After they'd run through various scenarios as a team, they separated to complete specialist training on Taurean technology: CJ had spent a lot of time with the human doctor, Amelia O’Malley, in medical, while Laila took the time to study past interactions with the Xakul, including their tactics and strategies, as well as their history.
The Taureans on the team had specialist activities that kept them busy. T’arq put in long hours in flight simulators, and Domik cleaned and tested a huge storeroom of weapons on the Zataras. Oren had all but disappeared, and Zac?
Well, Zac just always seemed to be there.
Laila could always tell when he was watching, because her skin would tingle and, when she looked up, he would be watching her. He was like a thorn in her side, though she knew that was not completely fair. She had a lot to learn from him, and it was essential that she and her team perform to the highest standard—the future of Earth depended on it.
During individual physical training, Zac watched from the mezzanine running track as CJ and Laila moved through their exercises. Sometimes he was on the wrestling mats with T'arq, the two huge Taureans drenched in sweat as they contorted themselves in order to throw the other to the padded floor.
This morning, in particular, it had taken more than a little effort to drag her attention away from a semi-naked Zac grappling with another Taurean, but after the third time tripping over her own feet, Laila had given up to sit and do some stretches. Watching the watcher.
She shook her head to clear the memory, but she had a feeling that, for as long as she lived, the image of the tall, blonde, bronzed warrior would be seared into her brain. She had never met anyone like him. Scarred or no, he was an unrivaled specimen of masculinity.
Happily or unhappily, depending on how she thought about it, he was often in the mess, having his meals at the same time as her. She would feel his eyes on her, and when she looked up, he would turn his head away.
So, was his attention because he was monitoring her work? Or was it because he felt something for her? It was tying her in knots!
Despite his constant presence, he would disappear if she approached. She knew he had devised the entire training schedule, but he hadn't spoken with her directly since that first meeting. Instead, he delegated any direct contact to T'arq.
Laila thought they had smoothed things over—they were working together, after all! It was one thing to agree to be professional, but another to ignore her entirely. But he couldn't ignore her forever.
As she marched along the corridor, she scowled. It was going to stop… today. And she had the perfect excuse to force him to speak with her.
She had been searching the Taurean databases for anything about the Xakul, but each day she was becoming increasingly frustrated at the dearth of information. It felt as if entire sections of the reports had been removed, but she didn't know what was missing.
She had to admit that on paper, the lack of intelligence on the Xakul sounded like a perfectly good reason to see Zac, but in her heart it still felt like an excuse.
She had run through every single moment of their brief time together, more often than she cared to admit. It had provided a lot of fuel for her overactive imagination. She regretted not being able to continue what they had started, but the mission came first. It always had. Nothing about that had changed.
Laila stopped outside the bank of elevators that would take her up to the room where T’arq had told her Zac was working. The elevator arrived with what was becoming a familiar metallic beeping noise. She entered the capsule, swiping her wrist against the scanner pad. Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes.
She wasn't here for romance; she was here to learn everything the Taureans had to teach her. And that would be hard to do if she didn’t see the entire picture.
She rolled her eyes at herself. Excuse or not, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t milk it for what it was worth. She had to know how he felt.
The doors opened and, taking a deep breath, she left the elevator and entered the foyer leading to the office area. She was nervous, and she steeled herself for her meeting with Zac.
He was expecting her, but when she knocked on the partially opened door, there was no answer. She peeked inside. The room was immaculate. No desk. Instead, there was a conference table with chairs tucked underneath. Taurean sized chairs, she noted. She was getting used to the way everything was super sized.
There was nothing personal to mark the space as his own, and she realized how little she knew about him. What did he do when he wasn't working? Where was his home? Did he have a family?
A large view screen dominated the far wall, currently showing a beautiful landscape. Mountains in the distance were topped with snow, and a large forest in all shades of green gave way to grassland. The centerpiece, though, was a large house built on the banks of a river, the walls made of stone blocks, and reminding Laila of a medieval castle she'd seen on a long-ago trip to Europe.
She took a step closer to the viewscreen, realizing it wasn't a static photograph; the trees and grass moved in the breeze, and ripples in the water reflected the fading afternoon sun. Ivy climbed the stone walls of the house, which was more like a mansion than a castle, two storeys high and with lots of large windows. It was peaceful.
Whose house was this, and where was it?
“Captain Storey.”
She jumped, not having heard him come in. Turning, facing the man who had been foremost in her thoughts ever since she had arrived in Taurean space.
“Commander Qu'Rell.”
She felt a flush spread over her throat, unable to stop her eyes from running over him. He had pushed up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing heavily muscled, bronzed forearms. His trousers clung to his thick thighs. Her eyes flowed over his body, as if she were caressing every inch of him.
“Do you like the view?”
She felt her face flame. “I'm sorry?”
