Fighting the Stars

by Jessica Killabrew

  He dropped his clothes on the floor and stepped into the stall. The water automatically started streaming, and it was warm. Rena’s ship had some higher tech devices than his ship. All he had to do to adjust the shower water was to speak.

  “Increase water temperature by ten degrees.”

  He groaned with pleasure as the temperature increased, creating steam in the enclosed space. His muscles began to relax as he dipped his head under the spray of water. He washed and rinsed his hair. He closed his eyes as he used his hands to soap his body.

  He couldn’t help himself. Images of Rena popped into his head. He imagined her hands moving all over him. She had loved touching his body; it was the one thing he knew she could never deny. He could feel her smaller hands teasing his nipples. He imagined her lips kissing his chest as her hands traveled down to his manhood. He took himself in his big hands and stroked himself.

  Turk knew it wouldn’t take long for him to reach his release; he’d been in an almost perpetual state of arousal since he got on board. Watching Rena command her crew and being surrounded by her scent was driving him a little bit crazy. He wanted her more than his next breath.

  He wanted to be inside her tight channel stroking her and bringing her to rapture as he had done so many times in the past. He missed the way she moaned as the fire built inside her. He stroked himself harder and harder, tightening his grip a little. He felt the fire spreading down his spine and traveling to his cock. The remembrance of Rena’s beautiful face as she climaxed calling his name was all that he needed before his seed shot out and hit the wall of the shower.

  “Rena.” Her name was like a whisper of prayer. He would do anything to have her back. Leaving her again was not an option.

  *****

  The Next Morning

  Rena woke up that morning feeling tired right down to her bones. She lay in bed looking up at the ceiling, trying to draw energy to get up and start the day. She wasn’t sure what was going on inside her head. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she hadn’t fully dealt with her feelings about finding Turk and her sister in bed together.

  She had kicked them both out of her life and had run as far from them as she could. Rena kept herself busy with her job and, sometimes, other people to keep her from thinking about her past and about her broken heart.

  Now they were all on board together and both her sister and Turk were back in her life. whether she wanted them to be or not. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to deal with this current situation. She wasn’t sure if she even wanted to try to deal with it.

  She took a quick shower and then got dressed. She combed her short pale blond hair and planned to let it air dry.

  Rena didn’t usually wear makeup during her work hours, but seeing dark circles under her eyes, she applied some cover-up.

  She walked out into the hallway and turned to close her door.

  “Good morning, Rena.”

  Her body stiffened at the sound of Turk’s deep voice behind her. She turned to glare at him. “What are you doing hanging outside my door like a stalker?

  He gave her a sexy smile as he leaned his shoulder against the wall. “You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? You’re always cranky when you haven’t had food.”

  She chose to react with defiance, and crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t know me, not who I am now..”

  He nodded. “You’re right. I want to change that.”

  She bit her bottom lip. She was not sure what to make of his response. “You’re not here to get to know me. You’re supposed to be working.”

  “I am working. There’s no reason I can’t do both.”

  “What have you found out so far?”

  “I’m running some background checks on a few people.”

  “Who?”

  “I’d rather wait until I have some evidence before I start pointing out my suspects.”

  “Do you think that I, as the captain of this ship, can’t be trusted with the details of the investigation that is occurring on my own ship?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying, Rena. If I tell you my suspicions, you may act differently toward these individuals and unintentionally tip them off. I want them caught in the act and put away for good.”

  She sighed, realizing that Turk was right. “I want them caught, too. I’ve worked too hard to have someone come in and ruin it all.”

  “I can tell you that in my training period I have been working past the allotted legal time for standard crew.”

  “Damn it! I told Jaken to lay off overworking our crew.”

  “Well, they’re pushing them and especially me. I think I will push back a little and ruffle their feathers.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “I’ll tell them it’s time I moved away from their training and up to captain training.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  She turned to walk toward the elevator. Turk easily kept pace with her.

  “About that breakfast…” Turk said as he waited for her to enter the elevator first.

  “I don’t have time for breakfast, I’m already going to be a few minutes late.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about being in the elevator alone with Turk. Thankfully, the ride wouldn’t be long. “I thought that we shouldn’t be seen together much in case it causes suspicion.”

  “We’re just taking the elevator together, Rena.” He stepped closer to her and she could feel his body heat seep into every part of her. “It’s not like we’re naked and making love all night.” His voice deepened as he spoke.

  She sucked in her breath. She needed as much oxygen as she could get. The image he conjured was so graphic. Her nipples hardened and she knew her panties were a little damp. Jupiter take it! She needed to get laid badly. However, she could no longer find any appeal in the thought of anyone other than Turk touching her.

  The door to the elevator opened and she shot out past him. She glanced back at him. He was standing there, watching her. When he caught her eye, he winked at her. She faced forward and smiled. Damn him!Why did he have to be so fucking sexy?

  Life was too short to hold on to bitterness and pain. The fact that she had woken up feeling the heavy weight of past pain was making her thinking twice about her current life. Something inside her told her that maybe she was ready to listen to both Turk and her sister, and maybe, just maybe, find a way to forgive both of them.

  She suddenly felt lighter at the thought of letting go of the bitterness and anger. It had been a weight holding her down, keeping her from living the life she really wanted.

  Chapter 10

  Turk smiled. Rena still wanted him and that gave him hope. Hope that they had a future. Hope that she would be able to move past what happened years ago. He would talk to her tonight. It was time for all of them to heal, including Tena. She had been brave to come on board this ship and brave to tell him the truth. She wasn’t the same selfish girl who wanted everything her sister had. For both him and Rena to truly move forward and start new, Rena had to repair her relationship with her sister first.

  He walked into the utility supply room, where Jaken had told him to report for the day’s activities. Both Jaken and Nade were already there, waiting for him. They frowned and looked at the clock.

  “You’re late, Turk.”

  He shrugged his shoulders, unconcerned. “I’ve already worked over the maximum allotted time for any crew member for the week. You’re lucky I showed up at all. I have already discussed this with Captain Rena and she is furious about the labor laws being violated.”

  The glares on their faces let him know that they had overworked him intentionally. This was one of the chief complaints made to the GPP, that employees on Rena’s ship were being overworked. Five crew members had quit working on this ship in the last few weeks. He decided to push the males a little more.

  “Also, I think that I have done enough of the menial training. It’s time for me to move on to one-on-one training with the captain
. I’ve already messaged Captain Rena about it, and she agreed, after I’ve had the proper down time as required by law.”

  “Fine. Move those shelving units to the other side of the room, then take the rest of the day off.” Jaken stormed out. His brother followed.

  Turk was pleased that the brothers had reacted as he had anticipated. He wanted to observe the two males interacting with the other crew and with the passengers. Not all of the cameras had sound, however, which posed a limitaton. He needed to capture their conversations.

  He quickly finished moving the shelves and headed to the cafeteria. He loaded two trays and then pulled one of the younger crew members passing him, to the side.

  “Take this to Captain Rena. Tell her the captain-in-training she spoke to this morning prepared it.”

  The young crewman took the tray. “Yes, sir.”

  He worried that she wasn’t taking care of herself. He had noticed the dark circles under her eyes this morning. She had to deal with two assholes who were sabotaging and undermining her command. The stress and fear of losing her ship were weighing on her. He needed to bring these guys down. Then he would make sure she took time to relax.

  He pushed thoughts of Rena and her delectable body to the side as he headed back to his quarters. He needed to get those background checks and watch the feed from last evening’s surveillance. Then, he’d see about Rena.

  *****

  “Who is this guy?” Jaken asked Rena. Nade was standing next to him with his arms crossed.

  “Turk?”

  “Yeah, Turk. He acts like he knows everything.”

  She had to bite her cheek not to laugh at the angry, frustrated looks that they wore. What had Turk done to rile them up?

  “He does know ships.”

  “Why is he here?”

  She had to come up with something quickly. “He spent quite a bit of time on a remote planet, but realized he needs his own ship to begin building commerce there. He’s working toward his captain’s license.”

  “He sounds like an idiot. You need to get rid of him,” Nade commented dryly.

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “He’s failed all my tests that I’ve given him on basic crew duties. In my opinion, he’s not qualified to be a captain. I should have been given the opportunity anyway.” Jaken puffed out his chest.

  “Your opinion is noted. However, he starts training with me tomorrow.”

  Jaken turned to leave, mumbling under his breath. Rena caught the word “bitch” but chose to ignore it. Nade glared at her, then followed his brother out.

  She sighed with relief. She couldn’t keep them on if they continued to show such disrespect. Rena hated men who treated her as though she was less intelligent than they were. Even in this day and time, she ran across individuals who didn’t think she could handle the job because she was a female. Well, she knew how to handle people like that. She ignored them and did her job. Her success was a reward to her and a slap in their faces. If that didn’t do the trick, the next time those dickheads mouthed off to her, she would kick their small balls up their asses.

  “Captain, there’s a call coming in for you.”

  “Who is it?”

  “She said her name is Tena.”

  She rolled her eyes. Just want she needed, first having her body react to Turk, then having to deal with these jerks, and now her needy sister calling for something. She picked up the phone.

  “What is it?”

  There was a pause. “I’m sorry — I didn’t mean to interrupt you while you were working. I’ll let you go…”

  She sighed. “I’m not busy and you didn’t interrupt. I am just having a rough morning. Was there something you needed?”

  “I was hoping you could meet me and JJ on deck D for lunch. There’s that little play area… I thought we could eat while watching JJ play.”

  “I don’t know if I have time…”

  “JJ was really looking forward to spending time with you — and so was I.”

  “Okay, I’ll meet you guys at lunch time on deck D.”

  “Great! JJ, your Aunt Rena is coming!”

  She smiled as she heard her nephew yell in excitement. It touched a place in her heart to hear him and she felt such guilt for not being there for him and Tena in the past. She couldn’t change that, but perhaps she could do something about the present and the future.

  “I’m looking forward to it, too.” She ended her call with her sister and frowned at the young crewman coming into her command room. “Crewman Decker, what is this?”

  The young male blushed. “I was told to bring you your breakfast.”

  “By whom?”

  “The captain-in-training. He said he spoke to you this morning. I think his name is Turk.”

  She nodded her thanks and sent the male out of the room. She moved the tray of food in front of her. She should be angry with Turk’s high-handedness. She inhaled the delicious smell of bacon and her stomach growled. She could still be mad at him while she ate, but she knew she would have to thank him later.

  *****

  “We’ve worked too hard to put ourselves in a place where we can take over the ship. She’s trying to block us from what should be ours and I won’t allow her to threaten our financial surplus. That bitch is going to pay!” Jaken kicked the wall in his quarters.

  “Absolutely she will. She’s going to have her ass handed to her and her ship ripped out from under her,” Nade agreed.

  *****

  Later that day

  Rena met with her sister and nephew for lunch. They ate and then went to the play area set up so that children on board could stretch and run to release their energy while they were confined to her ship.

  “Look at me, Aunt Rena!”

  She glanced up to watch JJ as he went down the slide. He had a huge grin on his face. “Good job, JJ!”

  “He adores you,” Tena commented.

  “Well, the feeling is entirely mutual. He’s amazing.”

  “I think so, but I am biased. He’s my whole world.”

  She looked over at her sister and really looked at her. She was nothing like she used to be. Where she was once always manicured, with her hair styled, she was now ordinary. She had rough-looking hands and her nails were unpolished and uneven. He hair was pulled up in a knot on the top of her head and was currently her natural color, but Rena saw a hint of silver at her temples. That surprised her, since she was older than Tena. Despite all that, when Tena smiled at her son, she was dazzling.

  “What happened with JJ’s father?”

  Tena shrugged her shoulders. “He wasn’t cut out for being a father and left us.”

  “I’m sorry. Sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”

  Tena reached out and took her hand. “You have nothing to apologize for. You’re here for us now when we you need you the most. I’m the one who should apologize for what I did all those years ago. Please believe me when I say that it was my most shameful moment. That day — that horrible day, I not only lost myself and my sister, I lost everything that truly mattered to me. I was so selfish and self-destructive.”

  “I should have talked to you afterward. I shut both you and Turk out.”

  “I- — I have to tell you something. I had promised to let Turk tell you but — I just can’t hold this back anymore.”

  Rena stiffened in her seat. “What is it?”

  “I never slept with Turk.”

  “What?”

  “I staged it to look like I had. I came over while you were gone and knew it would be easy to get Turk drunk. I helped him to bed and he passed out. I was the one to remove his clothes. I waited until I knew you were coming in the door and I removed my top and jumped under the covers. He never touched me.”

  Rena felt like she had been sucker punched. Her lungs seemed unable to draw a breath. “Why wouldn’t Turk tell me this?”

  “He didn’t know the truth about that night until a few days ago, when I told him
. I should have told you the truth back when it happened, but I was so messed up that I couldn’t think straight. Then you refused to talk to either of us and left. I finally got into rehab and that was when I started to come to terms with what I had done. I didn’t know how to tell you after that.”

  Rena was just flabbergasted. What should she do? Yell at her sister? Yell at Turk?

  “I am so sorry for everything. I love you, Rena, and I hope that one day, you’ll forgive me. But please don’t punish JJ for my mistakes. He loves you.”

  Rena looked at her nephew, who appeared to be making friends with a little red-haired girl. “Forgiveness takes time.”

  “I can give you all the time you need, Rena. Just give me a chance to be in your life again.”

  She nodded her head. Tena threw her arms around her and hugged her.

  “I promise you won’t regret it.”

  She certainly hoped it wasn’t a mistake letting her sister back in her life. Now she had to figure out what the hell she was going to do about Turk. She had been wrong about him and Tena, but he was responsible for his drinking. He had since given up drinking. Could they start over or start anew? They had lost so much time. Maybe too much time.

  Chapter 11

  Rena didn’t know whether she should go hunt down Turk or just wait for him to come to her. She was furious that Turk had kept it from her. She had no clue what to do, and she couldn’t escape all of her emotions.

  She left lunch with her sister, completely confused. She had come up with an excuse about getting back to work right away. The truth was that she was hoping to run into Turk. Luckily, she did just that, in the hallway near his suite. She stormed up to him and let anger take over her other emotions.

  “What the fuck, Turk?” She didn’t bother with an introduction.

  “What did I do now?” He looked both confused and amused.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have apologized and tried to make amends for throwing you out of my life. We could have continued where we left off — or at least tried to get back to that. Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.