Leaning back, he rested against the cushions, putting himself as far from her as he could without actually getting up and running to the other side of the room like a pissing, gutless bastard.
“You carry much stress. I can see it in the tautness of your shoulders. Your posture is very rigid.” She dropped down to her knees between his legs and clutched his shoulders with firm fingers.
Shock ravaged him, freezing him in place, stopping his heart for a split second. No one ever touched him, apart from Zahli when she occasionally forgot. Ever since the appalling things the Reidar had done to him, while he’d been locked up in that godforsaken lab, he didn’t like to be touched without warning. And everyone knew it. In the volatile, hazy months after he’d first escaped, he’d killed men for simply brushing by him in a station bar.
The priestess’s fingers moved in precise patterns over his neck and shoulders, bringing him out of his traumatized stupor.
“What are you doing?” He had to force the words through his locked jaw.
Images pulverized his brain; pictures of lifting her and slamming her down on the bed. Though what happened after that became a blur as his deplorable desires warred with the distasteful, repulsive impulses beaten into him by the Reidar.
She had no clue the fine line he walked everyday trying to keep his dark side in check, had no idea how close she strayed to fatal danger.
“This would be far more effective if I weren’t wearing these cuffs. Then I could use some healing energies on you.” With rapid movements, her hands worked in a miraculous, breathtaking way that soothed his tight aching muscles like butter melting in the sun.
Lust started winning out over his destroyer instincts as her moon jasmine scent enveloped him. He became more and more aware of her position kneeling in the space between his thighs, how her full pink lips parted slightly over her breath, how her head tipped to the side as she concentrated on her task, and how her dark hair slid in silken waves over her shoulders.
Her thumbs found a sensitive spot at the base of his neck. A shaft of shuddering pleasure surged straight to his groin and all but turned him into a mass of jelly.
His hands shot out and grabbed her hard at each elbow, making her gasp. For a breathless second he considered kissing her. No, he didn’t want to kiss her. He wanted to devour her. He wanted to do things to her that’d probably scare the ever-living crap out of the innocent, sheltered priestess.
With his carnal instincts burning a hole in his will-power, he thrust her away, and she fell back against the edge of the bed. Some long forgotten part of himself blistered with guilt over that, but for the sake of his sanity and her safety, he had to get out of the room, maybe even off the ship.
Lurching across the passageway, breath ripping his chest, he stumbled into the opposite cabin and let the door shut him into complete darkness. He fell back against the panel and slid to the floor, the sweat trickling down his spine freezing like ice. He squeezed his eyes closed, as though that could keep the sinister shadows in the deepest recesses of his mind, as if it might stop the trembling or alleviate the sick feeling heaving his stomach.
Miriella, the Arynian priestess, was quite possibly the most dangerous thing he’d come across since escaping that hellish lab so many years ago. In all that time, he’d never been afraid of anything. Until now.
“I wouldn’t go up there unless you really have to. He’s in a mood.”
Zahli paused at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the bridge as Jensen loped down toward her with quick steps. The tinkling crash of broken glass had them both cringing as Jensen reached the landing.
“What set him off?” She listened for any other noises, but everything had gone quiet.
Jensen shrugged. “Wouldn’t have a clue. He seemed all right when I took over dead-watch last night, but he came back up in a foul temper. Maybe he didn’t get any sleep?”
Leaning forward, she looked up into what little she could see of the bridge, not able to glimpse any sign of her brother.
“He doesn’t sleep well at the best of times. I doubt that had anything to do with it.”
Her fingers tightened where she held the cool metal stair rail. She glanced back along the passage to the locked door of the captain’s quarters, resisting the urge to run down there and bang on it until either Rian or Tannin let her in. Rian’s bad mood could have been because he’d had the inevitable confrontation with Tannin.
“Well, whatever it was, I haven’t seen him in a temper like this for a long time. Good luck with it, I’m going to get a few hours sleep before we hit the Rim.” Jensen gave her a quick squeeze on the shoulder and an affectionate smile then headed off down the corridor.
Changing directions, Zahli went across into the galley to the condiments dispenser and ordered up a big mug of thick, dark coffee and then rummaged in the back of the storage compartment for the brandy stashed in there. The condiments unit pinged to signal the coffee was ready just as she laid hands on the bottle. She splashed a generous amount of the liquor into the mug, almost filling it to the brim.
With careful footsteps, so she didn’t leave a trail of brandy-laced-coffee across the floor, she walked up to the bridge and tapped open the beverage holder in the side of Rian’s chair. He didn’t look at her when she set the mug down, his somber gaze directed out the viewport to where void-space streaked past in a rainbow blur of colors.
She stepped back, clasping her hands and closing her mouth over the words is everything all right? From experience, a question like that would only get a snide, biting answer.
“What’s the plan for when we dock on the Rim?”
Rian’s head titled down as he looked at the mug. “I’m going out into Huata and see what my contacts can turn up. I’m not paying retail for a delta-shield, not when I could get one from a trader at half the price.”
Zahli pressed her lips together, wondering if her brother had finally cracked. In all the years since the war, he’d treaded the line of legalities when it came to his pursuit of the Reidar, but he’d never crossed it.
The trader he’d buy the delta-shield from would no doubt be a pirate. And the shield would likely be procured from some vessel that had either been scavenged or boarded by said pirates. Huata was an old industrial sector on the Rim that had long ago been abandoned by upstanding corporations and left to less reputable merchants. The streets were deadly and dangerous. Somewhere only the desperate went by choice. The IPC had been trying to find the place and shut it down for years, but there was no way to get inside unless accompanied by someone who’d been there before. Even then, the locals had a way of determining if anyone was working for the IPC or authorities. More than a few officers and agents had gone missing, never to be heard of again, in their search for the legendary bazaar.
“I hope you don’t plan to go alone.”
Rian palmed the mug and took a long swallow of the hot beverage. “I’ll take some muscle with me.”
Well, thank frecking stars he seemed to have some sense left in his head.
“I don’t plan on being out too long. Payton will be here to pick up the Grigorian within a few hours after we dock.” Rian took another mouthful of coffee and then swiveled his seat to look at her. “I want you to negotiate a higher price.”
She scoffed but then swallowed when Rian’s expression darkened. “We’re already charging Payton premium. Any higher and we’ll be left with a cargo hold of liquor and no money.”
“Tell him another buyer approached us and is willing to pay if he won’t.”
Crossing her arms, she shook her head. “It’s a huge risk. He’ll more than likely walk.”
Rian turned back to his crystal display. “I didn’t ask you what you thought about negotiating a higher price, I gave you an order.” Anger burned through her, stiffening her shoulders as he tabbed open a comm channel, a direct one to his suite. “Everette, I’m unlocking the door. I expect you in front of me to report in two seconds.”
Her fury at him p
ulling rank evaporated in a puff as she realized Rian had just asked for Tannin by name instead of calling him scumrat. Whatever the cause for her brother’s bad mood, Tannin couldn’t have been it.
A moment later, Tannin walked onto the bridge. He caught her gaze as he came in, questions written all over his face. His hair was disheveled and dark whiskers covered his chin and jaw, giving him a hard, but sexy edge. So frecking sexy…
“Report?” Rian all but barked the word, not even sparing Tannin a glance.
“Raleigh’s ship received a communication directing them to make orbit and then wait for further instructions. So while they’re not heading back to Erebus yet, they haven’t gone anywhere else. Of course, because of the delay in subspace communication getting longer the farther we got from Arleta—”
“I don’t need a scientific lecture.” Rian’s interruption came out at a growl.
Tannin shot an annoyed look at her brother then blanked his features. “I was only going to say that it’s been several hours since they got those orders, so they may have received new instructions by now and be on their way to wherever the IPC wants them to go.”
“Keep monitoring Raleigh until we reach the Rim. When we get there, you’re coming station-side with me.”
Tannin’s stance tensed. He probably wondered the same thing she did. What do you mean he’s going station-side with you?
Clearing his throat, Tannin eased back a step from Rian. “If you don’t mind me asking, where are we going and why?”
Zahli held her breath, knowing Rian could answer the question or things could just as easily turn bloody. Her brother didn’t like people questioning him at the best of times. She could only hope the potent brandy-coffee had mellowed him.
“I’m going to make trading contacts in Huata. Lianna and Roarke will be coming as well. There’s safety in numbers. Four armed people are less likely to get attacked than three. Now get off my bridge.”
Tannin glared at Rian, who luckily didn’t see, since he stared out the viewport as he finished his coffee. Zahli grabbed Tannin’s hand and tugged, in case he decided to open his mouth again. Considering Rian’s temper, if Tannin said anything, a knife wound in the shoulder would be tame compared to what her brother could do.
As soon as she had Tannin’s attention and was sure he’d follow her, she left the bridge, hoping Rian would be in a better mood by the time they went station-side on the Rim.
Neither of them said anything until they stood outside the captain’s quarters. Tannin turned to her with a puzzled look on his face. “Should I be suspicious that, despite his charming temperament, Rian seems to be treating me like a decent human being? He’s not going to take me out to Huata and accidentally-on-purpose let me get killed, is he?”
She’d been trying not to let that thought cross her mind. “Truthfully? I don’t know. But I have to believe you’re more valuable to him alive. His obsession with the Reidar drives him like an addict some days. He wants you to hack Kasson Three when we get there, so killing you right now seems irrational.”
“He is irrational. And okay, he’s probably going to kill me once I’ve done his hacking for him anyway.”
“I think he likes you, so I doubt he’ll kill you now. But I can’t say he won’t do you some damage every now and then.” Giving into the overwhelming urge to simply touch him, she laid a palm in the middle of his chest. Tannin raised his hand and covered hers, his fingers warm and large.
He raised an eyebrow. “And how did you come to the totally illogical conclusion that he likes me?”
Though his tone sounded light, a dark seriousness stole through her. Tannin had become…important to her. But she didn’t want to examine the possible implications at this point.
“I know Rian better than anyone. I wouldn’t let you go if I thought there was a chance he had nasty plans for you.”
A wicked heat darkened Tannin’s gaze, one she’d started to recognize. He shifted a step closer to her, and the air around them became charged.
With a deep breath and a huge dose of regret, she stepped back, pulling her hand from his. “There are so many reasons why kissing me here in the corridor is not a good idea. Rian’s already in a ballistic mood.”
“Who said anything about kissing?” Tannin matched her steps, stalking her with a predatory intent that left her breathless and wanting to be caught.
She shook her head, backing along the passageway. “You’re asking for trouble.”
A devilish smile kicked up his lips. “Is that what you call it? Then hell yeah, I want trouble.”
He wanted her, wanted it all from her. The thought made her brain stutter to a halt and her breath caught. Holy frecking stars. Tannin didn’t need to ask for trouble, he was trouble.
“You better get back to monitoring Raleigh’s ship before Rian comes looking for you.”
He gave up his pursuit, shaking his head. “Coward.”
“Being smart is not cowardly.”
He shot her one more heated look then made his way to Rian’s office.
Zahli stood at the top of the stairs, her heart pounding relentlessly. She sensed that she’d traded more than words with Tannin. It seemed as though she’d made some sort of unspoken commitment.
No matter what Rian had ordered her to do, no matter what threats or warnings her brother might come up with, staying away from Tannin wouldn’t be as simple as making a logical decision. Whatever had started between them went far deeper than logic.
But for now, she had to start docking protocols and hope the crew didn’t get themselves killed when they went to Huata in search of a delta-shield.
Chapter Twelve
Tannin stood behind Rian, between Callan and Lianna, as the cargo bay door lowered. Last time he’d seen the ship do this, he’d been standing on the other side in the hangar back on Erebus.
His heart beat a staccato, making his stomach flip. He’d be going out among people for the first time in over twelve years. He wasn’t an inmate anymore. He’d become a regular guy accompanying his shipmates on an excursion for upgrades… Except, his shipmates were temporary, at best, the excursion would be taking them into the worst sector on the Rim, and the upgrades would be coming to them via not-so-legal means.
Rian had handed him a belt and several weapons when he’d arrived in the cargo hold a few minutes before. As Tannin had strapped himself up and holstered the two different classes of nucleon gun, one pulse pistol, and knife, Rian had condescendingly asked him if he knew how to work them all.
His answer had been a returning glare. He might not have had much practical use with them, but he’d read more than enough theory, which meant, in terms of technicalities he probably knew more about the weapons than the other three combined.
The ramp dropped the last few inches with a clang, revealing the busy inner-workings of a public spaceport. They hadn’t been assigned a private hangar, those were left to the luxury cruise ships and corporate class convoy vessels. Instead they’d been given a simple anchor in a hefty dock, which looked to easily house over a dozen ships of various shapes and sizes.
“Comm me if anything comes up,” Rian said, interrupting Tannin’s study of their surrounds.
He looked up the stairs to the landing where Zahli, Jensen, and Kira stood to watch them depart. Zahli nodded at her brother’s command and then flicked her gaze over to him, concern tightening her features. The urge to blow her a kiss or better yet, leap up the few steps to steal a kiss, spilled through him. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and sent her a smile, one he hoped appeared reassuring.
“Hurry up, scumrat.” Rian’s voice echoed back up the ramp, and Tannin broke into a swift stride to catch up with them, since they’d moved off the ship while he’d been gazing at Zahli. Probably looking like a besotted moron with drool running down his face.
Of course, it was hard not to look like a besotted moron when he felt like one. In all the years he’d fantasized about escaping from Erebus, this particular
scenario had never crossed his mind. He’d never dreamed he’d find someone like Zahli, never considered he’d find a position, temporary or not, serving a demented excuse for a captain, and never thought anyone would give him a place and something to do.
And as besotted as he might be with Zahli, perhaps he’d be better off heeding Rian’s warnings and try to earn himself a permanent place on Sherron’s crew.
The girl or the life.
Why did choices always seem to come down to grand sacrifices?
Tannin jogged off the end of the ramp, pausing to avoid getting run over by an unmanned freight-hauler stacked with crates. Once it’d passed, he took a few running steps to close the distance between him and where the other three were passing by the ship in the next bay.
“Don’t wear yourself out, Everette. We’ve got some walking to do yet,” Rian said, not bothering to look back at him.
He glanced at the other two, but Callan concentrated on scanning the large area with the air of someone who knew what they were doing. Lianna stared at a ship a few anchors over that had what looked to be half its engines hanging out. And that had been the second time in a few hours Rian had called him by name. Could Zahli have been right after all, and Rian had started to…well, he wouldn’t say like him, but at least tolerate him?
Tannin tucked the idea away in his mind for further thought later as they walked along the short gangway connecting the hangar with the spaceport. People came and went in all directions. Some wore spaceport security uniforms, a few here and there wore business attire, some wore outfits which seemed to correspond with certain ships, while others were in plain, if what rough looking clothes like him. This was the busiest place he could remember being since before he’d been sentenced to Erebus. He never thought he’d be so damn happy to walk through a crowded spaceport.
They passed a group of IPC officers lounging by a beverage cart, duffle bags at their feet. Tannin averted his face and maneuvered to put Lianna and Callan between himself and the officers. Callan noted his move and glanced at the men, then gave a sharp nod and positioned himself more fully in officer’s line of sight. Tannin couldn’t believe the guy who’d spent the last few rotations referring to him as a rat bastard was now actively protecting him.
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