Page 12 of Veiled Vixen

And yup. That glow. That glow is mine all right. Because both of my cocks start to stiffen under my pants. God, I hate this. Why? Why me? Why do I have to be connected to this psycho bitch?

“It’s not your baby,” she finally says.

“What?”

She pats her stomach. “I was going to lie and say that it was, but—” She closes her eyes for a long second, then opens them again. “You’d find out eventually. And I’m getting the feeling you wouldn’t be possessive about your offspring the way most men are. You just don’t have deep feelings like that, do you, Valor?”

“Fuck you,” I say. “I have plenty of deep feelings for people who… you know, care about me.”

“Luck,” she says.

I shrug. “He’s one of them.”

“And Tray. And maybe Brigit?”

“Look, if you think I’m going to start spilling my guts because of this little vulnerable act you’re pulling, think again. You are a liar. And sure, there are worse vices out there. Murder, for one. Megalomaniacs are pretty up there as far as assholes go. Narcissists. Selfish, greedy cheaters. Villainous monsters, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But from where I stand, you’ve got them all covered.”

“Is that so?”

I shrug big with my hands. “If the tiara fits, as they say.”

“No one says that.”

“I’m pretty sure someone says that.”

She waves her hand in the air dismissively, which seems to be her go-to gesture when she’s done with a topic. “At any rate, the baby is not yours.”

“Whose is it?”

“Does it matter?”

“If it’s Jimmy’s? Then yeah, it matters.”

She squints at me. “Jimmy’s?”

“You were into him, right?”

“Maybe. For like half a spin. He’s a nice-looking man. But no. He’s not my soulmate.”

“No, that’s me.”

“Valor,” she says, shaking her head and setting the pink drink on the coffee table. “We have no connection. We both know that. It’s just… not in the stars for us. So I have moved on. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Whose baby?”

“It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that I’m pregnant and I will do anything to bring this pregnancy to term. Anything.”

“So what the fuck do you want from me?”

“I want you to go talk some sense into Luck. Make him surrender and…”

“And take you through the spin node to Earth?” I finish for her. “It’s never going to happen.” I laugh. “He’s never going to do that. Hell, he kept that node secret from me all these years. It means something important. And if you think Luck can be manipulated like that, you’ve pegged him wrong. Luck is… Luck is…” There’s so many ways to finish that sentence, I get a little lost in all the things Luck is. “Strong,” I finally finish. “He’s loyal, and he’s strong, and he…” I shake my head. “He’s fearless.”

She stares at me for a long moment, face impassive, possibly contemplative. Finally she says, “I know he took you through it. I know you and Tray didn’t leave here on Booty Hunter. Your brothers are not subtle. Someone should tell them they’re terrible liars.”

“You know what? I think that’s a trait more people should cultivate. Terrible liar is actually one of the top ten things I look for in a friend.”

“Perhaps.” She sighs, then looks away, out the window of my quarters. Which doesn’t have much of a view since I’m so high up in the station, but there’s a hummingbird on the other side of the glass, flitting and flapping its tiny wings against the window like it thinks Veila is a glowing flower with sweet nectar inside.