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“You have a visitor at the door,” ELVIS said, interrupting the music.

“Ignore them. They’ll come back if it’s important,” Wren said.

The music started again.

“The visitor said it’s urgent,” ELVIS said.

“Did they say what’s so urgent?” Wren sat up in the bath. “Is there a problem in the lab?”

“I have orders to override the door lock command,” ELVIS said.

“No! Keep the main door locked. This is my private time,” Wren said.

“The door lock command has been overridden.”

“ELVIS! Why do you never listen to me?” She’d definitely put in a work request to get his command structure looked at. No one should be able to get into her quarters when she was in the damn bath.

She hopped out, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around her. She stomped into the lounge and froze.

Striker stood in front of her.

***

A slow smile spread over Striker’s face at the sight of a gorgeous, almost naked Wren.

His cock twitched, and his hands reached for her before he even knew what he was doing. He forced himself to take a step back.

“You look wet. You must be pleased to see me,” he said.

The scowl on her face suggested she was anything but happy to see him. “What are you doing here? How come you were able to override my door command?”

“Blame ELVIS for that. Our ship’s AI is easily influenced,” Striker said.

The lights around the room flickered.

“No, I’m blaming you. What do you want, Striker?”

He glanced away and tugged at his sleeve. “I needed to see you.”

“Why? There’s nothing we need to say to each other.”

“There is. There’s a lot I need to tell you. And I heard about you getting bitten. I wanted to make sure you were doing okay.” He looked down at the puffy pink lump on her arm. The skin was inflamed.

“I can take care of myself. Besides, you’re not even my partner, anymore. You shouldn’t bother checking in on me.”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. “So, you’ve heard my news?”

She shrugged. “It’s about time you moved on.”

His mouth twisted to the side. “I also wanted to talk to you about that. I didn’t want you to hear about me putting in my transfer from someone else.”

“So, why didn’t you tell me about it before you did it?”

“I didn’t think it was something you wanted to debate. You made it clear you don’t want me around.”

Wren tipped her head back, revealing a long slender neck that he longed to kiss. “I have said sorry about that. I spoke in the heat of the moment.”

“I figured this was for the best. I bug the hell out of you. I always annoy you. This way, you can find a partner you’re better suited to.”