Page 20 of Her Cyborg Commander
“Eddi did the flying.”
“Eddi.” Her dark eyes widened, and there was no missing the hurt that flashed across her features. “So, Hezza told you where to find me, and Sevda gave you her ship so you could chase me down. I guess I misjudged my friends. I thought I could trust them to keep my secrets.”
“You’ve got it wrong. Thrash was the one who figured it out first. He mentioned his suspicions to Wreckage and Ruin, and they had to drag him in to talk to me. Thrash never told me who his partner was in his little side operation, but it wasfraxxingobvious to me. I tracked down Hezza and bombarded her with every threat I could think of, including losing access to the colony and every other Vardarian trading post on her route. To say she’s pissed with me would be an understatement, but she gave me your location, eventually.”
“You said you’d ban her from Haven? You don’t have that kind of authority.”
“She didn’t know that.”
“So, you blackmailed Hezza into giving up my hiding place? How did Sevda get involved? Is Raze looking to kill you for speaking harshly to his mate?”
“I went to Sevda because I needed a ship with an AI. She refused unless I told her where I was headed and why. Once she knew that, she realized she’d provided you with a lot of information about this area. She wants a word with you when you get back.”
River shook her head sharply. “I’m not going back! I told you before. I can take care of myself.”
“You shouldn’t have to!” he said, frustration twisting his words into a snarl.
She poked a finger into his chest. “I left everyone behind to keep them safe. If you’re here, you’re not at home, helping them prepare for whatever comes next. Don’t tell me Torex and theShadows have decided to give up and go away. We both know that’s not going to happen.”
He caught her hand in his, flattening it against his chest. “We both know that Haven is as safe as we could make it already. You…” He lowered his gaze to lock eyes with her. “You are not safe. Troyan Jens is sick, twisted, and obsessed with his favorite creation.You. I’m not going to let him near you again, even if you’re too afraid of me to accept my help.”
A storm of emotions flowed across her face. Anger and frustration, he recognized, but something else was there, too.
“I am not afraid of you. Not anymore. That was… it wasn’t who I really am. It wasn’tme.” She raised her free hand and slapped her chest, but her eyes shone with unshed tears. “Thisis me, and I am not afraid of you or him. I have to do this. Even if no one else believes I can.”
He pushed in closer until their joined hands were pressed between them. Her words broke something inside him, and all his anger died away in an instant. He saw her so clearly right now—the flush of her cheeks, the way her pupils had dilated, even the way her lips parted slightly—and suddenly he saw what everyone else had.Desire.
He released her hand and raised his to her shoulder. Slowly, he let his fingers caress the side of her throat, his thumb stroking her jaw.
She gasped softly, but it wasn’t in fear. “Say you want this,” he told her in a voice gone husky with need.
River trembled but didn’t speak.
He shifted his grip, cupping her chin in his hand so she couldn’t look away. “Say it.”
“I do. Stars help me. I do.”
Every enemy he had could have come for him in that instant, and he wouldn’t have noticed. If the stars themselves had gonenova, he wouldn’t have cared. All he knew, all he wanted, was her.
His lips crashed down on hers, a declaration of the desire he’d denied for so damned long.
“Finally,” he murmured against the silken heat of her mouth.
River didn’t answer in words, but when she opened her mouth to invite him deeper, he knew she felt the same way.
12
For the firsttime in her life, River kissed someone because she wanted to. It was a heady feeling made even more intense because it was Edge. His hands were on her face, his muscular thigh pushing between her bare legs. How they’d gotten here, she couldn’t say. Nor could she guess what would happen later. For this second, she had him, and she wasn’t letting go.
His mouth slanted across hers, his beard rasping against her skin. His tongue slipped past her lips to twine with hers in a decadent dance as she pondered the insanity of what they were doing and the astounding fact that Edge, the man who never asked permission for anything, had waited for her consent.
She might have kept thinking about everything, but he seemed to sense her distraction.
“No thinking,” his voice still carried a trace of command, even as he kissed her.
Then he threaded his fingers into her hair, holding her in place as he uttered a low, primal groan that made her clit throb and sent a shiver down her spine. When he kissed her again, every thought vanished in a blast of searing heat that left her aware of nothing but her need.
Her hands moved over his armor, eager to touch the skin beneath. She found the fastenings easily enough, flipping them open with a familiarity that came from doing it for herself a thousand times or more.
