by KD Jones
The lieutenant jerked to attention. “Yes, sir.”
BorIS stepped up next to him. “You have to admit this is not our standard protocol for dealing with the Morins.”
“I know, but I am looking at things from a different perspective. Why would the Morins turn on one another? Their people are dying out, their home world is unlivable. Why would they kill each other off?”
“I can see your point. You seem different.”
LemAN ignored his observation. “This transport is dying. What could it hurt to try to get some answers?”
“Commander, we…have a reply from the Morin transport. They wish to do an open communication.”
“Put it up on the main viewer.”
LemAN took a deep breath. He was preparing himself to face his people’s enemy. He wasn’t prepared for what he saw.
“This is Commander Kayley of the Morinia people. We are requesting assistance in repairing our transport.”
“What in Kitana? It’s a female!” Second Commander BorIS commented.
“This is Commander LemAN of the Katieran nation. Why should we agree to this since you are a known enemy of our people?”
“We are a break off from the Morins. We are called the Morinians. Everyone on board is innocent of the crimes committed against your people. We have mostly females and young on board. If you agree to offer your assistance, I will explain more in detail.”
LemAN was having a hard time believing what he was seeing, a female Morin. How was that possible? It opened up even more questions. There was only one way to get those answers.
“Request granted. A shuttle will arrive in the next half hour with crew who will assess your needs.”
Commander Kayley nodded before ending communications. LemAN turned to BorIS. “I need to speak with you in my ready room.”
He walked off the command bridge with BorIS following him. Once they were alone he turned to BorIS. “I’m going to be going on that shuttle to meet with the commander in person.”
“What if it’s a trap?”
“You will have command of the transport. I trust that you will take care of the crew.”
“Of course.”
“I also have another request. As my friend, I ask that if something happens to me, you look after Teagan. She has come to mean everything to me.”
“Did you claim her?”
“No, not yet. I wanted to give her time to get to know me first.”
BorIS shook his head. “Does she know about LoraLI?”
“Yes. Will you watch over her?”
“I will.”
“Thank you. Now, I need to go let her know where I’m going.”
“I’ll let you know when the shuttle is ready to leave.”
“Very good. I knew I could count on you.”
Chapter 9
Teagan noticed how everyone was treating her differently. It was as if they all knew she had spent last night with LemAN. She didn’t mind them knowing but she felt a little awkward now at how they kept their distance. She’d worked hard to make friends on the ship. Once they realized she wasn’t interested in them romantically, some stopped trying to impress her, leaving her alone, and those that remained she felt genuinely liked the things she talked to them about. It seemed that one night with LemAN had pushed some of those few friends she had made farther away.
Sighing, she sat down alone at a table in the corner and stabbed at her food. Her guard, a warrior named Lt. ShajAY, sat down across from her.
“Is there something wrong, Miss White?”
“My name is Teagan.” She looked around at the males in the room eating. Some of them glanced her way but made no move to greet her. She glanced away from them, hurt and disappointed. “Why are they being so distant?”
ShajAY looked around. “They are showing respect to Commander LemAN’s mate.”
Yeah, they did know about last night. Still, they shouldn’t shun her because she was with LemAN. “I thought they were my friends,” she said, and couldn’t help the hurt in her voice.
Suddenly chairs from across the room scraped and banged. She glanced up to see four men she had considered her closest friends coming toward her. Damn, she forgot about their super-duper hearing. She felt heat rise to her face.
“May we sit with you?” Lt. ComEY asked.
She waved her hand at the empty chairs. “Sure.”
Lt. VoyER sat next to ShajAY but ComEY sat next to her. Medic TartAN and Chief Engineer MattEN took up the other empty seats. She felt a little awkward at first and knew she needed to be the one to break the silence.
“So, MattEN, did you ever get that nucleic regenerator to work without freezing up?”
His face lit up and he started going into detail about how their first attempts failed but now, thanks to her ideas, they felt they could hold the power longer.
VoyER leaned over and spoke low to her. “Congratulations on your mating.”
She blinked in surprise. “We’re not actually technically mated because…you know.”
“It’s a matter of time. Everyone here can smell his scent on you. It’s like a type of marking to keep other males away.”
“Oh, I guess I heard about that but didn’t quite grasp the concept.” Remembering how VoyER had been interested in her, she worried that she had hurt his feelings. “Are you okay with this? I didn’t do anything on purpose to hurt anyone.”
He patted her hand. “We’re friends and always will be. I saw the commander earlier this morning before coming down to eat. He looked…different.”
“Different? How?”
“More relaxed than usual. Like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The usual bags under his eyes were gone. You’re good for him.”
Now that he’d said it, LemAN always did have bags under his eyes. He must have not been getting much sleep. Well, she was determined he would from now on.
The awkwardness faded away and it was just her and her friends hanging and talking about techy stuff. Time seemed to pass without her even knowing. She laughed at a joke that someone told and felt a presence standing over her. She looked up and her eyes caught on LemAN’s.
“Hi.”
The lusty possessive look he gave made her heart race and her body react with excitement. She wished the place was empty so that they could test out the sturdiness of the tables. She knew she was blushing.
“Hello.”
ShajAY fumbled to stand, as did the other men. “Commander, I did not realize the time.”
LemAN waved him and the others off. “I need to speak with Teagan, so if you will excuse us…” He held out his hand and she didn’t hesitate to take it.
She stood up and let him lead her out of the meal room. It suddenly occurred to her that there was something else besides sleep that she hadn’t seen him do much of. “Have you eaten yet?”
He shrugged and kept walking. “I don’t have time.”
She yanked on his hand until he stopped. “Stay here for a minute.” She turned and ran back into the meal room. A minute later she returned with a tray of food.
“That wasn’t necessary.”
“Yes, it is. You need to take better care of yourself. I’m going to make sure you do from now on.”
“I—thank you.” He led them back to his quarters. She placed the tray on the table. No sooner had she put it down than he had her in his arms.
*****
LemAN was touched by her concern for him, and felt a tightness in his chest. He hadn’t been this overwhelmed by emotions before, and he needed an outlet of some kind for it. The only one he could think of was to show her physically how she made him feel. Show her how much he needed her more than rest or food.
He closed the door to his quarters and took her in his arms. Yes, this was where she belonged, in my arms. Kissing her ignited the flames of desire racing through his body. He was hard just with the mere thought of her. His cock was thick and firm, pressing painfully against her. They had too many clothes between the
m.
He reached for her clothes, again overalls. How many pairs of these things did she own? The good thing about them was, once he got the straps down, the whole thing fell to her feet, leaving her in a tiny T-shirt and a pair of pink panties.
“I take it you missed me?”
He looked into her eyes as he eased his fingers inside the front of her panties. “Yes.”
She tilted her head back, closing her eyes when he slid a finger inside her. “I missed you, too. Oh…that feels so good, LemAN.”
Hearing that she missed him as well helped eased some of his possessiveness. She had been surrounded by other males who clearly adored her. Who wouldn’t? Yet she missed him.
“I need you, Teagan.”
“I need you, too.”
He quickly unhooked his pants, letting them fall to his knees, then used both hands to rip her panties. She should never wear these things. He lifted her up in his arms. “Wrap your legs around me. This is going to be quick.”
She did what he told her to. As soon as he got the tip of his cock at the edge of her pussy lips, her juices coated him. He was grateful she was ready for him because he had to have her—now!
He thrust upward until he was all the way inside her. They both moaned from the fullness. “Teagan, my Teagan.”
LemAN pulled out only to return over and over. Her inner walls gripped him in welcome each time. It wasn’t the slow and thorough lovemaking he had given her the previous night. He couldn’t stop himself from taking her hard and deep.
“Yes, LemAN, harder!” She growled the words as she squeezed his hips.
“Goddess, I’m not going to hold back.”
“Don’t hold back, give me everything!”
He felt the fire pulsing so hard to break free from his body, the pressure became too much to hold in then he let loose, shooting his seed up inside, coating her, and claiming her as his. He should have asked, but he didn’t. There was no time—at least, he told himself that. As his body was squeezed by Teagan finding her own release, he knew the truth. He wanted to claim her as his because if something happened to him while on board the Morin transport, he wanted her to be protected and cared for as his mate. He’d have to let BorIS know that.
“Why do you have such a serious face?”
He pulled out and slowly lowered her to her feet. “I did not realize my face had a…face.” Stepping back, he reached to pull up his pants and she did the same to her coveralls. “There is something I need to talk to you about.”
She bent down to retrieve her panties and giggled. “These are toast.” She threw them in the waste disposal compartment in the wall. “What did you want to talk about?”
Taking her hand, he led her over to the bed. “Sit.”
Teagan followed his instructions. “You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
“We caught up to one of the Morin transports. This one has massive damage.”
“That’s good, right? They won’t be able to attack.”
“They’re not trying to attack. They are requesting assistance.”
“What? Those guys are evil.”
“The commander of the transport is a female.”
“I thought all the female Morins were dead.”
“So did we. This female is the commander and she claims that the transport is filled with mostly females and young.”
“Do you believe her?”
“I don’t know. My first instinct upon finding the transport was to blow it out of the stars. Then she hailed us with a request for aid.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I have such a deep-seated distrust and hate for the Morins.”
She gripped his hand in hers and squeezed reassuringly. “You have every reason to be suspicious. Why didn’t you deny them?”
“I heard your voice in my head asking questions like you usually do. It made me think twice. Maybe we haven’t been able to completely defeat the Morins because we know so little about them. This could possibly give us the answers we need.”
“That sounds reasonable. When are you sending someone to the transport?”
“I’ll be leaving with a handful of crew to assess the situation.”
“You’re going?”
“Yes, I want to meet with this commander in person.”
“I want to come, too.”
He stood and walked to the other side of the room. “No.”
“What do you mean no?”
He saw she had that stubborn look on her face. Goddess help him, he wanted her again. Keep your mind focused. You don’t have time to do this. “It’s too dangerous. You’ll remain here. We’ll talk more when I return.”
She stood, placed her hands on her hips, and glared at him. “So that’s it? No discussing it?”
“No discussion is needed. I’m the commander and it’s my decision.”
“Fine.” She stormed to the door, opened it, and left without saying anything else.
Well, that didn’t go the way he had planned.
*****
Teagan was furious. He showed up horny as hell, fucked her then told her he was leaving on what could be a dangerous mission and she was supposed to what? Sit here like the little woman who had to be protected all the time?
Okay, she wasn’t much of a fighter but she had other skills that could be used. She agreed to come on the transport to help them fight the Morins, and she was going to do what she promised she would whether he liked it or not.
Chapter 10
LemAN didn’t like the way he left things with Teagan and she refused to answer his comm link pages. He didn’t even have time to explain to her that he had unofficially claimed her as his mate.
His mate. Goddess, that sounded right to him. Teagan was his mate and he didn’t have a chance to really appreciate that. She deserved so much more, a mate who would proudly claim her in a public ceremony before everyone and pledge his love and loyalty. For a long time he thought the Goddess had forsaken him. Now he felt truly blessed.
What had possessed him to claim her? Was it just the spur of the moment? No, he had been fighting his feelings for her a while now but after the medic brought up the true bond mate idea, he knew it was true. He had been broken inside and somehow she filled the pieces that were missing. Deep down he always knew that she belonged with him as he belonged with her. The only one keeping them apart was him. Still, this wasn’t the best time or place to claim a mate. They were possibly about to enter battle with the enemy and were far away from help from Katiera.
Finally it was time for him to get ready to leave. He walked to the docking bay and spotted his second commander waiting for him outside the shuttle. They clasped forearms.
“The crew is ready, and the pilot is doing last-minute adjustments,” Second Commander BorIS told him.
“Thank you. You’ve taken care of getting this ready and I’m trusting you to take care of our crew. There’s something else I need you to promise me, but it’s a personal promise. I’m calling on our longtime friendship.”
“I already told you I would look after the Earth female and make sure she makes it back to Katiera safely.”
“Teagan’s now my mate.”
He looked at LemAN in surprise. “Truly? You claimed her?”
“I did, but she doesn’t realize the meaning of it all yet. We didn’t have time to talk. If something happens to me…”
“She will be granted all rights as your mate.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey, are you two going to stand out there talking all day or are we going to get this thing going?” Teagan yelled from inside the shuttle.
Both men looked surprised as they entered it. She was sitting in the copilot’s seat, wearing a warrior’s uniform. It was too big for her. LemAN noted that she’d tied some kind of belt around her middle and had to roll up the pants because they were too long.
“What are you doing here?” LemAN demanded.
Teagan shrugged. “Going with you.”
“No, you’re no
t. We’ve discussed this. You left and refused to take my calls. Now you want to bring this back up in front of witnesses?”
All the crew members, including the second commander, left the shuttle to give them some privacy. Her cheeks turned bright red.
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of your men. I just thought you would have a harder time saying no if others were around to back me up.”
“I am only trying to protect you, Teagan. You have no idea how much you have come to mean to me. If something happens to you…” He couldn’t finish the sentence and turned his back to hide the emotions coursing through his body. He would be devastated if something happened to Teagan. Losing another person he cared for was unacceptable. He felt her arms wrap around his waist from behind.
“I know. I feel the same about you. It scares me that you have pretty much stolen my heart. If I lost you now, I don’t know how I’d deal with that.”
LemAN turned around to face her. “I’m a warrior. Trust me to know what I am doing.”
She cupped his face. “I do trust you, but you need to trust me that I won’t do anything that will put me in trouble.”
“These Morinians, I don’t know if they are truly different or not. We could be heading into a trap.”
“I could stay in the shuttle and monitor everything. There’s a compartment below for supplies. I could hide there and monitor you and the crew and the ship.”
“Only if the pilot remains with you and will take you off the transport if danger arises.”
“Not without you.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “Yes. It is the only way I will allow you to come along. I need to know that you will be protected at all times.”
Sighing, she nodded in agreement. “Fine.”
He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply. “I can’t lose you, not now.”
She snorted and pulled away. “Yeah, now that you claimed me.”
LemAN froze. “You heard what I said to BorIS?”
She patted his chest. “I took culture classes, honey. I knew the moment your hot seed hit my insides that you had claimed me.”