Page 12 of Essa

"You good?" His voice is filled with sleep, and his eyes never open.

"I'm good, and I'll be good," I tell him.

I don't try to cause problems for us. It just happens. Especially when I'm stressed and even more so when I'm stressed andjealous. Seth's eyes flutter open, trying to wake himself from sleep because he doesn't trust me to be good.

I frown against his temple. "Sleep, Seth. You need to sleep. You're exhausted."

He grumbles something unintelligible but closes his eyes again. I watch him for a minute, ensuring he goes back to sleep. When his breathing evens out, I tug the blanket higher on him and run my hand over his hair.

I'm still pissed as hell about what he wants, but it doesn't stop me from caring about him, from loving him. There's a lot I would do for Seth and very, very little I wouldn't. I just need to figure out if this is one of those things I deny him.

I finger the pendant in my pocket and head out of the room. As I step outside, I listen for anyone making noise. Seth fell asleep a while ago, and I assume everyone else did, too.

We're just floating in space while waiting to determine if we were followed. Everyone's pretty sure no one did, but it's better to be out here in the middle of nowhere if there's a fight. Plus, there are fewer questions when someone ends up dead.

There's no sound in the ship. The only lighting in the hallways is the faint glow from dim lights lining the bottom edge of the flooring. I could turn on a light, but I'd rather no one know I'm awake.

I find the kitchen easy enough, but working the food synthesizer is a beast in and of itself. I frown at it for a few minutes, poking around on it and not understanding it enough to know I won't break it. Finally, I grunt at it and decide to grab a water canister instead. A shadow moves near the doorway, and I spin around, hands raised in fists.

Essa.

My eyes flash over her features. Her face is filled with uncertainty, her hands, with one too many fingers, held up like she wants me to know she isn't a threat. Her tail is tight aroundher ankle, not thrashing around like it was earlier. Her hair is down now, too, and I realize how long it is. Dark, black tresses that fan over her shoulders, down her back, over her chest. My eyes fall lower, over the tank top she's been wearing, but now her hair is covering where her nipples pebble against the fabric. She's wearing shorts now instead of the cargo pants, or at least I guess they could be considered shorts. They're more like long underwear, thin and white and tempting.

At first, she says nothing, her eyes moving to the pendant and its red glow. I scoff before switching its colors until it's green, telling her she can talk to me.

"I didn't know you were in here," Essa says, her yellow eyes almost glowing as she watches me soak her in.

It's dark in here, but I don't know how well she can see and I don't need to spend this conversation ogling her. I drop my hands down and straighten out before swiping a water and unscrewing the top.

Essa watches me, her tail slowly untwining from her ankle as I take a deep swig. Maybe she can see well in this light because her eyes definitely track down my body, and she's not shying away from outright staring at me. I set the water canister down, startling her a little, and she snaps her attention back to my face.

My dick hasn't gotten the memo that we're angry and hate Essa. No, it's in love with her and trying hard to get her attention. I'm not ashamed of my body or its reactions to beautiful creatures. She's probably already seen it tenting my sweats when she was doing her perusal of my body. There's no point in trying to hide it now.

"Why are you up?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against the counter. Essa's eyes travel low again, but not low enough for me to tell if she's checking out my cock. No, they snag on my biceps, and I don't hate that either.

No, fuck. I do hate it. I hate her.

I scowl, and it has her frowning at me. Her tail is behind her now. Twitching back and forth in an almost irritated manner. I grit my teeth, unsure if I'm happy it's moving or upset.

Happy.

I'm ecstatic that she's not having a good time right now talking to me. She opens her mouth slightly, fangs pressing into her dark, lush lower lip. Her tongue snakes out, the tip wrapping around one fang and then the other before she swallows. I forget all about her tail while I watch that.

"I couldn't sleep. I heard someone in the hall and thought maybe Sloane or Avery was awake."

Her eyes dart anywhere but at me. She's lying. Which, fair, I wouldn't tell me the truth either, especially not when we got off on the worst possible foot. But still, I don't like people lying to me. My gaze narrows as her fingers twitch by her sides.

"Did you think it might've been Seth?" I ask, the accusation more of a snarl as it leaves my mouth.

My hands ball into fists again, my heart racketing in my chest at the thought of someone trying to take him from me. He's mine. Always mine. And she wants to take him. Take him from me. Leave me alone with no one.

"Were you hoping I was him? So you could what? Seduce him in the middle of the night with me asleep in our room?" I move closer to her, anger burning under my skin, my body itching for a fight.

"I wouldn't. I wasn't," Essa tells me, standing a little straighter. Her voice doesn't waver, but I don't believe her.

She's lying. Of course, she's lying. She wants to steal what's mine—take him for herself. He's perfect. Anyone would be lucky to have him, but he's mine, and I'm not giving him up.

I get close to her, invading her space, making sure she knows how upset I am.

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