“Your crew keeps telling me you aren’t pirates.”
“We aren’t. Which is also why I didn’t want to rescue you,” he said softly.
“So why did you?”
“Because my crew asked me to, and I will do everything for them. They see something in you, something they have been looking for, for a very long time.”
“If you aren’t pirates, what are you?”
“We are something I cannot explain to you. But I can tell you this: your spine will either save you or get you killed. Even though my crew trusts you, I do not. Not yet. You are not cargo, and you may move about the ship freely—except forengineering, the armory, and the bridge. You may be escorted there, but you may not be in any of those areas alone. Do you understand?”
I nodded.
“This is not generosity,” Torvyn said, his voice tightening. “It is a privilege you have earned. It can be taken away. However… if you feel up to it, we could use your help with our science research.”
Now he was speaking my language. “I suppose I could help. I might need to check my calendar, but let’s call it a soft yes.”
Torvyn studied me with his golden eyes, and the butterflies fluttered back to life. Not all of them—just enough.
“You intrigue me, Doctor Kira Voss. I look forward to getting to know you better.”
He offered his hand.
I hesitated—just for a second—before I took it.
His palm was warm. Warmer than I expected, like he ran a few degrees hotter than human standard. His grip was careful, controlled, but I could feel the strength coiled underneath. The kind of strength that could crush if he wanted to.
He didn't want to.
My pulse flickered. I became suddenly aware of how close we were standing, how his scent had shifted to something deeper now that I was in his space. How his thumb brushed across my knuckles—once, briefly—like he was taking a measurement.
And then I felt it—a tremor. Just the faintest vibration in his fingers, there and gone so fast I almost convinced myself I'd imagined it.
Almost.
I had never been around this much muscle in—well, ever. But that wasn't what made my breath catch.
It was the possibility that I wasn't the only one affected.
He smiled. “I have summoned our Science Officer, Vaelix. He will escort you to the astrolab. It has been a pleasure meeting you. Welcome to theStarbreaker.”
The bridge door whooshed open, and Vaelix entered.
“Dr. Voss, please come with me.”
Chapter 4
The science lab was dark. Not in a creepysomething 's-going-to-devour-you way—though honestly, depending on who did the devouring, that might not be a terrible fate. My mind drifted back to Lyrin's gentle touch on my back.
Get it together, you horny teenager. We are about to do science.
I shook my head hard. It felt like my libido had been launched into overdrive without even submitting a request form. Well, chew on this, libido—alien data awaits. Nothing cools the engine like some good old-fashioned nerding out.
A new sheriff was in town, and that sheriff was me.
As if acknowledging my dominance, my heartbeat steadied, and the heat in my face began to fade—
Vaelix cleared his throat.
