She nodded shyly, clutching her sweater to her breasts.
“Good. Then this is what we’re going to do. I’m going to teach you to build your shields. I’ll also help you with the other aspects of your developing Talent, to hone your skills. I can also help facilitate interaction with the rest of the crew. I think, if you get to know them, you can make some good friends among those I hand-selected for this voyage. I don’t want you spending all your time alone down there in the hold, all right?”
“If you say so, Captain, but I’m an outsider. Most of the others either knew each other from previous assignments or have already split off into small groups. And the things some of them were thinking whenever I was around made me very uncomfortable. Based on those overheard thoughts, I don’t think any of them want to be my friend—or that I want them as friends either.”
“Not all of them, surely?” Agnor wasn’t willing to back down, but he had to tread lightly.
Bet shrugged. “Not all of them,” she agreed grudgingly. “But one or two of the younger girls’ thoughts were especially cutting. I don’t want to be friends with them. Not if they can be that unkind.”
Agnor nodded solemnly. “I thought I had thoroughly researched the character of everyone on this crew, but I didn’t have someone with your gift to see through the fitness reports to the actual motivations and thoughts of the people in question. Your skill is something that could be very useful to the Council, even if you didn’t want to be an active spy.”
He watched her eyes widen as he brought up the topic again. He wanted to get her thinking about using her mind-reading Talent on behalf of their people. Her new skill was rare and should be used, but first, he had to teach her how to control it, and convince her to try to actively use it.
“Think about it,” he counseled, deciding to leave it there for now.
He patted her luscious fanny, revealed now that the giant sweater was out of the way. She really was the most beautiful creature he’d ever known—inside and out.
“Now put on your mousey sweater, sweetheart, and get out of here before I tie you to my bed and won’t let you leave.” He gave her a growling smile and was charmed by her wide-eyed reaction.
He’d have to work on that. The woman didn’t know how attractive she was. Her self-confidence was non-existent. Agnor would fix that too. He had his work cut out for him, but he hadn’t been quite this eager for a new pupil in a very long time…if ever.
He vowed he would have her in his bed before too much longer. And he would make good on his promise to help her make friends among the crew. He would try to help her learn about pleasure from and with them as well. No Council Talent should be as repressed as Bet was. Talents needed the sexual release and energy generated by the act of love. It was as vital to them as breathing.
The fact that Bet had apparently done without to this point amazed Agnor. If she had such a strong Talent without the added benefits of sharing pleasure freely, then what would her power be like once she starting living the life she was meant to pursue as a Council Talent? Agnor looked forward to finding out.
And he very much feared that, once he had her in his bed, he might not want to ever let her go. But he’d deal with that if, and when, he got her to that point. It was going to be a wild ride, and he wasn’t entirely certain of the outcome, but he’d enjoy it while it lasted. Bet was something special, and he wanted to remember every touch, every caress. Remember and relive—as often as humanly possible. He just had to get her to that point first.
* * *
In the days that followed, Agnor worked on both of his objectives. First, was getting the ship in shape for the real mission they’d been deployed to achieve. Second, but not second in his heart, was the goal of helping Bet gain confidence and skill in her Talent, with the added benefit of kissing and touching her, giving them both pleasure.
She wasn’t quite there yet, though he had gentled her to his touch. She didn’t run away anymore or try to hide from him. She was blossoming before his eyes, but she still lacked the kind of easy confidence she should have had. With her level of power, she should have been much more stable emotionally, but the secondary ability to read minds had undermined her confidence.
Agnor was working to rebuild it. As her shields improved, so did her emotional state, though she still seemed to have spotty control over the mind-reading ability. They were working on it one night in his cabin when she broached a subject he didn’t expect.
“Agnor, I have to apologize, but I picked up on something, and it has me a little worried,” she admitted, biting her lip in a way that made him want to growl.
He
wanted to nibble on her lips—and other parts of her body.
“What is it? You know you can ask me anything.” He’d established that rule early in their training relationship.
With Bet’s level of Talent, once she gained some control, most minds would be completely open to her. Agnor didn’t intend to even try to keep secrets from her. The simple fact was—hard as it was to explain logically—he trusted her.
“Well, I didn’t mean to, but I heard some of your thoughts this morning…about our first real mission.” There she went, biting that lip again. He was so tempted to lean over and join her, but he had to refrain. There would be time for that later.
“What did you see? And where were you when you picked up on these thoughts?” His curiosity was piqued. As far as he knew, she’d been in the hold all day, working.
“I was at my duty station, but I guess I was thinking about you.” She cleared her throat self-consciously. “About the work we’ve been doing in the evenings on my shields,” she clarified. “And I guess my thoughts turned to you, and suddenly, I was seeing blue stones and secret orders. Does the Council really know where the collective gets those crystals? And are we going there?”
“Yes, and yes,” he answered simply, amazed that she’d been able to tune into his thoughts all the way from the cargo hold, simply by thinking about him. “I was working on the briefing I plan to give the crew. You probably picked up on that. Bet, I have to tell you. I’m really impressed.”
“Then you’re not angry with me? I truly didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your thoughts. It just sort of happened.”
She looked so worried he had to smile.
“No, sweetheart. I’m not angry. Like I said, I’m impressed. I know the strength of my own shields. That you were able to penetrate them with impunity says something significant about your Talent.”
She blushed so becomingly he was sorely tempted to take her into his arms, but he had to let her come to him. He’d decided somewhere along this journey that he didn’t want to be the seducer in this particular game. Certainly, he would do all he could to entice her into making the first move, but he wouldn’t run roughshod over her sensibilities. When they made love, he wanted it to be because she had either thought it through and decided to come to him, or her instincts and desire for him overpowered her fear.
Either motivation was acceptable as far as he was concerned. He wasn’t picky. He just had to be sure she came to him of her own volition. She was such a shy creature, and he never wanted to hurt her or coerce her—even inadvertently.
“So when are you going to tell the crew?” she asked quietly.
“Tomorrow. We’ve done just about all we can to make certain this ship is ready for anything. So far, the
Calypso
has performed beautifully and well within expected parameters. We’re ready for action, so there’s no use delaying. We have an important mission to complete.”
“But despite the weapons you showed me, we’re not a warship. So what can we do about those crystals?”
“You’re exactly right. The
Calypso
is a science vessel, with enough teeth to be able to defend herself, if need be, but we’re not going in looking for a fight. Our mission is to learn all we can about the planet, the mines, any inhabitants, and the crystal itself. If we can obtain samples for further study, so much the better, but we’ll have to see what the situation is when we get there. The information on the planet Ipson is scarce at best. All we have is the name and the coordinates, and not much else to go on.”
“Ipson,” she repeated. “That’s the name of the place we’re going?”
“Yes,” he verified. “Darak and Jana were able to obtain that information on my last voyage on the
Circe
, so I know it’s good. I’ve trusted Darak with my life on more than one occasion. If he collected the intel, it’s as good as gold.”
“Or blue crystals.” She smiled at him, and he felt himself responding to the small joke.
She really was the most adorable creature. Smart, funny and, when she wasn’t being self-conscious, eminently capable. Gorgeous with immense power and brains too, she was the total package.
CHAPTER FIVE
Agnor held the crew briefing the next main shift in the rec room. He’d timed it at the end of third shift and beginning of main, so that only the second shift crew would have to take time out to join them. The thirds were going off-duty, and the mains were coming on. He left a skeleton crew on the bridge and piped his talk over so they could hear it too.
He answered a few questions about the mission, but for the most part, his new crew was eager to get started. He liked their response. There was no fear that he could see. No dissention. This team was willing to take direction—as long as that direction led them forward, into glory. Or, as near as a science vessel could get to actual
glory
.
Agnor was happy with his crew’s reaction and felt light as he dismissed them all to go about their business. He returned to the bridge and gave orders to set course. They were on their way toward Ipson within minutes.
It was the mission he’d been looking forward to since they first found out about Ipson. The planet where the power crystals came from had been a major discovery on that last mission with Darak and Jana. He’d sworn then that he would go there and learn all he could. The crystals were responsible, in part, for the enslavement of thousands of Talents in the collective. Agnor wanted to know its secrets, so he could free them, if at all possible.
If he could discover the secrets of the crystal, it would be the most important find of his life. And if he, or someone else, could use that knowledge to free those trapped in the collective, as Jana had been, it would be the best thing that had happened for Talents all across the galaxy, for hundreds of years.
Just because those Talents in the collective lived under a different government didn’t mean that Talents on Council worlds didn’t feel sympathy for them. Far from it. There had been a time on most planets where Talents had to struggle just to stay alive and not be hunted for their differences.
The Council had ended the exploitation and systematic execution of Talents on the worlds under their control, but there were still many places in the galaxy where Talents had to live in fear. The worst of these were in the collective. By far. For the collective didn’t just try to eliminate Talents. No, the collective imprisoned Talents’ minds and used their power for its own ends.
Psychic slavery of the very worst kind, perpetrated, somehow, by the crystals from Ipson.
Over the next few days, as they headed on a roundabout path toward the distant planet, Agnor worked with Bet as much as he could. They spent most of second shift together, in his meditation chamber, working on her shields, which were coming along nicely. He also worked on the attraction that was ever-present between them.
He would touch her lightly, but with meaning he hoped she understood. Little by little, he got the feeling she was growing to seek out his touches. That she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He still wouldn’t press her, but he was just waiting for the day when she decided to take him up on his offer.
And then, one night, after they’d perfected her first level of shielding, she finally came to him.
“I can’t believe how easy this is becoming,” Bet said, marveling at the way the shield felt, now that it had become second nature.
He’d been so patient with her while she worked on learning the skills, she had fallen a little in love with him both for his kindness and confidence in her. He’d gentled her to his touch to the point where she craved his hands on her body, caressing, guiding. Her thoughts had turned to making love with him time and time again. She wanted it. So badly. And she sensed he was waiting for her to make some kind of move.
“It will get even easier with time and practice, but you’ve already mastered the first level, and it should be much easier from here on out.”
Was that pride she heard in his voice? Pride in her abilities? Nobody had ever spoken to her in that sort of tone, so she wasn’t completely sure, but she thought just maybe, he was happy for her. The feeling of joy that swept over her made her bold.
Daring greatly, she put her arms around him, hugging him tight. “Thank you, Agnor,” she whispered.
“I’m only too happy to have been able to help you.” He pulled back slightly, and he looked deep into her eyes. “You’re a very special woman, Bet.”
She thought she saw some spark in his eyes. Some little flame that echoed the inferno in her own blood. Was he as attracted as she?
There was only one way to find out.
Taking a breath for courage, she reached upward to tangle her fingers in his hair. She pressed her body closer as she raised her lips, seeking his.
She kissed him with all the pent-up desire that raced through her veins and was thrilled when he met her lips with a fierceness of his own. She had initiated the kiss, but he took it over and turned it into something molten.
Bet was flying. Her body on fire. Weightless. Held only by the strong arms of the man she had come to admire—and yes, even love a bit more than she probably should. Her mind stopped thinking as their kiss spun into an infinity of passion.
“Oh, Bet. What you do to me,” Agnor exclaimed softly as he broke the kiss but didn’t let her go. His lips traced warm, moist patterns over her cheeks and down her throat as his hands caressed her body through her clothing.