Prime Selection (14 page)

Nadia shuddered. She’d been so concerned with getting Bre to shelter she hadn’t realized how closely she’d cut it.

“Thank you all.” She took a deep breath and forced herself to remain strong. She could deal with the mission’s aftermath later in the privacy of her quarters with a glass of scotch and maybe Lia and Mel for emotional support. “I’m recommending you all for commendations and the appropriate medals.”

Before any of her men could say a word, Huw stormed into view. “Nadia! You are hurt! Why are you standing? What happened?”

A’tem and Bram moved closer and braced her; each man placed an arm around her, taking care not to jar her wounds. She was happy to have their help. Huw’s anger—and was that jealousy?—had hit her hard; it felt like an emotional punch to her gut. She sagged between A’tem and Bram.

“Back off, Huw!” A’tem snarled.

Nadia stared at her colleague in amazement. She’d never heard that sound from the normally calm—well, except in battle, that is—Volusian. “She’s injured and doesn’t need your attitude.”

*

Huw stopped as if he’d run into a wall. Shock, hurt, anger, resentment, and some emotion he refused to name flickered through his mind. Then he truly looked at Nadia and felt all the color go out of his face. Why wasn’t she unconscious?

His gaze burned across her body, categorizing her numerous wounds—two severe ones, one at the shoulder and an even more severe one at her waist, among a multitude of laser burns, bruises, and abrasions. His already chaotic emotional cocktail intensified. But it was the moment he realized her breasts could be seen by anyone looking hard enough that tipped him over the edge of any control he might have had.

The unnamed emotion, irrational jealousy, won out.

“You are practically naked under that jacket. A man’s jacket.” Huw’s growl started low in his chest and increased in volume and power. He fisted his hands, clenching and unclenching them. He would kill the man or men who had touched her, looked upon her beautiful breasts.

“Stop the growling and tone down the emotional tantrum.” Nadia shrugged away from the A’tem and Bram, who’d pay for touching her, later in the training room. She started to approach him. “I was shot. My jacket was shredded.” Glaring, she stopped less than an arm’s length away and jabbed her finger into his chest as if to punctuate every word. “A’tem gave me his. End of story.”

Her explanation and obvious anger directed solely at him did nothing to halt his rumbling. In fact, it became worse. So much so, the other Prime in the area stiffened and began to match him growl for growl.

“I order you all to stop growling.” Nadia shouted the order in a voice that clearly said do-not-mess-with-me.

It was all Huw could do not to laugh and growl at the same time. She sounded like a furious she-cat. He’d always liked she-cats.

Huw attempted to use the psychic connection with Nadia to see what she really felt, but all he touched was blackness. The same blackness he’d felt near the end of the battle with the entrenched mercenaries that had caused him to panic and fight harder to get to her. He’d needed to see she was okay.

A’tem, however, did laugh and received a glare that could cut stone from Nadia.

“You aren’t helping,” she muttered to the Volusian.

“Nadia,” A’tem shrugged, “I’m not sure there’s anything I can do to help.”

“Commander Nadia.” Bram spoke in a low, raspy voice.

Huw turned to stare at Bram and didn’t like the look in the crewman’s eyes. Well, he didn’t like any of the other Prime males’ gazes. The men, all of them, wanted Nadia.

Well, who wouldn’t? She was a woman to be admired and treasured—and Huw would be happy to court her, claim her, as soon as the mission for the Lost Ones was complete. He refused to dishonor either his destined Prime mate, if she existed, or Nadia by moving too soon.

What if Nadia’s unavailable after the mission?
That was something he refused to address.

Huw snarled at Bram who ignored him and continued to address Nadia. “You obviously need my and A’tem’s support, but Huw is losing control. His loss of control is inciting the rest of us. Are you sure you are not a couple? He is acting territorial. My father does this around my mother when he feels she is threatened by the presence of other males.”

“Nadia, do you want me to stun Huw?” A’tem asked.

Huw recognized that the Volusian looked forward to doing just that. Why were all these men mad at him and acting as Nadia’s champions? What had happened during the mission?

“No, I’ll handle it.” Nada looked up at him while the A’tem and Bram remained close enough to catch her.

Ansu bhau!
He wouldn’t let Nadia fall. If anyone held her up, it would be him.

He hissed, snarled, and growled at A'tem and Bram. His warnings worked; they backed off.

“Huw. Behave.” Nadia touched his chest and patted him in the area over his heart, the exact spot he’d had an ache since he’d landed on Tarn. Her touch was gentle and soothing, lessening the throbbing. “Calm down. I’m fine. We did our job—and we were successful. My team protected me.”

His full-throated buzz-saw growl subsided to a low rumble deep in his chest. Huw took the hand on his chest and looked at it. He frowned and wiped a thumb over the dirt and bloody scratches marring her fingers and the back of her hand. His rumble threatened to escalate.

“I’m fine.” Nadia continued to talk to him, her soothing voice the only thing keeping him from losing control. “A’tem took care of my wounds.”

Huw swept a finger over the bandages at her shoulder and her waist. “Lia needs to check these out as soon as possible.”

“I’m not the one who’s seriously hurt.” Nadia touched his face, swiping at something along his jaw.

He focused on the feeling of her finger on his skin—it elicited a warm and tingling sensation where she touched him. It made him want to smile.

“Huw?” Nadia’s voice sharpened.

She was ticked off at him—again. He didn’t like it. He began to growl again.

“What?” He wiped a smudge of dirt off her chin. She needed a nice long bath and her bed.

“Pay attention. Bre needs a regen bed.” Nadia looked tired. “Did you make sure one would be sent our way?”

Huw’s wildly erratic emotions settled at the exhaustion and pain in her voice. “Yes.

Two are on their way. I knew you were in pain. I ordered two.”

He couldn’t handle even the smallest distance between them any longer. He pulled her into his body and held her gently against him. Her head nestled on his chest, her disheveled hair tickling his chin. He rubbed her back from the point where her shoulders met her neck to the top of her sweet bottom and back. “I am pleased you are okay.”

Nadia felt too good in his arms, was too tempting. He could not with any honor court her properly at this time. So he didn’t attempt to stop her when she shoved at his chest.

He let her go. She stepped away. He watched her clench her jaw. She was in pain, but refused to let anyone know. He felt it sweep over her body; she might have shut off her end of their telepathic link, but her pain pounded his skin like thousands of fists.

“Nadia … you need to lie down,” he chided gently.

“Later. I need to make my report to Mel and Wulf.” Nadia straightened to her full height; no sign of weakness betrayed her to the men. Huw’s admiration for her grew. She was a warrior. She added, “I’m sure you can handle things here … right, Huw? A’tem and Bram can help me to the field headquarters.”

The warrior-woman needed a keeper; if she could walk more than two meters without collapsing, he’d be surprised. Courage and pride was one thing, but refusal to accept help was another. “Nadia, Wulf and Mel can wait on the report. You must have medical attention.” Huw reached for her, but she stepped away. A look in her eyes pleaded that he not shame her in front of her team.

He grunted and inclined his head, honoring her unspoken request.

Nadia turned to A’tem and Bram. “Gentlemen, might I ask you for your escort?”

“Gladly, Nadia.” A’tem came to her injured side and took her arm.

“It would be an honor, Commander Nadia.” Bram took her other arm.

Huw fought the urge to tear her away from the men who touched her. He didn’t have that right—might never have that right. The sooner the Lost Ones mission started, the sooner his questions, his honor would be resolved. And then, maybe, he could punch out A’tem and Bram for touching her. The thought gave him a small amount of pleasure.

“See you on the ship, Huw.” She walked past him with A’tem and Bram assisting her. She paused by the Jod brothers and spoke, “I’ll see you all later. Maybe once Bre is feeling up to it, we can dine together and discuss concerned mothers.”

Huw couldn’t help it—he snarled. Dinner? With the Jods?

The Jod brothers smiled and saluted her. Cas spoke for them. “We will be honored, Commander Nadia. Our mother will want to meet the woman who saved her eldest from sure death.”

Nadia smiled at the three brothers with more than a hint of fondness. “I would love to meet your mother. We’ll arrange it.”

Huw clenched his fists as Nadia moved away. He’d just added the Jod brothers to his tentative must-kill list.

Two Standard Days Later, Alliance Training Facility on Cejuru Prime
The large gymnasium was filled with the sounds of bodies slapping on mats, the squeaking of bare feet on highly polished wood floors, and the grunts, groans, shouts, and taunts of men and women training in various forms of hand-to-hand combat.

Today, a select group of female soldiers were paired with Gold’s Prime soldiers. So far the hand-to-hand fighting had been a lesson in futility. None of the men wanted to hurt the women and had been holding back.

Nadia had paired up with Bre to fight against Bre’s brother Cas and Aeron. Even after their experience with her on Tarn, the men still held back with her also. She was pissed and gaining on going ballistic.

“Time out!” Nadia shouted.

Cas obviously hadn’t heard her in time and his forward momentum took her out at the knees. She landed hard on her back and hit her head. For several seconds the huge fitness room spun around her.

As Bre and the other two went to their knees by her prone body, a roar of rage echoed around the cavernous room.
Huw!
Before she could sit up and assure everyone she was fine and merely had the air knocked out of her, Huw raced across the room from where he had been monitoring several groups, tore Cas away, and began to pummel him.

“
Dermo
! Shit! Help me up!” Nadia reached for Aeron and Bre who pulled her to her feet. She leaned against Aeron’s supporting arm for a split second before shrugging him off. “I have to stop Huw. He’ll kill Cas.”

“My brother can hold his own,” Bre assured her. After a day in the regen bed, the Prime was healthy again. He stood with his arms crossed on his chest and a grim smile on his face. “Huw has been asking for someone to put him on the ground all day. Let Cas have his fun.”

She couldn’t disagree with Bre’s sentiment: Huw had been difficult most of the day, especially toward Aeron and the Jod brothers, but still…“Cas did nothing wrong. Huw’s being an ass.” Nadia added, “As usual” under her breath.

Aeron snorted. He’d heard her. Damn good hearing the Prime had. She’d have to remember that.

She approached the combatants with caution; all she needed was a wild elbow or foot to catch her. The men were on the ground and wrestling for superior position.

Everyone in the training room had crowded around, yelling encouragement to their chosen warrior. But the fight went far beyond training as defined by the Alliance. A soldier didn’t put choke holds on one of their peers.

Huw was trying to kill Cas.

“Huw! Stop it!” Forgetting all about her resolve to avoid getting clocked by a stray punch, Nadia straddled Huw’s back; he was on top of Cas. She pinched a nerve on the side of Huw’s neck until he released Cas from the oxygen-depriving hold.

When Huw turned and attempted to dislodge her, Nadia barely avoided the punch he threw at her throat. His fist hit her shoulder instead and spun her around, throwing her off-balance. She landed on her butt this time.

“Nadia! I didn’t mean … I never would … are you hurt?”

Both ends of their psychic pathway had been selectively open since Tarn. It was as if he had to monitor her well being, and she had to let him. Yet, he also hadn’t physically approached or spoken to her in the two days since she’d walked away from him outside the cave. Which was why she chose to ignore the mental voice now; she wasn’t sure her answer would be civil.

Aeron was at her side immediately. “That was one way to stop them. A Volusian nerve hold. Well done.” He pulled her up and surrounded her from behind with his arms.

She wasn’t sure why Aeron felt the need to protect her, but that was how she read the attractive science officer’s emotions.
Shit.
He
did
have feelings for her. But his touch was wrong and made her skin itch.

“You okay, Nadia?” Aeron whispered against her ear. The sensation was like flicks of a whip and had her pulling away.

Conscious of Huw’s narrow-eyed gaze of molten gold, she patted Aeron’s arms.

“I’m fine. Let go, or he’ll attack you next.” When Aeron didn’t release her, she added, “Please.”

Aeron let her go slowly as if to taunt the beast seething inside Huw who had risen from the floor. He stood less than an arm’s length away from them, his hands clenching and unclenching and his lips twisted into a snarl. Damn, just what she didn’t need— Aeron and Huw going all ape-shit territorial on her, especially when the first man, the wrong one, wanted her and the other just played at it.