by Shae Mills
He released her, glanced at Terig like a leopard ready to pounce, and then turned to the control panels. With the flick of a few switches, the entire bank of screens came to life, every aspect of the sweep revealed.
Hundreds of warriors were deployed en masse at the strategic locations, and then, with a single order from Zane, they swarmed into the tunnels and corridors, weapons drawn. Chelan’s hands went to her lips, her knees weakening at the thought of all the potential violence that had just been unleashed. Without noticing her distress at first, Korba drew up a chair for her and pressed her into it.
Then the Warlord crouched down in front of her. “Are you going to be okay?”
Her eyes skated from the screens to his, and she folded her hands in her lap. “Yes,” she whispered. “I... I just...”
Terig moved closer, poised to turn the Command Center links off. Like Korba, he recognized her rising anxiety levels, the depiction before her of a cold, hard reality that could go bad fast.
Korba glanced at Terig, staying the man’s hand with a signal in battle language.
Chelan looked back at her mate. “I am okay. I just do not want anyone hurt.”
Korba nodded and he signed to Terig again. Terig stepped up to the consoles and removed the audio link. Korba knew that if an explosion sounded, the shock of it would hit Chelan just as hard as any visual. Then he touched her knee. “I need to watch this, but I want you to be aware that those are all Zane’s men. There is no one there you know.”
She took a deep breath. “I do not want any of them hurt no matter whose men they are. But I am okay. I know this is necessary.”
“That does not mean you have to watch.”
“No. I had Terig impart the news to you late. This is on me. I need to see it through.”
Korba glanced at Terig and then stood. Both men pulled up chairs and sat next to her as they watched the maneuvers. Now it was a waiting game.
Chelan found she was on the edge of her seat, her breathing a strain to keep even. This was no video game. This was reality, but what had her the most disturbed was not so much the potential for damage or death, but the uncertainty of the end game. Just who or what was hiding in those corridors was yet to be revealed, and the outcome of that quest, for some reason, had her stressed to the point of nearly collapsing.
Time passed, and as men with their weapons burst forward into open spaces, her relief was becoming palpable. Finally, Korba stood and hit the audio. Time and time again, Chelan could hear the men shout, “Clear!”
Then it came, the announcement from Zane. “Sire. The sweep is complete. The entire area is clean.”
Korba paused for a moment. “Thank you. Whoever was responsible for the construction has fled, possibly long ago. Clear your men and order the crews back to work.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Korba turned around just as Chelan wobbled to her feet. “My Lady. Our apparition is no longer on board. Whoever took their leave may always be a mystery. But I will inform all the crews of the odd properties of the area. It will be important that they know.”
Chelan was just getting her breath back. “Good. I am relieved that nothing untoward happened. I have to admit, though, I do not know if I am mollified or disappointed that nothing showed up. The mystery remains.”
Korba nodded. “So it does. What needs to be assessed eventually is the potential seriousness of that lingering conundrum as it pertains to my ship over there. And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that there are other yet undiscovered shielded areas on the vessel where our ethereal builders could be hiding out. That aside, Terig is right: the ramifications of the potential windfall, technology-wise, to the Empire are significant.” He paused as he took measure of everything passing through his mind. Then he looked at her directly. “Now that that drama is over, it is time that you retire, my Lady.”
“That I retire...? What of you, my Lord?”
Korba straightened. “Terig and I are about to rouse the Telesians from their slumber. We have a lot to discuss about the Zenatropium.”
Chelan reached for his arm. “Surely, that can wait until tomorrow?”
Korba shook his head. “Come tomorrow, I will have other things to deal with.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek gently. Then he nodded to Terig. “Let us be on our way.”
Terig tipped his head to Chelan. “It has been a pleasure to be in your company, my Lady. I am sure I will see you again soon.”
Chelan nodded and watched as both men left the Command Center. Then she sat. The mystery had indeed deepened, and to her it was all the more perplexing. Her need to get on RIBUS 7 was even more intense, and she hoped her opportunity was just around the corner. Now that it was beyond a shadow of a doubt that this area of the ship was secure, maybe Korba would allow her her time there. Somehow, despite the outcome of the search, somewhere deep inside her soul, she knew she needed to be on board. The feelings she had were inexplicable; that was a given. They defied all logic, but just like Korba had his sixth sense, she had hers. Someone or something wanted her there, and somehow she was going to find a way.
Chapter 28
CHELAN AWOKE WITH A start. She flipped over in bed and felt the sheets next to her. The bedding was still warm, but Korba was gone. She showered quickly and dressed in her gown, Then she walked out into the Command Center, surprised by the hubbub of activity. Korba was in the center of it all, poring over something with Terig, Zane, and Ilan by his side.
Groups of officers were everywhere, and when someone touched her shoulder, she nearly jumped out of her skin. “Oh god, Yanis, you scared me to death. What is happening here?”
Yanis smiled broadly. “We are going on an adventure, my Lady,”
Chelan stared up at him. “We? Who is going on an adventure?”
“RIBUS 1.”
Chelan blinked. “We are? To where?”
“The details of that I will leave to his Lordship to reveal.”
Chelan looked down at the crowd. “If only RIBUS 1 is going on this mystery adventure, why are the officers from all three ships here?”
“Korba is just giving them their final orders pertaining to RIBUS 7. They should all be gone shortly.”
Chelan frowned, wondering why the meeting could not have been conducted via holograms, but then she watched as several Telesians wandered out of the vast workout area, followed by several more officers, including all the First Officers from the three ships. “What was going on in there?”
“Oh, a large portion of one of the Zenatropium corridors was brought on board here so we and the Telesians could see firsthand the cloaking ability of the material. Korba decided to have the segment brought here as there are too many crews working in those areas of the ship right now. It would not be safe to bring the Telesians down, and Korba did not wish to stop the work yet again.”
Suddenly, Korba’s voice boomed out over the masses. “So, you all have your orders and assignments. I will be in constant contact with Ilan and Zane for the duration of our mission. If any of you or any of your crews encounter problems or come upon any more oddities, I want it brought to my attention immediately.”
A murmur went through the crowd, and then with a signal from Korba, the throngs began filing out. When the last person had left, Yanis and Terig included, Korba approached Chelan, a large smile on his face. “My Lady. How are you?”
Chelan smoothed her gown and finally stepped toward him. “Throwing parties without me, I see?”
“Yes, well, as you know, the wheels of the Empire turn quickly under my hand, and I knew that you needed the extra sleep.” He surrounded her with his arms and breathed in her soft scent.
“What is happening?” she asked in a whisper.
Korba drew her back and looked in her eyes as his fingers played over the planes of her pink cheeks. “The Telesians agree. The properties of that alloy are of immense value to the Empire. I thought of sending a delegation to the known planetary system that harbors the material, but then
I also know of the history there. Diplomacy may not be effective.”
Chelan smiled. “Always a Warlord first.” She kissed him. Then she peered up into his azure eyes. “So why us, and not one of the other battleships?”
“Most of the work on RIBUS 7 is pretty routine now. All the crews have their assignments and the brunt of work with the Cleosans and the Telesians is done, so I thought you and I would be up for the adventure.”
Chelan smirked at him. “And nothing else behind it, my Lord?”
“Yes, well, keeping a certain beautiful woman off the decks of RIBUS 7 did occur to me.”
“Uh-huh. I suspected as much.”
“Plus,” he added quickly, “I pondered sending a small fleet off to do our bidding, but the logistics of doing that was more work than simply taking the whole ship there. Also, if we encounter resistance, RIBUS 1 taking out a nonessential planet or two would be most persuasive.”
Chelan hugged him tight. “You know, I have never been with you on a military operation. I mean, I was there during the Rigilean mission, but RIBUS 7 was not directly involved, and I did not know you then... Well, not intimately.”
A low growl came from deep in his chest as he nuzzled into her neck. “Hmmm... As I recall, I made a grievous error back then.” His hands feathered down her back and over her bum. “If I remember correctly, I took the mission myself even though another offered, and on top of the folly of leaving you behind, I cast you into the ready arms of two other men.”
Chelan reached between them, feeling Korba’s sexual heat. She licked up his throat and then bit into his neck. She smiled to herself, knowing he was more than ready to take her, but she had a way to send him over the edge, and the thought of doing that energized her. He had not acted upon his desire to “punish” her for her insubordination earlier; she would extract that from him now. “Yes, I remember being abandoned by the man who was my original savior. But the men you left me with were more than up to the task of caring for me, in whatever manner they chose,” she said in bait.
She heard Korba’s respiration hitch, and she stretched up against him, rubbing her body along his like a sinuous kitten. “Both were endowed with extreme sexual prowess. Both taught me early on how to pleasure them... with my hands...” And she ran the length of his organ, swollen within his uniform pants. “And my mouth...,” she purred into his ear as she licked him again, feeling his body heat building, his possessiveness fledging.
He rumbled as he shed his gloves. “I would still allow your bonding with Dar and Fremma, were they with us, but other than them, I would prefer not to have to share you again with any man.” And his hands dipped down her thighs. Fingers snaking up her satin skin, he raised the dress over her hips. Then he pressed against her, forming her to his body.
Chelan grinned. “You sure about Dar and Fremma, my Lord? I sense your reticence and your desire to dominate what you consider yours and yours alone.”
“I am true to my word. But right now, with all that surges through me, you are mine and mine alone, and in this moment, I would kill any man that even dared to touch you.”
Chelan felt the moisture between her legs flow, his caress inflaming her as images of Dar and Fremma taking her swirled through her imagination. That was what she wanted to hear—her man crazed by the thought of any other taking her, marking her, entering what he considered his. And she would capitalize on his present derangement. “They taught me everything about their bodies, and mine. They lay back, exposed for my pleasure, and I took them in my mouth and savored them, sucked them, and drew them into me...”
Korba ground against her, his lust causing every fiber of his being to tremor with need. Then he reached for her gown and drew it over her head, casting it away. He seized her, lifted her from the floor, and walked with her to the command chair, where he settled her before him. He knelt in front of her and leaned into her, kissing her mouth hard. “I know what they taught you so well, but I also know they did not get to taste of you. That alone was my reward for returning to you.”
Chelan grabbed his hair, holding him to her as she explored his mouth with her tongue. “So true, my Lord.” She licked his lips. “Now, tell me what they missed all those years ago.”
Korba clenched his jaw, taming the wildcat within him attempting to escape. His fingers feathered down over slender neck toward her chest. Then his touch trickled over her full breasts, cupping them gently. He watched as her flesh moved with suppleness under his caress, her nipples hardening to his soft ministrations.
Entranced, he stared, feeling disembodied as his hands continued down her sides, over her hips, and along her smooth white thighs. He parted her legs and pushed her knees up, draping her long legs over the arms of the chair. “They missed this...,” he breathed. And ever so slowly, he ran his fingers up her inner thighs, closing his eyes as his hands met at her apex. There, he held very still, determined to savor all that his touch was revealing to him. Then his fingertips traced along her internal folds, her hot moistness sending shivers throughout his body.
“They left this for me,” he whispered. He opened his eyes and looked into hers. “You never gave them this before you gave everything to me...” And his fingers continued their tender explorations.
Chelan was spellbound. She held very still, watching the enraptured man before her. He seemed to be suspended on another plane, his features almost pained, his breathing restrained. Her body wanted to respond to his intimate touch, but she tethered her impulses, allowing him his time. “Tell me what they missed...,” she breathed.
Korba continued to touch her skin, her folds, her nodule, her well. His fingers slipped in and out of her, reading her as a blind man would, immersing himself in the rich emotions that infused him through the braille of her body.
Then he paused, two fingers of one hand pressed deep inside her. “They missed everything,” he murmured. “They missed skin so soft it confounds the senses...” He parted her further and looked down at her luscious femininity. “They missed a moistness upon their flesh, their fingers, their tongues, their lips... a nectar so sweet that it invites a man to fall willingly to his death.”
Chelan moaned and arched to him as his fingers rolled within her. Then she gasped as he withdrew his hand, raising his fingers to his lips where he tasted her. She watched as he closed his eyes, and he sighed as he swallowed her essence.
Then he gazed upon her and reached for her hands, unclenching them from the arms of the chair. His voice was deep, infused with need. Slowly, seductively, he drew her hands forward and then placed them down between her own thighs.
Her eyes opened wide and she held her breath, her body frozen with anticipation.
“You tell me...” he whispered. “No... You show me what they missed.”
Chelan was momentarily transfixed by what he was asking her to do, not at all sure she could do it to completion. Then she watched as he tore off his shroud and uniform. Naked before her and back on his knees, she stared wide-eyed as he took his own penis in his hand, pulling back his foreskin to reveal his glans, red and swollen.
Her eyes snapped up to him as he spoke again. “Touch yourself, and show me what you saved for me.”
Chelan remained temporarily motionless... but suddenly, he leaned down to her, the tip of his tongue just touching her erect nub.
Chelan cried out, his moist tease nearly causing her to lose all restraint. But she stilled the heated desire within her as she watched him sit back on his heels and begin stroking his rigid shaft.
She reached for herself, almost shocked at how wet she was, and at how tightly strung she was with desire. She realized the balance of power had just shifted. She was no longer driving him, her dominance fracturing. Now he was feeding off her, forcing her to explore a new sex act for his indulgence. And watching the intensity on his face, the heightened awareness about him as his anticipation reached a fevered pitch, spurred her on.
With two delicate fingers, she parted her lips to him. “They mis
sed this...,” she uttered... And with her other hand... she slipped one finger over her engorged clit, down, dipping into her opening, once. She closed her eyes. She was so aroused, her own touch electrified her, knowing she was touching herself for him to watch, and to enjoy.
Her fingers returned to her hard clit, and as soon as she touched it, she moaned. “Oh god, they missed this...” And she peered into his luminescent eyes. Trembling, she sucked in a deep breath as he continued to take his own organ, his powerful hands stroking, forcing his foreskin to slip over his swollen head and back again. Then he reached down with his other hand, smoothing over his hard abdominals, and to his testicles. He took them, pulled on them, squeezed them rhythmically, and Chelan thought she was going to pass out. God, he knew how to play her! He was magnificent.
She began a slow rotation over her slippery clit, and the first orgasm hit her instantly. She cried out, attempting to hold herself wide as the waves steamrolled over her. She clenched so hard she could feel more moisture seep out from deep inside her.
Korba’s eyes flared at the sight of her ready cream dripping. His voice was commanding. “Tell me what they missed. Tell me what they hungered for.”
Chelan gasped. “They missed taking me. They missed plunging into me. They missed tasting me and taking me hard.”
Korba released himself and grabbed her hips, yanking forward her to the edge of the chair. Instantly he buried his face in her hot folds and he drew on her, his tongue probing... lapping what was his. Then he seized her clit between his teeth, his tongue flickering over her, and she came again. He could feel her body tremors, her vaginal well aching to be filled by him. Her honey surged forth, coating his fingers, her scent causing him to salivate. His penis was so hard it ached.
She grabbed his hair and held him to her as she spasmed, over and over. “Oh god, take me, fill me... please,” she begged.
