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LENGTH: Mid Novel
SENSUALITY: Spicy

Cover art (c) Eliza Black 2006
ISBN 1-58608-860-2
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Sirene Javaar wants no part of the mission she must now undertake to prevent war with the Cyrenian Empire. As a Legion Warrior, she knows it's her duty to follow orders, but do those orders have to come from the man who broke her heart years ago? A man she still loves more than life itself. How will she be able to spend six standard months in his presence? Loving him. Wanting him. Craving his touch…

Talon Tremain, Captain of the starcruiser Mirage, is given secret orders he's forbidden to share with his crew. His mission will be dangerous enough without having to hide the love he still feels for Sirene, but he's been given no other choice.

Rating: Contains violence, adult language, and graphic sexual content.

WAR OF HEARTS

By

Trudy Thompson

© copyright March 2006, Trudy Thompson
Cover art by Eliza Black, © copyright March 2006
ISBN 1-58608-860-2
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author's imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

PROLOGUE

Kjell Javaar took his seat at the head of an oblong table surrounded by twenty-five chairs. He placed his elbows wide apart on the table, clasped his fists, and rested his weary head on his hands as he studied the empty chairs.

Now, of all times, when war once again threatened their existence, his orders would send his prized starcruiser and best crew into a distant galaxy to honor the wishes of his deceased wife.

The meeting chamber door opened and interrupted Javaar's thoughts. A tall man entered to stand at attention.

Javaar focused on the steady gray gaze of Talon Tremain, son of his dearest friend, heir to rule the planet of Icara, and secretly bonded mate to Javaar's daughter, Sirene.

"Join me." Javaar motioned for Talon to take the seat at his left.

"What could be so important you would order the Mirage back from Nigrol, Sir? Has something else surfaced?"

"I wish it were that simple," Javaar stalled, dreading the information he had to give Talon. "Talon, what I am about to tell you causes me great pain, but I fear I have no other choice. I made a vow at Vanessa's deathbed and must honor it, though I have dreaded that vow for years." Javaar paused, unable to look Talon in the eyes.

"When Vanessa agreed to journey to Marimar as my mate, leaving the destruction of her home planet, Bactar, behind we had no idea she carried a mysterious disease that would eventually claim her life. After her illness was discovered, the medical advisors warned against bearing a child, but she refused to listen and siphoned years off of her life by giving birth to Sirene."

Javaar closed his eyes. "As her last wish, she begged me to allow Sirene to choose her own mate. To find a male she could love as we did."

"But--"

Javaar lifted his hand, stalling Talon's words.

"You know Sirene has not been told of her bonding to you at birth. What you do not know is Vanessa forbid it, and no matter how hard I tried to convince her it was for the good of the System to join the two ruling houses, she resisted.

"She felt it her duty to place one restriction on Sirene's future. She couldn't bear to think Sirene might fall in love with one man then discover she was bonded to another. In order to avoid such a thing from happening and breaking Sirene's heart unnecessarily, Vanessa begged my promise to allow Sirene the freedom of choice. So, unless Sirene chooses you, I cannot honor the bond."

Fury darkened Talon's eyes. "I have waited for Sirene to finish her training so I could claim her as is my right."

Javaar placed his hand upon Talon's arm. "While I plan to honor Vanessa's wish, I have made certain concessions to your father and I make them now to you. I am sending the Mirage on a special mission."

"Sir, the Cyrenians?"

Javaar nodded. "I have prepared three micro discs and will give them to you before you leave port. This mission is really twofold. The first part you will learn when you review the discs. The second will give you time to win Sirene, if it is your desire."

"I should be here, Sir. The Mirage should also be here. Can we not postpone this mission until matters are settled with Cyrenia?"

"Your father and I were aware you would raise these arguments. You will find complete explanations on the discs, but for now, understand neither your father nor I will be alive too much longer. The future of Aronean is in the hands of our heirs. Our greatest strength lies in that future.

"We can withstand the threat of Kynor and his forces. While I am first to admit, without the Legion and the Mirage, our task will be difficult, I promise you we will survive.

"The future must be our primary concern. You and Sirene are that future and we must now do everything possible to set things right."

"Sirene won't take your explanations seriously, Sir. Her training has been to protect and defend the System at all costs. She'll see our mission as I do, unnecessary while the threat of Cyrenian conflict exists."

"Sirene will be briefed as soon as she arrives. She will have trouble enough accepting you as her commanding officer. After we refuse to disclose the nature of your mission, she will be doubly hostile.

"Do not expect the first few days of your mission to be pleasant."

Talon smiled.

CHAPTER 1

"Curse you, Talon."

Sirene Javaar positioned her head so she could see the back of her leg in the full-length mirror. A bruise the size of a man's boot heel covered the middle of her left thigh.

"If you hadn't entered the arena, Mikol would never have scored an advantage. I'll get even with you for this," she promised as she turned from the mirror and crossed the floor to flop down upon her platform bed.

Sirene mimicked Talon's demeaning words. "If you kept your mind on your opponent, Mikol would never have scored that victory. I'd suggest you pay closer attention. Next time the threat could be real, and you, Commander, would be quite dead."

The Comm beside her bed sounded, interrupting her thoughts. Sirene touched the panel to answer the summons.

"Your father wishes your presence in the Council Chamber," a feminine voice responded.

"Acknowledged." Sirene glanced at the chronometer next to the panel. 0200 hours. What was her father doing in the Council Chamber at this late hour?

She stood and walked back to the mirror to press another panel. The wall separated to reveal her garment locker. She reached for her Legion uniform, decided against it, and removed a robe from the opposite side of the locker.

She pulled the aqua robe over her shoulders, tied the sash, and then reached up to remove the clasp from the knot of hair piled atop her head. A few strokes of her brush smoothed the tangled mass. She closed the locker to observe her appearance.

A feminine creature, displaying no evidence of the trained Legion warrior she'd become, reflected from the mirror. The soft, flowing robe hugged the curves of her body. Her hair, usually held away from her face by a braid, fell across her shoulders and down her back.

Sirene shook her head. Would Talon consider all of his training wasted if he saw her now? Or view her in the same way he watched other soft females he might desire? Would he make some demeaning comment about her attire that would break her heart? Again.

She closed her eyes, determined to force away the memories of her training under Talon's hand at the Academy. To no avail. Instead, she remembered each time he had taken her aside and chastised her for something he thought she could have done better. Or, even worse, when he'd reprimanded her before the other cadets because of a task she'd not formed to perfection.

Sirene tried hard to thrash away those horrible memories of her training at the Academy, but her heart had other ideas and demanded she remember the good times instead of the bad. She could still feel the strength of Talon's hand as he caressed breast, the taste of his lips as he explored every inch of her flesh, the way he taught her virgin body to sing. She remembered the wonderful orgasms she achieved, the way her body responded to his softest touch, the way he'd hold her close after each bout of lovemaking and whisper how much she meant to him in her ear.

Even after all of his harsh treatment, she loved him still, but she refused to allow him such knowledge. She realized now that Talon expected only perfection. He wanted her hard and willful, and able to defend herself adequately in the face of danger.

He'd wanted a warrior, and a warrior she'd become.

Now, she had to live with her choices.

Sirene refused to resurrect any more painful memories. She did her best to push the deep feelings she still felt for Talon away, turned and left her quarters. She walked through the long corridor that separated her quarters from the Council Chamber.

"Your father will see you now, Commander Javaar," the officer on duty outside the Council Chamber stated.

Sirene waited ten seconds for her retinal scan before the door opened. She entered and paused by the table where her father sat alone.

She returned her father's bright smile as he scanned her attire then bid her to come closer and take a seat to his right.

Sirene tightened the sash of her robe and took the offered seat. She studied her father, noted his jovial expression disappeared and tension now creased his handsome face.

Seconds later, she sensed movement behind her.

Years of training helped keep her body alert. Every muscle contracted in anticipation of battle. She turned to discover Talon Tremain's broad back as he gazed through the rear panel into the night sky.

She'd vowed never to allow Talon to see how much he could still hurt her. And that was a promise she planned to keep. Her heart had been broken on that awful day when Talon announced he'd received a commission as an instructor at the Academy and their affair must end because he knew a long-distance love affair would never work. Thankfully, she'd been able to hold back the scathing remarks that rested on the tip of her tongue at his abrupt dismissal of the love they shared until he kissed her one last time and left her chamber.

Talon had been her first and only lover, and she reinforced her vow never to expose her vulnerabilities where he was concerned, or to allow him to witness the feminine side she tried so hard to suppress.

And unless she kept her true feelings safely hidden inside, her private vows would now be broken.

She forced her attention back to her father's face before she searched the chamber for a means to escape the confrontation she knew to be forthcoming. She braced her hands upon the edge of the table to push away her chair.

Her father stilled her efforts when he grasped her hand. Sirene met her father's sympathetic gaze then turned to study the shadowy figure before the panel.

She didn't need to see Talon's handsome face to recall each defined angle and plane. To remember the taste of his lips or the feel of his strong hands upon her body. Nor did she need to witness the furrowing of his dark brows to know he'd uncovered her well-guarded secret.

Slipping her hardened warrior persona into place, Sirene surveyed his body from slender hips to muscular thighs, lower to tall black boots that hugged powerful calves. She admired the entire package she'd once known so well as she glanced up to his broad shoulders and bare upper arms left uncovered by his training vest.

If he turned around, the tattoo of the Pythor, the golden bird symbolizing strength in Aronean culture would be visible through the deep V at his neckline.

A smaller version of the same tattoo covered her right shoulder. She remembered when Talon had held her against his chest and kissed the side of her neck, her cheek, and whispered how much he loved her as her own tattoo of the Pythor was placed upon her shoulder.

Sirene drew a deep breath. She'd tried hard over the years to resist the pain that always followed thoughts of her affair with Talon. However, no matter how hard she tried, those special moments always found a way to creep back and haunt her.

Eight standard years was a long time to love someone who wanted no part of her affection. She realized that she had turned to Talon to appease some of the grief of her mother's death. First as a friend, but as their attraction grew, their relationship changed into a passionate love affair that Sirene felt she would never again be able to live without.

She now knew she was too young at the time to understand what love between a man and a woman really meant. But Talon had been so gentle with her. Each caress, every soft touch, each long kiss they shared were forever etched in her heart.

Now, as she watched him stand before the panel, she remembered vividly that first kiss, the gentle way he placed his hand upon her breast. His soft words of encouragement when he entered her for the first time, the stroke of his hand upon her cheek. The words of love he whispered over and over. Words she'd whispered back.

For eight standard months they had been together as lovers. Exploring each other's bodies, learning what heightened their sexual pleasure. She had trusted Talon with all of her heart, and accepted his erotic tutoring to the point that, even after all of the time they had been apart, she still awoke at night imagining his hands against her bare flesh, his talented mouth bringing her to a strong climax, his....

Temporarily defeated by her own heart, she sighed and cast one more glance along the lines of Talon's body before she turned to meet her father's gaze.