Cali & Drake (The Alliance Book 1) (6 page)

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 least.

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.

He had been warned that anyone from Cestori would take pleasure in
torturing him, but they hadn’t warned him that this was the form it would take.
Cali’s sweet touch was enough to get him talking if he wasn’t careful. The
smell of some type of flower floated to his nose, and the slight twitching in
his pants became a hard bulge.

If he didn’t get control of himself, Cali would be bent over this couch.
An image instantly popped into his head of her gloriously naked body. He could
trail his hands up her shapely thighs, to massage the bouncing globes of her
ass. There was a special spot his thumbs could rub…shaking his head just as he
pictured the hidden spot between her thighs, he hastily grabbed the uniform and
sat down. With jumpy
movements,
he draped
the uniform to try and cover his lap.

“Thank you. I can try it on later.” His voice came out much harsher than
he would have liked.

Cali seemed confused for a second, and then shot him a sympathetic look.
“If you prefer your own garments, the solar cleaning of the shower will work on
most materials. I’m sorry to say that your shirt was unsalvageable, but our
computer could be programmed to make you a new one.”

Drake was having a hard time concentrating on what she was saying and
didn’t respond.

“I’m sorry, you must be tired after everything that has happened today.
Would you rather I left you alone?” She turned to go to the door.

“No,” he almost shouted the word and had to clear his throat. “Sorry, I’m
having trouble regulating my voice.” He hoped she bought the excuse. “I would
like it if you stayed.”

Why?
His mind was screaming at
him.
Why would you ask the crazy Calinae
Edal to stay in your room?
The answer came back in a flash. Because he
didn’t believe she was crazy, and even though his body was out of control, he
needed her to stay. She epitomized soft and sexy. Innocence and attitude.

If anyone here was crazy it was him for putting himself through this
torment.

“Okay.” With a shy glance at
him,
she went to sit down.

Drake gave a satisfied smile when she chose to sit next to him.

After a few seconds of silence, he asked, “I’m curious, can you tell me
what world
The Reliant
hails from?”
Drake wondered if Cali would tell him the truth.

“We hail from Cestori.” She answered him without hesitating, and Drake
felt a deep satisfaction at Cali’s honesty.

“I’m unfamiliar with this world. Can you tell me about it?” What he’d
been told wasn’t entirely accurate so far, so maybe he would get a better idea
from her.

“Well. The planet is located on the outer edge of the Buffer Zone. The
closest neighbors are planets we call Titus and Atheon. Cestori is about three-thousand
miles wide. There are two main bodies of salt water, we call oceans that are
broken by one large land mass. The majority of the population resides in cities,
Thalesti being the main one. There are over twenty million people there alone.”

Drake wanted to laugh. It was like listening to a dictionary. She didn’t
put any personality into her description. “What is Cestori like,” he teased.
“For the people living there I mean?”

“Oh.” She laughed breathlessly and he was glad for the uniform covering
his crotch. “We are advanced enough to get into space, as you can see, but there
is so much more to our people. We have agriculture, technology, art, a logic
based belief system…”

Drake couldn’t help himself, even though Cali had warmed up to her topic,
he interrupted. “Did you say ‘logic based’ belief system?”

Cali smiled, “Yes. Our main belief system is based on logic. There are
citizens who are more emotional, but they are in the minority. Starting in the
primary education system and into our higher learning at the Academy, logic is
taught. My people frown on emotions.”

“What about laughter, happiness, love, and passion?” Drake’s eyes wandered
to Cali’s mouth when he asked the last one.

“It’s not that people from Cestori don’t
feel
emotions. We do, very strongly in fact. It’s that a
decision
wouldn’t be made based on those
emotions. Some on Cestori battle constantly to keep their emotions in check.”
Cali’s voice was whisper soft.

Drake forced his eyes
upward
and
was happy to see her gaze was centered on his mouth. Sitting for a moment
watching her, Drake concluded that Calinae Edal was a mystery. Raised to function
on logic, she’d turned into a romantic. She was scary sexy, but the way she blushed
at every glance, told him she was somewhat innocent. Drake wanted nothing more
than to solve the puzzle she presented, and that scared him. He knew nothing
about her except what his intuition was telling him.

Waiting for her eyes to meet his again, he delighted in the passion
burning in the amber depths. A protective urge rose up in him when her cheeks
bloomed with color, and she averted her gaze. Before he made a fool of himself
and scared her in the process, he asked, “What about the governing body? Who
makes decisions?”

Cali licked her lips and Drake bit back a groan. “Cestori is a matriarchy.
The population is governed by the lower courts for trivial things. The Council
of Three makes all major decisions. My
moth
—”
Cali coughed slightly, “That is, the leader of the council is a woman named
Aicen Edal.”

So it was true. Aicen Edal was her mother. The supreme leader of a planet
ruled by women. That part of the warning was accurate at least. What was Cali
doing here in the Buffer Zone? If she was being trained by her mother, why
wasn’t she on Cestori? Also, why would Cali use her given name and not admit to
being Aicen Edal’s daughter? There was something odd going on.

“So your planet is matriarchal. Is that why the majority of the
crewmembers I saw on my way here were women?” Drake had wondered at the disproportionate
number of females
as opposed to
males on
the ship. The only other men he had seen were the guards.

“I suppose so, most of the
positions
that have any authority are held by women. The physical jobs are usually held
by males. I never really thought about it before.” Cali looked at him under her
lashes and leaned closer, “I don’t mean to change the subject, but may I ask
you something?”

Drake stiffened in his seat, instantly alert. “Of course. What would you
like to know?” The damn smell of flowers intensified, and he couldn’t stop
himself from leaning toward her.

“Can you tell me the truth?”

Drake had been staring at her mouth, his focus on her lips and not the
words. “Truth?” He was pretty sure she had said that.

“Yes. The truth about what you remember.” Her voice held an edge to it
and Drake forced himself to concentrate. It would seem his little flower had
thorns.

Cali forced some authority into her voice. It was almost impossible to
concentrate with his gorgeous blue eyes and full mouth distracting her. They
didn’t teach this at the Academy. Cali cracked a smile at the thought of an
Academy class titled:
 
How to Interrogate When You Are Sexually
Attracted to The Interrogatee 101
.

“I’m not an idiot Drake.” Cali leaned back to put some space between
them. She hadn’t realized she had leaned so far forward, and if she wasn’t
careful she’d end up in his lap. “I know you weren’t telling the truth in medical.
I didn’t press the
issue
because that
would’ve resulted in your being thrown into a security holding cell. For some
reason I trust you, and I want you to trust me as well.”

She couldn’t help the slightly breathless quality to her voice as she
said that. His nearness seemed to cause a wide variety of reactions that she
had never experienced before. From her
voice
to the rate of her heartbeat, to sweaty palms. Her attraction to him hadn’t
lessened in the hours since leaving the medical unit. If anything, it had
increased.

“I don’t think you’re an idiot,” Drake murmured. “In fact, I think you’re
very intelligent.”

“Then give me an honest answer,” she got the words out in a whispered
rush. “Where are you from? What’s the name of your starship? What were you
doing in the Buffer Zone?”

Drake watched her with lidded eyes and Cali held her breath. Would he
talk to her?

“My people value complete honesty, and I’m no different. I’ve told you
the truth,” Drake insisted. “I don’t remember. The only thing I’ve considered
since I woke up is there may be others from my ship in trouble. I might not be
the only one who was left behind. Could you please scan for other stasis pods?”

She hated seeing the shuttered look fall across his face because she knew
it meant he was lying. His people probably did value honesty, because he
obviously had no practice with deception. However, his concerns regarding other
survivors were valid.

Sighing at the position he was putting her in, she said, “I’ve already
thought of other survivors and have Vareen scanning for the material of your
pod. If any others are found, I’ll inform you right away.”

“Thank you.”

Cali was happy the tightness left Drake’s frame at her assurance they
would search for other survivors. She suddenly had the thought that perhaps it was
a life-partner he was looking for. The thought of Drake committed to another
person made her a little crazy. On some level she knew feeling jealous was
ridiculous. She didn’t know anything about Drake, and thanks to his pushing
away her questions, she never would at this rate. There was no logical reason
for her to be jealous if he was already taken.

There was the heart of her problem. She wasn’t
logical
, she never had been and never would be. Some part of her
she hadn’t known existed screamed that Drake was the
life partner
for her. She needed to know if he was already in a
committed relationship, she had too much honor to take someone else’s mate.

“Is it possible there might be someone special to you in a stasis pod?”
she asked as innocently as possible.

Drake looked confused, “I would imagine friends were with me. It’s possible
one of them is out there.”

“What about someone other than a friend?” Cali prodded.

His face remained confused. Drake wasn’t getting the hint at all. She’d need
to be direct it seems, trying to remember some of the terms she had learned
other cultures used for a couple she blurted, “A
life
-
partner
perhaps? A
wife? A lover? A mate?”

Dawning flashed across his face and he hastened to say, “No. I don’t have
anyone like that waiting for me. In a stasis pod or on my home world.”

Cali wanted to be happy but eyed him suspiciously instead. “How would you
know if that’s true? You said you can’t remember your ship or home world.”

Drake paled, and remained silent.

Cali decided to have mercy on him. “Never mind. For some reason you feel
you can’t talk to me.” She
made
to stand
up, “I’ll wait for you—”

Before she could gain her feet, Drake had taken her hand and pulled her
back down. Cali’s startled eyes flew to his.

“Cali, I want to tell you.”

The way he said her name caused a heat to flush over her skin. The hand
holding hers was causing small thrills to run up her arm. “Then why won’t you?”
her voice came out hushed.

“I…ca
n’t
,” Drake looked pained. His
thumb was brushing across her fingers. “I want you to know that I’m not
dangerous. I just can’t tell you what you want to know.”

“Okay, I understand.” Cali couldn’t believe she meant it too. Maybe it
was the distracting heat of his fingers, but crazily enough she believed he
wasn’t a danger, to the ship or crew. That would have to be enough for the
moment. Her eyes met his and she felt her breath catch.

“Why do you have to be so perfect?” he groaned, his face inches from hers.

“I’m not—” Cali didn’t get any further because suddenly Drake’s lips were
brushing against hers, her face cupped in his large hands. His body leaned over
her until she was backed against the arm of the couch. It wasn’t the most
comfortable angle to be sitting, but Cali didn’t mind. The excitement of being
pressed into Drake washed all other concerns away. Her hands flew up to rest against
his bare chest, her nails scoring lightly along the muscles.

Cali had been kissed before, but never like this. The reaction she had to
him was like something she’d read about. Drake’s lips pressed into hers, once
and then again in the barest of touches, as if trying to gauge her acceptance.
When she flicked a tongue out to trace his lips, Drake growled low in his
throat. Cali’s fingers slid from his chest to tangle in the hair at his neck.

All pretense of teasing
evaporated
and Drake’s mouth became demanding and hard. His tongue lashed out to duel with
hers, causing tremors of excitement to run through her body. When Drake took her
lower lip into his mouth and sucked, Cali followed suit and did the same to
him.

Her senses were alive like never before. The air in the room was thick
and she could feel every inhalation of Drakes breath against her breasts. She
strained against him yearning for more of something she couldn’t name. The
friction when she rubbed her breasts against his chest caused an increased heaviness,
and her poor back could attest to their normal heft. All Cali could think of
was getting her uniform off, and finding out if that hard bulge pressing into
her stomach was as impressive as it felt.

“Cali,” Drake groaned against her mouth. “Sweet, Innocent.”

“I’m sorry.” Cali felt bereft at the loss of his lips against hers. “Did
I do something wrong?” Her lips felt swollen and there was an ache between her
legs that demanded gratification.

Drake pulled back. “Moons no, It’s not you. This desire I feel for you is
unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I just don’t want you to be hurt.”

Cali’s heart swelled with happiness that he desired her, then crashed
down when he said she would end up hurt.

Looking into his troubled blue eyes, she whispered. “You think being intimate
with me would end with bad feelings?”

“Cali,” he kissed her lips, cheek and growled in her ear. “There are
things about me—”

“I don’t care. There are things about me you don’t know too.” Cali
confessed. She tried to make eye contact, but Drake kept his face tucked
against her neck.

He took a racking breath. “Leave Cali, Before I can’t let you go.”
 

Cali hesitated for one second and then slowly pulled herself out from
under Drake’s body. She relished the feel of his chest against her
breasts
and then groaned when her thigh brushed
his hard erection.

She needed to get away and allow her emotional state to settle down.
 
If she were to follow the path her feelings
yelled at her to take, it wouldn’t change things for her. If she chose intimacy
with him, it would only be for a short time. She needed to be able to walk away.

Trying to be professional, even though it was ridiculous, Cali blurted, “As
I said before, I’ll let you know if we find anything on our scans.”

She strode to the door, pressed the console to open it and almost made it
into the hallway when he spoke again.

“Cali?” his voice was thick with an emotion Cali didn’t want to name just
yet.

Turning to see him standing with the uniform hanging by his side, she
gasped. The hard bulge in his pants caused an answering throbbing in her clit.
Her eyes flew to his face, her cheeks flaming. “Y-yes?”

“I will give you total honesty when it comes to my intentions.” His voice
was a low growl. “If you come back to these quarters, I will have you.”

A thrill spiked out from her nipples, and her cleft got wetter at his
words. Without
answering,
she bolted out
the door and closed it behind her. The guards were ignoring her and Cali
happily moved off down the hall. Her legs were slightly shaky, and Cali worried
her cheeks were never going to cool off.

“
If you come back...I will have
you.”
The words were a promise and a threat all in one. She recognized
both. Could she commit to an intimate relationship with someone she knew to be
lying to her? It wasn’t as if she had put off physical intimacy, there were plenty
of men willing to date her simply because she was Aicen Edal’s daughter. The
problem came in that she knew the rules when dating a male from Cestori. Drake,
however, offered the ultimate allure. He didn’t know who her mother was. He
desired her for what he saw in front of him, Calinae Edal. Captain of a
spaceship, nothing more, but what was the end game? What were the rules?

If you wait, you’ll miss out on
another adventure before you have to go back to Cestori.
Her conscience had
argued. W
hy not make more exciting
memories
than what a Nebula looks like up
close?

Because
a small part nagged back.
She had enough
to worry about. Crazy mother betrothing her to a friend she didn’t want to be
betrothed too. Said friend chasing her all over the Buffer Zone, a crew to
worry about, and friends sacrificing their careers to help her.

Arrggg
, Cali wanted to scream.
Maybe a nice run in the gym would help clear her mind.
Ha! Yeah right
. Like she was a runner. Taking the lift to the command
deck she immersed herself in command of the ship.

She had a lot to think over. The problem with thinking is that sometimes
you just run yourself in circles. Cali’s philosophy was, when in doubt, ask your
friends. That is why she invited Vareen, Nellia, and Diandra to her rooms for
dinner that night.

After the food was cleared away, and over drinks, she told them what
happened and Drake’s last words to her.

“Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand?” Diandra had a strong look of
displeasure, which surprised her. Diandra was very open-minded and Cali figured
she would be the most supportive.

“’If you come back to these quarters, I will have you.’ What else could
he have meant, Diandra?” Vareen didn’t look surprised.

“I don’t know.” Diandra put her drink on the table.

Nellia muttered, “He meant exactly what he said. What to do about it is
the question.”

“I think it’s a huge mistake for you to see him again Cali,” Diandra
spoke vehemently. “You’ll just have to let Vareen deal with him.”

“Why shouldn’t Cali have a sexual relationship with him?” Vareen argued
for her. “It’s not like he’s going anywhere. He hasn’t told us his home world
or what spacecraft might be looking for him. When he does decide to tell us, we
drop him off and return to Cestori.”

Nellia must have spoken with Vareen about her plans to return home. It
was good that her friends were on the same page.

“That’s one of my problems,” Diandra insisted. “We know nothing about
him. If you ask me, for Cali to have a physical relationship with him, is just
wrong.”

Nellia scoffed loudly at Diandra’s words. “It’s not as if life-partners
have to remain untouched. Loads of people have intimate encounters every day on
Cestori when they know nothing about each other. How is this any different? If
we’d met Drake on a night out from classes at the Academy, you’d be pressing
Cali to have fun.”

“This isn’t the Academy and we aren’t those people anymore. We have bigger
responsibilities now.” Diandra wasn’t backing down and Cali had to admit she
had a point. “I’m not telling Cali to stay celibate. I’m saying she doesn’t know
this male. She’s attracted to him, but what about his character?”

“If he had been inclined, he could’ve killed her when she was alone with
him in the medical unit.” Vareen offered. “So he isn’t totally crazy.”

“He could have seduced her into staying in his rooms and not worried that
she would end up
hurt,
” Nellia smiled at
her.

“Thanks—” Cali was tired of being reminded of how badly it would end for
her. She wasn’t that thin skinned to fall apart over sex with one male.

“What changed your minds anyway? You said that Cali needed to be careful,
now you are saying she should go for it.”

“Cali is facing a life without love being forced to life-partner with
Vathral. As the most emotional of the group, it will be the hardest for her.”
Vareen looked to Diandra. “I’m sorry, this must be painful for you as well, but
we’ve got to face reality. If a way could be found to keep Cali away from
Cestori and you to have Vathral, we’d have seen it by now.”
 
Vareen pointed out, and Cali flinched at the
look that crossed Diandra’s face. “There isn’t anywhere to run. Atheon isn’t an
option. Titus is too barbaric, and we don’t know of any other planets that
would suffice for our needs.” Vareen took a deep breath, breaking eye contact
with Diandra, she added. “The crew is going to become suspicious if we don’t
start back soon. We’ve had a great adventure, but we all know it must end. Even
The Reliant
can’t stay out here
forever.”