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Orbiting Earth
Etterian battleship, Gladio
Year of 2254, September – October
When Garix rushed out of the quarters, abandoning her without a backward glance, Izzy collapsed into the nearest chair, gratitude warring with the explosion of heat in her belly.
His name ‘Oyaz’ sounded so exotic. She shivered, reveling in the tingles racing across her skin and puckering her nipples. Holy balls of fire, he was gorgeous.
Humming, she replayed the call, wondering if she had made a fool of herself again. With a slam of a fist into her palm, she leaped to pace, but her gaze snagged on the lifeless black screen.
Etterians shared similar features: long braided hair linked to their honor, broad shoulders, and sculpted bodies. When Garix exercised with his greatsword, she had to admit to peeking—and salivating.
Yet, when Oyaz’s face had appeared on the screen, her senses burst into life, while she struggled to latch onto her zooming thoughts.
Closing her eyes, she recalled the shape of his wide forehead, raven-winged eyebrows above hooded dark blue eyes. His long, perky nose ended on wide full lips that broke into smiles as easily as Garix did. His cheeks narrowed into a chiseled jaw, with one dimple forming, slanting his smile. Flustered, her words had stuck to her tongue.
And he had listened to her, as if she mattered. He hadn’t treated her like a child.
She sniffed, fighting the swell of disappointment making her eyes water. She wasn’t his Dar Eth. His eyes hadn’t changed color to that mesmerizing crystal blue like Malo’s. Then again, once Oyaz met her, he wouldn’t want her either, not someone so petite. She had to find a shorter Etterian, if such a male existed.
Not wanting Garix to see her tears, she hurried to the bathroom and spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to activate the water at the basin. Giving up, she shoved her hand in the cubicle and squealed when the spray drenched her.
Giggling at her silliness, she pressed the blue button and let the hot air dry her damp robe, hair, and cheeks. When she gathered her discarded clothes, she raised them for a sniff, then jerked back. There was no way she could wear those until she washed them.
“Izzy?”
“In here.” She strolled through the door with her clothes tucked under her arm and a fake smile plastered on her face. Dumping her clothes on a chair with the sneakers balanced on top, she flicked a thumb at the rectangles on the counter. “How did you order your uniform? Did you call it from storage? And can we leave for home? I need to call Simmy.”
“Come.”
Izzy gawked when Garix took her through the functions of a replicator, for non-edible items, and the rehydrator which carried a menu spanning species, not just of Earth. He had altered the strange symbols into English and waited for her to try it out. At first, she couldn’t think of a single thing she wanted. Her cold coffee sat on the table. She was still full from dinner, and whatever she chose would forever be compared to Eve’s choice. Izzy might be the first woman to eat from the Garden of the Rehydrator. Snickering, she punched in an apple and gasped at the bold red fruit that materialized before her.
“Granny’s nipples, Garix, this’s amazing.” She snatched it off the counter and squeezed, testing its texture. With one bite, she closed her eyes on a moan. It crunched as she chewed, and the sweet juices coated her mouth like a real apple would.
“Now, comm Simmy.” He gestured to the black screen. “Speak her full name, and the system will use the nearest capable device to open a connection.”
Izzy gaped with her mouth full, then whooped, swinging her hips while dancing on the spot. “So easy?”
He chuckled. “Yes.”
“How much does it cost?” She had money, but maybe not enough for an intergalactic call.
He guided her hand to his mouth for a quick bite of her apple, taking half of it. “No cost. Etteria pays for whatever we need.”
She stilled with a finger across her lips, struggling to swallow past the apple caught in her throat. “Free?” she squeaked. Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes. She coughed to clear her airway.
He wrapped his massive mitt around her hand and towed her with the gentlest of tugs. “Speak your sister’s name.”
She squared her shoulders, positioned herself in the middle, and leaned forward until her lips were an inch from the screen. “Simone Elora Reeves.”
The screen flickered and filled with a view of a ceiling.
“Simmy?”
A scream followed, then Simmy’s wide gray eyes filled the rectangle. “What the hell?”
“Sorry, sis. I’m calling with news.” Izzy giggled, tossing her hands high as she did a quick jig. “Are the journalists still bothering you?”
Simmy huffed, placed the phone down, and carried on working on her art. Izzy was used to this. As a blind person, face to face meant nothing to Simmy unless Izzy was in the room with her.
“They’ve camped on my porch. The fucking audacity.”
Izzy winced. Sure, she swore when the situation called for it, but years with curse-sensitive Caro had made her aware of her ‘unladylike’ vocabulary.
“Well, I spoke to Oyaz...” She sighed, just saying his name exploded butterflies in her chest.
Simmy reached across the phone for a palette knife. “Who?”
“Supreme Commander Oyaz. He will send two warriors to chase away the mean journalists and ensure no one bothers you.”
“What?” Simmy’s face appeared again. Anger furrowed her brow and twisted her lips. “Are you fucking insane, Izabelle? I don’t want anyone. Just peace and quiet. What has this world come to that even that’s threatened?”
“You won’t know they’re there, Simmy.” She tossed a glance at Garix and grimaced. “Um, there might be a bigger threat than the humans.”
“Humans?” Simmy jerked as if Izzy had slapped her.
“Yeah, I bit an alien, and now that they know my name, it’s a matter of time...” She was the worst sister. Simmy should just cut all ties. Not knowing Izzy was the safest for her. “I’m sorry.”
“Why did you bite someone? You’re not making any sense.” Simmy pinched her brow as if she warded off a headache.
“He tried to take Izzy, Lady Simmy.”
Her sister gaped before color exploded across her cheeks. “Who the fuck? You’re not alone?”
“Sorry, it’s Garix. I’ve mentioned him, haven’t I? He’s my Etterian friend.” She frowned. The conversations she had with Simmy were always short and never sweet. “Regardless, we’re on Iceberg status.”
“Aliens, warriors, Etterians...and now a fucking iceberg? I’m not falling in with that shit, Izzy.”
Curling her sticky fingers into fists as fury shook her limbs, Izzy fought the urge to stomp and roar, going Sister-zilla on Simmy’s ass. “I don’t care how you feel about this. Your safety’s at stake. If a man says the password, you’re to go with him.”
Simmy parted her mouth, but Izzy had had enough. Couldn’t her sister tell she was only trying to live up to the promise she made Dad? Why did she have to make things difficult?
Izzy’s face caught alight, inflaming her cheeks to her hairline. “Fuck it, I’m done. Go get kidnapped by sharklike men. Go be their sex slave. You’re more than up for it, virgin and all.” At Simmy’s wince, Izzy glared at Garix. “End the call...please.”
“End comm.”
The screen flickered to black again, but the fire still burned along her veins. She was ready to murder Simmy. As Izzy fell into a pace-skip, her limbs twitching, she cast a pleading glance at Garix. “I have to...walk, run, jump, do...something.”
Frowning, Garix ran a gaze over her and headed for the replicator. He returned and shoved workout clothes at her. “Change.”
She bolted into the bathroom, tossed aside the robe, then yanked on yoga pants, and a tight tank. Scowling at herself in the mirror, she bounced on her toes, jiggling her breasts. So like a man not to realize she needed...support. With an arm across her chest, she headed for the replicator and punched in sports-bra requirements. When the black garment formed, she snatched it and disappeared into the bathroom again. After contorting herself into the contraption, she peeled the tank on again, and bounced, testing the bra’s give.
Satisfied, she skip-jogged to where Garix waited by the front door.
~ * ~
Izzy spat her hair out of her mouth, and with a flick of a wrist, wiped the sweat dripping into her eye. She glared at Garix and swung forward punches, keeping her legs spread, her weight on her front foot, and her thumbs tucked under her fists—as he’d taught her.
Exhaustion tremored her limbs, and her knees weakened by the second.
“Still hitting like a girl?” she huffed, pummeling his palms.
Air tickled her spine. The training mat was smack damn in the middle of the common. Riveted, many males ogled her like the latest space opera Love and Supernovas where Milisande had just discovered her husband in bed with her sister.
Izzy rolled her shoulders, trying to focus with her face so hot. Waves of nausea churned, along with spells of dizziness. She’d been about to call it a day when Garix said she punched like a damu. The ass. And he chuckled, enjoying her pathetic attempts to prove him wrong.
“Granny’s nipples, I’m done.” Her arms fell to her sides, and she couldn’t draw the energy to lift them.
Her audience stamped their booted feet, the reverberation rippling through the mat and up her bare toes. She pasted on a wide grin, faced them, and did the most ladylike curtsey she could muster without fainting like a damsel-in-distress.
She ignored the bitchy thoughts that said she looked like a drowned rat with the way her hair clung to her sweat-drenched skin. Fuck it, her appearance didn’t matter. A bottle of water, a shower, and the sweet softness of a pillow were all she wanted.
Garix said nothing when he led her to their quarters. She didn’t bother asking for a shuttle to return home lest he suggested a porting. Not in the mood to be dematerialized, she opted to pinch her lips shut and shuffle behind him.
He called forth a metal container of water from the rehydrator, and after she downed it, relishing the cool liquid soothing her parched throat, she trudged into the bathroom. The shower was hotter than normal, but she stood there, let it wash the sweat off her body and ease some of the stiffness settling into her muscles. Forgoing the blow dryer, she pulled on a clean robe, wincing as shards of pain protested any movement. She stumbled across the lounge, through the other door, and onto the massive bed.
Where Garix slept wasn’t her problem.
But when he woke her ten minutes later, she groaned, tossing curses and threats at him. “Flaming nipples, go away.”
“Come now, ensa, Supreme Commander Oyaz has commed.”
Argh. She didn’t move, didn’t twinge. Every inch of her throbbed, twanged, pulsed, and tremored. And now the sexiest Etterian she knew had called. Her inner girl squealed, spiking joy. She lay there, letting it bathe her in welcome warmth until her toes tingled. She whimpered, even her toesie wosies hurt.
“What did he say?” she mumbled into the pillow, then huffed to blow her hair out of her eyes.
“He is waiting to speak to you.”
“What?” She bolted upright then slithered into the same sprawl Garix had found her in. “I’m in agony. I’ll call him back.”
“Ensa, come. I will order you coffee while you cleanse.”
He said coffee, the evil alien. “Meanie.” But she wiggled a leg off the side of the bed, let it fall to the floor, then with a grunt, pushed herself up. Every step jarred forth a gasp, as if someone had locked her knees.
“Who calls at this time of night, Garix?” She whirled on the spot and cried out when fire lanced down her thighs. Closing her eyes against the sting of tears, she willed herself to remain immobile. “Is Simmy all right?”
“Lady Simmy is fine.” Garix placed a hand between Izzy’s shoulder blades, his touch hot and soothing, even as he nudged her to the bathroom. “It is ten in the morning, Izzy.”
“What?”
Garix laughing earned another glare from her. “Shall I add pain medication to your cleanse?”
She gaped, letting her mouth fall into an ‘oh.’ “You can do that?”
He frowned. “Yes.”
She smacked his arm. “And you tell me this now? Here I’ve been dying, my muscles spasming.”
“This is not normal for Earth?” he asked before shoving her into the bathroom.
“No. Duh.” She huffed then offered a weak smile. “Please to the pain meds. I want to feel nothing.”
Garix snorted. “A little is all you need, Izzy.”
The bathroom door shut behind her. After using the toilet, she removed the robe and draped it over the closed toilet seat. She stepped under the shower’s spray. When the heated water flowed over her, she moaned and rested her temple on the white tiles.
She imagined the stiffness and constant aches spiraling down the drain. By the time she climbed out, using her limbs didn’t hurt as much. With a smile, she spun so that the blow dryer reached all of her while she tested the ability to move. Slight stiffness and pulsing pain lingered, but not enough to incapacitate her.
Snapping the robe in place, and with one glance at the mirror, she shrugged. Sure, her hair didn’t look like her aura was powered by the electrical company, but her face and her size hadn’t changed. Only extensive surgery and a shit ton of tokens could alter those.
Her Eth either liked her as she was, or he could...go suck it.
With an eye roll at her flushed face, she left the bathroom, accepted the coffee Garix held for her, and positioned herself in front of the screen. He activated it while she took the first sip. She groaned when the smoky flavor and its heat warmed her tongue, burned down her throat, and set her insides on fire. All good. She hummed.
Opening her eyes, she jerked back at finding Oyaz’s gaze fixed on her. “Greetings, Lady Izzy.”
“Morning,” she mumbled, dipping her chin to hide her inflamed face. “Just Izzy, or Izabelle, though only Simmy uses the latter, especially when she’s pissed with me.” Which had been most of her life, well...since the incident.
She pinched her lips, ceasing her chatter. His swirling dark blue eyes and unflinching gaze unnerved her. She shuffled on her feet and gritted her teeth against a wave of pain as her shower-heated body cooled.
“Surveillance—” Oyaz cleared his throat, but when he spoke again, his voice was as hoarse as she remembered. “—is concerning.”
Unable to stop her reaction, she shivered. She tightened her grip on the cup and forced herself not to break eye contact.
Oyaz’s focus shifted for a second to her hands before meeting her gaze again. “The sec-drone indicates movement around Lady Simmy’s housing unit. The heat signatures do not align with the humans outside.”
“Alodon’s balls,” Garix growled. “Do you suspect Yithians, Supreme Commander?”
“Yes. You had a right to be concerned, Lady...Izabelle. I arrive in a few hours and will collect Lady Simmy.”
Relief soaked through Izzy. She leaned a shoulder against Garix’s chest. “Thank you.” Offering a smile was all she could do to repay Oyaz. “I put her on high alert last night. When you arrive, tell her ‘Titanic.’ She should leave with you without too much arguing.”
Oyaz arched a delicate brow. Her fingers twitched with the urge to trace it. “Titanic?” His enviably long eyelashes fluttered. A slow smile curved his delicious mouth and sent her heart into apoplexy.
She pinned the mug to her chest, hoping to calm the erratic pounding of her heart and an influx of suicidal butterflies consuming her insides. Biting her bottom lip kept the gasp trapped in her throat.
“Titanic,” he rasped. “Apt. Very well, Izabelle, I will comm when we are en route with your sister onboard.” His gaze hardened, a pulse ticked at the edge of his chiseled jaw, and he barked something in Etterian at Garix.
When a similar tick formed on Garix’s jaw, she frowned. Facing Oyaz, she opened her mouth to ask, but the screen faded to black. “What did he say?”
“He wants to speak to me alone.” Garix bolted for the front door, abandoning her. “Eat something.” The door sealed behind him.
She slumped against the wall, feeling as if her womanly bits had been put through the wringer.
Flaming nipples, Oyaz was hotter-than-hell sexy. And the way he’d said her name was like the brushing of his fingers along her skin. She hadn’t even demanded she go with. Trapped on this battleship, she couldn’t leave without Garrix and grumpy Vorn agreeing or unless they zapped her. And if Oyaz was closer to Simmy, diverting to fetch Izzy would only delay the rescue.
Which meant she would meet him soon, face to face. Tingles assailed her body to her toes, curling them. “Get yourself together, Izzy. You can’t melt at his feet like a teenager.”
Pushing herself off the wall with a small whimper, she downed the coffee and plodded to the rehydrator. What she wanted was bacon and loads of it. If she was to meet the male, she needed fortification. Alcohol might have been a better choice, but she had to have her wits about her.
Then after breakfast, she’d practice forming a polite smile in the mirror.
~ * ~
Izabelle’s groan of appreciation shouldn’t have blazed fire along Oyaz’s veins to nestle in his groin. Nor should her image have come to mind while he attended to his chore that morning. None of his reactions to her made sense.
Nor did he understand the fury pounding his heart and tensing every muscle in his body. Why was she in pain? Dark circles under her eyes and her pale skin beneath her glowing cheeks attested to this. No woman should be abused, ever, and never by an Etterian male. He fell into pacing, hoping to ease the tension and regulate his breathing.
“Supreme Commander,” Garix said as soon as Oyaz answered the comm.
Slamming his palms onto the console, he shoved his face to within an inch of the display vid. “Why in Alodon’s hell is Izabelle in pain?”
Garix winced at Oyaz’s roar.
He sucked in a sharp inhale, fighting for calm, for control. Yet it eluded his grasping fingers. “Explain, now, Garix, or I will have Adviser Cales slice your hair off at the scalp.”
Garix’s jaw tightened. “Izzy sparred last night. Her body is not used to it.”
Air whooshed out of Oyaz’s lungs while he blinked at Garix. As per Oyaz’s role with Macy, Garix performed a similar one. Yet Macy’s grumbling and complaints had been humorous, not so with Izabelle. Maker, he loved the way her name rolled off his tongue. Pinching his brow, he squeezed, trying to hold back a growing ache farther down his body. “My apologies, Elite Warrior Garix. You have served honorably.”
The male’s shoulders relaxed.
“Trav and Eriz guard Lady Simmy from afar. They confirm the presence of footprints in the sand outside her glass openings—”
“Windows, Supreme Commander.”
Oyaz nodded, thankful for the correction. “Yet cannot confirm sighting intruders other than the humans. Elite Warrior Danic and I will retrieve Lady Simmy. Trav and Eriz will patrol the path between the shuttle and the woman.”
“I appreciate your efforts, Supreme Commander.”
Oyaz ended the comm and left, stomping to the common. What he needed was a hot chocolate and Beethoven.
With a steaming cup of Earth’s delicious beverage, he shared his music choice with the viewing deck and slid onto a bench while the soothing notes filled the space. Planets passed by on the display vids, the kaleidoscope as mesmerizing as other galaxies, but his thoughts circled to wide gray eyes dominating a small face.
Electric excitement stiffened his muscles, as if he prepared for battle. Warmth reached every molecule and squeezed the air from his lungs. He would meet her soon, then perhaps this restlessness, this dishonorable lust would leave him.
He could but hope.
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