Virgin (6 page)

“Kots?” Ava echoed.

“Stands for Keeper of the Stars,” Waroun said with a wry smile. “His former owner had a real superiority complex.”

“No kidding,” Ava said with a chuckle. “Couldn’t you change the name?”

“Why bother?” said Waroun.

Ava shrugged. “I see your point.”

Quinn chose that moment to file a formal protest. Jumping to his feet, he drew himself up to his full height, which was less than a meter, and stated angrily, “I do not wish to be groomed by a droid!”

“Then groom yourself and the droid won’t have to,” Teke suggested.

“You stupid, spindly, hairless freak!” Quinn began, rounding on Teke. “I don’t care what—”

“You’ll let Kots do it and like it,” Dax said as he walked in—his tall, imposing presence startling Quinn and everyone else into silence. “I won’t have my other passengers catching any vermin from you.”

Quinn responded by holding out his arms for Kots to clean and didn’t make another sound.

Oh, he’s good
. Keeping a Drell in line without using a single curse word was quite a feat. Teke and Diokut regarded him with increased respect. Ava wondered if she ought to go take a quick shower herself.

“Waroun will show you to your quarters,” Dax told the Kitnocks. “Kots will take you to yours when you are clean,” he said to Quinn. With a brief glance at Ava, he added, “You come with me.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Hopping to her feet so quickly that she saw spots before her eyes, Ava did manage to control her next inclination, which was to salute.

“Very funny,” Dax said without the slightest trace of a smile.

***

Dax was torn between wanting to ignore her and wanting to stash her in his quarters for safekeeping. Not that she faced any danger, but there was something about Ava that aroused instincts in him of which he’d previously been unaware—and didn’t want to be, particularly since she intended to return to her old boyfriend. Like every other woman who’d ever even begun to interest him, she was already taken. “Story of my life,” he muttered to himself.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing,” he replied. “Nothing important, anyway.”
I should have sent her with Waroun. Why didn’t I?
Ignoring his own question, he strode purposefully down the passageway toward his—or rather,
her
—quarters. The fact that they were next to one another was irrelevant. A wall stood between them, and there were two doors to be negotiated. No temptation whatsoever to visit…

He stopped in front of the door and opened it for her.

“Do I have to stay in here all the time?” she asked meekly.

“No, feel free to use any of the facilities aboard. There are entertainment systems and various other activities. Meals can be eaten in your quarters or in the dining hall, as you choose.”

“Sounds like I’d have to dress for dinner if I do that.”

“You may wear whatever you like.” He glanced toward her bag. “Kots will take care of anything you might need.”

“Um, when do I need to pay you for the trip?”

“When we arrive.” Dax knew he sounded stiff, but the image of Ava dressed in something low-cut and clingy had assailed him the moment she’d mentioned dressing for dinner. He nearly started purring again.

“You’re sure it will only cost twenty-five credits?”

He looked down at her with surprise. “Did you think I was lying?”

“No, it’s just that… I don’t know…” She mumbled something else he didn’t catch.

“I won’t cheat you, Ava,” he said, surprised at how normal he sounded when he felt anything but. “I’m not Lars.”

She nodded, seeming to accept this—at least for now. “Where do you sl—I mean, where are your quarters?”

He pointed to the door they’d just passed. “I’m not in there a lot. I usually stay in the ready room by the bridge, but if you ever need me…” Dax stopped there. It sounded like an offer he shouldn’t be making. He stood ramrod straight, towering above her, when what he really wanted was to lean down and inhale her fragrance again. It was just a perfume of some kind, he told himself, trying to dismiss it. But the temptation was so strong…

She nodded, staring down at the floor as though reluctant to meet his gaze. Dax wanted to reach down and tilt her head back so he could see those eyes again—in a better light this time. They were the most mesmerizing he’d ever seen—almost childlike in their innocence, but with depths he couldn’t begin to fathom.

Dangerous feminine depths. She wasn’t trying to entice him, but she was doing it anyway. He’d been the recipient of some blatant come-ons in the past. This was different. She’d been tough enough earlier, but now she seemed reticent, almost shy.

Of course she felt shy! She was alone in the passageway with him, right in front of the open door to her room. As the only woman aboard, she was bound to be feeling isolated and vulnerable; he wouldn’t be surprised if she thought that, despite his protests to the contrary, he would take advantage of the fact that her room was next to his. His only duty was to deliver her safely to her destination, not make love to her. He needed to remember that.

“Good night, then,” he said. “Just call for Kots if you need anything… He’ll wake you in time for breakfast.”

Ava looked up at him and smiled. “What would you do without him?”

Dax felt his heart skip a few beats. “A whole lot more work, that’s for sure. Or Waroun would. I don’t envy Kots having to get Quinn cleaned up.”

“Me either,” she replied with a giggle. With that, she went inside her room and closed the door behind her.

As he headed back to the bridge, Dax had plenty to ponder. No, he didn’t envy Kots, but he suspected he would have if he’d had to groom Ava instead of Quinn. He might actually fight him for
that
job.

Chapter 4

Ava had never been in such a luxurious room in her life. She probably wouldn’t have minded if she’d had to remain inside it the whole time—at least, not for the first week or so. The huge bed was covered with soft, downy blankets and a fur coverlet in a soothing shade of blue, and the matching carpet was even thicker than the one in the lounge. A small but elegant table and chairs sat beneath a porthole that offered a stunning view of the star-studded expanse of space. In addition to that, an ornate mirror doubled as the door to a spacious closet, and the richly appointed bathroom seemed larger than the apartment she’d shared with Lars. Light was provided by Darconian glowstones which, as Ava already knew, responded to thought. You had only to wish for more or less light and the stones would comply with that request. No one had the first clue as to how they worked, but one thing Ava did know for certain: they were ridiculously expensive.

Ava dropped her bag on the floor and sat down on the bed, only then realizing just how tired she was. It had been a
very
long day; what she needed was water. It was her element and never failed to energize her, washing the tension from her body. Stripping off her clothes, she stepped into the shower. The provided soap worked up into a rich, creamy lather and she felt soothed and pampered by the time she was finished. Wrapping herself in a thick towel that hung on a warming rack nearby, she dried her hair with a quick shake of her head. Ava had never completely understood this ability, but her hair seemed almost to repel water—a trait inherited from her Aquerei father.

Catching a glimpse of her round, nonhuman eyes in the mirror brought Ava up short. Whenever any alien characteristics had surfaced in her, her mother’s wistful sighs and longing expression had served as a reminder that Ava’s father hadn’t been a casual fling, but was someone her mother had cared for very deeply. Ava herself had no memory of him. It wasn’t until later that those sighs had driven Ava to seek solace in the form of her pendant. She thought it odd that a mere rock could have such a profound effect, but there was no denying the fact that when she looked into its depths, she could almost imagine herself swimming free in the oceans of Aquerei…

But Aquerei was only a story to her and might as well have been a myth. That wasn’t good enough anymore. As soon as she got back to Rutara, she intended to get some answers to all those questions she’d never had the nerve to ask.

Shaking off the nostalgic feeling as best she could, Ava went on with her ablutions. After sampling the various lotions that were on tap, she found one that smelled like a spring meadow on Rutara. Closing her eyes, she could almost imagine she was already there, back home where she belonged, and in the arms of… Russ?

Why did that prospect seem less appealing now? Was it because of Dax—a man who probably had women melting into puddles at his feet all across the quadrant? She was merely one more conquest that he wouldn’t give a damn about. She’d never met a man who was so indifferent to women—if she could believe him and Waroun—and there was no reason for either of them to lie about it. She wasn’t on the hunt for a new man and certainly hadn’t chosen Dax’s ship just because he was the captain. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. It wasn’t as though she’d planned her escape for months.

Or had she? She’d been socking away her tips for a good long while, which spoke volumes. She knew very well that the main reason women stayed in abusive or unhappy situations was because they couldn’t afford to do anything else, and she was no different. Without her little nest egg, she wouldn’t have even considered the idea of leaving when Waroun struck up a conversation with her.

Ava dumped the contents of her bag on the bed, surveying them with distaste. She had very little money, and her clothes were all old and worn; completely out of place in her current surroundings. As nest eggs went, hers was rather pathetic.

A short knock at her door was the only warning she had before Kots entered the room. He carried a tray of fruit in one of his many hands, a carafe of water in another, and had something shimmery and blue draped over one of his arms. Seeming to take no notice of the fact that Ava was completely naked, he set the tray and the carafe on the table and then held out a nightgown made from the most delicate fabric Ava had ever seen, let alone touched.

“For me?” she whispered. “I’m supposed to wear this to bed?”

Kots replied with a soft chirp.

Gathering it up, she dropped it over her head and sighed as the gown fell to her feet in soft waves, wrapping her in luxurious warmth. She felt like a fairy princess—a feeling she hadn’t had since playing dress up in her grandmother’s gowns as a child.

“Thank you, Kots. It’s beautiful.”

Kots replied with another chirp and left with no more ceremony than when he’d arrived.

Gazing at her reflection in the nearby mirror, she was amazed at how different she appeared than when she’d last seen herself. The lines of worry she’d thought permanently etched upon her face had vanished. Her eyes were wide with wonder, her hair gleamed like a golden sun, and her skin had taken on a glow that hadn’t been there for a very long time.

“And all of this for a mere twenty-five credits?” she asked her stunned reflection. “There
has
to be a catch.”

***

Dax sat at the desk in his ready room—a desk littered with landing permits, docking fee lists, and star charts. He had work to do, that much was certain, but he wasn’t getting it done. He still saw her eyes—eyes that looked up at him the way they would if she’d been lying beneath him while they—

No, he warned himself. Don’t go there. She doesn’t want you. Dax had seldom imagined what a woman would look like lying naked in his arms, but he was doing it now. Her expression had been different in the corridor outside her room, but he was remembering the one he’d seen on the street in Luxton City. The one that made him purr…

It was Jack’s fault, he decided. She’d been pushing him to take a mate for so long; it must’ve finally had some effect on him, making him do stupid shit like purring at one of his passengers—when they were running from that passenger’s crazy, jealous boyfriend, no less.

He leaned back, resting his head in his hands. The tingle in his groin was only a memory now, but if he’d stood there with her a few moments longer, he could only guess at the consequences. He probably wouldn’t have been making love with her at that very moment, but it would have been on his mind—which was wrong. That sort of thing was
never
on his mind—at least, not until he’d laid eyes on Ava. But that same mind wasn’t behaving the way it normally did. It was leaping from one place to another like a Borellian grasshopper.

Tension knotted his gut as his thoughts jumped to Lars. That uncouth behemoth had been with Ava for five years and had undoubtedly had her many times. That realization sent a river of emotions racing through Dax: hatred, jealousy, envy, and, oddly enough, curiosity. Those big round aquamarine eyes haunted him, tormented him, and tempted him. This should not be happening, and yet it was.

His arms ached to hold her, and his lips longed to kiss her, to taste her… He wanted to know everything about her, from why she wanted to go back to Russ to why her hair flipped up in the back like it did. He’d seen a variety of hairstyles in his travels—many of them downright bizarre—but hers was uniquely appealing, though it might not have been unique among people with webbed fingers. Suddenly, the need to see if her feet were also webbed threatened to overwhelm him. He wanted to discover every intimate detail about her, from the way her hair grew to the way she would feel in his arms—and especially the way she would
smell…