Free Alien Warrior's Mate: Sci-fi Alien Military Romance (Brion Brides Book 1) by Vi Voxley

another. In the meanwhile, he could tease, and fight with, and dream of Deliya. Possibly even share her bed again. In his heart, he was certain. If all he had to do was wait, then… well, it would be terrible because he wasn’t patient by character, but he’d do it.
    It was the Brion way, after all. Nothing worth having ever came easily. And he was more than ready to go and get his impossible woman.

CHAPTER TEN
    Deliya
     
    There , Deliya thought.
    It had happened. She’d had him and he’d left. Just like she’d feared.
    Her room still smelled like him. In her distress, that somehow seemed like the worst possible thing. It was her room, her sanctuary, and now it was infested with the thing that was bothering her. On the other hand, she didn’t want the smell to ever leave her room. Wanted it to be there, with him preferably right along with it.
    She did what usually helped when something was wrong. Carefully and meticulously, she set about her duties. For now, that included getting her gear back in order. Then she could figure out how to mend her heart after what should have been a nice, easy tryst after a good battle.
    She cleaned the blade of her spear and placed it into its place on the wall and fastened her armor beside it, after cleaning and repairing the damage done to the plates. Then she polished the blade again, just so she would have something to do. Whatever she did, wherever she looked, still he seemed to be there in the room, as though he’d never truly left. If that was how it was going to be, it was bound to be a nightmare.
    Wherever she looked, she could see an echo of him. Of his hands on her body, of his lips on hers or whispering words she thought would never affect her. Deliya’s hands hurt with the knowledge that she couldn’t hold him like she wanted to. The whole thing made her feel rather silly. Physical attraction was a normal thing in Brion culture, but never had a man gotten quite so thoroughly under her skin as Darien had. And even more worryingly, she didn’t want to get rid of that feeling of wanting him, of needing him.
    At some point, she had some in-ship duties and those were a small blessing. Overall, it was downtime for them. Antaris was being handed over to the Union as a sign that the Brions weren’t as savage and uncivilized as the Antanaris, and it took time for Briolina’s senators to announce where the Triumphant was heading next. So for the time being, they waited, healing their wounds and stocking up. It was the worst, in Deliya’s opinion, when action and tasks were what she desperately needed to keep her mind off of a certain someone.
    Ultimately, Brion spirit took over. When in trouble or emotional turmoil, they found the first possible fight or simply looked for something to hack to pieces. Hoping against hope, Deliya put her faith in the fact that punching something would clear her head. It would have to, because nothing else was and she couldn’t just go back to Darien. She had to be bigger than that… didn’t she?
    For a lack of ongoing fights, Deliya had to opt for the second option. The Triumphant was equipped to the teeth with every imaginable battle simulator the Brions could get their hands on, so all she had to do was pick one. Deliya marched into the training area like she owned the place, her eyes staring steadfastly forward and ignoring any distraction. She could take a breath only when she saw that Darien had not used the same tactic to relieve his troubled mind.
    She picked a training dummy and set up the simulation, making sure that the options she chose would be sure to leave her hurting if she got even one move wrong. Deliya wanted to feel it deep in her bones, at her very core. Training was the only thing she could think of that could take her mind off of Darien for more than a few fleeting seconds and she needed every damn moment she could get at this point.
    Taking a deep breath, she signaled the simulation to start. Immediately, the floor