Angela Verdenius (5 page)

Enemy ships.  Very well, he conceded silently, Molly was correct.  If you got down to the nitty-gritty of things - one of her quaint sayings – there were enemies out in space.  Species who sought to overtake and rule, war mongerers.  Species the Narc Military and the Galaxy Command monitored.  But unless out and out war was declared, no one was labelled ‘enemy’.

They just bore close monitoring.

Crossing to one of the small control panels, Molly stood directly in front of it.  “So, which species do you watch closely?”

Moving up behind her, Alsandair reached over her shoulder and touched the screen.  Several figures appeared. 

“Okay, now they’re weird.”  Molly stared.  “Now that’s what I call an alien!”

“This,” he pointed to the thin grey figure with the big black eyes and minute mouth, “is from the Arken species.”

“Wow, they’re our Greys!”

“Greys?”

“You know – they kidnap people, screw with their time, and put probes up their rear ends?”

“You have the strangest ideas, Molly.”

“Trust me, it was all the rage back in my time.”

He stared at her for several seconds before returning his gaze to the screen.  “Anyway.  The Arken are cold and manipulative, they have no mercy if they believe they’re right.”

“Gosh, are you related to them?”

He dropped his gaze back to where she looked up at him over her shoulder.  Her expression was full of humour.  “Not that I am aware.”

“You sure?  You have the ‘no mercy’ bit down pat.”

“I don’t kill without real reason.”

That made her blink.  “Kill?”

“The Arken have been known to kill first and ask questions later.  I need a reason.”

“Of course.  Reason.”  Raising her eyebrows, she looked back at the figure on the screen.

“This,” he pointed to the heavily-built, squat figure, “is from the Misoanet species.  They are sly, thieves, cheats.  They fight on only the winning sides and change loyalty according to who is winning a war.”

“They know which side their bread is buttered.”

Molly really said the strangest things.  He raised one brow.  “What?”

“They know the winning team.  The buttered side.”

“I’ve never heard of a winning side being buttered.”

Molly laughed.  “Forget it.”  She pointed to the third figure.  “This one?”

“From the Repulsaen species.  They generally don’t mix with others.”

“They look almost…reptilian.”  Molly studied the figure.  “Greenish skin, lumpy.  Familiar.”

Alsandair touched the figure and the other two figures disappeared, while the Repulsaen one enlarged.

“It’s a giant lizard!”  She exclaimed.

“The Repulsaen have been around for over a million years.  They are one of the oldest species in this galaxy.”

Molly bent forward to study the figure.  “Weird.  Are you sure?”

He was sure of one thing.  Now her bottom was pressed snugly against his groin and the heat that flashed through him from that touch was unexpected and…hot.  That heat went straight from his groin to his balls and zipped right back up to his shaft, which started to harden unexpectedly.

Involuntarily he gripped her hips.

“What the hell…?”  Snapping upright, Molly swung around, her eyes big and her mouth agape. 

Her movement had her pressed against him, breasts pressed against his upper abdomen, her hips flush against his thighs. His burgeoning erection was against her soft stomach.

Erotically pressed against her stomach. 

Heat crackling through him, Alsandair’s hands tightened on her hips.  Through a heat-glazed veil he stared down at her wide eyes.  His blood started to pound through his veins and all he felt was need.

Hard, biting need.  Throbbing through him.  Sizzling in his veins.

In one swoop he was down and covering her lips, his tongue spearing between those soft lips to scour the inside of her mouth with a scorching heat.

Only the taste of her, the honeyed sweetness, could put out the flame of desire.

Gripping her lush bottom in one hand, sliding his other hand up between her shoulders, he pulled her hard against his body.

He wanted her.  Needed her.  Had to feel every soft curve against him.

He wanted her with an instinct that surged upward and threatened to erupt almost violently.

Dimly he heard Molly’s muffled surprise, felt her shocked freeze, and then the sudden softening of her as she pressed closer instead of pushing him away.    Her surrender had him reaching for the neckline of her jacket with the intent of stripping the confining cloth from her delectable body.

Alsandair had no idea how far he’d have gone if it hadn’t been for the sudden peal of an alarm ringing through the room.

It was enough to bring him sharply back into focus.

What the hell…?
  He drew back abruptly to find himself staring down into Molly’s dreamy face. 

“I’m sorry.  I – I beg your pardon.”  Alsandair released her abruptly, only just managing to catch her before she fell backwards. 

She blinked up at him. “Amirov?”

“That should never have happened.”  His mind was whirling.

The pealing of the alarm had the door sliding open, the soldier stationed outside entering quickly.     “Sir?’  She asked sharply, her gaze locking on the big screen on the far wall.  “The enemy alarm came on, but there’s nothing out there.”

Alsandair took one look at the little screen in front of him and realized immediately what had happened.  Reaching out, he quickly tapped his personal code into the keyboard and turned off the alarm.  The figure of the Repulsaen went from red back to green. 

Looking up at the soldier, he said stiffly, “My mistake.  I was showing Molly those we monitor and somehow we set the alarm off.”

The soldier looked at him in astonishment.  “Sir?”

It was unheard of.  How the hell could he explain that his sudden ardour for the ancient relic had made him so careless?

“My fault.”  Molly stepped forward, her cheeks flushed.  “He meant that I set it off.”

“Oh, of course.”  The soldier nodded and stepped back.  “Sir, is there anything you require of me before I go back outside?”

“No.”  Alsandair looked from Molly’s rosy lips and bright eyes to the soldier.

With an abrupt nod, the soldier went back out into the hall, the door sliding shut behind her.

Alsandair and Molly looked at each other before he turned away to stare at the huge screen of the galaxy, intensely aware of the throbbing in his groin, the heat still sputtering in his veins.

What had happened?  One minute he’d been perfectly calm and collected, the next he’d been almost devouring Molly.  Sexual heat such as he’d never known had stormed into his mind, shoving all rational thoughts away, replacing them with hot, carnal intentions.

The carnal intention to bury himself in her sweet, soft, hot depths.

“Amirov?” Molly asked hesitantly behind him.

“I apologize,” he said stiffly. 

“It’s all right.  It-”

“No, it isn’t all right.  I am the Captain of the Narc Military and you are under the Narc…care.  My duty is to guard you and nothing else.”

After several seconds of silence, she said with a touch of anger, “You’re a man.  You have feelings.”

“I’m a Captain.  There is no place for feelings and desires at this time.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“No, that’s the way it is.” 

“Because I don’t equal you, is that it?

He didn’t answer.

“I’m just a five thousand year old relic.  Is that a turn-off?”

Taking a deep, calming breath, Alsandair found his familiar control, let it slip through him in welcome relief, and once assured of calmness he turned slowly to face her. 

Molly stood there, her arms akimbo, hands on her hips, her eyes sparkling with a hint of anger.  She looked beautiful and thoroughly kissed, her lips swollen and red from his marauding mouth.  He refused to let his gaze dwell on that luscious mouth.  Instead, he met her gaze, held it solidly.  “You belong to the Narc Military.  I am part of the Narc Military.  You are partly my responsibility.  I apologize for abusing that responsibility.  It will not happen again.”

A faint blush stole through her cheeks.  “Do you have any feelings at all, Amirov?”

“Emotions have their place.  Here is not that place.”

“Why did you kiss me?”

He looked at her coolly.  “I cannot say.”  His gaze slipping down over her curves, he grew thoughtful.  “I really cannot say.”

Her mouth snapping shut, a muscle ticcing in her small jaw, she fisted her hands.  “You bastard!”

Mystified, he arched one brow.

Swinging around on her heel, Molly stormed to the door which slid open to show the startled expression on the waiting soldier’s face.

“Uh – Sir?” The soldier looked at him as Molly stormed past.

“Accompany Molly today.”  He added as an afterthought, “Don’t let her get into trouble.”

“Er…”  The soldier looked decidedly uncomfortable.  “If she does?”

“Notify me.”

The soldier nodded and left.

Alsandair looked at the closed door, his thoughts whirling through him.  His behaviour hadn’t been rational.  Should he go and see Dr Surnace?  What possible explanation could there be for his behaviour?

~*~

Molly felt like slapping Captain bloody Amirov.  First he came onto her like a fire, all hot and blistering and burning her deliciously from tits to tuft, and then he spent the next day almost avoiding her.  When he did speak to her, he was as cool and calm as though nothing had happened.  As if he hadn’t kissed her almost senseless and made her so hot she got wet just thinking about it. 

She wanted to slap his arrogantly handsome face.  Hell, she hadn’t started that whole kissing thing, he had!   Maybe he realized that he’d kissed someone inferior to him?  How about realizing he’d kissed someone who was a bloody relic?  An antique?  Five thousand years older than him?  The man obviously had age issues.

Their exchanged words haunted her.

“Why did you kiss me?”

He looked at her coolly.  “I cannot say.”  His gaze slipping down over her curves, he grew thoughtful.  “I really cannot say.”

Bastard!  Just because she wasn’t like his highly evolved female companions!  Not tall and elegant and in control of her emotions - apparently. 
Bastard!

And he was the same bastard with age issues who invaded her dreams and made her toss and turn at night, waking with a throbbing deep inside herself. 

Not that she’d ever dream of kissing him again.  What had possessed her to kiss him back? 

Loneliness.  It had to be loneliness.  Since she’d been brought back to ‘life’, no one had touched her.  No one had given her any affection.  She didn’t have one friend.  Was it any wonder, in this strange new world, that she’d allowed someone to kiss her?  Someone to hold her?  It was perfectly natural.  Understandable.  That it had been Amirov was mind-boggling, but hey, understandable, right?

She wanted to kick him in the nuts.

Cold, calm, controlling, freaking Captain Amirov.  What the hell had happened there?

She spent the rest of the week avoiding him, and he didn’t go out of his way to be in her presence except when he had to, which was at meal times.  Apart from that, her escort when she went anywhere became Cali and a soldier.  It appeared she was no longer so important to Amirov.  The bastard.

~*~

One week later

Molly was upset.  Really upset.  Bloody furiously upset, in fact. 

Here she was out in deep space. Apparently.  Who knew how deep space was anyway?  It all looked black outside to her.

She’d been told by the powers-that-be that anyone outside the Narc Military and their associates on the Research Space Station who’d heard even a whisper of her had been tracked down and their memory wiped.  Rumours of her had been stopped.  But how far had the rumours spread first?  That was something the hierarchy couldn’t tell her.  All she knew was that she was stuck on the Space Station until it was ensured that no memory of her was anywhere.

Yep, she was to be wiped from everyone’s memory except the Narc Military and their associates.  They still weren’t sure how to fit her into their society, but one thing was for certain, nothing about her was to be known.  Her past was to be wiped and she was to be taught to live in their society.  They weren’t a hundred percent certain how to do that yet, or where to put her.

Because the bugger of it was, the Narc Military couldn’t wipe her brain of her own memories.  They’d tried.  The bastards had tried to wipe her memory and fill it with the here and now, but here was the cracker of it all – her brain function wasn’t quite the same as theirs.  Pure human, with no alien genes, her brain didn’t fit their technology.

The bastards knew exactly what she’d thought of their idea because Captain Amirov still bore the bruises on his shin from her enraged kicks when she’d woken up, bewildered, on the tech lab table with no idea how she’d gotten there after struggling with him.  It had been an intrepid Cali who’d had to inform her that she’d been knocked out by a stunner during the struggle and they’d tried to wipe her memories.

They’d had to tell her because within seconds of waking up she’d remembered and jumped Amirov, who’d been standing impassively by the table.

Bastards.
  She’d called them that to their faces.  Dr Surnace and Cali had been upset, their calmness shaken.  Someone not succumbing to the memory wipe was unheard of.

She’d called the General worse when she’d been brought to the Meeting Room.

“It had been decided that it was for the best for all concerned,” he’d informed her imperiously.  “Wipe all memory of your past, replace it with the here and now, and a fake background which you had no hope of finding out, wipe you from the memory of everyone but those needing to know-”

“And you didn’t think the ones needing to know would include me?” she yelled, incensed. “You dick!”

“Molly,” Captain bloody Amirov started in a warning tone.

“Screw you, Amirov!” Molly yelled.  “Screw the General, his cronies, the Narc, this whole bloody Research Station!  Screw you all!”