his fingers lingering before he tilted her chin.
”My quarters are waiting.” His voice rumbled over her senses and her stomach dropped away.
From somewhere Alana found the strength to shake her head in refusal. The wistful regret in his eyes tugged at her heartstrings. She fumbled for the door. She had to escape.
Now.
“Sleep well, my slave Alana.”
Alana closed the door, her fisted hands rested on the cold surface. Pain slashed behind her eyes. She was tired. That was all. Tired and so very lonely.
She would not make the same mistake again.
Chapter Six
Alana woke heavy eyed and with throbbing temples to find herself alone in the dimly lit sleeping quarters. With dragging steps, she availed herself of the cleansing tube—the glorious feeling of hot water pulsing down her back now a distant, wistful memory. The cleansing tube failed to make her feel truly clean.
Especially considering what she had been doing a few hours ago.
She yelled, thumped the sides of the tube with fisted hands before slumping against the tube. Really, she only had herself to blame.
The tube hummed and the programme changed to hot dry air for the drying cycle. She scrubbed wearily at her face.
It had been so long since she had lain in a man’s arms. Too long. Wary after her disastrous relationship with Scott, her defensive attitude had kept any interested men at bay. The result had been a life lived for her career, her heart reserved only for her family. Then in a matter of seconds, this alien man had stormed her hard-won barriers and opened the floodgates of her passionate nature. It was confusing, frightening, and the most exhilarating feeling she had ever experienced.
I can’t let it happen again .
For someone who prided herself on self-control and discipline, she found it hard to forgive herself for her actions. Given her role as leader of this band of lost and overwhelmed women, she had to portray herself as someone rational, composed and confident. And not someone who jumped into bed with the first interested man, totally ignoring all thoughts of their safety.
What if she had caught some weird sexual disease? She moaned as she considered the implications and squeezed her eyes shut making a mental note to ask some probing and discrete enquiries from Norman at the first opportunity.
She had yet to find out anything about this research business. Not that the Commander had actually made any reference to such a thing!
No, here was another man with a secret agenda.
She sighed.
It seemed her dealings with Scott had taught her nothing. A bittersweet ache lanced her heart. She had not been the only one to lose. The baby she had carried had proved to be stillborn after a difficult labour. Even after all these years there were times when she imagined the feel of her baby’s tiny body cradled in her arms, the cool softness of her daughter’s skin, the feathery wisps of blonde hair that tickled as Alana had pressed her lips on her in one tender kiss. The raw guttural denial tore at her insides with a pain that still gripped with relentless force. But though she had lost her child, she had relished those few moments of motherhood. Then after long months spent wandering dazed and grief-stricken through her home, one day she had discovered her husband had used her passwords to steal the formula for a new prototype of engine her stepfather intended to sell to the government.
Alana forced the past back where it belonged. She had no time for the daydreams of ‘what ifs’ of a naive twenty-year-old who believed in happy ever afters.
After the discovery of Scott’s duplicity, she had made two vows: treat men with the callous indifference she had been shown, and never fall pregnant again.
Alana cradled her empty womb protectively. The regulatory implant device issued to all active service women sure made certain she’d never experience that miracle again. Not that she wanted to, of course.
She hadn’t been entirely alone. Her mother
”My quarters are waiting.” His voice rumbled over her senses and her stomach dropped away.
From somewhere Alana found the strength to shake her head in refusal. The wistful regret in his eyes tugged at her heartstrings. She fumbled for the door. She had to escape.
Now.
“Sleep well, my slave Alana.”
Alana closed the door, her fisted hands rested on the cold surface. Pain slashed behind her eyes. She was tired. That was all. Tired and so very lonely.
She would not make the same mistake again.
Chapter Six
Alana woke heavy eyed and with throbbing temples to find herself alone in the dimly lit sleeping quarters. With dragging steps, she availed herself of the cleansing tube—the glorious feeling of hot water pulsing down her back now a distant, wistful memory. The cleansing tube failed to make her feel truly clean.
Especially considering what she had been doing a few hours ago.
She yelled, thumped the sides of the tube with fisted hands before slumping against the tube. Really, she only had herself to blame.
The tube hummed and the programme changed to hot dry air for the drying cycle. She scrubbed wearily at her face.
It had been so long since she had lain in a man’s arms. Too long. Wary after her disastrous relationship with Scott, her defensive attitude had kept any interested men at bay. The result had been a life lived for her career, her heart reserved only for her family. Then in a matter of seconds, this alien man had stormed her hard-won barriers and opened the floodgates of her passionate nature. It was confusing, frightening, and the most exhilarating feeling she had ever experienced.
I can’t let it happen again .
For someone who prided herself on self-control and discipline, she found it hard to forgive herself for her actions. Given her role as leader of this band of lost and overwhelmed women, she had to portray herself as someone rational, composed and confident. And not someone who jumped into bed with the first interested man, totally ignoring all thoughts of their safety.
What if she had caught some weird sexual disease? She moaned as she considered the implications and squeezed her eyes shut making a mental note to ask some probing and discrete enquiries from Norman at the first opportunity.
She had yet to find out anything about this research business. Not that the Commander had actually made any reference to such a thing!
No, here was another man with a secret agenda.
She sighed.
It seemed her dealings with Scott had taught her nothing. A bittersweet ache lanced her heart. She had not been the only one to lose. The baby she had carried had proved to be stillborn after a difficult labour. Even after all these years there were times when she imagined the feel of her baby’s tiny body cradled in her arms, the cool softness of her daughter’s skin, the feathery wisps of blonde hair that tickled as Alana had pressed her lips on her in one tender kiss. The raw guttural denial tore at her insides with a pain that still gripped with relentless force. But though she had lost her child, she had relished those few moments of motherhood. Then after long months spent wandering dazed and grief-stricken through her home, one day she had discovered her husband had used her passwords to steal the formula for a new prototype of engine her stepfather intended to sell to the government.
Alana forced the past back where it belonged. She had no time for the daydreams of ‘what ifs’ of a naive twenty-year-old who believed in happy ever afters.
After the discovery of Scott’s duplicity, she had made two vows: treat men with the callous indifference she had been shown, and never fall pregnant again.
Alana cradled her empty womb protectively. The regulatory implant device issued to all active service women sure made certain she’d never experience that miracle again. Not that she wanted to, of course.
She hadn’t been entirely alone. Her mother
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