Eternal Nights

by Patti O'Shea

  “Yeah, I do,” he admitted reluctantly. “She’s a straight shooter, and diplomatic enough to take over command without stepping on anyone’s toes. Not an easy feat with all these civilian consultants running their little fiefdoms.”

  And not easy because she was taking over for the disgraced Colonel McNamara. Alex had spent months rooting out the members of the smuggling ring. It had helped that many of those caught had been eager to turn evidence, but he’d been meticulous—Stacey hid a smile. He’d had to be. Captain Kendall Thomas had made herself part of the investigation, combing through the files when she was off duty until Alex had officially drafted her. Stacey liked the young captain, but to say she was zealous about protecting the antiquities on J Nine was understating the matter.

  “Noguchi invited us to dinner next week. Think you’re ready to leave the munchkin with a sitter?”

  Stacey smiled. “The question is whether a sitter will be prepared to deal with Emma. She’s a little spoiled, thanks to her daddy.”

  “Hey,” Alex said, returning her grin, “I have to get on her good side while I can. We both know that when she’s a teenager, Emma and I will be butting heads.”

  “Because you’re overprotective.”

  “Damn straight. It’s a dangerous world out there. I shielded Ravyn; I’ll shield my daughter too.”

  Stacey shook her head. Em was only a few months old, but she already displayed a tenacity that was daunting. It was easy to imagine the battles her willful daughter would be having with her father in about thirteen years, and Stacey decided she’d better enjoy the relative peace while she could.

  She didn’t say any of that, though. Alex knew. He’d been through the war once when he’d raised his sister, and he wouldn’t flinch at any weapon Emma brought to the battle.

  “She’s asleep,” Stacey told him instead.

  Alex checked, decided she was right, and stood to gently lower Emma into her crib. He gazed down at her for a minute, and Stacey joined him. “She’s beautiful,” Alex said softly.

  “Yes, she is,” she agreed. Little Emma with her cinnamon hair and big brown eyes was going to break hearts one day. If her daddy let a boy near enough to ask her out.

  “She’s already grown so much since she was born. Before we know it, she’ll be walking.” Alex was silent for a moment. “I hope Noguchi doesn’t call many of these after-duty-shift meetings. I don’t want to miss out on more than I have to.”

  Emma stirred then, and Stacey tugged him out of the room before the baby woke up. When she had the lights lowered and the door partially closed, she asked, “Did you eat?”

  “Yeah, the colonel had them bring mess to us.”

  She nodded. “Do you want to sit outside for a while?”

  Without a word, he led her out to the back porch. Alex had set up a bench swing next to Emma’s window, and that’s where they settled. They sat side by side, Alex’s arm around her shoulders, and idly swayed. She could feel him winding down, sense the tension leaving his muscles, but he remained silent. “You’re pretty quiet tonight,” Stacey said.

  “Just thinking.” For a minute, she thought she’d have to prod him to get him to talk, but Alex asked, “Do you have regrets? About staying on J Nine, having Emma, marrying me?”

  Stacey’s heart leapt into her throat. They’d only been married a month, he couldn’t be sorry already—could he? “No,” she said thickly, “I don’t regret any of it. Why do you ask?”

  He pulled his eyes from the yard to meet her gaze. “A year ago today you told me to find somewhere else to sleep.”

  The military operated on Earth time as much as they could, but it didn’t match up with Jarved Nine’s cycles, and Stacey frequently lost track. Then it occurred to her that Alex had marked the date, remembered it, and was brooding over it. “You’re still rough around the edges, Sullivan, but you’re getting there.”

  Smiling faintly, he said, “You’re sure? You really don’t regret staying with me, giving me that last chance?”

  “I really don’t. When you put your mind to something, there’s no stopping you. You decided to change, to open yourself, and while you have your days, they’re becoming rarer. Staying with you was the best decision I ever made. I love you, Alex.” Stacey felt his whole body relax.

  “I love you too, Stace, for keeps.”

  *** *** ***

  Wyatt heard the sound of the wind chimes as he turned onto the street. Kendall. His heart beat a little faster, and he picked up his pace. He found her sitting on the balustrade of their front porch, a boot propped on the rail.

  “Hey, darlin’,” he said, and cupped her head so he could kiss her the way he’d been hankering to all day.

  Before he could really sink into her, though, Bug eased away, and stood, her body pressing into his. They both froze as sensation rocketed through them—he knew she felt it as strongly as he did—and Wyatt pulled her more tightly against him. They’d been living together for nearly a year now, and they still had the fireworks she’d mentioned. He leaned down to kiss her again.

  “Hold that thought,” Kendall said, stepping back. Before he could object, she took his hand, and said, “Come on.”

  Reluctantly, he went along with her. Although he was curious, Wyatt didn’t ask questions—at least not until he saw the direction they were headed. “Are we going to the temple?”

  “Yes.” When he balked, she added, “Please, Wy.”

  With a scowl, he capitulated. They had one point of serious friction between them—the fricking pyramid. In the beginning, she’d talked about her trips there and what she’d discovered, but that hadn’t lasted long. It was his own damn fault. He never could manage to hide his anger when she mentioned the temple, and after a while, Bug had stopped sharing anything about it. Wyatt was sure she hadn’t quit visiting it, she’d just quit telling him about those forays. That ate at him.

  And it was starting to drive a wedge between them.

  He knew it was happening, and yet he couldn’t change how he felt; he was jealous of a damn pile of rock. The temple had become the elephant in the living room, the thing they were both aware of, yet pretending to ignore.

  Apparently, Kendall had decided it was time to deal with it.

  She led him through the herb house, into the secret passage, and onto the lift. Instead of taking him to the High Priestess’s chambers, however, she stopped at a lower level, and walked until they stood in the doorway of a cavernous room.

  “This is the chancel,” Bug said. “You can’t enter, but you can see everything from here.”

  Without waiting for him to reply, she slipped inside the room and strolled to the raised altar. Wyatt felt uneasy, and that grew as Kendall donned the forest green robe that she’d worn as Zolianna. He tried to take a step forward, but some unseen field held him at bay. A growl of frustration escaped, and that intensified when she started chanting in an unknown language.

  Fear. He’d faced down armed enemy soldiers without feeling as terrified as he was at this moment. “No!” he called, but Kendall either didn’t hear or she ignored him.

  Part of him wanted to walk away and not see this, but another part of him couldn’t leave. Wyatt had to know if he’d lost Kendall for good. He clenched his hands into fists to try to control the trembling and watched her move to a large, flat stone. Her intonation sounded more staccato, as if she’d reached an important point. Then he saw Bug put her palm down.

  A glow formed around her. Wyatt’s throat felt thick, and his stomach was turning barrel rolls. “Kendall,” he said, but his voice came out a whisper.

  Gradually, the light around her dimmed, and Bug stood back. Even from where he stood, he could see she was unsteady as she shrugged out of the robe, and carefully folded it. Slowly, she descended the stairs, and walked up the aisle to return to him.

  When she stood before him, Wyatt demanded, “What the hell did you just do?”

  Kendall smiled tiredly. “I know how you feel about the temple, and it
’s caused tension between us for much too long.” She put her arms around his neck. “I understand why, but I’m not Zolianna. I don’t love this place. Yeah, I’m fascinated by it, but I love you. I did what I had to do so you’d know you’re first with me, and you always will be.”

  Wyatt’s stomach steadied, and he felt hope spark. “What did you do? I couldn’t understand any of it.”

  “Zolianna died unexpectedly, without passing on her powers to a successor. There’s a rite for that situation, but her people abandoned the planet before it was performed. I’ll translate the diary I found for you, but the gist of it is the lord, lady and their guardians planned to remain here, imprison the killer, and then the people would return. Since the priestesses expected to be gone only a short time, the cortege decided they’d wait to transition the powers to a new leader. They also left the temple online, so to speak. Only they never came back.” Kendall shrugged. “My guess is the plan to capture the murderer was unsuccessful.”

  His hands tightened at her waist, then relaxed. “The temple took you when we entered the middle portion of the pyramid.”

  “It recognized me,” Bug corrected. “As long as the temple is active, it needs a High Priestess, but the only way to get rid of the powers is to transfer them. I don’t trust anyone else. Not with what I can do.” She pulled herself closer. “So I did the next best thing. I made the temple dormant.”

  “What exactly does that mean?”

  “It means the pyramid will continue to perform the vital functions it must do to help the city run, but no more than that. I’ve turned off its links to the planet and the universe. Bottom line, I gave up my connection to the temple.”

  For a moment, all he did was stare at her, then he said, “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “Yes, I did. I want forever with you, Wyatt Montgomery, and I wasn’t losing you because of some fricking pile of rock.”

  He grinned at her attempt to imitate his drawl. Hell, he grinned just because he was happy. Tipping her face up to his, he kissed her long and slow. He had to convey to her how much this meant to him. Bug loved him. She loved him enough to walk away from everything the pyramid had to offer.

  Wyatt broke the kiss. “I love you, Kendall, and I swear to God you won’t regret doing this.”

  She leaned back, and gave him a nervous smile. “So you love me; I love you. What do you say we get married?”

  With a whoop, he spun Bug in a circle. He must have asked her two dozen times, but the answer had always been let’s wait. “Darlin”, I say heck yeah! The sooner the better.”

  Kendall arched her neck to allow him access as he kissed his way down her jaw. “You don’t want to wait till we’re back on Earth,” she asked breathlessly, “and your family can be there?”

  Nipping her throat one last time, Wyatt raised his head. “I love my family, you know that, but I’m not giving you a chance to change your mind. As soon as I can get you in front of the chaplain, I’m putting a ring on your finger. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Kendall agreed, and pulled his head back to hers so she could kiss him senseless.

  “What do you say,” Wyatt murmured when he came up for air, “we find somewhere to celebrate?” Since he had her bra unhooked, and his hand under her T-shirt, cupping her bare breast, he was pretty confident she knew what he had in mind.

  Bug shook her head. “Do me here.”

  “In the hall?”

  “Zolianna and Berkant hid their trysts under cover of night. He snuck into her rooms, and out again, but this is the main corridor of the inner sanctum. Maybe it’s silly, but if we make love here, it’ll be like erasing all the furtiveness of their relationship, and starting with a clean slate.”

  Smiling slowly, Wyatt said, “Yeah, I get it. We’ll be exorcizing a few ghosts.” He raised her shirt over her head, and dropped it to the floor. The bra followed. “Kendall? Next life, it’s your turn to chase me.”

  “Only if you promise to let me catch you.”

  Wyatt froze as she opened his pants and stroked him. His voice came out choked when he said, “Deal.”

  § § §

  About the Author

  Nationally bestselling author Patti O’Shea has won numerous awards for her writing and been nominated for many more. Her books have appeared on the Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, and Borders bestseller lists and have earned starred reviews in prestigious publications such as Publishers Weekly and Booklist.

  www.pattioshea.com

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  Dedication and Acknowledgements

  Eternal Nights is dedication to the men and women of the United States Army—especially to the men in Special Forces—as a tribute to their sacrifice, courage, honor, and willingness to defend their country. Most Americans will never know their names, but these are our real heroes and heroines.

  Thanks to: SSgt. Brian Jensen, SMSgt. Kennith Mazac, and Lt. Jason Hull of the Minnesota Air National Guard for patiently answering my many questions. Any mistakes or alterations are mine.

  Melissa Lynn Copeland and Theresa Monsey, my writing buddies. Yes, Mel, Wyatt belongs to you, I promise.

  Kate Seaver, Leah Hultenschmidt, and Lucienne Diver for their roles in bringing this book to life.

  And a special thank you to all the people who contacted me after reading Ravyn’s Flight and asked for more. This story is for you.

  More Futuristic Romance From Patti O’Shea

  Ravyn’s Flight—Jarved Nine Book 1

  Ravyn Verdier is the communications specialist for a Colonization Assessment Team studying Jarved Nine. But when her teammates are murdered, their bodies mutilated, she finds herself alone with an unknown enemy lurking. Somewhere.

  Damon Brody is a Special Ops captain. He and his team arrive on J9 for a training mission. They've hardly landed when they hear an emergency beacon. They respond to the call, but find only one survivor. Within hours, Damon's team is murdered, too, and he and Ravyn have to work together to stay alive.

  They run for the Old City, a long-abandoned alien settlement, but it holds secrets that shake their view of the universe. To make it off the planet alive, they'll have to learn to put their faith in these strange things, and they'll have to trust each other and the bond they share. Only then will they be able to defeat the enemy and find forever with each other.

  Excerpt from Ravyn’s Flight

  They didn’t go more than a kilometer before Damon stopped, but most of it was uphill. Ravyn almost bumped into him, but caught herself in time. She went up on her toes to look over his shoulder and then had to fight back the temptation to push him out of her way. Never before had any body of water looked so beautiful to her. It was a small river, barely more than a creek, but there was fresh, clean water and she wanted it.

  “Wait here,” Damon said quietly.

  She knew caution was necessary, but she still shifted impatiently from side to side. The river called to her like a siren song. Ravyn looked away from the water and admired the small clearing the creek wound through. The grass here was short, maybe ankle height, and it added to the appeal. The little patch of land seemed like an oasis ringed with trees, bushes, tall grass and sprouting wild flowers.

  When Damon gave the all-clear sign, Ravyn barely kept from running. It took more self-discipline than it should have, but she managed to fill her canteen and wait for Damon to fill his before rolling up her sleeves and plunging her dirty hands in the water. She rubbed at the grime, but she still didn’t feel clean. As she scrubbed, she watched him take the canteens and drop a small tablet into each. She hadn’t even thought about microorganisms.

  Ravyn perked up when she remembered there was a plant that grew near water in this area with a soap-like sap. Pulling her hands out, she dried them on her pants and looked around. When she spotted the thick, flat protrusions of the plant she wanted, she smiled. “Can I borrow your knife?”

  It was a measure of trust that he didn’t ask what for, just handed it to her. She
flipped open the blade and cut some limbs from the plant. Kneeling at the edge of the river, she sliced open one of the fleshy leaves and used the soap to clean her hands. Catching Damon’s curious gaze, she said, “Soap plant.” She gestured to the pile beside her. “Help yourself.”

  “You can’t remember which plants are edible, but you know which one can be used as soap,” he commented wryly.

  “It’s a matter of priorities.” Ravyn said and submerged her head. She split open another leaf and washed her hair and face.

  When she finished, she noticed Damon had removed both his uniform shirt and the T-shirt underneath. Her eyes widened as she admired the sight. Only a scar high on his left arm marred the perfection of his body. His shoulders had looked broad in fatigues, out of them, they seemed impossibly wider. He had a light dusting of hair across his pecs. She followed the line to his ripped abs, drooled over them briefly, before continuing down to the waistband of his pants.

  The tips of her fingers itched to touch, to stroke that warm skin and the hard muscles beneath it. She could almost feel the crispness of his chest hair. Her lids slid half-shut as she tried to decide where and how he’d like to be touched. A drop of water traveled from his neck to his left nipple. She wanted to push his dog tags aside, press her mouth to his skin and lick it.

  Ravyn nearly hummed aloud before she realized he was getting half a bath. “Hey!” she squawked. “That’s not fair!”

  Damon looked over, a smug smile on his face. It was a dare, plain and simple, she decided. It was stupid, but she’d never been able to turn down a challenge. Pulling out the tails of her shirt, she started unbuttoning. She could feel his eyes on her.

  Playing a game of chicken with a Spec Ops officer ranked as one of the dumbest things she had ever done, but that didn’t stop her. When she undid the last button, she slowly separated the edges of her shirt. Ravyn knew the slowness came across as teasing, but she was waiting for him to turn his back.