by Kiersten Fay
Pushing away from the wal Sebastian dropped his arms to his side. “I’ve cleared your schedule for today.”
Ire pricked at her. “Why?”Was it because of the flower?She was getting sick of the anticipation of punishment. “It wasn’t my fault. Raka cut the flower and gave it to me. I didn’t ask her to do it, she just did. I shouldn’t …”
“This isn’t about the flower. Wel , itis, but it isn’t what you think.”
“You have no idea what I think.”
“You’re right, I don’t. And that’s maddening.” He paused briefly shaking his head. “I put the flower in your room tosetyou at ease. You looked a little freaked out when you ran away like that. And in the pub you were hardly there, like your mind was elsewhere.”
In the pub? She hadn’t even knownSebastian had beenthere. Wondering where he was going with this,Anyawatched him warily, at the same time her heart jumped at his admission. Itwashe who gave her the flower.
“It took me a while to figure out why you reacted that way when you saw me. I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” His gaze traveled her body. “I have something I want to show you. You can change out of your sparing clothes, you won’t be training today.”
“Something you want to show me?”
“Yes. It’s a surprise,so don’t ask. I’l wait out here while you change.”
Anya couldn’t get a read on him. His body language was guarded,his mask in place.He was so control ed. Inhis own words,it was maddening. She stepped back into her room wondering what she should change into. He claimed she’d done nothing wrong and therefore safe from punishment. Almost uncaringly he revealed he had put the flower in her room, as if it were nothing. As if it wasn’t one of the greatest—if not one of the only—gifts she’d ever received. His stoicism was irritating.
Suddenly, she had the urge tomakehim lose some of that control, and an idea formed in her mind.What was wrong with her?She was about to rile the beast and she wasn’t even afraid.
Sebastian’s jaw hit the floor when he saw herin herfresh change of clothes.
She was dressed in one of the black miniskirts, heels to match. The shirt she’d donned was low-cut spaghetti strap that clung to her curves and made his cock instantly solid as steel.Sebastianbit back a groan and fought the urge to push her back into the room and show her just what she was doing to him.
Her eyes flashed with mischief and realization hit him. She knew exactly what she was doing to him.Wicked female!Quickly heschooled his features. She had no idea the fire she was playing with.
Nottrusting his tongue to obey him he started down the corridor. Anya fel in step beside him.
“Where are you taking me?”
“I told you not to ask” his lips quirked.She just rol ed her eyes at him.
Yesterday in the plant nursery she had been so fascinated by the plants and flowers in the room, as though she’d never seen anything like it. It’s possible she hadn’t. Sebastian chided himself for causing her distress and unknowingly keeping her from something that might bring her happiness. Had he known his words would affect her so, he never would have told her to keep clear of the nursery. It’s true the plants are difficult to come by—many of them are rare even to their originating planets—but not impossible. Raka had a way with plants and since she’s been with the crew al have flourished under her care.
Anya had held such a look of contentment and sheer awe as she perused the different foliage. It made his heart swel with pride that he had such a room to offer her. He couldn’t wait to show her the sanctuary. If flowers and plants could make Anya smile like that he’d be sure she hadaccess toal the flowers she could possibly want.
They walked together in a comfortable silence, a complete one-eighty from their first meeting. Back then she had been tense, cold, and locked inside a protective shel . Now her shel was cracking and she was growing more comfortable with the ship, the crew,even him. Even though he hadn’t treated her as delicately as he should have in the beginning. How was he to know the kindhearted avid creature she would turn out to be? Her ability to adapt so quickly to her new life amazed Sebastian.
The doors to the sanctuary slid openandhe couldn’t resist turning to gauge her reaction when the interior came into view.
Eyes widening Anya stumbled, losing her footing. She caught herself and came to a halt, every action suspended. Her breath hitched. “My gods.”
Sebastian swel ed with satisfaction. Taking her hand he pul ed her through the threshold. Her grip was weak, resting lightly in his hand, but the touch affected him more than he imagined it could, and once they were ful y in the room he couldn’t let her go. Anya was enthral ed by her surroundings and probably didn’t even notice he was touching her. In awe she scanned the room. It was a beautiful space to be sure, but Anya shamed it with her very presence.
With difficulty he managed to avert his attention, surveying the room, trying to see through her eyes. This was the largest open space on the ship, and for good reason, bright lights shown from the ceiling, mimicking solar rays. Al kinds of foliage encompassed the room, from exotic trees that reached for the ceiling to colorful shrubs and grass that covered sloping mounds of turf. Vines blanketed the wal s so that almost no metal was visible. A faux stream trickled, snaking around the low hil s. A pathway crossed the stream at three points, circling the circumference of the room, providing access to thick jungle-like areas. The air was different here, sweet and thick with a tang of life, burying the cold iron and steel of the ship.And the colors!Every color in the spectrum existed in this room. It was a haven for everyone on the ship. In this room Sebastian could almost imagine he was back on his home planet …
almost.
Grip tightening Anya looked at him with so much emotion it made his heart clench. He tried to look away but she’d captured him completely. “Is this real?”
He nodded. “Al of it.”
“Can I touch it?”
“You can touch anything you want.” He said in a voice that gave two meanings to the phrase. She didn’t notice.Good. “We cal this the sanctuary.”
Too soon she removed her hand from his and began to flutter back and forth among the vegetation, scenting every flower and touching each one in turn.
Each time she stretched for something out of reach, the hem of her skirt would rise ever so slightly, revealing soft milky thighs. Sebastian had to stifle a groan. He should leave her to browse on her own, but he couldn’t keep from fol owing behind her as she made her way down the path.
She glided over a low bridge that crossed the stream and into a smal thicket of trees. The trunks were thin, with many of them clustered together. Vines dangled from the treetops, and smal bushes crowded the area.
Seeing her there, among the greenery, ful of elation, silky golden locks swishing back and forth as her gaze darted, was more than he could take.Unable tostop himself Sebastianbeganstalking toward her. As though Anyasensed the change in him, she twirled to face him. Visibly swal owingand inchingbackward.
Could she tel he’d lost his control? Was she frightened?With that he halted, almost able to rein it in.
Then her eyes went silver and Sebastian’s sliver of control shattered.
With a groan, he grabbed her by the waist and claimed her mouth with his. At his touch her body stiffened. With a gentleness Sebastianhadn’t knownhe was capable of he traced the contours of her lips with his own, taking in her delicious scent. After a moment she relaxed into him, her lips softening.
Through the fog, Sebastian noted her reaction.She was giving in to him. When her hands came up to rest on his shoulders another chunk of his control snapped away. His kiss became demanding. He licked across her lips with his tongue, she gasped and he took advantage, delving into her mouth to find her tongue with his own.
A soft feminine sound escaped her and she began to meet him with every sweep of his tongue. Her arms latched around his neck as she pushed her body deeper into his. This was not the reaction he expected but he’d take it
. With light force he pushed her up against a tree and pressed his body hard into her soft curves, never relinquishing her mouth. Moving the material of her skirt he squeezed the soft flesh of her ass—groaning with pure male appreciation—his hips began rocking against her.
She made another soft moan that drove him to the brink of insanity.
The kiss became frenzied, as though both were starved for each other. Sebastian knew he needed to pul away and get the hel out of there before …
before what? He was right where he wanted to be. Squeezing her taut ass he groundagainst her. Mindless with lust for her, his shaft had hardened to the point of pain and al he could think of was how it would feel to slip inside her warm flesh.Would she let him?He wanted to feel her writhing beneath him, to feel her sheath clench around his shaft as he pumped into her, again and again, until she screamed with ecstasy.
He broke away from her, tightening his hold on what little restraint he had left. They were both breathing hard and when the sweet scent of her desire fil ed his nose he almost lost it again.
“Spend as long as you like here. It’s yours to explore.” Then he bolted. He had to get himself away from her while he was able to. The strength it took to keep from turning around and taking her, now, against the tree, was astounding. He fled to his room and immediately turned the shower to cold.
The icy water didn’t help.
Analia—stunned—stayed leaning against the tree for a moment. It took a long while for normal thoughts to return. Licking her lips, she could stil taste Sebastian. A shiver rol ed through heras she committed his kiss to memory, his masterful, demanding, masculine kiss.
Her firstrealkiss.
It was more than she had ever dreamed it could be. He kissed her as though she were a drink of water to a man dying of thirst. Her head lol ed against the tree, as she tried to calm a body that screamed for satisfaction. Over and over her mind returned to his hands on her flesh. Warm, strong, he had felt so good.
Then he’d left her as though she were a diseased animal, left her with al these unfamiliar desires raking through her.She ached. Never before had she ached like this.
Though within a few minutes her thoughts were her own once more, it wasn’t until after a few hours of investigating the sanctuary that the urges began to subside. Stil , every now and again she would remember the heat of his lips, his body hard against hers, and she had to start the calming process al over again. How could he affect her so strongly? How could his arms around her feel as good as they had? She shiveredonce more, wishing he’d come back to finish what he’d started.
The sanctuary was incredible. The smel s, so different, blended into a saturating mixture of crisp vibrancy.
It must have been a hundred times that Anya walked the path beforesheclaimed a turf of soft green thicket, by the smal stream of water. Settling in she al owed the sound of the water to trickle in her ears. This place was beautiful. Since she’d entered this roomshe felta strong sense of familiarity, like she been in a place like this before. A memory sparked, and she forced herself to dig deeper into her mind.
As a child, she would visit a smal stream by her home and watch the little creatures that lived in and around it. The memory was fuzzy at first but soon cleared. There were trees around her. Large trees, the size of them were daunting, seeming to reach into the clouds. She remembered holding hands with two others, a little older than her, to see if together they could encircle one of the trunks. They couldn’t.
Anya couldn’t remember who the other children were. Were they friends? Family? Scarcely,she could hear their laughter as they chased each other around the gigantic tree trunks. Dodging and jumping over gnarled,moss covered roots. Anya smiled. There was a time when she was happy … loved, if her memory could be trusted.
There was more; an explosion had brought them al to a halt. A sour smel fil ed the air. Someone had grabbed her hand and pul ed, rushing them away.
The memory became fuzzy as chaos fil ed the last of it.
Tears fil edAnya’seyes as she covered her mouth in shock.What had happened?She was sure that was her home planet. Were they under attack? And who were those children. She felt connected to them somehow.
Anya sat alone pondering the memory and finding no answers.
The sound of metal grinding jerked Anya awake. An explosion rocked the ship. Pushing through her sleep drugged mind she jumped upfrom the couch.
Was she dreaming? It could have been part of a nightmare brought on by her recovered memory. In silence Analia waited.
Another explosion.
Instantly her mind went to Darius. He must have found her. Her head pounded painful y and her breathing was clipped. Panic was quickly taking over. She needed to think clearly? What could she do? The only way they could escape him was if the warp drive was working. She could fix it but then they would need a large stockpile of energy to feed it, and the only place to find that, at the moment, was in her. Could she reveal herself to Sebastian?To the entire crew? If she did,Darius would know instantly what she was doing. Like a signature, he would read her through the energy of the ship. She would have no more secrets, and even if they escaped Darius, she would be in danger of being exploited once again.
Pacing back and forth Anyawondered what Sebastian would do with her when he found out about her gift? Would he become like Darius? Using her forhisown gain?
Another explosion, this one was louder and stronger.
Anya was out the door before she realized. She would do anything to keep the people on this ship safe. They were in danger because of her. How could she let anything happen to them when they had shown her nothing but kindness?
Anya raced down the hal s, moving so fast that the control room doors didn’t have time to ful y open before she was squeezing through the crack of an opening.
The control room was laden with commotion. Sebastian was there,yel ing out orders to the crew. The huge floor-to-ceiling window revealed a foreign ship with sharp cut corners and almost no curves. Her relief was tremendous.
It wasn’t Darius.
At Sebastian’s commandMaradaopened fire and berated the other ship with a stream of explosions. The opposing ship sent only one last blast at them before they were crippled byMarada’s sheer firepower. The offending ship hung in space, quiet, like a piece of space garbage. Eventual y, it came back to life only to attempt an escape.
“Let them go.” Sebastian cal ed. “They’re harmless.” The room erupted in cheers. Until they al noticed her standing there. The cheering abruptly stopped.
A growl erupted from Sebastian so fierce it caused Anya to jump.
What was wrong?
Sebastian practical y dove at her. He had his jacket off and around her in seconds flat. “What are you doing?” He grated. “Why are you here dressed like that?”
Oh.
In her frenzy she hadn’t realized she was wearing one of the short silk sleeping garments. Her cheeks heated. “I … I was concerned. I heard the explosion and I thought …”
He pushed her from the room and guided her down the hal way. “You thought what?”
“That we were under attack.” She edged. She wasn’t going to reveal that she had a specific attacker in mind. “I was frightened.”
“And you had to go running about the ship with almost nothing on?” Once they entered her room Sebastian’s grip suddenly tightened on her shoulders.
“Who is it Anya?”
She shook her head at his question.
“Who are you afraid of?”
Anya looked away, unable to meet his gaze.
“You thought whoever attacked us tonight was coming for you, right? Tel me who it is.”
“I can’t,” she whispered. “Please don’t ask me.” When her body shook with emotion Sebastian pul ed her into him, wrapping her in his arms. She instantly felt protected, safe, and she buried her head in the crook of his neck while he held her.
“I won’t let them get you. I promise.”
; “You can’t promise me something like that Sebastian. But I thank you anyway.” He tightened his hold on her but didn’t argue. How could he. She would leave the ship soon and he would be nowhere near to protect her … from anything.
“Are you okay to be by yourself? Should I stay?”
“I’l be fine.” She lied. He held her for a moment longer before he released her to leave. After that, Anya curled onto her couch and lay awake for the remainder of the night.
Chapter 12
Sebastian was fuming when he reentered the control room. The crew took care to avert their eyes, knowing he was a demon on the Edge. Seeing lust in many of their eyes when they had looked upon Anya had instantly driven him there. Nothing had ever pushed him to the Edge so quickly.
And who could blame them for looking. Sebastian himself wanted to steer her into a darkened room and make waste of the thin material that sheathed her body. By her reaction in the sanctuary she might have let him. Sebastian shook the thought from his head.
Only when he had Anya in his arms was he able to calm, almost as quickly as he’d become enraged. A mere touch from her had pul ed him away from the Edge.Amazing.
Anya seemed oblivious to al this.
Her refusal to tel him who his first target was once the wards came down was irritating. But he was sure he would find out eventual y. Did she refuse to tel him because she was stil frightened of going back?Did she stil think him capable of that?She’d scoffed at his promise to keep her safe, though she was right. How could he keep her safe when he planned to leave her in order to hunt down her pursuer? He would charge Sonya and Calic to watch her in his stead, maybe even Marik. But Anya was right, he wouldn’t be there to keep his promise. And once Sebastian destroyed whoever was after her, it didn’t guarantee her safety. Anyone with eyes would want her.
A growl reverberated through him,al who stood nearbysubtlyinched away.