“Did you have another fight? Or did she get in an argument with you two?” I asked the men.
Mihi’s scarred face was thunderous but worried, as was Ama’s. I’ve noticed that Nobeks don’t deal well with emotional upheaval, so they tend to duck behind their tempers. God love those macho beasts.
Ama said, “The last time we saw her, she was perhaps quieter than usual, but still pleasant. Still ... um, amorous. She seemed pleased with our company.” He reddened, obviously in discomfort over discussing the intimate nature of his last Candy encounter.
Mihi added, “We had no indication we had disappointed her in any way. Yet our coms have gone unanswered. She didn’t show up for our regular date yesterday, and when we came to visit her today, she told us to go away. We can’t get any explanation out of her.”
“Things haven’t been quite right between me and Candy since we had that disagreement,” Katrina said. Her eyes got bright suddenly, and she blinked hard before continuing. “Maybe she’ll talk to you, Shalia?”
“Sure,” I said, sliding a pair of shoes on that I kept by my door. I couldn’t help but give myself a quick check in the nearby mirror. I wore a long-sleeved dress that flowed nicely over my baby bump. I looked good enough for public consumption, I decided. “Let’s go see what’s up with Ms. Moody Pants.”
I led the way ... all of about two dozen steps since Candy’s rooms weren’t far from mine. I pressed her door announce. “Candy, it’s Shalia. Can I come in?”
A few seconds later a voice answered. “Are you alone?”
The tone was so the opposite of Candy’s usual bubbly sound that for a moment, I thought it wasn’t her. I even doublechecked to make sure I was at the right door. “Candy? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Come in.”
The door slid open. Since I’d never told her I was by myself and she hadn’t said they couldn’t come, Katrina and the Nobeks entered with me.
The room was dim. I could see well enough to gape at Candy, who sat on her lounger. My first thought was that she was really sick.
Her eyes were hollowed pits, the circles beneath them damned near black. Her pretty blond hair had obviously not been brushed since she woke this morning. She’d also not bothered with makeup ... not that Candy ever really needs to wear it, but she prefers to be put together.
Her clothing was odd too. I hadn’t seen her in pants since we’d boarded the transport back on Earth. She always wears some cute, flouncy skirt. Yet today she wore loose-fitting pants, heavy boots, and a concealing tunic. The weirdest thing about her ensemble were the work gloves on her hands ... the big, insulating kind that someone dealing with electrical panels or machinery might wear for protection.
She stood and glared at Katrina, Ama, and Mihi. “Why are they here? I thought you would come alone.”
“They’re worried about you.” I couldn’t disguise my confused concern. “I can see why. You’re scaring me. Candy, what is with you? What’s going on?”
She stared at me, looking me up and down. “I see the time is still not right. You can go now.”
Before I could respond that I wasn’t going anywhere until she told me what the hell was wrong, Ama stepped forward. He looked angry. “No one is going anywhere until you tell us what is happening. This is not the woman I have come to know.”
Mihi was quick to take up the protest, coming to Ama’s side. “You are acting strangely, Candy. Explain yourself.”
Her laugh was a hollow bark, nothing like I’d ever heard come from Candy’s mouth before. “Explain myself? To the likes of you primitive savages, animals that are best suited to be kept on leashes? Get out of my way.”
With that astonishing statement, Candy marched up to the two men. She shoved them aside.
When I say she shoved them aside, I don’t mean she strained to squeeze between them. No, she actually thrust those two hulks apart with such force that they both went staggering. Candy couldn’t have been half the weight of either man, and yet she damned near tossed them both across the room. Impossible, and yet I saw it with my own eyes.
Katrina and I were so astonished that we stayed frozen in place as Candy stalked past us to leave her quarters. We watched her go, our mouths hanging open. My eyes felt as ready to pop out of my head as Katrina’s looked to be.
We didn’t move to go after Candy until the two Nobeks recovered from their near-falls and amazement. When Mihi and Ama went running out of the quarters after Candy, our paralysis finally snapped. We raced out behind the Kalquorians to find them trotting up and down the hall, calling Candy’s name. She was nowhere to be found.
I wasted no time in comming Oses and Betra when we couldn’t find Candy. I won’t pretend that I’m not happy my Nobek lover is on leave from his duties as weapons commander. Otherwise, he’d probably would have had to send an underling to deal with the matter. After all, on the surface Candy’s actions boiled down to nothing more than a really grouchy woman storming off on her friends and lovers.
Yet Katrina, Ama, Mihi, and I agreed there was more to it than that. Candy was acting completely unlike herself. Something was terribly wrong.
We discussed the matter with Oses and Betra, detailing the fight Candy had gotten into with Katrina a few days ago, her quiet demeanor since, avoiding her Nobek friends for no reason, and then her bizarre behavior minutes ago.
Oses listened carefully. He looked to Betra. “Have you ever observed Matara Candy acting in such a manner before?”
Betra shook his head, his brow creased in worry. “Never. The girl is always as sweet as she can be. Even when she’s mad, she’s more likely to pout than go on the attack.”
Katrina’s eyes spilled tears off and on as we talked. Her cheeks were red from her rubbing them dry. “It’s not just the attitude. She tossed these two brutes like they were dolls. How could she have done that?”
Ama straightened. “I wouldn’t say she tossed us. My feet never left the ground.”
I didn’t want to waste time on Nobek pride. “Okay, so she didn’t throw you, but that was a pretty powerful shove. She damned near knocked you both on your butts.”
“Psychotic breakdowns can allow people to demonstrate more strength than is typical,” Oses mused. “Plus, no man would ever expect someone that dainty to get physical. Catching you two unawares probably had a lot to do with it.”
I centered on the first part of Oses’ statement. “Psychotic breakdown! What makes you say that? Candy’s never shown any sign of psychological issues.”
“Some people fall apart with no warning. It could be her typical cheerful attitude was a mask for problems all along.”
Betra scratched his head, looking concerned. “That’s kind of hard for me to swallow when it comes to Candy, but you have a point. She survived Earth’s Armageddon, but her family didn’t. She’s been through plenty of danger and stress in the last few months, just like the rest of you women. It is a possibility she’s in some sort of emotional crisis.”
Katrina, of course, saw right to the heart of the matter. “The first thing we need to do is find Candy. We need to make sure she’s all right – that she won’t hurt herself. The rest can wait until then.”
Oses nodded. “Absolutely. I’ll contact my subcommander, who is running security while I’m off. I’ll let him know what’s happened, and he can institute a ship-wide search for Candy.”
Betra added, “I’ll com Dr. Feru and fill him in. As soon as she’s located, we’ll have him talk to her and run tests if he thinks they’re needed.” He turned away and got right on the matter.
Mihi looked at Ama unhappily. “I wish we could help look for her, but we’re due back on the destroyer. We’ll be on report if we don’t show up for duty.”
Ama’s expression darkened. The slight rumble of a growl sounded from him. “Duty be damned,” he snarled.
I appreciated how much they worried for Candy. I knew she would not want them in trouble over her. “Give me your frequencies, and I’ll com you as soon
as we find her. I’ll let you know everything as I learn about it.”
Ama relaxed a little. Mihi managed a suggestion of a smile as he said, “Thank you, Shalia. We would appreciate that very much.”
A small crowd gathered near us in the corridor, their curiosity plain to see. Oses told us in a low tone, “I will contact my subcommander from my quarters so as to keep this matter private. There is no need for anything embarrassing to Candy to become common knowledge.”
We nodded, and he left. Betra was still talking on his com to Feru, keeping his voice quiet. Ama and Mihi also reluctantly departed, leaving me and Katrina to stare down the other women who were whispering amongst themselves.
“Party’s over,” I announced in a forbidding don’t-fuck-with-me tone. “Nothing to talk about here, so don’t ask.”
I got a lot of surprised looks, but the women drifted away.
“I’m going to lie down for a little while,” Katrina said. She rubbed her temples as if she suffered from the world’s worst headache. She probably did. “Let me know the moment you hear something?”
“I will,” I said and gave her a hug before watching her walk the few feet down the corridor to her room. She walked with her head down and shoulders hunched. For the first time since I’d met her, Katrina looked old.
Betra clicked off his com and gave me a wan look. “Feru said to bring her to him as soon as we find her. He says it sounds more like an emotional overload and probably not anything to really worry about. Still, with Candy’s demeanor changing so abruptly, he wants to see her right away.”
“Good,” I said. Feru gets on my nerves when he goes probing in my head, but the man is good at what he does. I owe most of the little bit of sanity I’ve got to him.
“I’m due for afternoon break if you’d like me to go back to your quarters with you,” Betra said.
I linked arms with him. “Of course I would. Fretting alone sucks.”
He chuckled, though his heart didn’t seem to be in it. “I always prefer fretting with friends.”
We entered my quarters. For a few moments, Betra and I just stood there, both of us at a loss as to what to do next. We were both worried about Candy.
“Damn it,” Betra mumbled and took to pacing back and forth across my sitting room. “I feel like I should be trying to find her.”
“Tell me about it,” I said, reaching up to rake fingers through my hair. “I’m scared about how she’s acting. It didn’t seem like her at all. Nothing she said made sense.”
He came to me and grabbed the hand I’d mussed my hair with. He kissed my fingers, his thumb rubbing over the bracelet Candy had given me for my birthday. Seeing it made me want to cry, and I had the urge to pull free of Betra’s grip. I was too upset to want comfort. I felt like wallowing in my fears.
Yet when Betra’s lips found mine, I realized I wanted to be soothed after all. I couldn’t look for Candy because I would only get in the way. Besides, I knew nothing of hunting down someone who might not want to be found. There were those much better trained for that, and if I knew Oses, they were already scanning for her.
So I poured all that pent-up emotion into kissing Betra back. I have already enumerated the many wonderful things about that Imdiko’s kisses. This time, I gave him something to think about.
Betra’s kiss had started off soft and gentle. Mine was anything but. I kissed that man like I owned him. Some assertive part of me decided it wanted to claim him, to make him mine as he had done to me too many times to count. I even climbed him like a tree, clambering up his body to wrap my arms and legs around him in a demanding clutch. My growing girth was no hindrance in to the need to have him. When he tried to break the kiss earlier than I wanted, I even snarled and captured his lower lip between my teeth to keep him from moving away.
“Sha-wee-ah!” His lipless protest made my name sound funny. Any other time, I would have laughed. But I wasn’t in a laughing mood. I had decided I wanted this man, and I was going to fuck him until he cried ‘uncle’.
I reared back and gave him a smile that felt more like a snarl on my lips. “My bed. Now.”
My demand brought the light of challenge to his purple eyes. “Excuse me? I believe I will have you where I want to.”
For whatever reason, I didn’t want to surrender this time. For once, I felt assertive sexually. “That’s where you are wrong, Imdiko. We’ll do this my way or you can leave. In sort, give me what I want or sholt.”
The crazy thing was, I meant it. I have no idea what got into me, but I wanted all the power. I wanted control. It was the only way I was going to have sex.
Betra’s jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide. I’d never insisted on dominating. I’d never wanted to. We were both shocked.
“What has gotten into you?” he asked.
“You, if you’re a good boy.” I relaxed, some of my power-happy feelings easing to see him that uncertain. “I guess I need control for a change, Betra. After all that’s happened, and now Candy—” I shrugged. “Damn it, I have to be able to claim some power over my life once in a while.”
He considered me for a long moment before the hint of a sad smile touched his lips. “I can understand that. It’s just unlike you to not let me take care of things.” He chuckled and planted a quick smooch on my lips. “If it will make you feel better, I can let go for a little while. Just don’t tell Oses.”
“I believe he’s figured you out by now,” I snickered. “To the bedroom, you yummy thing.”
“So demanding. Maybe you can be my Dramok,” he teased, but he obligingly headed to the next room. Still hanging off him, I rode along.
I climbed down once we were next to my bed. I took a few steps back, looking over my prize. Would he really let me be in charge? “Strip. Do it nice and slow, so I can enjoy it,” I told him.
“Let me take my boots off first,” Betra said. He gracefully stood on one foot and then the other as he yanked the nearly knee-high black boots off and tossed them carelessly to one side. “All right. Prepare to feast your eyes on what you’ve already seen dozens of times before,” he joked.
“It never gets old,” I sighed, enjoying the sight of those broad shoulders coming into view as Betra opened the top of his uniform and shrugged it down. He bared his defined chest next, and I sighed again. No, it was still good to look at. I might never tire of seeing Betra naked.
He slowly peeled the formsuit down to his waist, revealing himself to me and smiling saucily the entire time he did so. I walked around him to take the view in. Mmm, I seldom get to enjoy that muscled back, and it is so damned fine.
“Stop,” I told Betra before he could slide the uniform over his hips. Yes, I wanted to see that gorgeous ass in the worst way, but his back had to be given its due. I’d neglected appreciating it the way it should be.
He froze and looked questioningly at me over his shoulder. I stepped up close and traced the line of his spine. I grinned at his responding shiver and did it again. He jerked.
“You are beautiful from every angle,” I said. My fingers investigated every ridge of muscle that I saw. “Never turn your back on Oses, my friend. He wouldn’t be able to control himself if he saw this.”
I saw those delicious muscles tense the slightest bit. “That’s not exactly a thrill for me to hear, you know,” Betra smarted off.
“It’s true though.” I ran my palms down from his shoulder blades to that trim waist, feeling every exciting bump and curve of his body as I did so. “If I was a man, I’d want to shove my cock in you too. Whether you liked it or not.”
Shalia's Diary # 6 Page 6
