Elin
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Uttering something unintelligible, she rolled over and slammed her hand onto the alarm clock. It was too early for that shit. Yanking the covers up to just under her chin, she curled up into a ball and tried to go back to sleep.
“Ugh, why doesn’t the military allow for sick days?” she moaned when it became obvious her body was already waking up, just like she’d trained it to do over the years.
Throwing off the comforter in an angsty outburst that did exactly nothing to help her calm down, she got up and headed toward the shower, intending to pummel her misbehaving body with heated water. While the water was teaching her body a valuable lesson—that it would absolutely love—Elin tried to get her mind under control.
Mostly she tried to ignore the way it kept bringing back up the subject of Kallore. Which inevitably led to her memory of the way he’d kissed her. That in turn set her body ablaze and stoked the embers between her legs back to life. It had been a long, long time since she’d been kissed, and never like that, with such vigor and drive. The dragon had a way of making her feel like she was the only woman he ever wanted to kiss. Ever.
And she’d turned him down. Tall, broad-shouldered, taut-assed, muscle-lathered Kallore. He wanted her for whatever reason, and she’d turned him aside. Pre-military Elin would have found the closest hotel and done whatever he’d asked of her if a man as gorgeous as the white-blond-haired giant had shown such interest in her. What kind of blithering idiot said no to that when they knew just how good he was, how smart and wise, gentle, and kind he was? Nobody, that’s who! Unless your name was Major Elin “Idiot” Mara.
Why did the situation have to be so complicated? It should be easy. Kiss him back, hold his hand, go on a date, and see where things go. He wasn’t a member of the military, and even though her superiors wished to consider him as such, he wasn’t even their property. He was a contractor. A mercenary. Paid to fight for their side. Elin wasn’t even his commanding officer; she was simply the liaison tasked with bringing him up to speed.
None of her mental gymnastics were justification for sleeping with him though. Everyone would say the same thing to her now as they would if he were a member of her command. She would lose her post and be tossed out of the army.
Once again she considered that course, trying to decide if it was worthwhile or not. Perhaps she should just quit. It would simplify so many decisions on her part. She could finally pursue a civilian career, with holidays and regular hours. Her sex life—as barren as it was—would become nobody’s business but her own. She could sleep in!
All it would require her to do was to admit that she wasn’t strong enough to keep going. That after ten years of pushback, she’d finally had more than she could take. It had been a valiant fight, an effort of heroic proportion, but in the end, was there any shame in bowing out? In saying, “You know what, I’ve had enough. I’m going to lead my life the way I want now”? Elin could do it. It would be so easy. There would be no pushback on their end, no hesitation, no extraneous paperwork that got lost. It would probably be effective by the end of the day. So why was she hesitating?
It wasn’t the pay. It certainly wasn’t an affinity for danger. No, the reason was twofold. First and foremost, fuck them—she wasn’t a quitter. At anything. The second reason was just as important to her, however, and it was the one that made her keep coming back, no matter how many times she cried herself to sleep in her private chambers at the idea of doing it for just another day.
Her fellow citizens were in danger.
That was why she’d signed up in the first place, enlisting as a soldier. To protect those who could not protect themselves. To put herself in harm’s way, to be the shield that weathered the storm of danger when it came near. Although she’d never seen a battlefield herself—something which she had mixed emotions over—Elin had done her part to be the best soldier she could be. Every little bit she was better, gave the troops doing the fighting a better shot. Now she had in her hands a sword that might strike the blow that her own soldiers would pay dearly to achieve.
Kallore was only there because of her. She’d never acknowledged that, but it was obvious. He fought for his money, and he stuck around because of her. If Elin quit now, if she walked away from it all like she so desperately wanted to, then he would leave as well, and the whole program would fall apart.
Her fist slammed out, killing the water. Flicking her head back she stood up, feeling fresh and invigorated as anger seethed throughout her, burning away any last traces of doubt. She wasn’t going to quit. Not yet. Not while those weaker than her still needed her help. Kallore and his kind could turn a slaughter into a victory, and she was the only person who could make that happen.
Once it was over, then she could give in to the desire she kept locked away, letting the solid dragon shifter whisk her away to his castle and make endless love to her. Until then, she would have to fight it, to keep herself righteous and in line. She had the strength…all she had to do was use it.
Putting on the last button of her uniform, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, searching for any weakness and excising it. There was no time to waste. They might have years before the portal was accessible again, but then again, right now they also only had Kallore. He was untested and unproven.
She had a lot of work to do.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Whirling, she looked at her door.
“Yes?” she called, peering through the little hole in the metal hatch.
“Ma’am, your presence is requested in the command center immediately.”
She frowned. That wasn’t Linny, her assistant. It was a male voice, and not one she recognized.
“Soldier, who are you?” she asked cautiously, reaching for her personal sidearm. The door itself was locked, but it wasn’t strong enough to survive a determined assault.
“Lieutenant Snider, ma’am.”
“I see.” She finished strapping the holster on and cleared the weapon for use. Elin doubted she would need it, but the presence of unknown soldiers on her base was a cause for alarm. Reaching in to her pocket, she withdrew her cellphone and sent a quick message.
“Yes ma’am. I’m here under orders from Colonel Cutprice.”
She frowned. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it.
“What are your orders, soldier?”
“To escort you to the command center, ma’am.”
There was the sound of more footsteps outside. Elin peered through the door again and nodded in satisfaction at what she saw. She undid the lock and slid it open, stepping swiftly into the hallway.
“Kyen, thank you for coming.”
He was her second choice, but she had an inkling that involving Kallore in whatever was going on would be a bad move for all parties involved. Still, she didn’t want to walk into whatever was coming unarmed. Kyen may be a pacifist, but he was still a dragon.
“It is my pleasure, Major Mara. To what do I owe the pleasure?” The dragon studiously ignored the soldier.
“I wish I could tell you.” She turned to the lieutenant. “Care to enlighten us?”
He looked nervously over at Kyen. Obviously word of what he was had gotten around.
“Uh, I’m just here as an escort.”
“Am I under arrest then?”
The lieutenant shook his head swiftly. “No, ma’am. Not to my knowledge. All I’m aware of is that Colonel Cutprice is here on scene.”
“Ah.”
Kyen looked at her. “Ah?”
She dipped her head. “Take us to the colonel.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the younger soldier said with obvious relief.
“What is going on, Major?” Kyen asked as he fell in step beside her.
“Don’t you see?” She smiled thinly, the expression lacking all joy. “Our work here is proving to be a success, so the army is sending in someone they like to take all the credit for it. They can’t let the black sheep of the family prove them wrong once this all goes public.”
“The black sheep?”
She nodded. “Me. This was supposed to be an exile posting, where they would never have to deal with me again. But Kallore is obviously convincing them that just because we thought this to be impossible, it isn’t. So Colonel Cutprice comes here and relieves me. He will, I assume, be taking over the training. Isn’t that correct, Lieutenant?”
The soldier in front of them hesitated before responding as they neared the command center. “I believe Colonel Cutprice is here temporarily while his commanding officer is in transit, to ensure that everything is transferred smoothly.”
Elin was caught off guard by the reply, and as she tried to sort out what was going on, the doors opened and they walked inside. A tall man in uniform was standing over the few screens, his back to her. She frowned. Something about his slight stoop was familiar, tickling at the back of her memory bank.
Then he turned to face her, and suddenly she remembered where she knew him from.
“Hello, Major,” he said in a nasally voice. “So good to see you. Again.”