“We got a lock,” Manala exclaimed. His weapons specialist sent out a round of firepower that blasted off the pirate moded ship. It burst into a ball of light. Then right before Jax’s eyes, the destroyed vessel crashed into the side of the Queen’s ship. The chain reaction spread in slow motion. Section by section, fire and mini-explosions erupted on The Reina, obliterating the royal ship along with her two passengers until only debris remained.
“My stars,” Dar gasped. “The Queen.”
Jax didn’t care about the Queen. His heart shredded as he thought of brown eyes and a cheeky grin.
***
“What do we do, Cellimina?” Cordie gasped as rising smoke filled the transfer room.
Thoughts raced through Cellie’s mind as she tossed one idea out after the other. Clearly the computer was fried and they wouldn’t be able to use the transfer to get to the Zanian IX.
“We’re not done yet, Your Highness,” Cellie promised, pushing back the sadness of Higgins passing.
Though pale, Cordie bolstered. She smiled and her red eyes sparked. “I trust you, Cellie. But what in the blazes do you think we can do before this whole thing blows?”
Cellie had no idea but defeat wasn’t in her. She grabbed Cordie’s wrist and tugged as they ran full steam out of the transfer room and followed the path she knew by heart to the launch deck. “Emergency transport. We need to get to the emergency transport.”
“It’s on the other side of The Reina. Most of the blasts hit on that area.” Cordie hunched and ducked a flying piece of metal.
Cellie pressed her lips together in a firm line. “The fire’s going to spread fast. We don’t have any other option and I refuse to give up.”
“Probably damaged, making this frantic run a waste,” the Queen puffed out, face flushed.
Cellie turned a corner, ignoring Cordie’s complaint. She focused on silver eyes blaring at her intently. Jax’s words played through her head. ‘In a life or death situation, you do whatever it takes, Cellie. You’ll be surprised at the survival instinct.’
Well, right now nothing surprised her. Heart pounding in her chest, every breath Cellie took filled her lungs with burning smoke. Her eyes stung with sweat but she refused to give up. Cellie came to an abrupt halt in front of the door barring the way to the transport shuttle. It was a mini jet fighter with no weapons systems at all and not much juice in the basic assembly line engines, but it could be their way out.
Cellie keyed her code into the door lock. She didn’t need a lot of juice. She needed a safe way for her and Cordie to get to Jax and the Z.
The lock stayed red.
“Shit!” Cellie banged it with her fist, bursts of pain preceding her split knuckles.
“What now?” Cordie shoved at her knotted hair, for once not looking well put together.
Both of them looked worse for wear in soot-smudged clothing. Alarms sounded over head and the whoosh of flames filled the corridor behind them. They’d be burned in an instant the moment the intense heat neared them in such a compressed space with oxygen fueling it.
Cellie studied the door lock. One side of the panel was smashed in from her punch but the buttons weren’t disturbed. In a fit of frustration she entered her code one more time.
‘Confirmed.’ The door hissed open.
“Yes!” Cellie pumped her bleeding fist and grinned. “Come on, Cordie. Our ride’s here.”
Her friend chuckled. “Just when I think you can’t surprise me, you succeed.”
They hurried toward the shuttle, feet slipping up the ramp as The Reina tilted far to the side. When Cellie slapped her palm on the panel by the door, it slid open. “Belt in. We’re going to be doing this rough and wild.”
“I have no doubt you picked this behavior up from the Commander.” Cordie jumped into the co-pilot seat at the front and buckled in.
Cellie snagged the pilot’s chair and flicked the overhead switches. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Cordie glanced at her and smirked. A lock of hair fell over her forehead. “Don’t be ridiculous, Cellimina. I’m not completely blind to the way you two look at each other whenever duty brings Commander Brom to Zephil.”
Cellie tested the communication system and static crackled in response. Unease stirred, but Cellie squashed it. “We’re peers of a sort.”
“Of a sort.” Cordie snorted and turned her gaze to the wide display on the view screen. She must have sensed Cellie’s dismay. “Are the comms working yet?”
“No.” Not having access to communications put them at a distinct disadvantage. Cellie bit her lip and concentrated on firing up the engines. The low rumble as they warmed sent a shot of adrenaline through her.
“Personal one or just this transport?”
“Both. Come on, come on,” Cellie muttered, waiting for the system indicator light to reach green for launch. The status bar inched along at a sluggish pace.
A booming explosion rocked The Reina. Her heart slammed against her ribs as fear coursed through her veins. They had to make it. With the King dead, the loss of the Queen without an heir would send Zephil in a tailspin it would take years—maybe decades to recover from.
“What’s to stop your Commander from shooting us out of the sky the minute he sees an unidentified ship?”
“Prayers,” Cellie answered and hoped her lover would use his keen intelligence to check for the Jessin crest on the wing of the shuttle before firing.
Cordie leaned back in her seat with a hum. “Let’s hope you’re really good in bed.”
The words startled Cellie enough to look up from the control panel at Cordie in disbelief. “What?”
Cordie grinned. “He’d have more reason to hesitate.”
Unbelievably, Cellie laughed. “Then we got it made, because I’m damn awesome in bed.”
The light display turned green. “Yes!”
Cellie punched in the commands to open the doors of The Reina. The computer systems were down but she hoped the emergency overrides were still online. She stared at the metal barrier holding her between certain death and potential freedom.
With a screeching grind they began to separate, each click and clack of the gears, music to Cellie’s ears. She pulled back on the steering rod and aimed the transport for the widening gap. The minute she estimated sufficient clearance, Cellie inched in the right direction and punched it.
The force of the take off slammed her back into the seat, neck straining, but she never removed her eyes from the doors. Cordie moaned beside her. A quick check assured Cellie she was fine although a bit green.
‘Launch initiated faster than advisable,’ the shuttle computer intoned.
“Bite me,” Cellie muttered as they coasted closer and closer then burst forward. The transport leaped through the bay doors, wings clearing the sides with mere inches to spare. Then the vast blackness of space engulfed them as they left the bright lights of The Reina behind them.
“You made it,” Cordie gasped. “Never have I been so glad to have your friendship and your service, Cellimina Manx.”
Cellie laughed, giddy euphoria flooding her with enough endorphins to take on a fleet of pirates. She angled the transport around to head toward the Z. “Now for the tricky part.”
Because they’d be coming off the backside of The Reina, the Z wouldn’t have enough time to recognize if they were enemy or foe. Cellie concentrated her efforts on getting the communication up. If they got far enough away from the interference from The Reina she hoped to establish contact.
“Cellie!”
Her head jerked up from the display panel at Cordie’s shout. The Reina exploded behind them. What used to be the front of a fighter jet came flying up on their right side. Cellie pulled hard, praying for enough speed as she executed a move that sent them into a tight roll.
Cordie bit her bottom lip and squeezed her eyes shut. “Remember how I sneered about all those training classes you insisted on taking and maintaining?”
Elbows straining, Cel
lie righted them and dodged the continuous barrage of debris coming their way. “Not a good time, Cordie.”
“No, really.” Cordie opened one red eye. “I’m thankful, that’s all.”
A huge weight slammed into them. The shuttle spun in an awkward 180, tiny beeps sounding from the dash. Cellie fought for control. Everything whirled around before coming to a jolting halt. They jerked in their seats, safety straps tightening across her chest. Cellie’s head banged into the side window. Stars blurred her vision, but she blinked away the stinging pain and came face to face with the communication indicator lighting up.
‘Access available.’
Chapter 7
Cellie dead. Those weren’t words Jax ever thought he’d have to deal with. His heart slowed as if a leaden weight crushed his chest.
“Another vessel picked up on sensors, Commander.”
More pirates? Jude’s words crashed through the pain spreading through Jax’s chest. “Can we get a lock?”
Swelita answered, “Smaller craft, interference from the wreckage is keeping me from identifying.”
“Do you want me to fire lasers?” Manala faced Jax, hands poised over the controls.
He curled his fingers tight. Jax wanted to blast them out of the cosmos. Make them pay for all they’d done this day. He broke the thought off. If survivors managed to escape from the pirate vessel then questioning them was the smart thing to do. Unfortunately, imagining Cellie lost to him forever didn’t put Jax in a smart frame of mind.
“Commander?” Manala probed. “Do you wish me to fire upon the unknown ship?”
Jax turned to Swelita. “How much closer before you can identify or make contact?”
She frowned and bowed her head to her instrument panel. “I think I’m getting something now.”
“Don’t…don’t…fire Z. Ope…bay do…oming…in hot.”
Jax’s gaze caught on the sleek outline of a silver fighter bearing the purple shield of the royal family on its left wing. Vapors trailed from the engines.
“Hot damn!” Swelita muttered, awe filling the words.
“Z…come…in. copy.”
Jax shuddered in relief and bowed his head at the sound of Cellie’s distorted voice. His eyes burned and his throat grew thick, but he kept his tone even. “Open the doors. Have fire crews ready.”
The clearly damaged vessel limped across the screen and the Queen’s remaining two jets assumed protective flight patterns beside Cellie.
Collapsing against his seat, Jax cleared his throat and opened the channel to respond. “Manx, is the Queen safe?”
“Roger that. Royal package is with me.” This time the words came through clear with no static.
A cheer went up from his people. Jax closed his eyes on an exhale. When he opened them, he stiffened his spine. “Condition of the crew?”
A light laugh came over the comm and his lips curved up.
“It’s only us, Jax,” she said, dropping the formality. “Worst for wear and in need of a shower but we’re good.”
“Then hurry your ass up, Cellie,” he ordered.
Several of his men laughed. Jax watched the other fighters come in behind her. He paged the lower levels. “Are they in?”
His engineer, Quinti, answered. “All clear, Commander.”
Jax turned to his second. “The bridge is yours, Witt,” he tossed out and headed toward the lift. Nothing was stopping him from going to Cellie.
***
Her husky laughter reached Jax as soon as he turned the corner. Dar joked with Cellie and she pushed against his security officer’s arm in protest. “Admit it, Dar. Best flying you’ve ever seen.”
The nose of the shuttle was completely caved in and one wing bore a thin crack along the top. The penetrating odor of fuel flooded the bay. Quinti and another worked to extinguish small flames fanning from the landing gear.
As Jax drew closer, he took in Cellie’s ravaged appearance. The once pristine uniform bore holes at the elbow and one sleeve dangled from a tear at her shoulder. Her short hair stood on end, one side flattened to her head. Black streaks marred her left cheek and a huge purpling bruise swelled on her temple.
But she was alive. His heart lifted, joy spreading. Jax closed the distance between them and uncaring who watched, picked Cellie up in his arms and spun in a circle before pulling her in tight.
“Jax!”
He buried his face in her smoke filled hair, thankful for the chance to hold her again.
“Jax.” She thumped a fist on his shoulder.
A lump filled his throat and Jax could only squeeze tighter.
“I’m alright, Jax.” She lowered her voice to a whisper.
He tried to speak and had to clear his throat twice. “Damn you, Cellimina.”
Cellie relaxed in his arms, her lips brushing his throat as she muttered, “Don’t call me that. And everyone is forgetting that I made it. That’s gotta count for something.”
Jax snorted. By the condition of the shuttle, it was a miracle. Pure scrap metal in its future. “I don’t know how you managed.”
She pushed at his chest again and he finally eased his hold enough to see her face. His hands dropped to her waist, keeping her in his arms. Battered and beautiful.
Her fingers teased his hair. “I had a good teacher.”
It was how they’d met. She’d attended his combat flight training three years ago. Jax kissed the top of her head. “Damn good flying, Cellie.”
Chapter 8
Her body bowed, pressing the engorged tip into his mouth. Jax chuckled and kept sucking the sensitive nipple. Cellie twisted beneath him, her hips arching until their lower halves mashed together. Jax groaned and switched to her other breast. Cellie’s stroking fingers became desperate the moment his mouth made contact.
“Jax! Suck me! Oh, suck me harder. It feels so good.”
And so did her hot center rubbing along his shaft, leaving moist trails behind. Cellie became more enthusiastic if possible when Jax released her swollen bud and kissed his way down her torso, flat belly and curl-covered mound.
“There. Do it. Tongue me there.”
Jax chuckled and rubbed a finger through her wet folds. More moisture instantly greeted his finger. “I’m not one of the Queen’s guard. You don’t get to give me orders.”
The hands tangled in his hair drifted to his shoulders and Cellie dug her nails in. “Are you saying you don’t want to make me feel better?”
Jax snorted once before his tongue followed his finger and licked a path across her slit. When his head lifted, he met her blazing brown gaze. “Trick questions are like space mines. You get blasted even if you go around them.”
Cellie snickered and wrapped her legs around his neck. “I never took you for a coward, Commander.”
“Coward?” Jax leaned up and palmed her thighs. Gaze steady on hers, he parted her legs and spread her limbs wide, breaking her hold on his neck. “Let’s see who’s screaming surrender in the next five minutes.”
“Five minutes? Not possible.” Cellie’s thighs tensed beneath his grip. “I’m the head of the Royal Zephil guard. I don’t surrender.”
“You’re right. One minute. Because I’m the man who’s going to fuck the head of the Royal Zephil Guard until she’s screaming for mercy.”
And with that statement Jax returned his attention to the treat laid out in front of him. He hadn’t lied. He wouldn’t stop until Cellie’s screams filled his ears. Keeping his hands on her thighs, Jax buried his face in her damp curls. He sucked and licked his way from one side to the other.
Cellie cried out, trying to escape his marauding tongue. Jax was relentless. Her hips drove up toward his mouth, a clear indication she was close. Jax took a deep breath then forced himself to pull up.
He exhaled and asked, “Do you surrender, Senior Guard Manx?”
“No,” she moaned, body quivering on the denial. “I don’t give up so easily.”
Easily. Her desire already soaked the sheets, but
Jax smiled nonetheless. This was why he adored Cellie. This enchanting woman was stubborn, hard headed and absolutely wonderful.
“Prepare to be annihilated.”
She chuffed a laugh.
Jax shifted his hands underneath to cup her rounded butt. He lifted her hips from the bed and placed his mouth over her tiny swollen button, and sucked. First with fast hard pulls then slow leisurely draws.
Cellie screamed.
And screamed.
And begged.
“Please. Please. Jax, don’t stop. Feels so good.”
Smiling, he paused to ask, “Do you surrender?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” She chanted, tossing her head on the pillow. “Now make me come before I seriously hurt you, Jax. Now!”
Jax wanted to chuckle, but his own desire and arousal pushed humor to the background. He lowered his head and licked along her center, lingering at the soft bud as he lapped her rich cream. Cellie screamed until her voice fell off. The orgasm rolled over her and Jax had to clamp his hands on her hips to keep her down as she rode out her pleasure. Her whimpers and cries were music to his ears. As soon as she ceased shaking, Jax released her and slid over her body.
He settled his weight over her and pinned Cellie’s arms above her head by the pillow. She opened her eyes and stared, mouth parted. The best thing about making love with Cellie came from watching her fall apart in his arms. Jax eased between her thighs and rocked. Her thighs quivered against his and he smiled as he did it again.
Cellie broke his light hold to grab his neck roughly and bared her teeth. “Stop playing and fill me, Jax.”
Unable to resist the demand and his own body’s mounting need, Jax nudged forward and eased between her slick folds. He entered her in one smooth glide as silk encased his throbbing length.
Jax groaned, fingers twisting on the sheets. “Cellie.”
She undulated her hips and her insides flexed like a vise on him as he stroked back and forth. “More. Give me all of you.”
Love Like No Other Page 5
