JakesPrisoner (11 page)

The general sighed audibly. “I’m fond of a game of poker
myself, Captain Hallstrom, but two million credits?”

“Unless you’d prefer that I return it, Sir.”

Tanith watched as the general’s face turned a strange shade
of purple. She hadn’t known that humans could do that. Strom was biting down on
his lip, trying not to meet her eyes.

“No, you can’t give it back to the damn terrorists. Give it
to the crew. Now about the Ranans, we can’t afford any difficulties with them.”

Tanith smiled sweetly at the general. “The Ranans are very
pleased that we helped to expose a glitch in their security systems. In fact,
they’ve offered me a job.”

The general tapped his fingers impatiently against the desk.
“What about the allegations of sexual misconduct with a prisoner?”

How the hell had he found out about that?
Tanith
glanced at Strom. An allegation like that could destroy his career and she
wasn’t about to let that happen. “You’re mistaken, General. I am not a prisoner
and I must say that I’m shocked by your allegations. Captain Hallstrom has
behaved like a gentleman at all times.”

“My apologies, Ms. Jasson,” the general was almost
groveling. “I didn’t mean to insult you. Fleet Command is most grateful for
your assistance in shutting down a terrorist network. I don’t know what your
future plans are, but we could always find an opening for you here, if you’re
interested. I’ll let you think about it.”

With a curt nod, the general was gone and the ready room was
silent. She was free of her past. She had two offers of employment and,
somewhere on the ship, her human was waiting for her. There was just one thing
that remained to be done.

“That went better than I expected, Ms. Jasson. The crew will
be pleased about the prize money. Now if you will excuse me.” Strom moved
toward the door.

Tanith stood up, blocking his path. “No, I don’t excuse you.
We need to talk about what happened the night I went to your cabin.”

She’d been wrong about Strom having a poker face. Two
scarlet flags appeared on his cheeks. “I’m sorry that I exposed you to the
Dermatrax
,
but you’re Jake’s best friend, and I hate it that you’re so terrified of me all
the time.”

“Ms. Jasson, I am not—”

“And will you ever stop calling me Ms. Jasson.”

Tanith reached out and grabbed his hand. “Strom, what I did
to you that night was wrong. But I’m mated to Jake now. The
Dermatrax
can only call to him. You can’t possibly feel anything for me.”

She held on tight as Strom tried to drag his hand away.
Eventually Strom relaxed. The color faded from his cheeks and he smiled down at
her. Relief was etched all over his face. Strom was kind of cute, if you liked
the strong silent type, but she had someone else waiting for her.

Tanith commed Pete and asked him for the location of Jake’s
new quarters. This was turning into a pretty good day after all. She examined
the deck plan outside the elevator on deck sixteen—Department of Botany and
Hydroponics, Office of Spiritual Affairs, Married Quarters. Oh no. Jake
wouldn’t. He couldn’t possibly. Tanith followed Pete’s directions to cabin
1692. She hesitated on the threshold and then went inside.

It was nice, bigger than the old one, and it had a small
food preparation area and a dining table so that they could entertain. She
recognized some of the furniture from Jake’s old cabin. His collection of
images appeared on one wall. A brilliant display of shooting stars taken on the
night they met was followed by an image of them dancing at the ambassador’s
residence. The third image was one of her in the red suit, looking serious and
very sexy.
She was definitely keeping that one.
The images of Jake’s
other women were gone.

Tanith opened the door to the master bedroom. In the middle
of the gigantic bed lay a smiling, naked human. Her eyes raked over him from
head to toe. It was ten days since they had been together and she could feel
the
Dermatrax
perking up in anticipation. A small velvet-covered box sat
on the middle of Jake’s chest.

“Nice outfit, Human.”

Jake gave her a lazy smile. “I’m glad you like it.”

“You surprise me. I thought you were the type who never
wanted to be tied down.”

With one hand, Jake flipped open the box to reveal a perfect
yellow diamond set into a gold band. “Oh, I’ve been tied down for some time
now. It just took me a while to realize it.”

Jake patted the dark silk cover on the bed and she went to
join him. “You were never my prisoner, Tanith. From the first moment I saw you,
I’ve always been yours.”

Raised on a diet of romance novels and science fiction, it’s
not surprising that Caroline McCall turned to writing time travel and
paranormal romance. She loves history, and some of her stories are inspired by
Celtic myths and legends. Caroline lives with her partner and several spoiled,
ungrateful felines on the windswept east coast of Ireland. She does most of the
plotting for her novels while walking on the beach.

Caroline loves to travel, and her background is quite
eclectic. She’s done everything from working as a roadie for a rock and roll
band to designing knitwear. Caroline is delighted to be a member of the
wonderful Ellora’s Cave team, and welcomes contact from her readers.

Caroline welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her
author bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.

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