Operation: Marauder

Rowan couldn’t sleep. His mind was wide awake. At least his body, which had been the main source of his sleepless nights this week, was at peace. He was content lying beside Zoey, her head on his shoulder as she slept.

He tucked a strand of her raven hair behind her ear, relishing her smooth skin and silken hair. He probably won’t ever get used to it, never ceased to be awed by the miracle in his arms.

As a soldier who traveled from one galaxy to another, rarely on his home planet, never guaranteed to return again, he accepted he wouldn’t find a mate until later in his life, if ever. So when his chest burned and filled with a new kind of admiration for the woman beside him when he came inside her, he didn’t believe it. So he did it again then again and again. Each time they reached their climax, he grew more and more certain of one thing. He was in love with Zoey Adams. It wasn’t his Fever that had driven him after the first time he found his release with her, it was his sole desire to be closer to her. To know every part of her.

Sighing, Zoey rolled off him, hugging the wall in the tight space. Rowan kissed her cheek then swung out of bed. He needed to go for a walk--as far as the ship would let him, anyway.

In fresh clothes, he waved his hand over the sensor and stepped into the cool hallway. He started for the back end of the ship, making as little noise possible as he passed the other quarters. The ship’s hum of the engine was so quiet, the slightest of noises were heard all around the ship and it had taken Rowan a year before he started to get used to it when he had first joined the military. It appeared it didn’t take long to undo it all. He had gotten used to the hustle in the hallways at the base.

He didn’t know what to do. From the first day in the field, his duty was to the Fleet. When he was given command of a ship, his duty was to his men. When he was younger, he was told that once he found his mate, his loyalty belonged to her and her alone. No one told him he would have to choose one or the other.

How could he leave his men at a time like this? They needed him now more than ever to lead them and bring them home. Some days he was all that stood between four fed up Arthonians and a base full of ignorant humans.

But how was he supposed to deny his mate? Deny Zoey? Her becoming his mate was unexpected, but he couldn’t imagine anyone being more perfect for him. Question was, would Zoey accept him as her mate? An Arthonian female knew when she was mated; clearly it wasn’t the same for humans, because Zoey had thought he was dying when he Recognised her as his mate. What would she think if he told her he had subconsciously decided she was his mate? Probably ask him when did she get a say in it. Which was exactly why he hadn’t said anything when the bonding happened and why he was walking the hallways of the ship trying to figure out what he was going to do.

However, his walk was cut short when he ran into Cas reading a book in the kitchenette. He lifted his gaze from the book to him and raised his eyebrows. “What are you doing up? I didn’t expect to see you until. . . much later.”

Scowling, he pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. He didn’t like his tone. Made him feel dirty.

“I saw Zoey go into your room,” he confessed, shutting his book and gesturing for Rowan to sit down with a look Rowan knew all too well. Though, he usually got it whenever he was wounded and cursed Cas out for hurting him while trying to patch him up. “So?”

He emptied the bottle and crushed it; normally he wouldn’t find something like that satisfying. Tonight was different. “So what?”

“Is she your mate?”

He sighed, expecting no less from Cas to have come to that conclusion. Looking back on it, how he felt about Zoey off the bat, he should have known this would happen. It was a tell tale sign of a potential mate, the attraction, the way she could tame his temper with a single touch.

Cas frowned, leaning on his elbows on the table. “She didn’t take it well?”

“I didn’t tell her.”

“Why not? I thought this would make you happy. You’re a good pairing.”

“And what am I supposed to do when Maliki fixes the ship?” How could he possibly leave her behind? How could he give up his life to live on Earth, which, to be honest, wasn’t on his list of top ten Would Visit Again if he could help it.

Cas sat back in his chair, scowling in thought. “So you don’t plan on telling her. What about having a family? You’ve talked about having children. She’s the only one-”

“I know.” He was aware he couldn’t start a family with anyone else. He was sterile with any woman who wasn’t his mate.

Stifling a groan, he sat back in the chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. The day he found his mate was supposed to be a day of celebration, the beginning of a new chapter in his life. Not filled with the unknown and fretting how they were going to make it work. Wondering if she even wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, have a family. Jack told them not all humans mated for life. What if Zoey was one of them?

“You know what I think?” Cas interrupted his thoughts. “You think too much. You’ve found your partner. It doesn’t matter if she’s human and our planets are lightyears apart. We’re stuck on Earth for now. She is in your bed while you’re out here pouting. Go back to bed and be grateful you have her.”

Maybe he did overthink things. He didn’t plan on leaving while the Wraythe were a problem and he was sure Zoey would be safe. Hopefully, once Maliki used the Terbium they collected on the sensors, it wouldn’t take years, but they didn’t know how many there were, so it could take that long, and he would rather spend what limited time they were on Earth for with Zoey.

Standing, he clasped Cas’ shoulder then headed back to his room, looking forward to holding a beautiful, talented woman in his arms.

Except when he opened the door, Zoey was already awake and slipping her shirt over her head.

“Where are you going?”

She flipped her hair out of the neck hole in the shirt and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “Back to my room. You left. . . so I thought you’d like your bed back. I’ve been told I can be a bed hog.”

Rowan didn’t know what asshole had made his fearless mate feel so undervalued, but he would do everything he could to make her feel as lucky as he felt to be chosen as her mate--because the bonding went both ways. It wouldn’t have taken place if she hadn’t cared deeply for him, if they weren’t compatible with each other.

He caught her arm when she tried to slip past him. “Don’t go. I left because I couldn’t sleep; I walk around the ship to clear my head sometimes. We finally have a moment to ourselves and I want to spend every second of it getting to know you.”

She smiled at that then sank back to the bed, patting the space beside her. “That’s good, because I have a lot of questions for you.”

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Zoey and Rowan cuddled on the bed for hours, talking about their lives; though, Zoey was far more interested in hearing more about his life than talk about her own. She hadn’t considered her life to be boring, especially when she was friends with Josie, but her life sounded so mundane compared to Rowan’s. He told her about his beautiful home planet with buildings so tall they touched the clouds. Wall gardens filled the streets with colour and scents. All of their highways were underground, which freed the surface for pedestrians to move freely. His apartment had a view of the Krismaran Mountains, which were apparently riddled with crystals, so when the sun set, its rays shone through the crystals and casted rainbows across the sky and city of Maran every twilight. And that wasn’t even the most beautiful thing about Arthos--or many of the other planets he had visited. She felt lame talking about the Rockies or Niagara Falls, but he seemed as enthralled as she was by everything else, never making her feel mundane or boring.

She noticed a shift within Rowan. He couldn’t keep his hands off her, and not in a sexually or possessive way; while they talked, he played with her hair, pulled her closer to him, stole a kiss, all the while listening to her attentively. She loved this side of him, so open and vulnerable, laughing harder than she ever heard anyone laugh at her stupid jokes. She felt special.

She was going to miss him very much, so much her heart ached at the thought.

This wonderful moment wouldn’t last. It couldn’t. Whether it was the endorphins he was riding on from his Fever faded and made him less attracted to her, his ship got repaired and they were ready to head back home, or the punishment she faced when they returned would keep them apart. Something would end this magical moment, and no matter how hard Zoey wished she could run from it all, she couldn’t.

Despite her best attempts to hide the sudden change in her mood, Rowan seemed to catch on. He cupped her face, brushing his thumb gently along her cheekbone. “What’s wrong?”

Frantic knocking at his door made the both of them start.

Rowan’s eyes didn’t leave hers, a deep longing settling in his gaze. He didn’t have to say anything. She wished they had a little bit longer too. She wasn’t ready to go back to reality quite yet.

Reluctantly, he slid out of bed and waved his hand in front of the sensor by the door. A very concerned Jack was on the other side; thankfully, Rowan was so tall and wide, Jack couldn’t see past him, but just in case, Zoey edged deeper into the shadows surrounding the bed and pulled the blankets to cover her legs.

Rowan glanced around him, looking for his teammates, who’d also be pounding on his door if it was an emergency. “What’s wrong?”

“Zoey’s gone missing,” Jack blurted, wide eyed in panic. “It’s not possible for the Laxithorians to have beamed her off this ship, is it?”

Rowan relaxed, pleased there wasn’t a life-threatening problem as Jack led him to believe. “No. I’m sure she’s somewhere on this ship.” He definitely wasn’t going to tell him she was in his room.

“She’s not,” he insisted. “I’ve looked everywhere, man. I need your help. The others said they wouldn’t help until you gave the all clear.” Because they knew where she was, she guessed, and they wouldn’t throw Rowan under the bus like that.

Rowan sighed, tapping the frame of his door, thinking. “All right. Let’s go look. Maliki said she was obsessed with the engine.” Quite possibly the furthest room from the living quarters. “We’ll try the engine room first. I’ll tell the boys to help too.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry for all the trouble she’s caused. I’ll set her straight when we get back.”

She wanted to laugh. He could try.

Rowan and Jack left. She waited a few minutes then snuck out of the room. Or tried to. Knox just stepped out of his room. He froze, eyebrows jumping into his hairline when he saw her. Then, remembering his frame was as wide as this corridor and that he was blocking her path, he hopped to the side out of her way and flicked his gaze up to the ceiling. “I saw nothing.”

She giggled at the Arthonian. “Thanks, Knox.”

“Anything for a female who can keep up with this crew.” He half bowed then hurried down the hallway for the engine room, presumably where Rowan had called for everyone to help search for her.

She hurried for her room and jumped in the shower, giving herself the thorough scrub down she hadn’t had the chance to do last night. Rowan had been far too distracting for her to do much of anything other than succumb to him in the shower. . . and against the wall, on the table. . . in the shower again. . .

She smiled as she rinsed off her shampoo. Being with an alien had some perks--like a ridiculous amount of stamina, which he vowed was only that crazy during his Fever, and coarse his skin that set her on fire. The hairs on his cock? Her undoing. She wasn’t sure she could go back to dating a human after experiencing a night of pleasure like that.

You’re going to have to try. She didn’t want to. Didn’t want anyone if his name wasn’t Rowan.

Her heart ached again, more painfully. She turned the water off and held her chest until it faded.

She was just slipping back into her clothes when Jack’s frantic knocking hit her door. She knew this would come sooner or later, but now she wasn’t in the mood to deal with him. She opened the door and crossed her arms. “What?”

His mouth fell open--then he threw his arms around her. “I was so worried about you! Where have you been?”

“In the shower?” She ruffled her wet hair to make a point.

He smacked his forehead and groaned. “The guys are going to kill me. I didn’t even think to listen for running water. Sorry, Zoe. Want some breakfast? It’s not Joey’s Diner, but it’s not terrible.”

She followed him to the kitchenette. “You were a car salesman in another life, weren’t you? You sure know how to upsell army rations.”

Knox, who was contently sitting at the table with said rations, chuckled and handed her a mug of coffee--which she was not expecting. If she had known there was coffee on this ship, she would have demanded some from Mave days ago.

Jack dumped a breakfast ration packet in front of her. “Eat up, troublemaker. I have to go tell everyone I found you.” He cut Knox a look then turned down the corridor.

Knox’s red eyes seemed to shine as he smiled; if she didn’t know he was an alien and that her brother and Rowan trusted him, she would have said he looked a little demonic. “Your brother is hilarious. He makes a fuss out of everything.”

Sighing, she opened up the ration packet, reminded of a time when her dad would pack rations for her lunches because he couldn’t be bothered to make her a PB and J sandwich like all the other parents. Jack loved it. He had been into the Army since he was old enough to play with water guns. “He’s a real gem.”

“He does it out of love.”

“No,” she spat, “he does it because my dad brainwashed him into thinking I’m utterly useless without military training.”

Knox nudged the coffee mug closer to her. “Someone woke up a little grumpy this morning.”

Feeling guilty, she took a sip and was further surprised that it was decent coffee. Admittedly, it helped her mood. “Sorry. I have a lot on my mind. Where did you get this? It’s amazing.”

He swiped his blonde hair aside, leaning back in his chair proudly as he drank his coffee. “My secret stash. Never leave for a mission without it. We don’t have coffee on Arthos, but you’ll be damned sure I’m bringing my weight’s worth back with me.”

Bye-bye mood.

She drank more. “When. . . will you be going back?”

He shrugged, oblivious to her tone. “I don’t know. Not for a while, but this trip is a good sign. If the Marauder can handle this, we might be able to make it to a jumpgate and go home much sooner than Maliki predicted. Hey,” he added, finally catching on to her mood, “don’t worry about it. We have at least another year before we’re ready to attempt anything. You have plenty of time with Rowan.” His smile was meant to be reassuring, but it seemed to only make the ache in her chest heavier.

She nibbled at the rations, trying not to think too hard about what exactly she was eating. “I don’t suppose. . . when the time came for you to leave. . . would I be able to come with you?” It was a long shot. She doubted Rowan had that in mind when he asked her out for a drink, especially since he knew he would be leaving. But her life on Earth would never be the same again; even if the military let her off with a mild slap on the wrist, she knew what was out there and she would never forget. How could she? This was all she ever wanted since she was a little girl.

Knox set his mug down, blinking in surprise. “You’d leave your home planet for him?”

Well, when he put it like that. . . “You’re right. That’s crazy. Don’t tell him I said that.” What was she thinking? She barely knew these men, Rowan; running off into the universe with them was all kinds insane.

“Co-pilot!” Mave shouted, jumping down from the cockpit. He patted her shoulder as he passed them. “You’re up. I’m sleeping. Don’t call me unless someone’s dying.”

She gaped after him. What if they were under attack again? She was so sure after the last time, he wouldn’t trust her with the console again.

Apparently Knox was just as surprised; he stared down the corridor Mave had disappeared in, looking like his pilot had a mental breakdown in front of them. Zoey wasn’t even given the chance to protest.

“He never touches people,” Knox hissed, evidently more worked up over the shoulder tap than Mave tossing the console command to her.

She packed up her breakfast, slowly coming out of shock. “I guess I better finish this in the cockpit. Do you mind telling Jack before he tears the ship apart again?”

He jumped to his feet and saluted. “Aye, Captain!”

She shook her head at him then climbed into the cockpit.