Chapter 9
Morning’s first light stole into the sleeping room, waking Piras ahead of his alarm. He was heavy-headed from lack of sleep. That didn’t keep him from enjoying sensations too gorgeous to allow him to drift back into slumber.
The morning’s cool air felt delightful against the knowledge of how hot it would get later. A heavy arm curled around his hip. Fingers cupped his cocks, stiffening in the warm embrace. The thickness of another man’s shaft filled his ass, and the hard body of its owner spooned against his back.
Contentment filled Piras. No, he didn’t want to go back to sleep, not with his Nobek lover curled tight around him, his hand lazily stroking Piras’s shafts into readiness. Fuck the fog filling his head. His body was more than ready to enjoy and be enjoyed by Lidon, who he’d just been dreaming of.
Piras smiled and turned to look as his companion. His happy greeting died in his throat to see another man in the place of the one he’d expected to see. Kila looked back at him, a satisfied grin spread over his rough face.
Piras’s stomach churned. Kila. Not Lidon, because Lidon was long gone, clanned to a Dramok he’d known only a matter of months. Lidon had replaced Piras with Tranis, as if sixteen years was not a matter to be concerned about.
No, he shouldn’t be thinking of that. Last night had been phenomenal with this other Nobek. Unfortunately, he was still half-lost in the pull of the dream. His body shifted involuntarily, moving away from Kila. His lover slung a beefy leg over his, using it to pull Piras in close again. “Where are you going, pretty man?”
The last of Piras’s confusion ebbed, allowing him to regain his equilibrium. Yes, Lidon was gone. A ghost of his past and forever unattainable. Kila might be something of a jerk, but there was no denying last night had been amazing. Piras had no reason to feel so empty or abandoned.
He smiled over his shoulder at Kila. “Sorry. I was half-asleep and got confused for a moment.”
“Let me guess. You had a fantasy that you were waking up next to Nobek Lidon.”
Kila scowled.In an instant, Piras’s hope to find some semblance of happiness died. The old red-tinged rage roared to life, melting all good intentions to start the day off on the right foot. Piras slammed an elbow into Kila’s ribs.
The sound of the other man woofing a pained breath delighted Piras, but it didn’t curb the anger pulsing through his brain. Before the Nobek could recover, he pulled free of him. Piras rolled out of the rumpled sheets and jumped to his feet. His shriek sounded almost incoherent to his own ears. “Why do you keep bringing him up? Why can’t you keep your mouth shut about him?”
Kila rubbed his side where Piras had struck. “Because you had a sixteen-year relationship with him. That’s a lot of time invested in a man who wouldn’t accept your offers to clan. Damn, you’ve got the boniest elbow I’ve ever known. Almost as sharp as a blade.”
Piras ignored the bantering tone, choosing to remain outraged. “You have no right to ask about Lidon. It’s in the past. It’s done.”
“Maybe. Or maybe not. My ribs are voting for the not.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re acting like an asshole.”
Kila rolled his eyes. “I want to make sure you’re over that relationship before I start getting too involved with you. I’m being perfectly reasonable.”
“No, you’re not. In case you haven’t heard, Lidon is clanned. He’s been clanned for several years now. I have no choice but to be over him.”
“The fact you react so strongly each time I mention his name begs to differ.”
Kila sat up, all signs of his usual mocking smile gone. He looked as deadly serious as a man facing an enemy. “I don’t want to have to compete against a memory that grows rosier as time passes.”
“Compete for what? To be my Nobek? What makes you think I’d want you for a clanmate? You’ve got some conceit assuming that.”
Kila’s lip curled. “No, you’d prefer to hit the pleasure clubs and pay the service Imdikos to dominate you while you fantasize about Lidon. How’s that working out for you, Piras?”
Piras felt it was he who’d been punched in the gut. Humiliation poured like gasoline onto his already fiery temper, and he blew. “Get out! Get the fuck out before I throw you off the balcony! Get the fuck out and stay out, you son of a bitch!”
Kila’s expression darkened. For a hair-raising moment that penetrated the enraged haze enveloping his mind, Piras wondered if he would come after him. Punish him.
He also noted how damned good Kila looked, even with his body tensing, the muscles bunching. Especially with him doing that.
Instead, the Nobek’s smirk returned. “Threatening me with the fatal toss again. I think our next encounter will have to be somewhere else rather than the top of a giant tree.”
Then the thunderous expression was back, and Kila’s tone filled with threat. “I’m not letting this go, Piras. Not until you put Nobek Lidon firmly into the past where he belongs.”
Piras shoved away the thoughts that made him want Kila. Shoved away the submissive part of him that begged to crawl to the Nobek. With anger as his guide, his Dramok nature rose, made him strong, made him more powerful than Kila. He was every bit the commanding leader as he said, “I don’t want to hear another word out of your mouth, Nobek. Get your clothes on and go, or the next statement you make will end in a scream.”
Because he was furious enough to make good on the threat, Piras stormed out of the room. He waited in the kitchen, located next to the greeting room, until he heard the home’s door open and close. Then he checked the house to make sure the bastard had actually left. He only began to relax and stop grinding his teeth when the search came up empty.
“Thanks for the great sex, asshole,”
he muttered to the absent Kila. “I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, because that’s the last of me you’ll get.”
He vowed to himself that he’d stick to that assertion. Outside of fleet business, he was swearing Kila off.
* * * *
Kila sat at his curved desk in his ready room, staring unseeing at the latest reports from his senior staff. It was the usual boring information, commentary that showed everyone was doing his job with typical effectiveness, stuff that needed only a cursory glance before clicking his notice he’d received the statements. Useless and time-wasting, as most administrative duties tended to be.
Kila scowled, but not because of the worthlessness of red tape. No, endless reports were not the bane of his day this time.
Piras. Frustrating, gorgeous, addictive Piras. Having gotten several servings of delicious sex throughout the night, that morning Kila had judged the time had come to clear the air about the Dramok’s failed love affair. It had to happen sooner or later, and since he’d fucked until his cocks were sore, sooner had felt right.
Maybe he was a desperate piece of Tragoom shit to make sure he’d had Piras’s ass before dealing with emotional housecleaning, but Kila could live with that. He didn’t mind being pathetically eager to fuck first and cope with emotional baggage later. It had been beyond exhilarating to pound his cock into the man over and over as whim dictated. Who needed pride when such an opportunity came along?
Yet Kila wanted more than a one-night stand. He wanted more than a few nights. He wanted Piras for the long term, maybe forever. Which meant at some point he had to put his dicks away and deal with irritating things like emotions. Specifically, emotional hang-ups his intended had on another Nobek.
“Fuuuck,”
he groaned in a drawn-out exhale. “I don’t have the first idea what to do to get that dumb bastard’s thoughts off the past and make him move on.”
Realizing he wasn’t going to get work done, he ordered the chief medic’s standard report off. It wasn’t going to give him the answers he needed anyway.
He stared at the empty space where the vid projection had been. The empty space didn’t present any solutions either. There was little in the way of decoration in his office area, save for half a dozen of his many commendations hanging on the wall.
The curved desk and Kila’s hover chair left plenty of floor space.
“What do I have to do, Piras?”
he wondered out loud. “I can be what you need. I can dominate you until the universe shakes apart if that’s what you want. I wouldn’t mind, though I’d miss fighting for dominance. A good battle always makes the blood flow hotter.”
Yet Kila was willing to sacrifice that type of excitement for Piras. The man was worth the concession. Besides, it was incredible to be submitted to.
Hadn’t he learned that the night before? Kila’s cocks twitched as he thought about waking up, buried to the hilt in his lover’s ass.
By the ancestors, it had been astounding to take all he wanted, when he wanted, as many times as he wanted. Not to mention seeing his lover enthralled each and every time to be mastered. That Piras found so much pleasure in granting Kila’s spontaneous urges was a gift worth keeping
Giving up the struggle to top Piras was a definite non-issue.
“Besides, we could maybe find an Imdiko who can put up a fight. Those poor, nurturing fucks are always bitching that us other breeds ignore their alpha instincts. I’ve never met an Imdiko who didn’t want to dominate sometimes. In fact, some of them are badasses when it comes to pounding the hell out of a man.”
Kila’s announce went off, interrupting his conversation with himself. He bared his teeth at the closed door before answering in a polite tone. “Identify.”
“It’s Chief Engineer Lokmi, Captain.”
Kila rolled his eyes at the ceiling. Ancestors help me. Speaking of Imdikos with control issues. “Enter.”
Lokmi stepped in, coming right to the opposite side of Kila’s desk before bowing. He looked shipshape, his uniform without a wrinkle, his hair tied back in neat braid. He was a pain in the ass, but he always looked good. Tasty, even. Kila wondered what he looked like naked.
The Nobek realized he was still aroused from thinking about Piras, and it was feeding into salacious thoughts about a man he’d only fuck as a punishment. He was relieved that his desk hid the evidence from Lokmi. In a gruff tone, he asked, “What do you want, Chief?”
He granted Kila a polite smile. “Greetings, Captain. May I inquire as to your mood this afternoon?”
“Shitty. You couldn’t have picked a worse time to irritate me.”
That the man had shown up and acted so pleasant told Kila he was about to do just that. Lokmi looked like he was in far too good a mood to make things better for his captain.
“Just my luck to catch you in a temper.”
The exaggerated sigh underscored Lokmi’s good humor.
Kila rubbed his forehead. “What do you want to do to my engines now, you merciless bastard?”
“It’s not what I want to do with my engines. It’s what I’ve already done.”
Kila jumped up and glared. “Son of a bitch! I told you we’d have it out if you played around without my permission.”
Lokmi, damn his sorry hide, didn’t flinch. “Yes, Captain. You did tell me that. I ignored you with good reason.”
Kila seethed. “There is no good reason. None. You will be disciplined this time. So, tell me why I’m about to pound you into next week?”
“I stole another second of your precious boost. You still have five seconds’ worth that I swear on my mother’s name I will not touch.”
“Asshole.”
“Yes, Captain. I’ve never claimed otherwise.”
Kila was already planning how to best dish out the pain his chief engineer had coming. Yet he was curious to know what Lokmi had been up to. “What does this second of lost speed get me?”
“Traction repel.”
The Imdiko was damned near gloating with pleasure. “Do you remember how I pointed out that the shielding suffers during your speed burst? That hunter-killers could conceivably grab hold of the ship in a traction field? Now they can’t. I thought there was no way around the problem, but I found it. An exterior anti-grav pulse, tied directly into the boost!”
Kila was impressed with Lokmi’s elegant solution, but he didn’t want to admit it. He was at the point where he wanted to beat on someone. He needed a release for the pent-up frustration brought on by Piras’s baggage and Lokmi’s insistence on fucking around with his engines.
He growled, “There was damned little chance Bi’isils would be able to react fast enough to snag us with a traction field.”
“Little chance is still a chance. I’ve eradicated that.”
Lokmi refused to be deterred from the delight of his accomplishment. He damned near glowed with joy.
“Fine. Keep it. But I still owe you discipline for doing it without my blessing.”
The Imdiko shrugged. “Shall I stand stoic and take it, or would you like me to fight back?”
Kila eyed the insolent Lokmi. Damn, he’d like to knock him down. Beat him to the ground and then pound him in a different fashion. Already his cocks grew heavy at the idea of fighting and fucking.
He flashed his blood-freezing, ferocious grin. “Let’s see what you’ve got, dual-breed. Any training besides basic combat? Your file mentioned martial arts.”
Lokmi looked delighted, the crazy bastard. “I’m an odikan. Master level.”
“I’ve never faced someone using that discipline before. It uses your opponent’s weaknesses against him, right?”
“That’s part of it. It demands calm and control, which is why most Nobeks aren’t familiar with the practice.”
Kila was intrigued. What mistakes in his fighting style would Lokmi find to exploit? “I look forward to seeing how effective odikan is against a pissed-off Nobek captain. Prepare yourself, Chief.”
Lokmi nodded. His grin was replaced by serene concentration as he bladed his body and crouched. He kept his face towards Kila as the captain came around the desk, watching him carefully.
Kila took his time, eyeing Lokmi’s stance, the watchfulness of his gaze, the ease of his movements as they circled each other. Since Lokmi’s fighting style relied on reacting to an opponent, it would be up to the Nobek to make the first move. Already that put Kila at a disadvantage. Lokmi wouldn’t give up any of his limitations until after the combat began.
So be it. He had measured his foe as best he could. It was time to see if he could best him.
Just as Kila was about to lunge at Lokmi, the door announce went off. Kila bared his teeth and shouted, “I’m busy, damn it all. Fuck off!”
A cold voice entered the room. “I think you’d better rephrase your welcome, Captain Kila.”
The Nobek froze to hear the clipped tone. Lokmi went still as well, catching the Kila’s mood. He whispered, “Who is it, Captain?”
Kila straightened from his fight crouch and whispered back, “Bloody damned Rear Admiral Piras.”
He thought of adding, the man I screwed the living hell out of last night. The man I pissed the fuck off this morning to the point where he wanted to kill me.
Lokmi’s eyes were wide in shock. If Kila stunned him any further, those eyes might fall out of the chief’s head. He and Lokmi faced the door, standing at stiff attention.
Looks like I’m the one who will get the discipline. Kila said, “Enter please, Admiral, with my heartfelt apologies for the disrespect.”
The door hissed open and Piras stormed in, his expression thunderous with infamous rage.
Kila bent into a lower-than-usual bow. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lokmi do the same. No doubt the chief recognized Piras’s name and knew his reputation.
Piras didn’t appear to notice Lokmi. He was too intent on Kila, and he was in as good a mood as how the Nobek had left him. “Explain yourself, Captain!”
Kila straightened. Piras’s coloring was hectic, his eyes glittering, and his jaw bulging as his teeth ground together. The man was in full-tilt fury, all right. With resignation, Kila told him, “No one informed me you had come on board, Admiral. I was in the middle of disciplining my chief engineer and did not realize it was you seeking to enter.”
Piras jerked in surprise as he looked at Lokmi. Kila felt a flash of amusement to realize he’d been right that the admiral had not noticed the Imdiko. With anger focusing his attention on Kila, Lokmi could have been standing there in a woman’s full-length gown and Piras wouldn’t have seen him.
The Dramok looked the chief over. Some of the wrath eased from his demeanor as he did so. For a moment, a look of recognition crossed his face, then it was replaced by momentary confusion. At last he settled on the bland, if slightly irritable, expression of a commanding officer on duty. In a reasonable tone, he said, “Chief Lokmi, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Admiral.”
Surprise jarred Kila. Piras knew his newest officer’s name? He remembered talking about the engineer to the admiral but couldn’t remember if he’d identified him.
At least Piras’s temper calmed as he continued to gaze at Lokmi. “So. The captain did not take kindly to your upgrades? Did he react as your report said he might?”
It was Kila’s turn to be angry. He snarled at Lokmi, his fangs unfolding from his palate. “You reported me? Before we even had the opportunity to discuss this?”
For once, the Imdiko didn’t look so sure of himself. Though he remained still, Kila got the feeling he wanted to cringe. His tone was the weakest Kila had ever heard him speak with. “In all honesty, I anticipated you would throw me off the ship. I was putting my facts in place to keep that from happening. I most humbly beg your pardon, Captain. I was wrong to inform Fleet Command of my concerns.”
Kila had a delicious vision of tearing Lokmi’s throat out. Ripping it with his fangs and watching the man’s arteries spurt blood all over the place. He shook with the desire to do just that.
Piras snorted. Kila looked at him to see the Dramok shaking his head. His expression was a curious mix of fury and amusement.
He told Lokmi, “You’re the dual breed, right? Imdiko and Dramok?”
“Yes, Admiral.”
“Do you make it a habit to go over your immediate superior’s head in order to bully your way around? Don’t answer that. I’ve seen your record and I know you do. Among other unsavory actions designed to intimidate.”
Lokmi’s jaw dropped. “Hey, Captain Kila has a reputation with chief engineers. He’s known for ignoring them, for disciplining them simply for doing their job.”
“And you’re known for being too aggressive against commanding officers. For instigating trouble instead of working with them.”
Piras shook his head. “Did no one teach you how to properly demonstrate your Dramok side? Because tyranny and leadership are two very different things.”
Lokmi stared at him. “I – I just get tired of everyone thinking they can run over me because of my official Imdiko status.”
He scowled at Piras. “You have a reputation of your own, Admiral. With respect.”
Piras arched a brow at him. “Somehow, I don’t think you’ve learned to respect anyone. You’re too busy fighting for it yourself. Or what you think equates as respect, which seems to be the idea that everyone should do what you say, no questions asked.”
“That’s not true.”
Lokmi’s expression was hectic with anger and confusion. “People make assumptions. They don’t give me a chance. I have to be aggressive so they’ll listen.”
“You’re not being just aggressive. You’re being an asshole. But seeing who your current captain is, I can’t entirely blame you in this instance.”
Kila clenched his fists. “He had orders to consult with me before making any further alterations to the engines. I’m far from being in the wrong here.”
“Like hell you are,”
Lokmi yelled. “The moment you knew I was on board, you came charging into engineering, demanding I touch nothing. That I don’t do my job as chief engineer, which is all I’m trying to do.”
Kila snarled, but he recognized there was some truth to the Imdiko’s assertions. Damn it, this was his ship, however. His engines. “You have still been insubordinate. I will have your hide for that.”
Piras looked from Lokmi to Kila and back. He barked a harsh laugh. “Wonderful. Just wonderful. I’m pissed off at the captain, and you two are pissed off at each other. Everyone wants to tear everyone else’s head off before the mission is even started. This is the crew that is to beat the Basma? Mother of All, we haven’t got a chance.”
Relief that Piras was again considering taking on the assignment to join up with Maf blunted the worst of Kila’s rage against Lokmi. It also made Kila realize why Piras had shown up unannounced.
A sense of eagerness filled the captain. Putting his issues with both Piras and Lokmi to the side for the moment, he said, “You have a target, Pir – ah, Admiral?”
He didn’t miss Lokmi’s glance in his direction. The eternal pain in Kila’s ass had caught the slip of familiarity.
Fuck it. I’ll deal with him and his many sins later. We still have our own issues to take care of. How Kila would do that filled him with violent delight.
Meanwhile, Piras was answering Kila’s question. “I’m not quite settled on a target, but I’ve narrowed my focus.”
Lokmi drew himself up. “Should I excuse myself, sirs?”
“Considering where we’re going, it might be best if the chief engineer is brought into our conversations. He knows the abilities of the various ships that have gone to the Basma’s side. He may be able to point out problems we haven’t thought of.”
Piras looked to Kila, acknowledging it was his ship to run and therefore his decision as to whether Lokmi would be privy to their counsels.
Kila nodded his agreement that the chief could stay before guessing, “You’re aiming for the route between Kalquor and Galactic Council Space, aren’t you?”
“Wrong. And not the colonies either. No, I’m going to give the Basma information that will allow him to punch a big hole in our defenses between the Empire and the kingdom of Bi’is.”
Lokmi’s gasp rang loud in the room. Kila stared in shock at Piras. Of all the targets Piras could have chosen, the boundaries between Kalquorian and Bi’is space had never crossed his mind.
He recovered. “If I may ask, Admiral…why there?”
Piras paced back and forth. Kila had noted this was as much a habit when the admiral was thinking as grinding his teeth when he was angry. “Several reasons. The most important one being the allegations that the Basma and the Holy Leader have been trafficking our people to the Bi’is slave trade.”
“Which the little gray bastards constantly refute. No hard evidence was found of such trade despite the Galactic Council’s investigation.”
“You don’t believe it’s happening?”
“No, I’m positive it was. But the trade seems to have stopped since we found out about the matter.”
Piras offered him a twisted smile. “It’s about to pick back up. Maf and Copeland will want better access to their Bi’isil partners in the weeks to come.”
Kila gave him a narrow stare. “How do you know that?”
“A number of Maf’s secret accounts have come to light in the last few hours. Found and confiscated.”
“He’s broke?”
“We’re sure we haven’t appropriated all his money, but we’ve seized a lot. He’s going to be hurting for more funds at a time when he needs it most. A fleet and fighting military are expensive to maintain, after all.”
Kila felt his grin returning. “Dantovon, Adraf, and the other suppliers he’s turned to operate on a strict cash basis.”
Lokmi’s voice was choked, his stricken expression saying he found no pleasure in this turn of events. “The Basma’s side has taken hundreds of prisoners. He’ll send them over to Bi’is for scientific experimentation if he gains a piece of the border.”
Piras flinched, his expression filling with regret. “No doubt he will. But the border area between us and Bi’is is, for the most part, free of civilians. No women and children are in those sectors. At least those innocent lives will be spared if Maf’s forces attack there.”
Despite the conviction in his tone, his expression swam with guilt. He glanced at Kila, as if to plead for affirmation.
He got it. The Nobek nodded his agreement, admiration for Piras filling him. He told him, “Being sent to the Bi’is research stations in lieu of losing women and children’s lives is a respectable challenge and sacrifice for any true warrior, Admiral. Not to mention sound strategy. If Maf goes for it, defending a piece of the Bi’is border will divide his fleet. It could swing the odds back our way, even with the Earther ships taking his side.”
Piras didn’t look comforted. “Yes. Well. It’s still not a good situation overall. Certainly one I’m not happy to be responsible for. The target still has to be taken down. Men will die. I’ll have to wear their blood on my soul for all of my days.”
Lokmi’s tone was soft, even caring. “In times of war, I fear few men’s consciences emerge unstained, Admiral. It always turns ugly no matter how virtuous the cause is.”
Piras looked toward him and their eyes met. Kila felt as if something passed between them in that instant.
The admiral looked away, and the moment was gone. “We learned the ugly side of conflict all too well in the war against Earth. There are days that I wish we’d never heard of that planet. I don’t support going quietly into extinction, but I swear I sometimes think we’d have been better off without their women than the way we are right now.”
Kila knew what he meant. It wasn’t only that the Empire was caught in civil war either. The sight of Earth’s major cities blasted into dust and marking the growing numbers of the dead had made every Kalquorian with a conscience sick with guilt over their part in the catastrophe. Even now, the memories twisted his guts.
He said, “Some would say we’re getting what we deserve. We threaten ourselves with the same fate we helped visit on Earth.”
“And once more we sell our souls trying to make things right.”
Piras’s shoulders drooped.
Kila didn’t know about souls. He didn’t believe in such things himself, but he had to admit that such times meant choosing the lesser of evils. Piras would make the decision, but to gain the Basma’s trust, Kila would be a part of killing fellow Kalquorians. Both enemies and allies.
It was vile. It might have even been evil. Yet the warrior part of him, the part that was pure Nobek, looked forward to fighting the coming battles. It would be that strength that would keep him sane when he must do the unthinkable.
It made him wonder what men like Piras and Lokmi would do with their shattered integrity. How would they, lacking the Nobek lust for the fight, cope when their consciences screamed too loud to be ignored?
* * * *
Lokmi studied Piras, doing his best to not be obvious about it. His curiosity made it hard to not stare outright, visibly taking the measure of the man.
So this was the fearful Admiral Piras, terror of the fleet. Piras, the man known for giving no quarter. He had burst into the room like a force of nature, seeming ready to tear Kila apart. Never mind the captain had bulk and muscle that made the elegantly built Dramok seem small. Piras’s force of will was a power unto itself, a hint of brutality fit to take down a man like Kila.
Now that the admiral had calmed, however, Lokmi registered some shock to see how delicate he was. He was not the behemoth the chief had been sure someone with Piras’s reputation must be. Not even close. His graceful body was crafted beautifully. If not for the heavy jaw that gave Piras’s face a slightly off-kilter aspect, his features would be poetically lovely rather than fascinating.
The admiral was a flawed beauty, his sleek body worth many a ribald thought. When Lokmi’s cocks gave an admiring throb, he swiftly re-directed his thoughts from how Piras looked to his demeanor.
The Imdiko had not been impressed by the fiery temper he’d displayed upon his entrance. Any asshole with rank could throw a tantrum. Yet as the conversation had developed, Piras had shown a far different side, one he’d never heard mentioned in all the stories that flew around the fleet.
For one thing, he’d taken personal interest in Lokmi’s concerns over how Kila would react to the changes he’d made in the engines.
The chief engineer had not for one second thought anyone would give his report more than a cursory look.
He’d contacted Fleet Command in a pre-emptive effort to cover his ass when Kila decided to have him charged with insubordination and re-assigned to a lesser duty station.
Yet it seemed that had been part of what had precipitated Piras showing up.
And though Piras had called him a bully, someone who didn’t know how to properly express his Dramok characteristics, he hadn’t been nasty about it.
His assessment of Lokmi’s actions had been matter-of-fact.
Hell, Lokmi thought perhaps the admiral had been trying to advise rather than belittle him.
It made him take Piras’s observations seriously and worry he’d indeed mistaken intimidation for asserting himself.
More interestingly still was how Piras’s character had taken shape as the conversation switched to the spy mission he was apparently a crucial part of.
A conscientious side had emerged.
It was plain to see the admiral suffered over the fates of the men the assignment would place in the path of harm.
The level of agony Lokmi detected in Piras’s eyes triggered Lokmi’s Imdiko tendencies.
His being screamed to comfort Piras.
Unfortunately, their difference in rank meant only offering weak platitudes that could not soothe a man in the admiral’s unenviable position. The ridiculous urge to gather the smaller man in his arms and offer momentary shelter from duty could not happen.
It was Piras’s compassion that impressed Lokmi where angry bluster could not. And had there ever been a lot of bluster at the beginning of the meeting. Piras’s anger had been tremendous for the excusable situation of Kila unknowingly cursing his superior officer. In fact, it had seemed personal.
Even now, the way the captain and admiral looked at each other had a feeling of being more familiar than shared duty should allow. Something simmered below the surface, something hot and vital and energetic.
What was going on between them? Were they former lovers? Current lovers?
The idea of these two very different men locked together in a passionate embrace – massive, scarred Kila and lithe, refined Piras – gave Lokmi another unwelcomed jolt below the belt. The vision of such was more fascinating to him than he wanted to entertain.
Attraction to two such creatures led to nothing but trouble.
Dramoks and Nobeks were an unmitigated pain in the ass as far as Lokmi was concerned.
Both breeds were controlling, demanding jerks in his experience, not caring that someone who might be drawn to nurturing had his own alpha nature.
More than once, Lokmi had wished the Breed Classification Bureau had named him a Dramok instead of an Imdiko.
The label he’d been stuck with had given far too many men the idea he could be bent to their will. If he was a bully as Piras suggested, it was for good reason.
This particular pair represented their breeds in almost textbook fashion, reminding Lokmi of why he had never wanted to clan.
Piras was known as not only being a demanding Dramok, but the biggest hardass of his kind.
Kila’s reputation wasn’t much better.
It took an exacting person to rise to the rank of captain, and that this particular man was also a Nobek put a big black mark against him in Lokmi’s book.
He might entertain a fantasy or two about the men he worked with, but he knew to keep his distance. Men such as these were strictly off limits.
When their meeting broke up an hour later, Kila excused Lokmi for the night due to the lateness. “We will pick up where we left off later, Chief,”
he growled. Lokmi bowed, feeling relieved. Imagining Kila and Piras in an intimate encounter had diverted him from the clear head he needed to face his captain. It would not do to be distracted with temptation while fighting the Nobek.
He was so sure something more was between the captain and admiral that he was startled when Piras departed at the same time rather than remaining closeted with Kila.
The admiral gave Lokmi a glance before hurrying off ahead of him but said nothing. Kila stomped to his desk with a scowl furrowing his heavy brow.
Had Lokmi been wrong that there being a relationship between the two? So much for the hot scenes that wanted to play in his head.