Atrophy (15 page)

“What do you want me to say, Rian?”

He crossed his arms, his demeanor totally parental. “I want you to be careful. And for what it’s worth, I’m ordering you to not get involved with him.”

He frecking pissed her off when he acted like her father. The child in her wanted to poke her tongue out at him. Either that or retaliate with a fist to the face. Why did he get to dictate to her?

“Your concerns and decree are noted,
Captain
.”

Rian’s tense jaw flexed harder and he dragged a hand across the lower half of his face, then turned and walked out. What did he expect? She only hoped he didn’t decide to take his temper out on Tannin.

T
annin watched the streams of data across the large screen viewer. Raleigh’s ship hadn’t moved, even though the
Imojenna
had lifted off and tracked steadily to make orbit.

As much as he should be focused, he found himself glancing back out through the office hatchway along the corridor. What was going on in the galley between Zahli and Rian? Though Rian seemed to be about as unhinged as they came, Zahli had total trust in him. He didn’t think Rian would physically hurt Zahli. But Rian’s temper often overrode his mouth and sometimes words could hurt more than wounds.

Tannin shook his head.
Moron
. Hadn’t he given himself a list of reasons for keeping his distance from Zahli? But even the hovering threat of Rian’s knife couldn’t stop him from wanting her.

On the bridge, he hadn’t been able to resist the craving to simply touch her. And as soon as they’d found themselves alone here in Rian’s office, he’d had to get closer to her, as if his actions were out of his control. The need to feel her against him, to taste her, had become more important than avoiding death. And he assumed he could expect precisely that if her brother caught them.

And Rian almost had, of course.

So again, how much of an idiot had he been to nearly kiss Zahli in her brother’s office? Yet apart from the fatal glare leveled at him, Rian had mostly remained calm and that wicked looking knife hadn’t appeared.

That didn’t put him in the clear. No doubt this solitary interlude was just giving Rian time to come up with different ways to maim and kill him.

An icon in the corner of the screen flashed, indicating a communication had been sent from Raleigh’s ship. Tannin isolated the article to access the message.

“Got anything useful?” Rian asked when he returned, coming to stand in front of the screen.

“Raleigh just sent a transmission to Erebus. I’m retrieving the information now.”

Tannin concentrated on the commpad, waiting for the inevitable threats.

“What does it say?” Rian braced a hand against the edge of the large screen and tapped a slow beat with one finger.

“Just give me a sec.” He glanced at Rian, but the captain had his attention focused on the crystal display.

Okay, no violence or bloodshed so far. Maybe waiting was part of the torture? Rian probably wanted the information about Raleigh’s ship before he made his move.

The commpad emitted three short beeps and Tannin turned to the viewer. The communication stated that the
Imojenna
had departed and requested new orders.

“It’ll take a few hours for this message to reach Erebus and then another few hours for Raleigh to get an answer,” Rian said, pushing away from the screen.

Tannin set the commpad back against the monitor, leaving the tag open so if anything happened on Raleigh’s ship, he’d know about it.

“We’re only one rotation off the Rim once we splice into void-space. I expect you to man this post and let me know where and when Raleigh’s ship moves.”

Tannin gave a tight nod.
And now for the bloodshed…

“I mean it. Don’t leave this room. I’ll have someone bring food over for you at meal times.”

Comprehension hit him like a pulse pistol blast, bringing with it the panicked sense of being trapped he thought he’d left behind on Erebus. “So I’m a prisoner? That’s how you’re going to handle this?”

Rian crossed his arms, standing with his feet wide apart. A fighting stance, if ever he’d seen one.

“I never said that. I have a job for you to do, a reason for you to stay onboard this ship. Don’t give me any more incentive to vent you when we hit void-space.”

From one prison to another. Tannin resisted the urge to run a hand over his hair. “Fine. You’re the captain. I’m glad I can be of
service
.”

Rian’s brow lowered and if Tannin could have kicked his own ass, he would have.
That’s right, piss off the deranged man with all the weapons.
Well, not all the weapons. Callan and Lianna seemed to have more than their fair share.

“Comm me if anything important comes up.” Rian sent him one last hard glare then headed out into the passage, palming the doors closed behind him.

Tannin stood there for a moment, rubbing his temples, a headache starting to pound on his brain. For now, he’d gotten a reprieve.

So, did he bother testing to see if the door had been locked?

He reached for the commpad and strode over to the door panel. One look at the small display set next to the door revealed the hatch locked; captain’s codes only. It seemed Rian hadn’t entirely comprehended his hacking skills, even though Lianna had plainly said he could change the
Imojenna’s
primary operating procedures and no one would ever know.

It took him less than a second to link the commpad into the door’s controls and run an override program. Basic tech stuff. The hatchway slid open to reveal an empty corridor. He stepped out and let the door close and lock behind him again, just in case Rian decided to check.

He pocketed the commpad and made his way across to the galley to find Zahli sliding chopped vegetables into a large pot. She glanced up as she dipped the spoon in to stir the contents, grinning when she saw him. The welcoming expression was the kind of smile he’d never believed someone might aim in his direction, and the sweetness of it hit him right in the middle of his chest, stealing his breath.

“Glad to see you’re still in one piece.” She set the spoon down and moved around the end of the bench.

He met her halfway, his hands catching on her hips, as though it were the most natural thing to do.

“You’re brother has got me locked up in his office. I’m supposed to monitor Raleigh’s ship and comm him the minute anything changes. Generously, he’s going to allow someone to bring me food at meal times, but I doubt it’ll be you.”

She laughed, her hands sliding over his shoulders with a light stroke. “Locked up? Then I must be having some sort of hallucination.”

He smiled, his heart thumping in decadent anticipation against his ribs. “Maybe. Or perhaps it’s a dream.”

She tilted her head and pressed closer to him. Shockwaves of desire hammered through his body.

“Okay then, I’ll play along with that. It’s lucky you’re not really here anyway, because Rian ordered me not to get involved with you.”

He raised a brow. “He
ordered
you? Can he actually do that?”

Shrugging, she leaned closer, stealing a bit more of his tenuous sanity.

“Technically, I am one of his crew, and he has a policy of no fraternization, which is pretty standard. A lot of ships, whether privately owned or IPC run, adhere to a universal code when it comes to living ship-bound.”

“Interesting,” he said in a tone that indicated otherwise.

Her fingers moved over his shoulders and neck, up into his hair, leaving frissons and sparks in the wake of her touch, making him want to groan in pleasure.

“So if you’re supposed to be locked up, why did you decide to bring yourself over here to interrupt my cooking?”

“We have unfinished business,” he murmured.

Leaning down, he caught her mouth beneath his. This time it was no stolen moment, no desperate act of a condemned man. He took his time learning the shape, feel, and texture of her lips, before slowly sliding his tongue against hers. His heart rate spiked and his blood pounded harder.

His fingers tightened where they held her hips, kneading the soft flesh as reckless, intense desire built up. Breaking away from the kiss, he only made it as far as the supple skin of her neck, just below her ear. His hand covered her breast, almost of its own volition, and a prickling of lust spurred him on as he felt her nipple harden beneath his palm.

He laved a path down her neck, to the delicate twine of her necklace, skipping over the leather until he reached the edge of her shirt. His breath was harsh against the material as he imagined ripping and tearing until she stood naked before him. Unable to resist temptation, he bent and closed his mouth over the hardened tip of her breast, uncaring that the garment created a barrier between them.

Zahli moaned, the low sound vibrating through every cell within him. She moved sensuously against him in a way his body recognized, causing his mind to be lost in a roaring rush of primitive instinct to take her, to make her his in every way possible.

He wrapped his hands around her upper arms and pushed her back, blowing out a long breath. This could only end one way, and now was neither the time nor the place.

“I should get back down to Rian’s office before he realizes I’m gone.”

Zahli leaned back against the bench, pushing a hand through the thick strands of her hair, a thwarted expression crossing her slightly-flushed face. “And I’d better finishing making dinner before the crew turns up for food and starts complaining.”

His gaze dropped to the wet patch he’d left on her T-shirt, which fired his blood all over again. “You might want to get some new clothes first. Unless you’ve got a good way to explain that.”

She looked down and brushed a hand over the damp spot.
Christ
. The innocent, unknowing gesture almost sent him to his knees. He cleared his throat and focused on her face, since it seemed like the safest option.

“It does look a little suspicious, I suppose.” She glanced back up at him, deep rose coloring her cheeks, a reticent smile playing over her lips.

He groaned and turned away, scrubbing both hands over his face. “You’re going to get me killed.”

Rian had been right; he did need to be locked up. He had to get back to the safety of the office before he gave into his acute urges, the reckless ones telling him making love with Zahli would be worth getting vented.

She laughed, making him pause to look at her as he reached the door.

“Don’t worry about Rian. I’ve got ways of dealing with him.”

Tannin shook his head as she blew him a kiss. With quick strides, he hustled to Rian’s office and let himself back in. He dropped down on the couch and then slouched against the cushions, wishing he could take a cold shower. Or maybe an ice bath. Anything to cool the white hot lava rolling through his veins.

Zahli could joke about it, but Rian had given them a chance to stop this before the relationship went anywhere it couldn’t come back from. Tannin couldn’t forget his situation. He might have come from a wealthy, prominent family on Barasa, but they’d long since disowned him. And if he’d had a sister, he’d never let her anywhere near the denizens of Erebus, no matter if they were innocent of any crime.

As much as he wanted to believe Zahli could protect him from her demented bastard of a brother, he got the feeling that Rian Sherron could come up with some inventive ways to make him pay for defying orders and touching his sister.

Chapter Eleven

S
wallowing a yawn, Rian jogged down the steps off the bridge. It was long past midnight ship-time and he felt every hour of it aching in his limbs. Sen had come up a few minutes ago to take dead-watch and though his mechanic had wanted to talk shop in terms of the delta-shield, he hadn’t been able to think about much beyond his bed waiting for him in his quarters. Not that he ever slept all that well, considering the nightmares and memories that ripped through his mind, but lying on his bed for a few hours still offered him some relief. He didn’t have to pretend when he was alone where he belonged—in the darkness.

He paused outside his door, frowning as he noticed the flashing icon on the display indicating the hatchway had been locked. Unusual, since he trusted his crew implacably and never bothered securing his suite. A full second passed before he remembered he’d locked the scumrat in there. What had Zahli said his name was? Tarren? No,
Tannin
. He sighed and braced a hand against the bulkhead, lowering his chin against his chest. Should he just go in to bed or find some peace and quiet somewhere else?

Initially, he’d been incensed when he’d discovered an Erebus inmate had dared sneak aboard his ship. But now he’d admit, if only to himself, that Tannin’s decision to escape with them had been a stroke of good fortune, something that didn’t happen on the
Imojenna
very often.

For now he had the means to get somewhere in this mammoth undertaking he’d set out on years back. He had a way to infiltrate data, records, and gain information. Tannin might not realize it, but Rian wanted the man to agree to stay onboard until he got what he needed. And that was the only reason he hadn’t given into the urge to cut the scumrat’s balls off for even looking at Zahli with visibly indecent intentions, let alone for actually touching her.

He pushed off from the wall, heading down to the crew’s quarters. Remembering that moment when he’d walked into his office and seen Tannin leaning toward Zahli, about to kiss her—in a way he didn’t want to know about his sister being kissed—made that red haze of wrath descend again.

Worse, Zahli hadn’t seemed too upset about the scumrat’s attentions. In fact, she’d pretty much melted all over the guy.
Frecking Christ
.

He wished he had a bottle of Violaine right about now. Walking along the passage, he resisted the urge to check on Zahli. He’d locked Tannin in his office, and he had to believe his sister would adhere to his order.

There’d been two unoccupied cabins on crew level, and now both of them had guests. Rian had nowhere else to sleep except the quarters Tannin had been assigned. It seemed laughable that an ex-Erebus inmate was ensconced in the captain’s suite while he’d ended up down here.

As he reached the empty room, he noted soft light escaping from the door across the passageway. Was the priestess still awake or had she fallen asleep with the lights on?

The image of her standing almost naked in that pathetic excuse for a dress assaulted him. He damn well hoped the girls had found her something suitable to wear. Something that covered every bit of her dark russet skin.

Abruptly, he changed course and strode to her hatchway, swiping a hand over the display by the door before he could come up with a good reason not to.

The priestess sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed. Her feet were bare, but everything else covered up,
thank frecking Christ
. The lights above were dimmed, while a lit candle flickered on either side of the bed. She hadn’t noticed his arrival and appeared to be doing some sort of meditation.

He hesitated as the door slid closed behind him. Not knowing anything about priestesses, he had no clue whether or not he’d offend her with his interruption. He’d avoided any thoughts about her since they’d left Arleta. Not only because of the strength of his unwanted and untenable reaction to her, but also because he had no idea what to do with her.

He couldn’t hand her over to the Reidar. And he couldn’t take her back to Aryn. Well, maybe he could. Selfishly, he needed to learn what the Reidar wanted with her, to see if it could be of some benefit to him.

“Are you going to stand there and stare at me all night, or did you have something to tell me?” Her even voice cut through the silence and jolted him out of his thoughts.

She hadn’t moved or looked, but somehow she’d known he stood there.

Witch
.
Enchantress
.

Had someone disobeyed his command and removed her cuffs?

She opened her eyes and turned to gaze at him, the rich green-hazel of her eyes seeming to glow with an ethereal luminosity. Stretching her hands outwards, as she uncurled from her Zen position, he saw the shackles still adorned both wrists. She slid to the edge of the bed and dangled her small, bare feet off the edge. “So, is there something I can do for you?”

Rian pushed his hair back and moved farther into the room, pacing the perimeter of the small space. “You were taken from Aryn against your will?”

She inclined her head but didn’t offer any explanation or story like he figured she would.

“Do you know where you were being taken?”

“Kasson Three, but only because of what I overheard from my captors.”

“Do you know who kidnapped you, and what they intended to do with you?”

She clasped her hands in her lap, her gorgeous features set in a serene mask, as if being kidnapped and dragged halfway across the galaxy was no big deal. It frecking pissed him off.

“There are beings in this universe that are
others
. Not like us. Through my training, I came to know about them from a very early age. I haven’t met any personally, and I can only assume the abilities of an Arynian would be of some use to them. I have heard rumors of these others taking Arynians before, but thought they were just stories.”

Surprise ricocheted through his system. “Are you telling me Arynians are aware of the Reidar’s existence?”

“We have a far greater understanding of many things others do not.”

Rian ran a hand over his jaw, a tension ache starting to build. Talking to her was like having a conversation with a diplomat or politician and never getting the straight answer he wanted.

“You understand why I can’t send you back to Aryn.”

“I do not.” She angled her head, cutting him a sharp, sideways glare, showing some emotion at last.

He sighed and dropped onto the padded bench, bracing his feet wide and resting his elbows on his knees. “If I take you back, they might send someone to kill you, or kidnap you again.”

She stood with a swift, agile movement. “So your reasons for keeping me on this ship are purely altruistic?” Her scathing tone indicated she thought otherwise.

Rubbing his eyes, he silently cursed as tension crept into his eye sockets. “I never said that, now, did I?”

“You intend to find out why the Reidar want me and use it somehow.”

“I plan on using it to my advantage if I can, yes.” He dropped his hands and opened his eyes to find her standing just a step or so away.

Leaning back, he rested against the cushions, putting himself as far from her as he could without actually getting up and running to the other side of the room like a pissing, gutless bastard.

“You carry much stress. I can see it in the tautness of your shoulders. Your posture is very rigid.” She dropped down to her knees between his legs and clutched his shoulders with firm fingers.

Shock ravaged him, freezing him in place, stopping his heart for a split second. No one ever touched him, apart from Zahli when she occasionally forgot. Ever since the appalling things the Reidar had done to him, while he’d been locked up in that godforsaken lab, he didn’t like to be touched without warning. And everyone knew it. In the volatile, hazy months after he’d first escaped, he’d killed men for simply brushing by him in a station bar.

The priestess’s fingers moved in precise patterns over his neck and shoulders, bringing him out of his traumatized stupor.

“What are you doing?” He had to force the words through his locked jaw.

Images pulverized his brain; pictures of lifting her and slamming her down on the bed. Though what happened after that became a blur as his deplorable desires warred with the distasteful, repulsive impulses beaten into him by the Reidar.

She had no clue the fine line he walked everyday trying to keep his dark side in check, had no idea how close she strayed to fatal danger.

“This would be far more effective if I weren’t wearing these cuffs. Then I could use some healing energies on you.” With rapid movements, her hands worked in a miraculous, breathtaking way that soothed his tight aching muscles like butter melting in the sun.

Lust started winning out over his destroyer instincts as her moon jasmine scent enveloped him. He became more and more aware of her position kneeling in the space between his thighs, how her full pink lips parted slightly over her breath, how her head tipped to the side as she concentrated on her task, and how her dark hair slid in silken waves over her shoulders.

Her thumbs found a sensitive spot at the base of his neck. A shaft of shuddering pleasure surged straight to his groin and all but turned him into a mass of jelly.

His hands shot out and grabbed her hard at each elbow, making her gasp. For a breathless second he considered kissing her. No, he didn’t want to kiss her. He wanted to
devour
her. He wanted to do things to her that’d probably scare the ever-living crap out of the innocent, sheltered priestess.

With his carnal instincts burning a hole in his will-power, he thrust her away, and she fell back against the edge of the bed. Some long forgotten part of himself blistered with guilt over that, but for the sake of his sanity and her safety, he had to get out of the room, maybe even off the ship.

Lurching across the passageway, breath ripping his chest, he stumbled into the opposite cabin and let the door shut him into complete darkness. He fell back against the panel and slid to the floor, the sweat trickling down his spine freezing like ice. He squeezed his eyes closed, as though that could keep the sinister shadows in the deepest recesses of his mind, as if it might stop the trembling or alleviate the sick feeling heaving his stomach.

Miriella, the Arynian priestess, was quite possibly the most dangerous thing he’d come across since escaping that hellish lab so many years ago. In all that time, he’d never been afraid of anything. Until now.

“I
wouldn’t go up there unless you really have to. He’s in a
mood
.”

Zahli paused at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the bridge as Jensen loped down toward her with quick steps. The tinkling crash of broken glass had them both cringing as Jensen reached the landing.

“What set him off?” She listened for any other noises, but everything had gone quiet.

Jensen shrugged. “Wouldn’t have a clue. He seemed all right when I took over dead-watch last night, but he came back up in a foul temper. Maybe he didn’t get any sleep?”

Leaning forward, she looked up into what little she could see of the bridge, not able to glimpse any sign of her brother.

“He doesn’t sleep well at the best of times. I doubt that had anything to do with it.”

Her fingers tightened where she held the cool metal stair rail. She glanced back along the passage to the locked door of the captain’s quarters, resisting the urge to run down there and bang on it until either Rian or Tannin let her in. Rian’s bad mood could have been because he’d had the inevitable confrontation with Tannin.

“Well, whatever it was, I haven’t seen him in a temper like this for a long time. Good luck with it, I’m going to get a few hours sleep before we hit the Rim.” Jensen gave her a quick squeeze on the shoulder and an affectionate smile then headed off down the corridor.

Changing directions, Zahli went across into the galley to the condiments dispenser and ordered up a big mug of thick, dark coffee and then rummaged in the back of the storage compartment for the brandy stashed in there. The condiments unit pinged to signal the coffee was ready just as she laid hands on the bottle. She splashed a generous amount of the liquor into the mug, almost filling it to the brim.

With careful footsteps, so she didn’t leave a trail of brandy-laced-coffee across the floor, she walked up to the bridge and tapped open the beverage holder in the side of Rian’s chair. He didn’t look at her when she set the mug down, his somber gaze directed out the viewport to where void-space streaked past in a rainbow blur of colors.

She stepped back, clasping her hands and closing her mouth over the words
is everything all right
? From experience, a question like that would only get a snide, biting answer.

“What’s the plan for when we dock on the Rim?”

Rian’s head titled down as he looked at the mug. “I’m going out into Huata and see what my contacts can turn up. I’m not paying retail for a delta-shield, not when I could get one from a trader at half the price.”

Zahli pressed her lips together, wondering if her brother had finally cracked. In all the years since the war, he’d treaded the line of legalities when it came to his pursuit of the Reidar, but he’d never crossed it.

The trader he’d buy the delta-shield from would no doubt be a pirate. And the shield would likely be procured from some vessel that had either been scavenged or boarded by said pirates. Huata was an old industrial sector on the Rim that had long ago been abandoned by upstanding corporations and left to less reputable merchants. The streets were deadly and dangerous. Somewhere only the desperate went by choice. The IPC had been trying to find the place and shut it down for years, but there was no way to get inside unless accompanied by someone who’d been there before. Even then, the locals had a way of determining if anyone was working for the IPC or authorities. More than a few officers and agents had gone missing, never to be heard of again, in their search for the legendary bazaar.

“I hope you don’t plan to go alone.”

Rian palmed the mug and took a long swallow of the hot beverage. “I’ll take some muscle with me.”