Page 50 of Hunting the Warlord's Daughter

A PCD chime pulled Hadley from deep sleep, and she felt Bolivarr’s arms slide from around her waist. Goddess, they were still in bed! The last thing she remembered was spooning with him: Bo in only a pair of skivvies, her in a set of boring pajamas.

She activated her PCD. “Lieutenant Keyren.”

Even as she spoke, Bolivarr was pulling on his uniform pants. His glossy hair was ruffled from sleep, his cheek creased from the pillow. “Sorry,” he mouthed. Everyone knew they were together, but to be seen emerging from the same quarters when the corridors were crowded at the height of shift change would really get tongues wagging.

“It’s me, Garwin,” said a voice in her ear.

Garwin? “Oh, Lieutenant Tadlock.” She winced at the archaeologist’s complete absence of military protocol. “What can I do for you?”

“Captain Rorkken wants all staff on the Mission: Origins away team to report to the bridge. And you too. We’re about to get our first good look at the surface of Ara Ana.”

“I’ll be right there.” She ended the call. Before she could tell Bolivarr the news, his PCD rang. Tadlock had messaged him too.

“Don’t be sorry,” she said, hurriedly changing out of her pajamas.

“I should have known better than to fall asleep.”

“I’m glad you did.” She pulled her uniform shirt off its hangar and shrugged it on. “You needed to sleep.”

“I needed to be with you.” He grabbed the edges of her unbuttoned shirt and drew her close. “Good morning, sunshine.”

She sighed, leaning into the kiss, as hungry for him as he seemed to be for her. Then all too soon he pulled away and wordlessly slipped out the hatch.

Gone as swiftly as a cloud shadow.

Her lips tingled as she brushed her hair into her battle-bridge chignon. Bolivarr’s gift, the yellow crystal globe, sparkled in its open box next to her mirror.“You’re my ray of sunshine.”Every time she saw it, it reminded her of his sweet words. It further reminded her that at any moment his past could roar back and lay claim to him. Yet he’d sought her out last night because he needed to be with her.

Or was he only used to holding someone close all night long?

Stop it, Hadley.She put her silly doubts out of her mind.You said you loved him, and he loves you back. Not only that, there’s a planet to explore!

On a whim, she fastened the crystal pendant around her neck, hiding it under her T-shirt before she closed her uniform jacket to her chin. Even with regulations relaxed to accommodate traditional Drakken styles and the Terran habit of wearing marriage rings made of precious metals, she’d never worn personal jewelry on duty.

Something told her that she might need a good-luck charm today.

Full of happy energy after a night spent snuggling with Bo, Hadley walked onto the bridge. She expected a buzz of activity, the Mission: Origins team deciding on a location for a base of operations with excitement and a sense of anticipation. But worried faces stopped her cold.

Bolivarr and Dice stood, frowning, at the computer-generated surface map on the holo-vis; Commander Johnson, who was technically off duty and should have been in the rack, spoke in hushed tones with Sister Chara and Major Caro; sitting at his comm station, Ensign Berloo looked downright ill. Captain Rorkken arrived on the bridge, looking fresh from a hydro-shower, and he too slowed. Admiral Bandar glanced up. Not even the sight of her lover could melt the trademark frosty glare that had earned her the nickname “Stone Heart.”

“I knew it.” Lieutenant Tadlock wrung his hands. “I knew this would happen.”

“It’s like receiving a gift that’s already been opened,” Rakkelle complained, folding her skinny arms over her chest. “Freepin’ looters.”

Hadley’s stomach plunged. Good Goddess. Someone had beaten them to Ara Ana.

CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT

Aral set a punishingpace toward the ruins where the pendant pointed. Wren welcomed the exertion. The sky was clotted with clouds, but the drizzle had ended. Flocks of weird little creatures zinged back and forth overhead, their feathered, rotor-shaped wings whirring. “I’ve seen a lot of water—creeks, ponds. If there’s something living in them that passes for fish and the scanner says they’re edible, I’ll catch us dinner.” If only to calm her jumpy nerves. It wasn’t every day a girl met her destiny. “We’ve been cooped up on the ship so long. Being out here, I feel like a caught fish tossed back into the water. Back in my element. I wish we had time to stay awhile and explore.”

“Explore?” The concept appeared to baffle Aral.

“Reconnoiter then.”

“Now you’re speaking my language.”

She laughed. “All work and no play isn’t good for the soul.”

“So Kaz tells me also. Someday, I hope to test that theory.” Yet dressed in his T-shirt and uniform pants, even Aral seemed to welcome being outside.

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