Will he trap me to the wall?Her toes curled.Will he…
He turned and went to the door.
Her brow furrowed. The blush on her cheeks drained. Hysterian stopped and waited for her, standing at the open panel, as cool and unavailable as ever. She approached and slid past him, out of the armory. The door shut and locked behind her.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” he said.
“Thank you.”
His hand came up, and she flinched. He cupped her cheek anyway. It was gentle, almost affectionate. Her heart stuttered. It was nothing like any of the other times he touched her. She wanted to move away, but didn’t.
“If you ignore an order again, you’ll spend the rest of your time here in the brig.” Fury filled his eyes.
She jerked back, and his hand fell. He walked away, leaving her in the passageway alone.
Alexa collected herself before making her way back to her station. Just as she sat, Raul popped out of their quarters.
“Your stuff is gone,” he announced with a broken yawn.
“What?”
“In the room, everything is gone. Did you clean up while I was sleeping? You going somewhere?”
Alexa shot to her feet and rushed into the room. Inside, it was the same, Raul’s mess was everywhere, and her bunk—she shot open the privacy screen—was completely devoid of everything. She rushed to the bathroom to find all her toiletries gone as well.
“I didn’t…”
He took it.
“You’re not leaving us, are you?” Raul asked.
She shook her head.
Hysterian had taken everything she owned, and she knew exactly where he’d put it all.
Alexa stormed out of the room and ran to the second floor, Raul calling out behind her. At the end of the hall, she saw one of the ship’s androids enter the captain’s quarters. The bridge’s doors were closed.
“Morning, Dear,” Pigeon greeted as she rushed past him.
She pushed past the android as she entered the room.
And there her stuff was, upon the bed. Two other androids were taking her extra clothes and placing them neatly in a dresser. Another carried her toiletries into the attached bathroom.
“How dare he,” she hissed, going to the bed and snatching her razor up. The android she’d pushed past took it from her hand and headed for the bathroom. Her lips parted.
“What the hell?” She rarely cursed. She grabbed the remaining stuff on the bed and made her way toward the exit. One of the androids stopped her. “Let me leave,” she demanded.
“We are ordered to move your belongings into this room, Ms. Dear,” it responded dryly, mechanically. “We must follow orders.” It reached for her.
She held her items to her chest but the android pulled them from her grip. After a few minutes of struggling, she gave up. And when she turned, Pigeon and Raul were watching her from outside the room.
“You and the captain?” Raul said with disgust.
Alexa gritted her teeth. “I’m not with the captain.”
Raul looked like he didn’t believe her. Pigeon appeared shamed, curious. She stormed out of the room and fled to the menagerie, cursing under her breath.
He couldn’t do this to her, he couldn’t force her to stay with him. She refused. There was no way she was sleeping in Hysterian’s room—ever. Just because she wanted him didn’t mean she wanted to get any closer to him, especially in that way. She would never put herself in such a vulnerable position.
