Victorious Star (7 page)

Victoria was too terrified of the cruel delight in his expression not to answer. “Yes, sir.”

He stepped between her splayed thighs. “Lie back and put your hands behind your neck.”

Victoria obeyed without question then felt his hands cup her ass and lift. He fitted himself back into her sore ass and she groaned. He had stretched her wide enough to make his reentry far easier, but she was still quite sore, and he was still very hard.

He came down over her, framing her as he rested on his elbows. “Keep your eyes open and on me,” he said with pitiless determination. Then he thrust.

Shoved forward by the impact, her breasts and the rings on her nipples rocked. His thrust also put direct pressure on her ringed clit. Ferocious pleasure burned from all three rings. She gasped and arched under him.

There was no escaping the exultant hunger burning in his eyes.

His thrusts increased in speed and strength, forcing her to lock her ankles behind him as he fucked her ass without mercy.

The brutal pounding drove Victoria hard and fast to the edge of a climax she dared not reach for. This time, her moans and thrashing were in protest against her body’s demand for release.

He slowed his thrusts, and his eyes narrowed to slits. “You’re resisting. Good.” He leaned down and his tongue lapped at an engorged nipple.

Victoria hissed and arched under the burn of terrible and cruel delight.

He raised a brow and his lip curled. “Very good, very obedient.” He leaned up from the desk and jerked off his shirt, throwing it across the chamber. Captain Ravnos’s skin was pale gold and as beautifully sculpted as a fine-honed weapon. And just as deadly.

He came back down over her with a bloodcurdling smile. “This time, no mercy.” His mouth took her nipple, sucking with torturous greed as he fucked her.

Victoria couldn’t stop her gasping whimpers.

Eyes narrowed in icy concentration, he pinched and rolled her other nipple while grinding his hard cock deep in her ass.

Victoria bit back a scream, fighting the fire that threatened to burst in her core.

He increased his thrusts, riding her hard and fast with punishing force while continuing his agonizing suckling.

Ravening climax roared, pushing Victoria to the excruciating edge. She threw back her head and screamed in denial.

Ravnos raised his head from her breast, his face contorted with feral urgency. He closed his eyes briefly and groaned, then grabbed her hips and thrust deep, holding her there. “Now. Cum now.”

Victoria’s back arched as the breath closed in her throat. She exploded in a fireball of convulsing climax and shrieked.

He made a gasping cry and thrust, then thrust again. His cock throbbed deep in her ass as he filled it with jet after jet of hot spunk.

Barely conscious, Victoria panted while shuddering with aftershocks.

Ravnos straightened and pulled out with a groan. “Blood and Chaos.”

“You know, you give me the chills every time you break someone that way,” Seht said with bitter amusement.

Ravnos scooped a limp Victoria into his arms and dropped, exhausted, into his chair with her draped across his lap. “Fond memories?”

Seht’s blue eyes narrowed but his smile remained. “Not exactly.”

Ravnos wiped the sweat from his brow with his abandoned cravat and trapped his executive officer with his icy gaze. “Really?”

“Seht, could you get that? I’m somewhat occupied at the moment,” Ravnos said in a low voice.

Seht paused in the act of untying his cravat and shot the intercom a bitter look. “This had damn well better be important.” He moved to the far side of the desk, picked up the earcom, and hit the desk button. “Commander Seht here.”

Startled out of her stupor, Victoria stared up at Ravnos. She lay across his legs in the chair. She got her hands under her to get up and winced. Bloody Fate, her butt hurt! But worse than that was that some dark, secret part of her soul seemed satisfied beyond description.

“Stay.” Ravnos set his arm around her and pressed her back against his chest. “You’ll live. I promise.”

“Do I have to?”

Ravnos chucked. “Yes, you have to live. I have work for you, and poor Seht hasn’t had a chance to play with you yet.”

Victoria bit her lip.
That’s right, he’s going to…
She swallowed.
Fuck me too.
Reflexively, she wrapped her arms around herself and looked over at Seht. Traitorous anticipation curled deep and low.
I can’t be looking forward to this! Fate, what is wrong with me?

Seht closed his eyes and grimaced. “I’ll be right there.” He set down the earcom and started to viciously retie his cravat. “As soon as I settle down to a little fun, life, as usual, gets in the way.” He gave Victoria a glance full of regret. “I’m afraid I have to postpone our engagement.”

Ravnos frowned. “What is it?”

“It seems that we weren’t the only ones early. Three ships are coming out of jumpspace.” He strode across the chamber and collected his abandoned waistcoat and long-coat.

Ravnos scowled. “Have they seen us?”

Seht shook his head. “Not according to our sensors.”

The ship.
Victoria struggled to get up. “I need to get back to the nav-chair.”

“You will stay right where you are,” Ravnos’s hands tightened around her. “Seht is fully capable of handling this.”

Victoria froze. She couldn’t even make herself insist. Everything in her simply refused to argue with his direct order. A sudden tremor shook her. Had it worked? Had he actually succeeded in dominating her?

Seht smiled. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be back for you.”

Victoria’s fingers tightened on her arms. “Please, don’t hurry on my account,” she said through clenched teeth.

Seht lip curled in a cool smile. “Our nav-pilot is recovering quickly.”

“Indeed.” Ravnos raised a black brow. “I may have to find some way to occupy that sarcastic tongue of hers.”

She bit her lip and turned away sharply.
Fate and damnation! Me and my big mouth!

Seht looked toward Ravnos. “Shall I return here or--?”

“My quarters.” Ravnos focused on Victoria’s profile. “I’ll have her ready for you when you get back.”

“Excellent.” Seht chuckled as he walked out the door.

Victoria closed her eyes.
Great, just great…

“All right then.” Ravnos leaned forward and helped Victoria to her feet. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Victoria didn’t even try to hold back her groan as she got to her feet. Everything hurt.

He took her shoulders to steady her. “Can you walk?”

“I’ll manage.” Victoria clutched her arms across her breasts.

“Good. Stay there.” Shirtless, he walked around the desk and collected his coat and vest from a coat rack stationed in a corner.

Victoria found herself staring at the broad muscles in his back. He still wore his pants and his boots. She turned away and focused on the ache in her backside and the moisture of his cum sliding down her thighs. He hadn’t even gotten all the way undressed to -- to take her. And yet, her other, darker nature whispered, she had never cum so hard in her entire life.

“Here, put this on.”

His coat landed on her shoulders and draped to the deck.

“Can’t have you walking around naked.” His lip curled in almost a smile. “At least not in the halls.” He dragged his rumpled shirt on, then haphazardly tucked it into his pants.

Victoria slid her arms into the sleeves and watched nervously as he bent to button up the front. She swallowed. The rings on her nipples were tingling again.

On stocking feet, Victoria obeyed the pressure of the captain’s bare palm on her shoulder down to the lift. She hadn’t even tried to collect her clothes or boots.

The hall remained thankfully empty of crew.

The lift doors opened to a short hall that ended with two broad double doors leading to the captain’s suite. He pressed his other palm to the lock. Victoria didn’t have a chance to hesitate. His hand stayed firmly on her shoulder as he practically shoved her past the doors and into his personal quarters.

Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly wasn’t this. The salon of the captain’s suite was like nothing she had ever seen.
Can stark be opulent?
Light and shadows, midnight glass, tarnished chrome, black silk and huge circular smoked mirrors. The deck was carpeted in deep wine. On the far right stood an archaic round table of polished mahogany with two chairs. A matching third sat against the wall behind it.

She was directed through the room and past another set of double doors into his bedchamber. More smoked mirrors with floor-sweeping draperies covered the walls. A monstrous bed covered in a black silk spread commanded nearly the entire back wall under a huge window overlooking deep space.

Victoria frowned. There was not a trace of anything personal in it anywhere. No books, no mementos, no pictures. It looked more like a showroom than someone’s sleeping quarters.

Ravnos guided her toward the far side of the monstrous bed. His hand closed on her shoulder. “Stop.”

Victoria stopped by the bed’s far corner and saw a door just past it.

Ravnos dropped onto the foot of the bed and pulled off his shirt. His boots came off next. He reached for her and undid the buttons of the coat then tugged it from her shoulders. “Turn around.”

Victoria turned around and saw a pair of life-sized, beautifully carved statues of polished black stone against the far wall, one male, one female, both nudes. Neither looked entirely human and both appeared to be writhing in pain, or ecstasy. Or both.

She felt his fingers on the back of her garter belt.

“I believe we can dispense with this.” He chuckled. “For now.”

The lacy satin slid from her hips and the battered stockings slid with it. Victoria was forced to bend over right in front of his face to take the stockings off.

“Very nice.”

Victoria felt her cheeks warm. He was staring at her butt. She could feel the thick wetness of his cum sliding from her abused anus. She turned back around to find him standing. He was a head and a half taller than she was, and magnificently naked. His skin was an even, warm gold and his fairly slender frame was solid with sinewy muscle. He reminded her of a Terran mountain lion, a beautiful, feral killing machine. And he was big. His cock was only semi-hard, but it looked too big to get her hand around.
And he had that up my ass?

His cool gray eyes warmed and the corner of his mouth tilted up. “Like what you see?”

Victoria hastily averted her eyes. She did, but she would not ever admit it, especially not to his face.

His palm closed on her bare shoulder. “Let’s get you into the shower.”

The door directly past the bed led to the bathing facility. Victoria looked around in fascination. More glass and chrome with wine-colored towels fastened into a rack. The shower unit was large enough to house four people comfortably. Chrome bars were set horizontally around the walls at about waist height.

Victoria grimaced. She’d hate to be the enlisted crewman that got stuck cleaning this place up.

Ravnos started the water recycler, then directed her under the spray.

Victoria sighed. The temperature was exactly right.

“Stay right there. Don’t move.”

Victoria pushed her wet hair from her face to look back at him. “But how do I wash?”

“You don’t. I’m bathing you.” Ravnos reached for a cloth and the soap bottle.

Victoria stared in shock. “What?” That did not make any sense at all. If he was out to dominate her, why would he suddenly do something so -- so nurturing?

“Just hold still and relax.”

He stroked the soapy cloth down her back and further down her flanks. The water was hot enough to soothe, and his touch was firm but gentle. He wasn’t teasing; he really was washing her.

“So you are the
Victorious Star,
savior of ships.” Ravnos scrubbed her arms, then each individual finger.

Victoria frowned, watching him wash around the force-cuff still on her wrist. Was he inviting actual conversation? She cleared her throat. “That title is not exactly a compliment.”

“Are you kidding?” Amusement colored his voice. “You’ve never lost a ship you’ve flown. That’s one hell of a recommendation to any captain.” His hand held her shoulder firmly as he scrubbed her shoulders and back.

Victoria stared at the fogged glass door and felt that bursting sensation in her heart. She was astonished to find herself suddenly close to tears. What the hell was wrong with her? She never cried! She sucked in a harsh breath and gathered her temper. “Which is why I’m selected, and also why I’m reassigned.”

He moved her long hair over one shoulder to scrub her neck. “I’m betting that you had to fight those captains to save their ships.”

“Nearly every time.” Victoria sighed under his hands, caught between the sheer animal pleasure of fingers digging into her sore muscles, and the fact that it was Ravnos’s fingers doing it.

“What happened?”

So he wanted to know about her stupid captains? All right. “I would give them my data and course recommendations, but they’d argue every time.” She winced as memories assaulted her. Her ships battered needlessly by enemy fire that could have been avoided. Her pointless fury at her captains and their refusal to listen to her expert advice. Her ships nearly destroyed through their negligence. She would not, could not let the ship die because of the captain’s idiocy. “Fate and damnation, why wouldn’t they listen?”

“Sounds to me like their egos got in the way.”

“What?”

“They were captains, so it was beneath them to accept that anyone actually knew more about their ship than they did.”

Victoria scowled. “But that’s stupid! I can’t lie about the data, not while I’m jacked in. They have to know I’m telling the truth!” She closed her eyes. “What’s the point of having a nav-pilot in the chair if you’re going to ignore what they tell you?”

He knelt in front of her and scrubbed her chest and belly, almost impersonally. “Yes, it’s very stupid, and unfortunately all too common. My guess is that you’ve yet to have a captain that understood exactly what his nav-pilot was for.”

Victoria shivered under his hands.
You certainly found a use for me.

“So how did you save the ships without actually causing a mutiny?”

“I didn’t need to mutiny. The captains and their commanding officers usually abandoned together, leaving me the highest-ranking officer still on board.” She shook her head. “I just waited until they left and took over.”

He knelt down and concentrated on washing around the cuff on her ankles. “And the crew didn’t leave with them?”

Victoria was forced to set a hand on his shoulder for balance. “Oh, most did, but I usually had a few allies in engineering and other vital functions, so I could pretty much maneuver and maintain operations enough to get into jumpspace.”

He frowned. “They had to know that if you refused to leave, you planned on saving the ship?”

“I don’t think they had the brains to figure that one out,” she said grimly. “They were too busy cramming themselves and their possessions into an escape shuttle.”

“And then you come sailing into port with the ship they abandoned, still in one piece, proving them wrong.”

“And they promptly relieved me of duty.” She could taste the bitterness in her mouth.

“They can’t very well court-martial you, they’d get themselves into too much trouble for abandoning ship when the situation was still salvageable.”

Victoria smiled grimly. “The Imperium lost more than one idiot that tried to court-martial me.”

Ravnos snorted. “I would have loved to see their faces when they found themselves sitting on the bench instead of you.”

Victoria nodded and sighed.

“I’m guessing that this is how you acquired the reputation as someone willing to sacrifice the captain for the ship?”

Victoria set her jaw. It was a little more complicated than that, but she wasn’t about to go into detail. “A ship is more worthy of saving.”

He shoved the soapy cloth up into her crotch.

Her ringed clit blazed with sudden and violent urgency. She threw back her head and hissed.

His application of the cloth gentled and the use of slippery soap increased, but he remained thorough in his cleaning. “Still sensitive?”

Victoria shuddered as he concentrated on her backside. “Looks that way.” She was too busy dealing with her outraged sex-drive and her sore butt to worry about anything else.

A gleam appeared in Ravnos eye. “There are only three options for a nav-pilot who consistently knows more than her captains, you know.”

“I know of two.” Victoria balled her fists and struggled to get her heart rate back under control. “Reassignment or decommissioning.”

His cool gray gaze caught hers. “The third is a captaincy.” He got up and walked behind her.

She gave the wall a sour smile. “I doubt they’ll ever hand me a ship.”

His hands moved through her wet hair. “Tilt your head back and close your eyes. I’m going to wash your hair.”

Victoria did as he requested. “Even if someone did think to offer me a ship, I’d probably turn it down.” Her knees nearly buckled with the incredible sensation of strong fingers massaging her scalp.

“Don’t you want to be your own captain?” His voice was very close to her ear.

“Not really.” She had to hold back a groan. Fate and heaven, he was good at this.

“Why not?”

“I prefer being in the pilot’s chair. If I had to give up flying, I would miss it.”

“Which is the main reason why a captain who used to be a nav-pilot is rare. Most captains get their rank through political maneuvering. They want the position so they can stand over others. A nav-pilot turned captain is a polar opposite in personality. They usually end up in a position to keep one of those idiots out of the chair.” He set a hand on her shoulders.

“I’ve never had a captain who was originally a nav-pilot.” Warm spray from one of the detachable nozzles caressed her scalp, sluicing the soap from her hair.

“Probably the root of your problem. If you served under one, you’d notice the difference right away.”

“A captain who actually serves his ship?” Victoria snorted. “They’d have me as a nav-pilot for life.”

“Really?” He squeezed the water from her long mane. “You can open your eyes now.”

Victoria wiped her hands across her damp face and opened her eyes.

He knelt in front of her. “Spread your legs wider.”

Victoria complied without thought.

He flashed a tight smile and his palms closed on her thighs. “Feel free to use my shoulders for support.”

She looked down at the top of his head in alarm. “What are you going to do?”

“Reward you for your honesty.” He leaned forward.

Victoria jolted in surprise.
He is not really going to…?

His lips brushed her still aching clit, then his wet tongue.

Her body tightened ferociously under a wave of honey-thick lust that expelled the breath from her. She felt her cunt grow wet with cream for him.

“Mmm.” He drove his tongue deeper to lap at her with long slow strokes.

Passion swelled rich and voluptuous, inundating her with a wave of rolling molten heat. She came up on her toes, arched her back and grabbed onto his shoulders for dear life. This was utterly different than before. The edgy sharpness whetted by pain was entirely missing.

A hand came up and she felt him cup her breast to caress, then slowly squeeze.

The solid wave of intense pleasure hammered her and nearly brought her to tears. The intensity seemed completely out of proportion to the gentleness of the touch. Everything from his touch, though the caress was light, to the pleasure she gained from it, seemed deeper and more profound. Passion surged as though it poured from somewhere else, a deeper, hidden part of her.

His thumb slowly brushed back and forth across her nipple.

Heat lightning stabbed downward, adding urgency to the stunning waves. Her hips bucked against his mouth and soft needy sounds escaped her lips.

Climax built to a single crushing wave that crested before she was ready for it. Instinctively she jerked her head back and tried to pull away from his mouth.

He gripped her thigh, holding her fast to his mouth. “Cum.”

Orgasm caught her in its crushing velvet grip then surged over her in devastating waves. She cried out and collapsed over him.

He lay her on the floor of the shower, and his tongue did not stop until he had drunk his fill of her trembling passion. He lifted his head. “Very good.”