Daughters of Lyra: Heart of a Commander (2 page)

When he saw her, it was
all he wanted in life.

He wanted to be able to
love.

“
What is the
matter, Lieutenant Amerii?” her captain said in a tone more than
displeased. Van looked at the male, a piteous example of Lyran
breeding, and contemplated ripping his head from his body as
payment for speaking to her with such disrespect. “You must have
said something wrong.”

“
My apologies,”
Van said and all eyes were back with him. He bowed his head.
“Welcome to Varkan space. The greeting was spoken with perfection
and a true sense of belief.”

Amerii bowed her head. Her
cheeks darkened further. This reaction to him was interesting.
Fascinating. It threatened to steal control from him.

He blanked her captain and
stared at her, fixated, watching every subtle change in her body
language and studying every emotion that flickered across her
face.

“
The younglings
are doing well. They have inherited many traits from their father
and are strong,” Van said and her gaze came back to him just as he
had desired. He knew that talk of Sophia and Regis would always
have her rapt with curiosity and would hold her attention. “Sophia
is well and plans to visit Varka Two when work has been completed
and your troops are settled.”

“
Thank you,”
she said and bowed her head again. Her small smile when she looked
back at him told him how grateful she truly was for this
information about her friend and relation. He had realised back at
the wedding that she and Sophia were very close.

“
Take you place
again, Lieutenant Amerii,” her captain said and Van frowned at him,
unimpressed by the interruption.

The captain squirmed under
his glare, fidgeting in a way unbecoming of one of his standing. A
Varkan commander would never behave in such a way, showing their
fear. Still, it was probably this male’s first time seeing a
Varkan. He didn’t look as though he had seen any action within
Varkan space.

If he had, he would know
better than to break into a conversation between a Varkan and
another. He would know how dangerous it was, especially between a
male Varkan and a female he desired.

“
Varka requires
a representative of the Lyran Imperial Army to sign a declaration
of peace. The representative should be the highest ranking Lyran on
your ship,” he said with a furtive glance at Amerii.

The captain stepped
forwards.

“
I will be
honoured to begin this new era of peace between our species,” he
said with a broad and wholly irritating smile.

Van’s expression remained
emotionless. “You are not required. Only the highest-ranking Lyran
will be transported here to complete the contract for Varka Two.
You are not that person.”

The captain’s eyes
darkened with his frown. Van ignored him and looked at Amerii
again.

“
A transport
will come to collect you.”

“
Now...” The
captain moved forwards, his anger visible in the tight lines of his
face. “Lieutenant Amerii ranks below a captain.”

“
Royalty always
outranks an officer of the army, Captain.” Van signalled the two
men behind him to go to the transport ship. “Even if Princess
Amerii is a lieutenant of the Lyran Imperial Army, in Varkan space
she will be treated as her true title dictates. Royal blood is
honoured above all others.”

The captain spluttered
something but Van blanked him again and looked at
Amerii.

“
The transport
will be with you shortly. I hope you will find it comfortable
enough, your highness.” He bowed to her, holding it for long
seconds before rising again.

He turned away and ended
the transmission without another word. It had been foolish of him
to insist on her being the one to sign the contract. Even though
she did outrank the captain, he had asked her purely because he
desired to see her in the flesh again. That need would only lead to
trouble. Seeing her in the flesh would only stir his bloodlust and
bring it out. It would be almost impossible to control his desire
when she was near. It would be dangerous for his crew and for
her.

Van clenched his fists and
strode through the ship.

He had to remember his
place. He couldn’t treat her as though she was only a female, a
normal citizen that he could speak to openly and perhaps even act
upon his desires with.

She was a princess of the
Lyran royal family. He had no place speaking to her outside of
formal situations.

He had no right to want
her.

He closed his eyes as his
bloodlust rose inside him.

He cursed under his breath
and let his control slip.

Right or no right, he
would have her.

****

Chapter
2

Amerii sat patiently
between the two escorts as the small shuttle docked with the Varkan
vessel. Nerves fluttered in her stomach at the thought of seeing
him face to face again. Van. Count of Aeris. Apparently a commander
too. She smiled inside at this twist of fate and thanked Iskara for
his helping hand.

The shuttle jerked her. A
clunk and a hiss announced that they had docked. One of the escorts
left them and she looked at the other one. He was wearing his visor
so she couldn’t see his expression but she could tell from the
compressed line of his lips that he wasn’t the talkative type. The
other one she had met at Sophia’s wedding had been like
him.

Amerii had decided back
then that there were two types of Varkan. The talkative and the
non-talkative. Sirus had been silent, composed, distant almost. She
hadn’t seen him speak to anyone except the Varkans. Regis had been
amiable, smiling and the centre of attention, which she had
expected since it had been his wedding. Van had been, well, she
didn’t quite know where to place him. He had talked and laughed
well enough with Regis and Sophia, and even Sophia’s family and
some of the other guests.

With her, he had been
different. He had hovered somewhere in between the talkative and
non-talkative personalities she had assigned all Varkans. There had
been moments when he had smiled at her, laughed at something she
had said, or said something amusing himself. But there had also
been times when he had fallen quiet and simply looked at her. Those
were the times that she remembered most. She remembered the dark
red of his eyes as they had held her captivated, unable to look
away. They had shown her something that stayed with her.

A hunger that made a
shiver bolt down her spine and her whole body come
alive.

After the wedding, she had
spoken to Sophia about it. Sophia had given her the information
pads on Varka that she had received from Regis and had told her
that Varkans had something called bloodlust and because of that
bloodlust they kept a tight rein on their feelings.

It was then that Amerii
had decided her two types of Varkan were wrong. It wasn’t that one
was talkative and the other not. It was that one was willing to
relinquish a little control, enough to be amiable while still
controlling their bloodlust, and one wasn’t willing.

Regis had accepted lack of
control and had found another way of controlling his hunger. Van
had only been able to do it for short periods. Since he had spoken
to her the longest, she had seen the result of that, the change
between his amiable side and his hunger. The other one, Sirus,
hadn’t relinquished one iota of control.

For some reason that
frightened her.

Just as the man opposite
did.

Was he unwilling to
relinquish control because he didn’t want to feel, or because he
feared his bloodlust would be too strong to contain should he
feel?

She was thankful when the
other man returned and announced that it was safe to exit the
shuttle. Standing, she fixed her appearance, took a deep breath and
then nodded to the two men. Both stared at her, their hands held in
tight fists at their sides. For a moment, she thought that she was
going to have a problem and then they turned and led the way
through the shuttle.

Amerii’s heart pounded. It
probably wasn’t a good idea to let it go unchecked. Her nerves
could be affecting the Varkans. They would be able to hear her
heartbeat. It might bring out their bloodlust. She cursed Van for
choosing her to come to the ship and sign the declaration but at
the same time thanked him for showing her the respect so few did,
and for giving her a chance to see him again.

Stepping out of the
vessel, she nodded when her two escorts bowed and left. The docking
level was enormous. She had been too full of nerves to look out of
the window during the flight. From the size of this deck, the ship
had to dwarf her own vessel.

“
Your
highness,” a familiar male voice said, its timber deep and warm,
laced with a slight echo.

A blush touched her cheeks
as she bowed her head and closed her eyes in greeting. It had been
a long time since someone had referred to her as royalty. She never
had been able to get used to it. She was happiest just being
Lieutenant Amerii.

Although Captain Amerii
sounded far better.

“
Count of
Aeris,” she said and rose, her eyes coming up to meet his. He still
wasn’t wearing his visor.

Her heart thudded against
her chest. He was as handsome as ever, his beauty otherworldly when
combined with his incredible dark red irises. His hair had grown
long, tied back at the nape of his neck, and she swore he was
taller than she remembered. He stood almost a head taller than she
did.

“
Call me Van.”
He swept his arm out to one side, a smile curving his deliciously
kissable lips.

Iskara must have made him
to tempt her. She had never witnessed such perfection. Not even on
Lyra Prime or Lyra Six. Her mouth turned dry when she thought about
Lyra Six, one of the universe’s foremost pleasure planets, and
looked at Van. Females of mating age would flock to the planet if
he were working there.

She would be there every
day, all day.

“
Protocol
dictates that as an envoy of Lyra, I—”

“
I insist,” he
said, his voice firm enough that she felt that insistence. He
wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“
Then I insist
that you call me Amerii,” she replied and he looked uncomfortable.
She added, “Or at least Lieutenant Amerii. I am not royalty when I
am serving Lyra after all.”

“
You are not?”
He frowned, as though he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. It
was part truth and a lot lie. While she was on her ship, she wasn’t
royalty. She was the rank assigned to her. While off the ship or
onboard any other vessel of non-Lyran ownership, she was royalty.
He didn’t need to know that though. She couldn’t have him calling
her ‘highness’ all the time. She liked the way her name sounded on
his lips. The slight echo and hunger that he said it with made her
flushed with heat.

She nodded.

He stared at her, deep red
eyes mesmerising her, and the universe fell suddenly silent and
seemed incredibly warm. Her heart pounded steadily, a beat that she
breathed to, her lips parted. Her mouth felt dry again. A small
gasp escaped her when his eyes lightened for a brief flash and then
darkened again.

Sophia had warned her
about that.

Bloodlust.

Her pulse
quickened.

“
We are ready
for you,” Van said and Amerii swallowed hard, unable to tear her
eyes away from his. He helped her by turning his back to her and
striding towards a door in the far corner of the deck.

Clearing her throat, she
hurried after him, struggling to swallow her heart back down again.
Her hands trembled as she tugged at the hem of her jacket, nerves
getting the better of her. Her father would scold her for being so
weak. He had raised her to be strong like him. She normally was.
For some reason, Van made her edgy, and it wasn’t because she was
frightened.

In fact, it was something
other than fear or concern. She trembled for another
reason.

When he looked at her like
that, as though he wanted to devour her, as though she made him
lose control, she found herself wanting him to.

She found herself wanting
him.

All that hunger and desire
directed at her made her blood burn.

Van paused at the door and
turned to face her. When he smiled, she saw his teeth, saw his
pointed canines gleam in the dim light. The sight of them sent a
shiver of anticipation through her followed by a flash of a
fantasy. She had dreamt about those teeth.

She had dreamt about being
with him, their naked bodies entwined, and his fangs in her
throat.

Heat suffused her body and
she tingled with the prickly warmth of desire. It swept over her
skin, making her clothes feel too tight and restrictive. She
swallowed to clear her dry throat and tugged at her clothes to
relieve herself of their irritation.

“
Is something
the matter?” Van said as he stepped up to her, looking down into
her eyes, close enough that she longed to reach out and place her
hand against his broad chest.