To Clan and Conquer (Clan Beginnings) by Tracy St. John Page B

could only be a massive erection against Degorsk’s ass.  Something in the Imdiko’s psyche softened at the domination, and heat spilled into his cocks.  That pissed Degorsk off more than Tranis’ surprise attack.
    Shoving hard against the implacable grip still trying to press him down onto his desk, Degorsk snarled, “I am on duty, you asshole.  And I don’t want this.”
    Tranis groped around and cupped the Imdiko’s groin.  He stroked over the telltale bulge, and erotic need filled Degorsk.  He barely managed to swallow a groan.  He couldn’t help but rock his hips, rubbing himself against both Tranis’ hand and his cocks.  The spicy scent of the doctor’s arousal built thickly around him.
    “You don’t want this, huh?”  Tranis chuckled.  “Something smells and feels differently, Doctor.  I think you want it quite a bit.”
    Degorsk wanted it, all right.  But he was pissed off now, and he wanted to beat the hell out of his tormentor even more.  He grabbed for Tranis’ hand, determined to make him stop fondling.  Unfortunately, that left only one hand braced against the desk, and the bastard took the opportunity to press him closer to the surface.  Degorsk had no choice but to let that wicked hand continue to rub his aching crotch while he braced himself again.
    “You had your chance last night, damn it!”
    Tranis practically purred in his ear.  The warmth of his breath there made Degorsk’s already overloaded senses reel.  “Yes, I know.  I am trying to correct my insult to you now.”
    Degorsk became aware of another scent, one not belonging to Tranis.  His eyes widened, but he managed to keep all care out of his voice.  “It smells like you already took care of matters.  So is our Weapons Commander as good as he looks?”
    Tranis chuckled.  “Better.  Since you two can’t seem to get together, I thought I’d be your middle man.  I need to make a full report to Lidon on what he’s missing.  By the way, the Captain would like you to clear me early for return to duty.  We have a situation.”
    Degorsk stilled, and suddenly Tranis’ touch wasn’t nearly as arousing.  Sensing the change in the Imdiko’s mood, Tranis stopped rubbing though he kept his hand on the Imdiko’s groin.
    Degorsk barely noticed Tranis had dialed back on his efforts to subdue him.  He was more interested in the trouble the destroyer might be facing.  “What situation?  What’s going on?”
    “Cagu defense station was demolished.  From the looks of it, there are probably no survivors, but you need to have your staff ready for casualties.  We also lost contact with a nearby colony, so there might be trouble there as well.”
    Degorsk thought fast.  A defense station on the Joshadan border had maybe fifty personnel, tops.  But a colony might have thousands.
    Thousands.
    “Damn it.”  The faces of the dead and dying crowded his memory.  A layer of groaning, screaming men on the ground, too many to treat, too many he couldn’t save.  Especially the two lives that meant the most to him.  One moment walking tall and strong, the next broken and bloody and dead.
    “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”
    Tranis stopped trying to bend him over the desk.  He let go of Degorsk’s neck and groin and wrapped one arm around his chest and the other around his waist.  The first officer pulled Degorsk back against himself and held on tightly.  His deep voice gentle, he asked, “What is it, Imdiko?”
    The quiet way Tranis spoke and the strength he held Degorsk with made something tight and painful loosen a bit in the doctor’s gut.  His mouth fell open.  He vomited out the words that played on a loop in his head when the nights were endless and sleep wouldn’t come.  “I should have resigned.  I don’t belong in the military.  Too much death and pain.”
    The man holding him, giving Degorsk a temporary false sense of security, spoke again.  “Except for the occasional Tragoom incursions, we’re