The Marine's Queen (4 page)

Riba’s breathed settled into the even rhythms of sleep and why not? The previous days of dread, inadequate food and water and then trudging through the sand compounded the fatigue expected of a new mother.

But Callie couldn’t sleep. Now while his breath stirred her hair. She sought conversation to distract her from the stirrings of attraction.

“
Why do you help us?” The question formed the heart of her distrust. What payment of recompense would the marines eventually expect or demand?

“
You are civilians.” Joe’s spoke with the wary, hesitant quality she’d noticed earlier. He obviously recognized the words but he seemed to take time to interpret them and form his answers.

“
Civilians?”

“
The primary duty given to the Interplanetary Marines is the protection of civilians.”

“
You feel you have a duty to protect us?”

“
Yes.”

Could their actions really be so unselfish? Callie tested her hope that her staff might be safe while in the care of these soldiers. “Duty is important to you?”

“
Duty is all there is.”

“
No,” Callie said even though he gave the answer she wanted. She turned her head toward him and found his face closer than she’d expected. “There’s much more to life than duty.”

His gaze dropped to her lips, before he rolled to his back. His arm and thigh pressed tight against hers. “What more is there for such as me, Lady Callie?”

All the vicious things Yalo had said about their rescuers and Callie’s own harsh words rose in her thoughts. What indeed was there for such as Joe? He closed his eyes and fell asleep within a few breaths.

Callie stared at him and wondered if a soul swirled inside the angelic, warrior body? Was there more depth to the man than his incredible physical presence and an ingrained sense of duty? On what scale did one measure a man constructed so unnaturally?

* * * *

Something woke Callie. She burrowed closer to the heat against her front. It moved. She opened her eyes and saw an expanse of smooth, bare skin. A steady thumping beneath her ear sung of life and strength. Joe.

Sally whimpered, the sound that had awakened Callie. Joe held his breath and his heart pounded faster. Sally quieted, and he relaxed.

Callie lifted her head off his chest so she could look at him, wondering when she’d shifted to such an intimate position. Her legs tangled with his, and her hips pressed against him.

Joe stared over her head at Riba. Callie had only seen minute traces of emotion on his face before and struggled to decipher what she saw now. Wonder? Disbelief?

Callie could hear the baby suckling and surely Joe could see Riba’s breast as she fed her daughter. No lust gleamed in his eyes. After a while Sally burped and Riba made a soft sound of amusement.

Joe shifted, his legs pushed hers from between his as he tried to move away. But he had no place to go.

Callie laid her head back on his shoulder and reclaimed the tiny amount of open space between them. He was warm. She was tired. Trust was a worry for the morrow. Again he held his breath for a moment. He carefully wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

Sleep tugged at her, muddling her thoughts. She slid one of her legs back over him so her thigh brushed against his abdomen. She slid into a comfortable blackness of slumber and wondered dreamily why he’d brought one of his guns to bed. It made such a hard lump on his belly.

Chapter Three

It wasn’t a gun. Callie froze in the middle of her stretch when she encountered the lump again.

Joe made a small noise. He reached over his head, the movement forcing her to lift her head off his shoulder. He unsealed the bag and cold air rushed in as he scrambled out. He closed the sleep sack behind him but the warmth had gone.

“
Is it time to get up?” Riba asked. Sally stirred and complained.

“
Joe thought so.” Had he slept in such an uncomfortable state all night?

“
I wonder if he wants his shirt back?” Riba held up the camouflaged top.

“
I think he needed to cool off.”

Riba shifted and put the baby to her breast. “I haven’t been so warm at night since we crashed. Did you and Joe have enough room? I hope Sally didn’t wake you up.”

“
I was warm too.” Callie didn’t tell her Sally had definitely awakened them.

“
I think it’s still dark out. I wonder why Joe got up?”

Callie couldn’t help but smile. “I think he’s been up all night?”

* * * *

Joe offered Callie water from his emergency bag. The condensers had collected only a few cupfuls during the night. They had to reach the waterhole before dark. She shot him a glance and hefted the bag as if weighing it. He watched while she took a small sip.

“
It’s your turn.” Joe waited for her refusal. The men carried the ladies by turn, and Callie had passed on her last one. Roz carried the infant and the child in the lead position today while the others touted the adult women. Only Callie remained uncooperative.

“
I can walk.”

“
You’re slowing us down. Get on my back.” Joe turned around, his pack hanging over his chest and waited.

Callie sighed and placed her sun-reddened hands on his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist. Joe started walking while she still shifted in search of a comfortable position. There wasn’t one for him.

His body had yearned for her all night. He hoped it was only hunger for sex. Many times in the past he suffered from unfulfilled lust and learned he could handle the distraction. Today proved him wrong. His lustful thoughts refused to be tamed.

Acacia had climbed on his back without protest and Riba also. The only increase in his heart rate with those ladies pressed against him had resulted from fatigue. With Callie astride him, his heart thumped wildly as her soft legs pressed tight to his sides and her breasts bounced against his shoulders.

His legs burned as he climbed a steep incline. Thank Unon, the red rock formations now in sight marked the waterhole. Soon he could put her down and wash the smell of her from his skin. He could not pass another night without proper sleep.

“
Slow down, Joe. We’re leaving the others behind.”

He slowed, realizing he’d caught up to Roz. He let Callie slide off of his back when they encountered the first red boulders littering the desert. They walked around the largest rock protruding from the sands, and the small spring came into view. A few scrubby trees hugged the shore of the pool.

“
Can we live here?” Glory squealed in her high-pitched little girl’s voice.

Her cry startled the boarks lying beneath the trees. They jumped up and charged.

* * * *

Joe pushed the women behind him. He should have warned them about the boarks. Vin stepped up beside him, and Roz handed the children off to their mothers.

The female boark stretched out her neck, roaring and showing her teeth. Joe waited until she galloped within ten yards. He leaped to meet her, swinging his fist at her nose.

The shock traveled up his arm and into his shoulder as he connected with the soft tissue of its snout. With a massive grunt, the female slid to a stop and sat back on her haunches. The other smaller boarks piled into her, creating a large, hairy heap of the bear-like creatures.

“
Fash-cursed beasts,” Vin muttered. He swatted the lead female across the head. “Get up.”

“
Spirit Father, protect us,” Grace prayed, wrapping her arms tight around Glory.

“
What are they?” Callie stood behind Joe, breathing on his neck.

Joe stepped away, turning to make sure everyone had reached the plateau. Night would descend in less than an hour.

Acacia gaped at the stunned boarks. “They’re magnificent.”

Roz bent to check on the child. The little girl moved out of her mother’s embrace and flung her thin arms around the marine. Roz hugged her back! He actually touched Glory for no reason!

Vin broke into Joe’s shocked confusion. “Sir, we need to make camp.”

Grateful to the distraction from the unbelievable sight, Joe started giving orders. “Roz, start digging. Vin, secure the boarks. Tar, feed the women.”

Joe joined Roz preparing the bed pits. If they had more time they could have used the shelter of the rocks to set up a real camp before the temperature dropped. Yalo took up Vin’s shovel and joined them in digging. She glared at Joe and dared him to protest. He didn’t dare.

The women and children used some of the pool water to bath. The sun had warmed it, but in the morning it would have a layer of ice.

“
I thought we should use the same sleeping arrangements as last night,” Callie said as she walked over to him.

Joe gave a short nod of agreement, resisting the urge to salute but earning a frown from her anyway. Didn’t she want his agreement?

He and Tar checked the boarks one last time, making sure they’d calmed down. Then they joined Roz and Vin at the pool. They washed out their clothing and spread it on the hot rocks. The material would dry in minutes. They used sand to scrub off the grime of four days in the desert and rinsed with handfuls of the precious water.

The warm liquid did nothing to cool off Joe’s body. The night stretched long in front of him. “Roz?”

“
Yes, sir?”

They slowly pulled their clothing back on, the scent of sun-heated fabric pleasant and familiar. “Why did you touch the little girl like that?”

“
It comforted her.” Roz shrugged his shoulders and avoided Joe’s gaze. He stared at the ties on his pants as if it took all his concentration to fasten them.

“
What did it feel like?” Vin asked after a moment of silence.

Roz finally looked at them. “It made me feel … warm … not like with a woman … but all satisfied like I’d … I can’t say exactly.”

“
Remember these are civilians,” Joe warned them. “They’re under our protection. We should not think of them in any other way.”

“
Sorry, sir.” Roz snapped a salute.

Joe helped Vin cover up Tar and Acacia. The round, little scientist began quizzing the marine about the boarks before Tar even sealed the sack. Roz sealed his bed as they approached but not before Joe saw the child wrap her arms around the marine’s neck. Joe sighed and threw sand on top of the sack.

“
Your turn, sir,” Vin said.

Joe slipped into his bed, sealing it against the sand and cold. Callie squirmed to make room for him, and his body noticed.

How was he to reprimand Roz when his thoughts wandered to things more dangerous than comforting a child?

* * * *

“
We’ll spend a day here,” Joe announced as they dined on the same dried fruit as before. “The boarks need to learn your scent so they’ll carry you.”

Callie stared at the shaggy, white beasts lounging on the far side of the pool. Their shoulders stood taller than her head. Their thick legs ended in paws as large as two dinner plates. She couldn’t forget the curved fangs the boarks had shown during their terrifying charge on the previous day. “We ride them?”

“
Yes.” Joe walked away after giving his answer.

“
He doesn’t bore you with details, does he?” Riba smiled and shook her head.

Callie smiled around her yawn. She hadn’t slept well. How could she, knowing Joe lay awake beside her?

“
I hope there are other kinds of food in this place they’re taking us to,” Grace said.

“
They’ve survived on whatever they’re eating. Let’s have a little gratitude for being alive.” Yalo frowned at Grace.

“
You’ve changed your mind about these men you labeled freaks?” Acacia asked with a sly smile.

Callie answered. The two women often argued opposite sides of any issue. She couldn’t decide if they enjoyed the verbal sparring or if they really didn’t like each other. “The marines saved our lives. I’m not saying we should trust them but let’s not complain about their largesse.”