Cornering Carmen (15 page)

Creon turned with a dark scowl that dissipated when he saw the slight film of sweat beading her forehead, the pinch of her lips, and her almost translucent complexion. The shuttle bumped roughly as it exited the atmosphere of the planet. If possible, he would swear she turned even paler.

He tried to pull his hand free of hers so he could touch her. She held it in a grip so tight he could feel it going numb from the blood restriction.
When she wouldn’t release it, he used his other hand to tilt her chin so that she was forced to look into his eyes. He held her gaze until he could feel her beginning to relax slightly.

“Breathe,” he murmured quietly.

“I am,” she muttered on the verge of tears. “It’s not working! I really think I should stay here. I don’t want to go into outer space,” she forced out, frustrated.

“We will be gone for many months. I cannot be away from you that long,” Creon said still maintaining eye contact with her. “Were you this frightened before
? W
hen you were aboard the
V’ager
?”

Carmen quickly shook her head. “I was pretty much dead when they brought me aboard,” she whispered. “I really didn’t think about it after that because it was like being on a big ship on the ocean only with no windows for me to look out of, not to mention we were surrounded by aliens.”

Creon’s eyes narrowed at her mention of how close she had come to dying before he ever met her. He would have to remember to thank his brothers for their intervention. He could not imagine a life without her now. She was his world and it distressed him that she was suffering so much because of him.

“I should have beamed us aboard,” he cursed out under his breath.

“I wouldn’t let you, remember?” Carmen said
,
squeezing his hand tighter. “I was afraid it would hurt the babies even though you said it wouldn’t. I won’t take a chance of losing them,” she said pulling in a steady breath. “I’ll be okay. I’m just more of an on the ground type of girl, that’s all.”

“We will be on board the
Horizon
shortly,” he reassured her. “The worst is behind us. It will be smooth now that we have broken through the atmosphere. Once on board, I will make sure I take you to our rooms so you may lay down for a little while. You have had a lot to deal with and little rest. You are also still too thin,” he added with a stubborn thrust of his jaw.

She groaned and pressed a hand to her stomach. He had been trying to feed her continuously from the first day she arrived. A cart with food was always available in their living quarters and he tried to check up on how much she ate throughout the day. He had grown even more persistent the last two days.

“Creon,” she said swaying in her seat. “I really, really don’t think it would be a good idea to try to make me eat right now. Not unless you want to be wearing it.”

He bit back a chuckle. It he had known taking her up into space would weaken her to the point she was a defenseless kitten he would have done it sooner. He focused on the gold symbiots wrapped around his wrists. He asked it to help his mate’s motion sickness. A split second later, the gold around his wrists joined with hers and began moving. Tiny dots of gold appeared at her ears and around her neck, forming into a long chain that disappeared into the neckline of the silky black top she was wearing. He bit back a groan as the gold settled on the swell of her breasts, teasing him when she moved in her seat.

“Oh
mi elila
,” he groaned out huskily. “I hope you feel better later.”

*.*.*

A short time later, Creon glanced at Carmen to make sure she was doing better. He breathed a sigh of relief as she slowly relaxed back into him. The color in her face had returned once the vibrations of breaking through the atmosphere had quit. He had also included her in the discussions he was having with two of the warriors traveling with them in an effort to distract her. It appeared to be working as she listened carefully to the discussion, sometimes asking a clarifying question or two. The two brothers were part of an elite team he had put together during the Great War. He knew he could depend on them to protect his mate with their lives. He also wanted her to get to know them and trust them as their responsibility was to make sure she was safe at all times. They would protect her when he could not be by her side. He refused to take a chance of anything happening to her or their younglings now that he had found her.

He had specifically picked the brothers for their deadly skills and loyalty. They were fast, fierce, and worked as if they were a single deadly fighting force. He had fought with them many times and valued their exceptional fighting skills. It was almost impossible to tell them apart. He had learned a long time ago to not even try. It had cost him more than one drink when he had been challenged to distinguish the brothers apart.

“So my lady, you do not care for space travel?” Cree asked with a polite smile. “Few females do.”

Carmen raised her eyebrow at the slightly condescending tone. “It's not my thing. I prefer the power of a bike beneath me and wide open spaces. My sister and best friend love space travel, though. They were in the military back home and wanted to be a part of the space program there,” she replied
,
studying each man carefully.

“Females in the military? You are joking, yes?” Calo asked using the same tone. “All warriors know that women are not made for fighting. They are made for pleasure.”

Creon fought back a groan when he saw his mate's mouth thin and her eyes narrow at the unknown challenge. He had learned over the last few weeks that when she wore an expression like that, someone was bound to get hurt. He debated on whether he should correct the brothers but decided that if they were going to help him protect his mate
then
they needed to know what she was capable of doing. He almost changed his mind when Carmen ran one hand casually up along the front of her top until her fingers caressed her pale throat where the dragon's mark was clearly displayed.

A soft, sexy chuckle escaped her as she tilted her head to the side. “Would you be willing to put that to a test?” She asked innocently.

“Carmen,” Creon growled out suddenly have third, fourth, and fifth doubts. “No, I forbade it.”

She shrugged her shoulders and leaned back in her seat. “Okay. I wouldn't want to hurt them anyway,” she said
,
smiling brightly at the two men across from her. “I know how 'fragile' Valdier warriors can be.”

Calo laughed in amusement while Cree scowled. “You hurt us?” Cree muttered under his breath. “I'd like to see that!”

Calo chuckled again. “His mate has a good sense of humor. Who knows, we might need her to protect us on this trip, brother.”

Creon's curse filled the shuttle. “I would not antagonize her if I were you!” He warned as he reached for her hand.

Carmen just sat quietly, listening and watching the brothers for the rest of the trip.
She had been trained to look for the tiniest things that could be used against an opponent during the years she and Scott worked in security.
She immediately discovered the difference between the brothers. Both had the same dark hair of the Valdier and gold colored eyes.
They bo
th had the strong jaw line and proud features
of the warriors, as well;
not to mention the muscular build. One difference was the birthmark near the corner of their right eye. Cree's birthmark ran in a semi-circle ending at the corner. Calo's birthmark ended just before it. It was just a small difference and most people would miss it but it was there. Cree also used his left hand more than his right, was the quieter, more thoughtful of the two, and had a habit of touching the knife at his side every few minutes. Calo on the other hand used his right hand a little more, was more
open
, and his eyes constantly moved around as if checking to make sure nothing had changed. She knew exactly what she was going to do the minute they disembarked and it wasn't going to be taking a nap.

Creon breathed a sigh of relief when the shuttle began its final approach for docking with the warship. He would whisk Carmen out of the shuttle and to their living quarters before anything happened. He had caught the calculating gleam in her eye and knew she would not forget or forgive what the two warriors across from them had said. The voice of the pilot came over their comlinks telling them docking was complete and they could remove their seat restraints. He reached over and undid Carmen's first.

“Don't,” he whispered into her ear as he leaned across her. “They will learn.”

“
Your
damn right they will,” she whispered back fiercely before throwing an
innocent
smile at the two men.

“Dragon's balls!” He hissed out knowing she was about to set two of his best warriors in their place.

*.*.*

Carmen breathed a sigh of relief as they disembarked the shuttle. She could fully appreciate why some sailors of old would get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground when they got off their ships. Granted, it was only a shuttle and she was now on an even bigger ship in space but if her mind wanted to be in denial of that fact, she could handle that. She just didn't relish getting back inside something the size of a tin can and traveling into the great unknown and un-breathable!

The landing bay was filled with activity as supplies were unloaded and the shuttles moved and stored
in
preparation for the trip to the mining asteroids where they believed Vox was being held. According to the information she had listened to on the way up from the planet, there were three possible places he could have been taken and they would need to check each one. It sounded like the guy could handle himself if some of the stories the guys were telling was anything to go by. Anyway, they didn't really seem too worried about him. One mining area was on the outer edges of the Cardovus star system which was the closest. They would check that one first. If he was not there, they were going to stop at two different
Spaceports
before heading to the next one. Their biggest concern was if an assassin had been sent to take care of him. If Vox was killed and rumors spread that the Curizan and Valdier had teamed up to do it, there would be another war. From the sound of it, that would have a devastating effect on both star systems, especially the Valdier.

Carmen moved closer to Creon as a very large male approached them. He looked like he could be a mean son-of-a-bitch if he wanted to be. He was as tall as Creon and had that same dark edge to him, like he had seen and done things he had no regrets
about
doing. She stared back into his dark purple eyes, refusing to back down. A low growl escaped him at her challenge. Carmen smirked and raised her eyebrow.

“I thought you had a mate, Creon,” the tall male said looking Carmen up and down. “She looks little bigger than a child.”

“Knock it off, Ha'ven,” Creon growled out softly. “I know you are just trying to rile her to see what she will do but I will not let you insult her to do so.”

Ha'ven
threw Creon a pained look. “I was hoping to see if your mate had the fire in her that you mentioned. She looks more like a kitten for Vox to play with.”

Cree and Calo chuckled. Carmen let the smile stay on her face. If they wanted to see her as a kitten then so be it. She was about to show them that this kitten had very sharp claws and a wicked tail. Moving rapidly, she swung around snatching Cree's knife out of its sheath while throwing a kick to Calo's jaw before swiveling in a graceful arch and knocking Cree's feet out from under him. She wasn't through with them either. In seconds, she had Ha'ven hanging upside down by his feet from her tail. She flashed a toothy grin at Ha'ven before she swung him into the two brothers who were climbing to their feet, their mouths hanging open for the briefest moment before they caught the full body of the large warrior across their chests.

Before they could get up, Carmen sat her white, red, pink, and purple self down on top of them. Maybe she wasn't a kitten after all but a big dog because she was definitely the queen of this dog pile! None of the men could get up unless she did. She gripped the razor sharp knife in her front claw. Bending down so she was staring down at all three faces with a grin, she sliced a small strand of hair from each of the men's heads before puffing out a small ring of smoke around them.

“I think you have proven your point, Carmen,” Creon said standing back with his arms folded across his chest, chuckling.
“I am not so sure
Calo
can breathe. He looks like he is turning a funny shade of blue.”

Carmen turned her head briefly to look at her mate. She snorted before slowly rising, making sure she 'knocked' into a few delicate body parts as she did. Seconds later, a pair of strong arms surrounded her two-legged form. She held Cree's knife in one slender hand and three different lengths of hair in the other. They were her prize and she wasn't giving them back.

“Meow,” Carmen said, her eyes glittering
with
humor and challenge as she looked at the three men now standing warily in front of her.

Ha'ven rubbed his crotch with his hand. She had kneed him as she was getting up and it was throbbing painfully. He studied the female again with a new appreciation. She was fast, resourceful, and had a wicked sense of humor.... he decided then and there he wanted one of his own.