Shy Talent (StarLords Book 3) Read online

  CHAPTER TWO

  As the last of the bridge crew checked in, Agnor stood to take a final inspection tour of the ship before they pushed off from the space station and started cruising on their own power. He gave Lilith responsibility for the bridge as soon as she arrived, nearly passing her in the hatch on his way out. She smiled and shook her head indulgently, used to his ways.

  He took off down the hall, noting the shiny new nameplates affixed to each of the crew compartments. There were more compartments on this ship than on the Circe, and the lounge was bigger to accommodate the slightly larger crew. He took a lift down to what would have been the hold on the Circe, but on this ship was separated into several different areas. There were laboratories and a state-of-the-art medical facility that took up about half the hold. The rest was a cargo area that housed their supplies, with some empty space held in reserve should they need to take on any more cargo in their travels.

  All of the stowage was accounted for meticulously, as it was on all space-going ships, since fuel and navigational calculations depended greatly on knowing the exact mass of the ship. Further, the way things were stowed in the hold was very important, since heavy equipment or supply crates could shift when the ship encountered gravitational fluctuations and cause untold problems. It would be Bettsua’s job as Loadmaster of the Calypso to make sure the hold and its records were kept neat, orderly and safe.

  Though she’d never been in charge of a ship’s hold before, her recordkeeping skills were tight, and she had a lot of experience with inventory control in the job she’d held in the Council offices back on Geneth Mar. She’d had a clerical job that Agnor privately thought hadn’t tested her full abilities, but she was painfully shy, and perhaps she hadn’t wanted to put herself in position to gain attention and be promoted to one of the more visible jobs. He thought it was sad that so much potential had been held back because of her innate shyness, but he knew that was all about to change. At least if he had anything to say about it.

  He stepped off the lift with a smile of determination on his face and made his way to the hold, bypassing the labs and med facility, for now. He knew Bettsua was on board, but she’d closeted herself in the hold, and he wanted to be sure she knew she was welcome on the bridge, since she held one of the key positions on his crew.

  He found her frowning at a datapad she held in one hand while, with the other, she directed a huge crate of foodstuffs across the wide hold using her Talent. It was quite a sight. He stepped through the hatch and leaned back against the wall to watch, knowing she hadn’t yet sensed his presence. He didn’t want to startle her, lest their food go crashing to the deck, so he waited, watching with great interest as she used her enormous power to direct crates that weighed tons, even in the somewhat sub-standard artificial gravity of the hold, with a single offhanded thought of her Talented mind.

  “This isn’t right,” she muttered as she let the last crate down and turned to frown down at her datapad.

  “What’s not right?” He pushed up from his leaning position against the wall, then walked forward, with what he hoped was a friendly smile on his face. He knew he’d startled her. She looked at him with wide, frightened eyes. “Bettsua, isn’t it?” he asked, knowing damn well what her name was, but wanting to put her at ease with polite conversation. “I’m Agnor Dallesander.”

  “Yes, I know, Captain. I mean, Lord Agnor.” She looked and sounded entirely too flustered for his peace of mind.

  “Captain will do, if you want to be formal, but I’d prefer it if you’d just call me Agnor. And may I call you Bettsua?” He didn’t quite know how to be charming, but he was trying his damnedest. This poor, frightened, shy girl was breaking his heart and testing his limits. He wasn’t the most suave man in the galaxy, and he’d never quite cared before, but now he wished he had even a tenth of his old friend Darak’s charm with the ladies.

  She nodded at him, clutching the datapad to her heavily draped bosom. She wore the most unflattering clothing imaginable, but Agnor sensed there was more to this quiet woman than met the eye. He moved closer to her, reaching out with one hand to take the datapad from her trembling fingers. He had to practically peel it away from her chest and was pleasantly surprised to feel just a bit of warm, soft woman as he inserted his fingers between the datapad and what he discovered to be a temptingly hard nipple.

  Not letting on that he’d noticed how tight her little bud was or that he’d just discovered how voluptuous her breasts must be, he stared down at the datapad, pretending to make sense of it. In reality, his senses were reeling. He hadn’t been this turned on by a woman in more years than he could remember.

  But he desperately didn’t want to scare her off. She was painfully introverted, and he knew he had to tread lightly. Still, he couldn’t help but be thankful that his Specitar’s robes hid his raging hard-on for the most part.

  “You can call me Bettsua, sir,” she answered him softly, “or just Bet, if you prefer.”

  He smiled at her. “Drop the sir, Bet, and you have a deal. So, what’s the problem here?” He pretended not to notice the very becoming flush of her very real embarrassment. She was really, really shy, he realized, even more than he’d suspected.

  Given a question to concentrate on, she focused on the crates, and her eyes narrowed. “The manifest doesn’t match what’s here.”

  “Is there more or less here than what’s listed?”

  “More, captain. Those three crates,” she indicated them, off to the far side of the wide hold, “have no records.”

  Agnor smiled and handed back her datapad. “Ah, I think I see the problem. Would you bring the farthest one here, please?”

  She looked a little surprised and then went for the automated retrieval system, but he stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.

  “Come now, Bet, I know you can do it quicker with your Talent. I’ve seen you in action before. No reason to be shy now.”

  She eyed him for a moment before stiffening her lip in a way he found quite adorable and finally nodding. With a quick glance over at the crate he wanted, she had it moving through the air to land gently about three feet away from him.

  “Beautifully done,” he complimented her Talent, making her eyes widen. “That’s quite a skill you have there.”

  She seemed too stunned to answer, and he smiled to himself. This poor girl was starved for a kind word. It made him sad to think that such Talent had been treated so poorly through her life, and he made a decision, then and there, that she wouldn’t be so shabbily treated on his ship. He was captain now, and he would make sure she was treated right. Or else.

  He moved the lid off the container, peering inside and smiling as he pulled back. “As I thought,” he said, “this is top-secret stuff, Bet. That’s why you have no record.”

  “But how can I stow it properly if I don’t know what it is?”

  “Ah, but you will know what it is, because I’m going to tell you. You are not to make any records of this, however. It will be your duty as Loadmaster to keep track of these items and have them available and ready for use should the need arise. But without the use of any sort of written record.” He smiled at her to put her at ease, but she still looked both confused and worried. “I know, it sounds fishy, but you’ll understand in a moment. Come with me.”

  He motioned her to precede him out the hatch and then surprised both her and himself by taking her hand and guiding her down the corridor. They bypassed the med facility and the labs, coming to a nondescript portal strategically placed amidships on the underbelly of the cruiser. He pressed his palm on the keyed hatch, and it sprang open. Again, he politely motioned for her to precede him, and he crowded into the small space behind her.

  “What is this?” she asked, looking around with wide eyes.

  “It’s a weapons station.”

  “Weapons? I thought this was a research vessel.”

  “Come now, they told you about our other purpose as well when you signed on, didn’t they?”


  “Information gathering…” she said softly, still taking in all the sophisticated equipment in the small room.

  “Spying,” he said succinctly, shocking her gaze up to his. “It can be a dangerous game, Bet. There are two other rooms like this one in other areas of the ship. When needed, you will deploy the contents of those three crates to these weapons stations.”

  “When needed?” she echoed, still somewhat shaken by the reality of what he was telling her.

  “If and when we go into battle or need to defend ourselves.”

  “What’s in those crates? Weapons?”

  He nodded. “Ammunition. These stations are fully loaded now, but if we see action, those crates will be our only way of reloading until we reach Council space.”

  “Wow,” she breathed. “I mean, I guess I knew we could be going into danger, but it wasn’t quite real to me before.”

  “Do you want to go back down planetside? I don’t want you afraid of the voyage to come. It will be somewhat dangerous, but it will also be one of discovery and freedom if I can manage it. I won’t knowingly take any of us into more danger than we can handle. I can promise you that.”

  “No,” she answered quickly. “I want to stay. I trust you to keep us all safe.”

  Her eyes seemed to say more than that, however, and he found himself leaning forward in the tight quarters, wanting more than anything to learn what her mouth tasted like. He thought he saw the same yearning in her wide eyes, and he threw caution to the wind, moving the few inches more to capture her pretty mouth with his.

  When she didn’t pull away, but rather moved closer into him, he brought his arms around her, pressing her close. He realized with one small part of his brain that wasn’t caught up in the amazing pleasure of her lips, that she was delightfully curvy under the voluminous tunic she wore. Her firm, full, voluptuous breasts pressed tightly to his chest as he plunged his tongue into her warm, wet mouth, and his hands easily spanned her waist, moving down to massage the cheeks of her tight ass.

  She kissed like she wasn’t used to the activity, and her shy response enchanted him. He gentled his possession, wanting to woo her response, wanting her to find the same mind-blowing pleasure he felt. He lowered his shields just the tiniest bit in order to see if he could sense any shift in her power. First joinings had to be closely monitored among those with Talent, which was one of his responsibilities as captain. Not that they were ready to take that step, but he knew his power was stronger than any other Specitars, and he didn’t want to hurt her.

  What he found when he lowered his shield just the tiniest bit blew his mind again. Her own Talent was a maelstrom of energy that swirled around his, teasing, tempting and pulling at his energies until they entwined and encircled them both. He’d never seen anything like it—except once before. Micah and his lady, Jeri, had such a meshing of their incredibly strong Talents, and they were now happily married and the two strongest Talents among the Council worlds.

  He disengaged from her tempting lips, pulling back to stare at her in wonder.

  “Do you feel that?” he asked, awe in his voice. The way their Talents were twining together was freakish.

  She looked shaken, almost betrayed.

  “I’m not a freak,” she whispered before tearing out of his arms and running out the door.

  He called after her but was stunned by the revelation of her ability to read his thoughts. That definitely hadn’t been noted as one of her Talents on the last testing report in her file. But there was no doubt that she’d just picked up on his thoughts, unshielded as they were. It gave him hope that perhaps she couldn’t read him when he was shielding normally, but still, he knew such a Talent could be hard to deal with. No wonder the poor woman was so reserved. It must be hell to hear every thought running through people’s minds, especially the unkind thoughts that he guessed must be sent her way by people who never would say mean things to her face.

  He went after her and found her in the hold, crying.

  Not hesitating now that he’d held her in his arms and wanted her back there, he went up to her, shielding tightly, and took her softly into his embrace. She felt so right, he thought absently as he sought some way to explain.

  “It was a bad word choice, that’s all. I didn’t think you were a freak. I thought the way our energies were meshing was freakish. There’s a big difference, Bet. I’ve never seen such an immediate and intimate twining of two Talents before. You can slap my face if you want. I deserve it for hurting you, sweetheart. It hardly matters that I didn’t mean to.”

  She stilled, moving around in his arms to look at him through tear-filled eyes.

  “Why are you being so kind to me?” She looked so suspicious he wanted to laugh.

  “Why wouldn’t I be kind to you?” he countered. “You’re bright, pretty, Talented, and you kiss like a dream.” He winked at her, making her blush. “And I’m betting you’re hiding a superior ability behind your quiet exterior.”

  She sighed in defeat. “They said you were different,” she said quietly. “I should’ve known I wouldn’t be able to hide anything from you.”

  “Isn’t that the other way around?” He arched one eyebrow at her in challenge.

  She blushed to the roots of her hair. “I can’t read you, Lord Agnor. Not normally, anyway. Your shielding is too strong. That’s why I wanted to come on this trip. I figured being around fewer people, most with strong Talents that should be well shielded, might be a bit of a break for me.”

  He considered her words a moment, then pulled her back into his arms, stroking her hair comfortingly. “How long has this been a problem for you, sweet?”

  “The past few years, it’s gotten worse,” she admitted after a moment. “At first, I could only read neutrals and lower-level Talents, but now, even some of the Mages’ thoughts are breaking through.”

  He sighed, imagining the pain she must have been put through.

  “You need stronger shields yourself, Bet. I can help you there, I think.”

  Her wide eyes looked hopefully up at him, and he couldn’t resist leaning slightly down to plant a quick kiss on her lips.

  “You’d really teach me?” she whispered when he pulled back.

  “Well, I can’t let you go on like this, can I?” He smiled to soften his words, stroking her hair because he simply couldn’t help himself. “Come to my cabin after shift change. We’ll start right away. The sooner you can block out other people’s thoughts, the more comfortable you’ll be.”

  “Thank you, Captain.” Her eyes filled with hope and something like hero worship that made him slightly uncomfortable. He released her and walked toward the doorway.

  “Call me Agnor or even Ag, if you prefer. A few of my close friends call me that. It would please me if you would too.” He stopped just inside the hatch, turning slightly to regard her with one raised eyebrow. “You know, this little skill of yours could come in handy on our mission, Bet. Have you ever given any thought to putting your mind-reading Talent to use for the good of the Council? We have precious few people who can do what apparently comes to you naturally.”

  “I didn’t know there were any others who have this miserable gift.” Her voice was soft with discovery.

  “Oh there are a few, but I’ve met none so strong that they could read Mages. And we tend to keep their identities under tight wraps, so that they can be sent out to gather information safely and secretly.”

  “They’re spies?”

  Agnor smiled cunningly. “Something like that. They do what this ship is tasked to do, just on a more intimate scale. They gather information that helps the Council keep the worlds and peoples under our protection safe. It’s a noble cause. Think about it.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Agnor’s mind reeled with the new discoveries he’d made about shy little Bettsua Malkin. Of course, she wasn’t really little—though compared to his own taller-than-average stature, she was still shorter than him. She wore voluminous clothing, bu
t underneath, he’d felt a svelte, soft woman with generous breasts and sleek muscles everywhere else. He never would have imagined that.

  Now that he knew what she hid under her sorry clothing, he feared there was no going back. He wanted her. Had wanted her almost from the first moment he’d seen her, if he was honest with himself. But now that he’d kissed her and gotten a taste of the way their Talents meshed so intimately, he knew he needed her in his bed. He needed to be inside her soft, welcoming, womanly body.

  But how to get there?

  She was painfully shy. True, she’d been more open with him than he’d ever imagined she’d be, but he figured that was mostly because he had taken her by storm and found out her secrets in amazingly fast progression. He had even kissed her while she was still in a daze, but it had seemed so natural and felt so right. He couldn’t regret rushing her.

  She called to him in a way he had never before experienced. He’d been with many women in his time—tall, short, thin, voluptuous, outgoing, reticent, and some who had Talents that complemented his own in enticing ways—but there was something incredibly special about Bettsua. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was.

  Every time he saw her, he was intrigued. He’d been captivated on sight and his enthrallment had only grown the more he got to know about her and the more he was in her presence. There was something indefinable about her that spoke to him on a primitive level he had never accessed before.

  Agnor didn’t know what it meant. He only knew that he was beyond intrigued by the Talented Loadmaster. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to entice her out of her shell, and into his arms, and then he wanted to test her boundaries and encourage her to be all that he sensed was hiding behind her timid outer display.