The Alliance Boxset Books 4-6

Chapter 7-2

Taylor jogged down the front steps and over to the small transport that Hunter had given her for her twenty-first birthday. She threw her backpack into the passenger seat and slid into the driver’s seat. Pulling the straps over her shoulders, she clipped the communications control onto her collar. With the expertise of hundreds of hours of flight time gained over the past two years, she pressed the power and rose into the air.

Glancing down at the house below, she couldn’t help but feel a little sentimental. It had been her home for the past seven years. It was hard to believe that so much time had passed. Her life back on Earth seemed more like a dream than a reality.

Turning her focus back to where she was going, she had to admit she was happy that it had. The people on Earth were slowly rebuilding, according to the reports she was reading and conversations with Razor, Hunter’s older brother, and Kali, his human wife…

Or Amate, Taylor thought as she flew over the thick forest below.

Still, Earth had a long way to go and a lot of rebuilding to do. A reluctant smile curved Taylor’s lips as she flew a path that she did twice a day; once in the morning and once again every evening. Saber might be moody as hell most of the day, he might give her hell for coming every morning to bring him breakfast or give her the cold shoulder every evening, but he never told her to leave, not anymore. No, he could tell Hunter to tell her not to come, but he never told her because he knew she would just ignore him if he tried.

A part of her acknowledged that she had fallen for him the first time she saw him. They’d had their issues. He called her a kid, she called him an old man, but the constant banter back and forth had kept her going in the strange new world she’d found herself in.

Taylor sighed as she thought of everything that they had been through over the past five years. One of the most painful things was waiting for her to grow up. She would have accepted him at sixteen, but deep down, she reluctantly agreed that Hunter, Jesse… and even Saber, had been right. She needed time to grow up and learn more about her new life. Of course, she wouldn’t have admitted it, at least not then.

Her life had changed and she’d found her focus almost five years ago. It had taken the near death of Saber and Hunter during a mission to give her life the inspiration and focus she needed. Hunter had received a severe spinal injury that almost paralyzed him while Saber had been critically injured to the point the healers were unsure whether he would live.

Saber required numerous operations, the last one just two months ago, to put him back together. The damage had been unbelievable. His right leg had suffered most of the damage. His upper thigh bone had been shattered; the muscles and nerves shredded as well as dozens of other hairline fractures. In addition, a deadly infection had set in by the time he and Hunter were rescued.

Five years later, he could now walk without his cane – most of the time, but he needed it when he was tired. He was still in a lot of pain which is what concerned Taylor. The constant nagging pain was evident by the permanent lines around his mouth and the shadows under his eyes.

Taylor knew the physical therapy was helping him. Every morning she would bring him breakfast and sit with him, chatting about her classes, what she was learning, and anything else she could think of until he finished. Then, she would start working on his leg.

He had balked at first, but she had persisted, refusing to leave until he did it. The first year afterward had been a trial. Saber had refused to do the physical therapy the healers had ordered. It took a while, but she discovered the reason was that the bone was not healing properly and it was excruciating.

She glanced down at the ground. She was almost there. Saber lived off the beaten path, almost thirty kilometers outside the town of Trivas. She was surprised the road leading to it hadn’t been renamed Taylor Way. She had definitely made the journey enough times over the years to have it renamed after her.

She and Saber had worked on the place before his injuries. Of course, he hadn’t been able to work on it the first year while he was in the hospital. She had spent most of her time with him there, until his release. After his discharge, it had taken almost six months before he would finally restart the work that needed to be done. He had withdrawn into the house and tried to become a hermit. Unfortunately for him, Taylor was just as determined that he rejoin the land of the living, even if it meant she had to pull him back into it kicking and screaming. Eventually, they began working on the construction of the house again.

She decided it had been good therapy for both of them. It had helped them work through the changes in their lives and given her the direction she needed to make her career choice of being a Physical Therapist with a focus in Developmental Research. She wanted to help those with extensive injuries like Hunter and Saber.

Now, after five years and her persistence, it was almost complete… with a few additions of garden trolls, gnomes, and other incentives whenever he was being a bonehead to her. It had become a running joke with them; he makes her mad, she creates something straight out of a Halloween movie to get back.

Or I change the color of the house on him when he isn’t looking, she thought with a mischievous grin.

“Okay,” Taylor breathed out the breath she was holding. “I hope tonight goes well. The big oaf better not start cheering when I tell him my news, otherwise he might need to be in traction again.”

She guided the transport over the trees and gently touched down in the front courtyard. She shut down the engine and unclipped the straps. Opening the door, she grabbed her backpack before sliding out. She shut the door and walked around the transport just as the front door opened.

Her heart skipped and she felt the familiar warmth spread through her. The desire for him had grown hotter and stronger the older she got, and right about now, she was ready to rip Saber’s clothes off and have her wicked way with him. She just needed to figure out a way to do it since he was a good head and a half taller than her.

“Hey,” she said with an easy smile.

“It’s late,” Saber replied bluntly. “I thought you’d finally taken the hint and decided not to come.”

Taylor walked up the steps to the house and patted Saber on the chest as she walked by him. “Ha-ha. You have the coolest sense of humor,” she remarked with a mischievous grin. “Did I ever mention that I find that incredibly sexy?”

Saber’s moody expression flashed to one of pure panic before he covered it with the mask he thought hid his true feelings. What he didn’t realize was that Taylor could see the little nerve in his jaw pulsing. Once she had him under her, or over, whichever way he wanted to start, she might tell him about it.

“You know I don’t like you returning to Hunter and Jesse’s house after dark,” he grumbled, following her into the house and shutting the door behind him.

Taylor nodded and flashed him another smile. She walked down the wide hallway into the living area. She loved this room now that it was finished. It was huge with curved walls that rose up to reveal a series of clear panels that on command would go from clear to shade to complete darkness. The back wall was actually a series of doors that opened all the way and disappeared into the walls on each side so the room became part of the outer garden. In some ways it was similar to Hunter and Jesse’s house, but this one was brighter, more open and gave her a sense of peace.

“I really love this room,” she said with a sigh, turning to face him.

“I know,” Saber replied, moving to relieve the pressure on his bad leg.

Taylor’s eyes immediately noticed the move. “Have you been doing your exercises?” she asked, dropping her backpack next to the couch and kicking off her shoes.

Saber scowled at her. “Yes,” he bit out in a rough tone. “It’s just a little stiff today.”

“Let me take a look,” she ordered, waving to the couch.

The scowl on Saber’s face turned even darker. Taylor could tell he was going to argue, he always did. It had become a routine for them. What he didn’t know was tonight was going to be different if she had any say in the matter – which she always did.

“I said I was alright,” Saber growled even as he walked toward the couch.

“Lie down and let me take a look at it,” she said, noticing that his short hair was still a little damp from his shower. “Did you take a hot shower or a cold one?”

“A cold one,” Saber grumbled, sitting down on the edge of the couch and turning to lie down on it. “I knew you were coming.”

Taylor chuckled and raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that because I make you all hot and bothered, old man?” she asked as she knelt on the floor next to him.

She carefully removed the thigh to calf brace he wore and set it on the floor next to her. She studied the long scars that zigzagged down his leg. Most wounds could be healed with minimum scarring; only the worst ones could not. Saber’s leg reflected the devastation of damage done to the bone, muscle, and nerves. Two newly healed incisions caught her attention. They hadn’t been there this morning.

“I’m not that old,” Saber defended with a reluctant curve of his lips. “Yes, you make me hot. I want to wring your neck for not listening to me.”

Taylor ran her hands tenderly over the scarred skin of his right leg. She could feel the knots in the muscles. Using a combination of her weight and pressure, she worked on each one. A low hiss escaped Saber when a particularly tight one released. Almost immediately, she could feel his body melt back into the couch. Her magic touch, as he liked to call it, was working.

“Leila has another tooth,” Taylor said, knowing that talking often took Saber’s mind off of what she was doing.

“She already had a mouthful,” Saber said in a tight voice.

“Jesse said it is her two-year molars, I think,” she said, rubbing his hot skin. “Lyon is learning to climb. Jesse and Hunter have to watch him like a hawk.”

Saber frowned and glanced down at Taylor. “A hawk?” he asked in a husky voice.

“Yes,” she murmured, getting lost in the feelings she got whenever she touched him. “It’s a type of bird of prey back home. They have incredible eyesight.”

Taylor glanced at Saber when she felt him stiffen. “You still think of Earth as your home?” he asked with a frown.

Taylor looked down at where her hands were working the muscle of his calf and shook her head. She would always think of Earth as her home, but it wasn’t where she wanted to live any more. No, her place was here, in this house, beside Saber. That is where home was now.

“No. It will always be ‘home’ as in the place I came from, but it isn’t my home anymore,” she reflected, pausing to look up at him. “This is my home now.”

Her eyes locked with his as she tried to convey that she wasn’t talking about Hunter and Jesse’s house or the planet in general, but this house. She knew he understood when he broke the contact between them and laid his head back and closed his eyes, shutting her out. She returned her attention to his leg, moving up to his upper thigh.

Her hands moved over the thick rope of muscles and smooth skin. He was wearing his shorts. Whatever he said, the evidence pointed to his hope that she would come because he normally wore a pair of low hanging jogging pants he had picked up on Earth when he was working on the house.

“How did the painting go after I left this morning?” she asked in a soothing voice, pausing and pressing her weight down on a hard knot. “Did you get it finished?”

“Yes,” Saber replied in a clipped voice.

“What are you working on next?” she said, slipping her hands higher until they disappeared under the edge of his shorts before moving them back down along his thigh.

“The lighting,” he muttered in a slightly hoarse voice. “I finished the wiring as well. I just need to install the rest of the fixtures.”

Taylor rose to her feet. Not pausing, she quickly pulled her shirt off and tossed it to the floor. She had left her bra off after her shower.

She crawled between his parted legs with slightly trembling limbs. This was a routine he was familiar with from past sessions. In order for her to work on his upper thigh, she needed to use more of her weight. She leaned forward and began working on his thigh again before he could realize that this time it was going to be different.

A wicked sense of pleasure flooded her at the feel of the cool air on her breasts. She had purposely worn loose fitting pants and no panties. Her eyes moved to the evidence that he tried to hide, but couldn’t. The material did little to cover his arousal.

“What will you do after that?” she asked in a husky voice.

“The gardens. I… I thought I would work in the gardens,” he whispered. “I want to add some water features. I like what Hunter and Jesse did in their garden. I have some ideas that I’ll show you later.”

“I’d like that,” Taylor whispered, leaning down and pushing her hands further up his leg and under his shorts all the way to his hip. “You can tell me about it – later.”

A light groan escaped Saber before he could smother it. He just nodded his head once. Taylor knew he was highly aroused by the feel of her hands on the sensitive flesh of his hip. Pulling her left hand out, she ran it up his right leg. This time, she didn’t stop.

A shudder ran through him when he felt her hands sliding up both of his thighs to his hips. She could feel the moment he was aware that this session was different. The fact that her lips were making a trail up the inside of his right thigh along the scar from his surgery might have been his first hint.

His breath hiccupped and his eyes flew open. He raised his head just far enough to lock eyes with her. She figured seeing that she wasn’t wearing a shirt was his second clue that she was doing more than a therapy session.

“I love touching you,” she whispered just before she wrapped her right hand around his swollen c**k. “Damn, but you are one hell of a handful.”