The urge to scream made her clench her jaw. “I need to get dressed,” she said between gritted teeth.
Mace stared at her for the longest time, then stood. When he walked by her, he paused, and she tensed. She thought he was going to touch her again, but instead he kept walking. The door to his quarters whooshed open, then closed.
Tears pricked her eyes. Nia blinked them away, determined not to lose her shit after everything. He’d given her what she wanted—a quick fuck and a promise to rescind their marriage.I will not cry over this.
Straightening her spine, she dropped the towel and strode to the compartment under the bed where she kept her clothes. As she put on a similar outfit to what she had on, but this one black and green, Mace’s scent wafted over her. She was covered in it.
Nia pressed a hand to her stomach and closed her eyes. The buzz of her orgasm was long gone, but what an orgasm it had been. Never in her life had she experienced sex like that. Even with enhancers, she’d never come close to a state of euphoria with any of her former partners. Wild and frantic, she’d wanted a release and had received more than she’d bargained for.
Her bonds beeped, making her glance at them. An hour remained of her day off, then she’d be trapped in here once more, the scent of what they’d done lingering everywhere.
Mace already stole her sanity. She wouldn’t allow him to thieve her time.
No one waited in the corridor to escort her. Ever since Dee had taken to hanging out with her on her days off, Elec had made himself scarce. Would someone materialize when she arrived at the atrium?
She stepped onto the lift, and stared at the control panel, unsure of where she should go to find some sort of peace. The door closed, but the lift remained stationary without her input.
She didn’t want to be babysat. She didn’t want to face Dee after what had happened. She didn’t want to be questioned. But she also didn’t want to remain in Mace’s quarters for the rest of her free time.
She remained frozen in indecision so long, the lift began to move on its own. It ascended, then sped across a section of station before descending once more. She had no idea where she would end up when the door opened. Four brown-clad maintenance workers stared at her. She stepped off to let them on, and surprise flickered through her when she recognized the location. This was where Dee had shown her the engine core on one of her other days off.
Nia strode forward. When the corridor opened into the vast space, she was once again struck with the incomprehensible size ofOrion. To think there were four of these to power this station. The resources needed to construct it staggered her. It would have taken decades to build. It rivaled terrestrial stations when she’d been educated to believe Tellusians lived like savages on their Destroyers.
They were a brutal race, but they also created wonders.
She braced her elbows on the railing and looked over the edge, then startled back when a maintenance worker hung only a couple meters away accessing a panel. She peeked over again. He glared up at her.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, strolling further along. When she looked over the edge again, he was gone.
Exhaling a slow breath, she braced her elbows on the railing and watched the helix-like structure twist in on itself. She closed her eyes and listened. A pulse.Orion’slife force. Even as it soothed, her mind began to churn with what had happened between her and Mace. Stars above, what she wouldn’t give for a suppressant right now.
“What are you doing here on your own?”
She straightened at the unfamiliar voice, every limb tensing. Nia turned around to find a man wearing a warrior’s uniform. A gun was strapped to each of his thighs and knives littered his belt. It took her a second, but she recognized him because of his long nose and the way one section of hair swooped over his forehead. He was the one who’d visited family medicine for the self-inflicted cut on his hand.
His eyes swirled with malice and something else. Unease skittered through her. Swallowing, she stepped away from the railing.
Chapter twenty-six
Niascannedtheemptyspace around them, her stomach plummeting into her toes. There wasn’t anyone else around.
His eyes hardened. “Answer me.”
“It’s my day off,” she said, hating her unsettled tone.
He stepped toward her. “But why are youhereon your own?”
She shook her head, not having a good answer. “I wanted to be alone.” She’d seen other captives with bonds like hers in common areas. Since Elec had stopped guarding her on her days off, no one told her she couldn’t be by herself.
“You’re very much alone, aren’t you?”
Apprehension shivered down her spine at his tone. His eyes scanned their surroundings, and when they landed on her again, he flashed her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
She took another step away from the railing, and he countered with a step toward her. Nia froze in place.
“I never properly introduced myself before,” he said, his sharp gaze making her heart beat with anxiety. “I’m Commander Foley, head of security, and I take my job very seriously.” His fingers twitched where they hovered by his gun.
Head of security? He was in charge of all the enforcers? Nia felt the blood drain from her face. Her heart beat erratically against her ribs. This man exuded lethal grace, and every instinct inside her screamed for her to run.
