Chapter 2
Corey Nash could go to hell for all Nix cared. Who did he think he was, demanding to talk to her? He wasn’t anything special. Who cared if he had the most appealing red hair, sweet brown eyes, and a dimple that was just plain adorable. He wasn’t as tall as Drastan males, but his body was just as muscular and tight. Unfortunately, she knew way too much about that body. If only she could forget it.
She hated him, didn’t she? She was angry with him all the time, after all. But it hadn’t always been that way. When she first met him, she thought he was adorable and funny. He never gave up, no matter how many times he got knocked down by much larger Drastan warriors. Corey had a will of steel that she admired. She would have liked to have been his friend, and maybe that would have happened, but then she’d screwed up.
Almost a year ago, she had gone out for a few drinks with friends after a long week of training. Somehow, what started out as just an easy night with friends led to her sleeping with Corey Nash. Thinking back on it still made her hurt inside.
*****
Nix had just received a message from an old friend back on Drasta. Her friend Diendela had given birth to her second child. Nix had always been so focused on becoming a warrior that any thoughts of having a family had been the last thing on her agenda. Tonight, though, she found herself feeling lonely and a little envious of her friend’s happiness. Hoping to drown those feelings, she drank a little more than she normally would have.
She’d already had one too many by the time Corey strolled into the lounge area, and she hadn’t been prepared to fight off her attraction to him. He laughed with some of the other warriors drinking. She watched as the other warriors flirted with females that passed them by and the females responded, even flirting with Corey. She was jealous for some reason. She sipped her drink, watching the males talk. When the other males left, she somehow found herself strolling over to his table.
“Can I sit here?”
His answer mostly consisted of staring dazedly at her legs, exposed by the short, skin-tight dress she wore. His eyes slowly rose and then halted at her breasts. “There’s always room for a beautiful woman.”
Her nipples tightened at his perusal. “Thanks.” When she sat down, he finally recognized her and the surprise was evident on his face. She didn’t know whether to laugh or be offended.
“Lieutenant…”
“I’m off duty, call me Nix.”
“Nix, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you out of uniform.”
She laughed. “I know, I work too much.” She waved at the waitress to bring another drink. Corey ordered a bottle of what he was currently drinking. She looked at the label and frowned. It was Moonspirit, one of the most concentrated alcoholic drinks known on Drasta. Many a warrior has been knocked out by just a few glasses of this stuff. “How much of this have you had?”
“Just a couple of glasses, it’s really good.”
Maybe it was different for humans; he might be able to handle the alcohol better. Still...it was dangerous to take in too much. “It’s really strong. You should probably switch to something less concentrated.”
“Come on, let go a little, Nix. Have a glass.” He poured one for her and pushed it her way.
Hesitating before picking it up, she said, “Well, maybe just one.”
One glass turned into two, then three. She found herself relaxing, even laughing at some of the stories Corey told about living on Earth. She got so caught up in the conversation she forgot about everyone else around them. It had been a long time since she had let herself enjoy the company of another like that. She didn’t want the night to end.
“Did you really run out naked in front of the whole tribe because of a few mice in your shower?” she asked with a smile on her lips.
He held up his hand. “God’s honest truth and it was not just a few, there had to be at least a hundred of those bastards.”
“What happened?”
“The tribe leader reprimanded me and I had to give a formal apology. The most unexpected result was that I got a few more offers of, uh, a sexual nature from some of the older women in the tribe. One was as old as seventy. I politely told her I wasn’t interested.”
She laughed hard, hard enough to lose her breath. It had been a long time since she had laughed that much. When he smiled or laughed, his dimple grew deeper and she couldn’t seem to look away from him. The lights seemed to dim a little and she became more aware of the slow music playing in the background.
Corey’s eyes darkened as he looked at her. His voice was husky when he said, “Let’s dance.” Standing up, he offered his hand and she took it without thinking twice. She let him lead her out to the dance floor and he took her in his arms.
She should have said no, walked away, never sat down to drink with him to begin with. That was her first mistake. Her second was drinking too much of the Moonspirit. The final mistake had been allowing him to hold her, touch her. Their bodies pressed against each other and their attraction skyrocketed.
Corey was a smartass, funny, protective of his friends, a great warrior in training, and sexy as hell. She had done her best to fight her desire for him, but now, the drinks were making her mind just fuzzy enough for all her inhibitions to fade. When he leaned down and kissed her lips, she couldn’t resist him.
A fire of need spread through her whole body. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He kissed her until she was dizzy, though that could have been partly because of the alcohol. He released her lips and moved to whisper in her ear, “Let’s go somewhere more private.”
“Yes,” was all she could get out. Then they’d gone back to her quarters and the things he’d done with his hands and mouth continued to haunt her.
*****
She’d woken up to find him gone from her bed, and even worse...the next time she saw him, he had acted like nothing had happened. It infuriated her to be treated like their night together was meaningless. She had lost a piece of her heart to him that night—another huge, stupid mistake on her part. Was she being unfair to him? Probably.
Thinking about it, she realized that he was right; she did give him shit assignments. She reasoned with herself that she was just doing it to prove to him that he wasn’t cut out to be a warrior and that he would get fed up and go back to his subway tunnels. Deep down, she knew she was being vindictive, getting back at him for his treatment of her and hurting her feelings. Fine, even she had to admit it, she was being a bitch and maybe it wasn’t fair. This really wasn’t like her; even when she didn’t like someone she was training, she was always professional enough to put her feelings aside. With Corey, though, she was having a hard time being objective.
She should go to the commander and have someone else take over Corey’s training. Yeah, that was the best thing to do for both of them. It would give them distance and a chance for her to get over these hurt feelings. She hated feeling vulnerable, just hated it. Decision made: She would go to see Commander Estro first thing tomorrow morning.
*****
Later that evening
Corey held Maggie and Liam Estro’s little girl Milly in his arms. She was a sweet, curious little thing, reminding him of how Maggie had been when she was younger. For some reason, the little girl had taken to Corey and wanted him to hold her as soon as he walked into the room. Of course, Corey could never say no to her.
Looking around, he noticed that only family had been invited to the dinner. His and Maggie’s friend Lily from Earth was there, married to the eldest son, Mediko Jared Estro. Also Maggie’s sister Rachel James, reunited with Maggie not long ago, and now married to the youngest Estro brother, Lieutenant Kyle Estro. Rachel sat in a chair in the corner, breastfeeding her son Devon. Even the Estros’ cousin, Lieutenant Quinn Estro, was there with the woman from Earth he had married, Hali.
The father and Commander of the ship, Devlon Estro, sat on the couch with Lily’s young son Thomas and Devlon’s wife, a tribe leader named Heather. Seeing the large Drastan commander playing with the little boy, laughing at his antics, was a little hard to reconcile with the tough no-nonsense image Corey always had of the other man. Finding himself alone among all the married couples, Corey suddenly felt out of place.
“Dinner's almost ready,” Maggie announced, bringing drinks out for everyone.
Corey frowned as he took his glass. “Did you cook it?” The smells wafting from the kitchen area were delicious, and he knew Maggie was a horrible cook. She once made something in the tunnels that had made him sick for two days. Of course he’d never told her that it was the food she had fixed for him that made him sick for fear of hurting her feelings, but he really didn’t want to be out of commission again.
Liam snorted and Maggie hit Corey’s arm. “Hey, I can cook!”
“Being able to cook and cooking well are two different things,” Corey said, winking at the little girl he held, who giggled, not understanding what was going on but responding to Corey’s smile.
“I’m a pro at making sandwiches,” Maggie insisted. As she passed her husband, Liam pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
“I didn’t marry you for your cooking, my love.”
“You love me no matter what,” Maggie insisted.
“Yes, I do,” Liam kissed her again before releasing her. His eyes trailed Maggie through the room.
The love in the room was almost suffocating, reminding Corey that he didn’t belong there. There was no wife for him, not since the only woman he had ever loved had met an alien and fallen in love with him. Maggie was the one person he had wanted to spend the rest of his days with. Being here and seeing how happy she was with her husband and child was a special sort of hell.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want Maggie to be happy. She had suffered the worst kind of torment growing up in the tunnels. If anyone deserved a happy life, it was Maggie. It was just that he had always imagined the two of them would be together. Of course, life didn’t always go the way he wanted it to. And he would never begrudge her her happiness.
Another voice called out from the kitchen, “Lily and Maggie, come help me bring out the food!”
Ah, Mrs. Gordon was the one responsible for cooking the meal. He felt relief at that news. Mrs. Gordon was an older woman who lived with Lily, Jared, and Thomas now. She wasn’t actually related to Lily, but she had cared for Lily, Thomas, and Maggie in the tunnels and was the closest thing they had to a mother. Even better, she was a damn good cook.
Corey smiled as the three women brought plates of food out to the table. “Do you need any more help?” he asked.
Mrs. Gordon waved at him to sit down. “We’ve got it covered.”
Maggie came over and took her daughter from him. “I’m going to put her in her playpen and give her a bottle. She’ll probably be out within minutes. She always is.” Maggie kissed Milly’s cheeks. He watched Maggie as she doted on her daughter. Liam came over and kissed both of them. This was exactly what he had wished for Maggie, to have a family of her own and to be happy. A sort of peace settled over him and the hurt faded into longing. Not for Maggie, but for her life. He wanted that for himself one day, but he really didn’t know if it would ever happen.
Maggie wanted him to go with them to Drasta when it was time. He wasn’t sure there was a place for him. That’s why he had been training so hard as a warrior. If he could make his own way, show his own worth to the people of Drasta, then he would love to go. The idea of seeing a new world was exciting. However, leaving Earth meant giving up the only home he’d ever known. Would he meet a Drastan woman who would want to start a family with him? If he remained on Earth, Maggie’s father had offered to help him find a position in the dome. He could settle down there, start a family with some nice human woman. He hadn’t made a decision yet on what he wanted to do. Thankfully, he was able to turn his thoughts to good food and good conversation.
Dinner was pleasant, the food was great, the atmosphere relaxed and welcoming. There was laughter and teasing; a baby cried wanting to be held. He realized that he had been included in this family event as if he belonged. He wished he did. His feelings of loneliness grew. Sometimes it was worse being around happy people, since it just reminded him of what he didn’t have.
As the meal came to an end, the Estro men carried the dishes to the kitchen and began to clean up. Mrs. Gordon was ordered to sit and relax on the couch. She had Thomas on one side of her and Rachel’s baby in her arms. The loving expression on the older woman’s face was beautiful. Everyone there was a part of one big, happy family, except for him. He felt out of place.
He stood to the side, looking at the pictures of Maggie and her family. Maggie came to stand next to him. Corey glanced sideways at her smiling face. “You look happy.”
“I am happy. I want the same thing for you, Corey.” She put a hand on his arm and squeezed it. “I wouldn’t have made it through all the terrible things I had to face in those tunnels without you and Lily. I want to see both of you happy, and I won’t rest until you are.”
He chuckled. “Sounds like you’re on a mission.”
“Maybe I am.” She bumped his shoulder with hers.
A clinking of glasses had them both turning around. Jared and Lily stood together with little Thomas in between them. They all three had happy faces.
“We have an announcement to make,” Jared began, but Thomas burst out with the news.
“We’re having a baby! I’m going to be a big brother!”
The group erupted in congratulations. Commander Estro hugged all three and his eyes lingered to Lily’s slightly rounded tummy. Corey felt a pang of jealousy. It certainly wasn’t that he wanted Lily, but to have a family of his own was his dream—one that seemed to be slipping through his fingers.
Corey waited another thirty minutes before saying goodnight. As he exited the family quarters, he found that Liam and Commander Estro followed him out. He turned to face the two men. They both had worried expressions on their faces.
“Is something wrong?”
Liam shook his head. “Nothing more than the usual. We’re still trying to get the rebels under control, as well as the Drastan traitors.”
Devlon nodded. “I have a mission that I would like to discuss with you. Come by my office in the morning.”
“A mission? But I’m not a warrior, sir.”
“You’ve been training and Nix has given you high marks. Coming from her, that’s high praise.”
He felt shocked. Up until that very moment, he had thought Nix hated him. Why would she give him high praise?
“For what I have in mind, I will need your expertise.”
“I’m happy to help in any way.” He bid them goodnight and walked slowly back to his own quarters. There had been real concern in their eyes, and that made him anxious to find out what was happening. Maggie and Lily were his family, which meant the Estro men were now his family as well. He would protect his family.