Under His Command (9 page)

worst has happened.”

Ran rubbed his temple, thinking furiously. “Sometimes we suffer

for being too humane, don’t we? He felt the obligation to save their

lives by making sure they weren’t left to certain death in a prison on

an exploding planet, and now they’re apparently free.”

“They’ll have slaughtered the crew of the Serpentine.” The

somber words fell heavily. “These are brutal criminals, Ran, none of

which had any chance of ever being released from incarceration.

What has happened is exactly what I feared. I came to Minoa to

arrange a full military supervision of their removal to a new facility.”

“What you’re saying is they aren’t going to be taken back easily.”

There were times when Ran felt the weight of his responsibility as

governor of the ruling planet keenly. Minoa wasn’t his only concern,

since he also sat on the Universal Council.

“That is precisely what I’m telling you.” Janssen sat, tight-lipped

and stern on the opposite side of the desk. “You know the Epsilon

facility was the most secure of any universal prison. If the planet

hadn’t fallen out from under it, it still would be. As much as I hate to

say it, there isn’t any time to waste and you do have a military ship in

the vicinity, Ran.”

“Gallico and his crew. Damn it, they’ve been out a long time

already. Besides, though they have a full crew, there are no combat

troops, Jerald. How am I supposed to suggest they peacefully take a

ship full of murderous thugs? If”—he lifted a finger for emphasis—

“they can find the damned thing anyway. We have no signal.”

“They left with plenty of fuel, bound for Gamma 5. So, we do

have a general idea of the Serpentine’s original course. Send Gallico

after them now. We only lost contact less than twelve hours ago. They

should still be in the area.”

Ran hated the volatile situation, but then again, he did need to act

and there was little time for long meetings to decide what to do. He

nodded.

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59

“I don’t think they should try to take the ship,” Janssen said in an

unemotional voice. “Boarding it would be suicide.”

“Are you suggesting we destroy it?” The idea was hard to accept.

Ran argued, “We don’t know the crew is dead. Minoa doesn’t kill its

own soldiers, Jerald. Maybe we’re just having a communication

glitch.”

“No communication at all and their signal off? Come on, Ran.

We’ve been friends a long time. Tell me the truth, do you really think

this is a communications error?”

He didn’t. He sensed there was something dark out there…the

feeling had plagued him all day. Sometimes his psychic abilities

allowed him to see the problem clearly, and sometimes he just got a

vague sense of foreboding. In this case, he just thought it was what

happened to Epsilon lingering. Ran let out a breath. “I’ll contact

Gallico and brief him on this latest development.”

Hollow-eyed, Governor Janssen gazed him. “Tell the commander

to not risk direct contact with these rogue males in any way if it is at

all possible.” After a moment he added quietly, “I care about every

life, but please understand, my son is on Gallico’s ship. I almost lost

Will once already.”

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Annabel Wolfe

Chapter 6

Peyton resisted—barely—the urge to move faster. Her hands

braced on the chest of the male below her, she closed her eyes at the

sheer pleasure as she lifted up and slid down with deliberate tight

control. The muscles of her inner thighs quivered and a suppressed

moan stuck in her throat made it hard to breathe.

It was a battle of wills and she was determined to win.

Well, maybe.

This position did interesting things to her entire body. She could

feel her breasts shift with each upward and downward glide on the

hard cock impaling her, the slick sensation of penetration evoking

tingles of pleasure, and being able to look into Kel’s smoky eyes was

almost as mesmerizing as the dual motion of their bodies as they

fitted together. Dark glossy hair spilled across the linens of the bed

and his skin looked bronzed in the artificial light, a film of sweat

glistening across his muscular shoulders.

Then he made the winning move. His hands, spanning her hips

and helping her rhythm, slid inward and one of his thumbs rotated

over her clit, pressing in just the right way…

All choice vanished. Rapture rolled over her in waves, making her

body quake and she collapsed downward in a sprawl across his hard

chest as Kel groaned and lifted his pelvis so she was filled with every

inch of his erection as he pumped his release into her contracting

passage.

Shared ecstasy hung them in the shattering moment, suspended,

aloft, together.

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61

It was spectacular, but not the best part, she’d discovered. In the

past days she’d found the commander had an interesting trait she

doubted anyone would believe existed under his unapproachable

exterior.

He liked to cuddle. Well, perhaps cuddle was an incongruous

word when applied to someone formidable like Kel Gallico, but he

seemed to enjoy holding her close, kissing her softly in the aftermath

of sexual interaction, running his fingers through her hair, and quite

often he held her hand as he slept. He was an impetuous sexual

partner but a tender lover. What’s more, she was beginning to get him

to open up a little and talk, not an easy task. Jake loved to laugh, to

tease, making sex a game—albeit a pleasurable one. Kel was the

opposite. Intense, involved, passionate and generous in bed, but

guarded when it came to his personal life.

She liked Jake Naiad very much. What she felt for the male

currently cradling her sated body in his arms was something quite

different. Her attraction to Kel had been there from the moment she

was assigned to the ship and was first introduced to its chief officer.

Writing it off as a purely physical reaction had been easy at first, but

she had the sinking feeling after the next three weeks were over and

her time served, she was going to be left with a dilemma like she’d

never faced in her life.

There was chemistry between them that wasn’t just male to

female sexual interest. She was becoming involved.

Peyton lifted her head and smiled lazily. “You were right. I think I

like being on top.” A languid sweep of her hand indicated their

position with her still sprawled across his hard chest. “It feels

different.”

Kel brushed a curl off her shoulder in a feather caress. A faint

smug masculine smile curved his lips. “Let me get this straight. You

just said I was right about something, didn’t you, Lieutenant

Valmont? I’ll have to note it in the ship’s log.”

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Annabel Wolfe

“You aren’t
always
wrong, sir,” she said in a superior tone,

fighting a laugh.

“I’m glad to hear it.” He tugged her back down, his hand cradling

her nape, bringing her mouth to his. The kiss was long and leisurely in

the wake of vigorous lovemaking, his tongue making a lazy

exploration of her mouth while he cupped one cheek of her bare ass

with his other hand, gently squeezing. Her nipples were still tight and

pressed against his damp chest and her breasts felt full and taut.

Kel rolled to his side, not breaking their intimate position with his

still semi-rigid shaft still inside her, one brawny leg settling over her

thighs, effectively holding her immobile.

Not that she minded, Peyton thought hazily as his mouth lifted

away. Being trapped under a naked and still partially aroused Kel

Gallico? Sign her up.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, touching her cheek with the

backs of his long fingers.

“Thank you,” she whispered, the compliment moving her. Before

this moment, he’d commented he found her attractive, but the

sincerity in both his voice and the look in his silver eyes were

touching.

“I noticed you.” The words were said with a quiet reluctance that

was obvious, coming out slowly. “I’m not supposed to even think

about any of the female members of my crew in anything but a

professional way, but I broke that rule long before you defied me and

made that ill-advised mission to Epsilon.”

The admission was huge for someone who prided themselves on

rigid conformation to regulations at all times. For a moment she had

no idea what to say.

“If you thought I didn’t also notice you, you aren’t very observant,

Commander.” Peyton rubbed his shoulders, the hard feel of him

against her inducing a languorous desire despite her recent explosive

orgasm.

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63

“Why is it you manage to sneak criticism of my judgment into

most comments, Peyton?” He kissed her throat, his mouth lingering

on the spot where her pulse raced. “It’s damned irritating.”

“You don’t feel irritated.” She deliberately clenched her inner

muscles. “You still feel…hard.”

In response, he went still and briefly closed his eyes. “I do

suppose one condition outweighs the other at the moment.”

“Hmm, show me.”

The challenge might have been a mistake because he flipped her

on her back so fast she gave a small gasp of surprise and then sucked

in a breath as he began to thrust and withdraw. In and out, fast,

uncontrolled, wild. Peyton clung to his biceps, feeling the tension in

his muscles, the raw need in every movement. She matched him,

lifting her hips into the piston motion of is lower body, accepting but

also taking for herself.

Her climax crashed in fast, her already sensitized body arching,

shuddering in ecstasy as wave over wave of sensation swept her

away. When it ebbed, a second followed and she cried out in protest

of the excess, rapture taking the breath from her lungs in a prolonged

exhale as she shuddered.

It wasn’t until the third time that Kel joined her, his low groan of

satisfaction ringing through the sleeping chamber.

Replete and languid in his arms afterwards, she touched his silky

hair, the contrast of texture with the hard, honed lines of his body

interesting.

Actually, everything about him was interesting to her.

“Has there ever been anyone special?” she asked, the personal

question maybe none of her business, but at the moment, curled naked

in his embrace, his sperm on her thighs, it felt like she could ask it.

For a long moment, he was silent. Then he said wryly, “Can I

pretend to misunderstand the question?”

His sense of humor was so understated it surfaced more often than

people realized. Peyton loved the subtle nuances of his infrequent

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Annabel Wolfe

smiles also, like at this moment when he looked almost boyishly

chagrined. She playfully ran a finger down his damp chest and lifted

up on one elbow enough to look into his eyes. “That sort of cowardice

isn’t like you, Commander.”

“Ah, using a psychological approach by issuing a challenge, are

we? What a surprise.” He cocked an ebony brow. “Very well, I’ll

answer it. No, there’s been no one special enough in my past to ever

make me regret moving on.”

She hesitated to ask more, but then gave an inner shrug. If she

didn’t ask, she knew he wouldn’t volunteer any information. “I know

your career is important to you, but surely you’ve thought

about…other things.”

Something flickered in his eyes. “I assume you mean a permanent

mate, a family. What about you, Peyton? Have you ever thought

about ‘other things’?”

Before the Epsilon incident and her subsequent punishment—if it

could even be called that—she could have said honestly she hadn’t

except in the most abstract of ways. Like him, her career was the

driving force in her life. But, as they were now, the pleasurable sated

post-coital glow aside, treacherous thoughts of sharing more than just

the next few weeks with him were in the back of her mind. It was the

intimacy, she excused herself. His skillful touch, the tenderness he

always showed, the persuasive power of his kiss.

Falling in love with the austere Commander Gallico would be a

grave mistake.

She hoped she hadn’t already made it.

In a faint voice, she asked, “Can I pretend to misunderstand the

question?”

* * * *

“What are you doing back here?” Jake turned and looked at him

with censure. “You’ve only been off the bridge a few hours.”

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65

“Peyton’s asleep.” Kel could see still picture her prone form, the

graceful curve of her back, one slim arm at her side as he eased away,

the other hand tucked under her cheek, the fingers curled like a child.

Only she wasn’t a child, her lissome form naked and gleaming in the

indirect light, long lashes against high cheekbones. “I wasn’t so

fortunate. Any sign of anything?”

“You know I’d alert you no matter what you were doing.” Jake’s

mouth didn’t twitch with the usual humor. Instead he looked grave.

“Nothing.”