Lovers of the Galaxy, Book Two: Bounty Hunters of the Heart

by Trinity Blacio

  “Please, do not do this. Just let us,” Oskhi hooked his feet around Miln’s calves, “have a few short minutes of loving one another.”

  Another boom shook the building.

  “You know I speak the truth.”

  “I want and need you!” He tightened his legs around Miln’s, drawing him closer and pushing his sapin more snugly against his asshole.

  His worry and sense of duty overrode his desire for Oshki. His erection abated. If he was going to make love to his mate, he wanted to claim him when he didn’t have to worry about their safety or fear Tapio’s surveillance. He wanted to enjoy his mate without interruption or fear of what was going on elsewhere. He couldn’t help the way he felt and thought. It was just the way he was.

  “No.” He shook his head. “We must go back and make sure everyone is well. Venus is performing important and unpredictable experiments on that Bone Eater, and with such a bad storm moving in, we should not take any chances.”

  A playful smile tweaked Oshki’s lips. “I do not agree, my warrior. They are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves for a few minutes.” He wrapped his arms around Miln’s waist and hugged him. “I say we stay here and then return after.”

  Anger stirred in him. His sapin softened more, and he growled deep in his throat. “Enough. We will return to base.”

  “You worry too much.” His partner cupped the back of Miln’s head and drew him down for a kiss.

  His ire surfacing, he rolled with his mate so that he was on top. However, the sudden movement caught him off guard. Seizing his chance, Miln heaved Oshki off him. His mate landed on his back just off the blanket. However, he scrambled to his feet, settling into a crouch, his eyes flashing with hurt and fury.

  “I know you do not understand,” Miln began in a soothing tone, “but you need to trust me. I sense we are needed at the base.”

  “You enjoy tormenting me,” he snapped. “You tease but you cannot commit.”

  “If you do not begin using reason”—his anger grew stronger than before—”I will commit all right. I will commit you to a cell where you can come to your senses!”

  Slowly, Oshki rose to his full height, shoulders back, arms rigid, with his fists balled at his sides. “You have no love for me. If you did, you would not do this.”

  “Perhaps you need to grow up before we truly consummate our partnership.” Miln whirled, and naked, walked over to the pets to coax them out from under the strange conveyance. “I will take Ka. You take Ino. Once we are certain all is well at the base camp, we will continue our discussion in our quarters.”

  With a low snarl, Oshki approached and held his hand out to Ino, who trotted over with trepidation, obviously sensing his fury.

  “Do not scare the animals,” Miln admonished. “They have no part in our disagreement.”

  “Do not speak to me. I cannot bear to even look at you right now.” With that, Oskhi retrieved his tool belt and trans-shifted, taking Ino with him.

  Pain sliced through him. He loved Oshki, but how could he be mated to a warrior who couldn’t see reason? With a thick heaviness in the center of his chest, he patted Ka. “Let us go. I have a feeling we are needed.”

  As if the animal understood, it issued a plaintive whine.

  “I know how you feel.” He scooped up his tool belt and then gripped the pet’s collar. “Time to go deal with trouble.” With that, he trans-shifted to base.

  Chapter Seven

  The wail of the bank’s security system assaulted Miln’s ears as he materialized on the ground floor. He glimpsed Oshki running across the front room past the strange cutout windows of one wall and then to the door leading to the back hall. With Ino and Ka growling at either side of him, he sprinted after his mate.

  Once he reached the lab just steps behind Oshki, he halted at the scene before him. At the entrance to the confinement cell, Venus stood wringing her hands as her mates examined the damaged door.

  Dread washed over him. “What happened here?”

  She spun on her heel, but upon seeing them naked, her anxious expression shifted to one of surprise. “Uh…the Bone Eater escaped. Somehow it got out of its bindings and then knew enough to pull the pins from the door to get out of the cell. It did the same to the back exit. That’s what set the alarm off.”

  “It appears the creatures are more intelligent that you thought,” Oshki observed.

  “I know and that scares the hell out of me.” She brightened when her mates returned. “Did you find which way the B.E. went?”

  The brothers both shook their heads.

  “Your test subject is long gone,” Volund explained.

  Picking up the hinge pins from the floor, Jaxxon examined them and then motioned for his brother to help him set the door up. Quickly, he slipped the pins into the slots and used a tool from his belt to hammer them in place again.

  “I never even thought of the hinges,” Venus said more to herself than anyone else. “It didn’t occur to me that the Bone Eaters might have some intelligence above an animal’s, or perhaps remember how to do some things from their human lives.”

  “It is a simple matter of replacing the doors with something more secure.” Miln tried calming her.

  She nodded, her lower lip trembling. “All that work…for nothing. Now I’ll have to start over on a different test subject.”

  He was glad that his brother-friends sandwiched her between them, hugging her tightly. In her condition, she needed all the comforting she could get.

  Meeting his gaze under Jaxxon’s arm, she asked, “Why are you two naked?”

  “We were…uh….” Oshki glanced at him. “Trying on Old West clothing when he suddenly sensed there was trouble here.”

  She quirked a fine eyebrow at him and then at Oshki. “Right.”

  The brothers chuckled, but politely kept their gazes trained elsewhere.

  Thankful for their discreetness, Miln announced, “We should finish packing our gear. We will check in later.”

  Trans-shifting, Oshki vanished, leaving him to deal with any last, uncomfortable questions that might be asked.

  ***

  Miln returned to their living quarters. There, he found his mate already gathering gear, supplies, and the items needed to travel back in time. Oshki placed their silver travel packs full of Old West attire on the table. He glanced up at him, eyes flinty with anger. Quickly, he turned and strode into their sleeping area for their Azutuan clothing. When he returned with everything, he tossed Miln’s tilk on the floor at his feet.

  Dismayed with his mate’s blatant surliness, he questioned, “How long are you going to be angry with me, Oshki?”

  “Right now I do not want to speak to you.” His words came out clipped.

  Despair claimed him, and he sighed heavily. “I understand, but you are taking it too far.”

  Stepping into his black tilk, Oshki pulled it up his legs and then settled it over his hips to fasten it with the sticky readhesive attached to one flap. “You fear commitment. Therefore, you will look for any excuse that puts you in a good light.” He jerked on first one boot and then the other, their horned tips gleaming in the overhead lights. When he straightened, he threw Miln a cold look. “Like I said, I really do not want to talk to you right now, so please leave me alone. We have a job to do, so let us take our stuff to the ship, and then once you have checked in with the brothers, we will leave to manage this Randle person.”

  Pain and outrage coursed through him. Tremors of bewilderment riddled his body. Although he knew it was natural for couples to have arguments and differing opinions, he’d honestly believed Oshki was more sensible than this. He struggled to contain his anger, understanding that his mate felt jilted, but when the lives of others depended on them both—not to mention the dozens of others due to arrive soon on Earth—they couldn’t put their wants and needs before the care and security of others. Frustrated, his ire mounting, he reminded himself that lashing back at his mate would only make matters worse.
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  “No matter what you are thinking or feeling right now,” he said as he picked up the packs, “I do love you.”

  His partner said nothing. He merely gathered various items into his arms and then trans-shifted.

  “By The Twelve Galaxies!” Miln stood still for a moment as he battled the fury trying to rule his heart and common sense. Once he had it under control, he whirled and stalked out of their quarters and down the corridor. At the threesome’s chambers, he stopped and knocked on the door.

  Volund opened it. “Ah, I see you are ready to go.”

  Too upset to speak, he nodded.

  Frowning, Volund looked him up and down, his deep red eyes assessing. “I do not know what is wrong between you two, but I hope the two of you can work it out.”

  With effort, Miln found his voice. “He does not seem to understand that when we are to protect others, our personal needs and wants mean nothing. Our duty is always to think of everyone else first.”

  “Ah, so you two were in the middle of something when you sensed you were needed here. Am I correct?”

  “Yes.”

  Volund nodded and then clapped Miln on the shoulder. “I now understand your dilemma. Oshki is still young, but if he does not exercise common sense in his duty then he may have to be removed from it and given another task. I said nothing to him this time about returning before his guard duty was completed today. I felt it would be better if you handled it. However, if he continues to ignore you, he may have to be relieved as a security officer. Worse, your duties may very well end your partnership.”

  The implications of Volund’s observation weighed heavily in the hall.

  A shaky breath escaped him. “The latter is what worries me.”

  “Report when you reach your destination,” Volund told him, “so we know you have arrived safely and on the correct date.”

  The sympathy on his friend’s face was more than Miln could bear, but thankfully the warrior had changed the subject. He placed his hand on Volund’s shoulder to show his respect and friendship. “We will report back as soon as we have assessed our situation. What will be the time lapse for transmissions?”

  “Roughly twenty-four Earth hours. The time channel for reports works strangely with the alternate dimensions surrounding and crisscrossing this planet and its history.”

  “Noted. Oshki is in the process of trans-shifting our stuff to the ship, so we will leave shortly.” He turned to go then halted and looked back at Volund. “Is Venus well?”

  The expression on Volund’s face shifted from sympathy to protectiveness and concern. “She is fine, but it worries us that she has so much stress weighing on her. The Bone Eater’s escape really upset her.”

  “I wish you all well,” said Miln. “Hopefully this trek into time will not take long and we will be back soon so we can return to our duties here. I am guessing the next Azutuans will have arrived by the time we return?”

  “If all goes well, yes.”

  “I pray we are all together again in a few days.” He strode down the hall.

  “Be careful,” Volund called, “and do not underestimate your quarry.”

  Turning and then walking backward several steps, Miln saluted Volund. He whirled around just as he reached his quarters, where he found all the supplies and gear for their trip gone. Using his Trans Shifter rod, he gave himself another shot. Tingling assailed his body, and with the dizzying rush from a new dose surging in his veins, he materialized in the ship.

  “Fasten yourself in your seat,” Oshki ordered frostily once he noticed Miln behind him. “We are ready to leave.” He returned his attention to a brightly lit scanner flooded with hundreds of Azutuan symbols and words. He motioned toward the adjoining seat, aglow with sensors and tools that monitored the occupant’s vitals. “The ship is set to go back to 1847.”

  Irritated with his mate’s continued hostility, he kept his tongue in check and settled into the co-command chair. He slid one finger over a bright blue sensor, activating all the restraints. “Let us get this over with. The sooner we find Venus’s assailant the sooner we can return.”

  “Agreed,” Oshki snapped as he engaged the time controller.

  Chapter Eight

  Once the ship lifted off and traveled through the layers of Earth’s atmosphere, Miln ran a check for wormholes so they could make their time jump.

  “I found a portal currently two tellens from Earth’s moon,” he said.

  “I see it in the scanner.” Oshki touched a few sensors. “It’s the same one Randle used to escape. His Sky Streamer path is still discernable. We’ll reach it shortly.”

  He relaxed as his partner readied the system for their time jump. With the stars streaking past in white blurs, the ship veered around the gray, pockmarked moon. As they neared the wormhole, Miln detected the faint jar of the ship once it slipped into the tunnel’s suction. A quick rainbow flash filled all the scanners, followed by a dizzying sensation that struck him in the center of the chest. They burst from the portal’s opposite end, and another bright array of hues assailed their craft’s force-field windows, and he blinked against the brilliance. Flying back through the Earth’s atmosphere, the ship descended toward a dense bank of cloud cover. Once they penetrated the thick haze, intense light suddenly assaulted the scanners, and a boom shook the ship.

  “What in the name of—” Bolting upright, Miln grimaced, the seat’s restraints cutting into his chest.

  “Schizma!” yelled Oshki. “We’ve entered the past during a thunderstorm!”

  Miln deactivated one of the ship’s vision shields so he could gaze through a transparent spot. Once the craft descended below the clouds, he scowled at the darkness. “Have we arrived on the right date?”

  “Yes. October 31, 1847. We’ve arrived ahead of Randle.”

  “By how long?” Miln asked.

  “Approximately thirty minutes in Earth time.”

  Thinking for a moment, Miln suddenly realized why the date seemed familiar to him. “That date is what the people here call Samhain, is it not?”

  Nodding, his partner set the main computer to monitor potential lightning bolts and guide the ship between them. “It has been called many names, but in this territory in 1847 it is referred to as Halloween.”

  Dark blobs passed below the ship. Once, Miln thought he saw the reflection of lightning on a body of water. Rain slashed at the transparent panel. Brightness fractured the angry sky, but no sooner did he glimpse trees and gently rolling fields, than blackness cloaked everything again.

  “I have found a place to land,” Oshki announced. “There is a small opening in the forest canopy where the ship can lower to the ground. The trees and undergrowth will shield the craft from prying eyes.”

  “What of Randle’s Sky Streamer path before he arrives?”

  “The location where he will arrive is nearby.” He pointed ahead and slightly to his right. “Since there is a structure in that direction and it is in the vicinity of Randle’s future landing spot, I am guessing he would go toward it first.”

  Engaging the landing program, Oshki monitored the scanners as the ship settled to the ground.

  The gentle thud alerted Miln that they’d officially landed. He punched the restraint sensor, and when each one released, he leaped over to the clear panel and peered out at the storm ripping through the woods. The ship’s lights illuminated only a few bushes tossing this way and that and the wet, gleaming trunks of tall trees. Rain poured down, soaking the earth and flowing over the ship.

  He sighed. “Looks like we will have to wait out the storm.”

  Silence.

  He glanced over his shoulder. His mate stood at the main scanner reading their coordinates, the temperatures, and information about the weather and the terrain.

  “Oshki?”

  “I heard you,” he replied. “Since security is our duty, I am gathering all the information I can to aid us in our task.”

  His mate’s thinly veiled sarcasm wasn’t lost on
him. “Good, I am glad to see you want this mission done so we can return.”

  Without a word, Oshki strode past him, his boots echoing throughout the ship. “I am going to get some rest while it is storming.”

  He watched him go. The door to the next chamber vanished as he reached it and then reappeared once he’d passed through. He knew what Oshki was doing. Although it angered him, he wasn’t about to let his partner know how much. His childish behavior chipped away at Miln’s patience. Once they found Randle and either brought him back to Venus’s time or disposed of him, they could focus on their relationship.

  Or could they?

  The thought troubled him. No matter what the case, there would always be important and even severe security issues to deal with on a regular basis. Their lives in Venus’s time would be volatile at best, especially with the epidemic of Bone Eaters. Volund’s worry settled in Miln’s gut, too. Protecting the base and its people was his duty as well as Oshki’s. Perhaps Volund was right when he said his partner might have to be removed from his station. Was it possible Oshki demanded more attention than he could ever give him?

  With a sinking heart, he settled in the chair and slid it back into a sleeping position.

  ***

  The storm battered the woods throughout the night and for most of the next day. Late in the afternoon, Miln hiked through the trees with his mate. Upon reaching some dense undergrowth, he ducked into it behind Oshki. He squatted alongside him and grimaced at the mud oozing up over the metal horns on his boot tips. The difference between the hot, dry Earth of Venus’s time and the moisture and lushness of now was appalling. He wasn’t so certain the Ruling Body of Planets knew what they were doing by recolonizing Earth of the future. What if they couldn’t increase the rainfall to make things grow?

  He shook aside the disturbing thoughts and glanced over at Oshki. “Do you see anything on the scanner?”