Lana's Comet (Outer Settlement Agency) Read Online Free PDF

antagonistic.
    Too contrary.
    Too curvy.
    Never mind that. He groaned and took a shower, one with actual water. He deserved the luxury after the week he suffered through. He’d had enough gel baths to last an eternity. A paranoid part of him thought they might track those sorts of things. OSA gobbled up data like oxygen. Let them know that he’d never once come close to using his monthly allotments for water. He wasn’t one for extravagance. He was a soldier, not a suit.
    Not a lover, either.
    Ugh! Why the hell did she have to be in his program? It shouldn’t matter anyway. He had no time for women in his life. Least of all some Earthling unflinchingly determined to embarrass him in front of an audience.
    So why couldn’t he get her out of his thick skull? If he’d only had her...a few grunts in a dark corner, he’d have it out of his system. If he had screwed her, then the humiliation would have landed on her shoulders. Not his.
    And yet, he couldn’t stand the thought of shaming her – not like that.
    He rested his head against the fogged glass as the timer counted down. Three minutes of water left. Where had the other eight gone so fast? Time wasted on her. Again.
    Two minutes.
    Cyprus closed his eyes and grabbed hold of that rigid and treacherous member of his body, stroking it, working her out of his head. Muscles pulled at the pit of his stomach, but he wasn’t close to finishing. His mind snapped to an image of her lips and what they should be doing, instead of giving him backtalk. He licked his own in memory of her kiss and increased her speed.
    Still, the shower ended before he did. Fuming, he scrambled into his clothes and stomped towards the training gymnasium, realizing halfway down the hall that he’d forgotten today’s dosage of his Kin meds. Forget it. He cracked his neck and kept walking. He needed to wean himself off them anyway. 
    Salutes greeted him every few steps and shoes scuffled to attention in the halls. He stopped where two rows of bedrooms intersected. “I expect all of you to be there when I arrive.”
    He almost didn’t smile when the corridor cleared. In the peace, he closed his eyes and willed his clone nature to calm down. Desire ramped it up and Lana had it working overtime.
    No!
    His body would not overheat. His head would not ache.
    Why?
    Because he wouldn’t allow it. Not today. His will was stronger than any Kin deficiency and, body brought to heel, confident steps took him the rest of the way.
    He avoided looking at Lana and hoped against the impossible that she’d keep her mouth shut. Today would bring a fresh round of hell to his recruits. Everything he’d done so far worked up to this. If they could handle what he did to their bodies, then maybe they’d survive what was meant to happen now. Stars, he hoped so. He didn’t hate his recruits – he couldn’t – but he needed them tough and that meant thinning the herd. One day they would understand.
    “The useless have been dismissed. The weak will soon follow. We’re about to advance to the next stage of your training. Your bodies are strong, but stupidity will not be allowed. Correction:  stupidity will put you on a corner of the galaxy so far removed from civilization that you will forget how to spell your name. Among you, I hope, are some who believe they deserve better. This is your opportunity to prove it. You’ll go through a series of mental tests, all to see where best to place you. Mental acuity, stress, creativity under pressure – these are all markers by which you will be judged. Any questions? None? Not even from you, Recruit Kagen?”
    He hadn’t meant to call her out, but there he was, face to face with Lana. Her jaw jutted out and he didn’t miss the snap of her eyes. “No, sir.”
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
    She bit her quivering lip. He didn’t spare a second believing she was afraid. The woman dripped with rage.
    And control.
    That was a change.
    Maybe she had OSA blood in