His reaction to her words had been visceral, so intense that it had taken him by surprise.But Devix couldn’t stomach what she said, that he deserved happiness.She’d looked at him like…he was worth something.And he knew he wasn’t.
He was a disgraced, exiled Luxirian warrior, once proud, once strong, once respected.Now, he was Quadrant scum, belonging nowhere except perhaps on the drifter colony of Rozun, where he found a semblance of peace in the rich, fragrant, damp soil.
With a surging, unexpected moment of clarity, Devix thought,I want to be better for her.
He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling that thought reverberate down his spine, brushing over his Instinct at the rightness.
Devix wanted to reclaim the honor, the loyalty, the pride he’d felt as a Luxirian warrior.He wanted to let his hair grow past his waist and not have to shave it every span.He wanted to see his blood brother, whom he had turned away in shame and anger when he’d come looking for him on Petrika.
He’d been given a gift.A fated mate, one that awakened his dormant Instinct.The highest of honors bestowed upon him by the Fates.
Had he actually thought that he could hand her over without a second look back?
The clarity lifted the heaviest of burdens off his shoulders and he let out a shuddering breath in the quiet of his quarters, staring out at the stars as they slid slowly past.
With that clarity came a grimness because he knew what he would have to do.Sarkon would hunt him relentlessly.He would come for them on Rozun, but Devix didn’t know where else they could go.He needed to refuel and was welcome nowhere else.
But Devix had another advantage.He’d long disabled the trackers on the vessel, something Sarkon had never commented on.Rozun was a massive colony, spread out among the planet’s surface.There was a colony center, where the markets were open, where Devix sold his crops whenever they were ready…but Rozun was a place for hiding, for forgetting.What he’d told Cara was true.The beings on Rozun operated on a unique policy…no creature bothered you if you didn’t bother them.No one asked questions, no matter what.
Most lived near the colony center, but many inhabitants were scattered across the planet, far and wide.Even if Sarkon came looking for them, he might never find them.No one knew where Devix lived.He lived in isolation, far from the center.In the six rotations he’d lived there, no one had ever come across his dwelling by mistake.
Devix stared out at the stars, only half-seeing them.
And he formulated his plan.
* * *
Cara entered the training room the next morning tired, sore, and pissed the hell off.Partly from being aroused and hating it, partly from the pain that radiated from her right leg, causing her limp to be more pronounced, but mostly because Devix was standing on the rubber mat, arms crossed, looking fine as hell and rested, with the calmest expression on his face she’d seen.
“What are you so happy about?” she snapped, wondering if he’d bring up the night before, wondering if he’d threaten to fuck her so hard she’d feel him for the rest of her life.
Her clit throbbed and she scowled.Cara enjoyed rough sex, but none of her past partners had ever fully satisfied that desire.And the fact that his words had aroused her told her that she wasn’t concerned he would carry out on that threat…unless she was fully willing.
Because despite what he thought, Cara had read him right.Somehow, she knew that.She didn’t know why.It was an…instinct.She saw him clearly and she wasn’t cowering away, no matter what he wanted her to think or do.
Immediately he came to her, pushing into her space, which surprised her.Her gaze flickered up to him only to find he was frowning down at her leg.Cara gasped when one of his large hands reached down to gently prod the area, feeling his touch everywhere.She was thankful her pants covered her skin because she might’ve spontaneously combusted had they not.
“You hurt here?” he murmured and that voice caressed her.
Cara’s head spun and suddenly all the pissed off drained out of her.Blinking, she said, “A little.”
“What happened?” he asked, catching her, again, by surprise.But Cara knew he’d probably seen the scar already.
“A motorcycle accident,” she said, the words falling from her lips effortlessly although she’d hardly ever spoken about it.
“Motorcycle?” he repeated, his words deliberate, questioning.
“It’s like a…a very, very small spaceship that’s open and has wheels.We use them as transportation on Earth.Well…some people,” she tried to explain.But her mind was in a fog and he was touching her leg with surprising tenderness.His body was close enough that she perceived his heat, could see the steady, slow thumping of his heartbeat, which put in her in a comforting kind of trance.
What’s happening to me?To us?she thought.
“Like a hovercraft?” he asked, tilting his head to the side, his fingers still rubbing against her.
“I guess,” she whispered.“My dad was driving.I was sitting behind him.A car didn’t see us and hit us from the side.He died instantly,” she said, swallowing hard.The memory was dulled but it still hurt to think about.She could still smell the fumes sometimes, could still remember thinking that it was all just a dream, that it wasn’t real.Because how could her life possibly be real without her father in it?
Only that thought could shake her out of whatever spell he’d put over her.Cara blinked and stepped past him, breaking the contact.
“What are we doing today?” she asked.
