Talent For Trouble (14 page)

Her attention was caught by Agnor and Seta, still fucking on the nav console. Agnor’s robes had fallen away and Darak noted the way Jana’s gaze slid over Ag’s surprisingly muscular form. Did she linger on his cock sliding in and out of Seta’s pussy? Yes, Darak caught her hesitation—her fascination with observing the other couple. It made him think that perhaps Jana was a budding voyeur.

Or maybe she’d just never seen anything like it before in her life. He had little doubt that there was no porn allowed in the collective. And Mithrak, the planet of her birth, had strict morality laws that they actually enforced.

“Do you like his technique?” Darak whispered in her ear, pausing to lick his way around the sexy whorls, making her shiver. “I could spread you out next to her and do you side by side. Would you like that? Maybe we could switch partners mid-fuck. Have a little swinger session?”

“No,” she whispered, but he felt the quiver of her body as his hand slipped inside her pants.

“You sure you don’t want Agnor’s long cock inside you today? The ladies on my crew say he’s very good. And Seta certainly seems to enjoy what he’s doing.”

She shook her head even as she watched the other man work Seta hard. Seta moaned and clawed at Agnor’s back, her heels digging into his muscular buttocks.

At that moment, Darak’s finger slipped into Jana’s wet folds, stroking her clit as she tensed on his lap. Jana looked at him quickly, that lovely shock on her face again, but Darak soothed her, rubbing her clit with a circular motion she seemed to enjoy.

He leaned in and kissed her, then pulled back, sliding his finger deep into her channel, using his thumb to caress her clit. Her eyes widened, and she squeaked a bit. A lovely sound of excitement and discovery. He liked it. And he was absolutely sure she liked what he was doing to her, as well. For one thing, she was creaming all over his hand, making his way slippery and very, very easy. Perfect.

“Look at them, Jana,” he whispered, coaxing her to look away. “See the way he fucks her? See the sparks riding them? You can almost feel the power surge as he slides into her, deeper with every stroke, closer to completion. He’s refilling her well of energy, as she is doing for him. The pleasure is fulfilling two very basic needs—that for pleasure and that need all Talents have for energy. The energy of life. Of love. Of the world around us and inside us. The energy we give to each other when we share our bodies and our pleasure.” Darak worked her clit as the couple on the console neared their climax. If Darak had his way, Jana would come with them.

Jana squirmed on his lap, but he noticed she didn’t look away from the straining couple only a few feet away. They were at the crisis point now, Seta moaning with Agnor’s every hard, fast, deep thrust.

“Come with them, Jana,” Darak ordered, sliding another finger inside her, pulsing harder, in time with her panting breaths. He felt how close she was. Very close, indeed.

All it would take was just a little more…

Seta cried out, and Jana bit her lips, stifling a moan. She came on Darak’s hand, so beautifully. Agnor stiffened, and all three of them found completion. The energy swirled around the bridge, and Darak felt as if he’d accomplished something amazing. Jana had let down another of her many barriers. She had come in public. She had come on command. And she had watched the scene he’d planned out so carefully for her, allowing him to push her limits and proving both to him and herself—he hoped—that she was recovering from the hell the collective had put her through. Little by little, she was healing.

Darak withdrew his hand from her quivering pussy and turned her in his arms, kissing her deeply as she tried to catch her breath. He was so happy for her. So proud of her. So willing to do whatever he could to make her whole.

“You’re beautiful, my Jana.”

He realized a beat too late that he’d said something wrong. Storm clouds gathered in her eyes as she got off his lap and settled her clothing. She stepped markedly away from him as she spoke in a low tone meant only for him.

“I’m not yours. I’m not anyone’s.” She turned away and headed for the small console she’d been using while on the bridge. It had become her station, of sorts. But he still heard her next words, and they sent an arrow of pain through his heart for her. “I’m not even my own, anymore.”

He was looking for something to say that might mend the wound he’d unintentionally inflicted, but as she took her seat, he heard her final mutter. “But I’ll never be theirs again.”

Darak wanted to smile, but hid his expression. Jana was fighting back, and he was all for it, even though it meant he’d have to be careful what he said. She was fighting the collective’s hold. The physical and psychic bonds had been severed months ago, but Darak knew the damage done to her psyche would take longer to heal. He was happy to see her asserting her own power over her destiny again, even if it was just a muttered promise that she would never allow the collective to get her again.

It was a positive sign as far as he was concerned. Jana’s fighting spirit was reemerging. The woman she would have become if not for the collective’s intervention was asserting herself, and he couldn’t be happier about it. She was making progress. Good progress on all fronts. And he couldn’t wait to see what she’d be like once she was well and whole in mind and body once again. He’d bet she’d be hell on wheels, and he was just the man to partner her—if she would have him.

Whoa.
Darak stopped his runaway train of thoughts and realized he’d gotten a little carried away. Thankfully, he was distracted by Seta as she righted herself.

“Thanks, Ag, I really needed that,” Seta quipped as she kissed Agnor one last time on the lips, helping him back into the robes that had pooled around his ankles.

Jana found herself unable to
not
notice how the other couple carried on after such a blatant display. She found it all so strange. Not only public displays of affection—about which there were strictly enforced laws on her home planet—but public sex seemed to be the norm rather than the exception among the Talents of Geneth Mar.

She’d seen a bit of it while she’d been on the planet, of course. Though judging by the activity of those on this ship, she hadn’t seen much at all. Then again, she’d been sequestered much of the time, either in hospital or secreted away on one of her sister’s new family’s estates.

“It was my pleasure, Seta,” Agnor said, drawing Jana’s attention once more. “Thank you for the boost in energy, my sweet. It will make sitting this next long watch much easier to bear with such a lovely memory to savor.” He kissed her hand gallantly before letting her step away.

Seta smiled at the tall Specitar. “You always were a charmer, Agnor. I love the way you turn a phrase.”

Agnor simply bowed his head with a smile as Seta walked off the bridge, grinning and twirling one tendril of her long hair around her finger. Jana noticed the woman wasn’t yawning, anymore. In fact, she looked energized, if lazy, in the aftermath of having sex.

She had that smug sort of smile Darak wore occasionally, and Jana had to wonder if Darak had been having sex with the other women—or even the men—on the ship without her knowledge. Then again, Seta had made it a point to state that Darak hadn’t had sex with anyone on the ship in a long time. Jana wondered why the other woman had said it. Was it true? If so, what did it mean?

And why did it make Jana’s heart feel lighter to think that he hadn’t wanted anyone since being with her? It was all so confusing. Frustrating and confounding.

Jana punched up her console with a bit more gusto than normal and was surprised by the flashing message light that greeted her. It wasn’t for her alone, though. She looked over at Darak and realized he’d switched on his console, as well, and they both had the same flashing markers.

Her gaze met his. “What is it?” she asked, worried.

“Message from home,” he said quietly, shrugging. “Agnor, do you know what this message is addressed to myself and Jana?” Darak asked the comm officer who was just taking his seat.

Jana noticed a little bot had scurried out from storage to clean and sanitize the other console that had just been used as a bed. Very efficient little sex ship, she thought with an inward smirk.

“Yes,” Agnor replied, punching up his own display. “The coded transmission came in just a few minutes ago and was routed automatically to your consoles since you were in transit and due here next. They’re coded Priority Two.”

So, that meant the message was considered urgent, but not to the point of disturbing someone in the bathroom, Jana recalled from her orientation. The various crewmembers had briefed her on their functions under Darak’s guidance so she would be more familiar with the ship and its systems. Jana was glad of that preparation now.

Darak shrugged and entered the command that would open the transmission. She watched him read for a moment before doing the same on her console. It was from Jeri. Jana smiled as she saw her sister’s face on the small screen.

The small ear device she wore allowed Jana to hear Jeri’s words as if she were standing in the room next to her. The infectious joy in her tone was hard to miss and lifted Jana’s heart. Jeri was so happy in her new life, and Jana was so happy for her sister. So glad that Jeri had found a way to rise above their terrible beginnings.

“Sorry, guys,” Jeri began in her chipper voice. “We’re re-routing you. Intel has turned up that only you two can act on. You, Darak, because you command the
Circe
and are fully capable of utilizing all her special abilities. And you, Jana, because of the crystals you still wear. I know you’re not going to like this…” Jeri frowned, and Jana worried what could put that look on her sister’s face. “You need to go to Liata and talk to a man named Zane.”

Liata. The blue agricultural planet she had almost destroyed.

Jana felt a dread in the pit of her stomach. Although, she knew intellectually that they would probably end up near Liata sooner or later, she hadn’t really prepared herself mentally for the idea of coming face to face with her former life as a slave to the collective. As a commander of the armada that had rained death down on an innocent planet from space. As a murderer.

Jana closed the transmission without hearing the rest. She had to think about this first. She had to come to terms with the idea before she could concentrate on whatever her sister wanted her to do there—at the scene of one of her worst crimes.

She felt a warm hand land on her shoulder and looked up to find that Darak had come over to her station, the look on his face full of concern.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his deep voice bringing comfort, even though she knew it shouldn’t.

She didn’t want to lean on this man any more than she already had. If she was going to get her life back—at least what little was left—she was going to have to stand on her own two feet.

“Fine,” she answered quickly. “I’m fine.” She thought repeating herself might make it true, but no such luck. Too much had just bombarded her all at once. The sexual display. Darak. Her own forbidden pleasure. Then, this. She stood, shaking off his hand. “I just need a few minutes,” she said, feeling panic rise. She needed her shielded sanctuary, and she needed it now.

Darak looked at her with concern, but he let her go. At least, he didn’t say anything when she pushed past him and headed out of the hatch and back down the corridor to her room. Thankfully, her hatch wasn’t very far from the bridge. Darak had put her next to his own cabin, and the captain was always quartered very close to his command chair.

She palmed open the hatch and stepped into the blessed peace of her room. When she would have shut the hatch behind herself, Darak was there. He’d followed her, after all.

If he was going to argue with her or order her back to the bridge, he could just forget it. She needed minute to breathe. Just breathe.

She felt panic coming on and needed the peace of the reflective field. “I’m switching this on,” she warned him.

If he had his own shields up when the field went on, he would feel pain as his own Talent was reflected back at him. It was only right to caution him, but that one warning was all she was willing to give. She hit the command and the protective field went up around her, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry.”

He disarmed her by apologizing. For what, she had no idea, because she hadn’t expected an apology from the cocky StarLord.

“Why?” she countered.

“I pushed you too hard, just now. I thought you were all right with it, but…apparently not.” He strolled in and sat on her bed, as if he was comfortable in her private space.

She regarded him as her mind spun. She could let him believe her near meltdown was his fault. It would be easier. But it was also cowardly, and Jana Olafsdotter had never been a coward. She wasn’t about to start now.

She sighed and took the room’s only chair. “It isn’t your fault. I just got a little…overwhelmed…by the idea of going back to Liata. I don’t remember the planet, you know. I had decided early in my recovery that, at some point in the distant future, I would make an effort to go there on a sort of pilgrimage, so I could see what I had done firsthand. I just didn’t expect to do it, right now.”

Darak seemed to think on her words before he spoke again, in a low, intimate tone. “Liata was always a possible stop on our journey. Trini, our Loadmaster, is a native of Liata, and we like to stop there when we can so she can see her extended family. We usually pick up some trade for them on the way, though, so likely you wouldn’t have had to deal with it until we’d already made a few stops.”

“I knew most of that before I ever agreed to this journey,” Jana admitted. “I just… This caught me by surprise.”

Darak’s expression lightened a bit. “Me, too, to be honest. I figured we’d get there when I judged you were ready. Frankly, I’m not sure you’re even close at this point, but who am I to question the wisdom of a Sha? Especially one who knows you so well?” Darak shrugged. “You should listen to the rest of the message. Jeri has some advice for you and words of encouragement. She knows what this means to you, and she didn’t send her orders lightly. She wouldn’t put you through this if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. She loves you. She wants only what is best for you.”