Page 24 of Black Star

“I know.” She smiled. “I’m not sure why, but you have that look about you. If you give your word, you’re the type of man to keep it. I’m just worried about the girls and other women. I’m thinking maybe the god the men of the Hand worship meant for me to stay where I was so all the forgotten females would have at least one thing to look forward to. I abandoned them.”

“I don’t know what kind of life you lived before, Phoebe, but judging by the state you showed up here in, I seriously doubt you’d have lived a very long one. No one could in those conditions. You left to save your own life.”

“Perhaps. But who’s going to save the lives of everyone else?”

When she stood, he didn’t try to stop her leaving. There was a lot he had to think about. Like how he was going to convince Viktor going after Phoebe’s friends wasn’t a suicide mission.

Chapter Four

Trust a man to ruin a perfectly good mood. Phoebe’s movements were crisp and jerky in her anger as she cleaned her kitchen. Still, a smile tugged at her lips when she thought about it.Her kitchen!Maybe not in reality, but no one else seemed to even try to invade her domain. She’d had several offers of help with the clean up, but she’d refused. If she was going to earn her keep, she’d do just that. Everyone here had their own area they were responsible for. The kitchen was hers.

When she finished cleaning, she set things up for the next meal -- in the morning -- and left. Her choices of where to go were limited. The only place she knew how to get back to was Damon’s -- Captain Singh’s -- quarters, but that didn’t seem proper. They hadn’t had time to discuss living arrangements, and she wasn’t sure she was comfortable living with a man she didn’t know. But, with a certain amount of trepidation, Phoebe headed toward the captain’s rooms. As uncomfortable as she was going back there, it was worse to think she’d accidentally wander into someplace she wasn’t supposed to if she explored on her own.

The door slid silently open when she pressed her hand to the entry pad, which surprised her. She figured Damon would have reprogrammed the thing by now so that it wouldn’t admit her so easily. Damon sat at a small desk, staring intently at a computer screen. A fierce looking man spoke from the screen and the two of them seemed to be having an intense discussion.

“I don’t have any choice in the matter, Mikiel.”

“You always have a choice, Damon.”

“Right. The same choices you’d have in the same damned situation.”

Mikiel chuckled. “I didn’t say you had much of a choice, just that you had one. We should be in the sector within eight standard hours if we take the scenic route.”

“That should work. Just make sure you’ve got at least one ship that can get there in the event these guys are more persistent than I think they’ll be.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem.” The man on the screen grinned. “Good luck, my friend. I have the feeling you’ll need it.”

Damon growled when he punched a button disconnecting the interface. He sighed and rested his head in his hands. “Stars, I’m too old for this.”

“Too old for what?” It was as good a way as any to announce her presence.

He spun around in his chair. “Phoebe. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just come in.”

There was an awkward silence. Phoebe fidgeted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Damon didn’t take his eyes from her. Phoebe couldn’t help but return his gaze. The man was scrumptious. She would have no problem simply staring at him all day, but she’d prefer he not catch her at it. The heat she saw in his eyes, the lust shining bright, shot straight through her. Had he been just a little closer, she’d have tackled him to the ground and forced herself on him. Not that she’d have had to force very hard. If the look in his eyes was any indication, he was as close to desperation as she was.

He cleared his throat. “Well, I apologize about not getting you your own rooms. Unfortunately, the only private quarters we have are for the senior officers, of which we have a full complement. Junior officers share one large bunk area. Considering they’re all male, I didn’t think you’d be comfortable.” He waved a hand around the room. “At least here, you only have to worry about one man pawing at you.”

Phoebe giggled. She was nervous, but she recognized a joke when she heard one. Though, honestly, she didn’t think she’d mind if this man pawed her a bit. “Somehow, I’m sure you’ll be able to restrain yourself.”

Damon stood and crossed the space separating them. Phoebe could see the war he waged with himself clearly on his face. “Don’t bet your life on it.” His normally husky, soft-spoken voice sounded strained and on the verge of being out of control.

With no further warning, he swooped down and fused his mouth to hers. Phoebe felt like she was flying. Her head spun and her whole world existed where his tongue delved into her mouth to find hers. His kiss wasn’t sweet or tender, but conquering and demanding. There was no way she could do anything other than respond to such blatant sexuality.

She gripped his powerful, muscular shoulders and held on. His arms snaked around her waist, and she felt herself being pulled against an impossibly hard male chest. His cock trapped between them was hard and unyielding, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

There was a brief flash of fear when she got her wits about her enough to realize what she was doing and she shivered, pushing away from him slightly. Immediately, Damon stopped his onslaught of her body, if not her senses.

“I -- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean --”

“No! It’s OK. I just -- I mean -- if we’d been caught doing that on the Outpost, they’d have…” She trailed off, not wanting to relive what she’d witnessed many times in her life there. She took a deep breath. “They give women of questionable morals to the unattached men on the station. Not just within the community, but to the men visiting the station. They pay a fee to the proprietor, and the women are given to them for a time. It’s the worst life imaginable for a woman on the Outpost. The men who frequent that establishment aren’t very… nice.”

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Phoebe. You’re a member of my crew now, and contrary to my actions a moment ago, I don’t fraternize with my crew in this manner.” He seemed to think about that a moment and added, “Even if there were any women on board. I mean, I personally prefer women to men and --”

She felt that giggle bubbling up inside her again. This man was even more uncomfortable with the attraction between them than she was.

“What’s so funny?”

---