Page 20 of Stealing the Star Stone
“Some planet on the outskirts of this solar system.I won’t bore you with the details.”Orien tapped his nose.“It rhymes with pinata.”Then he cackled like a mad witch.
“Another round?”the blonde server asked, trailing her fingers across Eli’s shoulders.
He blinked at her, trying to remember her name.Belinda?Belle?Beth.
“Please,” Orien said, resting his elbows on his knees with the empty snifter dangling from one hand.
“Of course, milord,” Beth said, offering a smile.She was all professionalism, but lust burned when her gaze lingered anywhere on Eli’s person.
He far preferred the hatred in Nova’s amber eyes.Not the hurt.She’d jerked back as if he’d slapped her.What he should’ve done was bail her out and flee in theHonor.But like Orien had said, nowhere was safe.Not even if she managed to hide on a backwater station.
Eli glanced at the two men standing five feet behind Orien.They didn’t twitch, their expressions didn’t change, and not once did they shift on their feet.Blasters were strapped to their thighs, though how Orien had managed to get those weapons past security, Eli couldn’t fathom.Maybe because they werehisbodyguards?
Eli cleared his throat, fighting the fuzziness of brandy blurring his thoughts.“Tell me, milord—”
“Vex.I insist.”
Eli bowed his head in thanks.“Vex, do you have any women on your archeology team?”
The man stilled, his refilled snifter halfway to his mouth.“Oh, I’ve given that some thought, too, thinking her gender was the trigger.But no, other women have touched the stone.”
“Then perhaps it stores our energy?”Eli set his bottle onto the coffee table.“Something had to cause it to shatter like that.Yours, mine, and Nova’s energy combined?”
“I like how you think, Eli,” Orien said, a smirk teasing his top lip.“And no, I considered that as well.Alas, without the stoneandthe woman, I can’t confirm or deny any of these theories.”
“Even if you have the woman, you’d need another stone.”
“True.”Orien grimaced.“All the viewings will have to be canceled.”
“Your reputation’s not in tatters when you have evidence of your discovery.”
“I do, indeed,” the man said.“I should sue the gallery, this station, all of Tarnis.”Anger flushed his cheeks.“My star stone…” His bottom lip trembled.A suspicious sheen formed in his eyes.
“Such a waste of effort and credits.”Eli spun his water bottle, finding the light reflecting off its surface mesmerizing.“Channel all that into a new stone.I want to know more, y’know.Why the color?Why lose it?Why only when Nova touched it?Could it happen again?”
“Finding another would be a miracle.”Orien groaned.“Only to see it shatter again?”
Eli shrugged, growing bored with this topic when freeing Nova wasn’t becoming any easier.“Rainbow rocks are easy to come by, but ones that do stuff… This is progress in my unscientific opinion.It reacted!”He jumped to his feet, swayed, then sank onto the couch.“From full-blown color to clear glass, then to a thousand pieces.Boom.You don’t get more spectacular than that.If you need additional funding, I can make a few calls.Let’s get another stone, monitor it, then throw people at it.Someone has to trigger it again, but this time, have all your sensors ready.See what it does.”
Orien stared at him.“You’re right.I’ll find another and another.There has to be more somewhere.Even if it means clearing all the jungles from that wretched moon.”He clambered to his feet, a little unstable.“I’ll keep tabs on this Nova.She could suffer from longtime effects or die.Either would be good to know.”
Eli rose to stretch the kinks from his back.“It’s about time I head back.Release her into my care.I’ll guarantee she’ll remain in my company.The less we have to deal with station-sec, the better.”
“You’re too much in the public eye, and I want to keep this under the radar.Besides, I haven’t decided what to do with her.”Orien slammed down his snifter.“At this precise moment, I know where she is.If I let her go, she’ll make a run for it.”He gestured to the closest server.“Come, Eli.I have secured for you accommodation.”
Eli scowled.He’d thrown his charm and credits at the man, but to no avail.And there was no way he’d head back to theValiancewithout Nova’s freedom secured.Orien was batshit crazy.Eli wouldn’t leave any woman in this man’s clutches.
When he’d flown across the floor, his focus had been on Nova surrounded by glass, his concern solely for her.That instinct had to be analyzed and prodded.Other than his family and Graham, no one else had intruded on his emotions as much as Nova did.Damn fool woman.
The pod ride to the hotel floor was made in silence.One bodyguard had gone ahead, the other crowded Eli and Orien in the gilded cage.When it stopped, Eli exited without thought, then accepted the card Orien offered him.
“We will talk more at breakfast.”And the doors sealed on Orien’s features.
At last, Eli was alone, standing in the carpeted passageway.Tea time with Nova seemed like ages ago.Should he visit her in station-sec?Would they let him see her?
The expression she’d worn when she’d been escorted away said he’d be lucky if she agreed to talk to him.He swayed and threw up a hand to catch himself from toppling over.No, maybe after a night’s sleep, she’ll be calm enough to understand his intentions when he explained them to her.
A glance at the keycard drove him to the left, counting down the numbers on each door until he stood before his.The room was luxurious, even by his standards: cream walls, brass uplighters, velvet and satin fabrics.He slipped off the S.O.S.strap, shrugged off the captain’s coat, unstrapped his boots, and sprawled onto the bed, uncaring that a feminine-shaped lump took up most of one side.
