Daughters of Lyra: Heart of a Commander (6 page)

Given time, she was sure
that she could change his mind and convince him to bite her on what
was clearly a sacred place. Sophia had said that Regis hadn’t
bitten her neck the first time. Van had been close to it. He only
needed a little encouragement.

If her neck was the most
intimate and meaningful place that he could bite then she wanted
him to bite there.

She slid her hands inside
his jacket, capturing his waist. His lips coursed along her throat
and she groaned when she felt his teeth again, scratching her flesh
in the most tantalising and intoxicating way. She leaned her body
into his, hungry to feel him against her.

His hands mirrored hers,
grabbing her waist and holding her tight, as though he didn’t want
her to escape his grasp. She wasn’t going anywhere.

“
Bridge to
Commander Aeris,” a crackling voice said, so loud that it shocked
her and she jumped.

Van continued to kiss her
throat, his grip on her increasing to the point where it bordered
on painful.

Amerii swallowed when his
mouth closed around the scratch and he suckled her skin. He
couldn’t be getting much blood from so tiny a wound. She gasped
when he sucked harder, rocking his body against hers. He was going
to leave a bruise. She’d had what her father had affectionately
called ‘hickies’ before and she was heading for a new one now, and
judging by the desperate way Van was sucking on her neck it was
going to be black, ugly and highly noticeable.

She couldn’t go back to
her ship with a mark like that on her neck. A bite she could
probably hide, but she didn’t think her collar would reach high
enough to cover all of this.

“
Bridge to
Commander Aeris,” the voice said again.

Van released her neck and
gave a deafening roar. She flinched away and he instantly pulled
her to him, smoothing her hair in a clear effort to soothe her. His
heart was thundering. She rested her head against his bare chest
and listened to it and his heavy breathing. He was trying to regain
control.

After long moments of
silence, he said, “Commander Aeris to the bridge. Go
ahead.”

“
Nebuz-Lyra
VIII is requesting permission to continue to Varka Two.”

“
Time?”

“
Sixteen point
five nine point three. Designated time for departure to Varka Two
approaching.”

Van released her and held
her upper arms, his gaze lingering on her neck. Amerii touched it,
caressing the point where he had been suckling. His gaze shifted
between her eyes and her throat and he looked torn between doing
his duty and continuing with her neck. He growled at the ceiling
and she noticed that his teeth were longer than before. Her heart
pounded. How close had he been to biting her?

She wanted to block his
way when he walked away but couldn’t move. She kept still, watching
him collect her jacket and boots and bringing them back to her. Her
smile was weak and small when she took them.

“
Will you be
alright?” he said in a low tone that betrayed his
disappointment.

Seeing everything that she
was feeling reflected in his eyes, she dropped her things. He
frowned and she stepped up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck
and kissed him. His hands instantly claimed her waist and a moment
later, his body was against hers, his kiss stealing her breath.
Their tongues touched, sending a jolt through her and drawing a
moan from him. She tiptoed, slanting her head so she could deepen
the kiss. Their tongues tangled again, a smooth warm caress that
set her body alight with desire.

The intercom
beeped.

She slowed the kiss and
then stepped back, fighting to catch her breath. Her eyes met his
dark red ones. They burned with hunger but showed no sign of
bloodlust.

A smile curved her lips as
they tingled from the kiss.

“
Now I’ll be
alright,” she said.

Picking up her things, she
dressed, her eyes only ever leaving Van for a few seconds at a
time. He sat on the bed, watching her with that same intense look
of need. A man had never looked at her with such intensity before.
It made a blush touch her cheeks and she couldn’t help
smiling.

He hadn’t given her the
bite that she had wanted, but she knew now that he did feel
something for her. He wanted to bite her. She could wait a little
longer to live out her dreams.

When she had finished
buttoning her jacket, she looked at him. He rose from the bed and
crossed the room to the door. She looked around the room and then
at him.

“
Amerii,” Van
said, the tone of his voice warm and carrying a hint of affection.
He walked back to her and took her hands. “I will do it if you
believe me worthy and wish me to.”

“
Do
what?”

His look turned serious.
His gaze shifted to her neck and then back to her eyes.

“
Bite you...”
he said and his eyes brightened, a flash of scarlet that faded a
moment later. “There.”

“
Do you want
to?”

He frowned, his eyes
narrowing with it. “I have no place courting royalty... but I wish
to. I cannot stop thinking about you Amerii... I have tried hard to
change for you.”

Her eyes widened. For her?
He had changed himself for her. He wanted to feel something and
experience love.

He wanted to love
her.

“
Van,” Amerii
whispered and he leaned forwards, every ounce of desperation
showing in his eyes. “I don’t think you’re unworthy... any man who
has fought so hard to change himself deserves to be loved for his
effort... but then... I would have loved you even if you could not
love me in return.”

“
You love
me?”

She thought for a moment
and then nodded. “I do... I do love you.”

He swallowed and looked
uncomfortable. “I think I love you too... I have this need inside
me, a desire to protect you, to hold you close and keep you safe
from the universe. Is that normal? Is that love too?”

She smiled and nodded.
“That’s love. A burning collision of need, fear, hope, trepidation
and a desire to protect.”

“
Flying and
falling, as you put it,” he said with a broad smile.

She sighed and touched his
cheek.

“
Flying and
falling.”

****

Chapter
5

Van led the way onto the
bridge. The walk to it had been long and quiet as he had struggled
to regain total control over his feelings. Amerii’s admission of
her desire to have him bite her neck had sent him over the edge and
he had feared that he would lose control and hurt her. Her choice
to remain with him, to kiss him after he had left such a terrible
black welt on her neck, had given him a strange sense of comfort. A
smile touched his lips. Everything that Regis had told him of, he
was feeling for Amerii. It was a mindless series of urges, of needs
so strong that he couldn’t deny them. He had no control over them.
They had total control over him. It was a wonderful sensation but
frightening at the same time.

Flying and
falling.

That was what Amerii had
so aptly named it. He couldn’t have thought up a better metaphor
himself.

All of the crew on the
domed bridge rose from their various positions and saluted him as
he walked down towards the screen. Amerii walked in behind him.
Thankfully, the collar of her jacket hid most of the bruise on her
throat. Only a tiny fraction showed above it. It wouldn’t be enough
for her captain to notice, or any of his crew. It would look like a
shadow from her hair.

Van took a deep breath and
looked up at the image of the Nebuz-Lyra VIII on the screen. Two
other ships had joined it. Departure time for Varka Two was
imminent.

“
Your
highness,” he said without looking at Amerii.

A sense of calm filled him
when she came to stand beside him and his gaze fixed on the mark on
her throat for a moment before he looked back at the screen. He
needed her close. The crew didn’t seem to suspect anything but he
had tasted her blood. There was a chance that his crew might be
able to smell her blood and he couldn’t risk them reacting to the
scent. He didn’t want to fight his own men but if they dared go
near her, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from protecting her.
He would turn as dangerous as Regis had. The bloodlust would make
him violent.

He was behaving exactly as
Regis had back on Lyra Prime. On their return to Varka Prime, Regis
had lent him the fables of love that he had collected and he had
read them all. What he was experiencing certainly matched the
feelings contained in the stories and his behaviour matched
Regis’s. It seemed like love. Amerii had said it was.

It was a strange collision
of feelings, not particularly enjoyable at times like now when he
was considering the outcome of any attempt to hurt Amerii. The
bridge would be a bloodbath. He didn’t think Regis would forgive
him if he slaughtered thirty of Varka’s finest soldiers for the
sake of one female.

“
Incoming,”
someone said and Van snapped back to the galaxy.

“
Go ahead,” he
said and stood tall, his focus fixed on the display as it changed
to show the captain of the Nebuz-Lyra VIII.

Weak male.

Perhaps he would slaughter
him too for daring to offend Amerii and treat her as
inferior.

His eyes brightened and
his teeth extended a fraction. He drew a deep breath and reined his
feelings in.

“
Commander
Aeris,” the man said in a cold tone. “I would like to proceed with
the mission as planned if all went well with the signing of the
declaration.”

Van frowned when he
noticed that the captain didn’t even acknowledge Amerii, let alone
ask about her state of health.

A Varkan would have asked
that first. They would have placed the mission second to royalty.
He glanced at Amerii. The fact that her captain had overlooked her
didn’t seem to surprise her.

If it didn’t bother her
then he had no right to feel bothered by it. He tilted his head
back and glared at the captain of the Lyran vessel. It was hard to
ignore his desire to kill the man, to control the urge to make him
suffer for his treatment of Amerii. If she showed a hint of hurt,
he would butcher this male. He would be unable to stop
himself.

“
All hands
prepare for departure. Escort the Nebuz-Lyra VIII and its comrades
to her destination,” Van said, holding the Lyran’s gaze and trying
to see if he was satisfied now that they would be continuing to
Varka Two.

The male’s attention moved
to Amerii at last.

“
Lieutenant
Amerii, return to the Nebuz-Lyra VIII.”

She opened her mouth to
respond but Van stepped forward and stole the captain’s
attention.

“
Her highness
is in no condition to return to your vessel and we have been
stationary too long. We have received reports of recent Wraith
activity in the area. They would attack any small vessel. We will
rendezvous on the surface of Varka Two at the assigned
coordinates.”

He held his hand up and
the screen returned to showing the view outside the
ship.

“
Depart as
planned. Maintain alert status. If anything moves out there that
isn’t part of this convoy, I want to know about it.” Van waited for
his crew to salute and then turned on his heel to face Amerii. Her
eyes were wide and full of shock. Was it because of his actions? He
would have been a fool to allow her to cross back to her ship when
he didn’t know if Wraiths were waiting in the darkness.

He would have been a fool
to let her go so easily.

Holding his hand out, he
intimated the door of the bridge. She nodded and walked ahead of
him. He scanned his crew for any sign of trouble and then followed
her out into the corridor. They walked in silence. It grated on his
nerves. He wanted her to speak to him again, to talk as openly as
she had in his room. He could sense her nerves. Was it their
destination that frightened her or was it a reaction to his desire
to keep her on his vessel?

“
Amerii,” Van
said and she looked up at him. A smile graced her lips, the sight
of it relieving some of the tension in him. “Are you
hungry?”

Her expression turned
thoughtful.

“
We may have
some protein packs,” he said and she paled and gulped.

“
It’s fine. I’d
rather go hungry than eat those.”

He stopped dead and she
walked a few steps before stopping herself and looking back at him.
The thought that she would rather starve than eat a protein pack
was a disturbing one. He had no experience of them but surely
consuming one was preferable to becoming weak. He couldn’t allow
her to starve herself. A frown married his eyebrows at the thought
but then he reminded himself that her wish was his command. If she
did not want to eat, it wasn’t his place to force her. He only
wished that he could find an alternative source of sustenance for
her.

“
I am sorry,”
Van said and bowed his head, feeling foolish for not allowing
Amerii to return to her ship where she could have eaten. Now she
was going to starve with him and grow weak. He should have been
more responsible and thought things through. In his haste to have
her near to him, he had again placed her in danger.