by D T Dyllin
He scowled. “It needs to be surgically removed. I don’t—”
“But they just jammed it in there!”
Spinning me around, Kade’s upper lip curled back from his teeth in something akin to a snarl. “Stop. Do you really want to risk permanent damage to that massive brain of yours? I know I wouldn’t if that’s the only thing I had going for me.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, indignation replacing panic. “Did you just—I have more going for me than my brain!” Although, as a Galvraron, my brain was the most important thing about me. Without my smarts, I would be nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Tugging me against his massive chest, Kade smirked, mirth sparking in his golden eyes. “Well, yeah, okay, I’d count your curvy little body as another asset. I know I certainly wouldn’t kick you out of my bed. Tell me,” he leaned in closer, his hot breath fanning my cheeks, “is all of your skin blue?”
Lost in the mix of Kade’s sweet scent and leather, it took me a second to process his words. When I finally did, the tips of my ears heated. “You’ll never find out!”
Like I’d electrocuted him, Kade let me go, heading for the door. “Shame.” He glanced over his shoulder, his gaze sliding over me from head to toe. “Real shame.” He disappeared around the corner.
Without hesitation, I dashed after him, swearing under my breath when I realized what I’d done. I’d reacted without considering my options. I’d gone with my gut—or rather I’d chosen to follow my emotions over logic.
“Hurry up,” he called from a good ten feet ahead of me. “I cleared the surveillance records of our time here up until I came to get you out of your cell. I need to clear the rest before we leave.”
Jogging to catch up with him, I panted out, “You have a scrambler device of some sort?”
Kade nodded absently, his attention focused on where he was going as he led the way down one nondescript hallway after another.
I nibbled my bottom lip, considering. I had to make sure my exit of Telvin was on record. I knew if Jane hadn’t been captured, she would come for me, and I needed for her to have a trail to my whereabouts. There was no way I was going to trust Kade … or my parents for that matter. If I didn’t have the mood-altering contraption attached to my head I would have had no doubts I could have gotten myself out of my current situation. Unfortunately, because of it, I had to place myself firmly in the out of commission category. I simply couldn’t trust myself to get the job done.
“In here.” Kade grabbed my arm, yanking me into a room on the right. “You need to pay attention.”
Glaring at him, I ground my teeth together. “I’m not myself at the moment.” My hand involuntarily went to the back of my neck, sliding down the cool metal rectangle.
Kade grunted in response, turning away from me to fiddle with something he pulled out from a concealed pocket on the side of his boot. “I just need to take care of the surveillance feed and then we can be on our way.”
I glanced around the small room, which turned out to be a storage bay for escape pods complete with a small launching shoot for them. “Yours hidden someone here or are you planning on stealing one?” I couldn’t have cared less how we got off Telvin just as long as we did. I simply wanted to divert his attention so I could figure out a way to keep him from scrambling my virtual fingerprints left behind at Telvin.
“Don’t distract me, I’m trying to—”
Leaning around Kade, I snatched the small device from the palm of his massive hand. “I’ll do it.”
“Hey!” Kade thundered, “you’re not—”
“Even with me being … injured, I know how to work one of these things.” I quickly reviewed the feed, making sure the parts where Kade entered my cell, and I left with him were all there. Exiting out of the program, I lifted my gaze to meet his. “There. All done. Now let’s get out of here.”
He grabbed the device, turning it over in his palm slowly. His golden gaze lifted to mine with skeptism. I shuffled from foot to foot, sure he could see right through what I’d done. “All right,” he drawled out. “Pick one and we can get out of here.” He motioned to the half dozen pods lined up in front of us.
I eyed the pods, and then Kade, my gaze swinging back and forth several times. “Will you fit in any of them? I mean, you’re rather large.”
Kade chuckled. “Never had a woman make it sound like a bad thing before … me being large.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? A sexual innuendo now? Guess we’re not in that big of a hurry after all.” I waved my hand at him. “Go on. Since we have all the time in the Universe. Any more not so clever innuendoes you want to share?”
Kade stalked past me, muttering under his breath, “I should have asked for more money.”
Narrowing my eyes, I shot a death glare at his back. His very attractive, muscular back. Against my will, my gaze slid down to follow the movements of his perfectly formed, leather encased ass.
“This pod will work. Now stop ogling my ass and let’s get going.”
I swung my gaze up to meet Kade’s. “I-I wasn’t ogling anything.”
His lips twitched upward into a smirk. “Normally, you being a Galvraron, I’d believe you, but,” he motioned to the back of his neck, “that contraption changes things.”
Ignoring him, I rushed past his massive form, clamoring into the pod he’d indicated. It had two small, cloth-covered seats, and I chose the one in front of the control panel. “I’m driving. Where to?” Not that I intended on listening to his directions.
Leaning over the pod, Kade lifted me up, and deposited me in the other seat. “I’m flying. I don’t let my bounties run the show.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, resisting the urge to smack him. “Yes, technically I’m a bounty, but this is more of a rescue mission.”
Hunching over to fit into the pod, Kade pulled the door shut, sealing us in. “Call it whatever makes you feel better, I’m not picky. Just as long as I get paid in the end.”
“You’ll get paid one way or the other,” I grumbled.
Without another word, Kade’s fingers tapped across the control panel, setting the pod into motion. I hastily strapped myself in, and leaned my head back just as we shot forward.
Heaving a sigh of relief, I watched outer space welcome us through the tiny window in front of our seats. It’ll be fine. Everything will be fine now that you’re off of Telvin.
Kade glanced at me from the corner of his eye. “Your parents never told me why they hired me to bring you to them. Care to share?”
“I’m not sure,” I snapped, drumming my fingers against my thigh.
My relationship with my parents wasn’t bad … exactly. We simply didn’t see eye to eye on a few big issues—mainly how I should live my life. So I’d run away, and found a place for myself on The Pittsburgh as second in command to a hotheaded, spliced human, or hu-mutt. Jane’s daily emotional roller coaster drove me insane, but also kept me amused. She and the other permanent residents on the ship had become family, as much as I hated to admit it. If my parents had caught wind of my whereabouts they’d want me home to avoid the humiliation of my job. Galvrarons simply did not work beside lower lifeforms, let alone work for one. They were snobs, the entire species. Not that I wasn’t at times, too. But the past few years had opened my eyes to the prejudices of my kind, and I was determined to not be like my Galvraron family.
“All right. Touchy subject. Want to talk about something else? How about telling me about your crew?”
Narrowing my eyes, I studied Kade’s chiseled profile. His nose had a slight bump in it, but instead of detracting from his handsome visage, it actually made him more appealing somehow. Stop. Stop noticing how attractive he is. Mind over body, no matter what Telvin did to you.
Clearing my throat, I flicked my gaze away. “I’m sure you know plenty if you’ve been tracking me for as long as you claim.” Bounty hunters, at least the good ones, could find out just about anything if they put their minds to it. Cl
early Kade used different tactics than Jane, who would have blasted into The Pittsburgh and simply taken me. It seemed as if this Talsen preferred stealth, which I could respect. Maybe he has a bit of brains to go with all that brawn.
His lips twitched up. “I know enough … Smurfette.”
My nostrils flared as I sucked in a sharp breath. “Don’t ever call me that!” Jane, who was obsessed with everything from Earth culture, even though she was born long after the planet’s destruction, found it amusing to call me Smurfette because I had blue tinged skin and long, blonde hair. The term had a way of annoying me in a way that defied logic.
“Maybe I’ll stop if you explain what it means exactly. I know its origins are Earth, and I know it pisses you off when your captain calls you by it. But that’s about it.”
My left eye twitched. I wasn’t explaining anything. There were answers I wanted, and I wanted them yesterday. “How’d you get a bug on the ship?” It was the only explanation for his knowledge, and yet we were always so careful.
“Subject change, huh? Guess you don’t want to tell me that either. All right, at least I know calling you Smurfette pisses you off. That’s a fun little tidbit I’ll enjoy exploiting.” He chuckled, obviously quite pleased with himself.
Grabbing a fistful of his hair, I yanked. “Just tell me how you got the bug on the ship!”
“Hey, hey, now. No hair pulling unless you’re trying to turn me on.”
Opening my fist, his silky strands fell away as I scooted into the corner of my seat. “You Talsen really are a twisted bunch, aren’t you? Jane told me about another Talsen bounty hunter, Jassen, I think was his name. He enjoyed—” An unbidden image of me on top of Kade, naked, my hands in his hair, swam across my mind. I shook my head to dislodge it. “Jassen enjoyed it rough.”
Kade’s voice dipped to a low rumble. “Rough can be fun, with the right woman.”
“Desiring rough sex is a sign of—” The pod’s interior lights flipped to red, a warning or alarm of sorts. “What’s going on?” I demanded.
Kade’s fingers flew over the controls, his expression tense. “I’m not sure. It’s saying there are lifeforms out there, but I can’t get a good reading.”
A flame in the shape of a humanoid raced past the window, then another, and another. One paused directly in front of us, pressing its face to the window. Its features were tiny, feminine, holding a definite form although lacking a body in the traditional sense. I heaved a sigh of relief. “Star nymphs. Harmless as long as we don’t scare them.”
“Star nymphs.” Kade leaned forward, peering with curiosity out the window. “I’ve heard of them, but never actually saw one. They look like pure flame.”
“They are. Sort of.” I couldn’t help the smile that stretched my lips as I watched them follow us, moving around the pod in a joyous dance. They were simple creatures, childlike in their innocence, their bodies made from pure energy. They were born of, and made their homes, within stars. They kept to themselves because of what they were, but stories of them existed as far back as the beginning of documented space travel.
“They aren’t the only species in the Universe to make their homes on stars,” I said, my gaze idly trailing the nymphs as they swirled in and out of view, their movements fluid and graceful. “Although the star nymphs are the only ones who are actually part of the star, in a sense. Many hot-blooded, or flame-based species use technology to live in the center of larger stars, using its natural state as protection for their— What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
Kade’s head was tilted to the side, one side of his mouth curled up. “It’s just … strange hearing one of your lectures in person.”
I scowled. “Because you had our ship bugged. How? How did you—”
His large hand cupped the side of my face, stealing the rest of my words. “You’re beautiful, you know that?” His pupils were blown, and his breathing shallow.
My eyes widened, not sure how to react. “I— No one has ever said that to me before.” Being born into a culture that prized intellect above all else, beauty was not necessarily considered an asset. Sure, physical attraction was needed in order to find a suitable mate, but Galvrarons didn’t settle down for love. They entered into a contract. And sex was never done for pleasure. It was a means to an end to produce children.
Shirking away from Kade, I glanced out the window, clearing my throat. “Where exactly did you leave your ship?” Even before Telvin had shoved a mood-altering plate into my skull, I hadn’t been like others of my kind. I felt too deeply. It was a flaw I’d attempted to hide my entire life. It was the real reason I was more at home on The Pittsburgh than I was with my people. I hadn’t been able to do what was asked of me as a Galvraron scientist. I shuddered, pushing away the horrific memories … memories that wouldn’t have affected me if I’d been normal.
Kade’s rough hand found my cheek again, turning me back towards him. “Y-you’re so beautiful. I love how your skin takes on a violet hue when you’re flushed. Like now.”
Studying him, I took note that his golden gaze burned feverously, his lips parting as he panted. It was as if— And then I remembered the stories. “Snap out of it, Kade. You’re caught in the residual heat from the star nymphs. Those who are particularly … warm blooded can become enthralled. You simply have to concentrate on breaking free. It’s only the unaware who are truly lost to it.”
“Mmm …“ he grunted, yanking me against his chest.
My hands flew up, pushing against the wall of muscle encircling me. “Stop. I—”
His lips slanted over mine, his tongue plunging in to demand control of my mouth. I immediately acquiesced, my mind blanking, sudden lust roaring through my system as my mechanical heart jumped into action. Awkwardly, I climbed up into his lap to straddle him, my pelvis undulating frantically in search of release. Arching back sharply as Kade ground the bulge in his pants against my core, my hands flew out wildly, slamming my palms against cool metal and buttons.
Beeps erupted, the pod lurching to the side, and my retractable harness yanked me back into place as the sensors picked up on a malfunction.
“What did you do?” Kade muttered, his fingers hovering over the keypad.
“Me?” I squeaked. “You’re the one who just … grabbed and kissed me.” I pressed my hand over my sternum, sucking in calming breaths to halt my secondary pulse. Technically, my mechanical lifeline would work indefinitely, and I didn’t need to worry how often it was used. I simply didn’t like it. Every time the duel rhythm pounded against my eardrums, it left me feeling vulnerable and powerless. And no amount of logic ever seemed to overcome those unwanted emotions.
“You didn’t put up much of a fight. In fact, you were up in my lap in record time, grinding that sweet little—”
“Shut up!” I shouted, embarrassment twisting my stomach. “It was the star nymphs!” Leaning over, I shoved his hands out of the way. The navigation dials spun erratically as the pod did the same. Not good. What kind of piece of crap is this? All I did was bump a few buttons. In quick succession, I typed in every code I thought could possibly right the pod, but nothing worked. We hurtled past a large asteroid, narrowly missing it. “Shit! The navigation system is down. I don’t … I don’t know what to do.” Panic overwhelmed me, making it impossible to think clearly. How do other species function like this?
“My turn,” Kade growled, his massive shoulder bumping me aside. A few moments later a string of obscenities erupted from his mouth. “You really did a number on this thing. The controls are completely out of whack. We’re going to have to make an emergency landing.”
“But how far is your ship?” I couldn’t remember if he’d answered me before or not.
“Not far, but we’re still not going to make it. The navigation system isn’t accepting any codes. This thing is going down, and either we try to steer it into a soft landing or we end up a pile of scrap metal.” Another string of obscenities filled the air. “And lucky us … The closes
t stable environment is Zeffrin.”
“Zeffrin? You can’t mean—”
“Yep, Zeffrin, the prison planet.”
I gulped, involuntarily massaging my sternum. “We’ll never get out of there alive. We don’t—”
“We have me. We’ll be fine.”
Grimacing, I braced myself against the side of the pod, the spinning motion finally getting to me, nausea roiling my gut. “Forgive me if I don’t feel reassured by your presence, especially since we’re in this mess because of you to begin with.”
“I’m not the one who can’t handle a kiss. If you didn’t go flailing around at first contact—”
“I was surprised!” I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to defend myself. Our entire interaction was clearly a side effect from our close encounter with the star nymphs. I had zero reason to be embarrassed … and yet I was. “And it’s not like either of us would have considered a makeout session if it wasn’t for our fiery little visitors.”
“Tell yourself whatever makes you feel better. Now hold on, we’re about to enter the atmosphere of Zeffrin.”
Sliding my hands under the seat, I dug my nails in, and squeezed my eyes shut. Even though it wasn’t my fault, I’d broken the most important rule: Logic over emotions. And because of it, we were making an unscheduled stop on Zeffrin. Please, let me make it out of this alive.
The unrelenting beeps from the pod’s warning system ratcheted up my nerves, causing me to grind my teeth together. Slitting my eyes open, I slammed my lids shut again when I saw clouds and condensation race past the window. The pod was equipped for landing, but us arriving in one piece on Zeffrin would be determined by Kade’s skills as a pilot. Normally I would have been the obvious choice to oversee our unscheduled stop, but at the moment I didn’t trust myself to remain calm. And in such situations the difference between life and death was decided by remaining in control or panicking. Breathe. Just breathe. No matter what this contraption is doing inside your brain, mind over body. Mind over body. I swallowed convulsively, my mantra not doing its usual trick.