by Shae Mills
Korba remained silent, his heart aching for the trembling beauty before him. “I am sorry, Chelan,” he whispered. “I reacted to the insubordination first. Then I reacted to the emotional side of the equation. I did not want to lose you, not to Calley or to Fremma.”
Chelan shook her head at him. “Have you not learned by now that you will never lose me? The military decision aside, I sought deliverance merely from my loneliness, not from you.”
Korba let his head fall forward, his long blue-black mane cascading down his ebony chest. Then he allowed himself to slump into the central command chair.
Chelan stared at the floor, her knees threatening to give way. Finally she released her grip on her uniform and stood straight. She began to walk toward the sleeping chambers.
Korba did not move. “Where are you going?” he inquired quietly.
Chelan continued into the dim room, its darkened walls strangely comforting. She took one last look around and then reached for her shroud. But Korba’s hand intercepted hers.
He stepped up close behind her. “I am sorry, Chelan. Fremma and Zane made a reasonable decision. And Fremma will make sure all is secure for you on Calley; I will see to that.” He hesitated. “And I know of his love for you. He will make no mistakes, and he will care for you unconditionally throughout the voyage as he should, and as you desire. Please forgive me.” And he slipped his arms around her.
“Don’t you know how much I love you?” she whispered. She let her head rest back against his broad chest. “What must I do to convince you of that?”
Korba’s head tipped forward, and he nestled in under her hair to her slender neck. “Absolutely nothing, my Lady. I am well aware of how much you love me. That is not what haunts me. It is simply the struggle within my own heart that I must deal with. When all seemed perfect with Sabina, I lost her, and that loss was irretrievable and final.” Korba gently kissed her neck. “And then I lost you, Chelan, and though time has passed, it is as if the nightmare occurred yesterday. I have not healed, my Lady. My heart is still bloodied. You say that I stifle you and attempt to keep you caged. I merely seek to keep you safe and within my reach. I cannot bear another loss as horrendous as your flight from Ticees. I could not bear the violation of your body by anyone else again. I trusted Ticees above all others; now I trust no one completely. It would kill me if I ever failed you again. And I will willingly die a thousand times over in my bid to keep you protected.” He hugged her tighter. “I love you too much.”
Chelan’s throat constricted. She smoothed her hands over his and closed her eyes as she felt his once flawless hand deformed by the pain of the past. Finally she turned in his arms and was startled on looking up into his tear-drenched eyes. She shook her head at him as her fingers attempted to wipe away the moisture from his cheeks. “I too am sorry,” she cooed. “I would have never suggested the plan if I had thought it would get anyone in trouble. I would have never suggested it if I had known it would cause you so much pain. And I would have never put forth any idea where I felt I was putting myself in jeopardy. I can’t imagine being without you, through either your loss or my own.” She paused momentarily, lowering her voice to just a whisper. “But I did not take into consideration the pain of your past.” She hesitated and then kissed his lips tenderly. “I will go back with you. I will go to Keros. I know that everything you do you do with my best interests at heart. I understand now, and I will resist you no further.”
Korba continued to stroke her supple back, his eyes soaking in her beguiling allure. “No. You are right. I will not lose you. I once promised that you could return to Calley, and I will abide by that now. And I know that no man save myself would take as good of care of you as Fremma. You may proceed with him with my blessings. You have my word that I will not harm him in any way. He merely sought to please you as much as any man would have.”
Chelan’s chest filled with love and adoration. “Are you sure?”
Korba allowed a small smile and then stepped back from her. “I am sure, my Lady.” His eyes hardened a bit. “But remember, I will protect you at all costs. If you come to any harm from any person on your world, I will deal with it as a Warlord. I will spare no one.” He hesitated, temporarily lost in the depths of her fawn-like eyes. “And now I will return to my ship.” And he turned to leave.
“No,” she implored. She grabbed his arm and turned him to her. “No, please. Not so soon.”
Korba wavered. “Chelan, I must go. At RIBUS 7’s speed, I will be out of my fighter’s range soon.”
Chelan shook her head. “Then order her stopped.” She pressed up against him, her eyes pleading with him. “Make love to me first.” Her cheeks flushed and her eyes shied away from his gaze. “I need your touch, my Lord, if you permit. And I need your forgiveness.”
Korba remained motionless, his eyes drinking in her beauty, his breath held. Finally she looked back up at him, her soft lips inviting him.
“Stop the ship,” she bade in an epicurean whisper.
Korba’s hands reached for her and began their slow descent over her sensuous body. His voice was deep and ragged. “Consider it done, my Lady.”
And RIBUS 7 came to an abrupt halt.
Chapter 8
Chelan curled up against the morning light and closed her eyes, contentment and warmth permeating her thoughts as well as her body. Suddenly, she sensed a presence. Rolling to her back, she clutched the sheet to her chest as she watched the shrouded figure approach.
Fremma withdrew his hood and sat down on the bed. “He is gone,” he told her quietly.
Chelan smiled and reached out for his hand. “I know, and all is well.”
Fremma nodded. “You saved my life, Chelan.”
Chelan’s smile waned slightly. “I almost cost you your life.”
Fremma looked down at the satin white hand that he held tight within his ebony grasp. “No, my Lady. From a military standpoint, the decision was solid. Yes, it was colored by the fact that I could keep you with me for an extended time, but even if that were not a factor, the final choice was valid, the final decision mine alone, and I would do it all again. In the end, it was Korba who needed to make a new choice.”
Chelan nodded. “You are right, and he did.”
Fremma finally smiled at her. “We are up and running again, now that disaster has been averted, and everything is back to normal. Korba did go over some of the military logistics pertaining to Calley with me before he left, and much was accomplished. Now, is there anything I can do for you?”
“Hardly, my dear man. You have done enough for me already. But a little later I would like to sit in on some of your air reconnaissance meetings. I would like to do some work for you on the Balatesian system before I depart. It will keep me occupied, and maybe I can be of some assistance.”
“You are more than welcome to do as much as you wish. I am sure that the team would appreciate your participation as well as your contributions.” Fremma became serious. “And, my Lady, it is not too soon to start working on the personal aspects of the trip plans.”
Chelan’s brows rose. “What do you mean?”
“Well, when you hit Calley, you will have to come up with a story to explain both your absence and your sudden reappearance. And I would venture that your story must be infallible.”
Chelan released his hand and squiggled farther down into the pillows. “I suppose,” she began. Then she looked up at him. “What about the truth?”
Fremma cocked his head and his lip quirked. “One possible scenario. But remember, you will have no proof, and you just may end up being put in a psychiatric ward.”
Chelan grinned. “You are right. I will come up with something soon.”
“You can never be too prepared, Chelan. You will put yourself at risk from your own kind if you are not careful, and we cannot help you as easily when you are on your home soil, at least not surreptitiously.”
Chelan frowned. “How will we arrange this? The drop-off and pickup, I mean
.”
“I have already looked at our arrival time based on our trajectory. The RIBUS will be in range near the end of your world’s summer—early September, I believe you call it. She will stay en route and out of range of any detection systems. I will take you myself in a high-speed fighter and deposit you close to your home. Tarn has numerous reconnaissance photos logged from when he was forced to land there years ago. We can pick your exact location later.”
Chelan looked at him from the corner of her eye. “My parents are on the East Coast. That is not where I encountered Tarn. What are the reconnaissance photos of?”
“Well, large ones of most of the planet, actually, concentrating on the West Coast of North America. And that is where we will drop you, as your parents moved there long ago.”
“How do you know that?”
“It is a long story, a little pet project of Korba’s. Anyway, after your disappearance they moved to the cabin you used to spend summers at in Oregon. We don’t have any recent pictures, but these will do.”
Fremma smiled at her shocked expression and continued. “From there, you are on your own. I have set an eight-month turnaround time. If all goes well, we will be in your vicinity before that. But that is not a problem. We will merely lurk in the background until the appointed pickup time. It will be a specific day sometime in April.”
Chelan smiled. “I have no doubt that I will look forward to that day, my Lord.”
But Fremma did not return her enthusiasm. “Chelan, there is one other possible scenario you must be prepared for.”
Chelan became still. “Yes?” she whispered with trepidation.
Fremma watched her carefully. “The details of your security pertaining to the threat Korba identified have yet to be worked out completely, but in the end, you will be safe. However, there is the possibility that we will not return.”
Chelan felt her throat constrict. “What do you mean?”
Fremma reached for her clenched hands. “Chelan, to the Balatesians we are the enemy. They will throw all they have at us. The Empire has lost battleships before. We may be unable to return for you.”
In the back of Chelan’s mind, she had always known that there was a risk, but she had never been forced to confront the possibility until now. She squeezed his hand tight. “No, you will be okay. I have to believe that.”
“I hope so too, my Lady. But part of my job is to plan for every potential eventuality. In this case, you must be prepared for the possibility of an extended stay. If we succumb in battle, it could take Korba months to reach you. Calley is well out of range of his normal fighters. He will have to procure a RIBUS to retrieve you, and right now the closest one is also months away.”
“I understand, but I know that it will not be necessary.”
“I hope you are right.” He hesitated, taking some time to drink in her essence, her demure features tugging at his heart. “Well, now it is time for me to get back to work,” he uttered with resignation. “When you come up with a plan, you can try it out on me. Together we can work out the bugs.”
“That sounds great.”
Fremma stood and adjusted his shroud. Then he became still. “It is good to have you on board, my Lady,” he whispered.
Chelan looked up at him dreamily. “It is good to be home, my Lord. I look forward to the next few months here with you. I just hope that our days with one another will be as rewarding and satisfying as our nights together.”
Fremma’s eyes ignited. He looked over the voluptuous beauty barely concealed by the fine white sheet. His voice nearly caught in his throat. “They will have to be splendid days indeed.”
Chelan’s whole body warmed. “Will you return here tonight?”
Fremma faltered, his loins on fire. He wondered about her acceptance of him so soon after Korba but decided to chance it. Slowly, he began to remove his gloves, his cat-like eyes never leaving hers. “I may not have to return here tonight, my Lady.”
Chelan caught his obvious invitation and worried momentarily about Korba’s scent about her flesh. But then she watched as his flawless male body began to emerge from his concealing shroud. Obviously, he was unfazed by her scent, and so she dismissed her concerns.
Fremma watched as she seductively slipped the solitary sheet from her ready body. She had accepted his invitation, and on this first day since Korba’s departure, their time together was truly going to be as satisfying as the coming evening. He removed his uniform and slipped up over her. “You are insatiable, my Lady.”
Chelan grabbed his hair roughly, taking his lips aggressively. Then she drew his head back and looked deeply into his azure eyes. “You supply an irresistible feast, my dear Fremma. I could never get enough of you. The nonstop pleasures that are bestowed upon me by the men I love are beyond anything else imaginable.”
Fremma’s thumbs traced over her cheeks and jaw. He watched her face glow and her eyes close as he entered her lovingly. He kissed her lips gently. “You are the one who is the feast, my pretty woman. You feed us everything we desire unconditionally, and so exquisitely. You represent love in all its purest forms, and we desire you always, in every way.”
Chelan felt her heart swell as he continued his gentle penetrations. Her arms surrounded his neck and she drew him down on top of her. She nestled in under the cascade of hair that surrounded her and she tasted the skin of his powerful neck. She felt the concrete muscles that encased his body ripple over her in passion and pleasure. How could she ever get enough of these men? She wanted to be touched and taken by them continually. There was nothing in the universe that fulfilled her more in so many indescribable ways than to have them over her and in her, everything about them filling her senses, her body, and her soul with happiness. She was in paradise.
Chapter 9
Time went by quickly on the mighty ship, and Chelan split hers between working with the reconnaissance crew and working out herself. She wanted to be in her best shape ever. Fremma’s lecture on the fact that she would be on her own among her kind had struck her hard. If she foresaw trouble on Earth, she would seek escape into the wilderness. Her years in the Iceanean caverns had taught her much about survival, and she would not chance missing the pickup date for any reason. Such a disaster would force Fremma to search for her, possibly exposing him unnecessarily to her world and all its intrinsic dangers. Or, more likely, due to misadventure on her part, her world would become exposed to Fremma and RIBUS 7.
That was something she wished to avoid at all costs, and somehow being in superb physical condition put her mind at ease. It was her assurance that she could manage all that Earth could throw at her, thereby guaranteeing that she would once again be reunited with Korba and Fremma, side by side with her men, where she belonged.
*****
Soon, months turned into days, and with the dwindling time, Chelan was transformed into a bundle of nerves. Today was no exception. Fremma walked into the morning light of the Command Center to find Chelan pacing back and forth in front of the consoles. “Good morning, my Lady,” he greeted her in English.
Chelan scowled at him. “Good morning,” she replied dryly.
“No, no,” he interjected. “In English.”
Chelan shook her head with frustration.
“Come on,” prodded Fremma, once again in her native tongue. “From now till the end of the trip, while we are alone, we will converse in English only. You have to lose that damnable Iceanean inflection.”
Chelan watched him as he settled into the command chair. Finally she complied, paying careful attention to her accent. “It’s been so long, Fremma. It’s more difficult than I ever expected.”
He nodded. “But it is necessary. No one will miss your peculiar sound. And since it is totally foreign, someone may pick up on it, and thus the inexplicable. It could work to your detriment.”
Chelan sat down in the other chair. “No one will pinpoint its source, let alone even think of the possibility of aliens no matter how hard they try.”
“Like who?”
“Like your government. Ask the Telesians about your government’s tactics when dealing with aliens.”
“What aliens?”
Fremma smiled wryly. “Your government denies it, but they and the Telesians have clashed in the past, mostly by accident. Your government and others have their ways of extracting information, and none too pleasantly.”
Chelan stood, her agitation taking flight. “I have nothing to do with the government.”
“Not now you don’t. But if your story gets out, you will.”
Chelan resumed her seat. “I can’t work on a story. I’m no good at deception. You know that.”
“Then what do you propose to do?”
“Follow my heart, Fremma. I am not stupid. All will work out well. And my family will keep everything to themselves.”
Fremma sighed. “Chelan, I have a confession to make.” He looked at her, his eyes heavy. “I’m worried sick about you.”
Chelan’s voice softened. “Oh, Fremma, don’t be.”
Fremma reached for her and pulled her onto his lap. He kissed the top of her head and enveloped her within the protective confines of his shroud. “I have control over keeping you safe from external threats, but on your planet, there are too many unknowns. As odd as this may sound, your world is far too hostile. Despite my people’s role in life, our society is so much more stable and controlled. I fear for you in every way. I now understand Korba’s fury over the change in plans.”
Chelan nestled into his chest, his slow and powerful heartbeat soothing her ragged emotions. “I will be fine, Fremma. I have survived my world before.”
Fremma squeezed her tight and closed his eyes. “And look what happened to you when you were so young,” he uttered sorrowfully.