Destin's Hold

Chapter 2-1

Chapter Two

Destin dove beneath the waves and began swimming toward shore. As much as he hated it, he needed to get back to the house. He had promised Ami that he would make her some mouse-shaped pancakes this morning just like he used to do for her mommy.

He swam only a short distance when he caught a glimpse of something sparkling under the water. Surfacing, he glanced around with a frown before he took a deep breath and dove back down. He blinked when he saw the body of a young woman floating along the bottom. His heart thundered in dismay. He had seen enough death in his lifetime. The beautiful woman floating serenely near the bottom was too young to face such a fate.

Kicking downward with hard, powerful strokes, he reached for her. His eyes burned from the salt water, but he refused to close them. He grabbed her arm and quickly pulled her against his hard length, then changed his grip to hold her more securely around the waist as his feet pushed off the bottom.

Her slender hands clutched his bare shoulders, and her brilliant, light blue eyes snapped open. Destin and the woman locked gazes in mutual shock. Her delicate, pale blue lips parted, and Destin was afraid she would instinctively draw in a mouthful of water. Unsure of what else to do, he covered her lips with his. The moment his lips touched hers, a wave of heat swept through him and he couldn’t help but wonder if he had captured a real, live siren.

Destin knew he should release her – or at least her lips – when they surfaced, but the fire that had ignited when he pressed his lips to hers appeared to have short-circuited that part of his brain. She was not helping his resolve, either. Her hands tightened on his shoulders, but she didn’t push him away and her soft lips trembled slightly as her breath mingled with his. It took several seconds before he finally forced his body to obey his command to stop. He reluctantly lifted his head, but still kept her firmly pressed against him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, blinking to clear his eyes of the salt water.

“I… You… Of course, I’m… You!” the woman sputtered before her eyes widened in recognition. “You aren’t supposed to be here!”

Destin’s lips curved up at the corners. “Where am I supposed to be?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, studying her face with a growing sense of dismay. “I know you…,” he started to say.

“You should be back on that horrid, barbaric world,” the woman snapped, pushing against his shoulders. “Release me!”

Recognition hit Destin hard. His arms slackened enough that the woman – Jersula Ikera – was able to pull away from him. She pushed at the water to put some space between them, her light blue eyes flashing with fire. This was a much different woman than the one he had briefly met back on Earth. This one was…. The sudden image of a siren flashed through his mind.

Trouble, he thought with a grimace, twisting around and striking out for the shore. The moment he was in shallow enough water to put his feet down, he did. He wanted to put as much distance as possible between him and the Usoleum Councilor he had met back on Earth.

He ran the back of his hand across his heated lips. He could still taste her. It was a good thing his back was to her, otherwise she would notice the physical evidence of his reaction to her. It suddenly occurred to him that she would have been aware of it when she was pressed against him.

Damn it! Well, he wasn’t going to remind her by giving her a second look. He was sure that would thrill her even more – not.

Destin muttered a string of expletives under his breath as he exited the water. He strode across the beach, passing the film of dark blue material lying against the white sand. He kept his back to her while he grabbed his jogging pants and pulled them on with stiff fingers. He ran his fingers through his soaked hair. The dark brown strands were cut into a short, military style and would dry soon enough.

Destin grabbed his T-shirt off the boulder. It was still damp from his run and he decided it wasn’t worth pulling it on. He drew in a deep, calming breath and slowly released it before turning around to make sure Jersula had made it back to shore. He would feel pretty rotten if she drowned while he was trying to hide the major hard-on he had. He could just see himself trying to explain that to Razor and the Trivator council!

A frustrated groan escaped him when he saw her emerge from the water in the form-fitting blue material that left very little to the imagination. Destin’s gaze froze on the twin peaks of her n*****s pressing against the fabric, and he swallowed hard. They were hard pebbles, perfect for….

“It has been too damn long since I’ve been with a woman,” he muttered under his breath.

He forced his eyes back to her face. His lips quirked up at the corners when he saw her eyes were still shooting indignant sparks. She looked a hell of a lot different than she did when he’d first met her. He had found her fascinating then, too, which hadn’t helped his temper during their one and only meeting.

Her long silky white hair, glacier blue eyes, and unusual blue lips had made it difficult to look away. She was an ethereal ice queen. At the time, he was furious with himself for reacting like that to an alien. He had thought she must have been cast in the same mold as Badrick, but the woman angrily snatching up the silky fabric off the sand was anything but icy. He remembered her heated breaths and the softness of her lips.

She clutched the fabric in front of her and her long legs cut across the loose crystals, quickly closing the distance between them. He couldn’t help but notice that her hair was the same color as the sparkling sand. Her cheeks were a slightly darker blue than before and matched the deep color of her eyes. He would have to remember that when she was angry, her eyes changed to the color of the ocean back home.

She was breathing heavily by the time she stopped in front of him. His gaze swept over her face, noticing the strand of hair stuck to her cheek. Without thinking, he tenderly brushed it back.

“I’m glad you are alright. When I first saw you floating along the bottom, I feared you were dead,” he murmured.

Sula’s lips parted in surprise. She swallowed and lifted her hand to touch her cheek, pausing when she felt his hand hovering near it.

“Why… Why did you kiss me?” she asked softly.

Destin dropped his hand to his side and he glanced over her shoulder to the ocean behind her. In his mind, the countless faces of those he had to bury over the years superimposed over her face as she lay so still under the water. He didn’t look at her when he replied.

“I thought you had drowned. When I touched you, you opened your eyes and I saw your lips part. I was afraid that you would inhale water and choke. It was the only way I could think of to protect you,” he replied with a shrug. “Anyway, I’m glad you are okay. I apologize if I offended you. It wasn’t intentional. I’ve got to go,” he said in a stiff tone.

“I…,” Sula started to say, but her voice faded when he turned and started to walk away. “Human… Destin!”

* * * *

Sula’s soft voice called out behind him before he had gone more than a few strides. Destin slowed to a stop and partially turned to look back at the alien ice queen who had captured his attention over a year ago. He waited for her to speak again. She swallowed and lifted her chin.

“Thank you,” she said. “… for trying to save me, even though it was not necessary.”

Destin bowed his head in acknowledgement and turned away. As ghosts from his past rose up to choke him, he knew he needed to put some space between them. Sula was alive, not dead like so many others he had been responsible for. Over the past year, he had worked hard on learning to control the haunting thoughts that often tried to drown him. There were too many would’ve, could’ve, should’ve moments over the last seven years that could never be changed. Dwelling on those memories did nothing but pull him into a deep abyss that threatened to suffocate him.

Sula was in no danger at all and that should be the end of it. There was no reason to keep touching her. It threw him off balance that he had this aching need to feel her lithe body against his again, regardless of whether he had a reason or not.

This reaction was much more intense than the first time he saw her. At that time, he was still reeling from everything that had happened – Colbert’s death, Kali being wounded and leaving the planet, the loss of the men who had fought beside him, and the realization that he now had what he wanted – Chicago to rebuild. That, on top of discovering how many women and young girls had been kidnapped from Earth for the Usoleum Councilor’s greed, made his physical attraction to the new Councilor too much to deal with at the time.

Destin focused on the narrow gap in the rocks in front of him. The moment he was on the other side, he broke into a fast jog. He didn’t stop until he reached the back gate to Kali and Razor’s home.