by Nina Croft
Leila rolled her eyes, and Mel turned back to Zach.
"Mel?" He was frowning, but God he was gorgeous.
"What I was trying to say is that I love you, okay."
He grinned. "Wow."
"Yeah well, I might never say it again, so make the most of it."
He took a step toward her, his arms came around her, and he pulled her roughly against him.
"Ow," Mel yelped, "get your hands off my arse. It's bloody sore."
Then he kissed her, and not even the sound of Leila retching in the background could dim the fierce delight that flooded her body.
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Epilogue
"Right," Darla said as the engines fired up. "So where are we heading, Captain?"
"To Talmare, of course."
Darla stopped what she was doing and stared. "That's crazy. Any moment now it'll be crawling with people from the Agency."
"I know, but we've promised to find Leila's brother."
"She does realize that he's going to be a man, doesn't she?" Zach said. "She will be able to hold back from killing him?"
"I haven't killed you yet, have I?" Leila said, strolling onto the bridge. She took the seat next to Mel and put her booted feet up on the console. "But don't hold your breath," she added in an undertone.
Zach ignored the comment. "I say we contact the Agency, work with them."
Mel shook her head. "No way."
"It's the sensible thing to do, I can clear my name, and we get access to Talmare."
"Yeah, well, you might not have noticed, but 'sensible' isn't exactly my strong point. Besides, what would they do to Leila if they find out she's a telepath?"
"Why should they find out?"
"They might, and it's not worth the risk. And what are they going to do to the telepaths on Talmare that Sanderson bred, the others like Leila's bother. You reckon they're going to offer them jobs? I don't think so."
"What about clearing my name?"
Mel shrugged. "We can drop you off somewhere if you like?"
She held her breath as Zach turned to stare at her, his eyes narrowed.
"I'm not leaving you alone," he said at last. "God knows how long you'd survive without me looking out for you."
Something tight within her relaxed at his words. But she wasn't about to let him see that. "Well, just so long as you remember, it's my ship."
"It was mine, first."
Mel sighed. "You know, you can't have two captains on one ship."
"I've been thinking about that," Zach said. "And I think Admiral Zachary Knight has a good ring to it."
"In your dreams, lover."
"If you and Admiral Knight would stop bickering for a moment and actually decide what we're going to do, it would be great."
"Well, it just so happens," Mel said, "that I feel a plan coming on."
"God help us all," Zach muttered.
The End
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About the Author
Nina Croft grew up in the north of England. After training as an accountant she spent four years working as a volunteer in Zambia which left her with a love of the sun and a dislike of 9-5 work. She then spent a number of years mixing travel (whenever possible) with work (whenever necessary) but has now settled down to a life of writing and picking almonds on a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain.
Nina’s writing mixes romance with elements of the paranormal and science fiction.
Find out more about Nina at:
www.ninacroft.com
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