“It’s a shuttle,” he said, then rolled his eyes. “It’s my ship. I own this shuttle. Of course, I can get on it.”
“But how did you know I was going to steal it?” Ally instantly regretted her choice of verb, then shrugged it off.I might as well tell things as they are. Then she remembered this shuttle was the one with the open door. “You somehow set me up, leaving the door open so I’d take this one. But still, how did you know I was going to take one at all?”
“It’s not like you were that stealthy. My crewman saw you snooping around shortly after I left you.”
“But that doesn’t explain why you let me get away with it then.” Ally pinched her chin in thought. “You could have stopped me at any moment, confined me to quarters and not have gone through all this trouble. So why did you?”
Lyk breathed heavily. “Mayra told me to. She’s an oracle, remember? She said you were going to steal a shuttle and I needed to let you.”
Ally’s brow furrowed. “Mayra? Why would she rat me out?”
“Probably because she wasn’t a fan of you going out and getting yourself killed either,” he grumbled. “Did you really think you’d manage to pilot this shuttle off my ship and all the way to Dazimin without me stopping you?”
It was Ally’s turn to cross her arms over her own chest. “What choice did you give me? I had to do something. Time is running out!”
“My family and I were going to help you, Ally. All you have to do is trust us to figure out the right actions to take.”
“We’re not going down that road again,” she ground out through clenched teeth. Looking at the display where stars were blurring past, Ally asked the only question that mattered. “What now?”
Lyk backed away from the console and threw himself into one of the crew seats. “I don’t know.”
“You… you don’t know?”
He shook his head. “Mayra wouldn’t tell me. She said it might influence the outcome, whatever that means.”
Ally threw herself into the other seat, feeling the weight of the tension between them. Lyk was clearly upset that she’d tried to run away. She couldn’t blame him, not really. But she’d also expected him to better understand her point of view. He said he did, but he couldn’t, not really, if he continued to insist on waiting for the committee to figure out the right actions to take.
They stewed in silence for a few moments, the little shuttle continuing to chug along on its course, until Ally couldn’t stand the tension anymore. Leaping from her seat, she started pacing. “I can’t keep wasting time like this!” Pouring all of her exasperation into her tone, she shook her fist in frustration. “Where are we even going?!”
“To Vartik. Although we would have made it there faster if you would have just stayed on my ship.” His tone was bored, but she could sense the heat under his words.
“I don’t want to go to Vartik!”
“And I don’t care what you want!” he roared suddenly, causing Ally to freeze in place.
He rose slowly from his seat, stalking forward with the simmering grace of a large cat. “You’ve spent every moment that we’ve known each other acting like a spoiled child, thinking you know better than everyone else. That ends now.”
Ally swallowed as he crowded into her space. “I’m done putting up with your imperious demands. You’re done giving orders.”
“You aren’t my Captain,” she hissed. His face was now so close she could taste the air coming out of his mouth.
“My ship, my rules,” he said, his eyes filled with a cold light that she hadn’t seen before. Ally only had time to wonder if she’d pushed him too far before his lips captured hers.
This kiss wasn’t like the others. This kiss took what it wanted and demanded her surrender. Ally struggled, but he grabbed her, jerking her into his chest, pinning her against that hard wall of muscle.
She managed to break contact and sucked in a ragged breath. “We shouldn’t do this,” she said, her rational mind fighting through the fog of passion that swirled around them. “Not like this. Please.”
“Now you learn how to ask nicely?” His face was almost feral, his words coming out on a snarl. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but too little, too late.” With those words, he lifted her up, forcing her legs around his waist and pressing her against the wall.
His mouth was on hers again, ravishing her lips, and suddenly, Ally couldn’t think. The tendril of fear that snaked its way into her belly was ignored once the onslaught of his desire overwhelmed her.
“You’re so demanding, so impatient,” he murmured against the skin at her neck before laving it with his tongue, then playfully biting her shoulder, making her cry out. “Why don’t you realize that I’m always going to try and give you want you want? And I’m always going to protect you, whether you want it or not.”
“Shut up and kiss me, pirate,” she growled, not wanting to talk about the emotions that were trying to tie her to him.
His smile was smug before he seized her lips again. Ally wanted to lose herself in that kiss. She wanted to forget Dazimin, forget her helplessness. She wanted to turn off her mind and embrace sensation.
And what a sensation!
