by M. K. Eidem
Treyvon woke looking at the ceiling and feeling more relaxed than he had in… well, he couldn't remember the last time he'd awakened feeling this good.
Why was that?
Moving, he stiffened when his left arm tightened around something soft and heard the slightest whisper of sound. Looking down sharply, he found a head of white hair flowing over his shoulder, and it all came back to him.
Jennifer bringing him Last Meal.
Jennifer combing his hair.
Kissing Jennifer.
Joining with Jennifer.
Repeatedly.
Never had anyone cared for him the way Jennifer had. She'd given of herself freely and openly, holding nothing back.
His slight movement must have woken her, and she rubbed a pale cheek against his warm skin before lifting drowsy, blue eyes to his. They were unguarded and nearly glowed with the warmth and happiness at seeing him.
Then she breathed out, “Treyvon…” and he was lost.
Lowering his head, he captured her sleep-softened lips in a gentle kiss while pulling her even closer. Goddess, he’d never grow tired of kissing her.
• • • • • •
Jennifer let herself sink into Treyvon’s kiss. God, how long had it been since she woke up this way? Or felt this good? It was more than the fact that she felt safe in Treyvon’s arms. It was that she felt cared for, cherished even.
But was it just because she’d offered him her body?
All those unanswered questions and doubts from the night before assaulted her.
Yes, Treyvon had kissed her. He had said he cherished her. But what did that really mean to him?
Was it just something males said in the heat of passion?
It was that way on Earth sometimes. The guy would say anything to get you into bed. Her mother had warned her about that. Told her that she could only have her first time once and that it needed to be with someone special, someone you loved.
Jen had also known her mother meant that it should be after marriage. Jane Teel had never agreed with the modern way of thinking, as she called it. She felt it somehow belittled what she considered a beautiful and intimate act into something more like going out for a cup of coffee. She had tried to instill that in her girls.
Jen would just do a silent eye-roll whenever her mother would start that little speech, not that she ever let her mom see it. It would have had her mother stomping off in a huff with hurt feelings, and no one hurt Jane Teel’s feelings. If they did, they had to deal with her dad. Richard Teel was a gentle, well-mannered man who rarely raised his voice, rarely got angry. Except where the love of his life, his Jane, was concerned. Her welfare and happiness were his priority and anyone that upset either of those met his wrath.
It was how Jen had known she could get the dream wedding she wanted when her father had wanted her to wait. She only needed to suggest that she and Todd would live together to have her mother go into a tizzy and her father to give in.
She'd always wanted someone like her father. He opened doors for her mother, pulled out chairs for her. He loved her to distraction and always put her first.
She thought she'd found it in Todd. He said all the right things. Did all the right things, at least until her parents died and things got hard.
Would Treyvon be the same way?
"Jennifer?" Treyvon questioned, quietly pulling his lips from hers when he felt her begin to tense. "What is wrong?"
"I…"
"Tell me, please." His glowing eyes were full of concern.
"I was just wondering what happens now," she told him. She needed to know, one way or the other.
"Now?"
"That it’s morning."
Before he could answer, his comm began to ring. Twisting his head, he gave the device a frustrated look. With a sigh, he rolled to the other side of the bed and grabbed it from the table where he'd dropped it the night before.
"Rayner," he bit out.
"General, you asked to be contacted an hour before first light." Nikhil's voice came over the comm.
"Yes. I'll relieve you shortly, Squad Leader."
"Yes, General."
Treyvon ended the comm and looking back across the bed, he saw Jennifer rising and pulling the sheet along with her.
"Where do you think you are going?"
"You need to go," she said wrapping the sheet around her as she scanned the room for her covering. "So do I."
Treyvon rose from the bed unconcerned about his nudity and walked around it until he stood before her. Putting an arm around her, he pulled her close while placing a gentle but firm finger under her chin, raising it until her gaze met his. He hated how shuttered her eyes had become.
"I do not wish you to."
"What?” She gave him a surprised look. “What do you mean? I can't just stay here."
"I know this, but I still do not want you to leave. I do not want to leave, but I must." He put a finger to her lips when she started to open her mouth again. "As for your question… what happens now? My response is that it is up to you. You have to know I have strong feelings for you. Feelings unlike any I have ever had for any other female."
"Treyvon." She continued to grip the sheet between her breasts with one hand as she reached up with the other to cup his cheek. "You have to know I have feelings for you too. I would never have Joined with you if I didn't."
"And if I want more?"
"More?"
"I know I am not the male a female would ever desire to commit herself to permanently.” His eyes dimmed slightly. “Not the way you did with your Dasho. But I would like to provide for you, for as long as you allow me to, and I will do everything in my power to see to your happiness."
"Why do you say it like that?" she asked frowning at him.
"Like what?"
"Like you are an unfit or unworthy male. Like it would be a hardship for me to be with you."
"Because of my ancestor, of course.” He hated that he had to tell her this, that it might change her feelings for him, but his honor would allow him to do no less. She deserved to know. “There will be those that will shun you, Jennifer, if it becomes known that you have Joined with me."
"First of all, what your ancestor did over five hundred years ago, while inexcusable, has nothing to do with us." The hand that had been cupping his cheek jabbed an angry finger into his chest. "Second, if you believe that what a bunch of small-minded idiots think matters to me, then you don't know me at all!"
Treyvon couldn't believe how angry she was because of what he'd said about himself. She was defending him against himself. He couldn't put into words what that meant to him, so instead of using words, he kissed her.
Jen couldn't believe how furious she was. No one spoke about Treyvon that way. Not even Treyvon. Didn't he know what an amazing male he was? While he was strong, he could still be gentle. While he was decisive, he still carefully considered every decision he made and how it affected others. He cared deeply about his Warriors and his people, but he never expected them to care about him. And that enraged her even more because he didn't deserve that.
She was about to tell him all that when he captured her lips in a hard, deep kiss that wiped out every thought from her head, and had her anger turning into desire. She let go of the sheet and reaching up, gripped his hair, making sure he couldn't pull away from her.
Treyvon welcomed the stinging pain of Jennifer's grip along with the way her bare breasts pressed against his chest. He wanted nothing more than to lift her up, press her onto his bed, and keep her there for the rest of the day, taking her again and again and again.
But he couldn't. Reluctantly, he broke off the kiss. The only satisfaction he got from the act was that she seemed as reluctant to end the kiss as he was.
“I know there is more we need to discuss," he said resting his forehead against hers. "But I need to cleanse and replace my beads before I meet with Nikhil.”
“Okay,” she whispered and started to pull away when he stop
ped her.
“Jennifer, when you bring Last Meal tonight, bring enough for two.” He smiled when her eyes widened in surprise and couldn't resist running a gentle finger down her cheek. “We will finish this discussion then.”
With that, he turned and walked into the cleansing room giving her a heart-stopping view of his amazingly tight, bare ass.
• • • • • •
Chapter Twenty-Four
Hours later, Jen’s heart still hadn’t quite resumed its normal beat. God, how could a male have such a perfect, tight ass? She'd quickly pulled on the covering Maysa had brought her, grateful to discover that it wasn't a wrinkly mess. Slipping on her shoes, she'd finger combed her tousled hair and finally had to leave it loose when she couldn't find the tie that had been in it when she arrived.
On the way out of the room, she'd seen the untouched Last Meal still sitting on the hover cart. She'd known she couldn't feed him a stew that had sat out all night, but the biscuits would still be good. So setting the bowl on the table where he couldn't miss it, she left a note that said…
‘EAT!’
With that, she'd left with the cart and gone to her room to cleanse.
Now she was cleaning the kitchen she'd left in disarray the night before when a sound had her turning.
"Gulzar!" She was immediately across the room, wrapping her arms around him. She'd been told he was back and unharmed but had yet to see him. "You're safe!"
"Jen." Gulzar found himself returning her enthusiastic hug and smiling down at her. "Were you not informed I was safe?"
"I was," she said still smiling up at him, "but seeing is believing." And what she saw told a story. There were new lines on Gulzar's face and sadness in his glowing eyes. He wasn't the same young Warrior that had cooked beside her a week ago or that had been training to become an Elite Warrior. He seemed different now. Older.
"Well this is interesting," the sneering voice had both of them turning, still hugging, to find Spada standing in the doorway. "You need to come to me if you are finally interested in acquiring credits, Jennifer. Especially now that you are not hideous looking." His insulting gaze traveled over her now scar-free features. "That sorry excuse for a Warrior," he gestured to Gulzar, "has neither the credits nor the expertise to satisfy your needs. I guarantee you'll be screaming my name when I shove my shaft inside you again and again and again." He rubbed his hand up and down his shaft.
Jen's mouth dropped open, and she felt her cheeks darken at Spada's harsh words and crude actions. She didn't know what to say. Didn't know how to react.
Gulzar didn't have that problem. He was instantly across the room, pinning Spada against the wall with an arm across Parlan's throat, his eyes blazing. "You don't talk that way to her! You don't act that way around her! You don't look at her!"
Parlan was stunned for a moment, not only because of Gulzar's words but because he dared lay hands on him. Him, an Elite Warrior. Moving to dislodge Gulzar's arm, he was surprised to find he couldn't.
"I will have your beads for this, Gulzar!" Parlan spat out. "I am an Elite Warrior…"
"Who has insulted a female!" Gulzar growled back. "The one that has drawn the attention of the Emperor with her use of our food stores. You already walk a wall because of your treatment of Nikhil's True Mate. What do you think will happen when it is known you've shown even more disrespect to Jennifer?" He leaned in closer and growled lowly. "It will not be me losing beads."
"No one will believe you," Parlan croaked out even as he paled.
"They'll believe me," Jen said, and Parlan's furious gaze flew to her. She knew he was trying to intimidate her, to scare her, and he would have before she'd been kidnapped but not now. Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared right back at him. She was done putting up with his insulting glances and snide comments. "Leave, Spada."
Gulzar used the arm against Parlan's throat to push away taking a step back. "You heard her. Leave."
"You'll pay for this! Both of you!" Parlan spit out, then spinning on his heel, made a hasty retreat.
"Well that was fun," Jen said quietly.
"No, it wasn't." Gulzar turned concerned eyes to her. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." She gave him a reassuring smile. "Thanks to you. Thank you for what you did, Gulzar."
"I only did what any other male would do."
"No, you did what only a truly fit and worthy male would do." She watched his cheeks darken with pleasure. "Can Spada cause you problems? Stop you from becoming an Elite Warrior?"
"It is possible. He is an Elite Warrior and comes from a strong bloodline."
"That doesn't mean he is fit or worthy."
"No, but his word will still be believed because he is also related to Minister Stepney, the Minister of my home world."
"So there are politics involved."
"Yes."
"Then why did you defend me if it could cost you everything you've been working for?"
"Because you are my friend," he said simply.
Jen felt her eyes fill with his words. A friend. Gulzar considered her his friend and not in the Kaliszian way. "I… thank you, Gulzar. It's truly an honor to be your friend."
"The honor is mine and, Jen?"
"Yes."
"You've always been beautiful to me."
The tears that she'd been fighting to hold back knowing they would only make him uncomfortable ran down her cheeks.
"Jen…? Do I need to take you to Luol?"
"No," she chuckled, wiping her face at how panicked he was at her tears. It seemed Kaliszian and human males had something in common. Neither knew how to handle a crying female. "I'm fine. So, what should we cook for Last Meal?"
"I thought you might like to look at the food stores we found on the Zaludian ship before we decided. That is why I came here so early."
"Food stores?"
"You were not informed?"
"No. Why would I be?"
"Because…"
"Because?"
"I could be wrong, but I believe…"
"Gulzar, just spit it out?"
"I believe the food we found on one of the Zaludian ships came from your Earth."
"What?!! Why would you think that?"
"Because of this." He pulled a small brown lump out from inside his vest and handed it to her. He'd taken it out of the same crate he had shown General Treyvon before sealing it back up. He knew he shouldn't have, especially not if it were actually edible, but he'd wanted to be able to see Jen's reaction to it. It was worth the risk to see her eyes widen as she stared at what he'd handed her.
"It's a potato!" she whispered.
"Truly? I thought it might be from the way you described it, but I wasn't sure."
"It is." Her gaze rose to his. "Where are the rest?"
• • • • • •
Treyvon bit into the last biscuit Jennifer had left him as he read Nikhil's final report. Exiting the cleansing room, he'd immediately known she was gone by how cold and empty the room felt. But she'd left behind a small piece of her warm and caring spirit in the note he'd found on top of the uncovered plate. It spoke of her care and concern for him.
The corners of his lips turned up slightly as he remembered the simple order.
Eat, it had said.
Who other than Jennifer would dare give him an order? Even Liron only strongly suggested things to him. But not his Jennifer, and she knew she never needed to fear him. A knock on the door forced his thoughts away from Jennifer.
"Enter." He was surprised to find Nikhil entering. Treyvon had relieved him of his duty nearly four hours ago ordering him to get some much-needed rest.
"General."
"What are you doing here, Nikhil?"
"General, I felt I should report to you to answer any questions you might have regarding my reports."
Treyvon leaned back in his chair, thinking about the reports he had just finished reading. They were detailed and concise and relayed all the information Nikhil had been able t
o compile about what had happened before, during, and after the Zaludian attack. They told Treyvon he'd made the right decision in putting Nikhil in charge of the base. It also told him Nikhil would be a good choice for his Second-in-Command. What they didn't tell him were what Nikhil's instincts were telling him and he needed to find out before he made Nikhil his Commander.
"Sit, Nikhil." Treyvon gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk. Nikhil hesitated only for a moment then did as ordered. "Tell me what happened here."
"Sir, were my reports not detailed enough?"
"Yes, they were more than adequate, but what I'm asking is what those details told you. You are an amazingly astute Warrior, Nikhil. The finest Squad Leader I've ever had. Many Warriors' lives have been saved because of how quickly you see, understand, and react to changes on the battlefield. That is what I am asking of you now."
"General…" Nikhil started then seemed to hesitate.
"Speak freely, Nikhil."
"General, while there can be no doubt that someone within our forces is supplying information to the Ganglians and Zaludians. The real question is why? What do they hope to gain by such unworthy acts?" Nikhil paused for a moment and Treyvon let him gather his thoughts. "Because I am Squad Leader, and it was my True Mate the Ganglians were trying to reacquire, Commander Gryf informed me that there was a transmission sent from Pontus to the Ganglians before the attack."
"This is truth." While he tried to conceal it, Treyvon could see the rage blazing in Nikhil's eyes that his Mackenzie had been put at risk.
"Because I had that information, I personally made an intensive study of all comms, both incoming and outgoing for the hours, days, and weeks before the latest attack."
"And found none." Treyvon knew this from Nikhil's written report.
"No, but I did discover a weak, intermittent signal that randomly began to appear and disappear from our comms as the Monarch approached."
"You are saying the signal was being sent from the Emperor's flagship?" Treyvon sat up straight in his chair.
"Yes, General, and when he transferred to the surface, it came with him."
"You told Liron this?"
"No."
"Why?"
