Amorous Overnight (22 page)

Shauss’s eyes grew sharp.

Jasmine flinched and reached for his hand.

Kellen sighed.

Monica closed her eyes. “Oh shit, Shelley, what did you do?”

Shelley’s stomach churned. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

“It takes more than one person to conduct a conversation,” the minister said coldly. “Monica, if you had concerns about the nature of my relationship with Hastion, why did you not bring them directly to me?”

For once, it seemed Monica’s smart mouth wasn’t racing ahead of her brain. She looked back at him for a long time before saying, “I’m sorry, Father, you’re right. I should have come to you. I knew you wouldn’t force him, but I should have made certain you were aware of his submissive nature.”

“Of course I’m aware of it,” Cecine said impatiently. “Why do you think I selected him?”

“With all due respect, Minister,” Kellen said, “as her primary bondmate and the commander of this vessel, I believe Monica should have come to me with her concerns and let me determine the proper course of action.”

Monica gave him a sidelong look. “I can talk to my own father, Kellen.”

“I agree with the commander, Monica,” Cecine said. “Males are ruled by reason rather than emotion, and we act on the basis of fact rather than idle gossip and foolish speculation. He could have assured you your concerns were groundless and saved us all this foolishness.”

Shelley’s eyes widened as Monica’s narrowed. That was
so
not the thing to say to her, especially after she’d been so reasonable.

“There are none so blind as those who will not see,” Monica said in a low voice.

Nobody spoke. Waiting for the other shoe to drop, no doubt. Everyone else must think the same thing she did, that Monica’s cryptic statement was merely the springboard for an impending tirade.

Apparently it wasn’t.

“That’s a very profound sentiment, Monica,” Cecine finally said.

She raised a sardonic brow at him. “Coming from such an idle, foolish female, you mean.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth.”

“I’m sorry, I must have misheard you then.”

He looked at her sharply. “Indeed.”

After a long moment, he glanced around at each of them. “As to Ensign Hastion—not that it’s anyone’s business but our own—he and I have a formal agreement in place specifying the exact nature of the relationship between us. He is in no danger from me or anyone else.”

“If that’s true, why did Ensign Mikal use an illegal hold to give him two black eyes?” Shelley challenged.

Monica gasped. “Why, that miserable little—”

“The ensign claims to have dealt with Mikal, Monica, and I will show him the respect he is due by believing him. I expect everyone else to do the same,” Cecine said with a warning look at Shelley. “Understood?”

She crossed her arms. “Fine.”

Shauss stared at her through narrowed eyes. “You confronted the minister because you thought he’d assaulted Hastion.”

“Yes,” she said in a low tone, “and Hastion’s furious at me too. But I’d do it again if I thought the minister was hurting him in any way,” she added with a defiant look at the minister.

“Ms. Bonham,” Cecine growled. “If you’re wise, you will return to your quarters and stay there until I no longer feel the urge to spank you.”

He didn’t have to tell her twice.

That afternoon, while the babies napped and Tara and Janelle played board games with the other recruits in the atrium, Shelley sat on the couch under the flare window, watching the unmoving stars. Now that she’d had a chance to think about it, she felt truly terrible. Why in God’s name had she been so willing to believe the worst of Minister Cecine, especially after all he’d done for her and her parents?

Yes, she was uncomfortable and self-conscious knowing he’d had a hand in issuing her probe, but that was no excuse. No matter how invasive it felt, he’d done something
nice
for her. Again.

God, was it the envy factor? She did find both him and Hastion disconcertingly hot, and knowing they were doing each other made her feel kind of pouty and left out. Which was ridiculous because she had no claim on either of them and never would. But she couldn’t help it—she knew enough about them both to want them. Both. Together, apart, any way she could get them.

And that night in his living room—in his arms—she’d thought maybe Cecine wanted her too. The memory of his unbreakable hold still sent shivers through her.

She frowned. This morning he’d called her chunky ass delectable. Did he really think that?

Part of her said,
Of course he does, you moron. He wasn’t exactly in the mood to flatter you.

But the other part, the self-conscious, insecure part, said,
Why would he? You’re short and fat and basically useless to a Garathani male. He’s just trying to get to you the way Mark did.

But what would he have to gain by making her think he found her attractive? It still made no sense.

Unless he wanted her babies.

Her stomach flipped at the thought. She hadn’t forgotten the way he’d looked at Kallie in the infirmary right after she was born, the way he’d kissed her head. It had scared her then. Maybe it should still scare her. He’d certainly managed to work his way into the twins’ good graces over the last few months. Both of them went to him as easily as they did Hastion.

“Oh stop!” she said out loud. Cecine was the most powerful man in the universe, and possibly the busiest. Plus, he already had two sons and a daughter of his own. Why would he want her kids?

“Shelley,” said Empran, “Ensign Hastion requests an audience with you.”

Shelley straightened. “Let him in, please.”

“Affirmative.”

As she stood up, the door opened. Hastion waited in the corridor, wearing a tentative smile and carrying a petite bouquet of daisies.

There were florists in space?

“May I come in?” he asked.

Her heart pounded. “Of course.”

When the door closed behind him, he held out the flowers. “For you, Shelley.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did. Words can’t express how sorry I am for my behavior earlier. However erroneous your conclusions might have been, you were very courageous to defend me the way you did, and I was ungrateful and childish.”

Bursting with relief, she said, “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I should have talked to you first, I guess, but I just lost my head in the heat of the moment. Will you forgive me?”

“If you’ll forgive me.”

She stuck out her hand. “It’s a deal.”

He took it, but instead of shaking, he leaned down and kissed the back of it. “Thank you.”

“Thank
you
.”

He stood there looking at her for a long moment, still holding her hand. Then he grinned sheepishly. “Is your offer to rescue my hair still open?”

She laughed. “Ah, so that’s why you brought me flowers.”

“Actually, my research indicated that Terran men express penitence by offering flowers to their—to the females they’ve offended, and I desperately wanted to express penitence.”

To their
what
? What had he almost said?

Though curiosity was killing her, she said, “Well, you’re doing a fine job even without the flowers. Let me put these in some water and I’ll get my scissors.”

After she’d popped the cheery white blooms into a cup and set them on her bedside table, she dug scissors and a comb out of the beauty kit she’d grabbed from home.

“These might not be very sharp,” she told Hastion as she returned to the sitting area. “I haven’t used them in years.”

“I’m sure anything you do will look better than this.”

Shelley looked around at the overstuffed couch and chairs. “Hmm, I always did this at Mom’s kitchen table, but I don’t have any dinette chairs.”

Hastion promptly knelt and sat back on his heels. “Will this do?”

The sight of him on his knees, peering up at her from under his long, dark lashes, squeezed the air from her lungs. God, he was so beautiful.

“Great,” she croaked.

Clearing her throat, she stepped behind him and started combing through the thick mess. It reminded her of overgrown grass, spiky and uneven, yet soft as velvet. Once she’d determined the natural lay of the land, she went to work combing up rows between her fingers and trimming off the excess. It looked as if he’d hacked up from the bottom, leaving the longest patches on top. He was lucky he hadn’t sliced off an ear.

“I can keep it longer on top if you’d like,” she said.

“Whatever you think is best.”

When she moved to trim around his ears, she noticed his eyes were closed. “You’re very trusting.”

“You could hardly make it look worse,” he replied lazily. “And the tugging on my scalp is very enjoyable. I might have to keep my hair short from now on just to experience this regularly.”

“How come you don’t have stripes like Shauss and Pony Boy?”

“Pony Boy?”

“Ensign Holligan.”

Hastion shrugged. “Why do you have curls when Monica and Jasmine don’t?”

“Ah.”

She moved in front of him and sifted through his hair to make sure she hadn’t missed any strays. The sides lay nicely but the top stood up like a bottle brush. A soft, inviting bottle brush.

“You said you would have asked Jasmine to do this, but…”

He opened his eyes. “I’m ashamed to say I’ve been avoiding her.”

“Why?”

After a long hesitation, he confessed, “Because where she is, there her mates often are, and I am…” He sighed heavily. “It shames me to say this, but I’m envious of what they have.”

“What do they have?”

“Love,” he said simply. “They all love each other. Even Shauss and Tiber.”

She blinked before studiously resuming her search for stray hairs. “Now that surprises me. I knew they were lovers, but I guess it didn’t occur to me that they were actually in love.”

“Shauss is an intensely possessive male, and very protective. He would not subject Tiber to the petty cruelty of others by displaying his affection. He is all too aware that males often react maliciously to things they do not understand.”

Shelley dropped the scissors and comb onto the couch and circled him, brushing clippings off his shoulders. Presumably the pad would consume them. “Is that what happened to your face? Someone found out about your arrangement with the minister and gave you a hard time about it?”

“This particular male gave me a hard time long before I cohabitated with the minister,” he said lightly. “I didn’t tell you that to make you feel sorry for me. I simply wanted you to understand why I came to you instead of Jasmine.”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me. I’m glad you came.”

“As am I.” He caught her hand and rubbed the back of it with his thumb. “I…like you very much, Shelley.”

Her heart did another barrel roll in her chest. The look in his serious blue eyes said so much more than
like
, and God knew she so much more than liked him.

The moment stretched, and she kept waiting for him to end it. Instead, his gaze grew slumberous as he watched her.

Suddenly breathless, she licked her dry lips and his gaze zeroed in on them.

“I’ve never kissed a female,” he said.

The bottom dropped out of her stomach, and the empty place between her legs set up such a clamor her knees almost buckled. “Not even the woman you did the demonstration with?”

“She didn’t wish to kiss me. Too personal, she said.”

“Do you wish to kiss
me
?”

“I most definitely do.”

That was all the invitation she needed. She threw her arms around his neck as he knelt up and wrapped his around her waist, and their mouths crashed together in a frenzy. His opened at once and she felt him shudder as she tried to devour him whole, sucking and biting at his luscious lips and diving between his teeth in search of his tongue.

Holding her tight, he maneuvered until he sat with his back against the couch and Shelley straddled his lap.

Yes!
Without relinquishing his mouth, she rose on her knees and ground her crotch against the bulge of his cock. He seized the cheeks of her ass with both hands and squeezed roughly, drawing a high whine from her.
Want, want, want!

He pulled away and let his head fall back on the cushion, gasping for breath. “Fuck!”

“God, yes, let’s do it!” Shelley dragged her open mouth down his smooth throat, unable to keep herself from lapping at his skin. “You taste so damn good,” she muttered, tearing at the tab of his suit so that she could get to more of him.

His hands got in her way. “Shelley, we cannot.”

She grabbed his wide wrists and pinned them against the couch, grinding her crotch against him harder. “Why not?” she demanded. “I want it, you want it.”

“You delivered young less than half a year ago,” he gasped, thrusting up into her.