Holy hell. He was… and I felt… and… shit. My brain was misfiring. My body disregarding any notion of personal safety as I marched up to the man, ready to attack with every ounce of strength I had left. I raised my ion pistol and advanced until I had the business end pressed into the warrior’s armor, right over his heart. I stared up into those eyes and realized he hadn’t tried to stop me. He hadn’t touched me at all, instead his dark gaze filled with pain as he looked upon me.
Our gazes held and I couldn’t do it, couldn’t pull the trigger. I studied his hard jaw and full mouth, the dark eyes and the black, silken hair that fell to his chin. He was truly stunning to the senses, his strength staggering and overwhelming. Even with the rage pulsing through my body, I couldn’t pull the trigger. My brother’s capture wasn’t truly this warrior’s fault. It was no one’s fault. It was war. And war sucked.
“Captain!” Richards’ voice broke me from my trance and I lowered the weapon, but didn’t back away from the warrior.
“You will help me recover my brother.”
His eyes widened in surprise, but he nodded. “You have my word.” That voice, those four words, were like a rockslide. Harsh, rough, and deep.
Mollified for the moment, I took a step back.
“Coalition clear!” I shouted, signaling it was safe to stand. It was time to get the hell out of here.
The Atlan watched me closely, but didn’t move. We all knew by his uniform that he was coalition, but the way he’d behaved, the blood coating his hands? He was a threat and his silence helped us all calm down and not kill him.
“I want four of you to remain here and watch our back. Three Hive transported in and took Captain Mills,” I said, irate that they’d been able to infiltrate and take Seth. He’d let it happen. “And you.”
I pointed at the rogue fighter.
His gaze swept the room, then met mine. There was heat when he looked at me, desire. And that pissed me off. We were in the middle of a war zone. I didn’t need—or want to be—attracted to anyone in the middle of a battle. I was no skinny thing, but his gaze made me feel small and feminine. Feminine? That was crazy because I was anything but in my coalition body armor. The curve of my breasts was well hidden behind the chest armor. My hips were disguised under the black armored pants. No one else here saw me as a woman. I was their leader and that was all.
The fact that he’d made me think about sex right now caused my muscles to go rigid with fury.
“Who the hell are you and why are you looking for me?” I demanded.
“I am Warlord Dax from Atlan and I am your matched mate. You are mine.”
“Are you kidding me with this? Is this the mouse’s idea of a joke? I’m not a bride, Warlord Dax from Atlan. Sorry. You’ll just have to fuck off.” I threw my hands in the air and nodded to Seth’s team. With Seth gone, they were mine now. My responsibility. “Four of you stay here, stay sharp. Set up a transport block so we don’t get any more surprises.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Medics, secure the wounded, make sure we’ve done everything we can and get them transported out.” I walked toward the door. “Three of you with me to the bridge. Richards, I want you on system checks. My unit, grab someone from four and check the other decks. You guys know the drill.”
Both teams scurried to do as ordered and I ignored the big alien as he fell into step beside me. I felt like a cocker spaniel walking next to a Rottweiler. Still, we had three armed members of my unit at our backs, and I was still carrying my ion pistol.
“This term you use, fuck? It is associated solely with a man rutting a woman and bringing her pleasure, not with… battle.”
The men about me relaxed a little at his words, thinking Dax was joking. He wasn’t. Heat flared to my cheeks, but it wasn’t out of embarrassment. No, it was the instant mental picture of this warlord pressing me up against the nearest wall, ripping my pants open and rutting into me.
If I ever went back to Earth, I was going to murder a certain mouse.
“What is your problem?” It felt much better to divert my interest in him into frustration. “Didn’t they tell you I opted out of the bride program?”
“Yes.”
I stopped in my tracks at his admission and he took a step closer so I had to tilt my chin up to meet his dark eyes. I wouldn’t retreat. His gaze roved over my face, then lower down my body. It was not the look of any warrior I had ever worked with. This was blatant and sexual, full of a possessive heat I’d never seen before and… holy shit, my nipples just hardened. Thank God for the chest armor.