He smiled and pulled her to him. “Yes. Now how do you plan on getting me out of here?”
Caz dropped into the cabin as the sound of gunfire echoed through the corridor outside. He’d already drawn a pistol. “I suggest getting down.”
Someone fired on the door as voices shouted in the corridor.
Aine drew a blade. “Take him,” she whispered to Caz. “Lock yourselves in the head.”
Ker tried to protest.
“Ambassador, your captain is dead. I am now in command of this vessel. I order you to go!”
Caz hooked an arm around him. “Come on, Master. Don’t orphan me before we even get home.”
Ker smirked but let Caz lead him to the head where they locked themselves in.
Aine felt the Ice Queen return. She wanted Ker safe.
More importantly, she didn’t want him witnessing what she wanted to do.
The pounding on the door grew louder. She flattened her back against the wall and locked down the lights before she unsealed the door. When it slid open, an armed man stumbled through.
Not one of her men.
“Lights!” he screamed in Act’huran. When they didn’t come on, he turned, looking at the empty chair. “Where the hell is that fucker?”
Aine silently stepped behind him, and despite his height, she pressed the blade to his throat. In Act’huran she asked, “Who hired you?”
He replied, in Act’huran, “Who the fuck are you?”
“Wrong answer.”
He slumped to the floor, clutching his throat.
One down.
She wiped her blade on his uniform and stepped over to the door to wait. She heard her men sweeping the corridors, screaming for reinforcements when they discovered the crew’s bodies, and more sounds of a firefight from the bridge.
Another man ran through the door. He tripped on the fallen body of his comrade. “Parekin,” he yelled. “What the fuck?”
Before he could gain his footing, she held the blade to his throat. In Act’huran she asked, “Ready to die, traitor?”
He dropped his gun. “They never told me they were going to kill the crew! We were just supposed to deliver the Ambassador and the Admiral to the raiders.”
“How many did you kill?”
“Only one guy. They paid me to—”
She slit his throat, then wiped her blade clean on his jacket. “That’s for Marcoln, Aggie, and my parents, you son of a bitch. Not to mention the other men you murdered.” She spit on the bodies.
Another man ran in before she could turn. One of hers.
“Captain Lorcan, the bridge is secure. Two dead.”
She nodded at the body by her feet. “Two more. That’s all of them, then.”
“The Ambassador?”
“Safe. Caz!”
The men emerged from the head. She turned to them.
Ker didn’t look at the bodies on the floor. “Captain Lorcan—”
He couldn’t finish because she raced across the cabin and threw herself into his arms. She cried as he held her, scooped her up, murmuring to her in Act’huran.
“Master,” she whispered. “I love you so much!”
“I love you too, Ki’ato.” He tried to put her down, but she clung harder.
Her security officer nervously shifted his weight and cleared his throat. “Um, sir? Admiral Jorvis is about to kill someone to find out if the Ambassador is all right. He seemed pretty worried about you, too.”
“Tell him, and I quote, I said he should hold his fucking horses.” She kissed Ker, not caring who saw. “We’ll be right there.”
She finally let Ker set her back on her feet but she wouldn’t release his hand. “Let’s go.”
He tried to pull free. She wouldn’t let him. “I don’t care who knows you’re my Master,” she said, in English.
Caz let out a low whistle of surprise.
Her security men flanked them, weapons drawn and ready, as they made their way to the airlock where Sammuel and Jarl anxiously awaited. Upon seeing them emerge unharmed through the Candola Ryke’s airlock hatch, Sammuel ran over to them before pulling up short, as if remembering himself.
“Ambassador, are you all right?” His gaze dropped to where Aine held his hand.
“I’m fine, Ki’ran.”
“Captain Lorcan?”
She released Ker’s hand and grabbed Sammuel, laying a long, passionate kiss on him. “I’m fine.”
He looked stunned, tried to speak, and was silenced again by another kiss. When she let him go, she smiled. “I decided I don’t give a shit who knows. This is my last mission. What are they going to do, fire me?”
A wide, beaming smile broke across his face. He picked her up and spun her around. “You beautiful, willful woman. Gods do I love you!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
With heavy hearts, Sammuel and Caz supervised gathering the Act’huran crew’s bodies into cases to return to their families after they finished the treaty signing at Korellas. Ker told Aine what the traitors had told him, that their plan had been to forcibly detach the Tav’rokian Might and make a run to join their compatriots once the jump portion of the journey had completed.
Aine didn’t care who knew about her relationship with Ker and Sammuel. They spent every night in her cabin with her, although they tended to stay there during the day to minimize their distraction to the crew.
Several times Caz gently corrected Aine when she spoke Act’huran to the crew and they couldn’t understand her.
Four months later, after the Korellas talks ended and Ker signed the treaty, Caz’s hair hung almost to his collar and Aine itched to be free of her Confederation uniform. On her final journey as captain of the Candola Ryke to meet with Admiral Iago at a space station to hand the ship over, she sat on the bridge and stared out the vid screen.
Had it been worth it? All the pain and anguish?
When she thought back, in some ways, no. Then again, had she been with Sammuel and Ker as part of the official treaty party, she might have been one of the dead on the Tav’rokian Might.
She had severely crippled raider forces all over the galaxy. Yes, that was definitely worth it. And with her return to the Act’huran military, she’d already been asked to take the lead role coordinating joint efforts between Act’huras and the Confederation in maintaining the pressure on raider forces.
That was also definitely worth it.
She smiled as the space station came into view. Admiral Iago had begged and pleaded over the past several months, short of offering to hand over his own commission to her, to keep her in the Confederation. When she told the Admiral she wouldn’t be separated from her mates again, he sighed. “You Act’hurans are damn stubborn, you know that?”
She smiled. “So I’ve been told, Admiral.”
He wanted one more chance to talk to her alone upon her arrival. She met him at the hatchway, with Caz, Jarl, Sammuel, and Ker gathered behind her.
“Everyone has a price, Captain Lorcan. Name it!”
“Admiral Iago, while I appreciate your offer, I can honestly say the Confederation can never find anything valuable enough to separate me from my men again.”
“What about your rank? Your commission?”
She grinned. “I’m the commander of an Ambassador’s flagship. I have an Admiral willing to give up his rank stripes to serve under me as my captain. I can still fight the raiders and save lives in an Act’huran uniform. I’m sorry Admiral Iago, but my decision is final.” She offered him one final salute, which he returned.
He looked at Sammuel and shook his head. “Stubborn damn Act’hurans.”
Sammuel grinned. “Yes, we can be.”
* * * *
Act’huran battle cruisers met them at the station to escort the Tav’rokian Might back to its home base near Confederation lines. Sammuel appointed her the vessel’s captain. Some of the battle cruiser crews transferred to take over for the murdered men. Despite the circumstances, Aine was pleased to see some o
f the men had crewed with her on the Haltoran-dey. Aine settled into the command chair and looked over the bridge at her crew as Sammuel, Ker, Caz and Jarl stood behind her watching.
“Helm, Nav, are we ready?” she asked in Act’huran.
“Aye, ma’am.”
She smiled and felt Caz’s amusement that she didn’t correct him.
“Take us home.”
The journey took three weeks. As they neared their base station, Sammuel came to the bridge that afternoon and stood behind her chair. He laid a hand on her shoulder. She covered it with hers, wrapping her fingers around his and holding on.
He leaned in and spoke in her ear. “I cannot wait until we have you home.”
“Home? I thought you promised me no planets?”
He chuckled. “So I did. Look.” He pointed at the vid screen with his other hand.
Several dozen ships, large and small, were docked at the space station. As they drew closer, her eyes widened when she recognized one of them.
“Are you kidding me?”
He gently tugged her braid. “Master bought it before you left us, while you were on the Haltoran-dey. It was to be a surprise for when you returned, our home. He had it retrofitted so it can be used for our official duties and his, as well as be comfortable.
She felt tears running down her cheeks but didn’t bother wiping them away. The sight of the Bagtopy Yau had her full attention.
“I promised you it would not be scuttled or sold for scrap, Ki’ato.”
She squeezed his hand. “That’s my new ship?”
“That, my love, is your new ship. Rightfully so. The Act’huran Ambassador’s flagship Bagtopy Yau.”
She settled back in her command chair, a smile on her face, her hand still firmly clamped around Sammuel’s as she stared at the Bagy.
* * * *
Ker and Sammuel didn’t wait for Caz and Jarl. They led Aine up the gangway to the hatch. She carried her knapsack slung over her shoulder.
“All your codes are intact. Go ahead, Commander,” Sammuel said with a smile. “Claim your ship.”
She punched in her code and the hatchway slid open.
The ship felt alive, much as it had when she grew up on it, not dead and desolate like the night she and Sammuel liberated it from the raiders.
Not much had changed in the captain’s stateroom either, other than updates to the facilities, a new galley—and a larger bed.
She fell onto the bed and looked up at her men. “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” she said to Sammuel. “Before all hell broke loose on our way to Korellas, you were teasing me that morning on the bridge and asked Caz if he knew what you meant by preparing a romantic dinner. What was that about?” While they’d made love many times since then, their grief over the loss of the Tav’rokian Might’s crew dampened their spirits and they never had the promised dinner. They would attend an official memorial ceremony later that evening for the fallen men now that they had officially returned to Act’huran territory.
Sammuel lay down next to her. “You will find out soon enough, love. Tonight, after our return.” He looked at Ker. “Or does Master have other plans?”
Ker smiled. “No, I think that would be quite appropriate.”
* * * *
It was a comfort, after the somber memorial service, to return to the familiar corridors of the Bagtopy Yau. The passageway lay empty as she turned to walk into their cabin.
Sammuel grabbed the back of her uniform coat and pulled her to a stop. “Wait,” he said.
Then Ker draped a soft blindfold over her eyes. He spoke in her ear. “This is long overdue. I can think of no better time to officially welcome you home with a kam’cerak than tonight.”
“A what?”
“Shh.” He kissed her, silencing her. With Sammuel guiding her from behind, Ker led her inside the cabin. She smelled food, heard the door slide shut behind them.
“We are alone,” Sammuel assured her as he reached around and started unbuttoning her coat.
In front of her, Ker kissed her. “For the rest of the night, your only focus is us.”
The men quickly stripped her and guided her over to the bed. Then they spread her arms over her head and tied something soft to each wrist.
“Do not move,” Ker said.
Both men left the bed. Her clit throbbed, aching, already desperate for their touch.
She heard the sound of clothes hitting the floor, then both men returned.
Something cool and smooth touched her lips. “Open,” Sammuel ordered.
She did. He popped a small cherry tomato into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed. “Kam’cerak doesn’t have an equivalent expression in English,” Sammuel explained. “You must experience it. It is mind, body, heart, and soul.” Another cherry tomato touched her lips. “Open, love.”
Ker’s lips latched on to one of her breasts, his tongue flicking her nipple until she felt like she’d explode just from the sensation. Then he withdrew his mouth and she felt something cold and smooth circle her nipple, drawing it into an even tighter peak. “Settle back and prepare for a long evening of our undivided attention, Ki’ato,” he warned. He popped another cherry tomato into her mouth.
One of the men drizzled a small amount of something cold and wet on her stomach. She realized it was ranch salad dressing when Sammuel fed her a piece of lettuce after dredging it along her tummy.
When they finished the salad course, the men took great care to lick and kiss her stomach, apparently making sure not to miss a single drop. By this time she tugged on the restraints, wanting to be free, wanting them to go down on her or at least fuck her.
No such luck. “You will not have relief for a while yet, love,” Ker assured her. “We are only on the first course.”
By the time the men reached dessert over an hour later, Aine wanted more than a good hard fucking, she wanted both men to fuck her long and hard. Their love and desire for her wrapped around her like a cloak, not just a feeling, but as part of her heart and soul, beyond her ability to describe.
She understood why there were no equivalent English words.
“Spread your legs, love,” Ker ordered.
Okay! Maybe she’d finally get some relief!
They drizzled something warm, thick, and sticky over her slick cleft. Ker stretched out beside her while Sammuel knelt between her legs and started to lick whatever it was off.
“Honey,” Ker informed her.
Aine’s back arched as Sammuel tortured her with his tongue, long, strong sweeps up and down her folds, avoiding her clit.
“Do not come,” Ker reminded her.
After Sammuel finished, he drizzled more over her and Ker took a turn. Sammuel lay beside her, his fingers playing with her nipples, his touch scorching her. They kissed or licked every inch of her body except that tiny little parcel of real estate that would send her bouncing over the cliff into climax.
Finally, when she lay gasping and trembling, every nerve on fire and desperate for release, Sammuel reached up and freed her hands and removed her blindfold. She immediately rolled on top of him. He grabbed her hips and sank his cock home to the root but wouldn’t let her thrust against him.
With her hips pinned against him, all she could do was lie there and whimper.
Ker knelt behind her. “Tell us what you want, love.”
“I want you to fuck my ass while he’s inside my pussy, and I want your knot inside me all night long!”
Ker laughed. “That seems straightforward.”
Sammuel spread her cheeks for him as he slicked his cock and prepared her rosette with his juices. Pressing forward, Aine moaned as they stretched and filled her.
“Come as hard and often as you like, love,” Ker said as he slowly thrust.
Aine didn’t need any other encouragement. With her clit throbbing and rubbing against Sammuel’s hard body, she moaned against his shoulder as she came the first time. He cupped her breasts in his hands and ran his thumbs ov
er her nipples, triggering another explosion inside her.
“I am nearly there, Ki’ran,” Ker grunted. “I suggest you hurry.”
Sammuel bucked his hips into her from below. When she felt him come, quickly followed by Ker’s cock throbbing and swelling as he knotted inside her, it triggered another climax. By the time his knot was firmly and deeply embedded inside her, she’d been reduced to a limp mass draped across Sammuel’s chest.
“I think we finished her, Master,” Sammuel said with a chuckle.
“So we have.” He carefully rolled her with him, onto their sides.
Sammuel kissed her and got out of bed, returning a moment later with a warm, wet washcloth to wipe as much of her down as he could. “Do not want you to be sticky, love. And I doubt you want Master to unknot with you so you can take a shower.”
She didn’t bother responding, too wrung out to speak mentally or out loud.
He lay in front of her and captured a hand, laced his fingers through hers. “Are you thoroughly fucked, love?”
She nodded.
Ker laughed. He kissed the back of her neck. “If she is not thoroughly fucked, I am not sure what more we could do for her to rectify that.”
Sleep didn’t have to fight for her body. Feeling almost physically cradled by their love, she fell into a sweet darkness with the comforting sensation of Ker’s cock pulsing inside her ass.
* * * *
Two weeks after taking command of the Bagtopy Yau, Aine sat in her command chair and stared at the vid screen. It still felt surreal, and yet totally right.
Home.
They would leave on their first mission after Jor and Dalmetri’s arrival. Ker had appointed Jor as his personal attaché now that he’d rescinded his retirement plans.
Family.
She felt the smile on her face and had to suppress a laugh. This crew wouldn’t be creeped out by it. All they ever saw her do was smile.
When the shuttle arrived, Aine headed down to the hatchway to meet them, Caz shadowing her. Sammuel and Ker were in the middle of an official vid conference they couldn’t leave.
She looked at Caz. His hair now hung below his shoulders, usually worn loose since an extremely short braid didn’t look right on him. In another few months he could start braiding it again.
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