by K. D. Jones
“It’s just a grunt.” Kyd physically relaxes. He turns back to face Jaxon. Damn it! For the second time today he is distracted by desire for his female and does not ensure security measures. “Come, we need to take cover before nightfall.” He walks off towards the base of the mountain.
Was he pissed at her? What did she do this time? The man suffered from a split personality or something. One minute he was hot and all over her. The next, he can’t seem to get away from her fast enough. She sighed. She bent and picked up the remaining berries putting them in her coat pocket. They might get hungry later. She followed Kyd through the trees to the wall of the mountain.
He glanced upward at the high distance to the opening of the cave and back at Jaxon. He was concerned whether Jaxon could climb that high. He could try to carry her, but he wasn’t sure he would be able to fully concentrate long enough to get them there safely. She was too distracting.
Jaxon saw him glance at her questioningly. “What?”
“Are you sure that you can manage the climb? It’s quite high.” He asks with concern.
Jaxon gazes up at the cave and scans the nooks and leverages she could use to climb. “Please, that’s not high at all. I have been free soloing for years.”
“Free soloing?” He asked.
“It means to climb mountains like this without using safety equipment.” She walks past him and starts her ascent.
“Is this how the EWG trains their military?” He asks her as he begins climbing up behind her.
Jaxon laughed. “No. I did this for fun.”
Kyd stopped climbing to glance up at Jaxon’s delectable ass above him. “You climbed mountains for fun?”
“When I was fifteen years old I was dared to climb a rock wall. I did and found that I loved it. After that, I climbed everything and anything.”
“At fifteen years of age? Where were your parents?”
“I didn’t have parents. I had foster parents who could care less what I did as long as they got their money from the government.” Jaxon said bitterly.
He didn’t like these foster parents that she had. He hated that there was no one to care for her while growing up. He got to the ledge and pulled himself up. He sat there and stared into her beautiful light brown eyes. “Was your whole experience as a young miserable?”
Jaxon stood up and turned her back on him. She shrugged. “It wasn’t too bad. Others had it a lot worse than me. It got better after Cassie moved in next door.”
“Why did you join the military?” He was right behind her.
“I needed a place to hang until Cassie graduated High School and we could become roommates.” She told him as she made her way into the cave.
That was not what he expected. “You stayed in the military though?”
She laughed again. “Yeah, I did. The military was a good fit for me. They gave me purpose. For once, I was wanted, needed for my skills, and my willingness to take on any challenge. And when it came to being a fighter pilot, no one was better than me.”
“So, the military became a sort of family to you?” He asked.
“I guess, in a way. The only family that matters most to me is Cassie and her girls.” She is surprised to see a pile of wood stacked neatly in the corner.
So much about her made sense to him now. She considered the Earth military a substitute family, so her loyalty to them would be strong. He wanted to remain angry with her, but he found that to be difficult. He noticed Jaxon eyeing the wood in the corner.
He explained, “I collected it earlier and brought it up before I came back for you. I knew we would need it at nightfall, the caves on the Lunas will get cold.”
“Oh.” Jaxon scooped up a handful of wood to pile in the center of the cave. She reached into her left boot and pulled out a switchblade/lighter. She lit the fire and sat down close enough to the wall of the cave to lean against it with her back.
“Why did you do it?” Kyd asked as he sat down across from her on the other side of the fire. He watched her expression through the flames of the firelight..
She was exhausted, dirty, and still hungry. Now he wanted to talk? Jaxon sighed. “I agreed when I was back on Earth because … I never turned down a mission.” She shifted on her bottom to get more comfortable. Kyd watched her like a hawk. “That was why I initially accepted. I sent a few pictures from the transport ship, but I did not send anything else to the EWG. They hounded me since the first transmission, but, I just couldn’t …” She wrapped her arms around herself protectively.
Kyd sensed that she was telling him the truth. “Why didn’t you send the last transmission?” She seemed so small and alone on the other side. His protective instincts were starting to rear its ugly head.
She doesn’t turn his way, but, lays down on her side. “I’m tired.” That’s all she says before she collapses into an exhaustive sleep.
Kyd gets up and goes to the other side of the fire. He lays down beside his female, taking her into his arms. She snuggles closer to him unconsciously. He presses his nose against her neck and inhales her warm spicy scent.
“Mine.”
Chapter 13
Jaxon had the best dream ever. A large, warm male body surrounded her. He smelled so good. And the man’s hands squeezed her breasts. She moaned as she rubbed herself against the dream body. “More.” She whispered.
“I would love to give you more. However, I think we need to relieve and clean ourselves first, but afterwards … ouch.” Kyd rubs his nose which Jaxon smashes with her elbow as she squirms to get herself free of his embrace. “I feel like we’ve done this before.”
She scrambled to get up and move away from him. The man played havoc on her body and soul. She learned her lesson. He made it clear that he didn’t want anything more. Well, fine. Message received. She made her way to the ledge.
“Wait Jaxon.” Kyd frowned. What just happened? One minute she was responding to him sexually. The next minute she was literally scaling down a mountain wall to get away from him. He followed after the exasperating female. He sniffed but did not detect any danger. He allowed her to go ahead of him to the stream. He did a quick parameter check. He didn’t sense anything out of place. It was time to hunt down his female.
“What in Kitana are you doing?” Kyd is shocked when he comes upon the little hidden stream and discovers Jaxon practically naked except for her bra and underwear. She is waist deep walking towards him coming out of the water. He watches with longing at the way the water runs down her smooth soft skin. His breathing becomes rapid and everything male in him screams for him to take her, that she is his. He shakes his head to try to clear his thoughts.
“I was just cleaning myself like you said.” Jaxon replied innocently.
Damn female knew what she was doing to him. He growled. He couldn’t help it.
“No.” One word from her lips and his whole system froze.
“No? What do you mean no?”
“I mean, you can look but you are never going to touch me again. I will not be used like that.” Jaxon states coolly. She turns and starts getting dressed.
“Jaxon I …” He was confused. She thought he was using her? She was the one that betrayed him and his people. Why was he feeling guilty?
“Shh. I think I hear something.” She whispers.
She heard something? Her senses were not nearly as sharp as his were. He paused to listen. He turned his head to the right. He heard it as well.
“Come over here and stand behind me.”
She started to move towards him slowly. She planned to stand beside him, not behind him. She reached down to grab the dagger she kept in her right boot.
“Move Jaxon!” Kyd yells out as he throws his body in front of her. Jaxon doesn’t hesitate, she releases her dagger. A huge bald headed, yellow looking creature/man stumbles and then falls forward onto the ground. It is a direct hit in the heart.
She turns back towards Kyd. Oh God no. “Kyd?” She kneels down beside him. He has yellow stuff ooz
ing out of his side. “What is this … stuff?”
“Blood.” He was having difficult time breathing.
“What? You’re bleeding?” Fuck! She puts her hands over the wound to try to stop the flow. Come on Jaxon remember your combat injury training. She takes off her flight shirt again and folds it up into a width of 6 inches. She wraps it around his waist and uses the sleeves to hold it in place.
What is the blasted female doing now? “Put your shirt back on!”
“Shut it Commander. We need to get you to a hiding spot.” She searches the secluded area. There, on the other end of the little stream are some tall bushy shrubberies thick enough to hide him in. She bends down and puts her shoulder under his arm. She carefully wraps her arms around his waist and helps him stand up. He’s really heavy.
“Move it Commander. Are you going to let a little girl like me do all the work?” She teases him.
“You would only hold me back little girl.” He grunts at her as they make their way to the shrubbery. With each step he feels extreme pain. The walking is nothing compared to having to scoot inside the small area. The process is torturous. He breathes heavily from the exertion. It isn’t really big enough for both of them to hide in.
“Go back … to the cave.”
“You can forget about it Commander. Give me your gun laser thingy.”
“No …” He shook his head and felt woozy. “Cave … now.” His head lolled back on the ground. He passed out.
Kyd wasn’t sure how long he was out. When he woke up, his phase ray weapon was gone. And so was Jaxon. “Jaxon?” He croaked out.
“I’m right here.” She pulls the limbs back and pushes her way inside. She uses a crudely carved cup made of a piece of wood to bring him water.
“Drink some water.”
He lifts his head up and drinks keeping his eyes on her the whole time. “You are so beautiful.”
“How much blood have you lost?” She looks over his wound worriedly. The blood flow has slowed but it won’t stop completely.
“Want hold mate.” Kyd slurs the words as he gazes at her fuzzy image.
“Hang in there baby.” Please God, let help get here soon.
Kyd breathes deeply detecting something in the air. “I think I smell Katierans.”
“Great, then help will be here soon.” Jaxon peeks out of the shrubbery.
“I can smell Morins closing in on us.” Kyd mumbles.
Jaxon stiffens. If the Morins are closer to them, she will have to hold them off until the Katierans arrive. She moves closer to Kyd and pulls his head up into her hands. His eyes are out of focus. He is about to pass out again. “I love you.” She whispers and kisses him gently.
Leaving him inside the shrubs was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. But she needed to keep the Morins as far away from him as possible. She would fight to the death to protect her man.
Jaxon fingers her dagger that she retrieved from the dead Morin. She walks to the other side of the stream and waits. There is no point in hiding. If these guys have half the senses that the Katierans have, they can find her in a heartbeat. Her best option is to do the unexpected. Remain out in the open, a defenseless female in their eyes.
It seemed like forever standing there waiting for the enemy to show. She prayed that Kyd was doing okay. It worried her that he lost a lot of blood. She checked on him a few times and he was in and out of consciousness.
She smelled them before she saw them. They smelled like a backed up sewer bubbling up from the ground. She had to work on controlling her response to their repugnant odor. It made her feel like throwing up.
“Female. You will come with us.” A Morin comes through the clearing. He has the same yellowish coloring and a bald head like the other one. In fact, there is no hair on him at all. No eyebrows or chest hair that she can see. He is wearing only a pair of pants. His eyes are a solid yellow color with no pupils at all. It gives her the shivers. He is the same height as an average Katieran; however, his appearance is sickly looking. Hence, the smell.
“I think I’ll stay here. But thanks for the offer.” She says flippantly.
The Morin looks at her questioningly. Two more Morins come out and begin to walk around the stream. The first Morin asks, “Where is the Katieran?”
“Dead, your guy over there shot him right before the Katieran threw a knife at him.” She told him. She noticed that the second Morin was eyeing her shirtless appearance and licking his lips. Gross. The third Morin was getting a little too close to Kyd. She needed to distract them.
She moves toward the first Morin. He eyes her suspiciously, but he too is distracted by her bra. “Why do you guys smell so bad?”
All three Morins turn towards her with anger. The first Morin responds to her with venom in his voice. “You are the one that smells. What are you and where do you come from?”
Jaxon smiles at him and shrugs her shoulders. She holds the phase ray gun in her hand behind her back. She is waiting for the right moment…
“The Katieran is here!” The third Morin yells as he approaches the shrubs where Kyd is hiding.
Jaxon quickly points the phase ray gun at the first Morin and shoots him dead center in the head. She turns to shoot the second Morin but he moves to knock the weapon from her hand. She sees out of the corner of her eye that the third Morin is raising his weapon at her.
She grips the second Morin and uses his momentum to pull him in front of her. The shot hits the Morin instead of her. She lets go of the Morin and he falls to the ground. The third Morin is shocked and hesitates long enough that Jaxon is able to get to him and kick the weapon out of his hand.
They fight hand to hand. The Morin underestimates Jaxon. Most men do. The moment he assumes he has her cornered, she pulls her dagger out and thrusts it deep into his alien heart.
Chapter 14
She didn’t have time to relax. She heard loud sounds coming from the other side of the trees. It was probably more of the Morins. She took a crouching position in front of the shrubs surrounding Kyd. She gripped the bloody dagger in her hand. She was a sight to behold.
Commander TylOR was the first to reach the clearing. What in Kitana happened? Three Morins were dead on the ground and the female warrior Jaxon was in a fighting stance holding a bloody dagger. She was like a wild creature.
“Take it easy Captain. It’s me, Commander TylOR.”
Recognition came to Jaxon slowly. She used her pant leg to wipe the blood off of her dagger. She sheathed it back inside of her boot. “We need a medic now! Kyd’s been shot.” She went to the shrubs and moved through them.
“Move out of my way. My brother’s been shot!” Prime Medic SydEL yells, pushing his way through. He bends down and moves the branches out of the way so he can see Kyd.
“How long ago was he hit?” He asked Jaxon who had Kyd’s head cradled in her lap.
“Maybe 20 minutes. I tried to tie my shirt around him to slow down the blood flow, but it won’t stop.” Jaxon’s adrenaline rush was catching up to her and she was headed for a crash. Her hands were shaking and her face became pale.
“Let’s get him out of here.” SydEL says.
Jaxon moves so that she is able to put her hands under Kyd’s arms. Syd lifts Kyd’s legs as they drag him out of the shrubbery.
“Can’t you give him those Nano things, a blood transfusion or something?” Jaxon asks sounding slightly panicky.
“The Nanos can only repair internal damage and redirect the blood. They cannot replenish the blood he has already lost. He can die from large amounts of blood loss. Unfortunately, we are not trained to perform anything as crude as a blood transfusion.” SydEL says with a worried look on his face.
“Well, it’s a good thing that I have lots of experience with crude blood transfusions.” Kat exclaims as she makes her way over to where they were now placing Kyd. She bends down on the other side of Kyd and helps SydEL remove the bandage that Jaxon tied around him.
“The yellow stuff is blood.�
�� Jaxon explains, realizing afterwards that it isn’t necessary.
“I know. Jaxon go sit down before you fall down.” Kat watches her friend with concern.
“Is our blood compatible with theirs? I’m AB negative. Could you transfuse my blood to Kyd?” Jaxon sits down on the ground close enough to keep her eyes on Kyd.
“Yes, it is compatible. They have a universal blood type. But for this, I think we need Katieran blood. However, we can’t perform the transfusion here. We need to get him back on board the transport ship.” Kat explains.
“Can you really do the transfusion?” Syd asks her.
Kat reminds herself not to take his question as an insult. He is worried about his brother. “I have performed over 10,000 transfusions. Okay?”
Syd nods his head. He addresses Commander TylOR. “We need to get him back on board the transport ship immediately. He is stabilized but we have a 3 hour window to save him.” Commander TylOR hits his Comm link and sends out instructions.
Someone handed Jaxon a shirt. She glanced up into the dark eyes of a warrior she hadn’t met before.
“I am Lieutenant RowAN from Katiera.” He introduces himself.
She grabbed the shirt and put it on. “Captain Jaxon Malone. Did we kick the Morin asses back through the wormhole they crawled out of?” She was scared to death that Kyd might not make it. A small distraction was welcome at that moment.
RowAN smiles down at her, “Yes, but some have gotten away. How are you doing Captain?”
“Peachy.” She stands up intending to help carry Kyd to the shuttle.
Lieutenant RowAN stops her. “I’ll help with carrying him. You are about to give out at any moment.”
“Naw, I’m tougher than I look.” Jaxon replies.
She didn’t feel very tough at that moment. There had been too many close calls. She was overwhelmed with the fear of possibly losing the one man who owned her heart. If Kyd didn’t make it…