Last Flight of the Ark (21 page)

Could he save them, or had he destroyed them from the moment he’d infected them? He’d lost weight in the last few months, unable to carry an appetite. He was exhausted from the constant struggle with his conscience. He’d seen what the residents of this world were and he knew his bones and the bones of the crew and colonists would be in that pile outside the slaughterhouse if he hadn’t done what he’d done, but it didn’t make him feel any better about it.

He’d destroyed one species and changed the fate of another. He’d held their lives in the palm of his hand and played God. He’d decided who should live and who should die, and employed a horrific weapon to further his means.

Things like that didn’t come without a price. He could feel it. The day was coming where he’d have to answer for what he’d done. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt them.

Melissa’s eyes fluttered open. She untangled her body and rolled from the bed. “Are they here? In orbit?”

He shook his head. “We’ve got people from the northern colony arriving this afternoon to help with some engineering problems at the solar power plant, but the big boys haven’t shown up to play yet. I was watching you and Jessica. I’ll never get enough of that. I guess I’m just a little edgy about Earth Command’s arrival. We should have heard from them by now.”

Everyone was edgy and it was to be expected. Earth Command knew nothing of the mutation that affected them and they’d worked hard to maintain the facade. If it was discovered, they’d quarantine the world and try to cure what afflicted them. They’d already come face to face with the end result when they’d learned the history of the people who’d once colonized this world and swore it wouldn’t happen again. If living as part man and part wolf was the price, they’d gladly pay it to save Earth from the destruction they’d bring down upon themselves.

It wasn’t the first time Melissa had jumped to that conclusion when she’d caught him watching her. Last week, she’d had half of base camp out of their beds and at the docks before he’d gotten a chance to tell her it was a false alarm. A part of him wished Admiral Johnston’s ship would hurry up and arrive so everyone could learn their fate; another part dreaded it. Who knew what Earth Command would do when they found out about the mutation?

They’d done everything they could to maintain an appearance of control and organization. They’d formed several governing groups and pack law kept the inhabitants in line. The Alphas had tough jobs. The aggressive nature of the hybrids went beyond normal human behavior. At times they could be all animal.

Once they’d figured out their natures, it was easier to control the animal side. Still, there were a few troublemakers, renegades who cut away from the pack and prowled throughout the countryside. He needed to keep control. They might be part animal now, but they still had a job to do and that meant colonizing the planet as ships arrived, and doing it smoothly. As long as He controlled the shuttle drops and oversaw each mission, as long as he kept control over the mutants, Earth Command wouldn’t have a reason to destroy them.

Melissa ran a finger down the front of his shirt, stopping on the top button. “Do we have time?”

Kaleb smiled and shook his head. No, they didn’t, but it didn’t stop his cock from jumping at the thought of testing it. Even if Earth Command wasn’t in orbit, he still had work to do. He had to check the security in all sectors, including the northern colony. Just last week he’d prevented a disaster when he’d caught a couple of the renegades attempting to steal a shuttle and fly to the colony, which he had placed on an island to prevent such contact. He wouldn’t put it past them to make another attempt. They wanted their families, and they didn’t like that they were given no choice. What he’d given them was better than death, but they didn’t see it that way.

He had no idea if Earth Command had received the message he’d encoded with the weather reports. They hadn’t tried to contact Terra II. When he tried to contact them, he couldn’t get through. They were either keeping radio silence or not getting his transmission. He’d know for sure when Admiral Johnston arrived. Until then, it was a gut-churning waiting game.

“Later.” He grabbed her hand and raised it to his lips.

He didn’t like to leave his mates alone for long periods. The renegades knew they were his and he wouldn’t put it past them to hold them hostage to get what they wanted. Even if the base was secure, he didn’t like it. They’d already proven they could get inside with enough effort.

“Get dressed. I have to step out for a couple of minutes, but I’ll return to get you both.”

Instead, Melissa walked toward the shower and glanced back at him. “I have to take a shower first.” Kaleb sucked in a breath. He’d never get tired of staring at her ass.

Damn if his prick didn’t take that as an invitation. He could smell her arousal and a shower with her promised to be more than a shower. He could spare a few minutes. The control center could wait. He followed.

As he stepped through the door, she slammed it shut behind him. Melissa shoved him against the door and ground her body into his, yanking his fly open.

***

She’d never get tired of the taste of him, of the way he made her feel, both emotionally and physically. Until Kaleb, Melissa had never bothered much with men. They didn’t understand her deep enough and the attraction wasn’t there.

Something had happened during their trip through space. She’d learned who she truly was and to whom her heart belonged. There was room in her soul for both a man and woman: the gentleness of Jessica and the determined strength of Kaleb. They were her soul mates, for whom she’d waited a lifetime.

Her attraction and love for Kaleb hadn’t happened overnight, but had grown on her slowly, as if she’d awoken from a deep sleep. The closer she worked with him, the more she loved and bonded with him.

He’d comforted her when she’d lost her sister, driven her nuts throughout the trip and the last months on the planet. He’d taken and given, heated her passion and temper. Around him, she felt both a woman and an officer.

Though the pain of her sister’s death was horrific, she’d known, when he’d dropped to his knees before her as he’d broken the news, that she could go on, that things would be okay. He didn’t lay blame or bring up the fact that he’d been right about the hijackers. He’d simply held her and let her grieve.

She still loved women. They brought a beauty and gentleness to sex that couldn’t be duplicated, but now she’d made a place in her life for one male. He completed their trio in a way she’d never imagined anyone could. He gave her strength when she needed it and independence to be who she was.

A woman who loved a woman and a man.

She walked him backward to stand under the steaming waterfall. Showers on the planet weren’t like they had been in space. They felt clean, like standing in unpolluted rain. It brought out the animal in her, a wildness that added to sex.

He tipped his head and let the water slick his hair back. The shower soaked his uniform, but he didn’t seem to mind. He dropped his chin and leveled his gaze on her. “Most people like to take showers with their clothes off.”

“You look great wet.” She let her gaze travel down his body. His white shirt was transparent now, plastered to his body, molding to every hard ridge. It teased her vision with all that made him male. A strong chest, rippled stomach. A trail of hair led from his belly and continued down to where she’d yanked his fly open. His boxers clung to his body, making his cock look as though it was painted with the plaid material. Every detail showed, from the top of the head where it mushroomed out to the long, thick shaft and the vein that ran down the underside. She reached out and brushed her fingers along the erection.

He shuddered.

“Better naked.” She grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. This morning she felt aggressive. He’d let her take the lead. He understood her moods better than anyone. He knew when she wanted to play rough and when she wanted to receive. Melissa lowered her mouth to his chest and kissed her way down his belly, dropping to her knees as she went. She needed him alone this morning. She dragged her teeth along the wet material and across his erection, teasing it harder. She yanked his boxers and pants down, freeing his cock.

Kaleb groaned and leaned back against the tile, bracing himself. It was a good thing he did. She planned to make him feel every touch, every kiss. Melissa took him in her mouth, sliding her lips down his cock while one hand gripped the shaft. He tasted salty. His essence flooded through her senses. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the taste of him, the smell of his lust, and the way the pulse of the blood in his cock thrummed against her lips.

He slapped his hands against the tile wall. “Christ. You’re killing me.”

Melissa slid her lips up and down, sucking him to the back of her throat, being sure to put just slight pressure on the vein on the underside of his cock as she drew away. In and out. Slow and strong until every muscle in his body locked rigid. She brought him to the brink and then eased up. Melissa released him.

“I didn’t mean stop,” he growled.

Melissa slid up his body and kissed him. She took her time and nibbled on his flesh. Goose bumps exploded across his skin, even under the steamy falls. Melissa brushed her lips to his. “I need you inside me.” She reached up and grabbed an overhead bar they used to hang towels and lifted off her feet. She wrapped her legs around him and yanked him to her. “Now.”

He pressed his cock against her lips and drove in. Melissa released the bar and slipped her hands into his hair as he swung her around and pressed her against the tiled wall. She rocked her hips and he drove deeper and stopped. Kaleb rested his forehead to hers and stared into her eyes. “I love you.”

Her heart did a roll. He didn’t need to speak it. The look in his eyes….“I love you too.”

He began to move, in and out, following her cues. She whimpered and nipped his shoulders. “Harder.”

Flesh pounded flesh, frantic, hard, ecstatic. A hunger burned through her, lighting a fire in her belly. He began to swell, stretching her tighter, pushing her closer and closer with each thrust. His muscles began to tense, and she heard his breath hitch. He fought his release, waiting to please her first. Jolts of lust slammed through her body at the knowledge and the world exploded around her. Her pussy clenched down on him, spasming in wave after of wave of pleasure. Each thrust increased the strength of her orgasm.

Kaleb exploded inside her, throwing his head back and howling. Nothing was a satisfying as the sound of his pleasure as he took her. Melissa began to orgasm again, harder, more powerfully than before.

Eighteen hours later

“Colonel Titan.”

Kaleb rolled over in bed and grabbed the headset. “You better have a damn good reason to wake me at this hour, Frank.”

“Sir, I can’t tell you over the com. You need to meet me at the tower, pronto.”

He groaned. Fucking renegades again. It had to be. What was it this time? Did they set fire to one of the warehouses? With Earth Command due to arrive any day, he had patrols searching the forests to capture them. Fifteen had defected and were doing their own thing, which included bombing, pillaging, looting, and being a general pain in his ass.

If he could catch them, they could lock them up until he dealt with Earth Command and the bigger issue of how to explain what he’d done.

“I can assure you, I’ve got a damn good reason, but I repeat, I can’t say what over the com.”

He sat up. If Frank was being cautious about relaying information over the com, it meant one thing: someone else could be listening. Earth Command had to be in orbit, which would put them right on schedule.

“Roger. I’ll meet you at the tower.” He crammed his legs in his pants and stood to pull them up. He yanked the headset off and threw it against the wall.

Melissa rose up on her elbow and propped her head in her hand. “What’s going on?”

“Earth Command is in orbit. I can feel it.”

“Okay, we can do this. Not a problem. Take a deep breath. We’ve been over this.” She reached for her com and found it missing. Melissa bolted to her feet, panic in her eyes. She scanned the room for her headset. Kaleb slipped it behind his back. Even though she was freaked, she tried to keep him calm. Something about it was so endearing. “I need to get a team to the docks, set up the briefing room, and contact security to—”

“Melissa.”

“The perimeters. Shit. Are they secure?”

“Melissa.”

“I have to talk to Frank.” She reached over and grabbed her shirt. “He’ll know if we can expect trouble from the renegades.”

Kaleb snatched the shirt and tossed it to the side. “Relax. Stay here. Keep the doors locked and your weapons handy. Something’s up and Frank won’t tell me over the com.”

“Oh, hell no. We’re in this together.” Jessica snored and rolled to her side. Melissa turned to her. “That girl could sleep through an artillery barrage.”

“As you should be doing.”

“You really expect me to stay here and rest? I’m going.”

“Not this time. You’re staying. That’s an order.”

Melissa narrowed her eyes. “And if I don’t?”

“You are not immune to the laws. Break this order and you will receive the same punishment as any other soldier under my command. Panicking isn’t going to do anyone any good.”

“I’m not panicking.”

Kaleb raised a brow.

***

Ahead, near the communications tower, Frank and a squad of five men waited. Frank stared at something in his hands. He lifted his head and waved, signaling him over.

Kaleb approached, studying the group. Three of the men were Special Operations, and Frank wouldn’t have brought them along unless he was expecting trouble. Big trouble.

“What’s so important?”

“Besides Earth Command being in orbit?”

“I figured that was some of it. Now tell me the real reason I’m here.”