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“Devlin, please. Just try to stay out of this. I know full well what Tyler is now. And I

also know what he had going on with you, Charlotte.” Samantha glared at Charlotte.

Johanna looked perplexed. “What did he have going on with you, Charlotte?”

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“She and Tyler were screwing each other,” Devlin said dryly.

“What?” Dylan said shocked. “You just shut up right now, Dev. You are only out to get

my brother, and that latest lie is a real low one.”

“He’s not lying, Dylan,” Samantha whispered. Pain circled her heart and made it almost

difficult for her to breathe.

Johanna gasped. Her face went as white as a sheet. “Charlotte! How could you?”

“I don’t think the current state of my love life should be out in the open for discussion,”

Charlotte stated matter-of-factly.

“I think it should be. You’re a skanky little witch, Charlotte. You should be groveling at

Samantha’s feet right now begging for her forgiveness,” Devlin said, disgust tingeing his tone.

“Stop it, Dev,” Samantha commanded.

Devlin had to stop instigating ill will toward him. Dylan would side with Tyler no matter

who Tyler was in bed with. Right now, she needed her crew thinking rationally not going after

each other’s throats. She sighed. Whenever had she thought rationally? The pot had just met

the kettle.

“No. I won’t stop it, Samantha! You have bent over backwards dealing with that little

shit of yours, and you were always ready to push me into the shadows, well, it ends here!!!”

That was it. Samantha was going to give Devlin a chewing out. If she undertook that

sort of action though she just might make herself horny again for him. Their verbal dalliances

were becoming more and more erotic each time they argued.

“Okay, I think we are all losing sight of what is at stake here. Much as I would like to

hammer out this discussion we have going right now, we can’t let our personal hang-ups mess

everything up. We still need to rescue Rory,” Johanna said calmly.

Charlotte looked a little ill. Samantha frowned.

“You okay?” Samantha asked. She didn’t really care but right now she needed

Charlotte’s abilities even though the thought that she needed Charlotte for anything made her

want to retch.

“Just peachy. But you need to get dressed. Why are you wearing the same clothes you

had on yesterday? Anyway, The Second Act is about to begin.” Charlotte sighed.

“Got it.” Samantha skipped over answering Charlotte’s question, but Samantha didn’t

miss the look that Johanna gave her and then Devlin. She could tell that something was amiss.

She knew that Devlin wasn’t just shooting out lies—she knew he was telling the truth about

Charlotte and Tyler and that scared the hell out of Johanna. “I don’t want to rain on anyone’s

parade or anything but I am going to go off to my quarters now and I don’t expect anyone to

follow me. Got that?” Samantha glared daringly at all that surrounded her. Devlin looked none

the less deterred. He was going to become an even bigger pain in her ass. “Once I am freshened

up, Dylan, I need you to be ready in engineering.”

“No way. I’m coming with you guys when you go to rescue Rory and Tyler. He’s my

brother in case you forgot. I don’t even want to know what The Triad is doing to him right now.

I shudder to think about that.”

“Dylan, for once I understand all too well.” She closed her eyes against the pain of

Tyler’s betrayal. How could she tell them all that she suspected? Tyler wasn’t in any bloody

danger. The only one that would believe her beyond a shadow of a doubt was Devlin. Charlotte

would do her dancing around the issue bit and Johanna would try to placate Dylan who always

thought Tyler was above reproach. “But you’re the best at what you do, and if the
Excalibur
gets

into a fire fight…I’m going to need you to...,”

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“Keep her together. I got it.” Dylan looked down at his feet. “I don’t like it, but I got it.”

He stood up, and Johanna did to.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Samantha asked. “You need to stay in the pilot’s

seat.”

“Fine, Samantha. As ever you’re right. We are due to drop out of hyperspace in twenty

minutes. Winter has given me the go ahead to fly out of her docking bay as soon as we do.”

“Right. Go to it.” Samantha winced when her stomach let out a loud roar. “I’m going to

get dressed and get a bite to eat.” While she ate, she was going to try not to barf her food back

up. Tyler’s face haunted her mind and not in a good way. Charlotte, well, she didn’t even want

to look at her right now.

“I will remain with Johanna and monitor the activities out in space,” Charlotte declared

rather sullenly. Samantha groaned. Where did Charlotte think she got off sulking? She was the

one doing the hanky panky with Tyler! She was the one that had shoved the dagger deep into

Samantha’s back. Not the other way around!

“Good, you stay here and do that little thing, Charlie. I am off to my quarters. Keep the

fort while I am gone.” She stood up, stretched and then sighed. She did need to have a quick

shower.

Devlin was awfully quiet. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at him and then raced

for her quarters. Now with Tyler gone, they were hers. She didn’t think she would ever sleep in

the bed she had shared with Tyler. Never again.

She heard Devlin make his excuses to Charlotte and Johanna telling them that he was

returning to the
Snow Queen
and then, she heard him following her.

Quickening her steps, she’d just rounded a bend and reached her quarters when she felt

him catch up to her. She whirled on him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing anyway? Every single place I turn to you’re

there and it’s getting bloody annoying, you know?” She crossed her arms defensively across her

chest, inconspicuously trying to hide the fact that her nipples had hardened beneath her shirt and

were probably quite noticeable at the moment.

His eyes raked hungrily across the full expanse of her body. Her stomach growled again.

He smiled.

“I was just going to keep you company. You shouldn’t be alone at the moment.”

His silky smooth voice rattled her nerves further. If she wasn’t careful....

“Fine. Come inside but do not look at me like I am going to be your morning meal, it’s

not going to happen!”

“Not yet, maybe… but someday, Samantha, I will have you!” He backed her up against

her door. Nervousness fluttered in her stomach.

“Hey, what’s going on there? Samantha is that British prick giving you any trouble?”

Veronica asked from down the hall.

“No,” she said, wincing at the shaky tremble in her voice. “I am just peachy keen.”

“Glad to hear it. Ross needs his breakfast down in engineering so I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, later, Veronica. Do you mind giving me some frigging breathing space, Dev?

Right now all I can feel is your morning breath on my face.”

“I brushed already, you on the other hand could do with a good scrubbing from head to

toe. I could assist you in those tasks.”

“Hardy, har, har,” she mumbled, as he backed away from her. She opened her door to

her quarters and had almost ditched him but he grabbed a hold of her arm and slipped inside with

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her.

“Get out!” she ordered.

“Say it like you mean it,” he countered, watching her with his eyes fully animated and

fully reveling in the angst he gave her.

“Please, leave,” she said almost in a hoarse whisper.

“I don’t feel like it.”

“Why are you pulling my chain like this, Dev? I don’t want you here.”

“You say you don’t want me here and yet you’re looking at me like you’re undressing me

with your eyes.”

“Well, that does it. I can’t look at you anymore. I am going into my bedroom and you

had better not be here when I get back out.” She stomped to her bedroom area. Stopping, she

rounded on him. “Do not even think about following me past this door,” she muttered. “If you

do, I’ll have one of your balls....”

“Will you?” he asked quickly.

“Yeah, in a jar on my nightstand!”

He looked rather undone by that threat. “I’ll stay here. No need to worry, I wouldn’t

dream of infringing upon your privacy.”

With that, she flounced into her bedroom, trying desperately not to recall images of her

and him naked entangled on the floor..., “Stop it, Samantha!” she said to herself, wincing that she

had resorted to shaking herself out of her love stupor by talking to herself!

“What did you say?” Devlin called from the living area.

“Nothing.”

“You didn’t? I thought I heard someone say naked,” he laughed, shattering her nerves

even further. She wouldn’t, she couldn’t let him invade her life and her heart. It was not to be

thought of!

For once in her life the events in her life were spiraling out of her control.

She showered and got dressed in a hurry. Sighing, she opened her bedroom door and

walked over to her little kitchenette all the while ignoring Devlin.

“You look scrumptious,” he murmured while she prepared herself a piece of toast.

“Stop hitting on me, Dev. It’s not getting you anywhere.”

“Yes, it is. It’s giving me supreme satisfaction knowing that I am making you squirm in

your boots. Every time I say something sexual to you, you look like your eyes are going to pop

out of your head and that’s a good thing. Your cheeks blush, your voice changes your body

quivers for me. I can see it all, Samantha. More importantly, I can feel it all.”

“Shove it up where the sun doesn’t shine, Dev.”

“You can take the defensive stance with me, Samantha and keep playing your old game

with me, but one of these days I am going to shatter your fragile resolve and I will have you in

my bed, screaming for more.”

“I don’t scream for anything.”

“Sure you do. Or rather you will.”

Her heart stammered when he said those words, the promise in them sent delightful

rushes throughout her body. She felt so tingly, so heady.

Devlin closed the distance between them. He bent down and lightly touched his lips to

her forehead. She started and gasped. Good lord that felt good. She shook her head. She

couldn’t do this!

“Stop it,” she put her hands firmly on his chest. “If you continue, know that I do not want

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it and I will fight you.”

His eyes smoldered. He looked tempted to continue.

Could she really stick to her guns? If he continued seducing her, she would probably

crumble and start ripping his clothes off, she just couldn’t stop thinking about him in that way.

“Why are you torturing me like this?”

“Why have you pushed me away all of this time? I want to know, Samantha. Your

barbed tongue wasn’t going to work forever you know.” He kissed her cheek and was just about

to kiss her lips when....

“Samantha?” Her communication device came to life.

“Yes, Johanna?” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

“You need to get up here right now! We have a BIG problem.”

“What else is new?” Samantha grumbled. “God, I love my life!”

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“What’s up?” Samantha sped onto the bridge with Devlin hot on her heels stopping when

her eyes locked on Johanna. Johanna’s eyes were wide and she looked scared out of her mind.

“We’ve been hailed. I put them on pause. It seems that The Matriarch wanted to talk

directly to you. I wasn’t good enough. Samantha, you have to get yourself ready for what

you’re about to see.”

Samantha’s heart danced up in her throat. “Is it that bad?”

“Did they rough the pretty boy up a little?” Devlin asked, trying to put his arm around

her.

“Stop that,” she ordered, shrugging him off. Thankfully, he complied this time. “Shut

up, Devlin. Sometimes, you have too damned much to say.” Samantha wanted to smack him

upside the head and considering the circumstance she didn’t think anyone would reprimand her

for her action. Right now, she couldn’t give three beans on whether or not Tyler had been

roughed up. But seeing Johanna so alarmed made her feel a bit of sympathy toward her ex.

“Sometimes? Lady, you beat me at that game. You have too much to say all of the time,

in fact,” he dropped his voice to a hint of a whisper. “I bet if I could kiss those lips of yours I

would actually get some much needed peace.”

Johanna merely pinned Devlin with a disgusted gaze and then she directed her attention

back to the view screen and controls. “I’m cuing them up.”

“I’m ready.” Samantha sank down into the command chair. The view screen in front of

her crackled to life. The sight that met her floored her and nearly took her breath away. “Oh,

boy.”

“Well, I didn’t expect this.” Devlin gave her a delighted grin. “You see, I told you, I

should have hanged Tyler when I had the opportunity.”