Liar's Game

by Kait Gamble

  “And just what was your plan?”

  “Didn’t have one, really. All I knew was that I had to get her out of there so Meri could work his magic.” He winked. “It worked, didn’t it?”

  Auri rolled her eyes. “You could have told us.” She mimicked his usual complaint whenever he was stuck on the receiving end of her ‘moments of inspiration.’

  He grinned his trademark smile as he replied with her customary, “Where’s the fun in that?”A deep chuckle rumbled from his chest when she wrinkled her nose. “I thought it would be good for you to be on the receiving end for once. How’s it feel, not knowing what the hell’s going on?”

  Auri stuck her tongue out at him. “You want me to hold a conference every time I get an idea?”

  Bam’s face was grim, despite the banter. “I take it she’s escaped.”

  Aurelia took a long sip. “She even did the evil-mastermind monologue.” She smirked. “I got a good punch in before she left, though.”

  Everhard chucked her chin. “That’s my girl.”

  Keys touched his fingertips to her burning cheek. “Looks like she got one in too.”

  “How long before she pushes the button?” Meri eased himself into a chair and leaned over to get a look at her injury.

  She waved him and Keys off, laughing bitterly. “Not long.” She dropped her head to Keys’ shoulder. “I got her good and mad.”

  They sat still and quiet for a moment. Auri could feel the anticipation building in the room. Her own breath was shallow, her heart drumming in her ears as they waited.

  Gritting her teeth, she raised her glass. “To old friends.”

  They touched rims and the resulting chimes rang out, accenting the explosion outside that rocked the ship.

  Bam’s good eye dropped to Auri. “I guess y’ didn’t tell her that Meri an’ that friend of his removed th’ implants, eh?”

  Auri shrugged, dropping her head to the side to look at her family. “Must have slipped my mind.”

  They all looked at her before laughter broke out and glasses clinked again.

  Chapter Seven

  It was nearly twenty-four hours before Meri would allow Auri to see Keys. Or more accurately, it was nearly twenty-four hours before the crew had gotten sick of her glares and foul mood, which resulted in Meri accompanying her as she brought Keys his latest meal.

  “You’ve been quiet, my dear. Recent events weighing heavily?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know.” Of course she knew. She hated that her arrogance put them all in so much danger. That she couldn’t figure things out fast enough, which resulted in Keys almost dying.

  He chuckled. The rusty sound skittered across her already drawn nerves. “You’ve never been one to shy away from your emotions. If I know you, you’re blaming yourself for everything.”

  How could she not? It was her plan that had gotten them into the situation in the first place. Her need to figure things out. She’d spent the last few hours wondering what she could have done differently to avoid what happened.

  But nothing came to mind. Kateryn’s hatred was too deep and had been festering too long now for events to have turned out any way but ugly.

  “But that’s not all that’s bothering you, is it?”

  Auri couldn’t stop the very unladylike snort. There was the trifling matter of her feelings for Keys. And the fact that she openly cried over him. Sure, he might have brushed his lips against her hand, but that could have been an accident. He was hardly in control of his faculties at the time. It probably meant nothing.

  Meri’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Why don’t you just ask him?”

  Auri nearly dropped the tray. “What?”

  Meri shook his head and kept walking. “You two have been dancing around each other. All this time we thought you were being coy, when you’ve just been blind.” He raised a brow at her. “Or stupid.”

  “Thanks so much.”

  He laughed at the dripping sarcasm.

  Auri shifted the tray uncomfortably. “So you’ve all been talking about us?”

  “Incessantly.”

  The burn on her cheeks grew. “And what’s the consensus?”

  “Bam suggested we should lock you both in a room for a few days until you either kill each other or tear each other’s clothes off.”

  “Meri!”

  “You asked.”

  Auri didn’t like that the scientist was enjoying her discomfort so much. So many questions were floating around in her mind.

  “And now you’re asking yourself why he hasn’t made his intentions known.”

  She gave the old man a withering glance. “If you’re so familiar with what’s going on in my head, why don’t you go and talk to him for me? You have my permission to be my proxy.”

  He shook his head. “For someone who can face a man four times her size with sword in hand, I never would have pegged you for a coward when it came to matters of the heart.”

  Aurelia felt her pride rise to the deliberate challenge. “Fine. I’ll talk to him.” She just didn’t say when she would.

  Meri’s face softened. “After everything that’s happened to you in your life, I completely understand why you don’t believe you can trust people with your heart. That’s why you hide behind your bravado. I’ve seen beyond that façade. Keys has too. He knows the real you and isn’t shying away.”

  “Nor has he made a move forward.”

  A wrinkled hand closed over her shoulder. “Keys is a complicated man. Despite everything he has done in his life, he is still an honorable one who lives by a strict moral code.”

  “What does that even mean?” Was she too young for him? Not good enough? Was he waiting for her to fail a test of his damned moral code?

  “Meaning he doesn’t want to sully you with his reputation. He’s a criminal, miss. You’re a lady. Or has that slipped your mind?”

  Auri paused to look at the man. That had to be the stupidest thing she’d ever heard. “After everything we’ve been through, he thinks that?”

  Meri shrugged. “Here we are.” He tapped at the door and received an answering reply to enter. “Let me open the door for you.”

  Auri stepped through to find Keys shirtless and staring back at her like he was a deer caught in one of Meri’s dazzling searchlights.

  “Auri!” He snatched a shirt off the chair and threw it on, clumsily forcing buttons through holes.

  “I was told you were bedridden.” She turned to confront Meri, only to catch the door sliding shut and the telltale beep of the lock being activated.

  Dammit.

  Aurelia cursed herself. The man had all but laid his plan out at her feet and she walked headlong into the trap anyway. She sighed, putting the tray down on his desk. “It seems we’re locked in.”

  “Why would he do that?” Keys tried the panel by the door and was rewarded with an angry buzz from the door. “What’s going on?”

  Mortified, Auri kept looking everywhere but directly at Keys. “They seem to think this is the best solution.”

  “What?”

  She pressed her lips together. “It seems our crew mates have conspired to get us together.”

  Keys laughed roughly. “Why would they do that?”

  “They’re just being their usual idiotic selves.” She shrugged, wishing she could stop the fluttering in her chest. “If you’ve got any tools lying around, I’m sure we can get out of here.” Auri searched his table and the area around his desk. She noted for the first time that there was a lit candle on the table. “Are you having trouble with the power in here?”

  “No. Not really.” Keys ducked his head, but not before she thought she saw come color darken his cheeks.

  Of course he wasn’t blushing. Auri shrugged it o
ff and continued to look around. Now wasn’t the time to start fantasizing. Damn Meri for putting thoughts in her head.

  Keys’ voice distracted her from thoughts of murdering Meri. “So, what are we going to do now? I assume that you have some grand plan.”

  She huffed a breath. “All of this reminds me that it’s time I faced my father for what he did.” Auri sighed. “What do you think of going back to Earth?”

  “I’m sure we could be persuaded.” Keys cleared his throat. “Been thinking about anything else?”

  The last thing she needed right now was to discuss her feelings about what happened with Kateryn. She was seconds away from dropping to her knees to look under the bed when Keys’ strong hand closed around hers and spun her around to collide with his hard chest.

  “Aurelia. I… I’ve been an ass.” He barreled on when she started to argue, releasing her hands and pacing the small space. “After what happened, I wanted to say—” Keys waved at the table. When she wasn’t looking he had pulled the cloth off the tray to reveal two plates filled with food. He kicked a bucket out from under the table, filled with huge lumps of ice and a bottle of champagne they’d looted a month back. “I had a plan, you know? Of course you don’t.” He shook his head and started again. “I’m not the type of man you’d even consider courting you. I wanted to find a way of becoming that man. But what happened made me realize that I…we…I wanted you to know—”

  Auri wasn’t sure if she was worried or amused by the bumbling man before her. She rubbed the heel of her hand against the hopeful throbbing in her chest.

  He scrubbed at the back of his head as he growled in frustration. “Aw, hell.”

  Keys closed the space between them, cupped her face in his hands and drew her in for a scorching kiss in one quick move.

  The shock evaporated as he took advantage of her gasp and deepened the kiss. Then there was another and another, each growing in hunger and urgency until she was left dizzy and breathless.

  By the time he pulled back, she was a trembling mass of sensation. The weakness in her knees had her pressed up against him just to keep herself upright. Not that he seemed to mind.

  He dropped his head, pressing his forehead to hers. “Understand?”

  Auri dragged him down, looping her arms around his neck, anchoring him in place as she dove back in. She gave him a wicked grin when she drew back, noting with pride that he was trembling as badly as she was. “I think I might.” She laughed, feeling lighter and happier than she had in a very long time. “You do realize we’re never going to hear the end of this.”

  Keys’ hands were at her waist, deftly tugging her shirt out of the waistband of her trousers. “Hmm?”

  Her eyes closed at the tantalizing sensation of his hands, warm and rough against her skin. “One of their plans actually worked.”

  Keys laughed as he swung her up into his arms. “I’m sure they’ll work that out for themselves. Right now, I’ve got a plan of my own I want to put into action.”

  Auri couldn’t be happier to let him take the lead.

  Just this once.

  * * * * *

  About the Author

  Kait was born and raised in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest and started writing to entertain herself during the long winters as a child. Insatiably curious with a love of learning new things, she picked up many random skills, including three languages and two martial arts. After traveling three continents (the other four are on her bucket list), she settled in England with her family where she spends most of her time cultivating her daughter’s love of reading and writing, scribbling ideas on every available scrap of paper and trying out dialogue on her cat.

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  ISBN: 978-14268-9401-5

  Copyright © 2012 by Kait Gamble

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  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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