Silver

by Siren Allen

  “What?” She stared down at her clothing.

  “Those jeans are too tight. I can see all of your curves.”

  “They’re hip-huggers. They’re supposed to fit like this.”

  “I’m the only one who should be hugging your hips.” Her smile proved she wasn’t taking him seriously. “You know what, I’m tired. I don’t feel like giving a tour.” Silver sat down on the mattress, eyes still on the jeans hugging his mate.

  “Everyone wears them,” she rubbed her hands over the offensive fabric.

  “Everyone isn’t my mate.”

  “So you’re one of those kinds of males.”

  “What kind?” The kind that didn’t want his female showcasing her body to his crew?

  “The kind that wants his female to be obedient in all things, even how she dresses.”

  “Of course not. You have a mind. You’re free to make your own decisions.”

  “Except when it comes to clothing.”

  “Except when it comes to clothing that shows all of your curves. My males, they are unmated. Though they’re loyal, I don’t want them staring at you, lusting after you.”

  “Well then maybe you should change clothes too. I don’t want any female on this ship lusting after you. Fair is fair.”

  “There are no other females on this ship.”

  “Oh, well, I don’t want your males lusting after you.”

  “My males wouldn’t…. wait, if I change clothes will you?”

  “No,” she threw her arms wide, a frustrated expression on her face. “I was just trying to show you how stupid this whole conversation is.”

  “The tour is over.” Silver laid back on the bed.

  “The tour never started.”

  “And it won’t, not this night.”

  “Are you really going to allow our first argument as a couple to be over a stupid pair of pants?”

  “This is our second argument. The first was when you awoke and realized I’d kidnapped you.”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  He placed his hands behind his head, waiting her out. She was a curious one. She wanted to explore. She would give in. The sound of her clothes rustling reached his ears. He grinned. He knew she’d give in.

  Even now she was moving over to the dresser to search for something else to wear, something more suitable for a mate. Something that wouldn’t lead to him bruising his males for staring at her.

  Silver was just about to sit up when he felt her hands on his knees. What the hell? He raised his head and glanced down to find her on her knees in front of him. She rubbed her finger over the zipper of his pants, licking her lips as she did so.

  “Malia,” he croaked. What was she doing?

  “Remember when I tasted you?”

  “How can I forget?”

  She leaned forward and kissed his zipper. His cock strained against his pants, eager to be free. His hands balled into fists.

  “I remember,” he told her.

  “Did you like it?” She whispered.

  “It was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  “And do you want it to happen again?” She gripped him through his pants. His hips lifted.

  “Yes,” he groaned. Right now. Every fucking day.

  “Then I suggest you get up and take me and my hip hugging jeans on a tour.” Malia stood up and walked over to the door. “Come on, or you won’t come on me, again.”

  Fuck. “That’s blackmail.”

  “You kidnapped me. Fair is fair.”

  Damn, he should be pissed. Instead, he found her audacity attractive as hell.

  “You win.” He strode over to her, resisting the urge to fix himself in his pants. “But after the tour, I want some more of what we did earlier.” Silver pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

  “So do I.”

  Silver opened the door, eager to get this tour over with. When she stepped out in front of him, his eyes strayed to her ass. Damn.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to change?”

  “I’m sure.” She strode down the hall staring at the ceiling of the ship.

  “Or at least put on a longer shirt.”

  She tugged on the edge of her shirt that barely covered the top of her jeans. Her tug did nothing to help.

  “This shirt is fine.” She stared over her shoulder at him. “Come on,” her grin was contagious. “I’m ready to explore.”

  He would allow her to wander the ship in those jeans today. But as soon as they touched down on a station he was buying her more clothes, bigger clothes.

  “So is this the hall where all of you live?” she whispered.

  “Yes, but we usually call it a bridge. And there’s no need to whisper.”

  “I don’t want to disturb your crew.”

  Silver tapped the wall of the ship. “The walls in our rooms are sound proof. There’s an intercom outside the door they can use to talk to me if they need me.”

  “Oh, I guess you can tell that I haven’t spent much time on a ship. So where does the bridge lead to?”

  Silver placed his hand at the small of her back and steered her forward. “Since you like to cook I figured I would show you the kitchen.”

  “I want to see everything.”

  “And you will. Just not all in one night.” Silver steered her left and down another bridge.

  “What does that door lead to?” She pointed to the right.

  “Our systems room.”

  “I know what that is.”

  “What is it?”

  “The heart of the ship.”

  Silver grinned. “I thought you didn’t know much about ships.”

  “I don’t. But I’ve picked up on some things from customers in the diner. They always refer to the systems room as the heart of the ship.”

  “That’s exactly what it is. The walls of that room is thicker than the other walls.”

  “Why?”

  “When in battle, our enemies will try to strike us at our heart. We have to protect it.”

  “When in battle? Are you in battle a lot?”

  “Too often, yet not as often as other ships.” He hurried and changed the subject before she tried to dig deeper. “The kitchen is this way.”

  Her eyes lit up when they entered the room. “Nice.” She rubbed her fingers over the steel countertop. “Everything in here looks brand new.”

  “We don’t use this room much. It came with the ship.”

  “I’m glad it did. Would I be in the way if I used it?”

  “Of course not. But I must warn you, my crew doesn’t really eat much.”

  “And you?”

  “I’ll eat whatever you want me to.”

  She blushed. He liked when she did that. He leaned against the counter and watched her open and close cabinets.

  “Tomorrow, I would like to prepare you a meal.”

  “If that’s what you want. But you don’t have to.”

  “I do. I’m used to cooking every day.”

  And he’d taken her from that.

  “Listen, Malia…”

  “You’re sorry for uprooting me from my home and work. I know. That doesn’t make me stop missing it though.”

  “I know and…”

  “And you’re so damn sorry.”

  “Are you a psychic now?”

  “No, I just know that you really are sorry, but you don’t have to keep apologizing.” She faced him and leaned against the counter opposite of him. “It’s done. There’s no going back and we can’t move forward if we keep thinking about the past. However, there is one thing I’d like to discuss. I have funds from my diner that I’ll need. I’ll have to contact my cousin about transferring them to me, whenever we get to where we’re going.”

  One more thing he’d have to deny her. He truly was making her life inconvenient.

  “It’s going to be a while before you can do that. We’re not going to stay where we’re going for long. Just long enough to check out a few things, refuel and th
en we’ll be on our way.”

  “Oh.”

  He hated the sad expression that unfolded on her face.

  “You’ll be able to contact your family and check on things soon.”

  “I feel like there is so much you’re not telling me.”

  There was. But it wasn’t safe to reveal that to her yet. And though it hurt him to lie, what choice did he have? “Things are complicated right now. But, you’re safe here. I promise. And when I can, I’ll allow you to call home about your funds and to check on your diner. I swear.”

  She wiped at her eyes and he felt like the biggest ass for making her cry.

  “Malia,” he moved forward and she stepped to the side, holding her hands up.

  “I’m okay. I really am. It helps if I don’t think about it.”

  Shit.

  “Anyway.” She wiped her hands on her pants. “This is a tour. I’ve seen the kitchen. What else can I see?”

  “I think this is enough for tonight.”

  “But I’m not tired yet.”

  “Be that as it may, I think we should get some rest. Tomorrow I’m manning the ship. I need to sleep.”

  “Can I watch you fly?”

  “You can.” Silver held his hand out to her. She stepped forward and placed her palm against his. A little of the tension he was feeling disappeared as he led her from the kitchen back to their room.

  Silver waited until she fell asleep before he allowed himself to drift off. His dreams prevented him from having a peaceful sleep. What if she never forgave him for taking her from everything she loved?

  What if she never fell in love with him, because part of her hated him for destroying her life? What if his enemies found them and he was unable to protect her? So many what ifs. In his dreams his mate despised him.

  What if that happened in real life?

  Chapter Fifteen

  “You sure they won’t mind me making breakfast?”

  Malia was already nervous about meeting the crew. What if they didn’t like the food she prepared? What if they didn’t like having a girl on board their ship? Shit. Now her palms were starting to sweat. Silver was at her side in an instant.

  “They won’t mind.” He rubbed her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “And if they do, I’ll space them.” Silver kissed her on the cheek before moving to the counter across from her and leaning against it.

  He was just trying to place her at ease. He wouldn’t space his own crew members. Or, would he? She didn’t know him. Though over the course of one waning she felt their connection deepening.

  How could one night bring her closer to a male than she’s ever been before? It wasn’t like they’d talked much. They’d used their mouths for other things. Turning her back to him to hide her blush, Malia searched the cabinets for the ingredients she needed.

  “And you really just grabbed things and dumped them in a box?” she asked.

  “Yep. I didn’t know what you would want so I cleared as many shelves as I could.”

  He’d done a great job. Almost everything she needed to make biscuits and omelets were here.

  “What are you preparing?” He asked when she returned to the small island area of the kitchen.

  “Biscuits and eggs.”

  “I don’t see any eggs.”

  She held up a small white bag. “They’re powdered eggs. It’s hard coming across the real thing here. And importing them from Earth is expensive.”

  Silver nodded and continued watching her work. She told her hands to be steady under his gaze. That didn’t stop the slight tremble every now and then. To keep the nerves at bay, she struck up a conversation.

  “Where are the other crew members?”

  “Ep is on the navi-deck. Beta and Gamma are resting.”

  “Ep, Beta and Gamma? You guys have weird names?”

  “My name is Alpha. Or, was Alpha, until you called me Silver?”

  “About that, are you sure you want that to be your permanent name?”

  “Positive.”

  “Are those your friends’ real names?”

  “For now, yes.”

  “I sense this is a subject you don’t want to discuss.”

  “It’s a subject for a later time. Perhaps when we arrive on Qoaran.”

  “How long will we be there?” Malia mixed her ingredients together. The heat plate was finally hot enough to put the iron skillet on. He’d brought her iron skillet. How cool was that.

  “I’m not sure. Not long. But long enough.”

  “I like how you answer my questions by evading them. That’s a real skill you know.”

  Grease from the skillet popped. She loved the sound. Unfortunately, Silver did not. Before the next pop could be heard he’d raced to her side and pulled her away from the heat plate.

  “Hey,” she pushed his arms away. “Move before you make me burn up the food. Then your crew will really hate me.”

  “That stuff is exploding.”

  “It’s popping and it’s supposed to do that.”

  “Is it supposed to burn you up also?”

  Oh, he was protecting her. How sweet. She’d been popped by grease so many times she rarely felt it.

  “It wasn’t going to burn me. I need it hot so I can cook.”

  Her statement didn’t erase the distrust in his eyes. How could one distrust a skillet?

  “Move Silver, I got this. The kitchen is my domain. Here, I am queen.”

  “You’re my queen, no matter where you are,” he said as he stepped aside, still eyeing the big bad grease.

  Malia told herself not to get all feely over his comment. Too late. She was in her feelings. He had a way of putting her there. For the rest of the meal preparation he stood right behind her, staring over her shoulder, watching her every move.

  At first, she wanted to tell him to have a seat. Soon, his scent became a drug. Hooked, she could no more tell him to move, than to tell herself to stop breathing. Each breath he took was in sync with hers.

  His heart beat matched her own. He asked her questions as she cooked. She explained to him how cooking was calming to her. He laughed and told her it seemed trying. He asked her how she kept up with so many recipes.

  She shrugged and told him she just did. Her mother had loved cooking. She was the one who taught Malia the craft. Once the meal was complete, she could hear the other crew members moving around.

  “I think they’re awake,” Malia told Silver as she fixed plates.

  He’d brought her plates on board. How awesome was that. She fixed all four members a cup of coffee. She didn’t know if they liked coffee or not. She would soon find out. The first person to enter the kitchen was a tall dark skinned male with braided hair.

  Malia smiled at him. He didn’t smile back. His eyes went to Silver. Malia turned to stare at Silver to find his expression murderous. Uh okay. Were the two of them friends? Because it sure didn’t seem like it.

  The male left the kitchen and headed around the corner. Okay, that was weird. The second male to enter the room had pale skin and behaved just as strangely as the first one. His eyes stayed on Silver, never turning to Malia once. When the male left the room without so much as sniffing the food, she turned to Silver.

  “What are you doing?”

  He blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “They look at you and then they walk off. Neither of them even spoke to me.”

  Silver rubbed his hand over his face.

  “Silver?”

  “Yeah, I know. Sorry.”

  “What are you sorry about? What did you do?”

  “I guess it was the look I gave them.”

  “Yeah, that probably didn’t help. Make them come back.”

  He raised his brow. “Why do you want to feed them so badly?”

  “For crying out loud, please tell me you don’t think I want to poison your crew.”

  “No, but why does it matter to you whether they like your food or not. I’m the only one who should be enjoying your
cooking.”

  Jealousy. He was jealous. Why did that make her feel good?

  “A few moments ago you were okay with me cooking for them.”

  “I know.” Silver moved around her and walked over to the table.

  “So what changed?”

  “Seeing them see you is what changed.”

  How sweet. “You know they have to look at me. That’s how life works. People are going to look at me.”

  “There has to be some way to stop that.”

  Malia laughed at how serious he sounded. “Call them back, and behave. There’s no need for jealousy between us. I only have a taste for you.”

  Did she just say that? His eyes turned to her. They were black. Yep, she’d just said that. This little adventure was revealing a kinky side of her she hadn’t thought was real. She liked it, would miss it when she left.

  “Promise?” He stalked over to her, forcing her back against the counter.

  “P-promise.” Stars, his black eyes were sexy as hell.

  Silver traced his fingers up her arm. Shivers raced over her body. She found herself leaning closer to him, needing to feel every inch of him.

  “Tell me to step away.”

  Why would she do that? No rational female would tell a creature like him to step away. Wait, she should do that. She wasn’t trying to be with him for real. This was pretend.

  “Say it and I’ll do it. I promise Malia.”

  She couldn’t say it. The words wouldn’t come. Instead, she reached up and touched his face. His eyes closed and he leaned his forehead against hers.

  “I don’t want to say that.” Even the rational part of her was falling for this male.

  “Good, because I don’t want you to say it. I want to keep you all to myself,” he whispered. “I don’t want to share you.”

  “You don’t have to share me. I’m all yours.” Yep, she’d just said that. And right now, she meant it. She’d deal with the consequences of her words later.

  “All mine,” he mumbled, opening his eyes. “And I’ll destroy anyone who threatens you.”

  Stars, that was the most violent statement she’d ever heard, yet it made her feel safe. What was she turning into?

  “Say you believe me, Malia.”

  “I-I believe you.”

  “I won’t let anything happen to you. Say you believe this.”