Her Commanders - M.K. Eidem Page 0,26

let alone a Star Base. Sub Commander Zoo didn’t volunteer any useful information once he realized he wasn’t promoted to Star Base Commander. Gods, don't you remember the mess he left?"

"True. Still, you would have thought we'd have heard about it from someone."

Taarig just shrugged. He knew he and Jamis weren't the most approachable of Commanders. Even among their fellow Apre, they were considered a force to be reckoned with. As the only two Apre on the base, few dared to approach them regarding anything other than Coalition business, especially those in the lower ranks. He and Jamis liked it that way because it made maintaining order on the Star Base easier.

So not hearing about the viewport didn't surprise him, but he wished he had. While the Star Base was massive, it was still a completely enclosed structure, and there were times he just needed to see the stars, if only to feel like he was free.

"I contacted the Wik Corp requesting to see the construction plans, but don't expect them to grant the request."

Taarig huffed humorlessly, "As if that would ever happen. They'll claim it violates their privacy and security protocols. Wik Corp likes to keep their secrets."

"That's the Gods’ truth. You'd think the Paramount himself was running the company."

"Those Zagreus like to keep their secrets too," Taarig agreed. "Sounds like I need to visit The Brink and check it out."

"You do."

"And Cali?" Taarig let the question hang there, knowing Jamis would understand what he was asking.

"If she's interested in both of us, then I'm more than receptive, but I'm not sure she will be after the way I left her."

"What are you talking about?"

"Gods, T," Jamis finally took a drink of his skotsk. "I don't know what came over me."

"You upset her?"

"I didn't stick around long enough to find out," Jamis gruffly admitted.

"That doesn't sound like you." Taarig knew Jamis wasn't into small talk or cuddling once he was satisfied. He left that for Taarig, but Jamis had never been cruel or abrupt. If he were, females would never return for more, and they always did. "Tell me what happened."

"I lost control," he admitted quietly. "Ever since I woke up with Cali beneath me in that escape pod, I've wanted to get her back there. I thought I had it under control until I saw her in my office, wearing that barely-there outfit, and it hit me all over again. She was just as feisty and strong in that shelter. So, I went to The Brink, planning on doing my damnedest to get her beneath me again. And there she was. Behind the bar in an even skimpier outfit than she'd worn in my office."

"Skimpier?" Taarig choked on the sip he'd just taken.

"Yeah! Gods, I got so hard I could barely sit down, and the little imp knew it." He arranged his hardening cock into a more comfortable position before continuing. "She flirted and teased and challenged me the way no female ever has, and then she surprised me."

"How?" Taarig leaned in close, wanting to know.

"I told her that I wanted to fuck her, so she got someone to work at the bar and took me to her quarters."

"Just like that?" Taarig's eyes swirled with excitement.

"Just like that."

Taarig slumped back in his seat. "Gods, you have to love a female that knows what she wants and goes after it. So, what happened?"

Jamis proceeded to tell his friend how he'd taken Cali against the wall. How they hadn't even made it into her quarters. He'd fucked her like one of the larger, sturdier females they were accustomed to, and how he'd faked a transmission on his link to leave.

"You did what?!" Taarig couldn't believe it. He knew Jamis had never done that before. "Why?"

"I panicked." Taarig was the only male Jamis would ever admit something like that to. They were more than friends. They bonded in a way few would understand. While triads were common for some species, they weren't for the Apre, not anymore. There had been a time in their distant past when the shortage of females had made triads necessary. But that was no longer the case. He and Taarig hadn't planned on bonding the way they had, but they'd grown up together and found they were attracted to the same types of females. So instead of competing for them, as most Apre males would, they'd made a game out of it, seeing if they could convince the female to accept both. To their surprise, many