Finn: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 10) (3 page)

Lia stiffened her spine. She’d worked damn hard to achieve everything in her career. She’d always believed in herself and her ability to fly. Flying was her love, and had given her freedom. Not once had she let herself be afraid or stopped by a challenge.

“Okay, flyboy. I accept.”

The smile that crossed his face made her blink. Damn, the man was lethal.

They both settled into the seats in front of the comp screens. Lia tapped the controls and keyed up the drone sim.

“The comp scores the sims, right?” he asked.

“That’s right. The scores from each sim are added for a total score. The pilot with the highest total wins.” Her hands flexed on the controls. She had to win. “I’m pulling up the drone sim first.”

Images flashed up on the screen. Lia was really proud of the work she’d done on the simulations. The graphics looked like a real drone feed.

The drones went vertical, and a computer voice intoned the parameters of the mission. Soon Lia forgot all about the bet and focused on flying.

They both zoomed off over the ruined capital city. The shattered ruins of Sydney’s once-bustling city center lay ahead.

Lia almost felt like she was at her station in the drone room on a real mission, with her team around her. She felt her muscles relax. This was familiar. She had this. This was what she was good at.

Soon she was whizzing through the broken buildings to reach the area that the comp had outlined. Whoever got there first, won. She glanced over at Finn. He might be annoying, but the man was a damn good pilot. Even when he was flying a drone.

He was doing some fancy flying. He sent his drone ducking and weaving through a ruined skyscraper. He was laughing.

Lia looked back at her screen. She had pulled ahead, but Finn wasn’t far behind her drone. She flew out across the broken arch of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It had been blown up in the center, the two sides of it reaching out across the harbor, like two lost lovers trying to reach each other.

She zoomed below it, flying just inches above the water. Once, the harbor had been covered in ferries and boats zipping back and forth between all parts of the city. Now it was silent, the waters dark and still.

Ahead, she saw Cockatoo Island. The large island contained historic shipyards, and had been a popular tourist attraction. From the air, she could see the two long marinas, and the huge industrial dockyard buildings. Then she saw a large, red circle marked on the island.

Bingo.
The drone target area was on Cockatoo Island.

Adrenaline surging, she sent her drone into a dive. Then, she noticed another drone pull up beside hers. Finn had caught up.

They were neck-and-neck. Lia smiled, keeping her hands relaxed on the controls, even as her heart raced.

As they sped over the top of the island’s landmarks, she executed a fancy turn, dropping down through one of the old industrial buildings.

“Hey!” Finn exclaimed.

Lia raced her drone through the huge, empty warehouse, and then popped up through a hole in the roof…right inside the target zone.

Simulation One Winner.

The words flashed up on Lia’s screen. A second later, Finn’s drone arrived in the target zone.

He shook his head. “Nice move.”

She smiled at him. “Those pilots are mine, Erickson.”

His blue gaze traced over her face. “Still one sim to go, Murphy. So we’ll see. And it’s the Hawk sim.” He cracked his fingers. “My domain.”

Lia felt a skitter of something through her belly. She looked back at the comp and pulled up the next simulation.

He was right. This was his domain, so it wouldn’t be nearly as easy. She lifted her chin. She could do this. She ran these sims frequently, to keep herself rated to fly the Hawks.

On both the screens, a Hawk cockpit appeared. Beside her, she listened to Finn settling his lean body into his seat.

For a second, she let herself think about what a night in his bed would be like… No. She didn’t want a man. She did quite fine without sex and the messy emotions that came with it.

She’d lost her heart in the invasion. Lost the person who’d been a piece of her. She had no interest in getting close to anyone else.

But for a split second, Lia really wasn’t sure if she wanted to win or lose.

***

Finn put all his focus on the simulation.

As his Hawk took off, he could hear Lia’s quiet breathing, but other than that, she was silent.

Most Hawk pilots he worked with were skilled and confident, and not afraid to let people know about it. They were good at flying, coped daily with heading into combat zones, and were also very good at blowing off steam in their downtime.

As their Hawks skimmed out over the simulation of trees, he glanced Lia’s way. Her entire concentration was on the screen. Her face was tense, but her hands were relaxed on the controls. There was a sense of control about Lia. Like she was ruthlessly holding things inside, things she never let out.

As he watched her fingers move over the controls in the complicated dance he knew so well, he felt a punch of desire.

He’d kept telling himself to stay away from her, but now that he’d made this crazy bet, it was almost as though he’d struck a match to the tinder inside of him. Now, he wanted her more than anything. It was like a fire licking at his insides.

For almost two years, everything Finn had done was to survive. He flew into combat zones, over and over. Hell, he’d crashed in alien territory. He’d made it back to base by the skin of his teeth more times than he could count.

In the early days of the invasion, he’d shared his bunk a few times. Nothing more than hurried couplings, though. Two people looking for a way to not be so alone in the chaos. To hold on to someone, just for a few hours.

Yet, every encounter had left him empty. Every encounter had been a sad echo of the close relationships he’d had before. He’d been single when the aliens invaded, but he’d had a big, strong, loving family.

And he’d lost them. An empty, hollow feeling opened up inside. He’d lost the people he’d loved most.

He looked at Lia and swallowed. He didn’t want to feel empty anymore.

Something clipped his Hawk, the computer blaring at him. Beneath his hands, the controls vibrated.

Shit. Pay attention, Erickson.

“I’m going to beat you, Finn.” Lia glanced his way, a delicate pink flush on her creamy cheeks.

Hell, no.
He wanted his prize. Finn put all his intense focus on the simulation.

They continued to fly over the dense forest, but now, in the distance, he could see the silver of a river. Then a bridge appeared.

They were on track to go over it, but at the last minute, Finn maneuvered his Hawk down and shot under the bridge.

“Showoff,” she muttered.

He’d just pulled back up to the right altitude, when he saw the pteros appear.

There were five of them. They rained down on his and Lia’s Hawks, bombarding them with their poison fire.

Finn didn’t let himself think. For him, so much of flying was instinct and trusting his gut. He zipped through the sky, dodging around the pteros, and taking one down with his lasers.

Beside him, Lia was holding her own. Her evasive maneuvers were impressive. She took one of the pteros down herself.

Finn circled around and fired again. He saw another ptero explode, but there was another one coming right up on his ass. He pulled up hard, and saw another alien ship chasing Lia. He ducked past close to the ptero, luring it away from her.

Next, he did a hard drop, then he spun his bird, lined up, and took the shot. The lead ptero exploded, and the second one was too late to avoid it. It hit the debris, and its wing disintegrated. The ptero plunged wildly toward the ground.

Suddenly, the sim was over.

Simulation Two Winner
flashed up on his screen.

Finn blinked. Usually for him, the fight wasn’t over so quickly. Usually, he still had to haul ass to get himself and his squad out of the combat zone safely.

Lia ran her palms down her trousers. “Good flying. We just have to wait a second while it calculates the overall winner.”

Mouth dry, Finn waited for the final winner to be calculated. Unable to keep still, he bounced his heel on the floor.

Both the screens went blank. A new line flashed up.

Overall Winner.

The words were on Finn’s screen.

Elation flooded him, but it was followed by a strange feeling. He wanted Lia more than he could breathe…but not like this. He didn’t want to coerce her into his bed. He wanted her there by choice.

He turned, and he saw that her face was curiously blank.

“I’ve changed my mind.” He tried to get the words out before the part of him that was screaming at him to snatch her into his arms won out. “I’ll take the pilots as my prize.” Shit, saying that almost killed him. He curled his hands around the armrests of his chair. He swore he could hear the plastic groan under the force of it.

Lia stared at him for a long moment. He knew she picked out details for a living, staring at drone feed and analyzing every little thing she saw.

“I’m not a coward,” she said. “And I don’t renege on a bet.” She stood. “I’ll see you at your place, Erickson. Half an hour.”

She walked out, and Finn found himself staring after her, dumbfounded and mesmerized by the swing of her hips.

He swallowed against his dry throat.
Hell
. He was in big trouble.

Chapter Three

Blood fizzing, Lia walked down the corridor. It was late—kids were in bed, couples were snuggled up watching shows and movies from the Enclave’s extensive database. There was no one to see where she was going, or to read on her face what she had planned.

A hot, sweaty night of sex with Finn Erickson.

Lia swallowed and straightened her collar. It’d been a long time since she’d had sex. Her body felt flushed and tight, her breasts full and sensitive. She could feel her coat rubbing against her skin, her belly, the hard tips of her nipples.

She’d showered and changed, and was now wearing her favorite coat—something she’d managed to save from before the invasion—and a pair of high heels. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn heels. A long time before the aliens had arrived. The coat had been from her flying days. It was a dark-navy-blue and well-cut, and it wrapped around her, cinched at her waist with a wide belt. She remembered all those times striding through airports, pulling her small suitcase behind her, off to take travelers on adventures all around the world.

It felt like a lifetime ago.

For her, flying had been a way to escape the emotional pressures of her mother and sister. Lia had loved them to bits, but too much time with them and their issues had been suffocating. After a trip, she always felt refreshed and ready to spend time with them.

Finally, she reached the door she needed, and thoughts of her family scattered.

She paused, her nerves jittering. What was she doing? She had work to do. There was always more work to do. She had to work with Finn and this would complicate things, even if it was only one night.

But she felt such heat inside her. Such an itchy, growing need. Right now, what she felt for Finn was stronger than the roar of a jet engine.

She knocked on the door.

No answer.

Licking her lips, she touched the electronic lock. The door clicked open, and she realized he’d keyed her in for entry.

She quickly stepped inside, and closed the door behind her. She took a few deep breaths to calm her racing pulse.

The apartment looked like hers—open-plan living area, with a sleeping area tucked over to one side that was dominated by a large bed. Bigger than what they’d had at Blue Mountain Base. There was no sign of its occupant. She also spotted a small basket lined with a red blanket with a chew toy of a yellow duck in it. Her eyes narrowed. She suspected that was for a certain drone killer chick Finn had accidentally rescued.

“Hey.” Finn sauntered out of the adjoining bathroom.

Her thoughts scattered and everything inside Lia went statue-still. He only had a white towel wrapped around lean hips, and shaving cream on one side of his face.

“Sorry, I’m a bit behind,” he added. He was holding a razor in his hand.

She blinked, taking in the sculpted chest, the well-defined ridges of his abdomen. His skin was still damp from the shower, and his blond hair was still wet, which made it look darker than normal.

His blue gaze ran over her. “Look at you. All prim and proper, and put together.” His gaze moved slowly down her legs and paused on her heels. “Well, not
too
prim and proper.”

Just looking at him had a small flood of fire rushing into her belly. Lia straightened. “You’re running late, pilot. I don’t like tardiness in my new recruits.” She walked toward him, and watched a slow grin dawn on his face

“Sorry, ma’am.”

“That’s Captain, to you.”

His grin widened. “Sorry, Captain.”

She liked that. Right now, in this instant, she wasn’t Lia and he wasn’t Finn. They weren’t the heads of the drone team or the Hawk pilots. They didn’t have people depending on them.

They were just two people, throwing the hard reality of their daily lives aside and enjoying themselves. Just for one night.

“You don’t look sorry.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the bathroom, her heels clicking on the tiles. “I think I’d better finish this off.” She held out her hand for his razor.

He studied her for a second, then put it in her hand.

Lia stepped in front of him. She took in a deep breath, smelled the potent combination of soap and man. She reached up and started shaving his cheek.

“You need to be on time, pilot.” She ran the razor over his strong jaw.

“I’ll try to do better.” His deep voice was a rumble. “What else can you teach me?”

Those blue eyes watched her steadily and made her breathing hitch. “You must always follow my rules.”

He lifted a hand and ran it down her arm. “I’m not so good with rules.”