by S. E. Smith
Cosmos nodded again before he turned and strode back down the hallway. His mind was going in a hundred different directions. He both appreciated and hated when it did that. It was as if all his nerve-endings were trying to work at the same time and information was being processed in exponential amounts. He really needed to lay off the caffeine. It never helped, especially when he was exhausted.
Chapter 2
Cosmos ripped the black T-shirt off over his head, balling it up and tossing it toward the hamper in the corner as he entered his room. His muscles rippled as he rolled his shoulders. The long scar across his back stretching as he rolled them forward. The scar on his side pulled, showing a long white line as he twisted around to kick off his shoes. He bent and pulled off his socks before he reached for the buttons on his black cargo pants. He pushed them and his boxers down. Stepping out of one leg, he caught the other leg with his foot and pulled it off before tossing them in the hamper behind his shirt. His body was taut from the workout last night and lack of sleep. Their mission had been successful but not without casualties. He felt each one personally. The men that were wounded or killed were a part of his responsibility. It didn’t matter that they had volunteered, he still felt responsible.
Cosmos gave the command for the shower to start at the pre-programmed temperature he liked. He ran his hand over his jaw. He wouldn’t bother shaving. He had a light coating of whiskers but he was too damn exhausted to worry about it. Stepping under the hot spray, he stretched his arms above his head, resting them on the tiled surface, and let the water fall over his tired body. His mind replayed every move that the teams made last night.
He had coordinated a mission to cover Tansy Bell, Tilly and Angus Bell’s middle daughter, who was a government operative. The mission that had covered half a world from Russia to the United States had cumulated late last night at the Canadian Ambassador’s house. Tansy and her Russian counterparts were supposed to target Craig Knapp, the Senior Director for the Collaborative Partnership against Terrorism, or CPAT. This was the group Tansy had belonged to before she found out they set her up to be killed. If that wasn’t bad enough, she had a Russian billionaire named Boris Avilov hunting her as well. It turned out Craig Knapp was lining his pocket with Avilov’s cash. Tansy found that out almost too late. If not for the help of a huge Prime warrior named Mak, she would have been dead.
Cosmos had RITA relay the information that Tansy had recovered from Avilov to his computer system so he could review the data she had stolen. In it were the details of the planned assassination of the President of the United States, Askew Thomas. What was not surprising to Cosmos was the fact that the Vice-President was working with Avilov and others, including Knapp, to see that it happened. The Vice President had his own agenda and it was not remaining in the political shadow of Thomas.
Unfortunately, Tansy, having the stubborn-headed, independent soul that was the makeup of the Bell females, was exposed by one of her former operatives who recognized her, even though she was in disguise. Now, he was missing one Prime warrior and another two who were searching for the Russian females, Natasha and Helene Baskov, who were kidnapped at the same time as Tansy. The only good thing that had come out of last night was that Craig Knapp would soon be a dead man and Mak had taken Tansy back to his world to be healed. Cosmos just hoped he kept her ass there.
He had been having RITA run the license plate numbers on every vehicle that had been heading through the intersections in the location near the Canadian Ambassador’s house. Every surveillance camera in the region had been uploaded to RITA who was enhancing and examining every clue available to help locate the women and Merrick, the huge Prime warrior who seemed to have disappeared into thin air with them.
“Cosmos?” Tilly’s voice called from his bedroom. “If you don’t get a move on, I’m sending Terra in to help get you out of there!” She threatened.
Cosmos groaned as he quickly ordered the shower off. “I’ll be out in just a minute,” he yelled out.
“My goodness, where did you get that scar from? That looks like a new one,” Tilly said from the bathroom door.
“Jesus, Tilly!” Cosmos yelped out as he kept his body turned. Hopefully, the glass was fogged up enough from the heat of the shower so maybe she couldn’t see too much. “Will you get out?” He choked back in embarrassment.
Tilly’s husky laugh echoed in the spacious room but he could tell she had turned. “It isn’t like I’ve never seen a naked male before,” she chuckled. “You should see Angus. I swear that man can….” Her voice thankfully faded as she walked away.
Cosmos’ head dropped forward as he shook his head. “Only Tilly Bell can make me feel like a twelve year old again,” he muttered with a chuckle. “And the last thing I need right now is to think of what Angus looks like naked,” he added with a shudder as he opened the glass door and reached for a towel.
“Oh!” A startled voice gasped.
Cosmos’ head jerked around at the gasp. He closed his eyes as he felt his cock react to the presence standing in his bathroom. He knew there would be no hiding his erection, even with the towel he had in front of him. He reluctantly opened his eyes to stare at the silver ones that were gazing at him with a combination of shy curiosity, wonder, and desire. A small part of him was a little annoyed that he was the only one feeling a little self-conscious right now.
“Let me guess,” he said dryly. “Tilly?”
Terra nodded, reluctantly raising her eyes to meet his. “You are built very similar to the Prime males,” she observed as her eyes followed a droplet of water as it ran down his chest. “You are paler and have more hair on your chest,” she murmured as her eyes continued to follow the drop of water as it coursed its way further down. She drew in a sharp breath and took a step forward. “What happened to you?” She demanded when she saw a jagged scar on his hip.
Cosmos jerked back a step as she came closer. If his self-control was hanging by a thread earlier, it was non-existent now. At least, it was until her words hit him like a MACK truck. A dark frown crossed his face and his fist clenched on the towel.
“What the hell do you mean ‘I’m built similar to Prime males’?” He asked darkly. “Just how many have you known?”
Terra’s hand stilled as she reached out to touch the jagged scar. She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow that was so damn like Tilly’s he could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks. What the hell was wrong with him? This was worse than hitting puberty in the middle of a Physics conference with nothing but a bunch of old people and a copy of Playboy to keep you sane.
Terra pulled back and crossed her arms in front of her. “I’m a healer for my people,” she stated in a frosty tone. “It was part of my training to observe the physical attributes of the male body. How many I have known is none of your business unless you are willing to answer the same question! Just how many females have you known?” She snapped back.
Cosmos didn’t think his face could get any hotter. “I shouldn’t have said that,” he admitted, looking away for a moment. “Ah, hell!” He muttered with a shake of his head.
A husky chuckle escaped him when he realized he was standing there holding a towel in front of him in the hopes of retaining a slight semblance of modesty for Terra. What he had forgotten was his bathroom walls were mostly mirrors. Between the ones behind him and the ones to the side, Terra was getting almost a full view. With a shrug of his broad shoulders, he continued to wipe the water from his chest and hair before moving lower.
“What are you doing?” Terra asked in a choked voice as her eyes followed the towel. “Where did you get all those scars from?”
Cosmos’ lips tightened. He didn’t need to look in a mirror to know what she was seeing. He had scars from bullets, knives, and more than one explosion marring his tanned skin. He had grown accustomed to them. He wasn’t actively participating in as many missions as he used to, only the ones that were personal, or were a huge risk for his men, those he still oversaw.
“I need to get dressed or Tilly will be back in here,” Cosmos said, tossing the towel to one side and brushing by her. “The last thing I need is for her to launch into a description of Angus in the buff again,” he said gruffly.
Terra’s eyes followed Cosmos. He was a breathtaking male. The muscles in his shoulders were deceptively hidden in the clothes he wore. His back contained at least five separate scars that she knew had not only been painful but must have come close to killing him. She had learned much from RITA over the past several months to gain a better understanding of the human anatomy in order to help Jasmine ‘Tinker’ Bell and her sister, Hannah, with their pregnancies.
A swell of heat rushed through her as he bent over and pulled a pair of tight, black boxers up over his taut buttocks. She felt her nipples harden with desire as she watched him dress. Everything inside her wanted to walk over and pull his clothing back off, throw him on his bed, and take possession of him. Her eyes widened in shock at the primitive, almost savage, need that was washing over her. She was confused by it. She had always been under the impression that the females of her race did not care for such physical contact, yet she was burning with a need that was about to drive her out of control. She remembered her mother talking recently about her feelings for their father. They hadn’t really discussed anything in detail. While she had been curious as to her mother’s recent behavior, the idea of discussing her mother and father’s sexual habits made her feel – uncomfortable for some reason. The curiosity had become so overwhelming that she had finally broken down and asked Tink and Tilly about it. She had even watched the vidcom that had been recorded of Tink on her brother J’kar’s warship. She had been giving the warriors instruction on something called ‘oral’ sex.
“Will you perform oral sex on me?” She asked out loud before she realized what she was saying.
“Will I what….?!” Cosmos choked out, right before falling face first onto the floor with a loud thud when his foot got tangled up in his pant leg as he was putting it through.
“Oh Cosmos, are you hurt?” Terra asked rushing forward where he was lying on the floor, his pants caught around his ankles. She knelt beside him and tried to gently roll him over so she could check to see if he had a head injury. “Cosmos?”
“Oh dear!” Tilly exclaimed from the doorway. “What happened? Is he alright?” She asked, rushing forward. “ANGUS! We need you, sweetheart! Cosmos has fainted.”
*.*.*
Cosmos lay perfectly still and tried to breathe deeply to calm his racing mind. A part of him was wishing he could have invented a time machine so he could go back and warn his other self not to create the damn Gateway. The other part couldn’t help but see the humor of the situation. At twenty-seven he was, for the first time, totally unprepared for what was happening in his life.
Cosmos let Terra roll him over onto his back. He stared up into her confused and worried eyes for a moment before he placed both of his palms on her cheeks and pulled her down, giving her a hard, possessive kiss that left her sprawled across his chest. He continued to kiss her until he was sure he could say something without making a total ass of himself.
“Well, it looks like Terra has the situation under control,” Angus said from the doorway. “Mm, Tilly sweetheart, you wouldn’t be feeling a little faint yourself would you, darling. I think you might need a little mouth to mouth yourself,” he added with a low growl.
“Oh Angus,” Tilly giggled. “I was just telling Cosmos that you still turn me on when you….”
Cosmos broke off the kiss with a loud groan. “Enough! I don’t want a picture of Angus nude stuck in my head!” He bit out before turning to glare up at Angus who was chuckling. “You need to have a talk with your wife about walking into other men’s bathrooms when they are in the shower,” he growled out.
Angus pulled a blushing Tilly into his arms and bent her over it. “It wouldn’t do any good,” Angus laughed. “She would just distract me and we’d end up making love. Isn’t that right, honey?”
“You better believe it, big guy,” Tilly whispered staring up at Angus with a soft expression. “How you can still make my heart go crazy after all these years will always amaze me,” she admitted with a deep sigh of contentment.
Angus brushed a kiss across his wife’s lips before pulling her back up so she could stand next to him. He looked at Cosmos with a grin before shrugging his shoulders. Tilly was the light of his life and he wasn’t ashamed to show it.
“Breakfast is getting cold,” Angus said. “I’d like to eat before we get any more interruptions. I don’t know about you kids, but I’m starving,” he added turning Tilly around and gently pushing her out of the room.
Cosmos looked back up at Terra who was watching with wide-eyes as Angus slapped Tilly lightly on the ass as they exited the room. Both of them could hear the giggles and low murmurs as the two older Bells headed back toward the kitchen. Cosmos waited until Terra looked back down at him with a bemused expression on her face.
“Yes,” he responded as her mouth opened. “They have always been like that since the day I met them and from what Tink says, all her life.”
“Oh,” Terra said before she pushed up on his chest so she could sit back. She watched as he sat up and pulled his pants up to his knees before he stood and pulled them the rest of the way up. “Will you?”
“Will I what?” Cosmos said as he fastened his pants.
He reached for a dark blue button-up shirt hanging on the peg near the door. He shrugged it on and began buttoning before looking at her when she didn’t reply at first. She was watching his fingers as they moved down the row of buttons.
“Perform oral sex on me?” Terra asked hesitantly from where she was still kneeling on the light bamboo-covered floor.
Cosmos looked down into her inquiring eyes. A chuckle burst from his lips as he bent down and grabbed her hands to pull her up. Once she was standing in front of him, he gripped her by the hips and pulled her against his hard length, showing her how much he was reacting to her closeness.
“With pleasure,” Cosmos murmured before he turned her toward the door and the direction of the kitchen. “With total pleasure,” he repeated as he smacked her on the ass as she walked through the door, drawing a startled squeak from her.
Chapter 3
“Can you pass the eggs?” Angus asked as he reached for a couple of slices of whole wheat toast.
Tilly reached over and handed the bowl of scrambled eggs to Angus. She pulled a couple of pieces of toast onto her plate and spread strawberry jam on them. She waited until everyone had a full plate before she broached the subject of last night.
“Cosmos,” Tilly began quietly. “Tell us what happened. Is Tansy ….?” Her voice faded as fear blossomed.
Angus reached over and squeezed her hand. Both of the older Bells were worried about their middle daughter. Tansy thought she kept what she did a secret from them but Tilly had been following her daughter’s activities for years. She knew that Tansy had to deal with her own ghosts, some of which scared Tilly half to death. She couldn’t help but be proud of her daughter’s work trying to make the world a better/safer place to live but she also couldn’t help but wish someone else would do it now. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could pretend that she was ignorant of the danger her daughter was constantly in.
Cosmos looked up from where he was pouring coffee into his cup from the carafe that Terra had placed on the table in front of him. He looked down at his cup as he thought of how much information to give her. He didn’t want her to worry but he also knew there were other dangers and that he was going to have to explain.
He set the carafe down and picked up his cup before looking at the woman who had been as much of a mother to him as his own. “Tansy will be fine. I received information that Mak was able to rescue her and has returned to his world with her.” He watched as Tilly and Angus both glanced at each other with relieved sighs before he continued. “She was injured, though. The last report I
received was that she was still unconscious but the healers on Baade felt it was due more to exhaustion than the physical injuries that have already been taken care of.”
Tilly just nodded, unable to respond. “Thank you, Cosmos. For everything,” Angus said for the both of them.
Cosmos shrugged off the compliment, uncomfortable with the praise. “There are still others out there that need to be brought home safely and I lost two good men last night,” he said picking at the food on his plate.
“Which men?” Terra asked folding her hands in her lap as she waited in fear. “Derik …. My father?”
Cosmos shook his head. “No, they are safe though Derik didn’t return for a few hours. I haven’t had a chance to find out exactly what happened at the warehouse where Tansy was taken. Two of my men were killed last night in one of the fire fights. One had a sister and mother and the other didn’t have any family. I have accounts set up to take care of surviving family members should something like this happen. Merrick has disappeared. He went after some of the men who were shooting at us. Rico had some of his men retrace Merrick’s path but all they found were the dead bodies of the men who tried to kill the team members. It is as if he disappeared into thin air,” Cosmos said. “I have RITA reviewing every surveillance camera in the area for information. In addition, both Natasha and Helene are still missing as well. I have Garrett working with Rico, Lan and Brock to locate them. RITA was able to get the tag of at least one of the vehicles and possibly the other.”
“I have already relayed the information to the teams,” RITA responded in a cheerful voice. “You might want to eat little faster, guys. Your company is coming up the street.”
Cosmos froze in the process of taking a drink of his quickly cooling coffee. “What do you mean, company?” He growled out tensely.