by Amelia Jade
Judging by her reaction, it wasn’t.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“A little bit of indigestion. I’m not a great flier.”
Kaitlyn’s eyebrows rose slowly like an escalator until they reached the top, where they came back down again at the same pace. “Riggghhtttt.”
He smiled again. There was much to be happy about. Much to celebrate.
“No more secrets,” he said, changing the subject, making it clear he wasn’t going to discuss what had happened any further. “Agreed. You’re in the know now.”
Nope, no secrets at all.
My mate.
Chapter Five
Kaitlyn
“It looks…cozy.”
Aric laughed softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think to mention this to you, but I should have.”
She looked at the bunk in front of her, covered in a green blanket that looked about as comfortable as receiving a massage with porcupine quills. At the foot of the bed, if it could even be called that, was a chest and upright locker, the only storage in the room. To the right was a desk that spanned the length of the bed. A washroom occupied the rest of the right-hand wall, a tiny thing with a stainless steel toilet and sink only.
“Where do I shower?” she asked, trying to remain calm.
“It’s a military base, so I guess there’s a communal shower around somewhere.” Aric’s face was one giant wince as he spoke.
“Well, it’s definitely not the Ritz. Hell, it’s not even a Super 8. It’s got a washroom at least, though a window would have been nice.” She tried to sound positive. They were underground, so that was effectively impossible of course.
“I’ll see about getting us some better accommodations.” Aric leaned over to the soldier that had shown them to her “room.” “Right, Corporal?”
The young man looked unsure of himself as he responded. “I’ll ask the quartermaster, sir, but we don’t have a ton of room here. As you can see, this is a new base, and on top of that the majority of the administrative areas are all underground, which is expensive.” He shrugged helplessly.
“Right. Well, where are my quarters?”
“Over here, sir.”
Kaitlyn immediately picked up on the hesitation. “What is it? What’s bothering you?” She turned her back on the room, not ready to face the fact she might be living there for a week.
“Um, nothing, ma’am.” The soldier was waiting for her to go inside, she could tell. He didn’t want her to come along.
“Let’s go, which way?” she crossed her arms, making it clear she wasn’t going anywhere.
The soldier’s head drooped, but his shoulders remained straight. He headed off down the corridor, making a left before stopping at the first door. “In here, sir.” He stepped back and gestured.
Kaitlyn slipped past Aric and pushed open his doorway.
“What the hell?” she cried at the sight before her.
“We were informed that Mr. Aric—”
“Just Aric, kid, it’s fine. It’s way too awkward.”
“Yes sir. We were informed that Aric was bringing an assistant. Not a partner.”
Kaitlyn’s face betrayed every emotion she was feeling and then started to repeat them. Anger. Frustration. Insult. Resignation. Jealousy. Anger. Frustration. “I. See.” The words were clipped and formal.
Her eyes dragged back over the room. In the center was a large bed capable of sleeping two, flanked by a nightstand on either side. A desk occupied half the right-hand wall, a small TV stand the other half. A pair of chairs were arrayed in front of the television. To the left was a washroom at the back, and a small kitchenette up front.
“That’s my shower,” she said calmly. “Just so you are aware.”
It wasn’t a bathtub, but it was better than having to shower communally. Kaitlyn was not okay with that one bit.
“Of course,” Aric said without a fight.
Smart man.
“Is there anything else?” The corporal was clearly wanting to get the hell away from them.
“No, this is fine, thank you,” Aric said before she could protest.
The soldier saluted and then dashed off.
“This is not fine,” she hissed. “Look at this, compared to what I have. This is insulting!”
Aric shrugged. “At least they’re private quarters?”
Rolling her eyes, Kaitlyn walked to the wall and tapped on them. They were thin. “My quarters are on the other side of this wall, you know. There’s no privacy here.”
Aric grinned and followed her inside, tossing his bags down on the bed. “What do you need soundproofing for?”
“I don’t know. So I don’t hear you snoring, or farting, or anything.”
The blood drained from Aric’s face, his expression horrified. “I don’t do one of those two.”
She cringed. “I am not playing the guessing game on that, I’m sorry. That is not a winning situation.”
Neither was flirting with him. That was how she’d gotten pregnant in the first place.
At least that can’t happen again.
Still, Aric was dangerous in that regard. It was so easy to have fun around him, to be flirty and teasing and then the next thing she would know they would be naked with him thrusting deep inside of her, his hard cock filling her over and over again until she cried out his name and left marks down his back.
Again.
No, she would have to be on her guard to ensure that trap was avoided and didn’t suck her in. This was a business trip, and that it would remain until the money was in her account. After that, perhaps she would celebrate, but not with him. It wasn’t worth the potential damage to her reputation if word got around she was willing to sleep with someone at the office.
“All right, well—where are you going?”
Aric was halfway out the door, having sneaked over there while she turned away to stop the joking before it turned into flirting.
“Be right back,” he said with a smile. “Don’t go anywhere, okay?”
She shook her head, ponytail flying wildly. “All I want to do is sleep. This jet lag is killing me. I may just take a nap.”
“No naps either. We’re staying up until nighttime. Now, stay right there.”
He was gone before she could protest. “What the hell is he doing now?” Grumpily she crossed her arms and sat on the edge of the bed. It was so comfortable. Much more so than her little cot-like bunk would be. This sucked.
It bothered her that Aric wasn’t fighting any harder for her to get a new room. She was here as his partner, not as his assistant, at least according to what he’d said to her. Was he now lying? He’d said no more secrets, but it appeared that perhaps he was keeping a few still. Like the fact she was staying in a military dorm room while he got a normal bed. What an inconsiderate asshole.
“I should have stayed home.”
There was a knock at her door and Aric came waltzing back in. In his hands were her bags.
“What are you doing?” She stood up. “I’m not staying with you, Aric. Don’t go getting any ideas. Just because it happened once doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again.”
Aric looked hurt. “Do you really think so little of me?” He put her bags on the bed and then picked up his own. “No sleeping.” Then he was gone. Leaving her in the room. Alone. Without any of his stuff.
He was switching rooms with her. That was what it had to be. Kaitlyn flopped back onto the bed, a tiny smile on her face. Maybe she’d misjudged him just then. Feeling slightly guilty about having accused him of being an asshole, even if it was just in her mind, Kaitlyn made the decision to give him more of a chance in the future before she assigned him that label again.
The thing of it was, she wanted to trust him, to believe that he was naturally a nice guy. That would be so much more ideal than the power-hungry jerk of a boss that everyone told her he was, and that she’d witnessed to some extent firsthand in her time with the bank. He was not an easy
man to work with, that was for sure, and it was the primary reason she hadn’t told him about their child.
Kaitlyn didn’t want her child to grow up with that sort of influence in her life. It was selfish and rude, but the instant that test had come back positive, her priorities had changed. She was doing it for her baby so that they could have a chance at a normal life, not one dominated by some work-obsessed ass who didn’t seem to have a caring bone in his body.
The door rang with the sound of someone knocking, jerking her upright so fast the blood rushed from her head, leaving her lightheaded.
“Who is it?” she asked after taking a moment to gather her wits once more.
“It’s me, come on, let’s go.”
Her eyes strayed to the clock. It had been a whopping seven minutes since he left.
“What? I want to nap. Go away.”
The door instead opened up to reveal a rejuvenated-looking Aric, beaming from ear to ear. “Come on,” he said again. “Time to go.”
“Go where? Go away? You can do that.” She flopped back into the covers, wishing sleep would overtake her and Aric would leave her alone.
The door slid open and then closed again.
“Good, you’re still dressed. We don’t have much time.” Aric stopped at the foot of the bed and poked at her foot, still covered in a shoe that she’d not had energy to take off yet.
“Much time for what?” Groaning, she sat up, a frown creasing her skin as she took in the excitement Aric was radiating. “What have you gotten us into now?”
He laughed. “You’re so paranoid. This is for fun. Come onnnn.”
“You’re like a little boy trying to drag his mother somewhere.”
“And you’re acting the perfect part of the mother who’s stopped caring about anything, which leads the child to stop caring and stop exploring, thus limiting their—”
“Okay, okay. I’m up!” she cried, hopping off the bed.
“See, interest, that’s good!”
Truthfully she still wasn’t interested, but his comments about her being a mother who had stopped caring hit close to home. Kaitlyn was not going to end up like that. She would find a way to have all the energy and caring in the world for her child, no matter what. If that meant she had to start now, then so be it, she would start right then and there. It would also shut Aric up, so that was a plus.
“Where are we going?”
He reached out for her hand. Almost by instinct she began to snatch it away, but he was fast, really fast, and his fingers closed around hers. The sudden warmth on her skin caught the breath in her lungs, stealing it away for a moment as she gasped in surprise at the heat level.
She knew he ran hot, having experienced that when they had sex. This though… this was something else, something more. He’d taken it up another level.
“Are you okay?” she asked, moving to pull her hand away.
Aric’s jaw was clenched, and looking up at him she could see his temples pulsing for a moment as he stared at their connection, but then he relaxed. “I’m fine, why?”
“You’re running warm. Do you have a fever?”
“No. I’m fine. Are you going to come with?” He tugged on her hand, trying to pull her after him.
Unsure of whether or not she wanted any part in whatever harebrained scheme he was concocting now, Kaitlyn hesitated. In response he dropped her hand, severing the connection between them. Almost instantly she felt slightly more tired and her mood soured just a little. Weird. How did holding his hand make her happier? It must have been a coincidence.
“It’s a surprise. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it doesn’t involve you having to do much more than sit and enjoy yourself.”
“You’re not taking me on a nature hike?” she teased. Nature was just not her thing, not outside of city parks at least.
“Not a hike, no.” He smiled, the look full of mischief. Even his eyes twinkled like the sun was shining off their depths.
It bothered her to notice how perfect he still looked. His skin was taut and firm, no bags under those penetrating circles of blue either, which was more than a little annoying. On top of that his hair was still perfectly in place. Hers on the other hand was a disaster, having been pushed and bunched in all directions as she’d tried to sleep on the flight.
“You’re far too perky for my liking,” she grumbled.
Aric’s smile flashed brighter again, and despite a giant effort, the infectious nature of his excitement began to work its way into her system. A spark of energy blossomed in her and with another exaggerated sigh the inevitable became reality.
“Fine, let’s go…wherever it is we’re going.”
“Perfect, come on!”
Kaitlyn tried to hide the answering smile, but it just wasn’t possible. So she was going to spend her afternoon with Aric instead of sleeping. That didn’t mean anything. They were in a different country, and it was time to enjoy it. It’s not like she had come here to spend her time locked in a room underground.
The real question though, was where was he taking her?
Chapter Six
Aric
Curbing his enthusiasm was proving to be almost impossible on their journey up to the surface.
There hadn’t been a large amount of time where he’d been separated from Kaitlyn, but at one point she’d gone to the washroom and his luck had held strong and true. He’d pinned down a passing soldier with the wings of a pilot, who just so happened to be heading out shortly on something that matched perfectly with what he was hoping for.
His credentials cleared him for access to any and all parts of the base. Aric had been told ahead of time that all soldiers who were assigned to Fort Banner had been cleared to know about dragons. It seemed insane to him at the time that several thousand people were given that knowledge, but now he was on site and it was apparent to him that to function as a team it was a necessity. These men were going to fight side by side with his kin, and they needed to be ready to deal with the faceless enemy, the Outsiders, without being surprised at the existence of dragon shifters.
Thinking about the Outsiders dulled his mood. Creatures of unknown origin that had come pouring out of a portal deep under the very mountains they now resided in, they were fierce, and incredibly strong. Aric had never encountered one face-to-face, but he’d read the reports and seen the video from those dragons who had. It wasn’t pretty. Despite all the awesome powers available to his kind, the life-stealing aliens were only beaten solidly when they encountered a mated dragon.
The Outsiders were quite literally able to steal the lifeforce from a person simply by touching them. It was a scary thought, and only those dragons who were mated could go up against them and hope to win. He frowned thoughtfully, still unsure of his belief in that theory. How could something as simple as being mated end up supercharging a dragon and his powers? He’d never heard of such a thing before. It should be impossible.
But it wasn’t. Multiple dragons had all witnessed the effects firsthand.
The elevator doors dinged open, exposing them to the bright sun that was sorely lacking from the underground habitat that had been established in the mountains. All around them there was movement and life. Although much of the administration was underground, plenty still lived above, as did most of the personnel and equipment.
They’d yet to see any of the advanced battlesuits they were there to purchase, but there was plenty more to distract them. Squads of men moved around the hard rock ground, most under the supervision of others, but many went about independently. Jeeps moved here and there. A line of tanks was parked off to the right, under the cover of a camouflaged tarp.
“Aric?”
Kaitlyn’s inquisitive tone speared him into action. He strode from the elevator, taking a moment to gather his bearings before setting off in the direction they wanted.
“Where are we going?”
“Over there.” He pointed in the direction of a small incline that eventually leveled o
ut into a large flat expanse. There wasn’t room for a runway in the mountains, so to compensate the army had installed one hell of a helipad. Three giant hangars had been erected to form a triangle. In and around them sat several dozen helicopters of varying usage, from the obviously armed attack helicopters to the bulky and ungainly looking double-rotor transports.
He almost hesitated as they walked out between the buildings. The pilot he’d talked to had simply said to meet him by the choppers. Looking around though, he couldn’t see the soldier in question, leaving Aric to look back and forth, frantically trying to determine which one they were supposed to go to before they got close. He was trying to impress Kaitlyn so that his mate would see he wasn’t just a stuffy bank executive. That he was fun.
Aric wanted her to see the real him.
There were four helicopters sitting smack in the middle of it all. Two of them looked completely shut down, but the other pair had activity. Boxes and a few crates were stacked nearby, doors open. A line of some sort, fuel perhaps, ran to one of them.
Aric decided that one had to be the one; it was obviously closer to being ready. He nodded his head in that direction. Kaitlyn followed him without question, though he could tell she was itching to ask him where they were going for the twentieth time.
Coming to a stop next to the helicopter, he pulled open the door and gestured for her to go on inside. Kaitlyn’s face broke out into a smile.
“Seriously?”
“You bet,” he said, offering her a hand up out of habit.
To his surprise she grabbed it and pulled herself up into the cockpit. “I’ve never been in a helicopter before.”
“Well you’re in for a treat,” he said, waiting for her to get seated before he followed her up.
He heard footsteps behind him and smiled to himself. That must be the pilot. He swung around. “Good to see y—”
The words died in his mouth as he found himself staring down the barrel of a service pistol. Behind it was the stony face of a soldier he didn’t recognize.
“Stay right there. Don’t make any sudden movements,” the soldier ordered. “Miss,” he called, tilting his head to the side to address Kaitlyn. “Get out of the helicopter.”