Taking Command (11 page)

The engines engaged, rocketing into space and knocking Shon off balance. Darcolm reached down and pulled a Rontox stiletto from his boot. Used for disemboweling an opponent, the fine edge of the small curved blade glinted in the light.

“Tarik!”

Tarik surged up as Darcolm slashed the blade downward, slicing deeply into Tarik’s shoulder and along his arm. Blood spewed from the wound. Terror shot through Shon. She aimed her blaster at Darcolm as he fought to deliver another deadly strike. Arm to arm, they struggled for control. In a brilliant maneuver, Tarik gained advantage, wrested the weapon, spun, and forced the blade deep into Darcolm’s side.

Shon squeezed the trigger. A blast of yellow energy slammed into Darcolm’s chest, and he crumbled to the ground.

Gripping his shoulder, blood oozing between his fingers, Tarik scrambled to the controls. “Evasive measures. Take us back through the Rincon.” He turned to Shon. “I can’t pilot. I’ve lost feeling.” His arm hung dead at his side.

“32D,” Shon screeched. “Go to the infirmary. Bring back everything you can find. Sutures, H2O gel. Neuro blockers. Bring me glue. I don’t care. We need to stop the bleeding.”

32D rushed from the room. Shon’s hands trembled as fear laced her blood as she took command of BioOne.

“BioOne, you’ve been through the Rincon. You can do it again.” They would have to take risks, traveling closer to the anomalies. “Those ships can’t overtake us.”

Tarik ripped his shirt and tied a tourniquet. “The ion energy field will disrupt navigation and sensors. The government ships will have the same disadvantage.” BioOne was smaller, could take more chances than the Tri’Neith ships.

When they’d come through the Rincon before, Shon had worried. Adrenaline slipped through her veins like burning ice. Tamping down the panic, she did exactly as Tarik instructed standing at the helm, but it was BioOne piloting the ship.

An explosion rocked the port side.

“Was that from the Rincon?” she asked Tarik, remembering the fire balls that had arched over the ship.

“No! Those fucking idiots are firing at us.” They fired again. “They aren’t just going to blow us up, they’re going to light up the whole fucking nebula.”

If the blast ignited one of the gas pockets, the chain reaction could decimate the Rincon. “We need to get out of here.”

A wave of energy crashed into BioOne. The ship spun, tumbling out of control. Tarik slammed into Shon. Gripping her arms around his waist, she braced him so he could use his good hand to gain control of BioOne’s navigation. “What the hell was that?”

“If I had to guess, only one ship is pursing us now.”

“Oh, no, your friends.”

“Don’t think about it.”

32D stumbled onto the bridge, arms overflowing with medical supplies, dropping items as she approached them. “As you requested.” She unloaded the pile into the captain’s chair. “How else may I be of service?”

Shon stumbled over to the chair, rifled through the supplies and grabbed sedation patches. She rushed to Darcolm. Nausea churned in her gut as she felt for a pulse. “He’s dead.” Dead. Her hands trembled and her mouth grew dry. Oh, god. She’d killed a man. Her gaze snapped to Tarik. He fought to stabilize the ship. “Darcolm is dead.”

And they were still alive. But Tarik was bleeding badly, and BioOne was giving them all she had.

Shon scrambled to the men BioOne still pinned to the floor and slapped the sedation patches onto their skin. Now that they were unconscious, they could be dealt with once they were safe.

“BioOne, all energy to navigation,” Tarik commanded.

BioOne transferred all energy to getting them the hell out of the Rincon.

Chapter Seven

BioOne emerged from the Rincon. Shon wanted to breathe easier, but her chest was tight and her stomach twisted into knots. “Tarik?”

“I know.”

The monitors were quiet. BioOne’s scanners continued to sweep both the Rincon and the surrounding space. Nothing. They were isolated, but for how long? “Where is the other ship?”

“I don’t know. Destroyed maybe? If they are smart, they won’t pursue at the same speed we traversed the Rincon. We need a plan.”

“First, I need to look at your arm.” Blood still seeped into the drenched tourniquet. “We should have bandaged you sooner.”

Tarik glided his hand over the controls.

“Tarik.” Plans could wait the few minutes it would take her to clean and seal the slash in his arm.

“It’s just a scratch.”

Shon found enough humor to laugh. They’d had this argument before.

“I’ve set the long range scanners to check for heat signatures of cloaked ships and to also watch the entrance of the Rincon. If the other ship makes it out, we need to know.”

She knew the fate of his men weighed heavy on his mind. “We would have felt a second explosion.” If the other ship made it out of the Rincon, perhaps some of his men would survive. “We don’t know what happened. They may not have been on the ships. They could still be on the planet’s surface.”

“Darcolm could’ve lied. They may already be dead.” His jaw clenched.

“Or he may not have taken them at all. Like us, perhaps some escaped.”

He shook his head. “He wouldn’t have left anyone around to foil his plans. If there are survivors, they’ll be on that government ship.”

“Then when that ship exits the Rincon—”

“—
if
the ship makes it out. BioOne is intuitive. Her reactions are faster.”

“The ship made it in. It can make it out. Now we sit and wait.”

Tarik slid the medical supplies to the floor and sat in the captain’s chair. Shon knelt next to him. She shuffled through the supplies picking out what she needed to mend his injury. With the burns on Tarik’s left side and the deep gash from the stiletto on his right, both of Tarik’s limbs were weak and damaged. “We need to find a place to lie low.”

Tarik needed a place to heal, and they needed to plan. She had a story to write. Protect BioOne, but still tell the truth about Darcolm and the Tri’Neith.

“I know of a trader, goes by the name of Ovar, who can help us unload our cargo,” he said, unwrapping the tourniquet.

With a sense of
déjà vu
, Shon cut his shirt from his body. “What do you mean? Our only cargo is two Tri’Neith soldiers.” 32D currently had them under guard in crew quarters. “And Darcolm.”

“Ovar’s not the nicest guy. If you know anything about the Kartonians, you know they are barbarians. Men aren’t his usual interest, but he owes me. And he also hates authority…except his own. A couple of government soldiers should be of some interest to him.” He flinched as she used the H2O gel to clean away the clotting blood.

“Can you trust him?”

“As long as he’s compensated. In the meantime, BioOne is regenerating. Our first priority is repairing her camouflage function. Once operational, we can risk travel. For now, we float among space debris for cover.”

“And Darcolm?”

Tarik’s mouth twisted, forehead pinched, and his eyes looked into the distance as if he wrestled with bittersweet memories. “We’ll dump him with space garbage.”

Shon quelled nausea as she pinched Tarik’s skin together and bound the wound with sealant. “And what about us?” Would he find a place for her to hide, or would he want her to stay on BioOne with him?

Cupping his palm beneath her chin, Tarik lifted her face. “You can’t go home.”

“I don’t have a home. I have a residence and I’m rarely there.”

“Always chasing the story.” He smiled.

“Always looking for where I belonged.” Keeping her gaze locked with his, she turned her head. “I want to stay with you.”

Drawing her closer, he slid a hand around to the nape of her neck and whispered, “I don’t want to let you go.”

Tarik sealed their mouths. Parting his lips, he invited her tongue to tangle with his. Her tummy tumbled and she whimpered. Heat flowed through her as his mouth worked magic against hers.

With a simple tug, the torn sheer fabric slipped from her shoulders. Tarik’s rough calloused palm cupped her breast, his thumb stroking her nipple. “Ovar will give us temporary protection, but we’re still vulnerable.”

“Vulnerable is good.” She rested her hands on his thighs, gripping the firm muscle.

“We stay with the ship.” Kisses rained along her jaw, down her neck, and onto the curve of her shoulder. “BioOne is still small. We’ll be alone.”

“Alone is good.” Shon dropped her head back. “The captain’s quarters are nice.”

“Listen, baby—”

“I like when you call me baby.” She raked her nails along his inner thigh until she reached the hard ridge of his erection. Nipples tightened and moisture slicked her pussy. An ache, deep in her core, wanted him, needed him. They were alive. They’d survived. For now, BioOne was safe. Together, they would find a place for the ship to exist.

He stopped kissing her to stare hard into her eyes. “Even if we discover Rodra and the others are alive, I won’t return.”

“You can’t trust anyone with BioOne.”

A small smile found his lips, and lines creased the corners of his eyes. He was bruised and battered. Saving BioOne had taken a toll physically and emotionally. “I trust you.”

“Enough to tell your story?”

“Yes, when BioOne is safe. When she can’t be discovered and we’re free to live without watching over our shoulder. Darcolm had clearly gone rogue. I don’t know what he told the Tri’Neith. How much do they know?” He sighed. “I don’t know what he told them about you.”

“Maybe they’ll assume BioOne was destroyed.”

He cocked a brow. “Would you? They’ll want proof of her demise…and mine.”

“That could take a long time.” She wiped a smudge of blood from his cheek. “We’ll have a lot of time.”

“Alone on the ship.” His gaze drifted lower. He circled her areola with the tip of his finger. “Just the two of us.”

Shon stood, tucked her thumbs into the low-riding waistband of the sheer pants and seductively shimmied them down her hips. “I’ll be in your way,” she said in a teasing tone.

“You have been since you came aboard my ship.” He braced his hands on her hips and maneuvered her between his wide-spread thighs. “Seems that I like you in my way.”

“You’ll be captain, and I’ll be your commander.”

“You don’t do well with following orders.”

She leaned over his lap, her breasts full and positioned in front of him. “You need a challenge.” She smiled, thinking of the other crew member aboard. “Good thing we have 32D on board…to follow your orders.”

Tarik groaned and rolled his eyes. “I’ll leave her programming to you.” He parted the closure of his pants. Long, thick, and hard, his cock unfurled, jutting upward from a nest of dark springy hair.

Shon climbed onto Tarik’s lap, straddling the outside of his thighs. “Oh, your arm.”

“Just a scratch.” He flinched as he angled her over his cock, nudged the head at her opening and slowly slipped into her hot, wet center.

Braced with her hands on his shoulders, she lowered onto his cock. She stretched, sucking him in and gloving tightly to his shaft. This was where she belonged, this pleasure with Tarik. As Tarik drilled into her core, Shon rocked her hips. Pleasure built, warming her. Tarik’s gaze locked with hers. Emotions welled in her chest as her body careened closer to release. He took command of her body with the same precision skill as he commanded BioOne.

A shudder ripped through her and her pussy contracted hard. She pitched forward, a cry of release on her lips. Liquid heat flowed through her as she milked his cock, holding him deep. She trembled through her orgasm.

Whispering her name, he locked his hands on her hips, anchoring her hard to his groin, and surged higher with a final thrust. Deep within her, his cock pulsed and throbbed. Breath blended, hearts beat in tandem as they became one. Tarik’s hands roamed over her back, along her ribs, and onto the curve of her ass. Soft kisses teased her flesh. She shivered, crushing her breasts to his chest, thrilled with the way he explored every inch of her.

For a moment, the room was silent. Her world seemed perfect. Tarik’s arms around her, his cock filling her, and the future undetermined.

A yellow glow emitted from BioOne’s control panel.

“Tarik, what is it?” Shon scrambled from his lap, fearful they’d been detected. “Tri’Neith? The other ship?”

Tarik strode to the controls. Two dimples creased the taut contours of his ass. Broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist. Scars crisscrossed the beautifully defined muscles of his back. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

“No, not an alarm. BioOne’s camouflage function is operational. Repairs to shields are complete. It’s time to go.”

Let the journey begin.

About the Authors

KyAnn Waters

Award winning and multi-published author KyAnn Waters lives in Utah with her husband, two children, and two dogs. She spends her days writing and her evenings with her family. She enjoys sporting events on the television, thrillers on the big screen, and hot scenes between the pages of her books.

Visit KyAnn at

www.KyAnnWaters.com

Grad Stone

Grad Stone lives in Utah where he enjoys whitewater rafting, skiing, biking, and spending time with friends and family.

To chat with KyAnn Waters, Grad Stone, and other Wild Rose Press authors of erotic romance, join us at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/thewilderroses.

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