged his zipper down, and drew his cock from his pants. He choked, unable to draw in a breath as her fingers closed around him.
“Erin…”
She started to stroke him. He should’ve pushed her away, but he couldn’t. Every hair on his body stood on end. Every muscle tightened. The exquisite feeling of her hand wrapped around him, the sight of her body on the blanket beneath him. Of even the smell of her. All of it was too much.
He was going to explode.
Looking off in the distance, he was determined to focus on anything else but the sexy woman beneath him. He watched as the tiny lights of a spaceship flew over the jungles just behind the wall of the academy.
Suddenly, the lights along the wall and on the turrets went dark. The spacecraft passed over the wall soundlessly and continued toward them.
Are ships even allowed on this side of the academy?
He caught her wrist. “Wait.”
“I can’t,” she gasped. “I need you now.”
And that’s when he recognized the type of ship. It was an old Keltair ship from their last major battle with the humans. Living ships were too precious to use in wars, but these were made to look just like them.
But this ship was coming right for them. I hope it didn’t see us.
“Erin, we need to—“
The door to the roof slammed shut.
She released his cock and slowly sat up. “What…?”
The ship was drawing closer. Yet no alarms had sounded.
“Come on,” he said. He pulled up his pants and helped her to stand.
She adjusted her clothing in a nervous rush of movement.
They went to the door. He yanked on it, but it didn’t budge.
“What’s going on, Caleb?”
“Something is wrong. There’s a ship that shouldn’t be here.” Behind them, the ship was continuing forward. Its major lights were off, and it was drifting far below any normal speed.
“The door is locked,” he explained, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.
She met his gaze, and the hurt within them was obvious. “Use the dagger. Father can pay to repair it.”
That door is solid steel. We’d be dead long before we cut through it.
He shook his head. “No time for that.” His gaze fell on an air duct. “This way.”
Standing before it, he pulled out the dagger and used the laser option. After a few seconds, he kicked out the metal slabs and they crunched inward. “Let’s go.”
A second later, shots rang out. Loud explosions came as bullets hit the roof. Debris went flying, and the shooting came faster and faster.
A wailing siren rang out.
Caleb grabbed Erin, pulling her farther down the metal tube. There was barely room for them both, but he managed to squeeze them into the corner before it turned into a sharp drop.
She was shaking and he wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin.
Overhead, the explosions shook the whole roof, in fact, the entire building. Erin clung to him in an attack that seemed to last a lifetime. At last, everything grew eerily quiet.
“What should we do?”
“Stay down,” he commanded.
And so, they stayed.
Minutes went by before they heard a different sort of chaos on the roof. Footsteps, shouts.
Someone opened the grate they’d climbed into, and bright lights immediately shone in their eyes.
“Get up!” A cold voice ordered, “Come out onto
the rooftop.”
Caleb helped her up, and they exited slowly with their hands up.
“Down! Get down!” the soldiers with guns shouted. He didn’t want to let her go, but it didn’t look as if he had a choice.
They both complied, lying on the blackened roof.
Their arms were wrestled harshly behind their backs. The dagger at his side was taken. A man put his foot in the middle of Caleb’s back, while two others pointed weapons at his head.
Erin gave a soft cry, and he turned to see the man pinning her down.
“Get off her!” he yelled, glaring up at the soldier.
A stillness came over the group on the roof, and Caleb turned to look at the cause of it.
Dean Sufters stood behind him, her arms crossed behind her back. Every one of her pale blond hairs had been neatly smoothed back. Her uniform looked freshly pressed and perfect.
“Mr. Caleb Fallow, it looks like you’re in more trouble than you can possibly imagine.” She turned to her soldiers. “Take him to the brig.”
Caleb didn’t fight. This was all a misunderstanding. He had to make them believe him. They’d hear his explanation and then they’d let him go.
Don’t Keltair heads still line the walls of some of the cities on Earth? A tiny voice whispered in the back of his mind. Were any of them given a chance to explain themselves?
He shivered. Maybe I should’ve run rather than let them take me down.
“Stop!” Erin said.
Dean Sufters knelt down next to her. “Oh my goodness! Erin. What in the world are you doing out here? Let her up at once.”
The solider moved, and she was allowed to rise into a standing position.
“He’s not responsible for any of this. We were attacked.”
The human hauling him away didn’t pause. But Caleb hadn’t expected him to. He was more surprised that the dean seemed to be eagerly undoing the bindings at Erin’s wrists.
“It’s okay,” he said, hoping to reassure her. “We’ll get this all cleared up.”
The dean met his eyes with an unfriendly stare. “Save your talking for your questioning. I should never have let a Keltair into this school. Even if you are half human.”