TBT: Clan and Command

 First meeting after a one-night stand...

A ghost of Kila’s sarcastic smile flitted over his lips. “Well, that warms my sweet little heart to hear you care so much for my breed, Dramok.”

“This is not a joke, you stupid fuck. What the hell is wrong with you to treat this so lightly? I should push your worthless hide right off the balcony for being such a callous shit.” His voice rose as he berated Kila like he had once unloaded on his unlucky crews. None of it was bluff. When Piras said he would hurt someone, he meant it.

Kila laughed out loud and stood. He bowed. “There’s the brute I’ve heard so much about. Nice to meet the real Piras. I’ve been hoping to give him a reason to show up.”

“Fuck you.”

“I’ll give you that pleasure after we’ve finished this conversation.” Before Piras could protest that no such thing would happen, Kila turned serious again. “I’m not laughing at you, Piras. Your reaction is part of what makes you so right for this mission. You care for the innocents caught in the middle of the Basma and government’s pissing contest. Yet you’re hard enough that once you’re committed, you’ll see this thing through.”

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TBT: Clan and Command

Piras slowly got to his feet and returned the other man’s bow. Swallowing his surprise, he said, “Captain Kila. I’d heard your destroyer had returned from the border.”

“So it has. Are you happy to see me?”

Shocked would have been a better description. Piras had not expected Kila to seek him out, not after the night they’d spent together a few months ago. 

As always, he couldn’t help but compare this Nobek to Lidon. Piras compared every member of the warrior breed to his former lover. He had to admit, Kila stacked up pretty good. The sex they’d had had confirmed it.

Kila’s brow rose. “You look surprised that I’m here.”

Piras realized belatedly that he’d been silent for several seconds. “Shouldn’t I be?”

“You mean after our last encounter?” Kila’s enigmatic smile deepened. Mocking, secretive, a little cruel…that smile drove Piras crazy. It was impossible to know what was going on in the man’s head when he looked like that. He said, “You gave me a lot to think about that night.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

Instead of answering, Kila called out, “Door close and lock.”

The mechanism obeyed him with a click. Piras frowned. He was Kila’s superior officer and they were on duty. The captain had no business acting like he owned the place. 

With any other man, Nobek or not, Piras would have served him the sharpest side of his tongue. Not in a sexual manner either. He should be doing that with Kila now. The captain had caught him thoroughly off-guard. 

That brought a wave of anger. They were in Piras’s office, not his sleeping room. He was not only an admiral, but a Dramok. In charge. In control. A man no one fucked around with despite Piras’s seemingly delicate build. Not even a musclebound Nobek trained to kill with his bare hands dared to cross him. He’d taken out more than one of their like before.

It was the verbal dressing down that Piras was truly known for, however. He was a legend in that regard. Ready to put Kila in his proper place, he opened his mouth to deliver an ear-scorching diatribe, one that would remove all doubt who was in command here. 

Before he could, Kila strode up to his streamlined metallic desk and slapped a sound-blocker on its surface. Its hum filled the room.

Piras’s eyes widened in understanding. “You’re my contact for the mission.”

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