Pale Stars in Her Eyes (7 page)

"I have yet to taste her, and I look forward to it, but having her sweet mouth on me would be like a fantasy come true, and no pun intended."

They both chuckled, and in the resulting silence, Ran murmured impulsively, “I want to be the one to impregnate her. I thought you should know, since I intend to go ahead and petition now."

For a moment, Ian was quiet, his gaze still on the window. “I sensed something special with the two of you the minute you touched her. Is this something you see, Ran?"

"Yes ... well, maybe. I'm having a little trouble with clear visions right now."

"Maybe?” Ebony brows shot up. “With you, there are usually few maybes. Are we talking about Septinium?"

"You feel it too, don't you?"

Very slowly, the other man nodded, his dark eyes unreadable. “I have a bad feeling in my gut. Death. It's as if I can smell it. I don't have your damned gift and I am glad of it, but I have good instincts when it comes to battle and it is as if a cold finger is running up and down my spine."

"That same skeletal finger invades my mind."

"We shouldn't go."

"No, probably not. There
will
be death. The question is ours or theirs."

"Theirs, certainly.” Ian looked grimly certain. “Even if we perish to the last man, theirs also. It's a promise."

"A dark as hell one."

"This is a dark mission."

"Except for the girl.” Ran gazed at her lovely face and the graceful lines of her half-nude form. “She's an unexpected ray of light."

"You want to breed with her, so I'd say you certainly do feel that way.” Ian cocked a brow. “What would happen if one of us also wanted to father a child with our lovely human?"

"You would have to wait your turn."

"You wouldn't object?"

"I am not allowed to claim her completely, you know that. Just the child.” By law, she belonged to the government. Her body could be loaned out for breeding, but with children born to captives, the babies were always put in the care of their S-species fathers. The mothers could be bred again to anyone who submitted for a human carrier and was approved.

"She couldn't carry my child.” Ian said it with quiet practicality. “I was so large my S-species mother had difficulties. As it is most crossbreed offspring average close to twice the size of a normal human child and the females have to give birth surgically. Even if their remarkable vaginas could stretch enough, their pelvic area isn't designed for our size. I would never consciously endanger her life."

Ran recalled clearly how slim her hips had felt in his hands, but the system had been in place for decades and most females carried the babies without too much trouble. “I am only average in height and weight for our kind. In my case, she and I should be able to breed successfully and without danger to her."

"And so quickly you have decided you want her to be the one to share your genes?"

"Yes.” It wasn't easy to explain, so he didn't try, but let the confirmation stand alone. “I'll send the official request tomorrow. The doctor can reprogram her microchip on the journey home."

After her capture and the subsequent physical examination and tests necessary to make sure she qualified for both sexual service and breeding, Jerra had a microchip inserted in her back just below her shoulder blade on the left side. The device controlled her hormonal levels to make sure she did not conceive during the course of her duties, or menstruate, which would be inconvenient. The embedded chip was permanent and would be used throughout her life to control her fertility. It could be reprogrammed in seconds, and when the mission was completed, she was already scheduled to be switched into a breeding cycle on their way home.

Ian still gazed through the window. “Wait until we're close to home to get her pregnant, if you don't mind. I'm sure Larik feels the same way."

Ran smiled wryly. “I thought somehow you both would ask me to delay the period when you wouldn't have any accessibility."

"Hell, yes.” Ian chuckled. “How could you blame us?"

Since he had never enjoyed sex so much, he understood their point of view.

He couldn't wait to see her start to swell with his child. During gestation, he was the only male allowed to be with her, and he intended to make the most of that time.

If he lived to see it.

The corridor was long, the lighting subdued, and Jerra felt a little self-conscious as she walked along. One on either side, Ran and Larik flanked her much smaller stature, and behind her, she could feel Ian's massive presence as he followed.

As an escort, she supposed it was probably fairly impressive.

She heard the music first, a faint wash of sound in the normally oppressive silence of the big ship, punctuated by a hint of laughter. When Ran scanned through and the door opened, she saw the large crowded room with a feeling of trepidation, but he took her arm and urged her through, and she stepped inside.

Instantly, almost everyone in the room scrambled to their feet, staring at her.

No, she realized, not at her, but behind her to where Ian towered over her diminutive human height. He said coolly, “At ease."

They relaxed, sank back down, and that was when their interested stares actually transferred to her. Through the sea of males, her entourage led her to a table and politely waited as she sat down. Immediately, a waiter arrived with several bottles and glasses, and slowly, the conversation and music resumed.

When they had suggested she hadn't left the room in weeks and asked if she cared to accompany them to the recreation area, she had jumped at the chance. But she hadn't thought about the fact it would be mostly soldiers, or that everyone would be curious to see the human female who was assigned to please the three most important men on the ship.

"Everyone is looking at me,” she muttered, taking a sip from her glass.

"Of course.” Ran looked amused, the low lighting gilding his chestnut hair and handsome face. “Males like to admire lovely females and you are more noticeable than most."

"We're showing you off,” Larik informed her with his irresistible grin. “It's a bit arrogant of us, I suppose."

"My officers claim I'm more relaxed than usual.” Ian poured himself a glass of the sweet wine she had grown to like. “Now they will know why."

"Why aren't there any other women here?” She glanced around, still saw she was the center of attention, and flushed.

"There are a few S-species female officers.” Ran looked bland, lounging in his chair as he gazed at her. “The captives don't normally have time to relax often. Remember, there are only three of us and we keep you busy enough."

It was true. She rarely had much time to herself and though she had lost track of the passing days, Ran had told her they had been out now two of the three months it would take to get to their destination.

"You said it was getting monotonous to stay in our quarters all the time.” Larik generously filled his glass.

She had, but, despite the unfamiliar music playing and the clink of glasses and low hum of voices, it was still another room filled with men who looked at her with only one thing in mind. “I admit I didn't expect to be of such interest."

"Speaking of female officers, here comes Liale, Colonel.” Larik looked past her shoulder, and Jerra fought the urge to turn and look, held in place by the sudden change in Ian's expression. After months of sharing quarters, meals, and her body with each one of them, she had begun to know them quite well individually. She hated to admit Lieutenant Herad was right about anything, but she had grown to feel honored to be chosen for the assignment given to her. Though they were not at all the same, her three lovers were all inherently
nice
, in and out of bed. They enjoyed her, but truthfully, only with the provision she enjoyed them, too. The giving of pleasure was a mutual journey, and she was not just the convenient receptacle for their lust.

In her mind, she had categorized them more than once. Larik was completely intellectual, yet constantly irreverent, and he considered sex light-hearted play, often tickling and teasing her, and they laughed together frequently even in bed. They had become fast friends also in a platonic way, and played games in the afternoons, usually squabbling over the results. He loved to make the most outrageous sexual wagers on the outcome, and she had learned to not press her luck, for with his mathematical inclinations, he could figure the odds and bet with uncanny accuracy.

Ian Helm was the opposite, serious, straightforward, and extremely capable. He rarely smiled, but she found when he did, it was compelling and lightened his normally stern expression. As a lover, he was careful, surprisingly gentle for such a large man, and often he liked to indulge in long periods of foreplay before the actual act of sexual intercourse.

As for Ran Kartel ... well, Jerra found she thought of him the most, and knew a different excitement and enjoyment in his arms. He was naturally sensitive due to his special gift, and she experienced not only heightened pleasure when they made love, but also an almost disturbing sense of belonging. The way he kissed and held her made her feel not just wanted, but cared for, and she had the dismaying feeling she was falling in love with the handsome diplomat even though she tried to maintain a neutral distance. There was something about his self-assurance, his quick, seductive smile, and the weight of the responsibility he wore so easily that made him fascinating to an unsettling degree.

"Mind if I join you?” A female voice, husky but unquestionably higher in pitch, interrupted her reverie, and Jerra glanced again at the sudden impassive expression on Ian's face.

Ran nodded. “Hello, Captain Liale. Please, have a seat."

"Thank you.” The new arrival sank into a vacant chair. She was like most S-species and very tall, probably almost as tall as Ran and Larik. Shoulder-length honey-colored hair brushed her shoulders and she had crystalline gray eyes. Her uniform tunic did not hide the fact she was statuesque in build, not just her height, but in her impressive breasts and the full flare of her hips.

Jerra was not gifted with any modicum of Ran's talent for reading the emotions of others, but in this case, she did not need it. The S-species officer looked at her and it was easy enough to read the emotion in her crystal clear eyes. Since the dislike couldn't be personal, Jerra assumed it had something to do with one of the males sitting at the table with them, and it was not difficult to guess which one.

Ian cleared his throat, but it was Ran who said quickly, “This is Jerra, Captain."

The female officer smiled, but there wasn't much warmth to it. “Yes, I know. She is rather hard to miss by both her attire and the staring eyes directed this way. Who can blame them, I suppose, for it isn't everyday one of the human females is brought into the officer's recreation area. In fact, it never happens."

Larik murmured in his easy way, “There isn't a rule against it, though."

"No.” Captain Liale inclined her head and accepted a glass from one of the silent but efficient waiters. “I suppose there isn't, though this particular one might cause a small riot. They tell me she isn't surgically altered in any way. It is a bit hard to believe with those tits."

"I am sitting right here.” Jerra kept her voice mild, but she wasn't about to be discussed like an inanimate object. “I'm pleased to meet you, Captain. It's pleasant to see another female after being surrounded exclusively by males so far this journey."

The show of spirit made the beautiful captain finally meet her eyes. “I am sure it has been quite a ...
trial
."

Ian blew out his breath at the silky sarcasm in her tone and his eyes glittered. “Captain."

The word was a warning, and Liale smiled thinly before picking up her drink and taking a sip. “Don't worry, I will behave myself, Colonel. I was merely commenting on her exceptional beauty, but it isn't necessary, is it, for you have already noticed."

Jerra glanced at Ran uncertainly at the acid tone of the comment, but he seemed more amused than anything, and so did Larik. It was Ian who looked profoundly uncomfortable, and she never would have thought to see his normal formidable composure shaken.

It was her turn to have her composure rattled because Ran reached over and took Jerra's hand, twining his fingers with hers and—very publicly—lifting it to his lips. He gently kissed her fingers. “I've certainly noticed."

It seemed like the hum of voices faded away as Jerra looked into his green eyes and all at once, she felt completely breathless. The affectionate gesture also seemed to take the jealous captain by surprise, for she suddenly found a great interest in her drink and she looked away.

If Jerra hadn't already been in love with him, she would have fallen into that particular abyss and gladly at the soft light in his eyes.

God help her ... she was lost.

Though they had barely just arrived, he stood then, and since he still held her hand, pulled her to her feet. “We're going back."

Larik laughed, his blond hair gleaming in the subdued light. “I take it Ian and I need not rush our evening."

"Stay out as long as you like.” Ran grinned back. He inclined his head. “Good evening, Captain Liale. I'm sorry to leave so abruptly, but—"

Dryly, she interrupted, “I think I understand your sudden urge to depart, Ambassador.” She glanced at Ian, and for a moment, her expression was full of unguarded longing. “Believe me, I understand."

What was it about her?

It was too much to try and decipher their lovely captive's intangible draw, but it existed, and over the past month, he had found himself sinking deeper and deeper.

Sinking deep, yes. It was exactly what he wanted to do. Between her legs, in the wet, hot heat he knew would consume him with perfection. Maybe it was the news he'd received that morning, but he felt a sexual hunger like he never remembered.

"My legs are not as long as yours. Can we slow down a little?"

The amused but very real protest made Ran realize he was striding down the hallway and practically dragging Jerra with him. Her scantily clad body looked small and graceful in the artificial light, and he wondered why the hell he'd ever thought he would be comfortable letting a battalion of soldiers gawk at her near nakedness. Sharing her with Larik and Ian was hard enough. He slowed down and abruptly swept her up into his arms. “Sorry. This will be faster."