Bargain With the Enemy (13 page)

When she wiped her forehead with her sleeve, dismay caused her stomach to roll over at the dark smear on her clothes. Too much ash, another ominous sign.

How much time do we have before that volcano blows?
She measured the distance she still had to traverse and her heart sank.
I need to move faster.
The duffle bag has to go.

Moments later she was on the move again, having taken a few precious minutes to stuff essential water and milk formula into her backpack plus a few other necessary items.

She left behind her, the bag with her spare clothes and the novel John had given her. But she'd barely taken another six paces, Mia gripped tightly in her arms, before a tremor rumbled deep in the ground under her feet.

Her gaze whipped round to the volcano where a red glow pulsed from its peak. A lava fountain spewed hundreds of metres into the air. Cracks appeared in the ground beneath her feet.

Oh man. No!

Desperately harnessing his terror and sweating inside his cyno armour, Ivo piloted the shuttle as it sped down to the planet. He'd taken three of his most experienced warriors with him, leaving Priar in command in his absence.

Beside him, Ensign Ronal manned the electronics and scanning systems and gave frequent upgraded reports on the planet's conditions the secton the data pinged. His co-pilot was ready to take over the controls as soon as they'd located his quarry's location.

Ivo turned his head to the right and studied the 3D hologram map where a blue, blinking light travelled at a slow pace in a northerly direction. It appeared his little thief had dressed the youngling in the cyno suit and activated all its systems, one of which included a tracking beacon.

Ronal announced, ‘Surface temperature has risen seventy percent in the past ten sectons. Systems detect toxic gases are on the rise.'

Ivo compressed his lips, willing the power source to go faster but the shuttle had reached maximum speed already and any further increase could cause the engines to blow.

His co-pilot leaned over and swiped his hand on a screen. ‘Five more sectons, Commander, and the shuttle will be above the mark.'

‘Take control.' Ivo signed off and pushed to his feet. Heart thudding heavily, he strode through the small cabin into the large cargo bay beyond. Apart from the bench seating bolted to the floor and lining both sides of the walls, little else was in the room. Cor, a seasoned warrior, followed him. Working quickly he hooked Ivo up to a harness.

Ivo activated his helmet and snapped a roll of paper-thin, cyno-plated blanket onto his belt at his back. Ready, he nodded at Cor.

The other Darkon coded a panel on the wall and the door embedded in the floor of the shuttle slid open to reveal a metal platform. A cable zoomed down from the ceiling and Ivo snapped it into the bolt in the centre of the platform floor and locked it in place.

The engines slowed. Powered down.
Stephanie and Mia must be directly below.

He stepped onto the platform. Immediately it began to lower like an elevator zooming down towards the ground.

Hot wind buffeted him.

Ivo hung onto the winch as the platform swung madly.

Burning pyroclastic fragments clattered onto the platform.

He kicked them off, feeling sick to his stomach as they disappeared from sight. Should any larger particles be spewed from the erupting volcano and land or fall on Stephanie, it would explode with the force of a small nix bomb.

The falling ash had thickened, obscuring vision and worse, poisoning the atmosphere.

A massive explosion boomed.

Five sectons later, a wave of energy hit the shuttle.

***

Stephanie heard the sound of engines before she spotted the shuttle. Visibility was worsening with every second and even with the breather in her mouth, her lungs burned from who-knew-what type of gases entering her system.

Ivo! I know it's him. He's found us.

Waving a hand above her head, she said to Mia, ‘We're going to be okay, sweetie. Please stop crying.'

Mia hiccupped and looked mournfully out through her helmet. Being stuck inside a cyno suit obviously was not an experience she enjoyed as she'd spent the past hour sobbing.

Stephanie felt a lot like howling herself but she sucked it in and instead shuffled Mia about in her arms until she could slide the backpack off. Quickly she broke off the miniature magfam lamp she'd attached to the straps and switched it on. One arm holding Mia tight, she raised her other hand holding the lamp above her head.

A flash of firelight in her peripherals.

With seconds to spare, she leapt over the fissure that formed suddenly beneath her feet. Her precious backpack disappeared from sight.

Shit! Come on, Ivo. Where are you?

Boom!

Ears ringing from the explosion, Stephanie dropped to her knees and crouched low over the baby held close to her chest, shaking as she waited for the energy field to hit. The force tumbled her over the ground. And she was unable to stop her momentum.

If we fall into a crevice, that's it. We're both goners.

At last she stopped rolling.

Teeth clattering together, her body a mass of twitching nerves and shaking muscles, she scrambled to her feet. Through the face-shield, little Mia could be seen bawling her eyes out. Heart pounding, Stephanie glanced around.
Oh, Mia, I've lost the lamp
. Tears burned and Steph gulped over the sob in her throat.

A tremor rippled over the ground.

Horrified, she stared as a crack appeared ten metres away and ran along the ground towards her. The crack widened. Molten lava gushed up to the surface.

She turned to run.

‘Stephanie!'

And there before her, standing on a raft with a cable reaching up to the underbelly of a shuttlecraft, was her Ice Man.

Ivo jumped down and grabbed her waist, hoisting her up onto the platform where on her knees she shuffled to the centre. Seconds later, he joined her. He flung a thin blanket over them, clamped one arm round both her and Mia, and gripped the cable with his other hand.

The raft whizzed upwards and into the safety of the shuttle.

Her energy depleted, Steph huddled against his reassuring bulk, aware she was crying probably louder than the baby. The raft jolted. Hands helped her to her feet, guided her weak footsteps forward and pushed her into a chair. Dimly, she was aware of male voices, of Ivo standing in front of her gently prising Mia from her tight grasp. The shuttle lurched and Steph's stomach somersaulted. The pitiful amount of water she'd consumed recently and her breather spewed onto the deck.

Oh man, I just vomited on his boots
.

Ivo wiped her face with a damp cloth, forced some type of liquid down her throat. Someone else jabbed a meds into her thigh. A fresh breather was clamped between her teeth and she sucked hard on the rich oxygen. Then she sank into welcome oblivion.

***

Stephanie woke, feeling as if she'd slogged her way around Australia with a house on her back. Groaning softly, she prised open gritty eyelids and stared blearily at the ceiling. It took her several seconds to recognise she was on board Ivo's cruiser. Another two seconds to
realise a heavy arm had her locked in place, snug up against a long, hard and naked male body.

Beside her, Ivo stirred. His eyelashes flickered then his gaze captured hers. She couldn't interpret the expression on his drawn face.

Neither spoke as they stared at each other.

‘How do you feel?' asked Ivo.

Stephanie shifted her legs and feet, flexed her fingers. ‘Exhausted but I think I'm okay. Mia?' Her voice rose and she struggled to free herself.

‘Be easy. Mia has suffered no ill effects. She has been feed and now sleeps in her bunk.'

Biting her lower lip, Steph subsided.

His fingers brushed the tears from her cheeks. ‘You will not run from me again.'

How to answer that?
‘I can barely move let alone run,' she said drily.

He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Stephanie choked down a wave of hot emotion. ‘Don't, I must be filthy.'

‘Negative. I have taken care of that after you spent one rone inside the medie tube.'

Her fingers swept down her body and found herself covered in unfamiliar clothing. ‘Am I wearing your shirt?'

‘Affirmative. You will need new clothes. As soon as we arrive on Darkos, the best dressers will be ordered to attend you. You may have anything you wish for yourself and Mia.'

‘Thanks, but that's not necessary.'

‘I will not be disobeyed in this matter, Stephanie.'

Her name rolling off his tongue caused her heart to twist in anguish.
He's not yours.
She plucked at the blanket drawing it over her shoulders. ‘We're hitching a ride back to Earth,' she managed through shaking lips.

Ivo drew in a deep breath, causing his chest to expand and brush against the side of her body. The contact sent a delightful frisson fizzing over her flesh.

‘If this is your wish I will go with you.'

‘What?'

‘You, Stephanie Roberts, are my one and I will follow you through this life and the next. Always, will I protect you and little Mia. Allow me this one gift.' His voice hoarse and deep vibrated through her body.

Stephanie's heart pounded.
Did he mean…?
‘You didn't like how I lied to escape Verrilous.'

‘I am glad that you did, for it saved yours and Mia's lives.'

‘I thought you were all gung ho about your Traditionalist agenda and didn't believe in life-mates.'

‘I was wrong,' Ivo said simply. ‘I deceived myself. Since my brother left, I often wondered whether I had chosen the right path. I spent many nights imagining a life with the female of my heart by my side.'

‘And yet, you carried through with your plans to get married to your friend's daughter.'

Ivo's nostrils flared. Fire blazed in his eyes as his features tightened. ‘I intend to extract due punishment for their crime in abandoning you on Zersk, never fear, little thief.'

‘Forget that, what I want to know is, are you marrying her?' Steph held her breath knowing in this moment her life, her future, her everything was on the line.

‘Negative. I have negated my bargain with Gordo and his kin.'

Delight fizzed like champagne through her veins but she needed more answers. ‘I wasn't happy with how you treated me on your ship when they arrived. Then, on Cerciron when they turned up there, you said your family was none of my business.'

Ivo's eyebrows rose. ‘Females are never involved in negotiations.'

‘In your world maybe but not in mine,' she said drily. ‘I need to be a part of any decisions that may affect Mia or myself.'

‘Deal.'

She couldn't help smiling at the knowledge they were back to bargaining.
This is where we began.

‘You are happy and this pleases me, Stephanie.' Ivo traced the curve of her lips with his forefinger. ‘Tell me you care.'

Her mouth trembled beneath his touch. ‘I don't think I love you. Not yet, anyway. But I do know I'm falling in love with you. I want this second chance, Ivo.'

‘Then we will be together?' Strain marked his voice.

She nodded furiously. He was a difficult man to unravel, nothing could totally eradicate his innate arrogance but love would soften it. And she couldn't wait to show him the power of love.

Tossing her aches and pains to the four winds, Stephanie flung herself on top of him to straddle the rock-hard muscles of his flat stomach.

She grinned down into his startled face and watched as his haggard expression dissolved and morphed into a stunned joy.

‘You really put me through the wringer, you know. But you saved us. You were there when we needed you and you don't know how much that means to me.' Leaning down she pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth and murmured, ‘I've got a much better idea, Ice Man. You marry me and we make a real family with Mia and your mum and we stay here, in the Seven Galaxies.'

The golden flames in his eyes blazed into an inferno and he gave a cunning smile. ‘And if I do not agree to this bargain?'

‘Then…' Stephanie paused to nip his ear lobe. ‘Then, I guess I'll have to proceed into more, shall we say, forceful negotiations.'

Ivo laughed and pulled her closer to capture her mouth in a tender kiss that promised eternity. His hands wandered along her back to cup her buttocks pressing her down to the rigid evidence of his hungry desire. Stephanie's eyes closed, giving over to the ecstasy of his touch.

A baby's loud wails cut through her lust-filled fog. Ivo released his hold and Stephanie scrambled off him. She hurried to the other smaller bunk and lifted Mia into her arms. Cuddling her close, she turned round to find Ivo standing beside her.

His arms opened and wrapped around them both until they nestled against him. Mia cooed and gave a toothless smile as she stared first at Stephanie and then the Darkon warrior who'd come to mean so much to both of them.

Ivo cleared his throat and, taking the words out of her mouth, said huskily, ‘My family.'

~END~

 

Thanks for reading
Bargain with the Enemy
. I hope you enjoyed it.

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You've just read a book in my Darkon Warriors science fiction romance series. The other books in this series are
Legend Beyond the Stars, The Portal, Awakening the Warriors, Star Pirate's Justice
and
When Stars Collide
.