Chapter 7
Kat’Chinna fell into the human male’s deep blue eyes and fought against drowning. His words hammered against her mind just as his body tried to persuade her in a different, more sensual way. Could she risk it? Could she trust him?
Trust had never come easily to her. There were few that she allowed into her inner circle, and since being stationed on the Zantharian flagship that number had dwindled to one. Her commander.
And now this human was asking her to stop trusting Major Ontarii and put her faith in him.But I know nothing about him. He could be collaborating…
In that moment, as she floated in the calm sea of blue that was his eyes, Kat’Chinna realized that she did trust him, at least in this. Lieutenant Jeffrey Brunt was not a Hareema collaborator.
He genuinely cared for his crew. He was worried about his people. About his planet.
But does he care for me?
The thought came out of nowhere, and it gave her pause. Why should she care if this human, a virtual stranger, cared about her?
If he wants your trust, you have to know that he will protect your interest, her logical mind replied.You have to know that he won’t jeopardize you unnecessarily. You need to be certain that he has your back when danger comes calling.
That was part of it, she was sure, but not all of it.
I want him to like me, she realized.I want him to desire me. Because I desire the hell out of him.
Kat’Chinna tried hard to ignore the well of feelings that was springing up at this most inopportune of times. It didn’t matter that she felt safe in his arms. Nor was it important that she wanted to be pinned beneath him again, but this time she wanted more than his drugging kisses.
This time she wanted to feel him inside her.
No, she told herself.I can’t be distracted by his body and my own desire, not now. It took every ounce of her strength to make sure her skin didn’t flush purple and betray her.
She had to concentrate to bring her mind back to the task at hand. “Say that I do trust you,” she said, unwilling to admit anything. “what’s your plan?”
His grip loosened as he took a step back. She tried not to mourn the loss of close contact with him. “I don’t have a plan,” he said, “not yet. But I will tell you that I think that a Hareema, at least one, is aboard your ship right now.”
Kat’Chinna stepped away from him and returned to the console. She pulled up the display and called up the latest interior scans.
“Look at these,” she said, calling his attention over to the screen. “The last interior scan of this ship, completed not even twenty minutes ago.”
The human stood beside her and her skin tingled at his closeness.
“This doesn’t prove anything.”
“What?” she asked, turning to him in disbelief. “If we were infiltrated, there would be some sign of Hareema DNA, like we found on your ship.”
“Not necessarily,” he replied. “You said yourself that a Hareema can hold its shape for twelve hours before it has to change back.”
“So you’re saying that someone infiltrated this ship less than twelve hours ago?”
He nodded. “Possibly.”
Kat’Chinna frowned. “But the only ship we’ve come in contact with is yours.”
Jeffrey peered at the screen. “If that’s true, then perhaps you were right all along. There was a Hareema aboard our ship. And now it’s come across to yours.”
“But that’s impossible,” she fired back. “You’ve all been tested. None of you humans could be Hareema or you would have melted under our energy blasts.”
“That still leaves one person who could have been impersonated by the enemy.”
Kat’Chinna knew exactly who he meant. “Major Ontarii. You keep insisting that the commander isn’t who he seems. But what evidence do you have?”
“Only what you’ve told me,” he said, his hand coming up to tick off the points backing up his supposition. “He broke protocol when he entered the ship by not initiating the energy exchange immediately upon boarding. He also had the prisoners brought aboard without testing. Why have them tested when he already knows he’s the Hareema?”
