Striker Read online

  Striker grimaced. “Look, I'll tell you everything. Anything you want to know, but we really are in danger. The Reptiles are coming…”

  “Ah, those dreaded Reptiles again…”

  “Yes…they kidnapped you. Put you in a pod…”

  “That - coffin thing - over there?”

  “Yes…I don’t know their exact intent, but it's nothing good.”

  “What, they’re going to strap me to a table and do terrible things to me that may involve medical experiments and anal probes?”

  He paused but pressed on. “Probably not the anal-probes but it won’t be pleasant. You…you might be the answer we've been looking for.”

  This time, both bows rose very high on her forehead. She did have a rather cute look on her face for someone clearly not impressed. “You've been looking for me?”

  He was saying it all wrong, he knew, but it wasn't as though he had the luxury of time to pre-think a more impressive argument. “Not you, exactly…someone like you. They took you for a reason. You can’t fall into their hands…”

  “Claws, don't you mean?” she said.

  Striker frowned. The look on her face told him she was playing him in a way he didn't fully understand. “I'm sorry?”

  “The word 'hand' would imply they’re human or have some sort of human features at the very least. But you told me they're Reptilian. So, they would have claws. And scales…” She pursed those luscious lips and tapped her finger on them for a moment. “They'd also be cold blooded and have double eyelids. Do they sense movement with their tongue?”

  Striker pressed his lips in a tight line while he exhaled. “I'm telling you the truth.”

  “Uh huh. And I'm caught up in some mind-bending episode of The X-Files due to concussion,” she said.

  Striker paused. “The X-Files?”

  There was a pregnant pause. “Are you kidding me? You've never heard of The X-Files?”

  He shook his head and struggled into a sitting position. Not an easy task to accomplish with his hands expertly tied behind his back. “Can you not listen to reason, female?”

  He didn't mean to lose his temper, but time was running out. He peered into the shadows between the trees, looking for any movement, expecting to be discovered at any moment.

  “Female? I'll listen to reason when you start telling me the truth.”

  Her face hardened, but she risked a quick, nervous glance to the side, the first subconscious reaction that told him she wasn't as calm as he first thought. He couldn't blame her if it was. He remembered his first battle with the Reptiles as though it was only yesterday. Emotional trauma like that tended to indelibly scar a mind.

  “If I could just show you my Starjet, it will start to make sense. I promise you that,” he said. His head throbbed in time with his heartbeat. She really knew how to immobilise a male. Hopefully, the Starjet was equipped with medical aid and he could see to that little problem.

  The female stiffened. “You have a jet?”

  “Yes.”

  Her eyes hardened. “I don’t see any jet nearby. Where did you land it?”

  “Over the incline. There wasn’t space to land it just here.” He indicated behind her with a flick of his chin. If she saw the Starjet, which was clearly nothing found on Earth, she would at least listen to him. Even better, he’d be able to get her inside and get the hell away from this occupied planet before they were found. “It has vertical landing capabilities,” he added when her eyes narrowed in distrust even further.

  She re-gripped the handle of the phaser while she considered him for a moment. “If you're lying to me, you'll be sorry. My patience is on a very short lead at the moment.”

  “I would never lie to you.” To his surprise, he meant it. He would never lie to this female. There was something about her, even under such stressful circumstances that fascinated him. Like a word on the tip of his tongue or a dream just out of reach upon waking, he knew there was that something 'more' about her. “To lie to you would be to disrespect you.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Okkaayyyy.”

  She looked him over for a second, and he saw the moment trust sparked. She reached in a pocket in her vest, one of many he now noticed, and withdrew a small dagger. Maybe he'd misinterpreted the trust thing.

  “Hey, I really mean it.” He tried not to pull back when she stepped towards him.

  “I know. I'm letting you show me your… jet.” She bent and with a practised movement cut through the bindings on his ankles. Huh, he hadn’t noticed she'd even tied his ankles.

  “Thanks. Think you could..?” He half-turned to waggle his fingers.

  “Not on your life, buddy. Now, up you get.” She hooked a firm hand under his arm and hoisted him to his feet with a strength belying her stature. She must have some muscles on her to be able to do that. She slid behind him, pressed the phaser into the small of his back and pushed his shoulder, indicating him to move, “OK, lead the way, Mister Starjet.”

  He stumbled over loose rocks as blood returned to his feet. She stuck close to his back, close to keep him under control but not too close to let him cause her damage. She was clearly a professional of some sort.

  “You're a good hit.”

  “Hit?”

  “My head. No one's taken me out quite like that for a long time.” If he could talk to her, try to get her to know him, he could build on that thin thread of trust. Hopefully enough to get her in the jet and off planet without too much fuss.

  The sound of a deep-throated chuckle slipped through him like silk. “Do you make a habit out of letting people knock you out?”

  “Not that often. You were lucky.” There were some things his male pride had to protect, although if he was honest, he just wanted to hear that chuckle of hers again.

  She didn't disappoint, the sound slipped through him like silk. “Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm particularly good at my job.”

  His feet crunched on loose gravel. The pod had cut a rough path, that was for sure. The spots of flames on nearby branches had burnt themselves out, leaving only thin smoke trails bleeding into the air. Thankfully, the jet wasn't too far away.

  “You're a doctor, then?”

  “A doctor?”

  “Yes. A doctor would know the perfect place to render someone unconscious.”

  “Let's just say my life would have been so much easier if I'd become a doctor.”

  They’d nearly reached the top of the incline. He kept a watchful eye, but apart from charred leaves and broken branches, there was nothing. No movement. No clicking and clacking of Reptiles talking to each other. Yet unease slithered through him.

  “A boxer, then.”

  “Let's just say that's a part of my repertoire.”

  The forest was still. Too still. He moved forward carefully, but kept a brisk pace. The faster they got to the jet, the faster he could hightail it away from this planet. “Then I'm getting close.”

  “Nowhere near it.”

  One last step, and the top of the jet came into view.

  And the ten Reptiles that were walking over the top of it.

  Behind him, the female gasped, then faster than he could think, she stepped to the side and shot a Reptile straight through the centre of its head with his phaser. The top of the creature's skull sprayed green offal into the air before it collapsed, lifeless, with a thump on top of his Starjet. Striker grimaced. Reptile blood was notoriously hard to clean off. Just now though, that was the least of his worries.

  There was a pause before nine pairs of gleaming yellow eyes blinked in their direction. The female shot another creature. It fell. Quick as a flash, she shot another. It slipped over the side, lifeless, her aim dead certain every time.

  The Reptiles retaliated as one, raising their weapons and unleashing a volley of fire in their direction. Frek. She was going to get them killed.

  Striker shoved his shoulder into the female with enough strength to send her flying into the line of trees. Tufts of dirt spr
ayed over them. Thankfully, they weren't as good a shot as she was.

  He dove after her, ignoring her shocked expression before yelling, “You've done it now. Run. Run for your life!”

  Chapter Three

  She stumbled through the thick forest. Branches snagged her clothing, scratched her skin, tugged her hair. Her heart pounded, blood racing through her veins. But she didn't stop.

  Not when those - monsters - chased them.

  Monsters. She couldn’t think of another name for them. It was, by all means, a perfect descriptor. Like giant iguanas that walked upright. Grey-green scales, gaping maws, slits for nostrils and the coldest yellow eyes she'd ever witnessed. They were also obscenely dressed in ill-fitting uniforms for their shape. Thankfully, their thick, clumsy boots alerted her to their whereabouts. Or it could be their heavy tails that thrashed from side to side when they moved. Whatever it was, Vivien was grateful. In her panic, she was hardly using the intense stealth training that had been drummed into her over the years. That had fled alongside her sanity.

  As had the fact that she should have remained hidden and taken them out one by one without being seen. A silent assassin. After all, that was her speciality. Her talent.

  It all had fled in the face of what she'd seen, because those monsters hadn't been in any Op she'd ever experienced. And she'd seen her fair share of freaky things.

  This topped the list.

  Waking up in that steel coffin, strapped inside within an inch of her life, disoriented and hurting, only to escape, not the easiest when a headache threatened to explode through the top of her skull and come face to face with a total stranger that looked human enough, but when she'd come closer and seen how his skin glinted with an inhuman golden sheen, she'd taken the offensive and knocked him out. It was always better to untie someone later than deal with them loose. Especially when you needed answers.

  Answers that remained elusive, even though he'd told her a whole lot of information – or misinformation. It was clear he was high, or just plain insane, when he'd mentioned a jet, but that had been her card out of here, so she’d let him lead her to it - wherever here was.

  She'd never seen a forest quite like this. Not even in the most remote parts of the world where she was often deployed. The leaves were a blue-green for a start, as were the trunks of the massive trees that surrounded them. The glimpses of sky she spotted through the thick underbrush were ice-grey. The colour of a mid-winder sky just before a storm, when it was wild and filled with water. The air was cold but more rarefied, as though she was at a high altitude. Quite possible she could be for all she knew.

  She gasped for breath, trying to suck in said rarefied air into her lungs. Her heart fluttered, pummelling too-thin blood. She tried taking a deep breath, but her lungs fused. She blinked back black spots that edged her vision. Now was definitely not the time to pass out.

  A large shoulder pressed into her side, urging her into thick underbrush. She'd almost forgotten about the insane man. Striker, he said his name was. She turned to see him indicate a direction with a tilt of his head, which he had to do since his hands were still tied behind his back. At least she had that little bit of insurance.

  “Down there. Quick.”

  ‘Down there’ seemed like a good idea. For an insane man, he was sharp. She dropped to her knees and scuttled through the damp, rotting leaves to slide beneath a heavily leaved branch. She pulled herself through and into a naturally occurring space between branches.

  Striker followed, but he struggled because of his hands behind his back. They'd be found if he couldn't get under. She braced herself and tugged him through as best she could. He wriggled through and rolled to his knees. His large body filled the small space. Her face only came up to a chest that seemed to stretch for miles.

  A heady, masculine scent invaded her nostrils, merging with the dampness of the underbrush. Her heart altered rhythm, stumbling and skipping as though it couldn’t quite work out whether to pummel in her chest because she was out of breath or for another, more unbelievable reason altogether. Maybe she'd lost her mind and this was a compete fantasy. The stress of her job had finally gotten to her.

  They said that might happen given recent events.

  “Be still. They're close.”

  “Get away from me!”

  She needed to think. She needed space. Suddenly, the small space was too cloying. Too small. She played her hands against him and pushed him away. He didn't even budge.

  He leaned into her, the rough bark of the trunk scratching her back though her clothing. “They'll sense us if you don't keep still.”

  Terror whirled through her brain like a buzz saw. She couldn’t seem to get a grip on her mind. Each pass of a sliding thought cut a jagged edge, leaving black, dark wounds that filled with liquid dread. She couldn't breathe. Couldn’t think. She needed to get out of here. She needed space.

  She needed the Nullarbor Plain. That's where she'd been before she woke being rattled around in total darkness in a stifling hot tin can. She wanted the wide, open space. The endless night sky with stars so bright, she just knew there had to be other worlds out there just by sheer numbers.

  Then…

  Then…

  A moan came unbidden from her stomach. She knew she had to be quiet. The man was shushing in her ear, telling her they'd be found. They were in danger, but she couldn't stop moving. Couldn’t stop that sound that came from her. She'd never made that sound before. Not even when she'd been bound to that chair and tortured for hours.

  But that wasn't here.

  Here, where the trees where blue and monsters were chasing her.

  A warm, hot mouth crushed against hers. A sleek tongue dove into her mouth, sweeping inside with a commanding thrust. At first she was so shocked, she stiffened and let the mouth move against hers, sliding, caressing, teasing before a deep shudder worked through her and she anchored to the fission of heat sliding through her.

  She tilted her head a little and was rewarded by a deeper, more languid sweep of his tongue, the feeling absolutely delicious. Tingles raced from her mouth to somewhere deep inside. A part of her she never knew existed. She splayed her hands on his chest, sliding them upwards before she found the curve of muscle and grasped his shoulders.

  His large body filled her senses, the hard length of him pressed against her from knee to chest. Her breasts were crushed against his chest, aching and sensitive. She arched her back, the friction causing her nipples to pebble and yearn for touch.

  His lips were soft, yet firm. Hot and wet. Tender and unyielding. He tasted like sin. He kissed as though he was born to do it, and by God did she respond. She'd never accepted a kiss so easily before in her life. She'd never before been so swept away in the heady, pure sensation of a kiss. She breathed in through her nostrils, filling her lungs with that spicy masculine scent that invaded her senses and wiped her mind of anything other than pure response.

  His mouth slid from hers, trailing a searing path along her jaw to nestle in that sensitive place where her neck met her shoulder. She shivered when he pressed an open-mouthed kiss there, then licked a way to her earlobe.

  He flicked it with his tongue before his lips closed around the tender flesh. His breath whooshed out of his nose, swirling in her ear as he nuzzled her. She tilted her head to give him easier access, her eyes closing to become lost in the warm, darkness she found there.

  “That's it. Good girl. Calm now,” his deep voice whispered in her ear.

  Her eyes snapped open, and she crashed back to her senses.

  Oh. My. God.

  He'd had to resort to kissing her because she'd virtually lost it. She was meant to be a professional. That never happened. Losing control meant losing your life. She stiffened against him, coming back to herself. He'd basically trapped her, wedged between the tree trunk and his large body. Her hands on his shoulders, her neck open and vulnerable. His chest was pressed tightly against hers.

  She moved experimentally. He didn't
even budge. She couldn't move her arms. They were pinned by either side of his shoulders. His thighs locked tight against hers.

  “Get off me,” she whispered.

  He nuzzled her neck, gliding those so soft lips down and back up her sensitive skin to tangle against her earlobe. “They're close. We need to be quiet.”

  She tried to stifle a shiver that ran through her but failed. Her face heated. This was untenable. “You don't need to kiss me to be quiet.”

  He ran the end of his tongue over the shell of her ear. She almost groaned. As it was, her eyelids fluttered closed in response. She snapped them back open. Who would have thought she was an ear person? She'd never been before, or maybe she'd never let anyone close enough to lick her ear.

  “But it's so much more enjoyable, don't you think?”

  She stiffened, bucking against him, but he simply pressed a little firmer against her, using his body weight, stilling her movements quite effectively. She splayed her fingers in the back of his head, tangled them in his hair and tugged. Hard.

  With a grunt, he pulled back enough so she could look at him. Up close, his skin sparkled like millions of uncut diamonds. Little gold and silver highlights glinted, like morning dew catching early morning winter sunlight. She had thought he was gorgeous, but up this close he was absolutely stunning. Classic blond, Californian beach bum, Hollywood-star perfectly symmetrical features. Deep, navy blue eyes. The only thing that could possibly be flawed about him was the fine lines that fanned out from the edges of his eyes. But that only made him sexier, in that life experience type of way that told her he laughed often.

  Her gaze dropped to his lips, which were still wet from their kiss and slightly swollen. No doubt looking just like hers. They curved upwards in a cocky grin she caught before she stopped herself from returning.

  “Get off me.”

  Those laughing eyes grew serious. “If I don't cover your clothing, they'll see us.”

  She glanced down at herself. She was dressed in desert fatigues, the splotchy browns and tans in direct contrast to the fauna. For the first time, she noticed what he wore. Some sort of navy uniform that perfectly blended into the shadows. She swore under her breath. She hadn't noticed how much she did stand out, and she kicked herself. Rookie mistake. She hated to admit he was right. She stood out like a sore thumb in this environment.