Surface pressure love ta.., p.1
Surface Pressure (Love, Tails, and Battle Wails Book 2), page 1
SURFACE PRESSURE
LOVE, TAILS, AND BATTLE WAILS
BOOK 2
ADRIAN J. SMITH
NEEN COHEN
Copyright © 2024 by Adrian J. Smith
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Design by Elyon
1
“Who the fuck are you?”
Autumn stood up sharply from her spot in the little oasis she’d found by the water. She pressed her hand to the weapon at her side and pulled it out, pointing it at the creature who stood before her. She swallowed the lump in her throat. No one knew where she was.
This creature wasn’t natural.
She wasn’t human.
And she was fucking naked!
Autumn kept her eyes trained on the creature’s face. She obviously didn’t have a weapon on her, but that didn’t mean hand-to-hand wasn’t an option, and the idea of wrestling with the salaciously curvy creature wasn’t something Autumn wanted to even attempt.
She kept her hand on her weapon, finger on the trigger. Autumn wouldn’t let this creature get too close. She couldn’t.
“Who are you?” Autumn repeated, digging deep for her commanding tone even though she wasn’t a commander. She was a grunt, a soldier, the lowest of lows. She puffed up her chest to make herself look bigger and taller. She wanted to scare this creature, make her disappear back to where she came from and pretend like she didn’t exist.
She’d have to make a full report, of course.
The breeze picked up from the water’s edge, and it pulled at the creature’s long shiny silver hair. The wet strands wrapped around her. This creature was stunning, with full breasts and pale silvery skin on her shoulders that darkened in a royal blue ombré down the curves of her body to her webbed toes.
A loud crack resounded through the clearing and brought Autumn’s attention right back to the creature’s face. “Stand down!”
Sounds reverberated through the creature’s lips, but they made no sense. They sounded guttural and animalistic. Autumn continued to stare at her, waiting for the next move. She was going to be ready. If she could capture the creature and bring it to her commander, then she could maybe get a promotion.
This planet was supposed to be uninhabited.
Was this just a hallucination?
“Soulara.”
The sound was pure, almost like music falling from the creature’s lips. Autumn raised her eyes, meeting the creature’s gaze in confusion. Her eyes were a beautiful pale blue with hints of silver that rivaled the sheen of her skin. She seemed almost glittery.
“My name is Soulara,” she repeated. Suddenly her voice was higher pitched, smooth and gentle as it caressed Autumn’s soul.
“I didn’t ask what your name was!” Autumn ground out the words, staying as defensive as possible. She couldn’t give this creature an inch.
“You didn’t.” Soulara put her hands down to her sides, fingers flexed out, but she seemed so much more relaxed than five seconds ago. The light in her eyes had dimmed a bit, but she was still gorgeous. “What’s your name?”
Autumn narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She was only ever supposed to give her rank and identification number, and she wasn’t supposed to talk to aliens. Shaking her head, Autumn readjusted her hands on her weapon, stepping back again. She needed more space between them. There was clearly some kind of magic afoot here. The distance between them would have to help with that. Autumn wasn’t trained to deal with magic. She hadn’t gone through that camp yet.
Soulara took a step forward, her webbed toes making it look like she was floating across the sandy ground. Autumn cringed. She wasn’t going to give in this easily. Soulara clearly knew how to use her wiles, but Autumn had defenses for those. She straightened her shoulders, and her hands shook as she held the weapon up.
“Don’t come any closer.”
Soulara froze. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t hurt me.” Autumn was sure of that. She wouldn’t allow this creature to hurt her. She stayed on point, ready to defend herself if anything were to start.
“Look. I think we started off on the wrong tail.” Soulara pinched her face before glancing down at her feet and looking back up.
What the hell was that look?
Autumn was even more confused now than before.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think the spell worked all the way. What are these called?” Soulara lifted her foot in front of her and wiggled her toes in Autumn’s direction.
“Your feet?” Autumn said in disbelief.
“Feet.” Soulara tried the word, as if it were foreign. But how would feet be foreign? “Feet.” She said it this time with full confidence. “They’re odd little things, aren’t they?”
“Why are you naked?” Autumn spat out the question she’d been wondering, the one she didn’t think she’d have the courage to ask.
Soulara’s brow pinched, her gaze dropping to her body before meeting Autumn’s. “Is it custom for all your people to wear coverings?”
“Coverings?” Autumn jerked her head back, relaxing her grip on her weapon a little. She was still ready for anything that might happen, but something about Soulara was disarming. She didn’t seem like a creature that was ready to attack. “You mean my uniform?”
“Whatever is over your body.”
“My uniform.” Autumn wrinkled her nose. “Do your people not wear clothes?”
Soulara shook her head, her hair moving side to side now that it was nearly all dry. It seemed to have lost some of its sheen with the air, and the glittery quality of Soulara’s skin was much duller than before. “Our soldiers wear armor sometimes.”
Autumn’s chest tightened. Soldiers? There were more of them? She’d been assured by her base commander that this planet was uninhabited. But Soulara was here, and she made it seem like there were more people. Soldiers? Did that mean that they’d come here for the water too? Were they both trying to mine the same resource?
“Who are you?”
“Soulara,” she answered sweetly, her lips curling up into a smile. “I’ve never met a land dweller before. There’s songs of them, but no one remembers much beyond that anymore.”
“Remembers?” Autumn was so confused. She sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m going to put my weapon away, but know that if you attack me, I will defend myself.”
“I’m not going to attack you.” Soulara grinned again.
Autumn waited, taking a deep steadying breath. She had one last moment of hesitation and finally slid her weapon back into its holster. Autumn straightened her shoulders and put her hands down at her sides. “Why are you here?”
“I love coming here.” Soulara gestured to the little clearing Autumn had found. “I’m not able to come as often as I’d like.”
Pressing her lips together tightly, Autumn dropped her gaze over Soulara’s body, over the swell of her hips, the spot between her legs, her long lean, strong thighs. Autumn let out a shuddering breath. It had been a long time since she’d taken a woman to bed, since well before she’d been on this mission. She was surrounded by men.
“Do you like what you see?” Soulara asked, her tone teasing.
Autumn snapped her gaze back up to Soulara’s light blue eyes. They were so light. Autumn had never seen eyes like that before. She’d never seen a creature like this before. She was definitely an alien, so vastly different from humans like her
“I’m sorry,” Autumn muttered.
“Don’t apologize for enjoying the view. I like being admired this way.” Soulara stepped closer, her hips swaying side to side. “Do you want to sit? I don’t have much longer, but I have a feeling talking to you will feed my soul.”
“Feed your soul?” This woman was crazy. Autumn had never met anyone like this. Cocky. Sexy. And out of this world. Well, maybe not this world. Still, no one was supposed to be here. “Who are you?”
“I don’t think I can answer that in a way you’ll understand.” Soulara moved to the center of the clearing and sat down, brushing her hair out with a gentle roll of her wrist, smooth and graceful as though she conducted a group of musicians. Her hair was so long that it rested on the ground behind her.
Autumn stayed standing, completely unsure what to do. Sit down and be comfortable, let down her guard a bit, or stay up here and maybe not figure out exactly what Soulara and her horde of soldiers wanted. Stepping to face Soulara to keep the creature in her sights, Autumn plopped her butt onto the sand and stared.
“Try me.”
Soulara smirked. “I’ve shared my name with you, yet you haven’t shared yours with me.”
Autumn ground her teeth. If this really was an alien, someone who had never met another alien, she wouldn’t understand any of that. Autumn wasn’t even supposed to be talking to this creature and yet she’d already broken that rule.
“Autumn Walton.” Autumn pressed her lips together sharply. She was breaking all the rules today. But something about Soulara pulled it from her. Or perhaps her loneliness had gotten to be too much even for her. “Are you using magic to get me to talk?” Panic swelled in her chest.
“No.” Soulara
“I know other alien races who use it.” Autumn dug her fingers into the warm sand, keeping her eyes on Soulara as she leaned back, palms pressed into the ground behind her as she turned her face up to the sky.
“Magic is sacred and feared in my home.”
“Not every culture is like that.” Why was Autumn even continuing this conversation? She should be up and leaving. She should be capturing this intruder and bringing her back to her base in cuffs.
Soulara’s head tilted as if she was studying Autumn carefully. “Where are you from?”
“Earth.” Autumn bit the inside of her cheek. She had to stop talking, but she’d come out here because the loneliness had been overwhelming, because she was struggling to even exist at the base and she’d finally gotten a few hours to herself. She’d come here to make sure that she still wanted to be here—not that she could leave. They would never let her out of her contract.
“What’s Earth?”
“A planet.” That must be why she was continuing this conversation. She needed the company, and especially the company of another woman, someone who was soft and tender, who maybe could understand the plight of being a woman surrounded by men. Those who didn’t see her as equals.
Soulara shook her head. “I’m not sure I understand what that means.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Autumn answered, trying to sidestep that she may have already given up too much information. “We didn’t think that anyone lived on this planet.”
“What planet?” Soulara dug her toes under the sand, burying them. She flicked her foot up and laughed as the sand dropped to the ground. She seemed entranced with the world around her in a way that Autumn didn’t expect.
“This planet.” Was planet the word Soulara wasn’t understanding? Autumn bent her knees up to her chest. “What are you doing here?”
“I needed a break.” Soulara smiled again. She seemed to always be happy, but her tone didn’t quite match the look on her face. Which told Autumn that there was something under the surface she didn’t understand. “Life has become difficult.”
“I hear you on that.” Autumn sighed. Did Soulara actually understand what she was going through even if she didn’t understand the details of Autumn’s life? “It’s so hard just to exist sometimes.”
“Yes. Autumn Walton. That’s an odd and beautiful name. Just like I like my women.”
A shiver ran through Autumn’s body, a pleasant tingle she hadn’t felt in far too long. She had to stop and remind herself that this was an alien she was talking to, someone who didn’t belong here. They weren’t even supposed to be talking, and yet Autumn was attracted to her? Did her attraction to women have no bounds?
But also to find this alien was attracted to women?
Now that was interesting. As far as Autumn knew, the only race she’d ever encountered that allowed same-sex relationships was humans. But it seemed as though Soulara’s people, whatever they were, allowed those relationships. “Do your people often have women in relationships?”
“Our family pods consist of whatever they are. Men, women, intersex. Two, three, or more. Often more than two. Two is rare.”
“Two is…” Autumn trailed off. What the hell kind of society was this? A dream world? Was she actually dreaming Soulara up because she’d been so damn lonely that she needed an imaginary friend to help her? Autumn shuddered. She hadn’t realized her mental health had gotten so bad. She was now making people up.
“You know,” Autumn started, pushing herself up to stand. “I think I need to head back.”
“Oh?” Soulara seemed saddened by that. But she didn’t move. “Well, I don’t want to keep you. I hope to see you again.”
Autumn paused. She’s just a dream. She’s nothing more than a dream. Autumn blew out a breath. She didn’t want to turn her back on this creature, so she stepped through the trees, keeping her gaze on Soulara as much as she could.
Just as she was about to step out of sight, Soulara’s voice reached her ears. “I think we have a lot in common. Having another friend could be worth it. Am I right?”
Autumn’s lips parted, the yes already on the tip of her tongue, but she pulled it back. If she blinked, would Soulara disappear? Her voice caught in her throat. She didn’t want to leave. Something about Soulara made her want to stay and talk longer. But she was just in her imagination. If her loneliness had gotten that bad that she was dreaming up weird creatures, she needed to figure herself out, and quickly.
“Yes,” Autumn answered.
Then why was she still talking to the illusion? Cursing inwardly, Autumn stalked away. If it was a hallucination, then Soulara wasn’t going to hurt her. She couldn’t hurt her. Autumn’s boots were heavy as she walked back through the woods to the beach. She found her way back to the base that was nestled farther into the woods and hidden from the beach and any intruders who might find them.
She had a mission tomorrow. And she had to be on her toes for it to succeed. One mistake and her entire troop could die. She couldn’t have their blood on her hands. With a breath, Autumn cleared her mind of Soulara as much as she could. She could do this. She could be the soldier she’d signed up to be. No one else. Not the daughter who left. Not the wayward soul who had no home. Not the lonely person who had no friends.
Simply Specialist Autumn Walton.
2
Autumn hummed quietly into the silence of her room. Three bunks filled the space, enough for six female soldiers, even though she was the only one there. The sun hadn’t yet risen, though the heat of predawn pebbled beads of sweat over her skin.
Before the alarm could wake her, Autumn shut it off, rolled out of bed and began her morning ritual. Twenty push-ups, twenty sit-ups, twenty jumping jacks, and ten burpees. Three repetitions of each.
By the time she had showered and gotten dressed, the rest of camp had finally awoken.
“Ready for another collection of the good stuff?” Her commanding officer spoke from the doorway of the female dorms. His voice hinted that either he or her or both of them were actually robots.
“Yes, sir.”
From the doorway, he tapped at a screen in his palm and walked away, not once having looked up during their entire exchange.
She might as well be invisible.
Her thoughts turned once again to the alien woman she had met. Since that afternoon, Autumn had thought about her far too often, imagining different ways they could see each other again. Only to remind herself that the beautiful creature was nothing more than a hallucination.
The stomp of boots finally arrived, and Autumn joined the troops on autopilot. She ignored the bravado and whiff of testosterone that she couldn’t escape no matter how many walks into the forest she took.
It had been the reason she had broken protocol in the first place and stepped outside of the long line of trees. The planet had been scanned multiple times and come back with zero life signs, so the order of isolation seemed ridiculous to say the least. If there was no life on the planet, why did anyone care if she wanted the fresh air of the beach.
“They’ve upped our quota,” Marshall said as Autumn slipped into the copilot’s seat. Every grunt knew how to pilot the water collectors, and all had to join in on at least one collection per week. Today was Autumn’s turn.
Autumn took in the cockpit with interest. The lack of space always pushed her to her limits in terms of comfort. Always smaller than she remembered from previous dives. The front shield was a deep dark gray, which made the space feel even tighter. The two chairs were identical, though the grooves in the floor allowed the pilot’s chair to move along a set pattern, while the copilot stayed in one spot.
Lifting her legs just enough to allow air to move between floor and the soles of her boots, Autumn entertained herself with the fact that the copilot’s seat swiveled.
“So we might be out here a bit longer than the normal dives.” Marshall continued to chat as though they sat in this small space together on a daily basis. Or the stray thought entered her mind, as though they might even be friends. But they weren’t, were they?
She watched him move the pilot’s chair along the paths. To Autumn it looked almost like a capital E, each end of the shorter lines stopping in front of the three consoles below the dark gray blacked-out screen. “But at least you’ll get more hours in this baby, far better than the quick dives most of the others have been on. Maybe you can level up to pilot rank faster.”
