Hero

by Reagan Woods

  Calyx’s demeanor went from playful to serious between one breath and the next. “Are you after my heart then, Tara?” He lifted her chin with a crooked finger, his quicksilver eyes studying her intently as her heart began to pound so hard she was certain he could hear it. “Because it’s yours – if you want it. It always has been.”

  Tara swallowed, her dry throat clicking loudly as her hands slid around his tight waist. The heady scent of musk and man that was uniquely him filled her nose and she savored it, reveled in his closeness. Her damp palms fisted in the back of his uniform shirt as he leaned close. He tilted her head back further, his head dipping low, determination and lust shining from his eyes.

  A loud crash followed by a string of curse words poured out of the kitchen. “Your timing is the worst,” she complained bitterly, spinning away to peek through the circular window. “The absolute worst.”

  Juanita and Anne were scrambling to pick up the empty pans they’d dropped. Impulsively, she decided to let the two of them work out whatever was between them while she spent these precious seconds with Calyx.

  The spell was broken though.

  “It really is,” he agreed when she turned back to him, his refuel smile bringing out his dimples. “It’s probably for the best. I have to meet Commander Skylan.”

  “Of course, you do,” she grouched as the cussing grew louder. Putting a hand to her flushed cheek, she discreetly fanned her face.

  Calyx stepped closer and skimmed a finger across her forehead, tucking an errant curl back into the unruly mass before turning on her field generator. “Stay safe, Tara,” he whispered huskily, turning to walk away. “Thanks for lunch and remember what I asked,” he called over his shoulder. “Please.”

  Despite the argument she could hear from the kitchen, her gaze snagged, caught on the body skimming lines of his uniform over his superbly honed muscles. She was trying not to be a ho-bag. She really was. Some moments were simply more trying than others.

  Then, remembering her earlier plotting, she plastered on a hopeful expression. “Will you be around to walk me home tonight? Pretty please?”

  “I-,” he hesitated, spinning so he walked backward. “I would like to be. I will try to be.”

  “I guess I can get one of the other Warriors to walk me back…you know, for safety’s sake. I don’t want you to worry.” If that didn’t press his jealous button, she didn’t know what would. “They’ve been super helpful the last few days, escorting me out to the fields and whatnot,” she gushed.

  A muscle in his square jaw jumped as if he were gritting his teeth as he contemplated her with a slitty-eyed stare. “Barring an emergency, I’ll be here.”

  “That’s all I can ask,” she agreed sweetly, mentally doing a victory dance. Life was too short not to take what she wanted. If she was going to be accused of ho-baggery, then she was going to enjoy the ho-ing.

  Chapter 33

  “Miknel,” Calyx comm’d the security shift leader directly, breaking into a jog. He didn’t want to be late to the meet. “How goes it?”

  “Things are quiet in the Earther yard for the moment,” he reported. “The General and his female are making use of the green space outside Warrior barrack five. I’ve got four Warriors keeping everyone clear of that area per his orders.”

  Calyx cursed under his breath. “Good to know,” he veered toward another gate, one farther away from General Darvan and Arianna. The last thing he wanted was to interact with the unnerving female again – or draw the General’s disapproval.

  With four Warriors pulled off regular duty, Miknel’s team was short-staffed. “I’m headed to the western edge of camp,” he advised. “Comm if you have a need.”

  “Will do.”

  The security shift leaders all reported to him and had responsibility for overseeing the Warriors on their shift within the camp. There were plenty of higher-ranking, more experienced Warriors, both on-planet and off, who would be only too happy to take over his command. Right now, the only thing keeping him in his position was Commander Skylan. He was grateful for the experience and determined not to let Skylan down.

  Outside patrols currently fell under the Commander’s purview. It seemed logical for Skylan to pass that responsibility over to Silex or Domik and focus on reorganizing the work teams that headed out of the camp. Work needed to resume quickly – whether the CGA intended to inhabit a planet or mine it to the point of collapse, schedules were sacred and not to be trifled with. Calyx suspected that was what Commander Skylan wanted to talk to the three of them about today.

  As he made his way across camp, his mind wasn’t exactly on security. He absently noted the spots he intended to station Warriors as soon as General Darvan agreed to increase their staff. There were enough displaced Warriors since the loss of the Horizon that he expected the approval to come through any day now.

  Calyx’s thoughts were with a certain curvy brunette Earther. He didn’t like the cautious way she’d been acting around him. He’d thought she was merely shaken by her recent violent encounters with Shirok. It was disconcerting to learn she took Calyx’s own assessment of her chemical vulnerability as a dig at her character.

  Driven by the way she held herself apart – something he hadn’t realized she was capable of until she began doing so – he’d blurted out that he wanted her. He had wanted her for his own from the moment he first spied her, and he told her so late last night. It had been clumsy, and he felt like a fool. But she’d seemed so delighted with his ill-timed announcement…and she was so unexpectedly sexy with the prohibited weapon nestled between her generous breasts. His soft female with that dangerous knife had flipped a switch in him.

  To his consternation, Tara continued to keep her distance when he’d gone to see her today. He had no idea what to do about that. She remained thoughtful and friendly but held herself apart even as she gently chided him about taking care of himself.

  Relief like he’d never known had filled him when she’d given him an opening. He’d moved on her almost before the flippant comment was out of her mouth. Good timing or not, he was pressing his suit. She needed a Protector, and he was determined to be that male. In the meantime, he needed to figure out exactly how one went about keeping a female’s interest. Just as soon as he had time, he would research it. There had to be some wisdom written somewhere.

  At the western edge of the energy barrier, Calyx spotted the trio of Warriors he was supposed to meet. The barrier appeared whole and he surmised they’d found a way to stabilize the disrupted crystals. Interesting. He made note to ask Silex about it later.

  “You appear distracted, Warrior Calyx.” Commander Skylan’s expression was set in inscrutable lines.

  Domik and Silex turned at his approach over the scraggly, dust-covered earth, eyes hidden behind identical sun goggles. The three were covered in a thin film of sweat and dirt. Calyx surmised they’d only just returned to camp.

  “I read Silex’s report with the finalized timeline. I’m thinking we could use an additional five hundred Warriors on top of the ones you’ve already requested,” he replied without preamble. “We have several holes in our internal security that remain vulnerable until we figure out how our eyes and ears were compromised.”

  Domik steepled his fingers thoughtfully before pointing them at Calyx like a laser blaster. “Good point. From what I can tell, whoever hijacked in-camp security also took control of the drones that patrol the land outside the energy barrier. The auto-pilot logs show no activity for an eight-hour period and the holosurveillance capabilities appear to have been disabled or the records were wiped.”

  Silex scowled, forehead wrinkling all the way to the stubble of hair growing over his normally shiny pate. They were all a little worse for wear these days.

  “I know I sound like I’m stuck on repeat, but it would be so much easier to assess this situation if the whole team were here,” he growled.

  “Bram would be ideal for the tech work,” Domik nodded. “Or would have been,
” he corrected himself.

  “Our friends are gone, and we’ll have to muddle through,” Skylan said with an impatient slice of his hand, effectively ending the lamenting before it gathered momentum. “I’ve had teams searching both on foot and on hover platforms in widening circles for signs of our missing people and enemy activity.” He swirled a finger through the air. “The three of us went out to check progress, to put eyes on the findings. I’m interested enough in what they’re seeing out there that we’re going to send teams further afield.”

  Calyx raised a brow. He’d been under the impression they hadn’t found anything. “What have they found?”

  Skylan deferred to Silex with a careless flick of his hand.

  “There’s a total lack of anything, prints, energy signatures, whatever.” Silex threw a hand toward the horizon, visible through the slight sheen of the energy field. “Excepting right through here where the bulk of the conflict took place - for about three miles square around the camp. Then, it’s like there’s an explosion of activity. Wildlife – something our scans didn’t pick up before - footprints, etc. And there are raging dust storms.”

  Calyx could tell from the hard set of Silex’s jaw that he was thinking of the female with the long, dark hair. He wished there were a way he could help put his friend at ease. Instead, he turned to Domik, “Where did you find, uh, Peter?”

  Domik’s lips thinned briefly before he answered, “At the three-mile mark. Exactly.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Calyx commented. “But what can that mean?”

  “Good question,” Skylan said. “That’s a very good question. It brings us to the next topic: the General’s female seems to know this Peter. She will be questioning him tomorrow. I’ll need you all there.”

  Chapter 34

  Tara studied a distracted Calyx, watched as the intermittent lights played over his strong features, as they approached her dorm. At some point during the afternoon, he’d removed the riot helmet he habitually wore. A lock of his wavy brown hair curled boyishly across his brow no matter how he shoved it back.

  He’d been uncharacteristically broody when he met her at the doors to the common, making no further mention of her having his heart or anything even remotely personal after he’d inquired distantly about her day. She was forced to admit, if only to herself, that he really was too busy to trifle with. Still, if she left things up to him, she’d be old and dusty before they ever had their second make out session.

  “I didn’t see you at dinner,” she commented softly, grabbing his hand to slow his quick steps.

  He grunted, but his fingers curled warmly around hers. “I was busy.” He slowed his pace obligingly.

  “With what?” Tara pressed a little desperately.

  Free hand scrubbing over his eyes, Calyx barely caught a yawn. “I’m sorry.” He might have been apologizing for the yawn, it was hard to say, but he went on, “I can’t discuss it.”

  Planting her feet, Tara refused to move another step. Calyx’s long strides took him to the end of their linked fingers before he swung around, just barely avoiding dragging her behind him.

  “Tara? What’s wrong? Why did you stop?” Bodily, he scooped her up, eyes wide with concern, voice rapid with panic, “Are you well?

  It was her turn to grunt. She slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Put me down.” When he failed to comply, she hit him again, harder. “I said put me down! The only thing that’s wrong is that you won’t talk to me.”

  He didn’t listen, hiking her up higher against his chest, he proceeded toward her dorm. Face to face, she had to admit he looked a little wild, a little pissed, and a lot sexy. That sexy mouth, with those full, lush lips, were temptingly close, but she refrained from kissing the daylights out of him. Barely.

  They were met with quiet laughter when they passed the Warrior stationed near the dorms. “Do you require assistance, Lady Tara?”

  “Mind your own business, Warrior Keble,” Calyx bit out harshly, palming the door to the dorm open.

  “Must I remind you, Warrior Calyx, that we’re not to abuse our power over the Earth females?” Keble crossed through the pool of light to hold the door open, amusement evident in his voice.

  Calyx growled, but Tara cut off whatever he was about to say. “Warrior Calyx is my invited guest,” she said with a tight smile. She hadn’t forgiven Keble for letting her think she’d get the death penalty for defending herself against Shirok. He might have had the decency to tell her she’d gotten the bad guy, maybe added a fist bump or something, but did he? No, he did not.

  “That’s a poor choice of companion, Lady Tara,” Keble’s tone was grave, but his eyes held a sparkle of mischief.

  She felt the tension building in Calyx as his body tightened, seeming to coil for a strike beneath her hands. Soothingly, she ran her fingers through his hair, subtly righting it, and gave his shoulder a pat to indicate she’d like to be put down. He grudgingly obliged, silvery eyes glaring at Keble as she slid down his front.

  “Now.” She took Calyx’s hand and turned to face Keble. “Why is my friend Calyx a bad bet?”

  Keble shot Calyx a devilish grin. “You’d have to ask him about that.” With a cackle, Keble let the door shut.

  “That is one weird dude,” Tara commented, quickly turning to drag a stony-faced Calyx toward her room.

  He trailed along behind her like a convicted murderer headed for the gallows, huge feet all but dragging the ground.

  When they were at her door, he spoke, his words stiff, “He’s right, you know. I am not a Warrior with social standing or wealth.”

  “If we’re going to have a freak-out, let’s do it in private.” Cheerfully, she pulled him, sputtering out a weak protest, through the door to her room, and patiently waited for it to close. The lock wouldn’t override his ability to leave, but she activated it all the same. “Now, you can freak at your leisure,” she told him, moving quietly around the room.

  “You can sit there,” she pointed to her little stool. “Erm…maybe I should sit there. You take the bed, I mean, sleep surface,” she amended quickly.

  There wasn’t an ounce of fat on his sculpted body – she had reason to know – but he wasn’t exactly dainty, and furniture was hard to come by.

  She slid her shoes off and plopped down to rub her aching feet. Alien tech was great, their boots and shoes often made her feel as though she walked on a cloud, but sixteen hours on her feet was sixteen hours on her feet.

  He glanced around, reminding her of a cornered rat, before resignedly sinking down onto her neatly made bed. Her blanket was standard issue, perhaps a bit rougher than the one on his sleep surface. Otherwise, she thought her little room presented as well as it could.

  “So?” She prompted, thumbs methodically working over her sore arches.

  “I shouldn’t be here.” Calyx shifted uncomfortably.

  “Really?” She asked mildly, pausing to study him intently. “Where should you be, then?”

  His nostrils flared as he glanced toward the door. “Probably doing PT or beating the snot out of Keble.”

  “Let’s talk about that,” she invited. “What’s the big deal? I don’t have any social standing or wealth, either,” she parroted his excuses back at him. “And I’m generally unimpressed with those people here who can claim otherwise.” She could see from his quick, fierce snarl that he knew she meant Shirok and his buddies.

  “So,” he ran unsteady fingers through his hair. “You’re aware there are roughly five males for every female in Corian space?” Finally, his silver eyes locked with hers.

  “I am,” she agreed calmly, gesturing for him to continue as she resumed her self-administered foot rub. Logically, she knew he didn’t have anyone else. Hell, he’d just confirmed it, but that didn’t stop her heart from beating like a drum, the oily feeling of nausea to slick through her at the thought of what he might say. He’d changed his mind, and she wasn’t good enough, sexy enough, just plain enough for him.

  “Tha
t means only the eldest son in a family line is permitted a mate. I am, in fact, the youngest of my line,” he said in clipped tones.

  “Was that supposed to explain something?” She cleared her throat to cover the nervous giggle. “Because I don’t see what that has to do with you and me and here and now.”

  “I’ve no training.” He stood slowly, towering over her as his big hands flexed at his sides. Those sensuous lips flattened with embarrassment or anger, she couldn’t tell which. His eyes, though, they burnt furiously.

  Tara winced and got to her own feet. Hands on her hips, she demanded, “What kind of training? What the hell are you talking about?”

  Instead of answering, he grabbed her up, his mouth covering hers in a hot, demanding kiss. It wasn’t gentle, the grind of his mouth against hers, the insistent thrust of his tongue into her mouth. It was brutal with need, with desire, and pent-up frustration. And she loved it.

  She loved everything about this alien man. The taste, the smell, the feel of him all conspired to drive her wild with need. God, she’d imagined being in his arms a million times. This was so much better.

  Open-mouth kisses down the column of her throat had her moaning in approval. Her eyes fell closed on a blissful moan only to pop open again a scant moment later.

  “What the hell, Calyx?!?” She squeaked when he sat her back on her feet and took a deliberate step away.

  “This,” he pointed between them, broad chest heaving as he struggled to talk. “Is the entirety of what I know about physical relationships.”

  “Ummm….,” Tara bit her swollen lower lip and eyed him uncertainly. “You know how babies are made, right?”

  She could from the set of his jaw, from his quick head shake that the smile was involuntary. “Yes, Tara,” he answered patiently. “I know about intercourse. What I don’t know is how to make you like it.”

  Flashing him a quick thumbs-up, she grinned and moved closer, stripping her shirt over her head and flinging it away. “You’re doing just fine. I’ll let you know if you do something I don’t like. You do the same for me.”