"You said that before," she spat mercilessly into my face, and guilt rushed through me.
I ran my hand through my hair. She was right. I’d let her down, and I would never forgive myself for it. I felt her thoughts in my head, soothing me, telling me it wasn't my fault, but her eyes and expression remained set. Determined not to leave my side.
I picked up on a stray thought that announced that Sloane and Vraax were about to retire for the night. "Can we fight about this later?" I asked Ella, gently removing her clamped hands from my shirt.
"Fine, but this is not over, buddy," she stabbed her finger into my chest, making me smile again despite myself. My little warrior really had no idea what a declaration of war she’djust given me.
I found both Sloane and Vraax in the hallway, on their way to their quarters. "A word?" I asked.
"We'll arrive on Astrionis in four days," Vraax filled me in. It seemed like he was just as eager as I to get to bed. Unfortunately, I had to correct him.
"That won't work. I need to go to Pandrax."
"It'll take longer," Vraax groaned.
"Isn't there another planet or space station in between?" Sloane suggested.
"You know I can't show my face in public," I reminded her.
"You don't need to. You just need to purchase your own ship," Sloane, ever difficult, countered. She had a point, though.
Vraax seemed on board with the plan, "That's a great idea." Instantly, he checked his comm, "Rodbar 2 is only a few days' flight from here. You can purchase a ship there."
"What about the other females? They need to get to Astrionis," I reminded them.
"They're your problem," Sloane smiled at me gleefully. "You rescued them; that makes them your responsibility. Just take them with you to Pandrax."
I didn't like that idea either, nor did I like arguing with them when all I wanted was to get back in bed with Ella. I pulled on my aura; it was time to change both of their minds and make them more agreeable to?—
Sloane raised her finger into my face—what was it with these human females and their fingers? "Don't you dare."
Like before, she amused me. Now more than ever, she thought she knew my tricks. Then she demanded, "Why didn't you just use all those powers before?" All I did was smirk at her; her temper was so easily riled. "You are such a bastard. We could have been killed. You have all these powers, and you made me… made… argh!"
"You put her in danger?" Vraax snarled suddenly. I saw his fist coming; I could have stopped it, but I understood a male's need to prove himself in front of his female. I made a show of stumbling back a few paces.
"Nice," I rubbed my chin, willing to let it go at that, but then Vraax tackled me to the ground, and that was enough. Nobody tackled me to the ground. I felt the Dark Abyss entering me, felt the blackness move through my aura, and fought it back. No, I would not fight Vraax. No matter how much he deserved it, if I started now, I would killhim.
It wasn't like I cared for the male, but I sensed that he was important to whatever fate had in store for us and kept my temper in check.
When Vraax realized I wasn't fighting back, he paused, and I took the opportunity to ask, "Are you done?"
Vraax kicked me one more time before getting up, "Now I'm done."
"My hero." Sloane rushed forward and embraced him; the sarcasm in her voice was evident, but so were the feelings she had for him.
"Are you okay?" Vraax pulled her against him.
"I'm fine. Are you?"
The bond between them was hard to miss; both had the black marks of the Soulweb bond, but I wasn't in the mood to witness their affection toward each other when I was yearning to get back to the hopefully by now sleeping Ella.
Snidely, I remarked, "I'm good, too." And moved back to my feet.
"Are you going to explain this whole thing now?" Sloane demanded, ready to finish what her mate had started.
With an exasperated sigh, I admitted, "Yes, I could have done this all by myself. No, I didn't need your help. Yes, I used you. Yes, I tried to rile your temper for some time. Happy?"
"Happy?" She stared from me to Vraax. "He asks if I'm happy."
