Born of Defiance (12 page)

He swiped the screen to the last picture she'd sent over. Her long, curly hair was fanned out around her face as she lay in bed, looking up at her link. Her brows were perfectly arched over her silvery-white eyes. And her lips were slightly parted so that he could see just the tiniest bit of her fangs.

While her breasts were small, her bra pushed them up and made his mouth water for a taste. Something that wasn't helped by the sight of her taut nipples peeking through the lace.

Maybe one day he'd actually be able to see them.

Grinding his teeth, he squeezed his eyes shut and turned off the link. There was no need in thinking about what could be. About things he could never have. He had to think about the here and now.

And the miserable hell that was waiting for him once he returned to base.

 

C
HAPTER
5

Felicia glanced around the gym that was filled with fighters who were training and talking. As soon as she spotted Erix by an open area, she headed toward him.

“Hi.”

His fierce scowl melted into a friendly smile as he looked up from the screen of his link to see her. “Tara Felicia. What brings you here?”

She turned around to show him her white, flowered backpack. “I have Talyn's dinner and was going to watch him practice. Did I get the wrong time?”

He shook his head. “He must be running late from patrol. It happens sometimes. So how are you today?”

“Doing well. You?”

He looked past her shoulder and frowned again.

She turned to see Talyn, who was moving very stiffly. He wore that stern I'm-going-to-kill-you-and-hide-your-body-so-get-out-of-my-way expression that made everyone scurry at his approach. Worried, she closed the distance between them.

He offered her a bashful smile as soon as he saw her. She adored the way his entire face lit up whenever she was near. Every time he did that, he made her feel so incredibly special and welcome.

“Hey.”

Worried about how he was moving, she frowned at him. “Are you all right?”

Talyn nodded before he placed a chaste kiss to her cheek. Pulling back, he met Erix's gaze. “Who am I sparring with tonight?”

“New kid I'm training. Try not to kill him.”

He laughed, then grimaced.

“You okay?” Erix asked before she had the chance.

Talyn nodded again. “Can you double-check my curfew tonight?”

Erix cursed under his breath. “Did he change it on you again?”

“Yeah. Yesterday, after I left base.”

“How late were you?”

Talyn sighed before he answered irritably. “I wasn't, but thirty-seven minutes went down on my record. I'm lucky they let me out to train tonight.”

Felicia duplicated Erix's scowl. “That's not that bad, is it?”

Talyn didn't answer as he caressed her cheek with his hand. “I'll get changed and be back.”

“Is it?” she asked Erix after Talyn left them.

“Yeah, it is.” He pulled his link out and made a call to cancel the sparring for the night.

She set her backpack down and waited until Erix was finished with his call before she spoke again. “I don't understand what's going on. Why is this a big deal? It's just thirty minutes.”

A tic started in Erix's jaw. “For every minute he's late checking in to post, he gets two lashes with a cane. Thirty-seven minutes equals seventy-four strikes.”

The true horror of that wasn't apparent to her until Talyn returned and she saw the harsh, fresh bruises marring his back as he pulled on a T-shirt to cover them.

Tears choked her. She felt sick to her stomach. “Did I cause that?”

“No,” Talyn breathed, pulling her into his arms. “It had nothing to do with you. I promise.” He kissed her cheek again before he released her.

“His commander screws with his check-ins sometimes,” Erix snarled.

“Why?”

Talyn snorted. “What can I say? I'm an abrasive asshole.” He approached Erix and picked up his practice gloves. “Where's my opponent?”

He screwed his face up at the sight of Talyn's bruised back. “I canceled it. You don't need anyone else pounding on you until some of that heals. We can do cardio and weights tonight. Not to mention…” He held his link out to Talyn. “He changed your check-in again. You don't have that much time for training.”

Talyn growled. “Thanks for looking it up.”

“No problem.”

Felicia opened her backpack and dug out the plastic containers. “I brought your dinner.”

Talyn sat down on the mat next to where she stood. “Where'd you get it from?”

She handed him an airtight plate and cutlery. “I made it.”

“You cook?” he asked incredulously.

She gave him a playful, menacing stare. “You don't have to sound so shocked. I love to cook, and your bland, unsavory meals are very easy to prepare.”

With a sweet smile at her teasing, he opened his plate.

Erix gently clapped him on the arm. “Eat your dinner in peace, kid. You need it.”

“Thanks.”

Sitting down beside him, Felicia handed him some of the water she'd packed. “I feel so bad about what happened last night.”

“Don't.” He touched her hair and smiled at her. “I have no regrets. For what you did … they can skin me alive.”

She looked at his back and scowled. “I find it hard to believe you feel that way.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Beatings I can take. Trust me. My mother's given me harder kisses and hugs.” He sampled the food, then flashed her an adorable expression of disbelief. “It's delicious.”

“Thanks,” she said sarcastically. “Appreciate your confidence in my abilities.” She opened her own plate. Returning his smile, she fed him a bit of her cut-up fruit.

He nipped playfully at her fingers before he swallowed it. “How was school today?”

“Boring. How was patrol?”

“Not boring. Ran into a group of Tavali.”

Her eyes widened at his casual mention of the bloodthirsty pirates who preyed on their corporate ships and freighters. “What happened?”

He swallowed and took a drink before he answered. “We fought. I struck a couple of blasts to one of their fighters, but they eluded capture.”

“Did they blast you?”

“They tried. Luckily, I dodged. Ran them all the way back to their baseship, the
Storm Dancer.
”

“I'm glad. Please, don't get hurt.”

“That's usually my game plan.” He winked at her. “Especially now that I have a really good reason to stay out of traction.” Wiping his hand off, he pulled the physiology book out of her backpack so that he could glance through it. “You have finals soon, don't you?”

She nodded.

“If you need any help, my mother's immediate family were all physicians and surgeons. In fact, I'm pretty sure this was written by one of her older brothers. And I passed the certs to get in. I've got a good handle on the subject.”

“Be happy to have a gorgeous study partner. Not sure how much studying I'll get done talking to you, but I'm willing to try.”

Talyn pulled her against him and nuzzled her hair.

Closing her eyes, she savored the sensation of him holding her so sweetly. He took a deep breath in her hair before he got up and headed to the weight bag. While she packed away his empty plate, he shadowboxed. Until he started sweating, then he began punching the weight bag. Ferociously.

She cringed at the strength of his blows that hit it so hard it sounded like he was about to break the chains holding it in place.

“Impressive, isn't it?”

She nodded at Erix's question. “I would hate to be on the receiving end of that.”

“Yes. You would.” He wrinkled his nose playfully at her. “Luckily, he would never hit a female. And lucky for me, he'd never hit an old male.” He glanced over at her. “Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?”

“Taking care of him.”

“I haven't really done anything.”

“I disagree. There's an innate change in him. A peaceful calm he didn't have before. And I've never seen him smile and laugh like he does around you, never mind tease and play.”

She wasn't so sure about that. Talyn was still very serious whenever they were together. “I find that hard to believe.”

“You shouldn't. I swear. I didn't even know he
could
smile. At all. He's very different when you're not around. Deathly serious and stern. Silent, like he's sizing you up for a body bag. No one can get much more than noncommittal grunts or smart-ass retorts out of him.”

She remembered glimpsing that part of his personality when he'd been in the room the first time they met. And again at the Ritadarion restaurant.

“You make him playful and happy, Felicia. I can almost see the kid in him whenever you're around.”

She didn't believe that until Talyn ran at her and picked her up. Laughing, he swung her around and placed a quick kiss to her lips before he dodged to the double-end bag and started training with it.

He was so impressive that within a few minutes, everyone at the gym had stopped what they were doing to watch him train while Erix called out drills.

“Damn,” one of the males next to her said to a friend. “I don't ever want to be in the Ring with
that
.”

“That's the Iron Hammer. No one wants to be in the Ring with
that
.”

“Did you see him when they were charting his PSI?” a third male asked the other two.

“No.”

Felicia arched her brow at the conversation. “What was it?” she asked the males.

“Almost a ton of pressure. Just over nineteen hundred.”

Her jaw dropped.

“Bullshit!” the male beside him said.

The male who'd spoken held his hand up in a sign of sincerity. “No, I swear. It's why they call him the Iron Hammer. You can check it online, if you don't believe me.
Splatterdome
did it as part of a series where they charted the PSI for all the big-name fighters. And that was barehanded. He rated more than two hundred PSI over his closest rival, Death Warrant.”

Wow! Her head spun at what they were telling her. But as she watched him, she didn't doubt it. He did hit like a sledgehammer.

The male closest to her raked an interested look over her body. “Who are you here with, love?”

His friend turned the male's face away from her. “Don't even. I saw her eating with the Hammer earlier. More to the point, hand-feeding him.”

“Oh dear God.” He passed an apologetic stare at her. “Sorry. It was nice speaking to you. Give your male my best.” He quickly put space between them.

Laughing, Felicia returned to watching Talyn practice. There was a fierce beauty and grace to what he did. And like Erix had said, a deadly earnestness. But she still would hate to see him in the Ring being pummeled by another fighter. For that matter, she despised the bruises that marred his tawny skin.

Once he was done with the bag, he grabbed the towel from Erix and wiped his face. She walked over to him and pulled him against her.

He grimaced. “I stink and I'm sweaty.”

She nipped his chin. “I like your smell. Have I grossed you out yet?”

“Are you trying?” He gave her a fierce squeeze.

His band started buzzing. It was a different alarm than normal.

“What's that?”

“Drill call. I have to leave immediately. Can you grab my stuff and take it back to the condo for me?”

“Absolutely.”

Pulling his gloves off, he kissed her and handed them to her before he pulled on a clean, loose T-shirt and left.

Scared of what it meant, she took the gloves to Erix. “Should I be worried?”

“I don't know. It's a squadron alert. Could be an unexpected meeting or they're needed to fly.”

She cringed as she remembered Talyn telling her about the Tavali. She hoped this wasn't them returning with a larger group. “I don't think I like this dangerous life he lives.”

“Yeah, I feel your pain. And I hate that sound whenever I hear it. I was having dinner with my son when he got a call like that. It was the last time I saw him.”

“I'm sorry, Erix.”

His white eyes sad, he inclined his head to her. “Did you drive or take public transport?”

“Public.”

“Then I'll take you home.”

“You don't have to.”

“Yeah, I do. Haven't you seen the news? Five females your age have gone missing this week. It's too late for a young one to be out alone.”

His kindness warmed her heart. “Thank you. I'll grab Talyn's things and be right out.” She went to the dressing room and found the small bag Talyn had carried in. Opening it, she paused. Folded neatly on top was the shirt she'd requested, along with a small red rose. Tears gathered in her eyes. He was always surprising her with such sweet, thoughtful gifts.

“Please be safe,” she whispered. She didn't want to think about anything happening to him.

*   *   *

As soon as Talyn hit the base and realized they were scrambling for another Tavali attack, he rushed into the lockers to change his clothes. Emergency deployments like this were the only time he was allowed in here to change with the Vested.

Everyone's nerves were stretched taut as friends bantered and dressed as fast as they could manage, then ran to their fighters.

Talyn accidentally brushed his empty sleeve against a female's shoulder as he shrugged his flight suit on.

“Don't touch me!” she growled with unwarranted hostility.

Assuming it was because of his birth status, Talyn mumbled an apology and stepped away to finish dressing. But as he pulled out his boots, he glanced at her and noticed the way her hands shook as she struggled with the buckles on her suit. The fact that her eyes were swollen and red as if she'd been crying for a while.