by 1
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Hahn sighed and she felt it everywhere they touched. “I have been trying to make my way into Shahs’ inner circle for months, but I had to get voted into the councillor position first. That happened three days ago and so, here I am.”
The surly pilot shifted suddenly and they were headed for the forest edge of the mountain range. He skimmed along the tree line and the lines of concentration on his face showed that he was intent on his mission.
“Why me and then them? Why not rescue them first?” She kept her tone low and even so as not to distract the pilot.
He spoke to her anyway. “We thought you had something to do with their incarceration and I am not convinced that you didn’t.”
Well, that put her in her place. “Fine, bring me to a tribunal the moment that this is over, but get my men free and reassembled first.”
Hahn almost crushed her. “Reassembled?”
“They have had their cognitive functions redirected through a computer system. I am hoping that you are prepared for that.” She bit her lip. All her clandestine research had told her what needed to be done, but she wasn’t sure she could manage it.
“Why are they hooked to something so barbaric?” His voice had the same shivery effect on her as it had in the ballroom.
“I needed proof of life. The moment that one of them died, I would stop cooperating.” Stella watched a low roof grow rapidly closer and in a sharp move that would make any pilot proud, they rocked up and back into a controlled landing.
She was off Hahn’s lap with her blaster in hand and heading for the door before either of the men could move. Her men were in imminent danger and she was running out of time.
Hahn and the pilot who gave his name as Trethan pushed past her and opened the door into the facility with the sharp tapping of an access code.
The guards at the facility were struck with blasters on stun. When Stella and her companions made it into the holding area, they all stopped for a silent moment.
Beyond her six men were row upon row of people in similar confinement. Nausea built as she realized that Shahs’ depravity reached further than she knew.
Trethan went to the control panel and tried to gauge the workings of the machines.
“I can do this.” The words were out of her mouth before she could think about it. She settled down to work the codes until her fingers ached, but when she heard a groan, it was all worth it.
One by one, the men and women who were wired into the computers came back to themselves. They sat up while Trethan and Hahn made rounds disentangling the prisoners from the computer.
Private Fremmer was refusing to wake up. No matter which code she used, his responses were sluggish and locked into the virtual world.
She left her post and went to his bedside, whispering in his ear. “Fremmer, get up. Get your ass out of bed. This is an order from your captain.”
The monitor on the side of his bed showed that he was returning to his body and she smiled in triumph before she heard a blast and the monitor went dark.
Stella whirled and glared as Shahs came through the door with a group of guards. With a flick of her finger, she changed the setting from stun to kill and let her blaster burn a hole through his sternum.
He screamed and dropped to the ground, writhing for a few seconds before lying with his eyes wide open. His men laid down their weapons and waited for orders.
“Captain, how did I get here and why are you wearing a dress?” Fremmer’s voice caused tears to prick her eyes, but in the next moment, she crumpled as the pain of a stun blast took her down.
As she faded, Trethan stood over her and pronounced, “By the authority vested in me, I arrest you for treason and consorting with the enemy.”
She would have flipped him off, but the darkness called.
Coalition secure rooms were the same all over. Stella had no idea where she was. Hahn sitting at the foot of her bed was a pleasant addition to her prison.
“I am glad you are among the living, Captain. I am here to debrief you.”
She sat up, wincing at the pain in her limbs. “How long was I out?”
“Six days. Once the Coalition was involved, they decided that sedating you until they were ready to proceed was the best option.”
She nodded and swallowed. “What do you want to know?”
“Start at the beginning. Deliotha.”
She breathed in and started the story. He recorded her entire statement without asking additional questions. She glossed over the beatings and other indignities that she suffered at Shahs’ hands.
When she had concluded her statement, he nodded, kissed her on the cheek and left her alone.
Three hours passed before she had word and it came out of the monitor in the corner of her room. She sipped at the coffee that had been brought to her with a meal and watched her sentencing in absentia.
“While her circumstances were under investigation, it has been found that Captain Yivell has acted as a Coalition officer with care for her men and for innocents around her at all times. That said, the trauma that she endured has now rendered her unfit for service, so a pension package has been prepared and she will be issued an honourable discharge.” The councillor nodded and answered a few more questions, but Stella had heard what she needed to.
A lifetime of service was at an end and now she had to think of something else to do. It wasn’t going to be easy. She had wanted to remain in Coalition service until she retired happily or blew up in a battle. This kind of behind-the-scenes sneaking was never something she had considered.
She sighed and tried to think of all the skills that she could use in the private sector. All she could think of was self-defence instructor. Now, where could she find a place where she could operate a small business and teach women how to defend themselves when someone wasn’t holding their loved ones hostage?
A knock on her door got her attention. “Come in.”
Councillor Hahn came through the doorway with fabric draped over one arm. “Good afternoon, Stella Yivell.
She winced when she realized that she would not be able to use her rank again. “Good afternoon, Councillor. I am guessing that it is time for me to get out of my Coalition accommodations?”
He gave her a wry grin. “Something like that. Do you know where you will go?”
She shrugged. “I don’t have a clue. I suppose I could use my stipend to see the worlds that I have missed. I have no idea what planet would accept me now.”
“You have no family?”
She shrugged. “I was raised in the Coalition. My family donated me to a priesthood when I was an infant.”
“Abandoned then.”
She grimaced. “Twice in one lifetime, who would have guessed?”
“Would you accept a job offer on Benia?” His eyes were earnest.
She was tempted. “Why would you? I put your brother in danger.”
“In the line of duty, but you kept him alive at a cost to yourself. I will never forget that.”
She winced at the details that he had gotten from the reports. Even though she had skated over the gory bits, she had the feeling that he was aware of everything that had been done to her.
“Benia was on my list of worlds to visit. If your offer is genuine, I will accept.”
He laughed and handed her the armload of clothing. “There is a shuttle waiting. I will meet you there in a few days and let you know what your job will be.”
“You have that long to make something up, but thank you.” She touched his arm and he quickly wrapped her in his arms.
“This was real.” He didn’t give her additional explanation, but lowered his mouth to hers.
The kiss was as wild as she remembered. She leaned up into him and grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands.
He leaned away from her, his chest rising and falling quickly under her palms. “I would like to table this discussion until I can go over the job with you. Your shuttle is waiting.”
> She was panting a little herself and quickly licked her lips, watching his pupils dilate and his jaw flex. “You knew I would say yes?”
“I was really, really hoping.” He gave her another quick, searing kiss and then disentangled himself from her.
With a long, lingering look, he exited her rooms and left her with her change of clothing.
She tried to purge the silly grin off her lips, but it doggedly remained.
The loose skirt and blouse that she wore to the shuttle bay fluttered around her in the electronically powered air currents.
A raised arm called her over and she ran toward him the moment that she recognized Lieutenant Anders Argeel, Hahn’s brother. The familiar and friendly face was enough to bring tears to her eyes, a feat that not even Shahs’ most vicious tortures had been able to accomplish.
“Why are you here, Argeel?”
“Why, to ferry you wherever you wish, Captain Yivell.” He paused and grinned, “Actually, I am under strict orders to take you to Benia and install you in my brother’s home as his assistant, but the first sounded better.”
“Captain no longer, call me Stella or Yivell.” She patted his arm as they headed into a gracefully built shuttle.
He grimaced. “I can’t believe that you were relieved of duty like that.”
She snorted. “I can, but it doesn’t make it easier.”
They chatted companionably about inconsequential matters while he got clearance and they started their journey. When silence fell, her mind wandered and she finally had to say what was on her mind. “I felt certain that they would charge me with treason.”
“You can thank Fremmer for that. His final seconds were spent gathering all the data he could regarding the Deliotha project and everything that came after. The data is stuck in his head, but it enabled him to speak on your behalf as well as to Shahs’ guilt. Unfortunately, the videos that he pulled out of the system of you and Shahs were so disturbing that the Councillors deemed it impossible for you to be fit for duty.”
She fought tears and nodded. “I was hoping that no one would find out about that.”
“Why? You were paying a ransom for our safety. There is nothing for you to be ashamed of.” His tone was sincere and reminded her of his brother’s.
“So, Councillor Hahn was determined to find you at all cost.”
“He’s a good man and you should consider his offer.”
She blinked. “I have gathered that and I am considering it. I just don’t have any idea what it would entail.”
He had the most shocked expression on his face. “You don’t know what marriage entails?”
Stella coughed and stared at him. “Marriage? Who mentioned marriage?”
He blushed crimson. “Oops. Forget I said anything.”
Snorting, she punched him in the arm. “Like that is going to happen. Now, it is going to be the only thing on my mind.”
“We laid in a selection of desserts in the galley.”
“You know me so well.” With a grin, she abandoned her post at the nav station and took off down the hall.
If she was going to be dropped on a new world, at least she had someone standing by who understood her.
Three days passed quickly and she used a portion of her settlement to get her a new wardrobe and shoes. The folk of Benia were friendly, cheerful and didn’t care what species she was. Their laid-back attitude was refreshing after the regimented life of the Coalition.
When Councillor Hahn returned, Anders and Stella were at a local café and exchanging memories of assignments past. He wandered up to them and stared at them in shock.
Stella chuckled. “Welcome back to Benia, Councillor Hahn. Congratulations on your successful rescue of your brother.”
Anders got up and hugged his brother while Stella sipped at her tea.
“I see that you have made yourself at home, Stella.” Hahn snagged a chair and took a seat at their table.
“I have. I have been in touch with a realtor and am looking at housing options for myself.” She raised her brows at Anders and dared him to speak. If Hahn wanted to play hard to get, she was going to make herself the hardest thing he ever chased.
He cleared his throat. “I was wondering if you would consider remaining in my home.”
Anders snickered and jumped. Apparently, Hahn had kicked him.
“It is inappropriate for an unwed woman to live in the house of a man not her husband, brother, father or betrothed. I checked. I want to blend in here and make a life, not be a scandal.”
“I know you have been through a lot, but I was wondering…Anders, stop laughing!”
Stella sighed and put him out of his misery, standing and hauling him off by the hand. “Come on. I have something to discuss with you.”
She waved at the housekeeper and the cook as she dragged their employer through his own home. She pulled him into the master bedroom and shoved him until his knees hit the back of his bed.
She spoke as she calmly stripped in front of him. “Now, Hahn, you came to rescue your brother, tried to defend me against your companion and then against the arresting agents who would have charged me with treason and dumped me in a hole. You did all that and you didn’t know anything about me.”
When she was naked except for the fading bruises left behind by Shahs, she went to work on his clothing. “If what was done to my body doesn’t repulse you, then I am happy to share it with you.”
He grabbed her hands. “I abhor the actions, not you.”
She grinned, tears pricking in her eyes. “Good, then can you help here, because I am losing my nerve.”
He immediately threaded his fingers through her hair and he brought her lips to his in a kiss that made her feel safe, protected and desired beyond measure.
He moved one hand to her back and brought her between his thighs so that her breasts were pressed to his chest. Her nipples scraped his skin and she sighed as his light touch continued to skim her back in a calming stroke.
When he lifted his lips from hers, she smiled. “No running off this time.”
He grinned. “No running off.”
He stood, keeping her flat against him and flipped the covers back before settling her into the bedding.
She was wet, her channel slick and waiting as she watched him remove his trousers. She wanted this, wanted to prove she was still normal and that sex was for pleasure not pain. It was a lot of pressure to put on a first time, but she knew Hahn was up for the challenge.
Looking him over, he was more than up. Their make-out session had him dripping precum, or perhaps it was just the way he looked at her, but suddenly, she was rushing up the slope of arousal and he was with her all the way.
Instead of covering her, he lay between her thighs and parted the lips of her sex with his fingers while applying his tongue to her in the most delightful way. She panted, moaned and twisted against him, tugging at his hair, but it was no use, she climaxed in a rush of shivering and groans.
He continued to lick at her until she relaxed against the sheets and then he slid two fingers into her while he lapped at her clit.
Stella thought her body would have cooled, but it was only idling and he quickly brought her panting and to the edge of release again with his mouth and fingers.
He pulled away from her and slid up her body, replacing his fingers with the blunt heat of his cock in a slow thrust that had her closing her eyes before she realized that she wanted to watch him moving above and within her.
She held him tightly, sliding her arms under his and wrapping them around his back while he surged and retreated in an endless rhythm. She could feel him quivering as he held back his own release, so she reached between them and hastened her own with her index finger circling her clit until she arched and uttered a choked cry.
He closed his eyes and shuddered immediately. His only purpose in waiting was for her pleasure and she knew it.
His hips shoved into her hard and the jerk deep inside her let her know that
his orgasm was just as powerful as her own.
Hahn sighed and rested against her.
She pressed a quick kiss to his neck. “Thank you.”
Blearily, he raised his head. “I think that is my line.”
“You made me feel beautiful, desirable and whole. For that I thank you, Hahn.”
He blushed. “My name is Rendos. Please us it instead of my title.”
She laughed. “Of course, Rendos. Anders told me, but I am stubborn and wanted to wait until invited.”
He pressed his head to hers. “Thank you for honouring me with your first time.”
She blinked. In all the most important ways, he was correct. After her time with Shahs, she was starting over in every way that mattered.
“Stella Yivell, will you marry me?”
She tried to banish the tears that tried to appear. “With all of your charms, why would you want battered, old me?”
He grinned. “Because in every way that matters, you are the woman for me. You are strong, brave, determined, intelligent, beautiful, sexy and are willing to put up with me.” He punctuated every compliment with a kiss to her neck, breasts or shoulders.
She sighed and arched into his caresses. “I suppose that I am. Are you sure you are willing to take me on? I can be kind of bossy.”
He laughed. “Images of you have haunted every letter that Anders has sent me over the last four years. He thought we were perfect for each other and I could not believe that a woman with your qualities actually existed. Thank you for proving me wrong.”
She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair as he explored one breast and then the other. “He is lucky that I was relieved of duty, or I would have given him graveyard sentry duty for three weeks.”
His words made her smile. “If you like, you can assign me to the graveyard shift. I am at my best in the evenings.”
She groaned and arched against him. “At your best in the evenings but amazing in the afternoon. I may not survive to wed you.”
He laughed. “You seem made of sturdy stuff. It is one of your most endearing qualities.”