PROLOGUE
“Go ahead and court-martial me. I’m not about to babysit some pampered little bastard because he’s bored with cocktail parties!” Major Ember Wyldestarrin glared at the colonel who’d just dropped a serious bombshell in her lap. The smug wanker walked beside her as if he were enjoying the fact she’d been assigned watch duty for some aristocratic playboy whose reputation for hedonism must have set untold intergalactic records.
And if not,thatwas truly a crime. Surely no one had ever been born with a larger sense of entitlement or ego than the infamous Bastien Cabarro. She couldn’t pick up an e-mag or news feed that wasn’t laced with his latest exploit or misadventure. The only thing larger than his list of paternity suits was the bill for his average dinner party.
Yeah,thatwas just what she wanted for a wingman.
Never.
Colonel Werrin smirked. “Technically he’s a very large pampered bastard. Or pain in the ass. At least for me. Which is why he’s being assigned toyou. My least favorite pain in the ass. Afteryourlast stunt, I can’t think of a better punishment.”
She scoffed indignantly. “Stunt? I saved twenty-two soldiers! Anyone else would have been given a medal.”
“Yes, had you not brought down half the station in the process of it. And torched Colonel Dayan’s prized fighter.”
“Technicallythatwasn’t an accident.” She used his words against him to point out the fact that she’d quite intentionally set fire to Syrin’s fighter. After she’d caught the worthless prick cheating on her.
In her own bed.
With her youngest sister.
It’d been a moral imperative. Besides, they should all be grateful she’d only assaulted his ship, given what she’d really wanted to destroy. In fact, it was still a daily struggle not to murder that prick where he stood.
And her sister, to boot.
“Which is why you’re being assigned a new wingman. And you’re lucky. General Dayan wanted me to bust your rank down to private and make you a member of the rank-bust club along with Cabarro, who just went from major to captain two weeks ago afterhislast stunt—and that by order of his own uncle.”
Note to self, nevereverdate a man whose father outranks me.
Yet another reason why she wanted to stay far away from Cabarro. His uncle didn’t just outrank her—that bastardwastheir military. Commander general of the Gyron Force she was a part of, Barnabas Cabarro was also the prime commander for the entire Kirovarian armed services. You crossed him and he could not only bust your rank, he could end your life and no one would question it. The fact he could take his own pampered nephew’s rank without sanction said it all.
No one questioned Barnabas Cabarro when it came to the Kirovarian military. Not even the pampered visir asshole.
But that was neither here nor there. Rolling her eyes, she wanted to scream in frustration. It galled her through and through to be in this mess because of a conscienceless prick who couldn’t keep it in his pants.
Then again, it wasn’t completely Syrin’s fault, really. It was mostly because of her temper that knew no boundaries and her baby sister who had no morals.
I will not bethatstupid again.
Next time I’ll murder the bastard and hide his body where they will never find it.
And she couldn’t imagine anything worse than to be saddled with a womanizing pig prince for a wingman. He’d be like a kid in a candy store with her all-female family. Never mind what Alura would do if she ever saw him…
Yeah, this had all the makings of hell for her.
As they approached the training field, she swept her gaze over the soldiers there. Two dozen were running maneuvers.
Well, almost two dozen… one who should be among them stood off to the side with a cocksure grin as he made time with a corporal.
Oh, let me guess.…
That had to be Cabarro. He fit what she was expecting to a T. Tall, gorgeous, and more than aware of it. What a scabbing piece of work.
She felt sick just to bethisclose to him, and he was across the quad. Last thing she wanted was to be near enough to look into what would no doubt be a pair of smug aristo eyes. “Please, Colonel. I’ll doanythingto get out of this.”
“Beg all you want. Cabarro is yours till the binary suns of Ritadaria freeze over.”
Of course he was.
