Command by Viola Grace Page A

only male in the vicinity.
    Orriko tucked his cock back into his leathers and pressed a kiss on her forehead. She looked up to see him glowering at the other males still gathered around. “Mine.”
    The other males were busy staring at her, but they nodded in agreement.
    He chuckled and ran a hand through her hair. “Now, if we could get back to business?”
    Ythrin grinned. “The Baels have agreed that the negotiations are concluded. With that display in front of them, they can no longer concentrate.”
    Orriko chuckled. “Fine. Summit dismissed. We will be in contact regarding negotiated terms and preparing for war.”
    Lilli looked up at him and fought the urge to punch him. Instead, she held him close as he transported them back to their quarters.
    “Was that what you had in mind when you dressed me in this outfit?” She popped her fist against his chest.
    “Not directly. I was planning on them being so busy staring at you that they would forget what they were there to demand. Instead, they are now so busy with their own females, it will give us a day or so to prepare the walls of the base for invasion.”
    Lilli sighed and gestured to her gown. “You got me into this, you are going to have to get me out of it.”
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Eleven
     
     
    Lilli woke in Orriko’s arms, her eyes were wide and her pulse was pounding. A signal was coming in.
    She sat up and checked the receiver. The intercept was still in place, and it was recording another signal on the Raider’s frequency. She got up and slipped into her robe, tiptoeing to the edge of the room before she transported to the communication array.
    With determination and calm, she rerouted the relays, plugged in the signal beam and prepared to upload the data on the secure signal.
    “What are you doing, Lilli?” His voice was calm, but she could tell he was less than impressed at waking up alone.
    “The intercept got a signal, and I need to forward it to the Alliance. It’s my job.”
    He walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Your job is over. The base was abandoned. You are free.”
    She turned in his arms and backed up, flipping the signal on the priority channel and running the message to the relay station.
    He narrowed his eyes. “Did you just do what I think you did?”
    “I am Base Command. I am not free, I am here to help the Alliance keep the helpless safe. It is more than a duty, it is a calling.”
    Orriko nodded. “I understand. We are driven to do things that others might question, but it is our sense of right and wrong that eventually makes us who we are.”
    “Can we go to the greenhouse? There is something there I want to show you.” She reached out and put her hands on his naked chest.
    “Of course.” He put his hands on her waist, and they were in the hall outside the greenhouse.
    She opened the door with her link to the base, and they stepped inside. She had kept the automatic systems running, and her personal project was almost ready.
    “I don’t think I have been in here before.”
    “It has only been ten days, Orriko. Most of those in the base are not interested in plants.”
    There was low lighting in the greenhouse, and the Christmas tree was growing with its silvery tips glowing in the low light.
    “What is it?” Orriko walked with her, and he obviously caught her mood.
    “It is a tree. Just a simple tree. What it means to me is that somewhere in the universe, my family and friends are gathering around a tree similar to this and thinking of me. Every year, we put up a tree and decorated it, used it as a centrepiece for celebrations. For a few days every year, we thought about others before ourselves and basked in the warmth of our friends and family.”
    “Why?”
    “The holidays on Earth sprang up from every religion and culture. They take place at slightly different times and have different traditions, but where I was born, we put up the tree, decorated the house, celebrated the darkest