Craving: A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 8) (24 page)

Captain Fore laughed. "I'm not thinking about you like that at all. My mate is of the Surtu, immune to the disease. She is the only type of woman in this universe more valuable than a human. You're here because I want you to tell your people to surrender."

"You have already captured the Fortuna," I reminded him.

"I'm not talking about the Fortuna. I mean Earth. We are the first fleet to arrive, but we are not the last. More will come. Trust me when I tell you the Surtu are more powerful than you could imagine. Earth has two options – either the men can live out the rest of their days in peace, or they can die."

"Either way, the women belong to us."

"Why must it be war?" I demanded, before glancing over at Jidden, who stood as still as a statue. "I'm sure it's possible for a Surtu man and a human woman to fall in love if the two races were to integrate peacefully, without force."

"Love cannot be controlled," Captain Fore replied coolly. "We need control. There are very little Surtu women left. We're not here to ask permission. We're here to dominate."

To hell with that, I thought, but I didn't say it out loud. Captain Fore had offered me an advantage. I wanted to take it.

"I'll do it," I said. "I'll try to convince my people to surrender."

I had no authority on Earth. If I asked the leaders of Earth to surrender, no one would listen to me. Agreeing to do it would give me the opportunity to tell Earth everything I had learned from my conversation with the Fleet Captain.

He seemed pleased. "Good. You know what you need to do to protect your people, as do I. That's what makes us leaders."

I was hardly a leader, despite the false title I'd been given, but Captain Fore didn't need to know that.

"I will protect my people, whatever it takes," I concurred, hoping it came out as the threat it was meant to be.

Finished with me, Captain Fore dismissed us. "Take her back to the Fortuna," he ordered to Jidden. "Set up communication with Earth."

"Sir," Jidden said, bowing his head. Then he added, "And what of my promotion for overtaking the space station?"

I thought it audacious of Jidden to ask, but Captain Fore didn't seem to take offense. "We'll discuss it when we return to Surtu after the war."

Jidden objected. "I can be of use to you here."

Now the Captain was annoyed. "You're as much use to me as I say you are," he said, pulling rank. "We'll discuss your promotion back on Surt, but in the meantime, you will remain in charge of the Fortuna, even as other ships land. And you may have your choice of women to claim." He looked decisively at me.

"Just remember, no soldiers are to mate with the women unless they are light bonded. We're here to save the Surtu race, not parade our cocks around. Applications for a light bonding ceremony can be made directly to me."

"Yes, Captain," Jidden conceded. He placed his hand on the small of my back and gently guided me away.

* * *

"
Y
ou're upset
," I noted, feeling Jidden's tension through his hand. "You expected you'd be walking out of his office with your precious promotion – the one you would do anything to get. Do anyone to get."

"I won't talk about it," he said, his voice low and surprisingly calm. "Especially not with you."

I was outraged. "And what is that supposed to mean? You're the one who seduced me in the garden."

Swiftly, he pinned me against the wall of the corridor, his hand across my mouth. "You can't speak of that here," he decreed. "Don't speak of it anywhere. No one can know. Understood?"

He wasn't hurting me. Quite the opposite, his touch felt almost protective, his weight like a shelter. It sent a shiver through my body, kindling the same anticipation I had felt in the garden when he explored my core with his fingers, preparing me for when he entered my body.

But that was crazy. Jidden wasn't protective. He had made his intentions clear. He wanted to take his place among the leaders of the Surtu military. That was important to him.

I looked up, realizing we were standing beneath the arch that held the ships together. One step over and I'd be back in his command. I didn't look forward to it, but he was the lesser evil.

Unable to speak with his hand over my mouth, I nodded my understanding.

Relaxing, he let me go. "What happened before can't happen again," he told me, taking my hand as we returned to his ship. "We are not light bonded, nor will we ever be. Women are a distraction. They make men weak. I'm not looking for a mate."

"What does that mean – light bonded?" I asked.

His grip on my hand tightened. "I hope you never find out."

* * *

T
o an outsider
, it would be impossible to tell that the Fortuna was under siege. Now that their weapons had been confiscated, my sister warriors moved around at will.

Juventas, a burly street fighter, regained control of the mill pantry; the sweet scent of her bread floated through the South lounge. The gardeners were out among the trees with their buckets and spades. Others walked idly around, unsure of how to fill their days on the space station now that our training had stopped.

It was all quite normal, if not for the men who stood guard at every corner, their blasters raised high for show. With my new knowledge, I knew the blasters weren't the real weapons the used to keep the women in line.

The true weapon was fear.

They were in control, and the women knew it.

Even if we tried to run, we didn't have anywhere to go. The only escape from the space station was through a ship, and the few clumsy cargo ships we had once possessed were now under tight lockdown in the docking bay.

Having been released from Jidden's custody, I searched the space station for Lucina, but I could not find her.

It was my hope that Bellona had somehow found a way to save Lucina from the redheaded soldier that had taken her captive and that they were out there waiting to strike. Two assassins were stalking their prey. But it was unlikely.

"Terra!" I heard someone cry out.

It was Gallia, the true Commander of the Fortuna. I had taken her place as a ruse. She was the one destined to lead us.

"I failed," I said, holding back tears that wanted to fall. Warriors didn't cry. "I was useless. They knew all along."

"You didn't fail," Gallia told me sternly, and then she hugged me, her raven-black hair cascading around me.

The embrace wasn't to comfort me. "Do they know who you are?" she whispered, holding me close.

"No. They still believe I am the Commander. They're allowing me to call Earth later."

"Good," she said. "Keep it that way. I've taken your place in the kitchen. Being a kitchen mouse gives me the opportunity to listen in when the men are eating. I've learned a lot."

"So have I," I revealed. I was so quiet a dog would have a hard time hearing me. "Is there a place we can meet and discuss what we've learned?"

"In the temple, there's a hidden–"

A soldier appeared, his blaster pointed towards us. "Break it up, lovebirds," he ordered.

Regretfully, I pulled away. "Be brave," I coached, playing my role in front of our audience, knowing very well Gallia needed no inspiration. "Our destiny has not been determined yet."

"I hope not," she said, glaring at the soldier. "Because it stinks."

I waited until she disappeared in the direction of the kitchen before I continued to my quarters. I could feel the soldiers in the corridor watching .

Once inside, I leaned against the door, and I looked down into my hand. Before releasing me from our embrace, Gallia had given me something.

Emblazed on the top was the crescent moon – the symbol of our space station. The moon was feminine and divine, watching over the women of the Fortuna.

I wish I knew what the key was for or where it led.

* * *

J
IDDEN

Letting Terra leave and releasing her to the heathens reporting to me, had been harder than I'd thought. They couldn't touch her without the light bond. I took comfort in that. The soldiers knew the punishment if they disobeyed the Fleet Captain's orders. It wasn't pretty.

But I worried that one of the others would claim her and reserve her for himself while he sought permission with Captain Fore to hold a light bonding ceremony.

I would claim her for myself, but my pride had already won that inner struggle. I had no place for a mate in my future, especially with a war about to begin. Captain Fore was a fool to disregard me like he had. I had been useful before. Now, I had to prove that more than ever.

Kalij passed by me as he entered the ship. I grabbed his arm and held him back. "You're meant to be on patrol," I barked, having no patience for the soldiers today. They would feel my rejection, especially this dirty redhead.

He objected. "I'm tired. I was up all night making sure none of these other bastards tried to steal away my girl."

"Guarding her is all you better be doing; you know the rules."

"Unfortunately," Kalij grumbled. "Don't worry, we haven't mated. Yet."

"Don't worry, Sir," I corrected with my full authority.

Kalij looked like he was going to be sick. "Don't worry, Sir," he said, obeying me. "I'll wait until we're light bonded before I make her carry my sons."

"You should be praying for daughters," I told him, letting go of his arm. "Go patrol. And if you disregard your assignment again, you'll have nothing left to make sons with."

I knew he had something smart to say back, but he held his tongue.

Wise decision, I thought, and I stepped away, more worried for Terra than before. The pretty little blonde had certainly infatuated Kalig, but the Fortuna was now full of soldiers just like him who longed for a bite of the station's soft Commander.

* * *

T
ERRA

I was glad to be in my quarters and away from the leer of the soldiers. Unlike the sleeping quarters on Jidden's ship, the rooms on the Fortuna were much more appealing. Like the skintight white jumpsuits the women on the Fortuna wore, there was no discrepancy in our quarters because of rank. My quarters were the same as when I first came aboard, despite being Commander. I didn't need anything more. I liked what I had.