Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 36684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“I hope so too, Sergeant. Although I doubt it. Dismissed.” Captain Keer shook his head and turned to go. “Dinner at nineteen hundred,” he said, looking over his shoulder as he spoke. “And I trust I don’t need to tell you that we enforce a strict dress code—that means the standard uniform, not a damp hand towel and bubbles, Sergeant.”
“Yes, Sir.” Tabitha scrambled for her fallen towel, her cheeks flaming. As the door to her quarters whooshed shut, she mentally catalogued every embarrassing thing that had happened. First she was woefully unprepared for her new captain’s visit, then she had butchered his name, then flashed him for a good five minutes while she dripped on the floor and stammered like a brain-dead fool. Well, so much for impressing her new commanding officer. Tabitha had a bad feeling that from now on no matter how hard she tried to redeem herself, he would always see her standing there nude and stuttering like an idiot.
God, could it possibly get any worse?
Keer shook his head as he left his newest sergeant’s quarters. She was everything he’d thought she would be—too young, mostly inexperienced despite her one successful sting, and entirely too impetuous. Keer was used to working with officers who knew exactly what they were doing at all times—his unit ran like a well-oiled machine. And he suspected Sergeant Tabitha Bryce was going to throw a wrench in the operations.
But there was something about her, he admitted to himself as he walked down the long metal corridor. A vulnerability that her brash words and cocky attitude couldn’t hide. It touched him somehow and he wasn’t used to being touched. Contrary to popular belief, Zentorians had as many emotions as the next sentient species. But they were so strong, so violent, that they had to be suppressed at all costs to avoid a loss of control. Keer kept his emotions chained down, as strictly restrained as any wild animal that might break loose and bite. The fact that this young woman could provoke feelings of any kind in him was a warning—a clear sign that he should stay away and be on his guard against her.
He promised himself to keep her at arm’s length at all times, but even as he did, the image of her standing there, with lavender bubbles dripping from the tips of her rosy, ripe nipples and sliding down to the tender cleft of her pussy rose before his eyes. Keer had never before been tempted to take what some called “the captain’s privilege”, but suddenly he could imagine taking it with Tabitha. He saw himself laying her down on his bed and spreading her legs so that he could finger her sweet pussy. He wanted to part that tender slit and stroke her hot little cunt. Wanted to see what she tasted like, hear what she sounded like when she moaned and begged for more…
Keer shook his head, driving away the fantasies that threatened to swamp him. He realized that his cock was rock hard in his uniform pants and lust was rushing over him in a red tide. Taking a deep breath, he forced it back down, refusing to give in to the primitive emotion that wanted to steal his control. Oh yes, he was definitely going to have to watch out for Sergeant Tabitha Bryce, he told himself. Watch out for her and stay as far away from her as he possibly could.
TWO
Despite her belief that things couldn’t get worse, they did and in very short order. Tabitha had been right—her first meeting with the captain had screwed up her entire career aboard Pride of Justice.
During staff meetings, which every officer was required to attend, none of her suggestions or ideas were given the slightest notice. When assignments were handed out, hers were always the simplest and when the crew went planet-side for a sting, or even a routine search, she was never one of the officers included in the landing party. When she tried to speak to Captain Keer about it personally, he just nodded and looked right through her.
The strange thing was that while he ignored her whenever she tried to get his attention, every once in a while Tabitha would feel an itching sensation between her shoulder blades as though someone was watching her. She would turn to see those dark, gold-ringed eyes fixed on her for the barest instant before Captain Keer looked away, apparently interested in something much more important than a rookie in disgrace.
Why does he stare at me if he hates me so much? And if he wants me, why doesn’t he order me to his quarters one night? In fact, no one was ordered to the captain’s quarters at any time of the night or day, an unusual circumstance considering how long they stayed in deep space with no planet-side relief. Relationships between the other crew members flourished, but as far as she could tell, Captain Keer was above all of it, walking a solitary, emotionless path even as he ruled his ship with an iron fist. Tabitha couldn’t figure it out but it soon became the least of her worries. Her career at Intergal was in the toilet before she’d even gotten started—her bright, promising future and her plans to rise to the top, all spoiled because of one awkward encounter with too much soap and not enough clothes.