Her Commanders - M.K. Eidem Page 0,29

thought way too much about lately, tensed ever so slightly, proof that Mae's drink was more potent than he'd expected.

"So, tell me, Sub Commander." She looked at him over her glass as she took another sip. "What brings you to my humble abode?"

Taarig stared at her for a moment, and every plan he'd come up with to approach her faded away, and he decided just to be direct. "I wanted to see you again. Wanted to see if the attraction was real."

She was surprised by his directness and carefully set her glass down before responding. "Attraction?"

"Yes." He'd seen the interest in Cali's eyes as they traveled over him but wanted her to say it. "The one between you and me."

"And what makes you think there is one?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Are you claiming there's not?"

Cali was silent for a moment. She'd always liked the straightforward approach, stating what she wanted and having her partner do the same. Taarig was doing that, and she would respond in kind.

"No." Sliding her drink to the side, she leaned forward on an elbow, her chin resting on her knuckles. "There is an attraction between us, but I'm not sure I'm willing to act on it."

"Why not?" Taarig demanded.

"Why should I?" she challenged back. "While I'm not looking for a long-term relationship, I also don't do casual, and that's all you and the Commander do."

Taarig's eyebrows drew together at her words. "I don't know why you would think that. Neither Jamis nor I have ever been casual with any female we've engaged with on this base."

"Perhaps casual isn't the right word then. Maybe short-term is better. You both choose a female that you know isn't going to be on the base long. That way, there are no uncomfortable moments where an old lover runs into the new one." She gave him an approving nod. "It's a good strategy and has worked well for you, but I'm not going anywhere in the foreseeable future."

"You've been here nearly four standard-years, and I've only seen you once."

"True, but all of Jamis's and your past interests have been in The Brink. They like to talk about 'their Commanders'."

"I wasn't aware of that," he told her, taking another more cautious sip of his drink.

"Of course not. Why would you? You've never come here, and if it weren't for the fact that Jamis has already fucked me, you wouldn't be here now."

"That's a rather crude way of putting it," he admonished.

"Perhaps, but true." She leaned back, giving him an assessing look as she finished her drink. "I have to admit that I wasn't expecting you to show up, not after the way Jamis faked a transmission to get away from me."

"What makes you think it was fake?" he asked neutrally and saw her eyes harden.

"I don't tolerate liars, Sub Commander. I would have thought you understood that after our interaction in the Base Commander’s office."

"I do, and I don't tolerate them either. We all know Nox lied, but there was nothing we could do to him without proof."

"I had proof. You just didn't believe it."

"Coalition rules are skewed to protect those that serve, instead of those it should. It's not right, but it's the way it is, and in this case, I have to say I'm glad about it." He shouldn't have said that last part, but he couldn't help himself. He liked the way her brown eyes sparked, and her well-endowed chest heaved when she got riled up, the way she was right now. Gods, there was so much passion in this little female, and he wanted to sample all of it.

"Glad?!" she hissed.

"Yes, because your punishment was not only brilliant but far more effective than anything we could have done. Now Nox's reputation is in ruins because everyone knows that Wik Corp doesn't ban beings from their establishments without cause."

"They will remove his name from the list when he pays up," she reminded him, trying not to blush at his praise.

"True, but no one will forget; beings have long memories. That's justice. Now, tell me how you realized Jamis faked receiving that transmission."

"Because I was nearly ear-to-ear with him when it supposedly came through. That close, even an Earthan can hear the ping."

"I see." Taarig finished his Galaian Wrath. "Well, if you want an explanation for why Jamis did that, you'll have to ask him. What I can say is that he's never done it before."

"Right." She gave a disbelieving snort.

"I can also say," he continued