Prime Obsession (20 page)

* * * *

It was amazing what buoyancy did for the sex act, Mel thought. Freefall sex might be fun, too, although they’d probably need some equipment to keep their bodies together.

“We can try that in one of the simulation rooms in my father’s home on Cejuru Prime, if you’d like,” Wulf offered. “It is similar to making love in water, but drier.” He winked. “And yes, an elastic band
is
a requirement.” Mel stuck her tongue out at him. “Funny man.”

In front of the full-length mirror mounted in the closet, she turned this way and that in an attempt to see how the uniform Wulf had made for her fit. It seemed too tight to her.

“Does this make my butt look big?”

An exasperated masculine growl was her only answer.

“Wulf, I’m serious—and hungry. So don’t mess with me. Is this uniform too tight over my rear? I don’t want our crew distracted looking at my ass—or breasts—while we’re chasing down Antarean raiders or pirates.”

“First off, the Prime males on this ship and any others under our command in the Gold Squadron will not stare at your feminine attributes or they will have to deal with me personally. If I sense any man here or in the Gold Squadron as a whole making what I would call sexual remarks or overtures to you, they will end up on the deck hurting very badly.” Wulf glared at her. “So, the answer to your question is: The uniform fits perfectly. It is exactly as I ordered it. Your ass is perfect as are your breasts—and they are all mine.”

“O-o-kay, then,” she said, figuring she’d never solicit his opinion on clothing again.

It made him grouchy. Or, maybe he was just hungry. Like her. “Feed me, Wulf.” Her still-ruffled mate took her elbow and led her from their quarters.

“Where do we eat?” she asked as they walked to the elevator at the end of the officer quarters corridor.

“As in your military, we have one large dining area that is open around the clock. If you and I wish privacy, we can have food delivered to our quarters.”

“I’m fine eating with the men,” Mel said, happy to hear that the Prime’s military protocols weren’t all that different from the Alliance’s.

“Good, after you.” He waved her into the open elevator.

Mel nodded at the two Prime standing to the back of the lift. They wore what she had come to recognize as engineering patches on their sleeves. The two men saluted. Their auras were respectful—and envious. She imagined she’d sense a lot of envy on board.

Too many Prime males would never see their true
gemates.
But with any luck they might find a mate and some happiness among the other humanoid species in the galaxy. She wondered about the biological issues in having children with someone outside of their particular hominid branch.

“Maren has already asked the Galactic Alliance Council to advertise for the best
and brightest biologists, genetic specialists and doctors in the galaxy to join our
researchers on this exact topic.”

“Bet that went over well with the Prime fundamentalists.”

“As you might expect, it created a furor. I read the communique on the issue while
you finished your bath.”
Wulf’s hand caressed her lower back gently, slipping down to massage her ass. The movement blocked from the other men’s view by his body.
“Are
you okay? Was I too rough?”

“I loved it. With our minds this open, you know how I feel.”

“You’re so small. I’m afraid of hurting you.”

She had never considered herself small, but could see how he would think that considering his much larger body.

“I’ve fought huge Antarean, Erian, Terran, Volusian, and Prime males—you can’t
hurt me by loving me.”

The door opened onto the dining level. The noisy room quieted as the men saw who entered the room. Wulf gently urged her forward, his hand once again at her waist. The light kiss he brushed on the top of her head had her blushing, but gave her the courage to face what had to be at least thirty large Prime males. They could be very intimidating
en
masse
.

“Wulf, no kissing in front of the crew,” she hissed as she nodded and smiled to the men they passed on their way to a table.

“The devil with the crew,” he whispered against her ear. “They’ll get used to it.” She glared at him. He grinned at her.

“That is
so
not military protocol.” She stalked to an empty booth at the side of the large room and scooted into the banquette. “You need to save the love-stuff for our quarters and in private,
gemat.
” Her words were clipped as she glared at him.

Wulf sat next to her. “And you, my little battle-mate, need to lighten up. Sex between bonded mates is not a dirty secret in Prime society. Terrans are too puritanical.”

“You didn’t think so when I had your cock in my mouth,” she retorted.

“But you aren’t Terran, just raised as one.”

The room once so quiet now buzzed. The word “battle-mate” was passed from to another Prime just like an antiquated Terran game of telephone. The room rumbled with the word and emotions it conjured. Every male eye in the room was on their table.

“Wulf?” She sought his reassurance. Not normally shy, being the center of awe and adulation was disconcerting. “They act like we are gods or something.”

“To them, battle-mates are the stuff of legends,” he explained. “The last battle-mate came from the Maren line before the Berean Wars.”

“Yeah, the traitor, Ullyn, told me that back when we first met. How long ago were the Berean Wars? I should know, but have forgotten.” She picked up the menu for the day. It was written in Prime. She could read it easily, but things would have to change once they started merging the crews. Maybe they could have it in Standard Galactic and Prime; she would mention that to the Admiral.

“Several centuries,” Wulf answered her question as he signaled the steward. “The Antarean attacks and sieges plus other environmental factors had already cut into our birth rates. The Elders of the time determined that women, already in short supply, needed to be kept out of battle situations for the future of our race. Plus, not all Prime women had the genes to become a battle-mate. Those inborn abilities only ran in certain lines.”

“Such as my and Maren’s family line?”

Wulf nodded and smiled. “Such as yours.” Despite her warning of no public displays of affection, he pulled her closer against his side and kissed her lips, stroking a finger down her cheek. The air around them grew warmer. The man put off heat like a fire. “I am so very fortunate. And, this ship is blessed with good fortune to have you. The Gold Squadron will set the standard in the Alliance Military for excellence with our battle symbiosis.”

Embarrassed by his high praise and uncomfortable with all the baggage that came with being a battle-mate, Mel looked away from the fires blazing in his golden eyes. The waiter stood at the side of the table, a grin on his face, waiting patiently for Wulf and her attention.

“Wulf,” she placed a finger on his lips as he leaned in to kiss her again, “order. The poor man is waiting.”

Wulf grinned and mouthed the word “later.”

“My apologies, Darog.”

“No problem, Captain.” The steward bowed to Mel. “Welcome, Captain Dmitros-Caradoc. What would you like to order?”

She looked at the menu again and ordered in Prime what she knew to be the traditional Prime morning meal—a sort of hot grained cereal with a side of fresh fruit and a sticky sweet topping that was very much like honey and a cup of a coffee-like drink.

Darog beamed at her, then thanked her in his language. “Captain Wulf?” Wulf ordered what she had plus a smoked meat, then dismissed the man. After the man had left, he turned toward her. “I informed my crew once I knew that I’d be bringing you home with me that I should be called Captain Wulf and you, Captain Caradoc. Does that bother you?”

“Yes, it does.”

Wulf frowned. She waved off anything he might say, then stood. In both Prime and then English she asked the men in the room to please call her Captain Melina and to spread the word to the others.

Sitting back down to cheers, she smiled at her warrior. “If they can call you Captain Wulf, then Captain Melina is just fine with me.”

“I love you, Captain Melina.”

“Back at you, Captain Wulf.”

* * * *

Mel wasn’t sure what to expect when she and Wulf entered Huw’s quarters to question the two rebels. She sure didn’t expect to see them still trussed up like game birds about to be roasted on a spit. The only difference from when she’d tied them up to now was the blindfolds; from somewhere, Huw or Iolyn had obtained black leather ones like she’d seen in some of the shops on Tooh 2 that catered to certain more risque sexual acts.

The men’s emotional auras had also remained unchanged; both still were defiant and tinged with a killing hate. Their base emotions filled the atmosphere immediately around them with an oily, black and bitter-tasting sheen. It nauseated her, making her wish she’d avoided the overly sweet Prime topping on her breakfast fruit.

Wulf rubbed her lower back as he placed his lips next to her ear. “You are unwell,
lubha
. You don’t need to question them. My brothers and I have enough empathic ability to tell if they are lying or not.”

The back rub calmed her nausea. Or, maybe it was just the warmth of Wulf’s love and concern that soothed her.

“I’m fine.” At his skeptical snort, she touched his chest with her. “Really, I’m fine.

Plus, we’re stronger together. We need to determine if there are
other
rebels aboard. I refuse to feel threatened on my—our—ship,” she whispered. “Although I feel that we can pretty much eliminate the men we just left in the dining area. I sensed nothing from any of them that was threatening to us.”

“I agree. I read the room through you. The sensory readings were amazingly clear through our connection,” he murmured.

“That is why I need to remain,” she said, making her point. “We’ll talk to these two, first—and then the rest of the crew, if needed.”

Wulf nodded and turned toward his brothers, who’d silently observed the whispered consultation. “Sit them up, Huw. Iolyn. Remove the blindfolds and gags.” Wulf’s brothers jerked the two rebels into sitting positions on Huw’s bed and removed the bindings from their faces. Two sets of gold-brown glares fixed first on her, then on Wulf.

It was all Mel could do not to step back from the force of their hatred. Fanatics, Maren had called the rebels. He was correct. If the rebellion was widespread, the Prime Elder Council would have a major problem on its hands. Hell, even a small rabid group of fanatics could do a lot of damage. History on Earth, Volusia, and on at least on a dozen other planets in the galaxy was proof of that.

“Too bad the Antareans didn’t finish you off, Wulf,” spat the one that Iolyn had told her was Ensign Donte Caradoc, a second cousin to the Caradoc brothers.

“I am not easy to kill, Donte,” Wulf replied, his tone acidly lethal. Mel hoped that Wulf never aimed that deadly tone at her. “And, what do you have to say for yourself, Regin? Does my cousin Mara know that you are a traitor to our people, to her family?”

“It’s you who are the traitor, Wulf.” Regin attempted to stare Wulf down, but failed.

After a minute of uncomfortable silence, he then muttered, “My mate knows nothing of this. Leave her out of it.”

“He’s telling the truth about your cousin Mara, Wulf,” Mel said quietly. “Regin does believe you are the traitor to the Prime and not him. Donte’s comments also rang with truth. Ask them your questions.” She sighed. “They are easy to read.” Donte and Regin stared at her, fear now coloring their aura in varying shades of darkness.

“What are you? A Terran witch?” Regin asked, his voice strained.

“She’s Prime—and a battle-mate,” Huw said. “Fully bonded to Wulf. Remember the legends of fully bonded battle-mates, Regin? Don’t bother lying. They’ll know.” The prisoners looked at one another. “We will answer no questions,” Donte replied, his mouth firmed in a stubborn line.

Donte would be surprised at how easy he was to read. His shielding was non-existent. His emotions were an open book. It was obvious that male Prime didn’t use their empathic abilities much, except during times of stronger emotions such as a battle or a siege. She’d have to work with her Prime crews now that they would be a part of Gold Squadron. There were other species in the universe that read emotions besides the Prime.

While they would never have her ability to detect nuances, they could do better on both interpretation and shielding with proper training exercises.

“An excellent idea, Melina. Now that the Prime have joined the Alliance, we will
meet more and more of these empaths.”

She smiled at him. She really liked that he could follow her reasoning. Small changes in an opponent’s reactions could reveal vital information under the right circumstances.

“Ask them your questions, Wulf. I will chime in as needed.”
Wulf nodded. Mel noticed that both prisoners watched them closely. She thought that they just might be a tad more frightened now than before. The battle-mate legends must be really something; she’d have to get some of them to read.

“I really don’t care if you answer or not, Donte,” Wulf said, “but I will ask my questions anyway.” He paced from one side of the bed to the other, pausing to look first at Donte, then Regin. “Besides you, are there any other men on board this ship that wish to harm my
gemate,
myself, or my brothers?”

Both men looked away from Wulf and down at their laps, remaining silent.

Mel concentrated on their emotions. The fear and hatred were still there, but now there was an element of triumph as if they knew something that the rest of them did not know.

Playing the odds, she voiced her opinion. “There is someone—or some thing—on this ship that could harm us, but I can’t tell exactly what. Yet.” Both men’s heads jerked upwards. Their widened gazes now fixed on her.

She moved to stand alongside Wulf, who placed his arm around her back and pulled into his side. Absently, he massaged her waist.

She stretched the odds even further and said, “I would check all the ship’s emergency systems as soon as possible.”

The prisoners’ emotional levels escalated through the ceiling. Wulf jerked next to her as if he’d been shot.

“Good work, my
gemate
. We now know they have sabotaged something on this ship.

That means we can probably expect another attack upon the ship before we reach Tooh
10. With damaged systems, we’d be sitting ducks.”

“What if we had decided to go to Cejuru Prime?”

“Donte or Regin would have just radioed their comrades and given them that intel.

Either way, the attack would have to come somewhere in more unpopulated areas of the
galaxy, away from the heavily trafficked space lanes where help would be more easily
accessed.”

Mel nodded.
“Makes sense.”

For the benefit of Huw and Iolyn, Mel said, “Wulf and I believe these two have sabotaged something on this ship,” she said with more calm than she felt. “I don’t get the impression it would destroy the
Galanti.
More than likely, they mean to incapacitate a system needed for our defense.”

Again the prisoners’ emotional levels shot up. Their heated reactions confirmed her speculations. Playing the odds had paid off. With a thorough testing of the systems, they should easily find what the traitors had done to the ship. She prayed to all the gods she knew that they would find and fix the problem before the traitors’ cohorts attacked the ship.

Pushing her luck and intuition to its limits, she added, “I would check weapons, security on docking bays, and possibly that beta-weapon you are testing. The rebels plan to attack the ship before we get to Tooh 10.”

“How can you know this?” Regin sputtered, ignoring the glare and harshly uttered

“Shut up, fool” from Donte. “The legends say nothing of a battle-mate reading minds of any other than her warrior-
gemat
.”

“The legends don’t know everything,” Wulf growled. “Iolyn, Huw, throw these two into solitary confinement after you check them thoroughly for any implanted communications devices or locators. Then have a ship-wide systems check run, checking it against the last maintenance done on Cejuru Prime. If anything has been altered since we left the home planet, I want it checked over manually. Crews of three, just in case we have any lingering traitors on board.”

Donte and Regin’s reaction to Wulf’s last words had Mel breathing a sigh of relief.

“There are no more traitors,” Mel said, smiling. “They just confirmed that, don’t you agree, my
gemat
?”

Wulf swept a warm hand down her back, hugging her to his side. “I agree,
gemate
lubha
.”

Iolyn and Huw hauled the two rebels to their feet, untying their legs so they could walk, then marched them to the doorway.

Dragging at Huw, Donte turned his head, shouting over his shoulder. “If they don’t kill you before you get to Tooh 10, our comrades will manage it eventually no matter where you go. Enjoy fucking your slut battle-mate while you can. She won’t live to procreate,” he snarled.

“Get him out of my sight before I kill him.” Wulf roared, his fists clenched.

Mel grabbed his arm as he attempted to move toward Donte.

“He’s out of here, brother.” Huw dragged Donte from the room. The door closed behind them.

Mel picked up one of Wulf’s clenched fists and rubbed it against her cheek, then kissed the whitened knuckles. “Just words, Wulf. Spoken from fear. You had to feel that.

He said what he said because of his own doubts that his comrades will be able to succeed.

We scared them out of the absolute sense of complacency the rebellion leaders instilled in them.”

“I know, Melina mine,” he said, his large body still shuddering from the effects of his anger, “but I can’t handle the thought of you being harmed. I just found you, if I—” Wulf’s words trailed off, but the emotions behind them were clear. Her big Prime warrior was afraid. That was not acceptable. Mel stepped into Wulf’s full embrace and placed her arms around his waist. With her head nestled on his chest, she absorbed his vitality, his strength while she decided how to assure him that she was going to live a long, long time.

“My darling warrior, I love the fact you love me so much. Even more, I love the fact you want to protect me. I’ve never had anyone in my life who cares as much as you.” She brushed a kiss across his marking and even through a couple layers of fabric, she could feel the answering heat. “I plan on being with you for the rest of our lives. And, whenever this fear of losing me hits you, just remember, I am an Alliance officer. I’ve been in danger every day since I joined the military. This is nothing new. And, now, with my increased empathic abilities and our ability to connect to each other’s minds, it will be much harder for the enemy to take either of us by surprise.” Mel held her breath, then smiled. He had taken her words to heart—but with their partnership so new, she imagined she would have to remind him of her strength—and love—from time to time. She’d been snatched from his life twenty-seven years ago; she understood his fears of having her taken from him again.

“Our connection is pretty amazing, isn’t it?” he said nuzzling her hair from her ear, then kissing it. “And I value your experience and training—never think that I don’t, but—

”

And there was always a “but.”

“—we still we must be very careful,” he finished, brushing a kiss across her forehead as if in apology for his over-protective alpha-ways.

“Hey, ask my old crew.” She reached up and traced the pulsing muscle along his jaw with her lips. “My middle name is ‘cautious’.”