“No,” I snapped, curling more closely around Frederique’s slender shoulders. Silver from Val melted against her back, forming a protective barrier. It bared my arm, leavingmeexposed, but that did not matter. “You’re almost done, right, Dravion?” I prodded, a warning in my tone to let him know I would not accept any delays on his end.
In a murmur, I heard Thatcher snidely repeat what I’d said earlier, that Frederique came from the planet. I took great pleasure in the angry warning he received for the insolence from our captain. Then I heard Jaxin’s voice, loud and booming: “Is it me, or is our usually cool-headed second-in-command acting like he’s in mating heat? You really unleashed something when you allowed your stowaway to stay, Captain.”
I snarled, the captain growled, Thatcher laughed, and over it all, Mandy and Frederique both made surprised sounds. Ah, that meant my mate had heard exactly what the Rummicaron Weaponmaster had said. I turned to look at her, saw that color had burst across her cheeks, pink and warm. Her mouth shaped into a surprised little round that tempted me to lean in and kiss her. Come to think of it, that would stake my claim, loud and clear. So, I did exactly as I wanted: I leaned in and kissed her, that bold claim, all heat, all passion, and her response, all mine.
“Sin!” Mandy shouted, but softly enough that she did not wake the baby she held in her arms. “What the hell are you doing?” I could not recall the last time anyone had spoken to me that way, except for Frederique, of course. It was a human sin, it seemed, to go boldly, without any sense of tact or self-preservation. Of course, Mandy had her big Naga mate to protect her, and Frederique had me. Perhaps that was their secret.
I spun, protectively pushing my mate behind me, and glared at the whole crowd gathered at the med bay doors. I gave Mandy only a brief look before glaring at Jaxin, at Thatcher, and the rest in the hall beyond. I saw the Asrai twins, Aramon bouncing, his mate under his arm. Tass, Raukesh, even Flack had come to see the human I’d brought aboard. I bared my teeth at them, even though most had mates. “She’s mine. I’m taking her to my quarters now.”
“You can’t, Sin,” Mandy objected boldly. “Let me talk to her first.” Then she moved closer, and, much to my surprise, even though my mood was clearly volatile, the captain let her. It briefly stunned me, so I missed the first few words Mandy directed at Frederique—introductions, followed by the much more nosy question: “Are you okay?” The way Mandy looked from me to my mate made it clear she was trying to see if Frederique was okay with the way I was holding her. My mind hazed with anger, but part of me held on to rational thought by the skin of my teeth. No, I could not attack a female with a small child; I could not attack a female for looking out for my mate. Even if she was rude and what she said was offensive.
Frederique’s voice was clear as a bell, any hint of her exhaustion masked. “I am fine, Mandy. Thank you. I think I’d very much like to go to Sin’s quarters right now and sleep for a while…” Ah, she was a good girl. I’d have to remember to reward her for that. Sweeping her back into my arms, I carried Frederique past Mandy, past Dravion, and past the staring crowd. They hurried to part for me, darting out of my way as if they feared I’d strike them if they didn’t. They’d be right.
Chapter 14
Frederique
Honestly, I was a little embarrassed that I’d nearly fainted. There were so many eyes on me that all I wanted was to run and hide. I felt too frazzled and exposed. Raw, like an open wound. Focusing on Sin was the only way through, and I was incredibly grateful he seemed to have chosen this moment to fully embrace his mating instincts. Now I got to cling to his wide shoulders, wrap myself in his scent, and tuck my face against his chest. Hide.
I was usually all for the “arm yourself with knowledge” tactic, but right now it was overwhelming to suddenly understand over a dozen strangers. They were peering at Sin and me with curiosity on their strange, alien faces. One guy looked like he might be a French gargoyle, straight from the towers of Notre Dame. I saw a guy who looked like a fox, sharp snout, pointed ears and everything. He looked so serious, I thought he might pull out a pair of glasses for further study. Their mouths were moving, but my ears were ringing.
Then we turned a corner and, abruptly, it was just me and Sin again. Val trotted at his side and peered at me with large, liquid silver eyes. She had taken on the shape of a creature I did not recognize, but that faintly reminded me of a horse. She had six legs and a tail like a cow, with a dainty tuft at the end. If she opened her mouth, I could see rows of teeth—far too sharp.
The ship was as confusing and convoluted as the aliens living on it, not to mention the ones whose company I was keeping. Dark,twisting hallways stretched on, each nearly indistinguishable from the last except perhaps in the number of doorways lining them. Sometimes, a larger doorway would open, and I’d briefly stare into a room of greater interest: a lab, a huge swimming pool with a star-studded wall and pretty plants, a room with couches and entertainment systems. This ship was kitted out for everything, to live on comfortably for long stretches of time. Everything theLancing Lighthadn’t been, despite its own planned long journey.
I was starting to think the ship was so large we’d never reach Sin’s quarters, when we were suddenly there. A door swished open and revealed a room as dark as the hallway, darker, maybe, as no lights were on inside it. He stepped inside, and the dark swallowed us whole, the door shutting silently behind him. It made my chest grow tight with fear, but it didn’t last long, sliding from me like water. It left me even more exhausted than before, but calm, too. I was just a stranger in a disjointed world, observing but not feeling.
The light that turned on illuminated a living area that seemed completely barren of furniture but was lined with shelves holding object after object: vases, artwork, something that looked like a seashell. I saw all of it in a flash, because Sin didn’t linger in this room. He strode through it with purpose until he was standing in a large bedroom, still cradling me carefully in his arms.
This room was exactly as I expected, and yet it still caught me by surprise. Of course, his bed was huge and decadent. A lush affair of black silk and velvet, with posts framed in deep red velvet curtains. This was the kind of bed that went with a guy everyonecalled Sineater. It made my stomach curl in anticipation, even through the exhaustion that weighed down my body.
He was careful as he laid me down on the thing, and I sank into it in a rather decadent fashion. It also made me realize how long it had been since I’d showered or had a change of clothes, but the thought of getting up to change that seemed insurmountable. My eyelids were already sinking down, heavy, and pulling me into sleep.
Vaguely, I heard Sin talk, but it registered only halfway between sleep and wakefulness. I thought perhaps he was ordering his creature—his symbiont—to keep watch. Guard me. That made something warm unfurl inside my chest, helping me drift further into sleep. It was the clicking noise that followed that turned everything dark and twisted. He’d locked me in, I was certain of it. He’d locked me up, like I was some kind of prisoner.
My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as I tried to protest, but I was swept away on a tide of dreams—them. Memories first, of theLancing Lightand the way Davidson had resumed his rather obnoxious flirting now that he had me essentially cornered. Hints like, “It’s just you and me now, why not?” dropped on me right up until the moment I’d trustingly stepped into the stasis pod. Then the images twisted until it seemed like I was sleeping, and a shadowy, tentacled thing with Davidson’s face loomed over me, watching me, always watching.
I tossed and turned, but the panic that would claw at my throat and yank me to wakefulness didn’t come. I was lulled back under by a gentle weight against my chest and shoulder, warmth sinking into my side. The dreams that followed made me feel trapped, trapped in the stasis pod, trapped in theLancing Lightunder hundreds of feet of water, and trapped in Sin’s room. And then… then being trapped turned into sensual heat: Sin tying me to his bed, teasing each inch of my skin, demanding my complete surrender…
I woke, gasping as if I’d run a marathon, sweat coating my chest and making my shirt stick to my skin. Blinking, I felt like there was sand in my eyes, gritty, sticky, irritating. Nobody was in the room with me, and it was dark except for a pale yellow-orange light glowing inside a jagged crystal rock. It stood on a dresser next to the door and felt a bit like a nightlight. Had Sin left that on so I wouldn’t be scared when I woke?
Val was shaped like something slinky and fluffy next to me. She was pretty small, which meant most of her was probably with Sin. Still, I appreciated that I wasn’t completely alone. The nap had left me disoriented, but the heavy exhaustion was gone. As the cobwebs of sleep began to fall away, I felt clear-headed and stronger—perhaps even a bit like I’d put distance between myself and the events of the previous days.
“What now, Val?” I asked, my voice a bit husky from sleep. She made a purring noise and cocked her cute, furry head at me. It was shaped much like a kitten’s, but her body was longer and her paws shorter, like an otter’s. I could not resist and reached out to stroke her behind her soft, pointed ears, rewarded immediately by an even louder purr.
“How long was I asleep?” I asked. My stomach rumbled, clearly empty, and my mouth felt like I’d swallowed cotton: dry and disgusting. Val had no voice, but she was a very good communicator. Her bushy tail went up in the air, and then it morphed, briefly shaping into a very neat, crisp number two. Iblinked, and it was just a bushy tail again, but I hadn’t dreamed that. “Two hours?” It felt like much longer, but Val adamantly nodded her snout up and down. Okay, that was a good nap, at least, because I felt refreshed, if unclean.
“Shower?” I posed hopefully, and was relieved when that made Val leap from the bed and trot on her short legs to a black door I hadn’t noticed yet. It was obscured against the equally black walls, but for Val, it swished open to reveal a bathroom beyond. Not the typical tiny shower stalls and compressed utilities I was used to seeing on a spaceship. No, this was a proper bathroom with a glass-walled shower and a pretty gold and black marbled sink.
The shower was heaven, and afterward, when I stood drying myself in a soft, fluffy towel, I felt reborn. Okay, life sucked, and the mission had turned into a disaster. It was time I refocused and figured out my future. That meant gathering facts, and I couldn’t do that while stuck inside these quarters.
My hands trailed over the dresser drawers as I opened one after the other, trying to figure out which one held clothes I could borrow. Too many of these fabrics were sleek and soft, a tease and a whisper. They felt wrong to take out and put on, and they looked nothing like the sleek black metal armor I’d seen Sin in. Was this what he wore in his spare time? Somehow, I couldn’t really imagine himhavingspare time. He seemed like the type who preferred to always keep busy. The living room, devoid of any sitting options, was a good indication of that.
Eventually, I pulled out some kind of robe that would drown me and still felt too silky. It was warm, though, as I wrapped myself in it, and although I knew it made me look silly, it would haveto do. Now, how did I get out of here? And was it safe to do so? Surely, with Val at my side, I’d be fine.
Sin would have to learn that I would not take kindly to being locked up. He might think he was the boss, and he might truly believe this was perfectly fine behavior, but he’d learn.
***
