Hunter's Claim: The Alliance Book 1 (11 page)

“I’m happy for you,” Jordan whispered as
they walked through the entrance to the dining area. “You deserve
to be happy.”

Jesse stared at the back of Jordan in shock.
Her eyes moved around the room as she realized that she wasn’t the
only one realizing that her sister was growing up to be a beautiful
young woman. Dozens of male eyes followed Jordan’s willowy figure
as she moved to pick up a tray.

“I think I’ve traded one battle for
another,” Jesse muttered under her breath.

*.*.*

Hunter found Jesse in the recreation room
later that day with her sisters. Taylor and Jordan were playing a
game of Wiska, a three dimensional game where creatures battled
each other. Jesse was playing a tile game on one of the tablets.
His eyes flared with desire when he saw her face flush a delicate
pink when she realized he was staring at her.

“Hunter,” Jesse breathed out, looking at him
as if she wanted to devour him. “Are you off?”

“Yes,” he responded, glancing out of the
corner of his eye at Jordan and Taylor. “I was hoping… I’d thought
it would be nice to go for a walk,” he finished lamely.

Jesse’s lips lifted as she saw him run his
hands through his hair. He looked uncertain for a moment. She
uncurled her legs and set the gaming tablet down on the table next
to her.

“I’d love to go for a walk with you,” she
said. “Jordan, Hunter and I are going to go explore the ship. We’ll
meet up with you two later for dinner.”

Jordan absently nodded her head as she
concentrated on the move she wanted to make next. Jesse shyly
smiled up at Hunter as he threaded his fingers through hers. She
squeezed them to let him know that she was just as nervous.

“What did you do today?” Hunter asked as
they stepped out into the long corridor. “Did you get plenty of
rest?”

“I got plenty of rest. Thank you for that,”
Jesse said. She didn’t want to talk about her day or if she had
slept. She wanted him to kiss her. “We ate a late breakfast before
spending the rest of the day in the recreation room,” she said
instead, biting her lip. “What about you? How was work?”

Hunter shrugged his shoulders. “Boring. I
prefer to be planet side as much as possible. I worked on several
transports that had been damaged while we were on your planet. It
is important that they are ready. We will need to use them on our
next mission.”

Jesse frowned. “Are you going on another
mission?” She asked hesitantly.

Hunter nodded. “Yes, there is a planet under
the Alliance that has requested assistance.”

“What kind of assistance?” Jesse persisted.
“Are you going in for humanitarian purposes or is this a military
one?” She asked in frustration. “Are you going to be in
danger?”

Hunter stopped when he heard the tremor in
Jesse’s voice. He turned her toward him and tenderly brushed her
hair back from her cheek. He could see the fear that she was trying
to hide.

“It is a military mission,” he admitted
reluctantly. “There is always danger when we go onto a planet. We
have been to this one several times and I am familiar with what we
are facing.”

Jesse turned her face away from him and
started walking again. She wrapped her arms around her stomach
protectively as she didn’t want to think of him leaving. It was
just like before, when her dad had gone into work and never came
home. It was just like when her mom went to the grocery store and
never walked through the door again.

“When?” She choked out before clearing her
throat. “When are you leaving?”

“We will arrive in their orbit by tomorrow
morning,” he said staring at her stiff back. “I leave with the
first wave.”

Jesse turned to look back at him with cool,
calm eyes. “How long will you be gone?”

“A week, maybe longer depending on what we
find on the planet. It is a small uprising by a group of different
tribes against the established governing tribe that the Alliance
set up,” he explained.

Jesse was silent for several long seconds
before she nodded and turned back to continue walking. Hunter felt,
as well as smelled, the pain and fear that she was trying to hide.
He reached out and swept her up into his arms.

“What?!” Jesse gasped in surprise.

“I need you, my Jesse,” Hunter growled. “I
missed you while I worked. My mind was not on repairing the
transport. It was on the beauty of your skin under my hands and the
taste of your pussy on my lips.”

“Hunter!” Jesse whispered, shocked.

Hunter chuckled as Jesse’s face flared with
color before she buried it in his neck. He wasn’t lying when he
said he needed her or had been thinking about her nonstop. Dagger
had grunted at him more than once while they were preparing the
transport they would be using to get his head back on the job.

They had worked out their schedule so that
one or the other of them could be with Jesse and her sisters. Saber
had drawn the first watch. He didn’t want to think about the fact
that all three of them were assigned to go down to the planet and
would not be here to watch over the women.

Hunter turned the corner and stepped into a
small, unused relaxation room. He had discovered it four years
before and used the room whenever he traveled on the
Star
Raider
. It was smaller than the other relaxation rooms on board
and hidden away. He suspected it had been designed by the original
warship’s craftsman as his own personal reflection spot during the
building of the warship.

“Hunter,” Jesse breathed out as he lowered
her feet to the floor. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, it is,” Hunter murmured staring at
Jesse’s profile against the large window that looked out over
space. “Jesse, I need you.”

*.*.*

Jesse glanced back over her shoulder at the
thick tone in Hunter’s voice. His eyes were blazing a dark
yellow-gold. She straightened from where she had leaned over the
couch that was against the wall.

A shiver went through her as she reached up
to undo the buttons of her tunic. She shrugged her shoulders and
let the material fall to the floor at her feet. Her breasts swelled
as he stared at them, her nipples taut buds begging for his
attention.

She was not wearing a bra and the cool air
of the warship added to the feeling of vulnerability as she stood
in front of him wearing nothing but her leggings and shoes. She
slowly toed her shoes off and kicked them toward her shirt. Her
fingers moved to the top of her leggings and she pushed them down
and kicked those aside as well until she was standing in front of
him wearing nothing at all.

“I want you too, Hunter,” she whispered
huskily.

“Jesse,” he growled hoarsely, taking a step
toward her. “I… you make me feel things I do not understand. I look
at you and my chest hurts. When I think of you in danger, I feel
fear. Never have I felt this before,” he said touching her
cheek.

Jesse smiled and rubbed her cheek against
his hand. “You are wearing far too many clothes,” she murmured,
reaching for the front of his uniform.

Hunter let her undress him. It was such an
erotic feeling to have her slowly pull his clothing from his body.
When she started following her fingers with her lips, he broke out
in a sweat. He had planned on seducing her but it was obvious that
he was the one being seduced.

“Gods, Jesse!” He groaned as she pushed him
down on the long couch.

“You are beautiful, Hunter,” Jesse admitted.
“I love looking at you.”

Hunter nodded silently. His eyes drooped as
she pulled his boots off and tossed them to the side before she
straddled him so she could pull his pants off as well. His hands
immediately swept forward, cupping her breasts as they hung down in
his palms.

Her increased breathing and the scent of her
arousal showed that she was just as affected by undressing him as
he was her. He kicked his pants off and pulled her forward until
she was straddling his throbbing cock.

“Are you ready for me?” He asked, holding
her gaze with his own.

“Always.”

His loud cries blended with hers as he
pushed upward as she lowered herself over him until they were one.
He held her breasts in his hands as she began riding him. Their
whispered words wrapping around them.

They took each other with a fierceness that
spoke of their desperation and fear of what the future held. For
Jesse, her fear that Hunter would not return to her. For Hunter,
the fear that he had only imagined the beautiful creature that he
had claimed as his own would not disappear, leaving him alone in
the vast star system.

“I will return as soon as I can,” Hunter
said, touching Jesse’s tight jaw. “I promise.”

“We’ve heard those promises before,” Taylor
said bitterly. “You’re just one more in a long line.”

“Taylor,” Jordan whispered. “Not now.”

She’s right,
thought Jesse but she
didn’t say the words out loud. “Just… be careful,” she said
instead.

Hunter leaned down and rubbed his nose along
her cheek before pressing a kiss to her lips. It took several
seconds before she responded. When she did, he could taste the
desperation that she was trying to hide.

“Hunter,” Dagger called out. “Let’s go. The
sooner we get down there and take care of this the sooner we get
back.”

Hunter reluctantly released Jesse’s lips.
His eyes burned with determination as he stared down at her. He
would come back. He had never cared before when he was sent. He
went and did what he needed to do without worry if something should
happen. Now he had something to come back to. Stepping back, he
looked at Taylor and Jordan.

“I will come back,” he promised them.

“If you don’t, we’re coming to get you,”
Taylor said stubbornly. “We’re through with standing back and
waiting.”

A rumble of laughter echoed in the transport
room at Taylor’s words. Only one warrior growled in warning. Hunter
looked at Saber’s dark face and shook his head before turning to
grin at Taylor.

“If I don’t come back, I’ll expect you to
come get me,” Hunter teased before pulling Taylor into his arms and
giving her a big hug. “I am glad I have you on my side, little
one.”

“I love you too, Hunter,” Taylor whispered.
“Please come back. We need you. Jesse needs you.”

Hunter’s throat tightened and he felt a
strange burning in his eyes. He blinked several times to clear it
before looking at Dagger and Saber with a confused frown. Both of
the other men had confused expressions on their faces as well.

He released Taylor as she pulled back to
turn to Dagger. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his
waist and gave him a big hug.

“That goes for you too,” she whispered
before standing on her toes and giving him a kiss on his cheek. She
turned and scowled at Saber before hitting him in the arm. She
reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek while he rubbed
where she hit him. “Don’t let anything happen to you, old man. The
buzzards don’t like dried up fuddy-duddies.”

“I swear, Taylor, you are going to get your
ass spanked one of these days,” Saber growled under his breath.

“Yeah, well not by you,” Taylor replied with
a cheeky grin. “You’d never be able to catch me.”

Jesse chuckled as Saber took a step toward
her little sister. Taylor squealed and pulled her and Jordan in
front of her for protection. She could always hand it to Taylor to
lighten a bad situation.

“Just… be careful,” Jesse said.

“We will,” Hunter said before he nodded and
they turned away.

“Jesse?” Taylor asked in a low voice from
behind her.

“Yes, squirt,” Jesse responded, never taking
her eyes off the figures climbing into the transport that would
take them down to the planet.

“I’m scared,” Taylor whispered.

“So am I, sweetheart. So am I,” Jesse
whispered back, fighting tears as she watched the doors seal the
transport area close and the small warship take off.

*.*.*.

“What do you mean there is a situation?”
Jesse asked.

She had her back to the room and was looking
down at the planet far below. One week had turned to two which was
turning into three. The only news she was getting were the little
bits and pieces that she was picking up from the warriors around
the warship. She knew something bad must have happened when the
rooms would grow quiet when she walked in and the warriors stared
at her with compassion.

The commanding officer of the
Star
Raider
, Jag, stood stiffly behind her. He had postponed this
meeting as long as possible. The only reason he was having it now
was because the human female had charged into his personal quarters
with one of her sisters in tow and refused to leave short of
violence.

“This goes no further. The situation on the
planet turned out to be a trap,” Jag finally said. “The Alliance
Council is aware of what is going on and we have it under
control.”

Jesse turned and wrapped her arms around her
waist. Her face was calm, devoid of emotion. She didn’t give a damn
that the Alliance council was aware of what was going on. She
wanted to know where Hunter, Dagger and Saber were.”

“Where is Hunter?” Jesse asked again.

“I told you, we are taking care of the
situation,” Jag said coldly.

Jesse flicked a glance at Jordan who nodded.
“I’m not one of your warriors,” Jesse said coldly. “I don’t give a
shit about your Alliance, your situation or your need-to-know
information. I want to know where my husband is,” she said in a
low, menacing voice. She dropped her hands to her side, revealing
the long hunting knife she held in the palm of her hand. “I’ll do
whatever in the hell I have to do to get him back.”

Jag’s eyes narrowed on the weapon she held.
“Are you threatening me, female?” He asked in disbelief. “I could
snap your neck at the very least. You’ll be lucky if I just throw
you in the detention cell!”