Page 14 of Black Star

Nadira opened her eyes. She was still in Mikiel’s bed, but he was no longer with her. When she sat up, her body protested greatly. Every muscle in her body ached, to say nothing of how she felt between her legs. Perhaps she shouldn’t have participated so enthusiastically. The most amazing part was she could actually feel theSword Breakergoing through his routine programs as the ship sped through space toward their destination. There was a tension in him, but she attributed that to the impending meeting with theBlack Star. She had the same feeling of anxiety, so she didn’t think twice about it. Swinging her legs over the side, Nadira sat there a few moments, trying not to whimper. She needed a hot soak in that bathing pool again. Thinking of that, she couldn’t help the silly grin on her face.

When she trusted her legs enough to hold her, she carefully made her way to the bathing chamber. There she found Mikiel leaning over the sink with his head hanging down as if he thought he was about to be sick. He must have heard her because he raised his head and caught her gaze in the mirror. What she saw there made her take a couple of steps back, and caused a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Anger.

Hurt.

Despair.

“When were you planning on telling me?”

Oh, Goddess! He knows.“It’s not something I think about on a daily basis.”

He pushed away from the vanity and whirled on her. “How can younotthink about it? It’s who you are!”

That rankled a bit. “Who I am has nothing to do with who my father is. Who I am is what I’ve chosen to be.”

“Don’t play games with me!” The explosion shouldn’t have been unexpected. Still, his shout made her jump. “You knew all along they’d come for you, didn’t you?” When she didn’t answer immediately, he repeated his question in such an awful, angry yell Nadira actually cringed and raised her hands as if to protect herself. “Didn’t you!”

“I had no reason to think my father would treat my capture differently than he would the disappearance of any other Vok’nair soldier. Our parting wasn’t exactly --”

“You didn’t think the king of the mighty Vok’nair Empire would send a rescue team after his only daughter?”

“He didn’t exactly approve of my career choice. We’ve barely spoken in a couple of years. It’s so bad, we yell at each other most of the time when we’re forced into a meeting. No. I didn’t think he’d send anyone after me. I figured most likely he’d be glad to be rid of such an embarrassment.”

“You’re not stupid, Nadira. You knew. You had to know.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. The only thing she could think of to say was, “How did you find out?”

Mikiel pushed past her back into the bedchamber and began to dress. “Your friend Damon Singh enlightened me when I contacted theBlack Starto gauge his mood. I like to know my chances of a successful negotiation before I enter into one. He informed me he was instructed to bring you back at any and all cost. The penalty for him if he fails will be death.”

Nadira felt like her world was crashing down around her. “I can’t go back, Mikiel. I can’t. I’ve learned so much, and leaving theSword Breakerwould be like leaving home. Your people, this ship. You.” She pushed a hand through her thick tresses. When one lock fell over her right breast, she was suddenly self-conscious about being nude. Crossing her arms over her breasts, she scanned the room for something to cover herself. A tunic she often donned after her duties were finished for the day was draped on a chair in the far corner of the room. She crossed quickly to it and slipped it on. When she pushed her head through the opening, she found Mikiel regarding her with a mixture of interest and outrage.

“What do you expect me to do? Take on the whole Vok’nair Empire?”

“No.” She managed to get the word out through the lump in her throat. “I don’t expect that.” Pulling herself together and clearing her throat, she asked him, “When do you meet theBlack Star?”

“One standard hour. Be ready to leave.” Without another word, Mikiel finished dressing and left their cabin.

Nadira stood there a moment, unable to move. She felt hot tears trickle down her cheeks. She’d finally accomplished what she’d set out to do -- bond with a cyborg ship -- and accidentally found a man who could spin the stars in a thousand galaxies when he took her to bed. Now she was going to lose them both and she didn’t know what, if anything, she could do about it.

Chapter Eight

When Mikiel left his quarters, he wasn’t sure where he was going. He needed to think. He needed to get Nadira back aboard theBlack Starand run like hell back to Asalian space. If he had any sense, he’d simply stop and shuttle her over. But damn it, he didn’t want to. Never mind she would seriously compromise Asalian security -- he simply didn’t want to let her go.

The more he thought about it, the faster he walked until he was jogging, then running, then sprinting as fast as he could down the corridors. People scrambled to get out of his way, but he hardly noticed. He was losing her. She’d stumbled into his life with the force of a thousand gigaton neutron plasma cannon, blown his world to bits, and nothing would be the same again. Ever. Even if they hadn’t just shared the most explosive and satisfying sex in the entire universe -- several entire universes -- he knew he’d never be able to simply let her walk out of his life. There was something about her that felt like…

Home.

He couldn’t imagine going back to a life without her.

Before he realized it, he found himself back at his cabin door. What was he going to do now? He’d just tell her how he felt. He didn’t give a damn if an entire fleet of Vok’nair ships pursued them, she was staying here and that was final. If she didn’t want him, too bad. She was a security risk. Mikiel was certain he could get backing from his government on that fact alone. He could probably make a good case on her being a prisoner of war, or some peacetime equivalent.

Pressing his hand to the entry pad, he stormed inside, but Nadira was nowhere to be found. He only had a few minutes before they arrived in the designated sector.Damn it!

With an exasperated -- and desperate -- huff, he stomped out of the room and made the trek to the command center. There, at the pilot’s station where she belonged, sat Nadira. Her back was ramrod straight, her face pale except for a delicate flush to her nose, and he noticed her hands trembled slightly as she made minute course corrections. Mikiel watched her trail a hand lovingly over the console as if it were something precious to her. The sight was heartbreaking to him, and for the first time in his adult life, the stress of the situation was enough to make him need to vomit. He was so torn apart inside he wasn’t altogether sure he could make it through without embarrassing himself in front of the crew.

“Status report,” he barked.

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