Page 4 of Rebel
Okay, now that was just patronizing. “You’re not the only one with brains, Lore. I have a degree. Two, actually. I am capable of learning and grasping new concepts.” My tone was frosty.
How dare he insult my intelligence. Fuck this. I made to leave.
“I’m sorry.”
I paused in the doorway. An apology from Lore? Wow.
I looked over my shoulder with a raised brow. “Did you just say sorry?”
He’d abandoned the microscope and was watching me with his golden eyes. They stood out against his robin egg-blue skin beautifully. He raked a hand through his chestnut locks. “Yes, Rogue,” he bit out. “I can get condescending when I’m deep in my work, or so I’ve been told.”
“Xavier?”
“No, Tide, actually.”
“You two are close.”
“He’s the brother I would have chosen. The same goes for Xavier, but I’m sure you know that.” His smile was perfunctory. “You have, after all, been spending an inordinate amount of time with them.”
Whoa … Wait a minute. If I didn’t know better, I’d have said he sounded jealous. But no, this was Lore, and he’d been the one avoiding me, not the other way around.
“It’s a small ship, Lore, not much to do aside from getting to know one another. You should try it sometime.”
He pressed his lips together. “I have to work, and I don’t really have time to explain the process.”
So, we were back to the original conversation and a very clearpiss off.
“No worries. I’ll catch you later.”
But he was already fixed to his microscope. I left him to his cells and noted that the tangle of emotion in my chest was gone. Lore’s focus and disinterest in me had done the trick, now a little sparring might be the icing on the cake. But Xavier wasn’t an option. Not with the way we’d left things.
The makeshift punching bag would have to do.
I changed into workout gear—loose yoga pants and a vest that was too big but worked fine when knotted at the waist—and headed for the training room Xavier had created just for me.
The sound of grunts greeted me, and when I peered in, I was tempted to turn around and leave.
Vex was in there. And he was half naked.
3
Vex was on the ground doing push-ups. His torso was bare and glistening in the overhead lights. Joggers hugged his slender hips and showcased buttocks that you could bounce pennies off. He’d tied his golden hair back and looked every part the barbarian his kind were rumored to be. Except, I knew the truth. Vex was an honorable Trad, a male who valued women, one who’d gone out of his way to protect me on the asteroid. He could have violated me on so many occasions. Heck, Marick, the bastard guard, had expected him to do just that, but instead, the Trad that everyone had feared had kept me safe.
I kicked off my shoes and padded into the room.
He didn’t falter at my appearance, and he didn’t falter when I hit the ground beside him and started doing my own push-ups. I did a hundred fifty, and he kept going with me. When I stood and moved to the punching bag, he continued, his huge body rippling with his efforts. Fuck, he was gorgeous.
Focus, Rogue.
The bag took my punches, swinging back at me in retaliation after each blow, and with each blow, I was aware of Vex. Aware that he was finished with his push-ups. Aware that he was crouched on the mats watching me. Aware that he was standing and stretching his magnificent marble-hewn body.
“You want to spar?” His voice was a delicious rumble that skimmed up my spine like the caress of eager fingers.
I slammed my palm into the bag to stop the momentum. Did I want an excuse to touch him? Yes. Oh, God, yes. Was that his plan too? Were we really going to do this?
It was a bad idea.
“Sure?” My traitorous mouth had other plans.
