Under His Command (8 page)

into him like a shot from a pulse gun, knocking the breath from his

lungs as he groaned and ejaculated.

It took a little while—he lost track of time in the aftermath of

what might be the most intense orgasm of his life—before he could

speak. “I’ve been abstinent too long,” he murmured, kissing her lips

with delicate pressure. “Or else you’re just too beautiful. Give me a

minute and we’ll start again.”

“And here I thought you admired my mind.” She laughed, a

breathless sound.

“I do.” His mouth curved in a wicked grin. “But keep in mind,

when my cock is inside you, your mind or your skill as a pilot isn’t

my area of focus. If you want to discuss politics, the arts, or anything

else cerebral I’m more than willing, but we both need to have our

clothes on.”

Under His Command

51

Peyton touched his jaw, the gesture almost tentative,

experimental. “You aren’t what you seem. Neither of you.”

He knew she referred to the rigid standards on which they based

military command of a ship the size of the one they were on at this

moment. Jake kissed her again and murmured against her lips, “Yes,

we are. It’s just that there’s more to us than what you see on a

professional basis.”

52

Annabel Wolfe

Chapter 5

The male standing in front of her simply looked impassive. Tara

Valmont fought the childish urge to stamp her foot. Of course,

considering the bruising headlong flight they’d made for their lives

trying to get off Epsilon, she wasn’t sure she was capable of really

stamping anything. She ached all over.

Commander Gallico had agreed to see her but not until after he

relinquished the bridge. The delay had chafed and the small office

where she’d been escorted made him seem even taller, more distant,

more cold and indifferent. Icy gray eyes looked at her with

dispassionate regard. “Argument,” he said in a very calm, detached

voice, “is futile, Dr. Valmont. Your sister chose this particular course

to handle the insubordination charge.”

“So you say,” Tara snapped back, unwilling to take the chair he’d

offered, since she already felt at a real disadvantage just because of

his size. Even for S-species, he was a tall male. “I’d like to hear that

from her, thank you. How do I know you didn’t take advantage of the

situation?”

Ebony brows snapped together. “Because I just outlined the

conversation I had with the lieutenant, ma’am. That’s how.”

Going so far as to call him a liar to his face—when she didn’t

know if he was one—was too bold even for her, but Tara very much

wanted to make sure Peyton was being treated well.

In a more conciliatory tone, she said, “Can you please put yourself

in my position, Commander? Not only is she my sister, but I doubt

she would be in this predicament if it wasn’t for me. I feel responsible

Under His Command

53

to a certain extent, and yet she is the one being punished after risking

her life. What possible harm can it do to just let me talk to her?”

“It is against the rules.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest.

“She’s confined to quarters. It’s that simple. My job is to enforce

regulations. When she commandeered that transport against direct

orders, she risked her whole career. When we get back to Minoa, I

have no idea if my superiors will applaud my decision to drop the

unauthorized appropriation charge or not. For all I know I’ll get

reprimanded as well.”

“She saved lives!” Tara gave up fighting the urge and paced

across the space. There was a virtual map of the galaxy they crossed

at that moment and she stared at the brilliant lines and symbols. She

turned back. “She saved the life of the son of the governor. Doesn’t

that count for something?”

“It seems to, since I put my neck on the line to give her the

lightest punishment possible.” His tone was dry. “If you are worried

over her well-being, I promise she’s fine. Now, if you’ll excuse me,

I’m a busy man.”

Not only was she dismissed, she was summarily escorted back to

her assigned quarters by two equally uncommunicative soldiers. Once

inside, she sank down on one of the chairs in the tiny recreation area

and morosely propped her chin on her fist. It wasn’t two seconds

before the light by the door flashed, indicating she had a visitor. With

a sigh she got up and went to scan the admittance panel.

Will Janssen stood outside, a frown on his face. He’d shaved, she

noticed, his chin clean and taut, and someone had given him a set of

clothes that weren’t singed and dirty from their precipitous flight

across a disintegrating planet. Tousled dark brown hair and very light

blue eyes gave him a boyish look, but Tara knew he was thirty. Under

his father’s administration he’d been in charge of the colony’s

governmental finances as chief officer, which was an important

position with or without his family prominence. It was also appointed

by the Universal Council, not his father. Will had still been on

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Annabel Wolfe

Epsilon trying to manage the last transfers of the assets of the laggard

colonists who refused to leave until the last minute. His determination

to do his duty had almost killed him.

They’d met socially a few times during her research stay on the

planet and she liked his mild-mannered personality and diffident air.

Their recent mutual brush with disaster seemed to have given them

some sort of natural camaraderie, though usually brainy quiet males

were not her type.

Without preamble, he asked, “Well?”

She stepped back and motioned him in, moving away to go back

and sit down. “Well nothing. Gallico won’t budge about letting me

see her. Bastard.”

Will trailed in and the door swished shut. “I see. I guess I’m not

totally surprised. From what I understand from talking to other

members of the crew, he’s pretty by the book.”

“Yeah.” Tara gestured at a chair. “Have a seat.”

“Was he actually a bastard?” He took the indicated spot and lifted

his brow in inquiry. “The common opinion seems to be he’s strict but

fair.”

“No, I guess he wasn’t.” She sighed and rubbed the stinging spot

on her cheek. The burn from a piece of flying volcanic cinder would

probably leave a small scar the ship’s physician who had treated her

injuries had informed her, but compared to what might have

happened, it was nothing. “He was just immoveable.”

“He and Naiad seem decent enough. I had a brief meeting with the

commander today. I needed to ask him for permission to use the

central communications system.” Will cleared his throat and looked a

little embarrassed. “I’m sure your sister is in good hands.”

Tara lifted her brows, unwillingly amused over his discomfort

with the subject. Most S-species males seemed to dwell on the subject

of sex a great deal of the time. The evolution of humans into a life

form with increased intelligence and physical strength had kicked the

sex drive up to the next level also. Without physical relief, the

Under His Command

55

aggression surfaced in other ways. She said wryly, “Yes, well, their

hands are the least of my worries.”

Her visitor actually blushed. “I wasn’t referring to…I mean—”

Tara took pity on him and interrupted, “Actually, I’m
not
worried.

They aren’t going to mistreat her, I know that. They are both

attractive, and neither of them could rise so high in rank if they

weren’t intelligent and even-tempered, so that’s not the problem. The

issue is, as usual, that I got her into this mess. I don’t really want to

wait a month to apologize.”

It was impossible to keep the self-recrimination out of her voice

so didn’t even try.

“I don’t see how this is your fault,” Will argued. “Your job

brought you to Epsilon. At the request of the Universal Council, no

less. How could you predict how fast the situation would

degenerate?”

“That was exactly what my job was
supposed
to be. I guess my

only excuse is I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t think anyone

has. But that’s beside the point. What happened is the usual simple

equation. I do something—sometimes impulsive—and Peyton has to

rush to the rescue. I’m three years older than she is. If it has to be one

of us helping the other out of a potential disaster, shouldn’t it be the

other way around?”

It was true. Visions of both of them being punished because Tara

had these wild ideas: the volcano experiment that erupted all over the

main living area of their home and lit the building on fire, the sailing

without permission that actually sank their father’s boat in the inner

lake of the First City—if Peyton hadn’t been such a good swimmer

they both would have drown that time—and there were other

incidents. It made her wince to think of how many.

“I don’t think there’s a formula for the dynamics of sibling

interaction. Look at me.” Her companion shook his head and a lock of

unruly hair fell over his brow. “My younger brother is in the

diplomatic ranks and rising fast. He’ll follow in my father’s footsteps

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Annabel Wolfe

without a doubt. He already is. I’ve always envied both of them their

easy confidence.” Will shrugged. “I just don’t have it. I’m much more

comfortable with numbers and abstract aspects of economic systems.

It’s boring, I know, to most people.”

“You’re obviously good at what you do or you wouldn’t have

been appointed.”

“Good at something boring is still boring.” His smile was rueful.

And that same smile was attractive. She really couldn’t

understand it. Oh, he was handsome because most S-species males

were good looking—the genetic engineering made sure of that over

the past generations—but he just wasn’t her type. Her life was

dangerous fault lines between tectonic plates, volcanic explosions,

and shifts in sun orbits.

There was little doubt she was rash, liked things unsettled, and

often spoke without thinking. The male sitting across from her was

meticulous, cautious, and liked his worlds ordered.

Yet…he
had
stayed on Epsilon even after the tremors started, the

cities began to collapse in piles of rubble, and noxious gases made

breathing both dangerous and almost impossible. His quiet courage

and calm had helped the small band of survivors send off the beacon

that had led Peyton through the storm and chaos so she could find

them.

Maybe they weren’t
that
different.

“Boring is hardly the right word to describe you.”

Did I just say that? What the hell? What a stupid time for a

flirtation.

A startled look spread over Will Janssen’s face at her tone of

voice, not so much the words.

“Anyway,” she went on quickly, “whether I meant to or not, I did

put my sister on the line.”

“On behalf of those of us who are still here because of it, thanks.”

Under His Command

57

“Yeah, well, I doubt Peyton is thanking me right now.” Tara stood

and moved toward the galley. “Do you want something to drink? I

think I do.”

* * * *

Ran Kartel read through the report a second time and then clicked

a button. With as little inflection as possible, he said, “So we have a

second problem.”

“Yes, we do.” Upright in his chair, his hands clasped loosely in

his lap, nonetheless Governor Janssen conveyed a sense of urgency

without moving a muscle. “Do you think I would have left an unstable

planet—with my son on it—if I didn’t think so? When the

evacuations began this was one of my real concerns. The idea Epsilon

is gone…” He trailed off and shook his head, his expression strained.

“No one could prevent that.” Ran still held the number of

casualties in his head and it made him feel ill. “By the stars, Jerald,

who could predict the scope of the impending disaster? The Minoan

government and even the Universal Council weren’t prepared. We

sent Dr. Valmont in but her initial reports didn’t indicate the severity

of the problem.”

“As sophisticated as we are, I think it is still impossible for us to

be prepared when something new comes our way. Before I left she

came to me and said she was uneasy about the escalation of the below

surface activity. According to her—and she is an expert—such rapid

disintegration is unique. That’s why things weren’t handled properly.

In my last communication with Will, he said it was chaos.”

“And now we have a renegade ship out there.” Ran tightened his

mouth into a thin line. “Full of prisoners.”

“Full of the worst convicts in the Interstellar Federation,” Janssen

corrected. “I came to Minoa to try to organize a secure way to

transport them. The lieutenant governor did his best when he realized

the planet was doomed, but since we’ve lost communication with the

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Annabel Wolfe

ship and they’ve obviously turned off their tracking signal, I think the