by Shae Mills
Chelan stretched up and snuggled in under his thick hair, his lips on her neck causing her body to tremble. "I want you inside me... now," she urged breathlessly.
He grinned. "Watch what you wish for, my Lady."
But Chelan was not teasing. She reached deep inside his shroud, squeezing him hard.
Korba withdrew from her momentarily. He looked deep into her eyes and saw her need. His hands immediately smoothed down her body, encircling her firm buttocks. Effortlessly, he lifted her from her feet and sat her on the console, her eyes wide with surprise. His fingers caressed up her thighs, and he raised her legs, spreading them far apart.
Chelan braced herself, attempting to catch her breath. She had wanted him badly, but he had taken her completely off guard by his choice of location. She watched as he raised her gown over her legs, letting it fall about her waist.
Korba's breathing took off, and he nearly lost himself when he looked down at her swollen, slippery folds spread wide with invitation. He bent forward and kissed her mouth hard, his hands holding her hips firmly.
Chelan never detected any motions beneath his voluminous shroud, and she gasped with shock when she felt his steel-hard member press into her opening. She shuddered. It had happened so fast... so effortlessly... so exquisitely.
His penetration was slow but steady. He watched her carefully, looking for any signs of distress or discomfort. But he saw none, and his entry was unimpeded, her hot tightness consuming his entire organ. He was still in wonder at the fact that someone so small could receive someone so large in his entirety. And with each drive he half expected her to cry out in pain, but instead she writhed with pleasure.
Chelan moaned in ecstasy as he began plunging into her moistness, his pulsing hardness filling her perfectly. Then she felt him withdraw, and her eyes opened wide.
He supported her legs with his powerful arms as he shifted his position slightly, redirecting himself, and entered her again.
Chelan tipped her head back, her mind and body taken to a whole other dimension. She began to quiver as he stroked her internally, his positioning pressing him up into the zone of pleasure his fingers had previously manipulated so expertly on their first encounter. She was beside herself with delight, her state of exhilaration beyond description.
Korba controlled himself carefully, keeping his penetrations shallow and precisely directed. His desire to please her totally was as ardent as the burn in his loins. He watched his hardness disappear rhythmically into her softness, the erotic image nearly causing him to climax. Then he intensified his thrusts, and suddenly she arched, grabbing his shroud and pulling him deep within her.
Korba clenched his teeth, fighting against his own urges as he drove hard. He felt her muscles tighten about him in her powerful orgasmic grip. Then he moved within her ever so slowly, letting her clenching muscles work against his thickness. When her waves receded, he released her legs and withdrew himself carefully from her hot inner well.
Chelan looked up at him, trying to recover as she drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them tight. "What about you?" she gasped.
Korba smiled slyly. "Oh no, beautiful woman. This is what I have waited for, and I will not let you rest. You are mine from now until tomorrow. You do not worry, for my time will come later. Right now, it's yours." And with that, Korba scooped her up off the console and walked with her into his chambers.
The hours passed, and Chelan soon began to realize just what she had put all three men through before. But there was one big difference with her being on the receiving end. Korba's strength and endurance were far beyond hers, and his experience with sensual touch and sexual positions strained even her vivid imagination. He brought her time and time again to exquisite peaks, his appetite for her flesh insatiable.
And after each time he ravished her, he took her to yet another dimension of love by gently massaging her muscles into complete submission. Her rapture intensified even further as he delicately washed her salty body with soothing, warm water. And as the time passed, he was extraordinarily attentive to her most delicate flesh, cool compresses easing her swelling folds but not her wanton desire.
Throughout their marathon, her Warlord stayed as hard as stone, the constant display of his potent virility sending her into visual ecstasy. She craved all of him, his body perfect, but when he filled her deeply, she wanted him in her forever. And she had no doubt he could do exactly that.
But finally, in the wee hours of the morning, Chelan rolled into a tight ball, barely able to breathe let alone move. Korba had halted their love play, well aware of Stose's warnings. Chelan was not going to endure any more of his entries, and though she had protested, his visual assessment told him differently.
He slipped up beside her moist, naked body and coiled around her. He had engaged her in love play throughout the previous day and the night, never once allowing himself the pleasure of an orgasm. She knew he was returning his love to her by his totally unselfish acts, but she wanted that to change. She wanted to relieve him more than anything else in the world, and that included her dire need for sleep. Chelan smiled to herself. Now was his time, and she rolled to face him.
Chapter 44
They had indeed remained undisturbed throughout the morning, and as late afternoon approached, Korba awakened. He lay very still, determined not to disturb Chelan. He began to think about the resumption of his command. Although Chelan had managed to keep him physically exhausted, mentally and emotionally he was in his prime.
Korba looked down at her, her sensuous body still deep in sleep. Slowly, he slipped out from under her, and, with panther-like stealth, moved off the bed. He pulled on his uniform and started down the stairs that led to the Command Center. Suddenly, he froze, his senses alerting him to a presence. He moved cautiously, coiled to pull a blade from his boot if necessary. Peering into the Center, he smiled as he looked at the back of his comrade.
Dar instantly turned around. "Well, well. Are we determined to sleep the day away, my friend?" he teased.
The two men met and embraced warmly. "It is a well-deserved sleep, my good man."
Dar looked at him through the corner of his eye. "Uh-huh," he needled, "and I bet your slow recovery is due simply to the demands imposed by the acts of war?"
Korba grinned at him, a glint in his eye. He did not answer but moved to pour them a drink.
Dar sat down as Korba passed him a glass. Dar took a sip and then nodded to him. "I see you've been so busy sleeping that you haven't had time to get that war-torn shaggy mane put back into its place."
Korba chuckled lightly, and then he raised his glass to Dar and took a sip. "I want to thank you for bringing her to me, Dar, and for bringing me to my senses. I am forever indebted to you."
Dar lost his smile. He looked down at his glass. "You ought to be, my friend. Only you and possibly Fremma know just how much I may have given up."
Korba watched the blonde Warlord closely, caution coursing through his veins. "You've taken good care of her, Dar," Korba complimented warily. "My thanks go out to you again."
Dar finally smiled, still staring at his glass. "It's not hard to take care of her when she gives so much back to you in return. She is truly one of a kind."
Korba bristled slightly, the tone of Dar's voice belying the depth of the Warlord's love. He decided it was best to sidetrack the conversation slightly. "Yesterday, I called the Bridge when you were out. Tarn's name was mentioned, and I saw Chelan react." He paused. "Was it he she went to after she left Fremma? Was that where you found her?"
"Yes, it was. And I might add that Tarn was none too pleased at my intervention. He was not so willing to give up his beautiful and unexpected prize."
Korba nodded his understanding. "I suppose I should talk to him and explain a few things. I don't want my Second-in-Command lurking around behind my back with bludgeoning me to death on his mind."
Dar chuckled. "I hope his feelings were not hurt quite that badly. If they were, he falls awf
ully hard and fast for alien beauties."
Korba smiled as he looked at Dar from under his brows. "But haven't we all, my friend?"
Dar suddenly sobered at the fact. He sat very still, keenly aware of the effect Chelan had on all whom she had touched. Dar took a deep and uneasy breath at his next thought. He leaned forward and looked deep into Korba's eyes. "I don't know exactly what type of relationship you plan with Chelan, but sooner or later she's going to have to meet Ticees. How do you think he's going to react to her?"
"I have no doubt that his initial reaction to my selection will be that of well-concealed shock. But he will come to know her as we have, and..." Korba was suddenly chilled to the bone.
Dar studied him intently. "Ticees is not a subtle man, and he usually gets what he wants, no matter what the expense."
"He plays a deadly game if he chooses me as an adversary," commented Korba coolly. "My loyalty and friendship to him will end when it comes to my love for Chelan."
"Is that not what you had feared in the beginning, my friend, her interference with your command and career, the clouding of your military decision-making processes?"
Korba's steel eyes bit into Dar. "The scenario and the resulting problems that you propose are not from Chelan interfering with me. That would be Ticees interfering with us." Korba leaned forward, his eyes aflame. "If she were your mate, how would you react to our Lord God's interference?"
Dar remained silent for a moment, the term mate stabbing at him. "I would react and feel the same way as you."
Korba smiled slyly. "Then it would indeed be a fatal mistake on his part, would it not, to tamper with our lady and my relationship with her?"
Dar's eyes narrowed, realizing that Korba's statement of fact was not directed solely at Ticees. But Dar continued on. "You realize that there might be an attraction between them, and possibly both ways. After all, Ticees is an off-worlder, and I don't have to tell anyone what an attractive man he is. Chelan would have to be blind not to notice him. I have no doubt in my mind that after all Ticees's years on Iceanea, Chelan will be a sight for his sore eyes."
Korba leaned back in his chair, exhaling sharply. "Then I will just have to rely on Chelan and her devotion to me to keep Ticees at bay, won't I?" Korba's voice suddenly became much more genial as he changed the topic abruptly. "Oh, and by the way, Chelan received the pills that you ordered from Stose, and I'll thank you now before she gets up and gets her feathers all in a ruffle over the subject."
Dar chuckled. "Ah, yes. There are a few problems to work through, aren't there?"
Both men smiled at one another, but Korba's features quickly hardened.
"What is it that is weighing so heavily on your mind?" asked Dar.
Korba settled deeper into his chair. "Over the next week, I'm going to surreptitiously milk Chelan for some information about her family and their location on Calley. I want to touch briefly on some pertinent information without getting her upset and unsettling her memories."
Dar sat forward and rested his arms on his knees. "It won't change the past and what has happened to her."
Korba studied Dar closely. "You mean the thought of sending a few select men to Calley has never crossed your mind?"
"Actually, it has," replied Dar. "But I was never sure if I would carry it out and what my reasons would be if I did."
"Justice," replied Korba firmly. "Simply justice. You have seen her pain and her struggle with herself. I do not seek revenge, or compensation. It is too late for that. I simply seek justice."
"What will you do?"
"I'll find out where Chelan's parents reside and send someone from an appropriate agency to collect some information from them about their daughter's past. It will be information necessary for the search for their daughter, and it will hopefully give some clues to help explain her disappearance. Past medical records would undoubtedly help, along with the list of attending physicians. It's elementary, actually. I've already selected three excellent men for the job, and they're all experts on infiltrating alien societies. They'll have no trouble finding their way around and collecting the necessary information on our friend, such as his location and whether he is even alive or not."
Korba watched Dar carefully for his reaction, not knowing how much Chelan may have told him, but the man remained unflinching. "These men are the best. They melt into the shadows, materializing when they are needed, and they are excellent executioners. They have never failed in a mission, and many of their jobs have been with much more intelligent and complex societies than Calley's. And once they have found our doctor and gained irrefutable proof that they have the right man, they will execute him promptly, without ceremony."
Dar's eyes widened. "Doctor?"
Korba nodded slowly. "The scum who raped Chelan was her doctor."
Dar's jaw clenched, and his eyes flared.
Korba continued. "The men will use three long-range modified fighters and leave next week. I already have them on Dononezene to reduce the blue intensity of their eyes, a trait of ours that Chelan has pointed out several times as being unearthly. The blue highlights in their hair are a trivial matter. Once there, they will also check out the doctor's family to see if he has any offspring. We wouldn't want his bad seed to spread now, would we?"
Dar sat back, his gloved fingers traversing his chin. "Our small contribution toward the cleanup of Calley's festering genetic pool?"
Korba smiled deviously. "Exactly."
"Will you tell her?"
"No," said Korba softly. "There is no reason to. She is not a violent person, and her ways are not ours." Korba chuckled. "Besides, if she knows, she may try to stop me, and that would indeed be disappointing. Soon, only you and I will know that her assailant has expired from somewhat unnatural causes, his just reward for the plundering of her young body."
Dar braced himself. "How young?"
"Seven Calley years," came Korba's frosty reply.
"Seven!" Dar gasped in repulsion. "I should have carried this out long ago."
Korba smiled wryly. "What are a few months between friends? It's already been a lifetime for her."
Dar squirmed. "From what I've read about Calley over the past few months and from what Chelan has told me, we should casually obliterate the whole damn planet on our next flyby."
"That has also crossed my mind, but I have since dismissed it."
"Why?"
"Just maybe there are more Chelans out there."
Dar smirked. "I doubt it."
Both men laughed, and then Dar spoke. "Does all this mean that I should warn Solis of your impending wrath?"
Korba looked at Dar from under his brows. "How do you know that I am aware of Solis's actions?"
"I know your love for her. And her wounds are not exactly hard to identify. I would expect that the extraction of her assailant's name would have been one of your first priorities, and I see that I have been right."
Korba shook his head slowly. "No, Solis is safe. Chelan explained and asked me to let the situation go. I will respect her wishes."
Dar smiled. He stood and poured them another drink. "No one can escape you if you are determined, can they? The only place that is safe for your prey is into the sanctuary of death itself."
Korba looked up at him as he took his fresh drink. "Hardly my dubious distinction solely, my friend, as I believe the total number of your prey escaping your talons has numbered somewhere between zero and none."
Dar smiled broadly as he raised his glass to Korba. "Then shall we make sure we always remain friends, for if we ever clash, I fear that the only victor would be death itself."
Korba raised his glass back. "And may I add to our allegiance our good friend Toran, the triad of the foundation of the Empire forever complete."
* * *
Chelan began to stir and detected the murmuring of voices. She raised her weakened body from the bed and cleared her love-struck mind. She brushed out her tangled hair and then stood very still, her heart skipping a beat
as she recognized the second voice. She slipped quickly into her gown and padded to the Command Center entrance. She peeked around the corner and began to bubble with excitement and happiness. "Dar," she whispered.
Korba and Dar both turned to the sound of her voice, but Dar was instantly on his feet, not realizing until that moment how much he had missed the lovely woman.
Chelan flew down the Command Center stairs and leapt into his arms. Dar was overwhelmed by his emotions, and he hugged her tightly, burying his face in her sweet neck.
Korba's eyes widened at their frenzied embrace, recognizing instantly that he had vastly underestimated their feelings for one another. Korba had assumed that Dar's ultimatum to him on the day of his return was partially said to bring him to his senses about Chelan. Now, Korba knew that Dar had meant every word about his desire to Let her.
Dar finally released her, allowing her feet to reach the floor. His hands stroked her lovely face. "Oh, Chelan, it's so good to see you again." He wanted desperately to take her lips, but he was cautious, keenly aware of Korba's intense gaze.
"You don't come to see me enough, Dar. I miss you so," Chelan whispered, tugging at his shroud.
"Well, my pretty lady, when you come to your senses and detach yourself from this black-haired rebel, deciding that you prefer the purity of blonde, then I will never leave you again."
Chelan blushed and finally released him. She floated over to Korba, settling in his lap and curling up on him like a Persian kitten. His arms surrounded her tightly as she pecked him on the cheek. She then threw a shrewd glance at Dar. "You two haven't been talking about me behind my back, have you?"
Korba and Dar looked at one another innocently. "No," smiled Korba, "why would we do that?"
Chelan grinned briefly and then became serious. "Have I interrupted something? I could leave—"
"No," interjected Korba. "Dar and I were just catching up on a few of the finer points regarding upcoming events and missions. You are perfectly welcome to stay."