Authors: Annabel Wolfe
been less skillful, and less lucky too, I would have had to answer for
not only the loss of life on Epsilon, but a destroyed transport craft and
a dead crew.”
She protested, “
I
disobeyed. It wouldn’t have been your fault.”
“I’m afraid the Minoan government wouldn’t take the same
view.” His arm tightened just a fraction. “A commander is supposed
to be able to control his men.”
“I—”
“Peyton, go to sleep. That’s an order.”
Continued argument was probably a bad idea, she acknowledged
silently, stifling her reply. She was tired, he was correct on that point.
Obediently she closed her eyes and listened as his breathing began to
shift in rhythm, the sound comforting in the sterile room. Behind her,
he felt solid and large.
When this was all over, she thought sleepily, she might have to
disabuse her fellow officers of Gallico’s cold, distant persona. The
crew routinely—behind his back of course—called him The Ice Chip.
There was nothing icy about the heat radiating from his rangy
body or those long, intoxicating kisses.
The last thought she had before slipping away in slumber was that
she was surprisingly looking forward to the next twenty-nine days.
* * * *
The bridge was quiet compared to the turmoil of the morning and
the catastrophe on Epsilon. Jake Naiad sat in his chair, observing the
screens, but only with mild interest. Captain Ammati, one of the
navigators, watched a nearby meteor shower with vigilance, her hands
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hovering over the keys. Her sculpted profile was limed by the
artificial light, her pale hair caught in regulation style at her nape.
“So, tell me, Captain,” Jake said conversationally, “how do you
feel, as a female, over Lieutenant Valmont’s punishment for this
morning’s heroics?”
“Sir?” Ammati lifted her head and almost turned it so she could
look at him. Almost.
“You. Feel?” he repeated dryly. “I’m curious over your opinion.”
“You don’t want to hear it, sir.”
“I don’t?” He stifled a laugh over the combativeness in her tone.
“Well, let’s keep in mind I did ask. Go ahead, please.”
The captain turned and looked at him. She wasn’t a raving beauty
but somehow still strikingly attractive—a little too tall for his tastes,
almost his height—and she had lovely eyes. Long-lashed, sapphire
blue, and extremely direct. “Would you leave your sister to die on a
disintegrating planet, sir?”
“I don’t have a sister.”
“I thought you wanted my opinion, not to spar with words.”
She had a point. Her professionalism was undisputed. He inclined
his head. “Sorry. Not very sportsmanlike. All right. No. I doubt I
could leave anyone in my family behind if there was something I
could do about it.”
“The sexual service option for insubordination punishment
demeans females.” Ammati glanced at the screen and automatically
moved to make an adjustment.
“Would you have taken a reduced rank or demotion to a nonflying craft?” He was genuinely curious. Of the female officers,
Ammati took her job more seriously than most. Like Peyton Valmont.
“No, sir.”
“But you just said—”
“I’m career military, Colonel. I’d do what Valmont did so I could
get back on the job. I just wouldn’t like it.”
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39
Jake elevated his brows. “That would depend on the males
involved, wouldn’t it?”
“Perhaps.” There was challenge in her declaration. “Most males
bore me.” She added, as if an afterthought. “Sir.”
He’d wondered. At a guess most of the men had wondered about
Ammati. Too bad. He wouldn’t mind a stab at changing her mind…
The door lifted in a low hiss. One of the senior officers came in,
an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry for the interruption, sir, but
she insisted and I received a request from Minoa—”
“Where’s Gallico?”
The furious interruption made him swivel in his chair. Jake saw a
young woman storm through the doorway past Major Grand, her face
flushed, and behind her a young male S-species who looked familiar.
Lounging back, irritated at the intrusion in an authorized area,
Jake said in clipped tones, “This is for command personnel only. Care
to tell me what’s going on?”
The young male shifted uneasily. “I’m sorry. My father helped us,
sir. She insists on seeing her sister and I—”
The governor’s son, of course. Jake recognized the resemblance to
the former head of the now defunct and uninhabitable Epsilon. He cut
off the young man. “So you pressured Minoa for a pass onto the
bridge of this ship because of who your father is? I’m afraid even if
you can open the door, I can still toss you out. I realize her sister
pulled you off a disintegrating planet, Mr. Janssen, but you still can’t
violate federation rules. There’s a briefing planned in the morning.”
Tara Valmont narrowed her eyes. She wore what must be
borrowed regulation off-duty military pants and a shirt of the same
drab color. Her loose hair was the identical rich color as her sister’s
but her eyes were tawny, not hazel. There was a slight mark on one
smooth cheek that looked like a chemical burn and one of her hands
was bandaged. She said tightly, “Don’t blame Will. He happens to
have the capacity to actually feel gratitude for my sister’s courage, so
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Annabel Wolfe
he offered to help. It probably stems from still being alive thanks to
her.”
The implied criticism was irritating. “Look, Ms. Valmont—”
“
Dr
. Valmont. I have advanced degrees in both physics and planet
dynamics.” Her chin lifted a few degrees. She stood with her
shoulders back, radiating militant outrage like a core mining blast
furnace.
“All right, Dr. Valmont, let me first disabuse you of the idea the
lieutenant’s courage has gone unnoticed by this command.
Commander Gallico however, has an obligation to keep discipline on
this vessel. She broke the rules, however well the outcome turned out
to be. Maybe as a civilian you don’t comprehend it, but I assure you,
your sister understood the repercussions.”
“How convenient this all is for you and Commander Gallico.”
“There was nothing convenient at all about the situation on
Epsilon.” His tone was clipped. “Not for any of us. I saw the
commander struggle with his decision. Do you think he took it lightly
to leave anyone there to die? If so, it proves you know nothing about
him. The odds of rescue seemed very slim from this side, Doctor, and
because it was so risky, he didn’t want to send more people to their
deaths. And what did he do when she proved him wrong? He used the
lightest sentence possible by dropping the charge concerning
unauthorized appropriation of military property and gave her
discretion in how the punishment was meted out.”
For a moment she seemed silenced. Then she visibly swallowed,
the muscles in her slender throat rippling. With quiet dignity, she
asked, “Can I see her?”
“No.” Jake softened the denial by adding, “But I’m almost off
duty. If you have a message, I’d be happy to relay it for you.”
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41
Chapter 4
Peyton sipped idly from her cup, the beverage reminiscent of the
fruity earth wines she and Tara had enjoyed on their one journey to
her mother’s home planet. She’d already used the cleansing facilities
to wash, eaten the rations provided for both the morning meal and
midday, and used the interactive gaming equipment for entertainment.
From where she sat in the galley, she could see into the sleeping
quarters. Colonel Naiad was sound asleep, his tall body sprawled
carelessly across his bunk. One arm was curved over his head, his
face averted and his broad chest lifted evenly with each measured
breath.
The man was stark naked.
At some point he’d kicked off the sheet. Peyton worked in a maledominated part of Minoa’s forces and she’d seen her share of bare
chests, but Colonel Naiad had a very nice build. He wasn’t as heavily
muscled as Commander Gallico, but long and lean. Dark blond hair
was tousled against the stark white bedding and the dusting of pubic
hair across his groin was a slightly deeper shade. His cock was lax at
the moment, but still looked impressively large nestled between his
powerful thighs.
The night before had been enlightening in many ways. Peyton
wasn’t naïve about her lack of sexual experience, but she also hadn’t
been prepared for the revelation of erotic pleasure either. It
heightened her understanding of why the sexual service regulation
existed in the first place.
If what had happened between her and Kelton Gallico was an
indication, no wonder males craved sexual release, Peyton thought.
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Annabel Wolfe
The handsome commander had been surprisingly sensitive in contrast
to his cold reputation and the experience had revised her previously
lukewarm feelings about sex.
However, the daunting fact remained she was still supposed to
please
both
of them. While Commander Gallico was attractive in a
distant, unapproachable way—though she didn’t think him cold any
longer—Colonel Naiad was a little irreverent, his cynical humor
legendary, and he had a reputation among the females on the ship,
though word had it he didn’t touch anyone when they were on a
mission.
Peyton took another drink of the sweet wine.
“What time is it?”
She jerked, her gaze coming up at the sound of the husky voice. A
little of the beverage in her glass sloshed over the rim and splashed
her hand. “What?”
Unmindful of his nudity, Naiad sat up and ran a hand through his
hair. “I never did go to sleep yesterday because of the Epsilon crisis.
What time is it?”
She’d been partially responsible for the “crisis” so Peyton flushed.
“Past midday. Are you hungry?”
“Oh yeah.” He smiled in that lazy signature curve of his mouth
that made the female members of the crew squirm. “Pretty hungry,
Lieutenant. Food sounds good, too.”
Where Gallico was cool and distant, Naiad was intense, and
despite his rank, his slightly teasing manner was unsettling. She asked
in a cynical tone, “Am I supposed to get you something? These rules
are new to me.”
“I can manage.” He swung out of bed and headed for the
cleansing room. Over his shoulder he said, “And as for the rules,
Valmont, in my experience most pilots are pretty quick. You’ll catch
on.”
Not sure how to take that remark, she sat and waited for him to
emerge. The sound of running water was punctuated by splashing and
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43
it was all intimate in a way she didn’t expect. When Naiad came out
he wore a pair of drawstring pants and his hair was damp. His lean
jaw was clean-shaven and the lazy appraisal in his aqua eyes
thorough. But he didn’t do anything more than move past her into the
galley and open the refrigeration unit. “I have to admit I’m starving.”
“Don’t you and the commander have hot food delivered?” She
was curious, and since she was going to be living in the same quarters
for a month, she felt she had the right to ask.
“Just when we request it.” He took out some rations and
unwrapped the meal. “We’re really used to eating alone. Being first
and second in command isn’t conducive to a lot of social activity.”
It really hadn’t occurred to her that aspect of the job would be on
the lonely side. He went on in a conversational voice, “I am very
much looking forward to that part of your temporary incarceration,
Lieutenant. It will be nice to have someone to talk to on a casual
basis. Almost all my conversation now is limited to procedure,
personnel, or this ship.”
Peyton watched him sit down opposite and smiled wryly. “I
thought conversation was the last thing you wanted from me.”
His return smile was wicked. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m looking
forward to the other part of this arrangement too, but having an
intelligent, articulate woman to spend some leisure time with is very
appealing.”
The other part
. Under the skimpy gown, her breasts tightened as
though she had no control over it. The hormonal shot, no doubt, she
realized, trying to tamp down her mortification over her wayward
body’s response to both his oblique reference to what they’d be doing
no doubt after he finished his meal, and to his presence, bare-chested
and very male, just across the small utilitarian table. That damned
shot they’d given her to enhance her sex drive must be working for
she had certainly enjoyed the night before and it very much surprised
her.
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In a good way, she pondered, sipping her drink and watching the
male across from her. If she was going to have to do this—and it
seemed she was—it was best if she could take pleasure in it.
Maybe her expression reflected her thoughts for Jake Naiad sent
her an amused look. “You and Kel must have gotten along well. He