Cali & Drake (The Alliance Book 1)

by Stormy McKnight

  How could a woman be so small of stature, yet perfect in form at the same time? Her heart-shaped face was framed by the lightest color hair he had ever seen. It fell in long curls around her shoulders, and he would bet his last ounce of trianium it was thick and soft. When she spoke to tell him he was safe, his eyes flew to her mouth. A mouth that lush should clash with a face so dainty, but for some reason, it all worked to make him want to beat his chest and run around like a madman.

  When he realized he had been lusting after a strange woman, in a strange room, with no idea of where he even was, he had tried to ask her what had happened. When his voice had failed him, he struggled to get up.

  She had put her hands on his shoulders and the skin seemed to burn at the sensation. “Please stay still.” Her throaty request sent a shot of heat through his body. He instantly froze and hoped for the sensation to pass. Locking gazes, he felt stuck in the amber depths of her eyes. When he regained his senses, he did an assessment of his body and found no injuries. The female had talked and he had tried to convey what he could with is eyes. Finally, the tickling in his throat had alerted him to the fact that he was thirsty. She had instantly picked up on his distress and offered him a drink of water.

  When she had turned to get him the drink, his hands had fisted. The woman was wearing some type of black jumpsuit, and it left nothing to the imagination. The top part had been unfastened to the tops of some rather abundant breasts, but the bottom part almost killed him. The ends of her hair were floating along the tops of her perfectly rounded ass as if beckoning him to the promised land. Not that her breasts weren’t enough to entice a saint, they were, but he was an ass man. Hers…well, he would be seeing hers in his dreams.

  Coming back to the present he heard her voice again. She was one of those arguing in the room. “…he could barely hold the cup.” At those words, his masculine pride took a hit. He wasn’t that weak. During his previous conscious state, he had assessed his body and knew he could still defend himself. He was, in fact, getting stronger by the moment.

  “You don’t know that he wasn’t pretending weakness to lure you closer.” A voice filled with authority was arguing. “He could’ve snapped your neck.”

  Did they think he had no honor? Only the lowest villain would hurt a female on purpose. It was true he could’ve snapped her neck if inclined, but he would never do such a thing.

  “Honestly Vareen. You would think I hadn’t taken the same classes at the Academy as you did. I evaluated the risks and came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t harm me.”

  He felt a warm happiness seep into him at the words from the tiny female he had been interacting with. For some reason, he was happy she trusted him.

  “Cali, how would you know that?”

  Another woman spoke and this time, he got a name to go with his mystery woman’s face. Cali. After a moment’s pause, he heard her answer.

  “It’s just a feeling I had. I don’t get any dangerous vibes from him.” There was a pause and then Cali continued. “Stop giving me that look Vareen. If you don’t like that it was a ‘feeling’, say an educated assumption.”

  “I read as many of those romance pamphlets as you did Cali. I just don’t put as much store in the idea of feelings as you do. I know you aren’t always logical, just don’t let your romanticism overrule good sense.”

  The one named Vareen spoke those words. So the little female was a romantic in a world that didn’t believe in such things? This was an interesting turn of events. There was only one world close by that fit that description.

  “I wouldn’t say I was swayed by my emotions—” Cali went to argue.

  “Wouldn’t you? Then how is it that we’re in the middle of the Buffer Zone?” There was a pause and then someone exclaimed, “I’m sorry Cali. I didn’t mean that.”

  “Is that how you feel Nellia—” he could hear the hurt in the female’s voice.

  “I hate to interrupt, but the mystery man is awake.” The woman named Vareen drawled coldly and Drake wanted to groan. He was getting some good information from listening to them.

  With a sigh, he opened his eyes to see three women in the room. The small beautiful one named Cali, a taller black-haired female with a stern frown and cold purple eyes, and a smaller brunette with worried hazel eyes. They were all three wearing the black jumpsuits, but only Cali made it look incredibly sexy.

  “You’re awake,” Cali stated this and strode gracefully to his side. “This is Vareen Nas, the ship’s science officer, and second in command.” She waved a hand at the tall, black-haired female. When his eyes met hers, she gave a slight nod of her head. This one radiated authority over her surroundings and her rigid stance showed no softness. He nodded his head in greeting.

  When Cali spoke again his eyes moved to the other woman. “This is Nellia Adet. She is the ship’s doctor.” Again, he got the slight bow of the head. This one was shorter and softer, like Cali. Her hazel eyes were filled with trepidation and he came to the startling realization that this female was afraid of him. He nodded his head at the doctor.

  “That leaves me…” she said with a slightly breathless laugh and Drake’s heart rate picked up. “I’m Calinae, or as I prefer, Cali. I’m the captain of The Reliant.” The machines monitoring him made a soft chirping noise when she had laughed, and when he heard her name they started an even louder alarm.

  Drake smiled faintly and forced himself to relax. Bowing his head to Cali he tried to speak and was surprised when his voice came out gravelly and rough. “I…am Ch—” he swallowed hard in mid-introduction not sure how much to give away. “I’m called Drake.” He decided on giving his first name. “Were you able to find out how long I was in stasis? Where did you find me?”

  Drake wasn’t surprised when all three females looked at each other instead of answering.

  Chapter Ten

  Cali bit her lip and looked at her friends. Drake had a right to know the answer to his questions, she just wasn’t sure how much to tell him. Seeing the suspicion in Vareen’s eyes and the equal mix of fear and suspicion in Nellia’s, she tried for honest answers without giving away everything they were doing.

  “We haven’t been able to determine how long you were in stasis. The ships engineers are still working on a compatible computer interface with your escape pod.” Cali thought back on what he had asked and continued. “As for your last question, we’re on a scientific mission in the Buffer Zone.”

  “I see,” Drake replied softly, his brow furrowing.

  Deciding it was time to get some answers from him Cali asked, “Do you remember your purpose for being in space? What is the name of the ship you were on? We will try to contact them for you if they are still in the area.”

  It was her turn to have a furrowed brow because he was shaking his head before she had gotten a few words out.

  “Your people must be worried about you. Don’t you want to return to them?” Cali couldn’t understand his reluctance to name his spacecraft.

  “It must’ve been an injury because I don’t recall what I was doing or what spaceship I was on,” Drake admitted huskily.

  His troubled eyes met hers and Cali paused at the shuttered look.

  “What about your home world—”

  Drake shook his head again and Cali was getting suspicious.

  Maybe her friends were right to be worried. “How are we to help you get home—”

  “His injuries and the time spent in stasis could be causing a memory block.” Nellia moved to a console at the top of his bed. “I haven’t run an in-depth scan because I wasn’t sure how his body would react. With his permission, I could run one now to find any issues.”

  “No.” Drake almost shouted the word. “That is to say, I’m sure that my memories will return once I’m fully rested.”

  Cali winced at the force in which Drake denied a medical scan. Before she could question him Nellia intervened.

  “If you think that’s for the best.” Her friend moved back fro
m the console.

  “Cali, can I have a word with you and Nellia?” Vareen strode away from the medical bed.

  “Of course.” Cali reluctantly moved from Drake toward the doorway and into the hall. Her friend didn’t waste a moment and jumped right into it.

  “What is going on Cali?” Vareen stood impassively at the doorway. The guards Cali had waved back were standing at either side of the entrance. Both of them quite burly by Cestori standards. “You can’t keep your eyes off of that male and there are some weird undercurrents in the room.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.” Cali blushed.

  “Cali, even I know what Vareen is talking about. While I find our mystery passenger terrifying, you are entranced.” Nellia looked at the guards happily.

  Cali could see Nellia felt entirely secure now that she knew these males were watching the door. She almost laughed at the false sense of security Nellia had. The males of security were highly trained, with all types of weapons. She just wasn’t so sure they were a match for the sheer size of the male in the other room.

  “Okay, I’m attracted to him, but that doesn’t mean anything,” she admitted.

  “Doesn’t mean anything?!” Vareen almost shouted. Taking her hands Vareen squeezed, “Cali of course it does. You have to stay away from him if you can’t be objective. We know nothing about him.” Dropping her hands and waving her own in the air her friend continued, “The stasis pod he was in was made from unknown materials, that in itself is odd. Then there is the fact that he conveniently doesn’t remember his reason for being in the Buffer Zone, or what ship he was on or even his home world? There is something strange going on.” She had ended her rant with a sharp look at the doors to the medical unit.

  “I agree.” Nellia was pacing again, “His memory could be impaired like he’s saying, I just get a weird vibe from his responses. I want you to be careful Cali, something else is going on…I can feel it.”

  “I hear what both of you are saying and I’ll be careful.” Cali insisted, her gaze going to the doors. “If he’s okay to be released from medical, he can be assigned room nine on the security deck. I’ll make sure he knows how to get help if he feels the need.”

  Vareen nodded her agreement and moved to speak with the guards and then she was walking to the elevator. “I’ll notify you when I have any information on his stasis pod. Cali…Nellia.” With a nod, she was inside the lift and disappeared.

  “I’ll tell our guest that he is to have new quarters.” Nellia moved to walk back inside, then paused. “Cali, I know you are very close to Vareen. She may have been the one to stay up with you long after the rest of us, talking about those romance novels, but it doesn’t take an expert to see that something happens to you when you look at Drake. I don’t want to hurt you, but think about why we are here in the Buffer Zone. Think about the reality of what we are facing. Your mother will never give up, she’s too powerful and when she want’s something, relentless.”

  Cali knew that her mother was exactly what Nellia was describing. Why did everyone feel it was necessary to keep reminding her of her precarious situation? Was it so wrong to fight against losing her freedom? The answer came to her suddenly that yes, it wasn’t fair to continually put so many people in jeopardy. She was being selfish and she didn’t like the way the realization made her feel.

  “The night I escaped from my mother, I had a rude awakening. I knew she was ruthless; I just didn’t think she was heartless as well.” Cali laughed a cold, humorless sound. “Fleeing from Cestori was the only thing I could think of at the time. Deep down I know I’ve got to go back. Vathral is going to be replaced and punished for his lack of success eventually. Conndra, if caught talking with us, could face severe punishment as well. My father,” Cali shuddered at the thought of her father facing off against her mother. “Not to mention what will happen to everyone on this ship. Maybe I needed to be out here to grow up a little more, to have an adventure, or just to prove I could get away, a last act of defiance so to speak.”

  “What will you do next?” Nellia asked worriedly.

  Cali stiffened her resolve, “After we return our mystery male to his people, we’ll return to Cestori. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep everyone I care about from being punished, and face whatever the future holds for me.”

  Trying to lighten the mood she took Nellia by the shoulders, “That’s all for another day. Right now we have the mystery that is Drake to solve.”

  Silently she added that she was just the woman for the job.

  Chapter Eleven

  Drake sat on a couch in the small living room space of the guest quarters he’d ben assigned. As he watched holographic stars floating past on a make believe viewport. Not that he really saw anything, his mind was busy with trying to figure out everything that had happened.

  The guards had pointed out the amenities of his assigned quarters, told him how to use the console by the door, and then left. If he had an emergency, there would be guards stationed outside his room that could assist him. If he couldn’t make it to the doors, he could declare a medical emergency out loud and the computer would notify the appropriate crew members. He was assured that the computer didn’t normally monitor all speech within a room. He was an exception because he was a “guest” and one that may need medical attention if he had unknown injuries. An in-depth medical scan would show if that was the case, but he’d declined to have one performed.

  There were two separate spaces to his quarters. A nice sized sitting room and bedroom. The sitting room did have a couch and tables. His bedroom had a nice sized bed, a separate bathroom, and solar shower. All of it, he was finding out was pretty standard for a spacecraft.

  Looking back at the viewport, he felt guilt eat at him for a moment, then he pushed it away. He wasn’t used to life handing him so many surprises, and was struggling with what to do next. Mainly in regards to his attraction to a certain spaceship captain.

  Calinae Edal. She was a platinum-haired, amber eyed goddess sent to tempt him, and by all accounts crazy as a loon. Her questions echoed in his mind. “Do you remember your purpose for being in space? What is the name of the ship you were on? Don’t you want to return to your people?”

  With a frustrated groan, he muttered to himself, “Of course I want to go home. How to get there is the problem.”

  “When exploring space there are two things to avoid. Pirates and any spacecraft from Cestori. We have limited information on that world, but our spies have told us that it is ruled by a Council of Three women. The leader of which is a woman named Aicen Edal. She is power-mad and easily offended and is training her equally crazed daughter, Calinae to take over for her one day. The people of Cestori would stop at nothing to destroy you. If you come across them, evasion is the best plan. If you are captured, don’t let them have the pleasure of torturing you.”

  The warning rang in his ears as if just spoken to him. It seemed very likely that Cali was the Calinae Edal he’d been warned about. How much of what he’d been told was the truth was yet to be seen. He had no idea how long he had been in stasis, the computer in this room wouldn’t let him access their systems. He fought the guilt again at not telling Cali the truth. He did remember the ship he had been on, their purpose in space, and the name of his homeworld.

  The name of his spacecraft was The Maxon. A recently commissioned warship that his people had launched for a trial run. They had experienced a technical malfunction, and all personnel had been evacuated using the escape pods. The last thing he remembered was being on the command bridge. How he’d made it into a stasis pod, and then missed being picked up by The Cariyel remained a mystery to him. Had his friends been picked up? Were they safe at home? On The Cariyel? Floating in stasis pods somewhere in space like he had been?

  He would have to ask Cali to scan for other pods. He wouldn’t rest until he knew his friends were safe. As for The Maxon’s reason for being in space, this was something he couldn’t reveal to Cali or her crew. Not yet at l
east.

  When the door chimed he stood automatically. “Come in.” His throat was still raspy, and he figured that he would need to drink more water.

  The doors slid open and Cali entered cautiously. “Hello. I wanted to make sure you had the supplies you needed.”

  She had her uniform fastened so that the material covered her from neck to booted feet. Her hair in an uncomfortable looking bun at the back of her head. He preferred the way she looked earlier. The jumpsuit unzipped and her hair floating freely. Seeing her gaze jump from his body, to look around the room, he realized she was flustered.

  Drake looked down and took in his bare torso, pants and bare feet. He didn’t have anywhere to go and hadn’t bothered with the uniform on his bed. Looking up at Cali, he was in time to see her turn away quickly again, with a faint blush on her cheeks. So, she’d been looking at him. The little female didn’t know what she was asking for.

  “I was shown the food system and these quarters are fine.” Seeing her eye his bare chest he tried to put her at ease. “Thank you for the change of clothes. I left the uniform on the bed. I don’t think it will fit.”

  “Oh? I’m sure it will.” Cali rushed to grab it from the other room. When she bent over the bed, Drake became uncomfortably aware that the effects of stasis were wearing off. Cali’s plush ass was straining against the material of her uniform. In response, a certain part of his anatomy started twitching awake.

  “It’s made from a very flexible material. Even with your larger size, I think that it should work.” Striding up to him, she held it against his shoulders. Her fingers caressed his bare skin, and if he wasn’t mistaken ran through the hair brushing his neck. His body responded instantly to the soft touch.