Never Gonna Let You Go
The Underground Series
By
Jessica E. Subject
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2012 by Jessica E. Subject
ISBN: 978-1-61333-206-1
Cover art by Fantasia Frog Designs
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Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
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Also by Jessica E. Subject
1Night Stand Stories
Celestial Seduction
Beneath a Starry Sky
Unknown Futures
~DEDICATION~
To Mrs. Faulds, my high school Science Fiction English teacher. Although it’s not what you intended, this story started in your classroom. Also, a huge thanks to Kate, Lindsay, Rebecca, and Zee.
Chapter One
If only I could touch his sexy body again.
Standing at the edge of the camp, Calla Jacobs couldn’t stop staring at the toned and tanned body of Erik Edwards, aerospace mechanic for mission SFAE-3, while he worked to repair the core drill. She tried to tear her gaze away, willed her feet to move so she could get to the plains of Airondelle, but it just didn’t happen. She watched as sweat trickled down the center of his back, and she closed her eyes, breathing in his pure, masculine scent. The memory from years ago, of running her hands across the wide expanse of his upper body and through his thick, blond curls, only made things worse. She didn’t love him anymore—at least not in the way she had when they’d dated. And still, Erik would always hold a place in her heart. They’d grown up together, been best friends, even after they’d broken up, until he’d married Holloway.
Erik snapped open a bottle of water, took a large swig, and then poured the rest over his head with a heavy sigh. She could almost hear the water sizzle.
Oh, to be one of those water droplets cascading down his bare chest. She’d enjoy the water so much more if she could stand close enough to lick it off of his body before it dripped to the ground. Grimacing, she clenched her fists. Jeez, pull it together.
Their mission on the barren planet did not include sexual affairs. In fact, except for already established marriages, sex was forbidden outright; the mission could not be compromised by all of the emotions and distractions a sexual bond brought. She and Erik had ended their three-year relationship for that reason—they’d both dreamed of being a part of the mission responsible for confirming the existence of a planet capable of sustaining life. And neither of them had felt ready to get married. They’d promised to wait for each other until they’d served their time and had remained friends throughout their training. Two months before their departure date, Erik had eloped with the mission commander, Melina Holloway, a woman Calla could never compete with in terms of brains and beauty. A quick divorce had followed, but the short-lived marriage had left Erik with a chip on his shoulder. And he’d refused to talk to Calla about anything other than the mission, if at all.
“What do you want?” His gruff voice jerked her from her thoughts. “You’re supposed to be out studying those tapir things. I’m not one of your specimens, so move on.”
He’d turned into such an ass since his tryst with the commander. And still, Calla couldn’t stop the desire coursing through her body as she stared at his half-naked body. She hadn’t been with anyone since him, and every other male in the camp was at least old enough to be her father. Mission or not, on Earth or Airondelle, she still craved a man’s touch. Erik’s touch.
“Seriously, Jacobs, leave or I’ll report you to Holloway.” He growled the words as he continued to work on the drill. “She’ll put you on mess duty for the rest of the mission.”
Calla cursed Holloway for changing Erik. What could have happened between them to turn her once best friend into someone who couldn’t stand the sight of her?
“Did someone mention my name?”
Calla cringed at the sound of her commander’s unwelcome voice. If she didn’t acknowledge her, perhaps the commander would continue to walk past her. She didn’t know Holloway very well, had avoided her since Erik’s involvement with her. In truth, she could find no reason to get to know her any better. Many crewmembers called Holloway a bitch, among other names, behind her back yet acted like googly-eyed teenage boys when she disciplined them for insubordination.
“Jacobs, follow me,” Melina said, her tone sharp.
Shit! If only she’d gone straight to the Jeep instead of stopping to drool over Erik. She didn’t need to be reminded of Holloway’s authoritative prerogatives as commander, a position she dreamed to one day be in. The thought entered her mind too often already.
As she followed the commander, she glanced back at Erik. He didn’t even appear to notice she’d left, as if she was a bug he’d squashed and thought of no more. What had she done to deserve to be treated like shit? Sure, she didn’t have a perfect, shapely body like Holloway, but in the past, he’d told her he loved her.
Holloway stopped at the mess tent, opened the flap, and closed it again without stepping inside. “Too busy in there. Let’s go to my quarters.”
The commander’s tent sat beside her own closet-sized one, with the mess, medical, and storage canopies separating their sleeping area from the men’s.
Ducking through the entrance, Calla reined in her envy. Not only did the commander have ten times as much room as Calla, Holloway also slept in a queen size airbed. I’m sure that’s so much more comfortable than the wretched cot I have to sleep on.
The commander pulled out a chair from her makeshift desk. “Sit down, Jacobs. We need to talk.”
She perched on the plastic contraption, an uncomfortable thing compared to the hover chairs back on Earth, wondering why Holloway was giving her such a stern look rather than the smile she often wore. Perhaps she reserved smiles for the men. Flirting with her wouldn’t work. She wasn’t interested in women.
Holloway crossed her arms. “Why are you so obsessed with him?”
The commander’s question interrupted her inner grumblings. “Pardon? Who?”
“Edwards. I see the way you stare at him. You remind me of a teenage girl with a crush.”
Bitch! “We used to be friends.”
Holloway laughed. “Oh no, not the way you practically fall over yourself whenever he comes within ten feet of you. I mean, I understand the attraction. He’s hot and one of the few men who haven’t gone soft since Planet Core took over the city.” She sat on her bed and removed her polished black boots. “They all think PC will make their lives easier. Little do they know….” She shook her head. “Anyway, why aren’t you and Edwards friends anymore?”
Calla wanted to be nice to her commander, she really did, but the woman was sticking her nose in her personal business. She stood up. “May I speak freely?”
“By all means.”
The amusement on her commander’s face fueled her anger. “We’re not friends anymore because of you. He married you then turned into a complete asshole. What did you do to him?”