Queen of Swords (5 page)

“You’re lying. You give the same smoke and mirrors reading to everyone.” He waved at the doorway, his anger so thick in the air that Ophelia could barely breathe. “You told Gee he would get unexpected news, that his family would prosper. That was sufficiently vague, but you had to press your luck and tell him there was
a child
.”

Ophelia made an honest effort to rein in her temper. He was concerned about one of his crew and that was admirable—even if he was being an ass about it. “I told him the truth, no more and no less.”

“You have no idea what you’ve done.” For a long moment she wondered if he might try to hit her. Ophelia would hate to have to fight him. Okay, that was a lie. In her current mood, she’d enjoy every second of it. He would be a challenge, she was sure of it. Boone moved like he’d come out of the cradle fighting.

“Then tell me.”

“The Evarven have trouble conceiving, to the point where it is basically impossible. And now you’ve gone and given him false hope. Bravo.” He clapped mockingly, his gray eyes so cold they damn near froze her in place.

“I did nothing of the sort.” Even as she said the words, something twisted in Ophelia’s stomach. She hadn’t known.

But it didn’t matter.

Sometimes her readings were open to interpretations, but they were always true. Always. And there was no mistaking the meaning of this one. Gee would have a child.

Boone pointed a finger at her. “No more readings, not while you’re on my ship. Do you understand?”

She lifted her chin. “I can’t refuse someone if they ask.”

“Then they won’t ask.” He turned and stormed from the room.

Ophelia waited until he was out of sight before sinking back into her chair. What had a Diviner said to make him so angry? She shook her head. It didn’t matter what he was told, all that mattered was his apparent hatred for her species. She sighed and ran her finger along the cloth covering her cards. At least she’d only be on this ship for a few days, maybe a week. Then Boone would be gone from her life and she’d never have to see his surly face again.

Chapter Five

The next two days crawled by. Ophelia spent most of the time in her room, thinking. Or, rather, hiding from Boone. He unnerved her, and not just because she’d slept with him and couldn’t remember more than a flash here and there. Or because she hadn’t been able to chase those fleeting moments from her head…

He had too much anger toward her, as an individual and as a Diviner. And the rat bastard always had a smart-ass comment to send flying whenever she was within hearing range.

“Just a few more days,” she murmured. “A few more days and I never have to see him again.”

To distract herself, she took out her cards and did a quick reading. The result was exactly the same: The Fool, The Wheel of Fortune, and the Ten of Cups.

Odd.

The reading should have reflected her decision to marry the prince. To have it be the same seemed to indicate she hadn’t made whatever decision would set her on her journey. Shaking her head, Ophelia gathered up the cards and shuffled again, cutting it once. Without thinking, she flipped over a single card.

The Lovers
. Harmony and union. A choice using intuition and not rational thought. Or, taken in its more literal form…

A scene flashed in her mind of sweaty limbs intertwined, of silvery scars stretched tight across tanned skin, of gray eyes staring down at her with something like possession.

Trembling, Ophelia shoved the deck back into its box and slammed the lid shut. The card could mean a lot of things. She wasn’t going to sleep with Boone again. She
wasn’t
. Ophelia suddenly couldn’t stand the thought of staying in this room a second longer, its empty bed taunting her with possibilities.

The common room was empty, and she thanked the Lady for the lack of company. Ophelia’s nerves were too scattered to deal with Gee’s comments or the curious stares of the weird triplets. They never did more than that, but it still left her feeling like she was a freak show. And Boone…well, he was something else altogether.

Refusing to think about the new images seared into her brain, Ophelia went to the InstaChef. A few minutes later it spit out a plate topped high with pasta. The food was good, almost
too
good. She took another bite and closed her eyes, savoring the exotic mix of spices.

“Everyone to the hub. We jump in five.”

Ophelia dropped her fork, cursing. Would it have killed Boone to give them more notice? She sighed. What was she thinking?
Of course
it would kill him to extend a little courtesy. Tossing her plate into the recycler, she hurried to the hub, finding everyone already there. Taking a seat, she strapped herself in while the others did the same.

The intercom crackled and hissed. “Hang on, people.”

It was the only warning she got before her world disappeared. She’d used warp points more times than she could count but the sensation of free-falling combined with searing cold still made her bite back a scream. As a Diviner, she was extraordinarily sensitive to the non-space between warp points, far more so than a human. No one had ever figured out why, but Mama thought it had to do with Diviners being able to channel the Lady. Whatever the reason, for Ophelia, each jump was a little slice of the seven hells.

The jump hit her like ice shards to the chest, stealing her breath and inserting searing cold in its place. This was worse than usual, so much worse. Ophelia bit her lip, the pain barely holding back the hysteria bubbling up inside her.

This is normal. I am safe. It will be over soon
.

Her words didn’t have any effect at all. By the time they exited the other warp point into straight space, she was a shaking, sweating mess.

Ophelia made an effort to contain her muscle spasms while the others unhooked, shaking her head silently when Gee sent her a questioning look. The last thing she wanted was to deal with his mouth. He shrugged and followed the triplets out, off to do system checks and make sure everything was ready for when they entered Hansarda’s atmosphere. At least that’s what her crew would have been doing right now. If they’d been alive.

She bit her lip harder, tasting blood, holding back tears through sheer force of will. Ophelia was still sitting there when Boone strode from the cockpit. For a long, hopeful moment, she thought he was going to pass her like the others had. Instead, he stopped and stared down at her. “Problems?”

Ophelia forced her mouth into a smile, even though it quivered around the edges. “No.”

Something flashed through his eyes, gone too quickly for her to decipher. Again. She was going to have to get better at reading him. Except it wouldn’t matter, because he’d be gone forever after he dropped her on Hansarda. A crying shame if there ever was one.

“We have twenty-four hours until we reach our destination. You can’t sit here the entire time.”

She tried to unhook her harness, but her fingers seemed to forget how to work the clasps. A second set of hands appeared in her field of vision, knocking hers away.

Ophelia looked up to find Boone close. Too close. There was nowhere for her to escape to, trapped between his body and the back of her seat. Her gaze traveled over his all-too-kissable mouth, up over his crooked nose, before finally settling on his eyes. He stared at her intently, making her mouth go dry. A few measly centimeters and she could find out if kissing him really lined up with the vague memories she had from their night together.

He reached up and brushed the hair back from her face, fingers lingering longer than strictly necessary. The tenderness of the touch, so at odds with the heat of his gaze, stole her breath. How was she supposed to respond to this unexpected side of him? He was so much easier to deal with when he was being a dick.

She swallowed hard. “Thank you.”

Boone’s wrist unit beeped, shattering the moment. He stood, putting a respectable amount of distance between them. “Don’t worry about it.”

She wouldn’t…but it was a kindness all the same. Ophelia shrugged out of the harness and pushed to her feet. For one horrible moment she thought her legs wouldn’t hold, but they did. Good thing, too, since Boone was gone before she’d taken her first step.

…

Boone didn’t have any illusions about the kind of man he was, but kissing a woman so weak she couldn’t get away was a new low, even for him. Of course, he hadn’t actually kissed her, but if his wrist unit hadn’t beeped, he would have.

Ducking into his cabin, he flicked the screen on. “What?”

“You sound crankier and crankier every time we talk.”

The gods must hate him. It was the only explanation for Jenny’s micromanaging. Now all he needed was Kristian linking in, or his first mate, Cole, calling to check up on him. Boone shook his head. Obviously being around the Diviner was getting to him. Luckily, they only had a day left before they hit dirtside. Then he could lock her in a room and find something to take the edge off. If only he could do the same with his nosey little sister. “What do you want, Jenny?”

“An update, of course.” Of course. How silly of him to need to ask.

Boone pulled off his shirt and tossed it into the corner between the miniscule table and only slightly larger bed. “We’re a day out of Psrida.”

“And Kristian’s woman? She figure out the game yet?”

He started to tell Jenny not to call Ophelia that, but choked back the words. “She doesn’t know.”

“But she will. Then what?”

Then things would get ugly. He already knew Ophelia could fight, although Boone was confident he was more than a match for her. But she wouldn’t make it easy, and she didn’t seem the type who’d be willing to sit and listen to reason. “I don’t know what I’ll do with the damn hellcat.”

“Hellcat, huh? Sounds as if you like your little captive.”

Like her? He could barely be around her without wanting to throw her out an airlock…or into bed. Damn it. “She’s being difficult, and she’s only going to get more so when she finds out I’m not Kristian’s lackey.”

“And what do you intend to do? Lock her up somewhere?” Jenny laughed. “A bedroom, maybe? I’m sure you can scrounge up some lovely ropes to tie her down with.”

“
Jenny
.”

“Oh wait, that’s more to my taste than yours. Whoops.”

“This conversation is over.” Boone cut off the call and collapsed onto the bed. Jenny’s meddling might be off base on one level, but he wanted Ophelia back in his bed—without the excuse of alcohol driving her. If she chose Boone, even after the way he tricked her, it would mean she actually trusted him.

And he wanted that very much.

…

The planet was not Hansarda. Ophelia stared out the small window, taking in the towering mountain ranges and forest-filled valleys. There should have been desert, lots and lots of desert, with a scattering of green spots to signal oases. She pushed away from the wall and went hunting for Boone, anger surging with each step.

Stupid. She was so stupid. It hadn’t occurred to her that he wouldn’t take her to Hansarda.

By the time she found him in his cabin, Ophelia was so furious it was everything she could do not to trigger her bracelet and stab him with it. The object of her anger lounged on his bed, head pillowed on his arms. “Changed your mind?”

Understanding dawned, bringing a tide of embarrassment, which only served to drive her anger higher. “In your dreams.” It was an effort to affect a relaxed pose. “Where are we?”

He sat up, swinging his legs off the bed in a smooth motion. “Where you want to be—on your way to your prince.” There was a sarcastic edge on the last word, sharp enough to draw blood.

“Last time I checked, he was the Prince of Hansarda. And Hansarda is desert.”

Boone laughed and her control broke. Using a move she’d been practicing since she was ten, Ophelia lashed out, swinging her leg up in a kick that would take him in the throat. Or it would have if he was still there. He dropped to the floor and her foot went over his head, unbalancing her. Damn it, she’d committed too fully. Before she could recover, Boone kicked her legs out from under her, sending Ophelia to the floor in a heap.

She rolled, trying to stay away from him. If he got her down here, she was screwed. There was no way she could win a wrestling match with someone his size. The rolling retreat might have worked, too, if the cabin wasn’t so freaking small. She hit the side of the bed and it slowed her down. Before Ophelia could gain her feet, Boone was on top of her, pinning her to the floor. The fact he wasn’t even winded stung her pride more than a little.

“Attacking the captain is generally considered a killing offense.”

“So kill me.” Each breath rubbed her chest against his, the friction causing her body to respond in unforgivable ways. Even so pissed she couldn’t see straight, she still wanted him.

From the look on his face, he knew it, too. A mocking smile pulled at the edges of his lips. “I can think of a much better punishment.” Before Ophelia could respond, he kissed her. The feeling of his lips on hers shocked her so much, she opened to him. Or that was what she told herself when his tongue danced along hers, drawing a moan from her throat.

The sound brought her back to herself. He lied to her, had basically kidnapped her, and here she was on the floor, writhing against him like a cat in heat.

No. Just…no.

When Boone let go of her wrists to cup her face, she flipped him, taking advantage of his surprise and jumping to her feet. But the man was too damn fast by half. He grabbed her ankle, toppling her to the floor again. Meeting her gaze, he pulled her closer, centimeter by centimeter. There was no doubt in Ophelia’s mind what would happen once she was under him again. She couldn’t yield, couldn’t let him have the upper hand when she needed it the most.

So she kicked him in the face.

The feeling of his nose breaking beneath her heel shouldn’t have filled her with pleasure, but Boone always seemed to bring out her feral side. Ophelia jerked out of his grasp and scrambled to her feet. She flew to the door, but a heavy weight slammed into her, making her overshoot the palm lock.

She hit with a bone-jarring impact, a hand over her forehead saving her from smashing her face. Boone spun her around and had her pinned again before she could do more than slam her foot into his instep. The asshat must have been wearing reinforced boots because he didn’t so much as flinch. “That wasn’t nice.”

Ophelia stared up at him, taking in the blood covering the bottom half of his face and the way his nose looked horrifically disfigured. “Um.” Crap, was that all she had? She cleared her throat, refusing to acknowledge the guilt demanding she apologize. “Where in the seven hells are we?”

“Back to that?”

“Stop avoiding the question and tell me.” Or she was going to do a lot worse than break his nose. As soon as he let her off the wall. “Is the prince on this planet?”

His eyes went icy, and Ophelia belatedly realized he hadn’t been angry until now. “I don’t want to talk about him.”

Hells, she didn’t want to talk about him either. In fact, she kind of liked how well she and Boone matched up, which was a problem, and not just because they’d been beating the crap out of each other minutes ago. “Let me go.”

“And if I don’t?”

She lifted her chin. “You’ll regret it.” Ophelia realized her mistake as soon as his eyes dropped to her mouth.

This was a bad idea. It didn’t matter that he was covered in blood and she’d broken his nose—being this close to him made her go funny in the brain. And she already knew damn well that kissing Boone was a terrible idea.