Defender: A Terran Times Tale (3 page)

A chill went through her. “Why don’t you want them to know where I am?”

He set her on her feet. “Not where you are, where we are.”

She turned slowly to him and watched as the wind tugged at his snow-white locks. His red gaze was looking out at the ocean, and with the thick forest at his back, he had every appearance of a primal male from the beginning of time. As he fixed that red gaze on her, she swallowed. “So, you were going to tell me about Ikanni courtship?”

He smiled, and she watched as his expression went from serious to amused. “It is a custom that we steal our females from other villages on Ikanni. It keeps the gene pool circulating.”

“I am not from one of the Ikanni villages.”

He inclined his head. “And as such, you are not entitled to the protection of your Bael. You are an invader, a trespasser, and therefore, you are at my mercy.”

She cleared her throat. “I do need to see Kaia. It has to be soon.”

Alder wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. “What would you be willing to do to see her?”

Her heart pounded, and she flattened her palms against his chest. “What do you want?” His kiss took her by storm. Scotia wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he ravaged her mouth.

The kiss continued until someone cleared their throat. Scotia leaned back and a blush fired across her cheeks as another Terran woman was looking at her.

She looked to Alder, and he nodded. “Be quick. Thaxis will be here soon.”

“Are you the station security officer? Kaia Whynot?” The bright pink and blue-green hair was a clue, but Scotia needed to be sure.

“I am. Who are you?”

“Demolition expert, Scotia Pickering, I need the defence access code for the station.” Kaia’s crystal-white eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

“Serious. I was assigned to blow the station, but I need that code.”

Kaia looked around. “I can’t really write it down.”

Scotia smiled. “I know. Whisper it to me, and the moment the station is above me, it will be gone.”

“Are you really another Terran?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have the mark to prove it?” Kaia’s eyes were canny.

Scotia leaned forward and whispered, “No. They don’t mark folks who sneak around and blow up Alliance tech that others are planning on using.”

Kaia giggled, and the next whispers out of her mouth were the words that Scotia was waiting for.

The moment that Kaia finished there was a roar and a voice shouted, “How does everyone know what my bedroom looks like?”

Kaia smiled and went to appease the furious male, and Scotia felt Alder’s arms around her. A moment later, they had gone from the dry, crisp air of Kaia’s home to the beach once again.

“Did you get what you needed?” Alder’s voice was hot in her ear.

“I did.” She looked up and did a check sequence on the station. Twelve hours and it would be within her range. Scotia had never detonated something from this distance, but if she could, it would be when the station was within visual range.

“Excellent. Now, let’s get you into more suitable clothing. You are wearing far too much fabric to be comfortable.” He took her hand and tugged her down the beach to a house that was almost invisible against the green of the jungle.

“Do you often haul women here?” She raised her eyebrows.

He chuckled. “No. The home has been in my family for five generations. The clothing that you are going to wear belonged to my great-grandmother.”

“Oh. Well, that is slightly less skeevy.” The sand twisted under her feet. It was surreal to be on a beach again without plotting to explode part of it.

Her skirt tangled and stuck as she began to sweat. “So, there is going to be less fabric?” He grinned. “It is warmer here than at the base, and we dress accordingly.”

The steps up to the house were designed to help the sand slide off their feet, but the slippers that she was wearing held onto the grains with a vengeance. “Gimmee a minute.” She sat on the top step and removed the slippers, dusting as much sand off her feet as she could manage.

When she was done, she examined her toes and wriggled them, the image of that severed suit leg foremost in her mind.

“What is wrong?”

“I still can’t believe that my leg came off.” He frowned and helped her back to her feet.

“There was a large chunk of your ship embedded in the control panel. It seems that it flew through you and into the panel.”

She shuddered. “That is so creepy.” He nodded. “As was seeing the amount of blood left behind. How the Heshi got you out of your suit is a mystery.”

“I wasn’t dressed?”

Alder paused before opening the door. “No. That was the peculiar thing. When I took them back to the wreck, your suit was lying on the command chair.”

She looked at him. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I am aware of that. Lillibeth has the majority of the items that we salvaged from the shuttle, so I do not think you have lost everything.”

“That isn’t what I mean. I mean, how could I get out of a suit when I was dead!” She made a fist and struck the wall, to her shock, her hand passed right through.

She stared at her hand, gripping it with the other to make sure that it was still there.

Alder blinked and slowly reached out to take her hand with his own. “I think we might have your answer.”

Staring at her hand, she looked up at him.

“What is happening to me?”

“The Heshi is exerting itself. Passing through solid objects must be one of its skills.” He led her inside, and lights came on as they moved through the front room, past the kitchen, up a set of stairs and to a balcony that stared out to sea.

He settled her and disappeared for a moment, returning with two lengths of fabric. Alder explained. “You wrap this around your back, over your breasts, cross it and around the back of your neck. The skirt simply ties at one side. I will leave you to get changed, and I will fetch something to eat.”

She was left alone with the fabric, and after four tries, the top was in place. The skirt was a simple sarong, and it allowed the breeze free rein. Being dressed for the environment made her feel better immediately.

Scotia stroked the back of her neck and lifted her hair to let the wind flirt with it.

“Do all the women of Terra have different hair colours?”

He was behind her, and as she turned, he set a tray down on a small table.

She laughed. “Brown, yellow, black and red are the base colours with variations in each shade. Kaia is a one off.”

“I like your hair. It is eternal sunlight.” Alder reached out and took a hank in his hand, letting the threads slide free.

She gave him a nervous smile. “And yours is snow and moonlight.”

“Ah, but on Ikanni, you are the exotic. Most of our kind have hair in shades of black or white.” Scotia looked into his eyes and cocked her head.

“Why are you pursuing me?”

“You didn’t accept the genetic explanation?” She shook her head. “No. The idea of jumping on another species on the off chance that they are compatible is short-sighted of you.” Scotia kept her gaze even, though her heart was pounding in her chest.

“You are right, Scotia. It was not genes. For some reason, I was in the right spot to see you fall from the sky. I watched the Heshi fly to you and knew that if one of their kind broke protocol, what they saved had to be fantastic indeed. Battered and healing, you were a work of art, and all other females have been pushed from my thoughts.” His voice spoke volumes, and she licked her lips. “You are really set on this, aren’t you?” He nodded. “I am. What is your opinion on the matter?”

As she stared at him, he stripped off the shirt he had been wearing, exposing a broad chest with sculpted muscle. She blushed as his hands went to his trousers and he suddenly sat in a chair and removed his boots.

“I don’t understand how they can wear this all the time, though it does keep out sand.” She chuckled and swallowed it in the same breath. He stood and resumed removing his trousers. She watched out of the corner of her eye, and her mouth watered as he was completely without one strand of fabric to mar the view of the onyx god standing near her.

H
er heart resumed normal beating when he wrapped his hips with a short sarong that cut off the fascinating view.

She cleared her throat. “Well, these clothes are far more comfortable if less concealing than the ones from Teyli.”

Scotia turned back to the balcony and looked out at the landscape. “Where is your village?”

“A short distance away. This house has never been seen by anyone outside the family, so in the Ikanni way, no one can transport here.” He joined her at the railing. “We learn how to get around by having someone take us to a new location, someone who has been there before. The Baels are taken from village to village when they are children so that they have a complete grasp of the locations of other population points.”

“For the purpose of stealing women?” The sun was beginning to tint with a red glow.

Alder laughed. “Or trading. We do not have sinister intent. Surprisingly, we are a fairly social people.”

“So, this particular spot…”

“Is only used by my family for holidays. Our talent is rather peculiar, and it requires some time away from others.”

She turned and leaned back against the railing on her elbows. “What does your talent entail?”

“Some Baels have an affinity for the people, some the land. I have it for the ocean. The water beats in my blood, and I need to be near it.” He braced his hands next to hers on the rail and stared out into the ocean.

“Do you surf?”

“What?”

“Surf. Um…paddle out on an ovoid board and then turn toward the beach, riding the wave back in while standing on the board. It’s a sort of a sport, something done for entertainment.” He tilted his head. “It sounds entertaining, but we usually just use boats or swim.” She chuckled. “I have never been on a board, but then, I have never been this close to an ocean before.”

“Why do I think that is not quite true?” She laughed. “Fine, never this close to the ocean and without a job to do.”

He shifted, and his body pinned her against the railing. “What is your job, Scotia?” She pressed her hand to his chest and smiled. “I destroy that which was left behind so that it can’t be twisted to a new purpose, and I try to do it with as little loss of life as I can.”

“It must have been exciting.” She quirked her lips. “It was exhausting. I am still on duty though, so I am afraid that I will have to wait to discover any more details of Ikanni social behaviour.”

“So, have you eaten since you woke?” He sighed and pressed his forehead to hers.

“No. I have not been hungry.”

“A swim then and a meal. Nothing wakes the appetite like a swim.” He smiled and leaned his body against hers for a moment before they were on the sand with the waves a few feet from them.

“That is going to take some getting used to.” She swayed in his arms and clung to him.

“I am sure you will adapt. Now, do you want to walk into the waves or do I carry you?” Scotia looked at the waves and blushed as she asked, “Can I wear my clothing?”

“It isn’t necessary.” He stepped a few inches away and untied her sarong with a flick of his fingers.

Her top slithered away as his fingers caressed her neck. With nothing else to cover her, water seemed to be the best option. She turned and walked into the water, rising up on her toes as the surf climbed higher and higher.

The chill in the water was a relief after the heat of the environment. Scotia took a deep breath and dove under, cutting the acclimatization short. She rose out of the waves, treading water against the heavy surf.

Alder surfaced next to her, and by his stable gaze, he was either standing or unaffected by the currents.

“Are you having trouble?” He reached out and took one of her arms, pulling her against him.

“I am not as recovered as I thought.” He towed her in, and she tried to grip his shoulders, but his skin was slick. It was his grip on her that kept her stable. “Come along, Scotia. It is only a little bit of distance to a wave break.” He swam with her tucked under one arm, keeping her head above water until they were, indeed, in a sheltered pool behind a rock wall.

He let her go, and she smiled. “Thank you. Fighting the current was harder than I thought.”

“You are still recovering from the crash, I should have thought about that.” He swam around her easily while she moved slowly through the water. It did feel good to shift her body through the slowly moving current. She turned and did the backstroke for a while before shifting to her stomach for a smooth crawl.

“And you know how to swim. I suppose I should have asked that before now.” He chuckled and turned in the water, a creature of shadow and light.

“They made us learn as children. I grew up in an area with a lot of lakes, creeks and rivers, so our survival was at stake.” She smiled and paddled over to the rocks, holding onto one of the stones as she rested.

“Are you tired?”

“I am a little lightheaded. Can I head back to the shore now?” She didn’t mean to sound plaintive, but she lost her grip and slipped below the water for a moment, coming up spluttering.

Alder lifted her, and the next moment, they were back on the beach, dripping wet. She coughed again, and he set her on her feet.

Alder apologised. “I am sorry, I just wanted to get into the water again and didn’t want to leave you here.”

“Next time, just go for a swim. It isn’t like I know how to get anywhere.”

He chuckled and ran his hands up and down her back as she shivered. Alder pressed a kiss to her forehead. She looked up, and he slid a kiss across her lips while warm air teased her hair and dried the skin that wasn’t pressed to his.

She felt the hot, hard ridge of his erection against her belly and rubbed slowly against him as she parted her lips and let her tongue duel with his.

She slid her palms up his chest and into his hair, holding tight. She wanted the kiss to go on and on, but her stomach rumbled alarmingly, disturbing the chorus of soft, wet noises and light gasps.