Too bad he was straight...
Hauk was no exception to the lickable list himself. Indeed, he tied all the Sentella men for the number one slot.
Unlike Maris and Syn, Hauk was an Andarion--a lethal humanoid warrior race that valued physical perfection above all things. As a result, they were truly bred for size, speed, stamina, and beauty.
It was also rumored that their warrior spirit, that-live-for-now-and-damn-tomorrow attitude, made them some of the best lovers in the universe. But unfortunately for the other species in existence, they very seldom slept with non-Andarions.
Such a fetid shame...
Not that that was Maris's only roadblock to having a taste of Hauk...
There were far too many men who played on the other team for Maris's tastes.
Like the Sentella leader Nykyrian, who was half Andarion and half human, Hauk was as beautiful as a woman. But the rugged cut of his jaw, and that overwhelming aura of feral testosterone kept him from appearing even the least bit feminine.
He absolutely oozed raw, sexy masculinity.
Standing almost seven feet in height with a body full of rippling, taut muscles, Hauk towered over both of them. And he always looked like he was ready to break someone in half. Another lickable trait if ever one existed.
The only thing that detracted from Hauk's looks was those Andarion eyes that were extremely disconcerting, if not downright off-putting. White irises rimmed in red, they never failed to send a shiver over Maris. Thankfully, Nykyrian had green human eyes. Not that he showed them often, but...
The few glimpses Maris had been lucky enough to catch had left a lasting impression.
Unlike Syn, Hauk's two blasters were strapped to his lean hips in plain sight. As if he needed that to look intimidating. More likely, they were there for his ease of use--the other bad thing about Andarions... they were notoriously short of temper.
Dressed all in black, Hauk stood with his weight on one leg, and his muscular arms crossed over his chest, his hands tucked under his biceps.
What was it about that pose that made men so delectable?
Maris would have purred at them, but he wasn't sure what their reactions might be. While the two of them had always been ambivalent to his sexual preferences and outrageous mannerisms, they were both hardcore heterosexuals and trained killers with vicious tempers.
Only a fool would risk their wrath.
And he wasn't feeling particularly stupid or adventurous today.
Syn arched his brow into a curious expression as he glanced around the entryway. "So where's Darling?"
Maris gestured up the stairs. "He said he needed a quick shower. Give him fifteen minutes and I'll take you up to see him."
Hauk smirked. "Well isn't he Lord Hoity-Toity all of a sudden." He waved his hand in a grand dismissive gesture at Maris and Syn. It was always so funny to watch a straight man pretend to be gay, especially one so steeped in masculinity. "You plebs need to stay downstairs with the riffraff while I leisurely prepare myself to stomach your repugnacious presence."
Syn rolled his eyes at Hauk's made-up word and affectation. "Give him a break, Hauk. You know Darling would never do that to us."
"I know, but it's fun to bust on him for it." Hauk grinned good naturedly, showing off his set of fangs in the process.
Ignoring him, Syn turned back toward Maris. "So does this mean he's sleeping finally?"
That was an interesting question...
"I don't know how much sleep he's been getting, but he hasn't left his bedroom in over four days."
Worry creased Syn's brow. "Is he all right? Has he been having trouble moving?"
Maris had to force himself to keep a solemn expression--something that really wasn't in his nature. "From what I've been hearing, day and night, I would say that's a resounding yes that he's fine and definitely able to move without any trouble whatsoever."
Now it was Hauk's turn to frown. "What do you mean?"
Okay, there was no way to keep a straight face as Maris recalled his earlier conversation with the Sentella about Darling's mental state. "I think it's safe to say that all of us were right, and you, my dear Hauk, were most definitely wrong about what it would take to settle Darling down and make him quasi-human again."
Hauk laughed as he caught Maris's meaning. "So you finally nailed him, huh?"
"In a manner of speaking."
Before they could say anything else, a loud throaty scream echoed from upstairs.
Hauk and Syn pulled out their weapons, ready for battle.
"Whoa"--Maris gestured at them--"down lethal killers. It's okay."
"Bullshit," Hauk growled. "Sounds like someone's being murdered."
Maris laughed. "Yes it does, and no they're not. I promise you. Not unless one can die by orgasm, and if that were the case, I think both of them would have died days ago." He put his hand on Syn's blaster and pointed it toward the floor. "But I do believe Darling's going to need a little longer than fifteen minutes before he's ready to see us. Shall we go to the reception room and wait?"
They exchanged perplexed grimaces before they finally holstered their blasters.
Maris turned around and led them deeper into the palace to the large room that was reserved for those waiting to have an audience with the governor. It was always kept stocked with a variety of beverages and snacks for unexpected visitors.
"Would either of you care for something?"
They shook their heads.
"So what exactly's going on?" Concern was thick in Syn's voice. "I'm still reeling over Darling calling me the other night. What made him change his mind so suddenly about having more surgery? Last time I broached the subject, he damn near took my head off. He told me he wasn't about to put himself through it again."
Maris poured a cup of tea for himself. He wasn't about to spoil this surprise.
Not for anything. He lived to see people knocked off keel by the unexpected. And he wanted to savor their reactions when they saw Zarya in Darling's room. "You'll have to ask him. As I said, I haven't seen him in days now."
Hauk let out a low, sympathetic breath. "Man, given how tight the two of you have always been, I thought you'd be the one to screw him blind."
"Yeah," Syn agreed. "You two always seemed to have a lot of chemistry together."
How he wished. But that was all right. He was happy Darling had someone he desired to the degree he did Zarya. If he couldn't have Darling's heart himself, he wanted it to belong to someone who would appreciate it, and who would treat Darling the way Maris would treat him if he'd been lucky enough to have him.
Maris sipped his tea. "What can I say? I found him someone much more suited to his particular tastes."
Syn appeared impressed by his words. "That was extremely generous of you, Mari. I don't think I could hook up the love of my life with someone else."
Those words stung, but Maris didn't let it show. If Syn only knew how much he really did love Darling.
But if wishes were cake, no one would starve.
And Maris had never made the mistake of thinking he could change Darling. Nor did he want to. He loved Darling just as he was.
Syn patted him sympathetically on the back. "This new guy must be special indeed for you to be so altruistic. I can't wait to meet him."
Maris smiled mischievously. "I can't wait to introduce you."
Knocking on Darling's bedroom door, Maris stood back so that he could watch Syn's and Hauk's expressions.
As he expected, Zarya opened the door. Her cheeks flushed bright, she was still breathing heavily. Dressed in one of Darling's black shirts that fell all the way to her knees, she was stunning with her dark mahogany hair tousled. And from the depth of her exposed cleavage, it was obvious that she was naked beneath that shirt. "Please come in, Darling will be out in just a second."
Now there was a look Maris would have paid money for. Hauk and Syn stood completely slack jawed as their gazes went up and down her body, trying to make sense of what th
ey saw.
Unaware of the havoc she caused, Zarya opened the door wider, then went deeper into the room to pick up some of the mess the two of them had made.
Laughing at their continued shock, Maris reached up and closed Hauk's mouth.
Hauk blinked twice. "Is that...?"
"... a he or she?" Syn finished for him.
"She," Maris said with a wicked grin. "Definitely a she." He headed inside and arched a brow at what he found there.
Oh yeah, this was...
Pretty much what he'd assumed from all the things he'd heard coming out of this room for the last few days. But still, it was impressive. The room was a disaster from the unmade bed to the paintings on the walls that had been knocked askew... if not completely off the wall, to the stacks of pillows all over the place.
No wonder the housekeeping staff had been complaining.
Over the last four days, Maris had visited with Zarya several times while Darling attended business. But he'd only been in her room. This was the first time he'd ventured into Darling's. And while he'd spent time with Zarya, Darling's duties and strange hours had conspired to keep them from seeing each other.
Zarya returned some of the pillows to the bed, then paused to frown up at Hauk's giant size. "Are you the doctor's bodyguard?"
His brow still furrowed, Hauk ran his thumb along his jaw as his lips quirked with amusement. "Yeah... no. Pretty sure he can handle himself. Most days anyway."
Syn snorted at him as he stepped forward to offer her his hand. "I'm Dr. Syn Dagan-Wade."
"Dagan as in the Dagan Group?"
That too appeared to take him by surprise. "You've heard of us?"
Zarya smiled happily as she realized exactly who these men were. So, Darling's friend was also his doctor... interesting. It also explained why he was finally willing to see a doctor, and why he'd chosen DIG as his shadow company.
"I have indeed. Thank you so much for allowing Darling to finance my sister's education through your company. I can't tell you how much that means to us."
Syn looked as confused as she felt. "Sorche's your sister?"
She paused, unsure if it was a good thing or bad that he knew Sorche's name so quickly. "She is."
He instantly relaxed. "Well, I'm glad we can help. I owe my education to someone who did a similar act for me, and I'm more than happy to pay that forward. I always say that nothing will improve your life quicker than a good education."
"And nothing can destroy it faster than one bad decision," the Andarion said drily.
Syn rolled his eyes at him. "You're such a pessimist."
"I'm practical. It's true and you know it." The Andarion offered his hand to her. "I'm Hauk, by the way."
Now that was a name she knew well from some of Darling's stories.
She shook his hand. "Ah, the one who doesn't like explosives. Is it really true that you once hid in a shielded closet for eighteen hours because you thought there was a bomb in your kitchen?" A bomb that turned out to be a plastic kid's toy.
Hauk growled. "I'm going to kill that little bastard for telling you that... and it didn't look plastic."
Syn broke out into a round of evil laughter. "My favorite part was when Darling threw it at him and he screamed like a woman. Hell, I had no idea you could jump that high, Hauk. You should have played sports, buddy."
Hauk narrowed a dangerous glower at the much shorter man. "Shut the fuck up, Syn, before Darling has to find a new doctor. Be a shame for you to lose that head of yours."
"Ah now, you know you're not going to hurt me. Another bomb might run your fat ass up a tree and who would help you then?"
Hauk cut a feral grimace toward Maris. "You'd help a brother out, wouldn't you, Mari?"
"Not with a bomb. Sorry. I was raised with Darling. I know how volatile they are. Kind of like Nyk on a bad day."
"Darling's not still sleeping in one, is he?" Syn asked her.
Zarya gaped. "He wasn't really sleeping in it, too, was he?"
Maris shrugged. "What can I say? When Darling makes a binkie, he doesn't joke around with it." He glanced over to the men. "Fortunately, she was able to get him out of the bomb."
"I'd say she got him out of a lot more than that," Hauk said under his breath as he looked around the room, and more pointedly at the clothes strewn about the floor, then trained those spooky eyes on her.
Maris laughed.
"What about the dirty bombs?" Syn asked.
Sobering a degree, Maris folded his hands in front of him. "I'm going to hazard a guess that he's deactivated them since he's been rather..."--he cut a meaningful glance toward Zarya--"preoccupied lately and we haven't died yet. I'm rather sure he's found something he'd rather tinker with than bomb timers."
Dying to distract them from this entire line of thought, Zarya faced Syn. "I wanted to mention that Darling cut his hand rather badly last night, and I think he might have bruised a couple of ribs. He wouldn't let me call the medics to check him out. I field dressed his hand as best I could, but it was still bleeding a little this morning and I don't want it to get infected. Would you mind taking a look at it?"
"Sure. How did he... uh, hurt it?"
Her face turned even redder as she rubbed the back of her neck nervously. So much for getting them away from this line of thought..."He fell in the shower."
Hauk let out a low, evil laugh. "How'd he fall in the shower?" he asked playfully.
She couldn't meet any of their gazes as she remembered the extremely intimate moment that hadn't ended well for either of them. "He accidentally slipped."
It was Syn's turn to laugh at her until he paused next to a bloody hand towel that Darling had tossed at the door leading to her room last night. His humor died instantly as he bent over to pick up and examine the saturated cloth. "How bad was he hurt?"
Fury darkened her brow, but it wasn't at them. Her anger was reserved for the members of her team. "That's from a nosebleed."
Syn cursed. "Are they getting worse?"
"It's hard to say," she answered honestly. "Sometimes it's just a little blood for a few minutes, and others..." She gestured toward the towel in his hand. "That one was severe."
"Any idea what triggered it?"
"No. They're random. That one started right after he'd dozed off."
Syn dropped the towel in the trash. "What about pain? Does his head hurt with them?"
"Sometimes. But it's not too bad, so I'm not sure if it's from the nosebleeds or..." She caught herself before she mentioned his eyesight. Syn obviously knew about it, but she wasn't sure if Hauk knew. "Something else."
Syn nodded. "Anything else I should know about?"
Zarya hesitated as she remembered the nasty incident Darling had the day before. "I probably shouldn't say anything, but I don't know if he will, and it is something that concerns me."
"What?"
She bit her lip as she glanced to Hauk.
Hauk winked at her. "You can speak freely, little sister. Don't worry. I'm well aware of his current injuries and limitations. He's been my wingman for a long time, and when you put your life into the hands of others, you don't keep secrets. We know everything about each other."
Not entirely true. Darling had never told them he was heterosexual, but she didn't want to remind them of that.
She glanced back at Syn. "He has a lot of pain in the bathroom. He won't let me check on him and he keeps the door locked whenever he goes. But I know it's bad. It takes him a long time, and when he comes out, he's always shaking and pale. Usually clammy, too. And very weak. It takes him at least half an hour before he's moving freely again."
Sadness darkened Syn's eyes. "That unfortunately isn't going to change. They messed him up really good internally. We're damn lucky to still have him with us." He swept his gaze around the tattered room, then flashed a wicked, lopsided grin at her. "But at least the front plumbing seems to be in excellent working condition. I'm sure that's a relief to him."
Those words mortified her.
She wanted to crawl under something and hide.
Fortunately, Darling finally came out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel around his lean hips. He rubbed a second one against his damp hair. "I see you two met Zarya. Did they introduce themselves to you, love?"
"They did, indeed." She looked up at Darling as he paused by her side. "I'll leave you alone to talk in private. Do you want me to order you something to eat?"
His eyes glowing with warmth, Darling gave her an evil grin that rivaled Syn's. "I had my breakfast already." Wrapping one possessive arm around her, he leaned down and gave her a kiss that instantly set her on fire.
Maris cleared his throat. "Should we come back at a later time?"
Ignoring the question, Darling pulled away and met Maris's arched brow. "Sweetie, will you please make sure she gets something to eat for me? I know her stomach was growling earlier."
"Absolutely. We'll be next door if you need us." When Maris went to pick her up to carry her, she stopped him.
"My ankle's better. I'm not even wrapping it now."
He looked to Darling for a confirmation.
"You can argue with her if you want. I always lose. Maybe you'll have better luck. I'm pretty sure she likes you better anyway."
Maris laughed, then offered her his arm. "Come, my lady. Let's go gossip."
Darling waited until Maris had closed the door to Zarya's room before he faced his friends. He draped his towel over his shoulder.
Hauk kept opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. "I am so confused. That was a woman, right?"
"Yes."
Syn scratched at his ear. "The same woman who was in the room with you when we rescued you? The leader of the Resistance that tortured the hell out of you? And you're paying for her sister to be educated?"
"Again, yes, yes, and yes."
Hauk turned around slowly, looking at the mess in the room. "But... you're gay."
Darling snorted. "Apparently, I'm not."
"Since when?" Syn asked.
"Birth."
Grimacing, Hauk pressed his hand against his temple as if trying to make sense out of it all was giving him a vicious headache. "You are totally screwing with my head, and you're doing it on purpose, aren't you?"
"No," Darling said, sobering. "It's really a long story, and I don't feel like getting into it right now." He had something much more important to think about.
He faced Syn. "What I want to know is if you can fix this," he gestured at his face. "And how long will it take to make me look human again?"