Hawk: Sky Mates (Intergalactic Dating Agency): a Sci-Fi Romance

by Susan Grant

  “Putting off what?”

  “Telling you how I feel. Saying I love you.” He lifted his other hand to frame her face. “I love you, Kelly.”

  She swallowed in shock. He loves me. He feels the same as I do.

  His brows drew together. “Have I made a cultural misstep by saying so?”

  She pressed her fingertips to his lips. “No,” she whispered. “You just said everything I needed to hear.” Her heart raced; her hands shook. “This is right—it feels right, Hawk. I’ve fallen in love with you too. I love you. I think I felt it long before I could say it. And you’re right. Who knows how much time we’re given? Forever I hope—to one hundred and ninety years old at least.”

  They laughed.

  “A lifetime,” he said. “Are you proposing to me, Captain Ritz?”

  She went still. “I kind of did, didn’t I?”

  His smile was slow and sure.

  She’d thought she was done with serious relationships, done entrusting her heart to someone only to see it broken. Yet she could imagine forever with Hawk. Only with him did it feel… right.

  Then her grin faded. “If we’ll even be allowed to be together. How will that work? If being Sky Mates doesn’t happen.”

  “Sky Mated or not, we will find a way. It’s peacetime now. For the first time in countless generations, there is no war. Sky’s End is mixing with another world for the first time. There are new rules to be made. We can help create them.”

  She nodded. “The Sky Mate pair, the one with one of yours and one of mine, how are they doing?”

  “I think well. I saw them actually, before I left to come here. On my world, very little physical contact between sky warriors happens in public. But behind closed doors?” Sparks of heat glinted in his eyes and threatened to make her forget all about being forced to rest. “We are a passionate breed. Cool in public, hot in bed, the saying goes. But Cai—our sky warrior who paired with your Terran—I saw him engage in some very public displays of affection with his mate. It seems they’ve already begun to meld Earth ways with ours.” Hawk lovingly smoothed her still damp hair away from her face. “I’m certain he is glad he stepped in to assist with the ship in distress that day, against our protocol, and ended up crossing paths with his Sky Mate.”

  “And your world is glad too.” Their first new pairing in a decade.

  He leaned forward. “So do not worry, my love, my heart. Heal. And know our DNA sequencing will be a success.”

  “You’re an optimist. I like it.”

  He patted his chest. “Call it a feeling.” He shifted position, pulling her into the vee between his thighs, her back facing him. She felt his fingers rearranging her hair.

  “Hawk. What are you doing?” she said over her shoulder.

  “Shush. Be still.”

  She laughed, feeling him sectioning her hair. Painstakingly, he wove her wavy hair in rows snug against her scalp on top, ending in stubby little braids that tickled her neck. Not long and elegant like his. She could only imagine what she looked like.

  She turned around. His gaze was so bright her breath caught. Without him saying a word, she somehow felt beautiful.

  “There,” he said. “It’s official. You’re a sky warrior.” Almost poignantly, he followed her hairline with his fingertips. “My sky warrior.”

  They began to kiss, a slow, deep, wet kiss with a lot of tongue and moans. They parted before things got too hot, their breathing heavy. He was the best kisser.

  “Know that whatever happens…” He paused to enunciate, his words heavily accented. “I love you.”

  She gripped his shoulders. “You spoke English.”

  “I wanted you to know in your words.”

  Whatever happens though? To her ears, it sounded worse than he might have intended.

  To Hawk’s relief, Kelly’s neurological evaluation and follow-up CT scan were one hundred percent normal. Now they only had to wait for the waiver to come though that would allow her to return to flying.

  “Paperwork rules the world,” Kelly grumbled.

  He helped her celebrate by agreeing to an overnight camping trip and sleeping outdoors for the first time. Recreation was beginning to become a beloved habit.

  So was loving his Terran. The closer he came to the end of his stay on Earth, the more he hoped his unorthodox attempt to legitimize what he was certain was a Sky Mate match with Kelly worked.

  Even his parents had asked about his unexpected participation in the Terran study. Bringing honor to them and his government while also winning the hand of the woman he loved did seem a lot to ask, but he wasn’t ready to give up. His commander thought he was setting himself up for more disappointment. As much as he respected Ertugreth, he couldn’t wait to prove her wrong.

  Then, at the end of his third week on Earth, the first of the Solos received the best news imaginable. Rigel had been matched.

  Kelly invited the team to her house for a barbecue to celebrate Rigel’s matching. Across the galaxy on Sky’s End, it was practically a world holiday.

  Rigel’s prospective mate, Jamie, an air traffic controller from New York, wasn’t due to arrive until next week. There was a definite protocol to follow. First the news was delivered with anonymous codes in place of names—if at Webber, Dee handled that part. Then selectees met in a controlled setting. Consent forms were signed where they agreed to a one-month orientation program at the TopGun school to train and get to know each other—the program Kelly and Hawk had helped create before any of the sky warriors had arrived on Earth. Candidates could opt out at any time.

  Since Rigel’s potential Sky Mate lived out of town, their official first meeting would be accomplished via a video conference call, monitored by observers from Earth. Kelly wasn’t sure what everyone thought might go wrong, but her planet was still a little edgy about the idea of bonded mates despite being hungry for Dragon ship tech.

  The Zoom call with Jamie was the following day. Rigel, the big cutie pie, was a nervous wreck.

  For now, at least, Kelly aimed to distract him with food, fun, and games. Her house was small, but it felt downright tiny with six big sky warriors filling the small space. They stayed outside mostly. She hung a dartboard on the side of a tree. She was an ace at playing darts, but so far she’d lost every match to the sky warriors.

  “You’re not playing fair,” she complained. “You have cybernetic augmentation. Me, I have to rely on raw talent.”

  The next thing she knew, she was facing off against Ellfen, whom Falcon had handicapped by tying a bandanna over her eyes and forcing her to use her nondominant hand to even the odds. Kelly strutted, certain she’d win. Hawk laughed so hard he had to lean against the wall, holding his stomach.

  “And I still lost! Dang!” Kelly spun away. “That’s it. I’m going to sit this out.”

  Note to self: think twice before playing darts with alien cyborgs.

  “Sorry, Captain Ritz.” Ellfen lowered her bandanna almost bashfully, although her eyes glowed with a competitiveness Kelly understood well.

  Grinning, Kelly grabbed a handful of tortilla chips from a bowl on the picnic table. Nibbling chips and salsa, she watched the sky warriors banter with each other and compete to win. Their brains were so sharp they didn’t have to keep track of everyone’s scores. But she had to keep reminding them to not split the actual darts by hitting the exact place each time with their unfailing deadeye aim.

  In her shorts pocket, her cell phone rang. Her Earth phone. Still smiling, she pulled it out to look at the screen. Huh. It was Colonel Miller. If M&M needed her, he usually texted. If he was calling, it must be important.

  “Hi, sir,” she said, moving indoors to better hear the call.

  “Crackers. Your waiver came though. You’re cleared to fly. I thought you’d like to know. I want your ass back on the schedule first thing tomorrow morning. We’ve been shorthanded without you.”

  “Hell, yeah, sir. First thing.” She pumped her fist. Yes! “This is fantastic ne
ws.” She missed the sky.

  Hawk slipped through the sliding glass door to check on her, and she waved him inside. She used her free hand in a swooping motion and pointed to her chest.

  He answered with a thumbs-up, his eyes crinkling. A feeling of elation zinged between them. That had been happening more and more, a taste of each other’s emotions. Or at least she liked to imagine it was happening.

  Maybe it was like this with any couple in love. She’d never been in love the way she was with Hawk.

  Kelly arrived at work to brief for a mission. She’d be leading a few WUGs to the bombing range.

  It was barely light outside. It hadn’t even been a week since she’d returned to flying and already the scheduler had come begging for her to fill in for dawn patrol. She was so happy to be able to fly again, she’d obliged without complaint.

  She sat down at a table with the students.

  “Crackers!” The scheduler, Rocketman, called across the room to her. “You’re off the schedule today.”

  “What? Why?”

  “No clue. The scheduling office just told me you’ve got a conflict.”

  Huh. “Okay. Thanks.” She told the WUGs, “Hang tight. They’ll swap me with another instructor.”

  She stormed into the hallway, checking her cell phone. It lit up, buzzing in her hand, startling her. “Hey, Rainbow.”

  “Good morning!” Dee said brightly. “I need you to come to my office, because… Are you sitting down?”

  “No. I’m on my way to the scheduling office to bitch about being pulled off my flight. What are you doing here so early?”

  “Your DNA results came in! You’ve been matched.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Hawk’s arms shook, his breath hissing, his muscles quivering as he pushed himself to his limits.

  Falcon remained close by, ready to assist. “Had enough, sir?”

  “One more,” Hawk grunted.

  Falcon stood over the weight bench, serving as his spotter at the predawn weight lifting session at the base gymnasium. Hawk gritted out another rep. Then Falcon took the metal bar from his hands, setting it on the rack.

  Hawk jackknifed to a sitting position, pressing a towel to his face and neck. Then he walked with Narekk and Falcon to the locker room. A shower, then breakfast, then a flight. Then Kelly. He smiled at the memory of the all too brief time spent in her company last evening. If only he could be with her all the time.

  “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” the Terrans liked to say, one of their many quaint proverbs. However, his heart could not possibly be fonder of Kelly than it was now. Being with her didn’t make it easier, only more difficult to part.

  A far more prolonged absence loomed, weighing on his mind of late. He had to figure out how to keep her in his life.

  Why had there been no news of their DNA sequencing? They should have seen the results by now. If only they’d hear something. If their path to becoming Sky Mates was doomed, at least they could figure out another way to be together.

  They must. He must. Time was running out.

  But how would he keep his mate with him if no one believed she was his mate?

  In the locker room, Hawk’s data-vis vibrated. He read the message, then froze.

  “What is it, sir?” Falcon asked. He stood, fresh from the shower, holding a towel around his waist. The breadth of his shoulders took up much of the space between the rows of lockers.

  “It’s a message from Fleet-Commodore Ertugreth’s office.” Holy Mother of the Skies. “Falcon, my DNA is positive. I’ve been matched.”

  After so long dreaming of this moment and accepting it would never happen, he could only sit there, stunned. It was as if his emotions had seized up in shock while thoughts raced across his mind like strips of clouds on a windy day. He thought of the far-reaching effects this would have on his life, his family’s lives, his world. He’d be able to fly the Dragons, his birthright. And he’d be able to spend his life with Kelly.

  Goddess, yes, Kelly. She was his—his! His gamble had worked.

  Outside Dee Wilson’s office a short while later, Kelly squealed as she threw her arms around Hawk. He hugged her back as she kicked her legs. He could see Falcon’s and Narekk’s amused expressions as they looked on. It was well outside the etiquette to which they all adhered, but he was too delighted to care.

  “Hawk, we’re going to be Sky Mates!” She snatched him by the hand. “Come on. We’re in conference room three.”

  “Conference room five.”

  “Three.”

  He showed her the message. “Five. You’re in three?”

  “Yeah.”

  They exchanged a baffled look.

  “Why would we be in different rooms? That’s silly. It’s not like with Rigel and Jamie. We’re both here. It’s got to be some kind of glitch.”

  Goddess, please let it be. What if they were matched with other people? He shoved aside the mental image of her mated to another sky warrior. It chipped away at his calm. “Come, let us confirm the location with Rainbow.”

  “Well, butter my butt and call it a biscuit.” Dee stared at her computer screen. “You are definitely in separate rooms.”

  “That makes no sense,” Kelly said.

  “Right?” Dee smiled brightly, but it seemed false.

  Butterflies fluttered in Kelly’s stomach. Not the good kind. “Can you tell anything from the identifiers, Rainbow? Use your double-secret codebreaker skills.”

  “I don’t have any double-secret codebreaker skills. Or even regular codebreaker skills. I know only what you do—they’re random identifiers generated by a secret board for privacy. Not even I have clearance to unmask the identities. You won’t know who it is until the Sky Mate board makes the formal introductions on-screen.”

  Fuck. Kelly knew that of course. It was how Rigel had described the procedure too. But his mate lived on the other side of the country. Hers was here.

  Wasn’t he?

  She swallowed hard, turning to Hawk. “What do we do? What if it’s other people?”

  “We are matched to each other. No one else.” His confidence helped reassure her. “No use worrying needlessly. This is a mix-up. How can it not be? We sync, Kelly. We are mates in every way. We don’t need a test to tell us that, my love.”

  Dee let out one of her “so romantic” sighs.

  No, they didn’t need a test. But in the eyes of Hawk’s people they did.

  “You’re right. We’re worrying over nothing. See you in a few minutes.” Kelly held up crossed fingers, and he did the same.

  M&M intercepted her outside the conference room. “Crackers. I know how you feel about Project Sky Mates. You wanted to run the project, not participate in it. You’ve done an outstanding job, by the way. I’m impressed with how you’ve taken this on and made it your own.”

  “Thank you, sir. I couldn’t have done it without Major Hakkim. It’s been a team effort.” In more ways than her boss could ever imagine.

  I can’t tell him about Hawk. He doesn’t know we’re together. A twinge between her legs reminded her vividly of making love with Hawk last night. She pinned her gaze on the wall behind M&M’s left shoulder.

  He continued his ill-timed pep talk. “Regarding your matching, there’s nothing you’ll be forced to do, but hell, I hope you’ll go through with it. Look, we need you on this mission, Kelly. We all do. Earth does. Our top brass is playing the long game, and they want you in it.”

  She arched a brow at his dropping the use of her call sign. This was getting serious. M&M was going dad on her. He wasn’t playing fair either, loading the fate of her entire planet on her shoulders.

  “It’s a onetime shot at having one of our own, a Top Gun instructor pilot, at the controls of their ships,” he said.

  As a what—some sort of deep space double agent, feeding Earth the secrets of Sky’s End’s ships? Out of loyalty to her home planet, she’d share as much as was legally and morally possible—once she was match
ed with Hawk. Earth was and would always be her home team. Still, she wasn’t going to abandon Hawk for someone else just because the DNA sequencing looked better and Earth wanted some hot tech.

  She also knew Hawk would never walk away from her. Even so, the idea of him going off to be with someone else, making love to that person, whispering “I love you” in her ear afterward, left her feeling sick at heart. She didn’t know how she’d survive it.

  Hawk would never do that.

  “Good luck in there,” Colonel Miller said.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Walking into the conference room with two observers, Kelly felt like a wild mustang being herded into an arena, determined not to be broken.

  A carafe of coffee and a cardboard box of donuts sat on a side table under a monitor. Are you kidding me? Donuts? This was a life-changing event, not a staff meeting.

  Dee slipped into the seat next to her. “I thought you might want some moral support.”

  “Thanks.” Kelly almost wept with relief. “This is so weird. It’s got to be Hawk I’m matched to. I got back in the study only because I thought I’d be matched to him. The way I see it, that gives me first right of refusal. I won’t throw him under the bus—no one will know he’s the reason—but if I see anyone else on that screen, it’s a giant nope-burger.”

  Just then the video monitor burst to life. It was to her nerves like shoving the throttles into afterburner in her jet. God, she hoped they weren’t about to trot out some young buck of a sky warrior and present him as hers. She started thinking of diplomatic ways to back out without starting any galactic wars.

  Trying her best not to hyperventilate, she wiped her sweaty palms on her thighs. Then she braced herself. Here it comes.