Determine (7 page)

Shrugging, she walked around the extended balcony and came in through the common area doors.

Starburn was organizing the supplies that Warp had brought in, and she walked up behind him.

“Can I help you with that?”

He turned and dropped the container he was holding.

She bent quickly and grabbed it, pressing it back into his hands. “Well? Do you need help?” His voice was strangled. “What are you wearing?”

“It is clothing to be worn on holiday. Since there is nothing here for me to do, I thought I would go on vacation, so I had to dress the part.” Breaker came into the room, saw what was going on and walked back the way she came.

He cleared his throat. “That is not appropriate attire for my wife.”

She looked down. “I am exposing less skin than you do on your days off. What is the problem?”

He put the container on the counter and gripped her waist, sliding his hands up and then down the bare expanse of her back. “This is a lot of exposed skin, Hydra.”

She inhaled when he dipped his fingers below the edge of her wrap. “What is appropriate for me to expose?”

“To others, nothing, for me, everything.” His hands cupped her buttocks under the wrap and lifted her against him.

She felt the fabric creak under the strain. He shifted his grip and slid one hand into the slit that exposed her left thigh, lifting her against him while the other hand bunched the fabric up as he slid it up the back of her right thigh.

Hydra felt air against her and looked down to see that they were above the base and he was rocking his erection against her through the straining fabric of his trousers.

“Reach down and free me, Hydra.” He held her tight as they spiralled through the sky.

Her hands trembled as she released his cock into her hand, and following his whispered directives, she wrapped her thighs around him, lodging him against her wet opening.

She held her breath as they dropped altitude, and he thrust into her. She screamed as they came within twenty feet of the ocean surface and shuddered as her orgasm struck her when he changed direction to climb, forcing her hips hard against him and burying him inside her.

She heard his wicked chuckle as he climbed again, his hands working her slowly on him. She clung to his shoulders as he thrust and retreated inside her, nipping at his jaw. Her nails dug in the moment that they started to fall again, and her excitement climbed with her terror.

Hydra shuddered as aftershocks gripped her when he resumed their flight. It was like fucking on a roller coaster. All she could do was hang on and pray she wouldn’t die.

An hour later and her legs wouldn’t hold her.

Starburn returned them to their rooms for a quick shower, and after, she pulled out a long opaque skirt with no sex appeal and a button-down shirt.

Two hold-overs from her original Terran clothing.

Her underwear had long since been destroyed, and she had yet to find anything of comparable fit and support.

When they returned to the common room, Tangle looked and sighed in relief. “Much more sensible.”

Warp looked at her, “What did I miss?” Breaker grinned, “Eighty percent of her on display, and what was hidden was easily accessible.”

Warp looked disappointed. “Damn it. Breaker, you are on the next maintenance round for the shuttle. I miss so much when I have to do it.” Starburn chuckled and even Hydra had to crack a smile. “Fine. Only polite clothing from now on. I thought the Nyal clothing sense was a little more adventurous.”

Breaker shook her head. “Only during mating season. Will this be your first?” Hydra was surprised. “My first mating season? Oh. Oestrus. No. I have had… ” She paused and counted, using her fingers. “One hundred and twenty cycles so far. I haven’t had any for the last two years. I was thought to be a little hard to manage once I entered Nyal space.” The four Guardians stared at her in shock.

Starburn asked, “One hundred and twenty?”

“Sure. That is the reason for the suppressor shot. Terrans can breed every three hundred days or so if conditions are right. I mean, our bodies aren’t up to it, but it is theoretically possible.” She slowly moved into the kitchen and got a pitcher of water, a set of glasses and a tray.

Her legs were still a little uncoordinated as she took tiny steps back to the conversation pit and winced as she stepped down. The tray wobbled alarmingly, and Starburn got to his feet, taking it from her.

She poured a glass and sat back, noting that they were all still staring at her. “What?” They blinked as one, and she laughed. “You are looking at me like I am growing another head.” Starburn wrapped an arm around her and pulled her back against the couch. “So, there is a likelihood that one day I might be a father.” She shrugged. “If we are genetically compatible. Just because we fit doesn’t mean that we can reproduce. I can stick a carrot in the toaster, but it doesn’t mean I can have heated vegetables anytime I want.”

“I think a reproductive specialist can probably move things in our favour.” He stroked her cheek with a smile. “That happens to be my mother’s speciality.”

Hydra’s eyes widened. “Oh. Right. Well, that would explain it.”

The others just shrugged and left it alone.

They watched the newscast and sighed in relief at the quiet day.

Warp asked, “So, Hydra, did you ever watch all the past newsreels of our exploits on Deyfell 4?” She shook her head, and they all began to rifle through their recordings of their favourite rescues and heroic efforts. They were showing off.

They watched the vids as a group, booing and cheering, reheating leftovers and munching on cookies late into the night. By the time it was over, Hydra had a much better idea of why they were so close and why they had accepted her in their group. They needed someone to break the tension that occasionally cropped up when they risked their lives over and over for folks who could not and would not understand them.

She was a combination of mom, the little sister, and the girl next door.

She dozed, leaning on Starburn while Warp showed a compilation of his greatest hits.

The chime that alerted them to the call to duty rang, and Starburn set her gently down on the couch, kissing her softly before he left to don his uniform.

The Guardians tiptoed around her as she drifted in and out on the couch. She smiled and had her nap, secure in the knowledge that she would be safe and that they would be back before she knew it.

Someone lifted her and carried her to bed, removing her clothing before tucking her in. She smelled dirt and seaweed as she turned to watch Starburn stripping off his uniform.

“Bad night?” She sat up and held the sheet to her breasts.

“Not bad. Tangle had to do most of the work.” He pulled off his mask and stalked into the lav while the bots scurried out of their panels in the walls and absconded with the dirty uniform, leaving a clean one on the stand.

When he emerged, he was working at his hair with a brush.

“Come here with that, Caalos.” She beckoned him, and he took a seat with his back to her.

Hydra took the brush in her hand and divided the fine stuff up into sections. She worked the hair from the ends to his skull and finally ran the brush through his hair with long, smooth strokes. When his hair was a straight curtain, she reached up and massaged his scalp, smiling at the groan of pleasure that she worked free of his throat.

When he was moving with her, she laughed and knelt higher, moving to massage his neck and shoulders with the same strong rhythm.

After a few minutes, he reached up and pulled her hands forward, pressing a kiss into each palm.

He kissed the mark on her wrist and started to move up her arm, pulling her around him and into his lap. “What did I do to deserve finding you?”

She laughed. “You had good taste in diners.” His eyes widened. “That reminds me.” He stood and set her back on the bed. She watched him as he rifled through data slips on his desk, and he found what he was looking for, raising his hand with a cry of triumph.

She blinked as he knelt in front of her with the small recording crystal in his hand. “What is that?”

He smiled, and his red eyes showed an affection that went far beyond the physical. “The recipe for the diner’s forty-seven-ingredient soup.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she took the crystal from him. She flung herself into his arms and whispered in his ear. “My hero.”

W
atching Starburn’s retirement ceremony from the podium was a strange feeling for Hydrangea. For the last three years, she had stood in the shadows and tried not to be noticed. Now, she was in an evening gown and applauding as the next Guardian was called up.

From this moment on, Caalos Renix existed once again and Hydrangea Renix would be with him. Cadian was sitting next to Hydra, and they watched as Starburn gave up his position in the Guardians to Blaze. They both wore decorative uniforms, including masks. Warp was now the captain of the team, Breaker second in command, and both of their wives were also in the audience, nameless and unrecognized.

Tangle was still single, but Hydra saw his gaze focussing on the server at the restaurant they frequented often enough that it was only a matter of time before the shy man was able to make his move. He had six months on Deyfell 4 to pluck up his courage, so Hydra hoped that he shifted himself into action when lives weren’t at stake.

She looked around and smiled at the familiar faces at the Academy. They may not recognize her, but she recognized them. Three years of travel and turmoil with the Guardians. Disasters, injuries and poaching women were always around the corner when you were mated to a Guardian, but now that Starburn was retiring, he was being forced into another roll that she would have to join him in, that of imperial heir.

Cadian Renix, empress of the few remaining Shosai, stood up for her son’s right to legitimacy though she and the Nyal emperor were not married by Nyal standards. They were, however, mates by the traditions of the Shosai. A child was all that was necessary to form the union if no other vow had been spoken.

While the emperor had acknowledged Caalos as his son, his nobles were not on the same track.

It was going to be a long and dangerous road to the throne, but who better to walk it with than a Guardian?

She walked out back and stretched. Arms came around her and lifted her into the sky. She turned in his arms and smiled, her mask matching his.

“So, you are retired now. Nothing more than the heir to an empire?”

He grinned. “That is correct.”

“Thank goodness. Sleeping with a hero was exhausting. I think having sex with a noble is supposed to be boring and bland. I can hardly wait.” She shrieked as he dropped her and then laughed as he caught her up and flew her to their private villa in the hills.

“Don’t taunt me, Hydra. I am no longer bound by my vows as Guardian.” His dark whisper in her ear sent a shiver through her.

Twenty minutes later, she was tied to the bed, and he was stroking her with fingers that enjoyed every inch of what they touched. She watched him cautiously and tried to move away.

Heat flared under his hands, and she moaned when he cupped her sex.

She watched the sensual cruelty as it lit his eyes, and she shivered again. In her bedroom, the difference between a superhero and a villain was the amount of resistance she was willing to put into her reaction.

The next hour passed as he teased her until she wept. He mounted her and thrust hard and fast until she screamed and he roared his release.

Curled against her, her limbs still wearing the silks that had tied her, she heard him ask, “Are you sure you will not mind life in the court?” She laughed. “I am sure I will mind it, but as long as I have a place to escape to and you come with me now and then, I will be fine. I will have the entire Nyal archive at my disposal. There isn’t one bit of data to be withheld and that is something that holds as much attraction for me as you do.” She ran her hand down his hip and patted his buttock. He flexed under her hand.

“We are on the way for a much longer journey together.” He held her hand, palm to palm with his.

“I look forward it. I will look forward to anything with you.” It sounded so trite, but after three years with him, there was a trust that only fluctuated while they were having airborne sex.

Fortunately, that was a fetish that he satisfied four times a year.

“Have I mentioned how lucky I am that you were determined to get that soup?” He chuckled.

“Once a week for the last three years.” She shoved him over and climbed on top of them. She squirmed her body slowly against his and whispered in a husky voice, “Go on, say it again, hero.”

He cupped her skull and pulled him to her for a kiss that scorched her toes and ended with him sliding inside her. As he arched and his cock pulsed inside her, she heard his whisper, “So very lucky.”

She had to agree, though she had yet to get the recipe perfect, this part of her life was doing just fine. She had a life, she had a family of sorts, and she had her hero.

Add the news that Cadian had given her that evening and life was indeed, just getting started.

The first book in the Nyal Imperium was
Burning
Ceres
. For a good description of the hows and wheres of Nyal culture, that is a good place to start.

Most of
Enraptured
also takes place in Nyal space.

Well, in the next book,
Destined
, we meet another group of Guardians and a Terran who can paint your destiny with your portrait. She doesn’t get to finish many of them, but she starts quite a few before an off-duty Guardian comes to her door and asks for her to paint his portrait. When she finds her own face appearing at his side, she tries to stop, but he insists that she finish what she started, and now, the shoe is on the other foot.

Is she willing to show him his destiny when hers is tied tightly to it?

Tune in next time for
Destined.

(By the way, this book rode my brain like a slip-n-slide. I hope it doesn’t show.) Thanks for reading,