by PJ Schnyder
“Every aspect of this mission carries enough risk to require a healthy dose of caution.” Guarded words. He watched her carefully.
They’d only spent a couple of days on Dysnomia station together and a few brief hours here and there when their paths crossed over the last six months. It still surprised her how well he knew her. Of course, those first couple of days had started with a glass of scotch and escalated to a close range firefight, a covert rescue initiative and some unexpected diplomatic relations with aliens. You really got to know the person at your back under pressure on the scale of insanity.
She shrugged. “The handler is okay, I guess. He’s a little too boy-next-door for me. Got a bit of steel strapped to his backbone though or the dog wouldn’t listen to him, that’s one dominant canine.”
“Noted.” He sounded pleased. “Anyone else?”
“You mean the jackass gorilla in charge of the heavy armory boys? Man acted like he had x-ray vision and if he steps too close to Skuld he might not live to report in for duty planet side.” The lecher in question had spent a good deal of time getting an eyeful of her too. She’d have taken time to impress on him how very sorry he’d be if he made any advances on Skuld or herself, but she’d had bigger problems to worry about in the form of Bharguest.
“There’s always a couple. You’re a whole lot of sexy walking around on a ship where the only company they have is their hand or some other hairy backside. You hold your own and most of them will leave you alone. The grumpy soldier you sort of like will keep them in line and away from your friend.” Rygard sighed. “I need these reinforcements, all of them. The intel we’ve been gathering here is enough to escalate to the next phase. We could be saving a lot of lives when we’re ready to make our move, innocent lives.”
Saving any one of them would be worth putting up with a perv for a short space flight.
“Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “No bloodshed until we hit planet side unless one of them draws blood on me first. Happy?”
Despite the shadows, she saw his brows draw together and his lips tighten into a flat line. When he spoke, it was through clenched jaws. “Any man draws your blood and he will answer to me.”
She hadn’t expected to trigger such a strong protective reaction. Hadn’t intended for him to get upset either.
“I didn’t mean to...”
“It’s fine, sweetness.” He cut her off. He rolled his head, vertebrae popping audibly. “You’re more than capable of defending yourself and your own. I’ve been proud to fight with you at my back and not too proud to admit you’ve saved my ass. But, remember this, Kaitlyn...” He leaned in until the light chased away the shadows and she could see his eyes. “...you and me, we have something. For as long as you’re mine, any man touches you and he answers to me.”
Wow.
Somehow she’d always thought she’d have been annoyed if a man ever claimed her the way Rygard had. Instead, heat spread through her and her chest tightened. No need to speak to let him know the sentiment was returned.
“Anyone else?” He prompted her again.
At that, her temper did spike. “If you wanted to know about the prisoner, why didn’t you ask about him?”
Thing about her, she tended to be a little too direct occasionally. Okay, most of the time. Still, he usually didn’t mince words and she appreciated it. Why was he dancing around now instead of going straight for the goal?
“I wanted to know your impressions on the entire team.” He returned, his voice calm. “But I noticed you didn’t mention him yet and from the information I’ve got, he’s definitely one to catch anyone’s attention.”
“He’s very interesting.” She tugged on a lock of her hair, twisting it around her finger as she considered. “I’m actually not sure I could take him in a fair fight. Definitely not in closed quarters, I’d need room to maneuver.”
Rygard’s eyebrows shot up. “The night we met, you plowed through a bar brawl to get to a glass of scotch. You sure this man is that dangerous?”
“Tweedle One and Tweedle Two definitely aren’t the reason the man is still in custody.” She dismissed the two military police with a wave of her hand. Usually she had a modicum of respect for security forces but these two were not the Terran military’s finest by any stretch of the imagination. “He walked on board this ship because he wanted to. And the minute he got on board, he changed his mind about something.”
“What?” Worry colored Rygard’s voice and his features froze in a scowl.
“Beats me.” She shook her head. “He’s good, very good, with body language. The only information I’m getting is what he tells me. He might as well be a couple of feet tall, shriveled and green.”
“Say again?”
“Never mind. Boggle had me watch some old Terran movies.” She considered for a moment and got back on track. “The man is an alpha, more than dominant. Also he is not a normal human. Don’t know what he is, but I sure as hell can tell you what he isn’t. All I know is, I really, really want to know more about him.”
“Stay away from him.” Rygard didn’t put any command behind the statement. He knew better. “I’m asking you to give him a wide berth. Not because you couldn’t take him or because you’re curious about him. I’m more worried about him getting curious about you.”
Huh. Hadn’t expected that.
She cocked her head to the side. “He hasn’t said much yet. The couple of bits he’s said though? Definitely does not play well with others. I don’t like him aboard Dev’s ship without knowing more. You mind if I ask Boggle to dig into his background since you want me to avoid him?”
“Wouldn’t be a bad idea. But tell Boggle not to dig too far into this mission.”
Technically, Rygard’s team was on some sort of super-secret, need to know operation. Of course, operational security had layers and Boggle excelled at peeling them back to get to information. Part of the reason she’d never made the decision to join the military had to do with those layers, the lack of transparency. She didn’t like to go in blind, following orders from someone she didn’t personally trust. Rygard’s decision to re-up for another tour of service had less to do with that and more to do with loyalty to his men. Tough choice.
When she didn’t answer, Rygard tapped the mic. “You heard me. Don’t go looking for anything that will draw attention to you. We got lucky the last time and from what I know of this incoming group, Dev might not be able to get things cleared before they bundle you up and send you back to Terra.”
The threat had gotten old. She lived cautious, sure, but she didn’t live in fear.
“We’ll see.” She never made a promise she didn’t do her best to keep. Better to simply not make it.
He frowned at her, yet kept his peace on the topic and moved on. “These soldiers all have special skills sets. From what I hear, they’re the best at what they do. There should be an EOD in the group.”
“EOD?”
“Explosive Ordinance Disposal. Those guys are a special breed of crazy but controlled insanity, if you get what I mean.”
Her confusion must have shown on her face.
“Things intended to go boom, this guy diffuses or contains them.”
Damn. “So he voluntarily walks up to bombs and takes care of them?”
“Yah.”
“Wait. You have bombs there?”
A pause. “There’s land mines all around the area we’re trying to scout. Diffusing a couple for an expedited path out would be useful.”
“Duly noted.” She paused. Would asking him to be careful be smothering? She didn’t know so she kept silent. Besides, they kept plenty of ordinance on board anyway. Hard to get all protective about someone when she put herself in similar situations all the time.
Rygard, however, couldn’t sniff out explosives whereas she�
�d taken the time to get as good as the canine they’d taken aboard. “You’re not going to need to know the path, sweetness. Dev’s team, including you, will only be needed to guard our home camp. We’re covering the forward positions.”
She shrugged. “Whatever you say. Work it out with Dev.”
Any concern she let slip now might be interpreted as doubt in his abilities. At least, she’d take it that way. Better to show him how much she cared when she got there.
“We will.” Rygard gave her a thumbs up.
In her experience, the best plans always went south at the least opportune moment. Dev made contingency plans with backups plus more in case they were cursed with a particularly bad case of Murphy’s Law. She’d be familiar with the area and the terrain, regardless of what the military men and Rygard had to say.
“There should also be a sniper with you, plus his observer.”
“I saw the rifles. Nifty.”
He chuckled. “You try the guns I gave you yet?”
Up until she’d met Rygard, she hadn’t owned any guns. She hadn’t gone unarmed; there wasn’t a time waking or sleeping when she didn’t have a few knives on her person. In panther form, she could hold a knife in her jaws, but she couldn’t pull a trigger with paws. It was an old argument between her and Dev...and Boggle and Rygard. Rygard had finally circumvented the debate by gifting a few guns to her.
“Haven’t been to a firing range, no.” Why did she feel guilty?
Rygard’s expression softened, his lips forming a smile just for her. “I look forward to giving you your first lesson then.”
Oh no, no melting right away. She lifted her chin. “If I decide to change my policy about carrying guns. I’d have to change up the way I carry my gear.”
No lie there. Her pack had been specially designed for her to carry on her back in human form, but it could also be strapped to her back in panther form with a little help from somebody with thumbs. Otherwise, there were a few extra handles to make it easier for her to carry in her mouth and stash someplace until she could return and get it.
“You’re a sensible woman. Rare that. I’ll lay odds you’ll learn just because you like to have extra skill sets at hand for any circumstance. You’re too good a fighter not to.”
He had her there. Plus, his confidence in her warmed up her insides all gooey even if he hadn’t managed to melt her. Yet.
“Maybe.”
“That’s a yes.”
She snarled at him. “A maybe is a maybe.”
He grinned.
It had become a game, the exchange. She couldn’t help returning his smile.
“I miss you.”
Her throat constricted when he said the words. The best she could do was whisper in return. “Miss you too.”
She dropped her chin, her hair falling across her eyes. Even as a hologram, the intensity of his regard left her vulnerable. For him, she didn’t feel the need to hide behind walls or defend herself. He’d gotten past those defenses.
* * *
“God, you’re beautiful.” Rygard watched her hologram, wishing he could reach out and touch the silk of her hair.
He hadn’t expected to miss her as much as he did. His girl. She’d gotten under his skin and he’d found himself thinking of her at random times throughout his day. Little things, offhand comments, he would have wanted to share with her if she’d been there with him.
Kaitlyn’s eyes widened at his compliment and color spread across her cheeks. In some ways, she was so guileless. He enjoyed that about her too.
“I’m kind of liking this chance to see you.” He grinned as she fiddled with a lock of hair. It did his ego a lot of good to know he could unsettle her when life threatening situations and high numbers of enemy soldiers couldn’t. “It’s late on the ship, isn’t it? I get to tuck you in.”
Her sweet lips formed a shy smile. “I wasn’t planning to do anything else after talking to you besides going to sleep.”
“Nothing at all?” Did he see a little shift in her eyes?
“Well, when you say ‘nothing’ like that, I feel like there should be something.” Her brows drew together in the cutest perplexed expression. “Skuld had this weird gift for me. It came to mind when you said that but there is no way in hell I’m using it.”
From what little he knew about Skuld, he was guessing he was going to really like that present, or at least what it could do to Kaitlyn. “What’d she get you?”
His girl clamped her mouth shut and set her jaw at a stubborn angle.
Oh, this was good. He definitely wanted to know.
“C’mon, sweetness. Skuld’s a good friend, you said so yourself.”
She relaxed a fraction. “She is. But this...thing, yeah no. I’m not going to use it.”
“I’m dying to know what she got you.” And if it was what he thought it was, he intended to make sure she used it while he was around to watch.
His cock swelled in his pants at the thought, and he made sure she couldn’t see, yet.
“Well, she figured I was going to be exploring...things, after you and I met, especially since we’re not sure when we’re going to meet up again.”
“And exploring things is a good idea.” He had a few suggestions, actually. He was going to drive himself to a serious case of blue balls if he didn’t help his girl along a bit. “Why don’t you bring it out now?”
The panic in those big brown eyes made him grin. Then her lids came down to half-mast. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not? No one can see you. It’s just me, in this lonely tent, with you.” He let some of the desire he was feeling color his voice. “I’d enjoy watching you please yourself.”
“I’m not... I don’t... I’ve never done...that...for myself before.” She didn’t sound against it. If she did, he wouldn’t have pushed her. No, she sounded shy and uncertain.
“There’s no wrong way to please yourself, sweetness.” The thought of watching her was going to guarantee him a rough day if he didn’t take care of himself too. “Do you have it nearby?”
“Yes.” Quiet, curious, no fear in her tone, only hesitation.
“It won’t hurt you.”
“I know that!” A bit of tart in her reply, there. Good.
“Then it can’t hurt to give it a try.” He winked at her.
The corner of her mouth pulled to one side in a dubious expression.
He sat up, letting her see how hard he was, despite the heavy fabric of his pants. “This is what you do to me. Just thinking of you feeling good does this to me. Won’t you show me?”
Her gaze fastened on his groin and her breath quickened. He could see the rise and fall of her chest, wanted to see the smooth perfection of her skin instead.
“You’re getting ready for bed, right?”
“Yes.” She blinked.
“Get more comfortable then. What do you sleep in when I’m not there?”
Instead of protesting, she bit her lip, then unfastened her ship suit. Slipping out of it slowly, she let it fall to the side, outside the projection of the hologram. He feasted on the sight of her in a simple tank top and a pair of those lacey panties.
“You do like to wear those sexy little pieces of underwear, don’t you?”
She shrugged, a long lock of hair falling across her eyes. “They make me feel pretty, I guess.”
“You are.” He wanted to tell her again and again until she believed him when he said it. “You’re beautiful.”
She wrinkled her nose at him and he would have argued with her, but she slid her hands up the back of her tank, undoing the clasp of her bra so that a strap fell loose over her shoulder. He held his breath as her hands came back into view and she reached one hand across her chest to slide the loose strap down her arm. One arm free, she repe
ated the motion on the other side.
How was it possible for a woman to undress from the inside out? And how had he not known it could be this sexy?
His cock jumped as she slipped her fingers into the front of her cleavage and tugged her bra out from under the tank top.
Professional strippers hadn’t teased him this badly.
“More comfortable now?” He wasn’t. He was about to burst out of his pants.
She nodded. The silhouettes of her nipples stood out against the fabric of her tank top. It probably wasn’t cold over there. Dev’s ship was large enough to have a decent environmental control system, complex enough to maintain room temperatures to the comfort of the occupants in each personal cabin space. His girl was definitely excited.
“Lay down then.” He wanted to coax her, make her feel comfortable with herself.
Still hesitating, she cocked her head to the side for a moment, but instead of saying anything she laid down.
He sighed happily. The curves of her breasts and hips were perfect. Her hair spread out around her in dark waves. Oh, he could capture the holo right there and store it to enjoy on many a lonely night to come. But he’d made a promise to his girl. His own personal memory would have to do. And he planned to burn the image into his brain.
She moved her hand, reaching for something. “You really want to see me play with this?”
Hells, yes!
Reaching within for control, he modulated his voice. “Will you?”
Watching her lay there, her brows drawn together and her mouth twisted in a perplexed frown as she studied the buttons, he couldn’t help but smile. How did she manage to be adorable and sexy at the same time?
The vibrator in her hands suddenly came to life and she messed with the buttons for another minute turning the intensity up and down and adjusting the stimulation patterns. “I think I’ve got the controls figured out. They’re fairly straightforward.”
So clinical. Laughter rumbled in his belly. No. If he laughed, she’d stop.
“Try something simple this first time.” He had no idea what she’d like, however it sounded like good advice to him.