He was surprised when she grabbed his hand, her fingers closing tight enough around it that it hurt. Her fingernails dug into his palm. He gritted his teeth against the pain too.
The ship heaved and then a deafening roar filled his ears. He was thrown to the side, into Terea, as the engines kicked in and blasted them towards the atmosphere. Terea's grip on his hand tightened and her other hand joined in. She made a small noise that sounded a lot like fear and he placed his other hand over them, completing the tangle. He held hers tightly, mostly to reassure her but partly to reassure himself too. In all the times he'd watched the ships taking off from the port, it had never looked so difficult. They had always eased up into the air with a chugging noise and drifted effortlessly into space. Perhaps it was just him romanticising what he saw. Maybe all large ships took this much effort to get into the air. From a distance it would be hard to tell.
He opened his eyes when the juddering stopped and the rattling ceased. His stomach continued to turn, flipping over and over. He took deep breaths to settle it and looked at the shutter across the window. Were they through the atmosphere yet? He wished he could see. He wanted to see the stars as his brothers did. He wanted to see the moment they left daylight behind and broke through into eternal night.
Terea's grip on him loosened. He took one of his hands away but kept the other there, allowing her to hold it. He'd never had a woman hold his hand before. It was nice.
Everything felt calm.
He imagined that they were drifting out into space now, effortless and weightless.
A shudder rocked the ship and the sound of the engines increased. Another lurch and he noticed the rise in speed. The whole ship seemed to jolt up and down, lunging all over the place.
"I said it could be rough,” Terea said, her face buried against his arm.
They must be reaching full speed as Terea had mentioned. He hoped it didn't stay like this for the whole journey. He'd definitely be sick if it did.
Her hand left his, stealing all the warmth away. She looked at him.
"It won't be long now. It will settle soon and then we can move around again.” There was a look in her eyes that he didn't like. Not quite mischief but something close. It gave him the impression that if he let her leave the room, he'd never see her again.
He couldn't let that happen. He needed her to get him passage from Dliaer to wherever his next destination would be. He hadn't paid attention to what she'd said to the woman at the port on Lyra Prime and he didn't want to look like an idiot or wind up in the cargo class area of the ship.
Besides, he was beginning to grow used to her company. He would even go as far as saying he liked having her around.
The ship levelled out and he heard the click of her safety harness. She stood and stretched, reaching her arms out above her head. She looked paler than she had been before takeoff. He probably looked the same. He unclipped the straps holding him in and stood on wobbly legs. He could still feel the ship vibrating if he concentrated hard enough. Either that or he was imagining it.
Terea went to the door. He was about to tell her not to leave when she pressed a button on the panel next to it and the shutters across the window opened, revealing the darkness of space.
He stared out of the window, watching Lyra Prime disappearing into the distance. The sun peeked over the disc of it. It was breathtaking. He sensed Terea come to stand next to him but didn't look at her. He couldn't take his eyes off the scene outside. He could see cloud formations hundreds of miles wide and the crystal blue oceans that lapped golden and green continents. It looked nothing like it had done in the books. It was so much more beautiful.
When it drifted into the distance, becoming too small to be interesting, he looked around to see what else space had to offer. Another planet blurred past and then another. Lyra Five. Its oceans were darker than Lyra Prime's and the land was swathed with deep green. It was stunning.
The next planet passed, this one surrounded by space stations and crowded with ships coming in and out of them. It was Lyra Six. A pleasure planet. His parents had arranged for some of the planet's foremost women to attend to him once for his twenty-first birthday. It had been a night he'd never forget.
His attention drifted across to Terea. Something told him that he'd never forget a night spent with her. It wasn't something he'd been looking for on this trip, but then he'd never expected to find himself with such a beautiful woman. She was watching him and not the world outside. He wondered what she was thinking.
Terea reached out with her mind, touching his lightly enough that he wouldn't notice the intrusion. His mind felt red and warm, full of wicked thoughts that she knew were about her. His eyes told her that. Whatever he was thinking, it was dirty.
Other than his desire, his feelings ran along lines of fascination and contentment, even excitement. She'd already figured out that this was his first time off-planet. For someone who had looked so worldly at first, he was fast beginning to appear sheltered.
She glanced at the door and then back at him. The lust in his eyes had been replaced by intrigue. When she'd gone to the door to open the shutters across the panoramic window, she'd sensed his tension and anxiety. He'd been relieved when she'd returned to him.
He knew she wanted to leave.
Something told her that he'd stop her if she tried to.
She was going to have to find a way to get away from him. He'd served his purpose and, now that she had passage to another system, she had to cut ties with him. She'd had it with men. Her father's bringing her to Lyra Prime when he'd said they were en route to Varka had been the last straw. Now she'd felt the wind of freedom in her hair she didn't want to go back. She never wanted to go back.
"You look as though you need to relax,” she said and smiled sweetly to disarm him. His feelings calmed again. “How about I order a few drinks and then the galaxy will seem even more beautiful?"
He looked out of the window. “It's already beautiful."
He was at that. Her eyes traced the line of his profile—his smooth forehead, straight nose and subtle curve of his lips, down to his defined jaw. The dirt still covered him, but she no longer saw it. She cursed herself for her female weakness and went to the panel on the wall.
Her fingers danced across it, taking her deeper into the menu of food and drink available on the ship. She smiled when she found what she was looking for and didn't hesitate before pressing the image to request it. A few glasses of this and he'd be on his back and she could escape.
She heard him walk across the room and turned her head to see him disappear into the bathroom. The door closed. She thought nothing of it and went to the window. It had been a bumpy takeoff after all. There'd been several moments when she'd been convinced she'd lose what little food she had in her stomach. She frowned and then went back to the panel, selecting some items from the food menu. If she was going to get him to drink then she'd have to drink too. With an empty stomach, she'd be drunk before he was.
Satisfied with her selections, she returned to the window and looked out of it.
He'd said it was beautiful.
She traced patterns in the bright stars, joining them together with her eyes. She couldn't recognise any of the constellations from this angle. They all looked strange and it made her feel cold and alone, as though she had gone to a completely different universe rather than system. She never would've been happy on Lyra Prime. It was too different. The people, the cities, even the air. Even the stars. What had her father been thinking?
The man, Sebastian, stepped out of the bathroom just as she sat down on the long padded seat. His cloak was gone, revealing a crisp white shirt and tight black trousers. Her eyes ran up the length of him, over a body that she could tell was toned beneath his clothes. Whoever he was, he took good care of himself. She'd noticed his hands weren't rough when she'd been holding them. If he worked, it wasn't manual labour. Her gaze reached his face. He'd washed the dirt off and preened his black hair. The short te
ndrils of it were tangled and pushed back, curling around each other. His eyes bore into hers, dark and alluring. She hadn't thought it possible for him to be more handsome without the dirt, but he was.
The door panel buzzed and a female voice came over it. They were speaking Lyran. She thanked Arkus for the reminder that she was with a Lyran and went to the door. For a moment, she'd been about to speak her native tongue.
She opened the door and smiled, bowing her head in greeting to the stewardess on the other side. The stewardess pushed a large silver floating tray into the room. She pressed a button on the wall and the floor opened to allow a table to rise up. It hovered a foot above the ground, perfectly still, as though it had legs. The stewardess placed the bottle, glasses and food onto the table and then left with the tray.
Terea closed the door and looked at the man. He was staring at the table. He lowered himself onto the long seat in front of the window and stretched his arms out across the back of it, his legs crossing.
His eyes flicked to her.
"I thought we could have a drink ... it's a wonderful spirit. It will settle both our stomachs and help the time pass more quickly.” She gave him a coy smile, fluttering her lashes a little to lure him in. She felt like adding that she'd been trained well by her family. She knew the best wines and spirits, and how to check the quality of most foods in the galaxy.
He looked over his shoulder, out of the window.
What had happened to the man from earlier? He was different now. There was such confidence about him, such power. His quiet reserve and air made her feel as though she was nothing more than a servant girl, vying for his attention. Why had he changed? The man in front of her now showed no trace of the excitement and fear she'd sensed earlier. She didn't know which she preferred—the confident dashing man, or the naive handsome one.
This one felt more dangerous.
She felt as though she couldn't deceive him, no matter how much alcohol was involved.
She felt attracted to him.
She gathered her scattered feelings and opened the dark blue bottle. She kneeled on the floor while she poured the ruby red liquid into the two small glasses and then rose to her feet with little effort and all the grace of her training. He was watching her. She could sense his interest. He wasn't curious. He wasn't intrigued by the drink. All that interest was directed at her. She sat softly next to him at an angle with her knees close to his. She placed her drink down on the table and offered his to him, holding it by the rim with two fingers and touching the bottom of it with two fingers of her other hand as she presented it.
He stared at it and then at her. She held her smile, extending the drink towards him.
His fingers brushed hers as he took it, sending a shiver through her that she couldn't ignore. She turned away to conceal her blush and picked up her own glass.
Facing him again, she raised her glass and knocked it against his.
"To running away,” she said and a flicker of surprise crossed his face and then disappeared again.
It hadn't been hard to figure out. She was running away after all. It was easy to spot someone doing the same.
He eyed the drink, sniffed it as though checking to see whether it was poisoned, and then knocked it back in one go. She watched him closely. He didn't even flinch. She drank hers, letting it ease down her throat and enjoying the hot burning trail that followed it. Her head felt a little lighter.
She picked up the plate of food—small titbits of various meats and pastries. She offered it to him. He declined so she helped herself. It was hard to eat delicately when she was hungry and was trying to get enough food in her stomach to stop the spirit from knocking her out.
Her eyes widened in surprise when he leaned forwards, uncrossed his legs and shifted to the edge of the seat. He refilled their glasses.
"Minervan, I presume. It tastes much like Koji.” He held the glass out to her. She went to take it but he moved it out of her reach. His gaze burned her as he raked it over her, from her eyes down to her knees and back again. She swallowed and blinked slowly. He was more universe-wise than she'd given him credit for. He knew it was Koji. “They call it Koji for a reason. Do you know what that reason is?"
She shook her head. She did know, but she wasn't about to make him suspicious by admitting it.
"Koji means death in Minervan. They say it's so strong that it has been the death of men ... and women.” He offered it to her again, and again moved it out of her reach when she tried to take it. “Come, let me serve it to you in a very Minervan way."
There was a hint of darkness and anger in his voice. She hoped he didn't suspect what she was up to. He shouldn't be so disturbed to find a popular Minervan drink on a Minervan ship, heading to a Minervan space station. She was overreacting.
Before she had time to refuse his offer, his hand was against her back. He ran it up to the back of her neck, tickling it when his fingers cradled her and sending another wave of tingles racing down her spine. She fought the temptation to close her eyes over the warmth and sensuality of his caress, and stared at him. She'd forgotten just how seductive a Minervan way of serving it could be. He held the glass between his index finger and thumb and brought it to her lips. His little finger brushed her jaw line. She closed her eyes now, unable to stop herself. The cold glass touched her lips and she drank the liquid down. It went straight to her head. Her eyes opened when he lowered the glass, tracing it down her neck to her chest, teasing the curve of her breasts. She swallowed hard and stared into his eyes.
He smiled.
Her heart pounded.
Damn him.
She pushed him off her and straightened herself out. “You're a little presumptuous to think you can do that to a woman you don't know."
He knocked back his drink and refilled the glasses. She looked at him. There wasn't even the slightest hint of it affecting him. His feelings were stable—calm and collected. She couldn't detect any change in them. Two glasses of Koji should be enough to start getting him tipsy. Was his stomach made of Varkan steel?
She ate a little more food to bolster her defences against the drink. There was no way she was going to get drunk before him. She had to make it go to his head somehow.
He picked up his glass. She took it from him, making sure that her fingers touched his in the process. He looked at her. She smiled and wet her lips. His gaze fell to them, darkening with desire.
"I know another Minervan way of serving,” she said in a calm whisper, gunning for seductive and succeeding. “Would you let me show you?"
He nodded. She knocked her own drink back to give herself a little courage and ignored the hot fire that swept through her veins. She just had to hold it together a little longer and then she could get out of here.
She stood and he raised a brow at her when she handed him the drink. “Hold this a moment."
His eyes shot to her legs when she hitched the long front panel of her dress up, gradually exposing herself. His gaze followed the hem of her dress as it rose, revealing her shins at first and then her knees and finally her thighs. The visible hunger painted on his face was enough to make her give him a brief flash of her underwear before she regained control and lowered the dress to cover them. She wasn't supposed to be actually seducing him. This was just about getting away. None of this was real.
His eyes fixed on one spot and his brow rose. He was looking at her thigh. She traced her fingers along the band around it to the small knife it held. His gaze darkened. Did the thought of her carrying a weapon affect him in a sexual way? He looked positively hungry for her now. She undid the buckle and removed the knife and holster from her leg. With a smile, she tossed it onto the table. His attention flicked there for a moment and then focused on her exposed thighs again.
She walked over to stand in front of him, her dress still hitched up. He leaned back when she pressed one knee into the couch beside his thigh. His eyes were wide now, dark but fascinated. Her heart raced, sending her head spinning with t
he alcohol. Nerves made her tremble. She just wanted to get away. If she fed him the shot this way, the alcohol would go to his head. It had nothing to do with wanting to feel his hands on her, or his lips against hers.
She brought her other knee up, pressed it into the couch beside his other thigh, and held his gaze as she lowered herself to sit on his lap.
He swallowed. She smiled and took the glass from his hand. His hand fell to the couch. She pooled the front part of her dress between her thighs and cocked her head to one side, waiting. He didn't react as she thought he would. She'd expected his hands to go to her thighs, to touch her. Presented with so much flesh, most men would have reacted that way. Not him though. His eyes didn't leave hers.
She bit her lip and brought the glass up, taking a sip with half closed eyes. His gaze was intent, powerful. Her head felt light and spun a little. The Koji was getting to her, enough that she didn't care that she was sitting on his lap in an intimate position about to do the most sensual and seductive thing she'd ever done.
Her tongue poked out, capturing a stray drop of Koji on the rim of the glass. His lips parted.
Leaning towards him, she pressed one hand against his chest and was surprised at the hardness of it. She'd been right. Hidden beneath the shirt was a toned body. A voice at the back of her mind said she'd give anything to see it. She shooed it away and focused on him. He was feeling aroused. Good.
Time to turn up the heat.
She ran her hand up and around his neck, burying her fingers into his dark hair. His eyes narrowed, fire burning brightly in them. She brought the glass to his lips, skimming it across them, lacing them with the Koji. He closed his eyes. Perfect.
Her heart thundered with adrenaline and her eyes zeroed in on his mouth. She denied her own rising desire and ran the glass along his lips again. This time he licked them after she'd made a pass. Her own tongue ran over her lips, mimicking his. She took another sip of the drink and told herself to get on with it and stop teasing him. She wanted to tease him though. She wanted to torture him until he snapped and some primal instinct inside him took over.
Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts [Sons of Lyra Series] Page 3