Ecstasy Bound

by Kerce, Ruth D.

  “Military life.” He reached up and covered her hand with his. “You can trust me, Brianna. You have no reason to do so and I have no way to convince you that you can, other than my words.”

  “I know.”

  Again he frowned. Obviously her short response hadn’t been what he’d expected.

  But it was all she could give him for now. “We need to go.”

  As she headed toward the door, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back. “Hey, if it comes down to it, I will side with you. I won’t betray you, Brianna. I’ll never turn my back on you.”

  Her heart pounded. He’d just declared his loyalty to her. Even over Laszlo. “Why?”

  she asked in a low voice, her legs feeling shaky.

  “Sometimes a man has to go with his gut. My gut is telling me it’s the right thing to do. As well as my heart,” he added in a low voice, a small smile tugging at his lips.

  She smiled back. But what of his other alliance? “And if it came down to Xylon or Earth?”

  He stood in silence, looking at her for what felt like an eternity. He shook his head.

  “Don’t ask that of me, Brianna. Any more than you’d want me to ask you the same question.”

  An honest answer. Her respect for him rose yet another notch. She nodded. “Fair enough.” Her fingers tightened around his. She felt as if they were truly a team. A team with a shaky future, for certain, but they’d face that future together. “Let’s go.”

  * * * * *

  Underground

  Tara paced. She stumbled on the uneven ground but caught herself before falling.

  “Damn it.” Then she paced some more, trying to figure everything out.

  Her vision was still blurry, thus her unsteadiness. Her hands were still bandaged, which made her feel practically useless. She was still in pain, which irritated her and sapped her energy.

  But…she was alive.

  She saw enough from time to time to have seen the scars on her arms and legs. She didn’t know what had happened to her uniform but she was now dressed in some sort of animal skin or something. Not as disgusting as she would have thought. The hide felt super soft against her body.

  Her voice had returned for the most part. About the same time that she’d begun speaking clearly again, the two men who had been helping her, fucking her, got into some sort of argument and she hadn’t seen either man since.

  She hadn’t actually heard them arguing. Instead they’d used hand gestures, as Class 1 and Class 2 Xylon Warriors often did when they didn’t want outsiders to know what they were saying. The movements hadn’t really been distinguishable to her but the emotions had been unmistakable.

  Now some strange, unfriendly woman came to help her with food and bathing.

  Since they kept her isolated, she’d had no interaction with any part of their society.

  If they even had an organized society. Because of that, everything had been extra difficult to figure out, especially with her brain being scrambled. Somehow she thought she ought to be able to reason this out. If her eyes could only focus better, it would probably be a lot easier to sort things in her head. Visual clues were often the most useful.

  She didn’t understand why the men had abandoned her, especially the one she’d begun to feel a kinship with. The one who had always been so kind to her. She missed his strong presence, for he’d made her feel safe.

  Since they hadn’t been attending her, the pain in her limbs, her face, her whole body had increased. The increased discomfort hadn’t helped her thought processes any.

  So much of her memory was spotty. She’d remember something, then it would be gone. Frustrating! She must have taken a wicked blow to the head.

  Eventually she figured she’d get better and everything would come together in her mind. She just needed to remain calm and stay patient. Unfortunately, patience wasn’t her best asset.

  Her eyesight had improved enough that she suspected she was in some sort of cave system. If so, she was probably underground on one of Xylon’s moons.

  One of the outer moons. For the Sand Moon’s soil had a different feel under her feet. It was too warm here, even if deep underground, to be the Ice Moon. She knew this couldn’t be Marid. Their underground cave system consisted only of mining colonies as

  far as she knew. This area seemed almost completely undeveloped and she didn’t hear any machinery in use nearby.

  Once she got better, she was out of here. After she got up top, she’d know for certain where she was and what actions she needed to take to get back to her family, if they still lived.

  Torque, Brianna, Braden… If only they could hear her.

  * * * * *

  Planet Xylon

  Auxiliary Underground Shelter

  Tara… Torque swallowed hard, forcing back a sudden flood of emotion. He shook his head. He was having a hard time concentrating. The lower oxygen levels were affecting him more than they should. He was actually thinking crazy thoughts.

  Thoughts that did him no good. He had to switch his focus before he lost his mind.

  Braden had come up to the control room to retrieve some special tools and equipment for the orbiter rewire. He’d been on his way back out when he stopped beside the main computer station.

  Torque felt his brother staring at him and it angered him. He didn’t know why. He just knew that he was mad at the universe right now and Braden was in close range.

  Too close. “Why are you staring?” he bit out.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Fuck no.”

  Now was not the time for this but it just came out. He’d thought he’d put Tara and her loss into a safe place, way in the depths of his heart. But he hadn’t and he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to do so. Somehow, he just didn’t feel that she was truly gone.

  But she was. His twin was dead.

  Sure she had been Braden’s sister too and he knew his brother and Brianna were mourning as well. But his entire heart had been ripped out. Funny, since he’d never realized he actually had a heart or could care so much.

  He hoped that Tara had known how much he’d loved her. That would at least be some comfort. He should have shown her more often. Now, he’d never get the chance.

  “From the look on your face, it’s obvious where your mind is, Torque. I’ve seen the same pain on my own face when I look in a reflector. And on Brianna’s face.” Braden touched his shoulder. “You couldn’t have done anything differently. What happened had nothing to do with you. It was just…circumstances.”

  “Yeah.” Words didn’t help him feel any better. He should have been able to protect Tara. He’d never forgive himself for not getting her out of the Lair before the bomb hit.

  Now he just wanted to sleep. To escape. To be with his mystery dream woman, which was the only time the pain went away. He didn’t know who she was or why she kept appearing in his dreams at night and even in his daydreams but he craved her presence, for she gave him a distraction. Limitless sex. And peace.

  “Is everything entered into the system now?” Braden asked, switching subjects.

  “No.”

  “You know we’ve got a time issue?” his brother asked, though he kept his voice soft.

  Torque looked over at him. “Yeah, Braden, I know.” He turned back to stare hard at the computer screen. “I’ll get it done. Just leave me the fuck alone!” He punched a few buttons until a page of code loaded.

  Normally that would be enough to send anyone running. Torque was used to others backing down from him whenever he growled. Braden had always been the exception, which was damn frustrating…and strangely comforting.

  “You better pull yourself out of this depression you’re in and get your mind on the work, brother. I know how you’re feeling, but—”

  Torque surged out of his chair, sending it rolling backward across the room to crash into the wall. “You don’t know shit, Braden! Don’t ever try to preten
d that you do!”

  Braden didn’t give an inch. “Tara was my sister too. I loved her.” His voice cracked.

  “I know you two had a special connection. Just as Brianna and I do. So believe me. I do understand.”

  They stood glaring at each other for long, tense moments.

  Finally, Braden stepped back and shook his head. “This oxygen situation, along with a possible traitor in our midst, is affecting us. We shouldn’t be going at each other.”

  Torque stepped back too, the only concession he was willing to give right now.

  Venting his anger on Braden wouldn’t change things, though it had helped him to defuse. He took in a calming breath and released it slowly. They needed to get back to the situation at hand. Braden had been right about that. “What are we going to do about proving who the traitor is?”

  “I’ll have Pitch take Alexa and the triplets to medical. He can use the computer there to look into any messages sent to Frost, just in case some evidence is hidden in the system somewhere. He’ll still be readily available to protect Alexa that way. And medical is closest to the decontamination room if Frost shows up and we have to move everyone in there fast. We can secure ourselves in the room if need be, redirect the oxygen, and Frost or whoever she sends will be history.”

  “I’d never let another man look after my mate. You should stay with Alexa yourself and let Pitch work on the orbiter.”

  “If I could, I would. The coding is too technical. He doesn’t have the background to do the bypass. Erik is the only other one I trust to do it properly and I’ve got him working on a special project.”

  When Braden didn’t explain further, Torque frowned. He’d overheard Braden speaking to Erik, even though their voices had been hushed. He knew what they were doing. He wondered if his brother realized that, so saw no reason to elaborate, or if he just didn’t want to confide in him. The last thought bothered him but he wouldn’t push the issue. For now. “What are we going to do about saving the oxygen we have left?

  The more we can conserve, the longer we’ll have, especially if we continue to run into problems.”

  “Erik and I will get on it after we finish what we’re working on. I really don’t think we’re going to be able to find the leak. The ventilation system setup down here is a mess of mazes. We’ll try but I’m afraid we’re probably going to have to deal with what we have and hope there’s time to get everything done before the air dips to a deadly level.” Braden clapped his shoulder. “I’m going to get back to work.”

  “Wait, um, we may have another problem.”

  “Another problem?” Braden’s eyes narrowed.

  “I’m still checking into it. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew one way or the other. But you might as well be alerted.” It seemed as if the fates were working against them. Everything was going wrong.

  “What’s happened now?”

  “It looks like we’re losing power. Gradual, but there.”

  Braden scrubbed a hand down his face. “How gradual?”

  “It’s gone down to ninety-seven percent since we’ve been here. That’s not much but there shouldn’t be more than a one perfect fluctuation at any time. I find it interesting that the power didn’t start draining until just recently. The regenerator equipment seems to be glitching. But only now and then.”

  “Can it be fixed?”

  “Unknown. I can’t pinpoint the problem through the system. There’s no regenerator-specific diagnostic to run for this. Besides, the drop has been so small, I’m still not completely sure there even is a real problem or if this is just a minor complication due to the age of the equipment or how it was originally configured.”

  “How much power do we need to stay functional?”

  “With what we’re using now, given our numbers and the projects we’re working on, we need eighty percent at least or we’ll really start having problems with the equipment. Closer to ninety would be better. I’ve already shut down all unnecessary systems, just in case.”

  “Good.”

  “Once the orbiters are gone, we can shut down a lot more systems and function as low as sixty-five percent if necessary, as long as everyone is in the decontamination room.”

  Braden nodded. “Continue working on the room. Once you finish with that, if there’s time and the levels have dropped again, look into the regenerator problem more closely. Start with the main circuitry system and work out from there.”

  “I have the computers calculating how long it will be before the power drops below eighty percent. And also sixty-five percent. I don’t know how accurate the results will be though, since the glitch seems to come and go. The computer might not be able to do the calculations. I’ve also still got the computer working on the oxygen levels, calculating how much time we have, given the progression of the air loss, before we get into real trouble.”

  “Why is it taking so long to calculate?”

  “Everything down here operates slower than a slug-dragger. The main operating system is outdated and isn’t handling the load very well. If things get too bad, we’ll need to start shutting off areas of the shelter to conserve the air and the power. I’d have done that already but we need access to too much of the equipment right now.”

  Braden nodded. “If the computer comes up with anything reasonable sounding, let me know and we’ll go over the results and decide what to do. I need to go speak with Pitch and Alexa, get them off to medical, then I’ll be heading back down to the orbiters.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Hand in hand, Briggs and Brianna arrived at the conference room. At their approach, the doors slid open. No going back now, Briggs thought. Not that he had intended to disobey military orders and withdraw his participation. But being here again, in the room where they intended to hold the Initiation, lent an inevitability to the situation.

  As soon as he and Brianna stepped within the entry, they both stopped abruptly.

  “Oh!” Brianna looked around, a sound of awe on her voice.

  Sam’s heart rate kicked up a notch. “Wow.” The whole area looked redone. He glanced back toward the corridor, making certain this was the right room. “Did we take a wrong turn?”

  “I was wondering the same thing for a second.”

  While they stood there like sightseers at a resort, the doors tried to slide closed behind them but hit Brianna in the butt and bounced against her. “Damn it!” she yelped.

  Sam chuckled and automatically reached his arm around her waist in a steadying and protective gesture. “What? You don’t enjoy a little smack on the ass?” he whispered in her ear. He’d barely missed getting caught himself.

  She punched a button on the wall, which caused the doors to fully reopen and apparently locked them in the open position. “Only if you would do it.”

  His heart skipped a beat. “I’ll remind you of that later.”

  She smiled sexily at him. “I look forward to it.” She leaned into his side. “Isn’t this incredible?”

  His attention returned to the room. “Definitely.”

  The lighting in particular, subdued and romantic, had transformed the atmosphere of the once sterile-looking room into something very easy on the eyes. The floor was covered with colored blankets and sheets and mats and pillows. Probably three times the amount they had before, when they’d first set things up in here. Colored sheets even hung from the ceiling.

  The room looked almost like a harem. No longer did he see any medical equipment or tables, which were now probably obscured by the hanging blue and pale yellow drapery.

  He couldn’t imagine where everything had come from. Probably medical. He knew of a supply area in there toward the rear of the room. He remembered seeing it on one of his nightly explorations. He’d never gotten the opportunity to look inside though.

  “I feel a woman’s touch in the room,” Brianna said. “Leila must have redecorated for us.”

  “I can certainly live with t
his.” A delicate scent of something that he couldn’t identify but enjoyed even wafted through the air.

  They stepped farther into the room to look around more closely. The mirror along one wall made the area look twice as big and actually played well with one’s senses, giving the room a fantasy-like look and feel. Leila, if she were indeed the one responsible, had known what she was doing.

  Sam suddenly wondered if Leila might help initiate him. She was Erik’s mate, a possessive man, if he’d read the Warrior correctly. Leila was a doctor, or rather Healer, as they were called on Xylon. A logical choice. She was certainly beautiful. Not anything like Brianna, of course, but a woman who could definitely turn a man’s head.

  Speaking of whom… From the corner of his eye, Sam noticed Leila step inside the room and he turned in her direction. Laszlo followed close behind. The two came over to him and Brianna.

  “I hope you approve,” Leila said with a smile.

  At the sound of her voice, Brianna turned. “Oh yes. It’s beautiful, Leila. Thank you for doing all this.”

  “Colonel Briggs?” she asked.

  “It’s very nice. Your attention to detail is appreciated.”

  He had to respect Laszlo and Leila for their consideration. This Initiation was a military duty. The Xylons could have simply performed it in the medical lab, or in this room as it originally was, and left it at that.

  “We will need three for the Initiation,” Leila said, blurting the words awkwardly and changing the relaxed mood in the room to something more intense. An uncomfortable expression crossed her face and she twisted her fingers. “So, um, Brianna will lead as planned. Agreed?”

  “Agreed,” Brianna answered.

  Sam nodded, wondering at Leila’s discomfort. Perhaps she actually had been chosen to be involved in the rite but didn’t want to be. He certainly didn’t want to have sex with any woman who felt forced into it.