But his conversational skills were at least somewhat passable compared to the General, who still hadn’t contributed anything since his introduction. He merely stood at the side of the room, silently observing the scene.
Kojo turned to Anna and placed his hand over hers. “Please accept my apologies for my brusqueness. I have been living in the company of men for many years, and I nearly forgot what my mother once taught me about the gentler sex.” He added a slow smile to his words, hoping to ease past her barriers.
“You don’t see women at all?” Her gaze swept around the room to include all the men.
Marco cleared his throat. “There are a few employed to perform special services for the military, but for the most part, we live a segregated life.”
Studying the men, Anna didn’t have to guess too hard at what special services the professional women offered. She’d heard men, particularly the physical ones, like the ones in the military, needed a regular outlet for their sexual energy. She’d even heard subtle rumors that sometimes the men turned to each other when a woman wasn’t available. Similar tales had been whispered about the boys in the dorm pods at the Academy of Science as well.
Anna tried to imagine her three mates touching each other, and a strange wave of dizziness crashed through her brain at the same time a throbbing started between her legs. The room felt suddenly warmer, and she undid the top button of her blouse.
Three pairs of eyes seemed glued to her movements, and she realized her innocent gesture could be interpreted as the beginning move in the mating process.
“Uh, is an-anyone else feeling warm in this r-room?” she stumbled through her words.
Marco’s lips slid up in a smile that made Anna feel even warmer. “Yes, I do believe I’m getting a bit overheated myself.” He reached his fingers up to his close fitting collar as if to start unbuttoning it, which was not at all what she intended.
She grabbed his forearm to stop him, and her gaze fell on the pins on his shoulder. “What do the stars mean?” She turned to look at the other two men. “You all have three or more of them.”
“That’s our rank,” Kojo explained. “It shows our level of experience. Marco and I are Lieutenant Generals. Vadim is a General.”
“And what exactly do you do?”
“I’m head of security in Second Quadrant,” Kojo answered.
“I’m head of security for First,” Marco said.
They all looked at Vadim to answer.
He nodded. “Yes, I am security head in Fourth Quadrant.”
It was such a relief to hear him speak again. It made him much more human. She was beginning to think he was a statue. A very imposing statue.
“All three of you are heads of security in your quadrants, really?”
They nodded.
Now, she was really confused. Why the hellitude would the Council match her with three men of such high ranking in the military? “I don’t understand the Council’s reasoning behind this match. It’s so out of bounds from their regular protocol. It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Yes. It does,” Vadim spoke.
All eyes turned toward him, and they waited for him to continue.
“Marco, what is your incident rate for domestic terrorism?”
“Ten per cyclum and increasing.”
Vadim nodded. “And you, Kojo?”
“Less, but also rising.”
“What domestic terrorism?” Anna interjected. She hated that they were having this conversation around her as if she wasn’t even here, and she had no idea what they were talking about.
Vadim’s cold stare pinned Anna. “Have you heard of the Open Air Society?”
“Sure. They think we should continue exploring space for a more Earthlike planet. Somewhere we can live without the need of bio-domes,” Anna answered. “What do they have to do with this?”
“They’re fed up with our convention of making do with what we have here on Profortuna. They want more resources spent on space exploration,” Marco explained. “They’re making their dissatisfaction known in more aggressive ways. So far, they’ve only targeted places and things, not people.”
“Oh, hellitude,” Kojo cursed. “Why didn’t the Council tell us?” He looked at the other two men. “We are Anna’s protection detail.”
Anna gaped at him. Protection detail? What? Why…? “How is that supposed to work? You each reside on a different part of the planet. We couldn’t be further apart, and we’re only mandated to get together once every moon cycle.”
Marco cleared his throat. “The civilian population hasn’t been informed yet, but there are troop movements in motion to increase the military presence here in First Quadrant. I expect the two of you will be getting your new orders very soon,” Marco addressed his last comments to Kojo and Vadim.
“Why here?” Anna asked.
Marco met her gaze with concern and maybe even some tenderness in his deep brown eyes. “First Quadrant has the highest population of the intellectual elite.”
“So?” she whispered, afraid of his answer.
“The terrorists are targeting scientists,” Marco explained gently. “They rationalize that if scientists aren’t alive to continue researching how to maintain the status quo, then maybe resources can be freed up to support space exploration.”
Anna felt like she’d swallowed a lead ball. “Oh, shiitake,” she swore under her breath. “My research. I’m a target.” The room tilted as if she were on a ship caught in a solar storm.
Kojo’s large hand pressed against the middle of her back. “Put your head between your knees,” he ordered. “That’s a girl. Now, deep, slow breaths.”
Anna did as she was told and grew aware of Marco’s hand softly stroking her head as Kojo rubbed her back in soothing circles. It was the most intimate touching she’d ever received, and…she liked it. It was calming and warmed her center core, and it nearly distracted her completely from the idea that someone might be trying to hurt her. She let herself enjoy it for a moment more before saying, “Okay, I’m better.”
The men helped her upright with a hand on each of her shoulders.
“So what do we do now?” she asked, looking at each man in turn.
“
We secure you,” Vadim spoke first to Anna.
The other men seemed startled by his words as if they’d forgotten he was in the room after their little cuddle with their supposed mate. Once the men realized they were here to protect Anna, not get familiar, they should have developed an appropriate military strategy. Vadim was disappointed in them and their emotional response.
“Oh, stars,” Anna groaned. “Please don’t tell me you plan to lock me up somewhere.”
“You don’t value your safety?” Vadim asked.
She shook her head. “That’s not it… I-I’m slightly claustrophobic. Living this narrow existence between my personal pod and the research lab is restrictive enough. Please don’t confine me further.”
“You sound like an Open Air Society sympathizer,” he accused.
She sat taller as she threw a glare at him. “I would never advocate for violence, but I believe in freedom of thought. And yes, I’d like to have the freedom to live beyond the bio-domes, but I don’t see that happening in my lifespan. In the meantime, my responsibility is to continue my research to ensure our manner of living is sustainable, and we thrive.”
He studied her during her little speech. Her direct eye contact indicated truth as she denied his accusation, and her erect posture and increased volume suggested a passion for the work she spoke of.
Yes, she was deserving of his protection.
He disregarded her remarks about confinement and directed his next words to Marco. “Where are the most defensible pods in this quadrant?”
“No! I said I won’t…I can’t be locked up,” Anna protested.
Kojo ran his palm down her arm as if to calm her. “We aren’t going to lock you up. We’re going to protect you.”
His touch must have worked because she turned her attention to Kojo and let Vadim focus on finding a solution.
Marco ran a hand through his overgrown hair. “Sector two was initially designed for the financial elite. It’ll have the best security features.”
“And will be the most predictable location,” Vadim added. “Tell me about the other sectors.”
“One, three, and four are primarily research facilities and personal pods for scientists. Five contains personal pods for the majority of the population. Six and seven are industrial. Eight and nine are agricultural. And ten is the military base.”
“It is clear where we will take her,” Vadim stated.
“It is?” Kojo asked.
“I told you I won’t go,” Anna insisted.
Directing his attention to where it mattered, he spoke to Marco. “Make arrangements for us to occupy two connecting pods in sector five.”
“Sector five?” Kojo echoed.
“We’ll hide her in plain sight,” Vadim explained the obvious.
“No, we can’t,” Marco argued. “That would put the greatest number of civilians in harm’s way.”
“It will also give us the most cover while we investigate, then take out the terrorist threat,” Vadim replied coolly.
Anna’s eyes widened as she stared at Vadim. He had no emotions. He was an automaton. And he kept ignoring her, which was really pissing her off.
She shrugged off Kojo’s large warm hand and stood. Moving into Vadim’s personal space, she glared up at the giant. “Excuse me, General. I think you are having a hard time hearing me.” She over-enunciated her words.
He inclined his head, and his icy blue eyes finally focused on her.
She swallowed hard and continued, “You can’t lock me up. I won’t go with you.”
A muscle in the side of his jaw clenched as his eyes narrowed. She nearly retreated, but she knew this was a crucial moment. She couldn’t show fear.
He unlocked his jaw. “You are silly and irresponsible if you don’t.”
“S-silly?” she sputtered. “How dare you?”
She stepped closer to him and rose to her tiptoes to get nearer to his face. There would be no more looking past her. “I’m the number one ranking scientist in the field of bio-research. My work is so important to the Council they’ve allowed me to continue full-time without the interruptions of mating for the past seven years. I, stars above, am
not
irresponsible. I have devoted my entire life to my research.”
She’d never understood the desire to strike someone, but she’d never been this angry with anyone before. Hitting this great hulk of beef wouldn’t do her any good, though. He’d certainly not feel it, and she’d probably injure herself slamming her hand into his steel side.
He blinked once then spoke. “If what you say is true, then you will follow my directions.”
Vadim held himself rigidly at attention as he waited for Anna’s capitulation. He would not give in to his base desire to grab her and contain her prattling mouth with his.
Never before had a woman, nor had many men, dared confront him in such a manner. Watching the color rise in her cheeks and feeling her tight, little body so close to his had affected him in an uncomfortable way.
He wanted to dominate her, to restrain her physically and bend her to his will.
He drew in a deep breath through his nose and released it slowly.
She stared at him closemouthed for several long ticks of the chronometer. Finally, her lips parted to form a word. “No.”
Vadim’s heat exploded like ancient dynamite. He hauled Anna against him and slammed his mouth over hers. She was soft and hot. He drove his tongue between her resistant lips, needing to taste her, and to mark her as his.
Always aware of his surroundings, he noted Kojo and Marco jumped to their feet to come to Anna’s rescue, but within two heartbeats, it was clear she didn’t need them. Her body softened in his arms as her hands gripped him behind the head, and she tugged him closer. Her tongue tangled with his as she tried to sample him.
With his erection demanding immediate attention, he lifted Anna with his forearm under her round ass. She wrapped her legs around his waist, satisfying his cock for the moment as it came into contact with her. Even through the layers of their clothes, he could feel her heat.
He growled low in his throat and dove deeper into her mouth. She was molten iron in his arms, and he burned to get inside her core. He backed up to the nearest bench to sit with her in his lap, so he’d have his hands free to undress her.
Marco and Kojo remained silent as they watched Anna come alive under Vadim’s touch.
He undid the top buttons of her shirt as he kissed his way down her throat. Her skin was satiny under his lips, and he was dying to taste her all the way to her center. His cock bumped against her, ready to find satisfaction, until a wailing siren snagged his attention.
His head jerked up, and he caught the other men’s gazes. “Status,” he barked to Marco.
Marco grabbed the slim datapad from his hip holster and tapped the screen a few times. “Security reports a fire in lab twenty-two.”
Anna gasped. “That’s my lab. My research!” She scrambled off Vadim’s lap and hastily buttoned her blouse as she headed for the door.