“I think Miran tripped,” Lazil said from somewhere beyond Nova. “There’s an uneven spot on the floor from where an overloaded droid dropped some full crates.”
Nerin let go of the hold keeping Miran trapped on the floor. “I tried to keep him from falling but ended up only sending us both to the ground.”
Nova grinned. “If you’d learned to flip, you wouldn’t have ended up on the floor.”
Nerin got up and turned to help him stand, but he was already rushing to his feet.
Lazil was still kneeling on the floor, but he’d sat back on his heels and was resting his hands on his thighs. His expression was carefully blank, but he couldn’t hide the painful longing.
Not only had he pressed Nova to do something she didn’t want to, but he’d tortured his teammate and friend.
“I’m sorry,” he said. Lazil gave him one jerky nod, then jumped to his feet and left the room without a word. He could only hope he hadn’t ruined their friendship.
Nerin let out a long sigh, then gave Miran a warning look. “This better be the end to your foolishness.”
“It’s not like anyone plans to trip,” Nova said, unaware of the subtext going on.
“Yes, you’re correct,” Nerin said, giving her a tight smile. “But it helps to keep your attention on where you’re going instead of where you’ve been.”
She frowned at that. “I hate it when you guys do that.”
“Do what?” Miran asked as Nerin left as well.
“Talk in code,” she answered. “All three of you will say things that don’t sound important but then you give each other significant looks.”
“I’ll try to be better,” he said. “Nerin’s words meant that I wasn’t paying attention to what was important.”
She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
He knew what she wanted to hear, and he didn’t hesitate to say it. “You were right. This was a dumb idea.”
A huge, triumphant grin stretched across her face. “Say it again.”
“You were right.”
She stepped closer. “Again.”
“You were right.”
She let out a lusty sigh. “That’s so sexy.” Going up on her toes, she reached up to cup his cheek. Her grin disappeared, replacedwith resignation. “And maybe it wasn’t entirely a bad idea. I learned something."
It was hard, but he kept himself still. This was entirely his fault, and he deserved whatever revelation Nova had from kissing Lazil.
“What did you learn?” Although the words came out as a growl, Nova didn’t flinch.
“He didn’t taste bad,” she said.
He couldn’t speak. Nausea rose in his belly, threatening to choke him.
“But he didn’t taste good either,” she continued. “It was like kissing the wall of a cleansing unit while taking a shower. Warm and wet but not enticing.”
Her description was so unexpected that it took him a moment to process her words. “A wall?”
“Yeah, but don’t tell Lazil that. I don’t want to hurt his feelings,” she said. “He didn’t smell good either. Not like you. Actually, none of the other Hissa smell as good as you.”
All his doubt disappeared. Nova moved her hand from his cheek to the back of his neck and pulled his face to hers.
“You are special to me, but not because you were my first,” she whispered, her lips almost touching his. “You are special, and that’s why you were my first.”
