She worked out hard for at least an hour and he moved into a corner of the room and did his own work out on the bag. Boxing was an old art brought millennia ago through the first portal from Earth. Brandt loved that it kept both mind and body quick.

  After a while he looked up and saw her walking toward the showers. He argued with himself for some time before finally giving in and following.

  She was tall, probably around six standard feet. Her legs were long and shapely. Her body, as he’d seen when she’d been working out, was lithe and strong. Small but high and pertly beautiful breasts called out to be touched. A ring through one her nipples caught the light and something low in his groin tightened. He bit his bottom lip, wishing it were her nipple instead.

  She turned into the water and her golden-blonde hair darkened when wet. Brandt was riveted by her long, graceful fingers massaging shampoo through it.

  A tattoo marked her lower back, just above her right hip. The Walker Family sigil with Ash’s symbol in the center. It shocked him to see she hadn’t had it covered or removed.

  Forcing himself to move, he shed his clothes and headed into a stall to shower as well. Mixed gender showers were quite common in the military and with them being out in the field for long periods of time, he’d need to at least fake being unaffected by her body.

  Sera was aware he’d come into the room and tried not to stare at him as he took his hair out of the braid. When it fell across his back like liquid midnight she felt its phantom touch. His skin bore the deep olive tone of those who came from the universes nearest the Core and the Federation home ‘Verse, Ravena. Muscled thighs and a tight, high ass drew her eyes. Up her gaze went, past the narrow waist and the broad shoulders.

  It would be hard to keep her emotions separate on this mission. As his concubine she’d have to be at his side most of the time once they got to Nondal. She really couldn’t feel too badly they’d most likely be engaging in some form of sex play in public and also in their quarters for the cameras. But feelings-wise, he was way off the menu. If he wasn’t a Pela and connected to Ash she’d have pursued him. Sighing, she turned off the water and grabbed for her towel. She’d have to wrestle her emotions back into a deep, deep pit. Feelings for Brandt or Ash would weaken her and she couldn’t afford to be weak in any way.

  Quickly, she finished, pretending her eyes weren’t drawn back to him every few seconds.

  Brandt dried off while she laced up her boots. “You’ve got excellent technique. I’d really appreciate it if you’d work with me. I’m not awful, but I’m rusty. Martial arts were never my forte.”

  Sera kept her eyes on her laces after she caught sight of the silky arrow of dark hair leading from his belly button down to what she could only imagine was quite a lovely cock. Oh okay, she didn’t have to imagine, she stared at it a few times when she hoped to hell he wasn’t watching.

  “Well, it takes a bit of time to get to Nondal, how big is the transport?” She stood and tucked her shirt in.

  “Ash is a moneyed playboy, remember? The ship is a first class luxury transport. We have a small crew, most of them are special forces. The others are provided by Ash’s family. It’ll be necessary to hold your cover at all times, regardless.” He didn’t want her to leave just yet. Her scent teased his senses. Tantalizing him.

  “If we’re going to have company on the transport I suppose I can’t give you much help. We can’t risk being seen. It’s one thing for her…me, to work out to keep my shape, another entirely to be teaching you. When we get back we can work on your skills. I’m a fairly good instructor. What’s your specialty? I’m sure you have one or you wouldn’t be on this team.”

  “Blades. Knives, swords, throwing stars.”

  She nodded. “Excellent. I’d love to learn from you as well. I expect that it works quite well in combination with Ash’s skill with sidearms and blasters.”

  “I’d forgotten you know him so well.”

  She jerked back slightly. “I thought I did. But yes, I know he’s an expert with anything that shoots.”

  “You know, there’s so much more to what happened than a simple him-leaving-her scenario.” Brandt wanted her to understand the immense pressure a man like Ash had felt from his Family over the right marriage with another Family. Ash, as the second oldest son had to make a political marriage. He wouldn’t have been allowed to find love with a woman of Sera’s standing. The Walker Family had a generations old rule whereby the first and second sons had to procure the permission of the head of the ruling line to marry at all. Ash’s father would never agree to him marrying anyone other than a ranked woman.

  In the end, it was only Kira’s fickle nature that freed Ash. Kira traded Ash in for one of Ash’s cousins and one of Ash’s brothers married a Pela as well. The unions were enough and Ash could walk away.

  She held up a hand. “Please, if you’re going to talk to me about how I can’t possibly understand duty and his choices, save your breath. It’s over. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  He grinned. “Okay, so I’m obvious. I just want you two to get past this thing. He’s a good man, Sera.”

  “He’s a good soldier and probably a good friend to you. And I said I don’t want to talk about it.” He couldn’t help but smile at the straight line of her back as she left the room.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Ash watched her hungrily as she made her way across the courtyard from the outbuildings to the house. He loved the mystery of the way she walked. Graceful, filled with an innate sensuality. And yet, as he looked on, he saw the strength beneath the skin. Intriguing.

  He let himself think back to the last time he’d seen her. He’d known for months he’d have to marry Kira. There wasn’t any way around it. His heart ached every night as Sera had returned home. In the back of his mind he knew there was no way to work things through but he couldn’t admit defeat.

  Trying to salvage it the only way he could, he planned to have her as his mistress. He bought her a lavish flat near what would be his home with Kira. He’d have his life with Sera. She was his life. They’d have children and a family. She’d be the wife of his heart. It wasn’t perfect but it was the only thing he could do. But he hadn’t had the first idea how to break it to her. So he’d said nothing.

  Eventually, the news of the upcoming nuptials leaked to the media and it had been all over the vids. He’d rushed home and found her there, weeping, her heart broken. He’d tried to explain why he hadn’t said anything. Told her he’d been trying to find a way around it, a way out of it but the bare fact was he’d have to marry or shame his entire family.

  He remembered the look of utter betrayal on her face when he’d told her he’d purchased a home for her and had the papers for her to be his mistress. Remembered trying to manipulate her, knowing how weak she was.

  He’d have done just about anything to keep her. He adored Sera Ayers with all that he was and if it had been just him, even just his immediate family, he’d have thrown convention in their faces and taken her as his wife. But there were literally tens of thousands of people depending on him and his decisions. His Family, the people whose livelihoods depended on them, entire universes’ worth of economic systems relied on the Walker Family. The marriage of his family to the Pelas was something way beyond what mattered to just him.

  She’d wavered that night. He’d held her tenderly and she’d looked up into his face, tears shining in her eyes as he made love to her. From the questions she’d asked, he was sure she’d agree to be his mistress. Not the best situation, but he’d have lived with her, had children with her and kept care of her.

  He left for work the next morning and had come back to find her things gone except for her collar and a letter telling him she loved him but she deserved to be his wife, not his mistress. She’d been right of course. But he couldn’t give her what she wanted—what she deserved—and he’d let her go.

  After the wedding he’d thrown himself into his new marriage. He tried like crazy to make Kira happy. Yes, he loved another woman but there was no sense in punishing Kira for what she was powerless to change either. Sadly, they were ill suited from the start. Kira was a woman who didn’t know what it meant not to be the center of all things at all times. She was spoiled and selfish and had no room in her life for anyone but herself.

  The sex had been awful and there’d been no way he could even suggest anything rough. Hells, she’d probably have run screaming from the room if he’d pulled out the cat ‘o nine that had lovingly bitten and kissed Sera’s skin.

  In the end, it was Kira’s own selfishness that had freed him. She’d found someone else and his little brother married one of Brandt and Kira’s cousins. She sought a dissolution and he’d made no issue of it as long as the contracts still stood uniting their families.

  He’d taken on more responsibility in his job and eventually began working covert with Brandt. He’d put his all into the military corps. He believed in what he did and in a sense, it filled the giant gap in his life. The more it bothered him that perceptions of him as empty and shallow rose, the harder he worked until he shut out everything but his job and his few friends who knew the real Ash Walker.

  For seven years he’d considered finding Sera but he didn’t know how to get her back. Knew he didn’t deserve her. He’d figured she’d found someone else. But after they’d pulled her name as a new member of their team, he had her background checked. She’d taken other lovers but hadn’t had a long term relationship since she’d left him.

  And now she was there and he still loved her. He loved her more at that moment than he had when she’d walked out ten years before. He wanted her back and he planned to move entire universes to make it happen. More than that, he wanted Brandt too and the idea of the three of them together teased his fevered brain. Ash Walker had been successful at everything he’d ever tried in his life and he didn’t plan to let her walk out of his life ever again. Sera Ayers was meant to be his woman. He would make it happen one way or another.

  Sera knew Ash stood watching her through the window at the back of the house. She’d always known when his eyes were on her. At one time in her life, that regard had meant everything to her. There was still a gap in her heart where the pleasure at being first and foremost in his attentions used to live.

  Instead of looking up she moved into the house. Once inside, out of his view, she stood a moment, back against the door. Quietly, she tried to get hold of her rampant emotions. She was better than this, a professional. There was a lot to do before they left the next day and she could not let him get between her and her job. If she focused on that she’d make it through.

  She was strong and she believed in their cause. She made a fine weapon against their enemies. Her mother often spoke about destiny and part of Sera couldn’t help but think she was meant to be there. Meant to make a difference.

  Checking her watch she noted there was an hour-and-a-half until their meeting. Decisively, she headed out, leaving a note in the house computer notifying them she’d be back in time for the briefing. They said she could come and go as she needed. They said she was a full team member. She’d see if they really meant it.

  Not twenty minutes later Ash stormed into Brandt’s office. “She’s gone!”

  “Not for good. She’ll be back for the meeting.” Brandt didn’t even look up from his screen.

  “How do you know?”

  Brandt’s eyes found Ash’s. “Because she said she would be.”

  Ash took a deep breath and sat down. “Okay. If she’s run off, I’m going to hunt that pretty ass down and bring her back kicking and screaming. She’s run from me for the last time.”

  “Stop making this about you. You’re going to be all right with this, aren’t you?” Brandt’s voice held warning.

  “With what? And in case you’ve forgotten, I’m the ranking officer here.” Ash snorted.

  Brandt ignored the dig. “You know she’ll have to do more than pose as my concubine. I’ll be sleeping with her on the transport. I’ll be touching her all the time on Nondal. And more.”

  “And you do know that as your best friend, they’ll expect her to be shared with me on occasion.”

  “Don’t push her too far, Ash. We need her in one piece. You can’t break her down, not on this mission. It could get us all killed.”

  Ash’s mouth flattened into a harsh line. “I will do my job. But I’ll get her back.”

  “Just be sure you keep the two separate. Know your role here.” Brandt shrugged and went back to his screen.

  Just shy of the time for the meeting, they heard Sera come in downstairs and got up to go greet her, only to stare dumbfounded at her as she walked into the situation room. She stood there, her short curls now so long they hung to her ass. Her eyes bore the makeup common to most concubines and the beauty mark was there just to the right of her eye.

  “What the hell?” Ash breathed out but there was a weight on his chest at the sight of her. A glimpse of the old Sera. Just a small flicker of his woman, soft, made-up, but still ready for action if need be.

  Sera shrugged as she grabbed a glass of juice. “Concubines have long hair. I went and had extensions put in. She’d—a concubine—never be seen without her face made up, so the eyes and lips are long lasting. I don’t know how long we’ll be there so it’ll remain on for thirty days or until I remove it.”

  Both men continued to stare at her, speechless. Her eyes, lined with dark kohl, were exotic and sexy. Her already beautiful lips were even more so with the shiny treatment. Not red, more like the flesh of a pomegranate, that succulent jewel brought from another ‘Verse millennia ago. Her hair was thick and lush before but now it hung in curls covering her back and arms. In short, she was luscious, beautiful and damned sexy. Still in cargo pants and boots and yet utterly delicious.

  The smile on her lips told Brandt she knew the effect of her transformation. “What? Don’t worry, I went through secure channels to have it done.”

  Brandt shook off his stunned surprise and moved into the room to the table and sat down, hoping she wouldn’t notice the state of his cock. “Of course. It looks great. You look great. I like the attention to detail.”

  “You look more than great, Sera.” Brandt glanced up at Ash sharply at his words but was relieved the other man stopped at that and sat.

  Sera pulled out two folders and put them on the table before the men. “Okay, I took the liberty of checking into some side channels regarding Giles Stander. He appears to have more credits in the last nine months than he’s had before. He’s always been on a tight leash and had a regular stipend from his Family. But he used to spend it up within days of the first of the month. Apparently he’s making it to the last week of the month now. He’s even paid down some of his debt.”

  “Debt? What are you talking about? We’ve thoroughly checked his finances and he seems moderately solvent. And what do you mean side channels?” Brandt narrowed his eyes at the papers in front of him, showing the data to back up what she’d been saying.

  “Coming from an unranked family and working with the lower classes has its value. I know people who don’t operate on the standard channels, let’s put it that way. Anyway, it appears that Stander has a problem with the tables. He’s got a wife, three declared mistresses and a concubine as well. Interesting, no? Certainly taxing on his income. Up until not too very long ago he only had a wife and a mistress and now suddenly he’s got multiple women. It’s the kind of thing that might lead a man whose Family has a lot of contact with the Interior to see what he can see to sell off for more credits to keep his women in expensive jewelry and the hired thugs off his back.”

  “You can’t just use the criminal element for this kind of thing, Sera! You could have very well compromised this mission!” Brandt stood and she did as well.

  “In the first place, PC Pela, I am not stupid. You recruited me to this team because I have certain talents. My contacts are impeccable and while less than wholesome, they would not betray me. I did not break protocol in my research. If you’d like to see my work and the steps I took, they’re all there in front of you in that folder.” Her eyes were cold and her voice flat.

  He looked down and carefully read over the papers she’d indicated. Slumping back into his chair, he nodded at her to do the same. And she did, only slowly. “Your brother?”

  “Yes. My brother runs off-world gaming and money lending. He’s not the criminal element. In fact, both your Family and Ash’s have used him in the past. Made quite a profit according to him. I suppose that such dirty money is distasteful but it doesn’t stop you from taking it. And while those of us from unranked families aren’t good enough to marry, we can actually conduct ourselves according to the rules.” The entire speech was delivered in an impersonal, clipped manner. Every word beat at him.

  “I apologize for underestimating you, Sera. This is excellent information and certainly another indicator that Stander is behind the leaks to the Imperialists. For the record, I don’t think you’re stupid or that simply because you come from an unranked family you’re not as good as we are.” Brandt felt like shit for yelling at her.

  “In any case,” she said, not acknowledging his apology, “Stander certainly has a basket of financial problems. That coupled with his Family connection seems to indicate that he’s a likely suspect. Add it to the other things in the file you’d already put together and he’s head and shoulders above the other suspects in motive and opportunity.”

  “It would certainly appear that way. I had my suspicions before but he had no financial motive that we could see.” Ash looked through the data.

  “That he has a whole series of out of system financial dealings isn’t so suspicious. I’m willing to bet many people with great deals of money do the same thing. It’s the ebb and flow of the credits that’s the key here.” She held up a sheet of paper and both men looked down until they found their copy. “This is a rough timeline of the attacks and big payouts into Stander’s accounts. My brother couldn’t be totally precise—the system exists to be imprecise and to hide transactions—but he was able to give a basic estimate.”