Desires and Demons

Please see part one for disclaimers and warnings.

Desires and Demons - Two

Dylan has been short tempered for a week. Rommie is the only sentient being on board that Captain Hunt hasn't snapped at. So I asked her what she knew that the rest of us didn't?

"Beka," she said, "You tried to seduce him, then hijacked his ship. Give him a little slack."

When she put it that way, I could see why he might be a little testy with me. I'm assuming that "tried" meant I wasn't successful. That's a relief. I don't think either of us would have recovered from that breach of protocol. And I know if I had succeeded, the late night girl talk sessions would never have included me!

To my smart aleck question, "Tyr didn't try to seduce him, did he?" she said, "Dylan might have enjoyed that more than the thrashing that the Kodiak gave him. Tyr was seconds away from killing Dylan, when Harper's device kicked in."

I winced. Tyr may never recover from that gaffe. It just isn't done. Attempting to murder your superior officer is frowned upon in the High Guard. Although I expect it is rule number two in the Nietzschean survival manual.

That accounted for Dylan's anger toward Tyr and I, but what about his anger with Trance? Mind you, I have my own issues with Trance. Since the incident whenever I have been in the same room as she, my flight and fight instinct has kicked in. She appears to have scared the crap out of the evil tart that inhabited my body. Rommie said that Trance's report has been marked classified by Dylan, for his eyes only. That's really got me curious.

nother sleepless night - I might as well spend it on the Maru making repairs.

I pass the soldering wand over the weld one last time, then place the access panel in place. I turn the screws that hold the panel in place. I have to be careful when I hand tighten things on the Maru. I must not make them so tight that Beka cannot open them.

Working with Beka is a balancing act. She is very good at what she does. For a human female, she is very strong, but she does not have my enhanced abilities. There are moments when she welcomes my superiority. There are moments when she rejects it. When we first began to work together, I had great difficulty guessing when an action of mine would be welcome or rejected.

Right now for example! She is here. She arrived silently, but her scent gave her away. She has made no move to announce herself. I hear her heart beating evenly, but more rapidly than it should when at rest. Something has elevated her pulse.

If I were to live in the moment, setting aside our uncertain future and the turmoil on this ship, I would know what to do next. I had seen a flash of light from the interior of the Maru when I approached. Still wary from our abduction, I approached the ship cautiously. What I found pushed my already rapidly beating heart up a notch. I kept silent, like you do when you see a beautiful animal in the wild. You want to share its space for just a moment, so you stay still, watching, absorbing the beauty.

Tyr is bending over an access panel, his back to me. He appears to be making repairs. A soldering wand pokes out from a tool holster. My eyes rove over his broad expanse of naked back, as the muscles move to support his actions.

His hair has fallen forward exposing his shoulder blades, sharp and well defined. I follow the line of his spine, wondering what it would feel like to trail my finger down the ridge. Would it be a combination of silk and solid? Then I see a trickle of sweat follow the same path as my eyes. Slick silk undulating southward. I swallow - my mouth dry.

The drop runs under the waistband of his shorts. The stretch shorts cling to his buttocks like a second skin. The angle of his stance gives me a clear view of the curves. My palms itch to stroke the taut cloth. If I lived in the moment I would not resist.

Slowly I straighten. I want her to think that I have not noticed her presence. When I am upright again, I am able to see her reflection in the bulkhead in front of me. The details are obscured, but it is clear enough for me to confirm that she is neither angry nor afraid. My response to the situation is elemental and immediate.

A beautiful woman is taking inventory of my assets with an attitude of lust. Beka's desire has never been that open. Her demons have seen to that. If she knew that I was aware of her the wanton would disappear. The cool, commanding captain would be in her place.

I raise my arms above my head, clasping my hands together. I stretch, first to the left and then to the right. I lower my arms so that my hands sit on my hips. I rotate my body to the left then the right. I am careful not to turn so far that she is within my field of vision.

He moves with such grace! I love to watch him move - a big man with the muscle control of a dancer. Contradictions, Tyr is a bundle of contradictions. I want to run a finger along his arm, following the contours of his muscles. He is rotating his body, his pelvis thrusting forward. Blood rushes southward and the ever present itch increases.

Oh my, he has raised his mass of hair and pushed it to fall down his back. The thought of that chest fully exposed makes my body quiver. As if he has read my mind he turns. His eyes are closed. I am relieved. I have a moment to batten down the hatches of my desire. But instead I take that moment to memorize every detail.

The vee of dark fuzz that grows along his breastbone. The nipples dark and tight. The flat abdominals relaxed at this moment, but ready to crunch into action if the need arises. Involuntarily I step forward, my hand outstretched, echoing my desire to touch.

Through my lashes, I watch her move toward me, hand outstretched. Once again, I place my hands on my hips, the elbows bent. I thrust my pelvis forward as if I am taking the kinks out of my back. I can feel heat radiating from her body then I feel the first tentative touch. A finger glides down my breastbone and comes to rest above my navel.

My arms gather her to me, crushing her against my body. She whimpers. I open my eyes to find her blue ones wide with longing, focused on my face. Her mouth opens to let the tip of her tongue slip across her lips. I do the natural thing I capture her mouth with mine.

Déjà vu. The smell and taste of him, overpowering and addicting, releases a vivid memory. The bitch/Beka had got here before me. She may have fondled the goods, but she had missed the man. This time my body was going to experience the Kodiak, not that evil twin.