She nodded and left him, not wanting to go into how this attraction couldn’t lead anywhere.
“Wren,” he called, trailing her.
She faced him.“You said there can be nothing between us.”
“Yes, I did.”He toyed with a strand of her hair.“For now.”He lowered his hand.“If thick bulkheads are all you need, spend most of your awake time in the shuttle bay.That way, you need not expend all your energy controlling your door.”
She sucked in a shuddering breath at his thoughtfulness.“Thank you.”
What she wanted to do was close the distance and press her lips to his.But to do so would lead to her wanting more, craving him.Instead, she spun on a heel and headed to the shuttle bay.Iddan had been correct in his suggestion.Hiding in the viewing deck had brought her some relief.She’d make it her bedroom when she was too tired to think or dream.
For now, getting her mind off Cylo was her core focus.And failing that, she’d have to decide: to toss caution to the wind or turn her back on him for good.
Chapter Eighteen
DayspassedasWrenhammered and twisted the gold into thin ribbons.Cylo tried not to disrupt her, so he came and went, checking in on her.Sometimes, like now, he’d sort through his correspondence on his tablet, using a crate as his perch.The regular tap-tap-tap of her tools soothed him.
“I can sense you,” Wren said, snatching Cylo from his reading.
Since she’d taken up his advice, spending her days in the shuttle bay, she’d stopped using her door.Or so she’d told him one afternoon over what she’d called ‘tea.’That decision had meant he needed to be on his guard again.If it meant she didn’t suffer, he’d gladly bear the pain and discomfort.
“I was wondering where you were,” Lady Violet said, offering a smile as she ventured deeper into the bay.
Wren whipped up her head, her face strained.“Cylo was kind to help keep me sane.”Her expression softened, and she tossed a wink at him.
Not that he knew what it meant, but the aches it summoned made him squirm.Her cheeks darkened to a soft purple, her skin having almost lost that hue completely.
Lady Violet flicked aside a gray curl.“Durok mentioned the chemicals had an adverse effect on you.I was worried—”
“Or curious?”Wren smirked.
“That, too.”Lady Violet chuckled.‘After all, how many lilac-skinned women do I know who are also jewelry-makers?”
Cylo almost snorted at Lady Violet’s hope of seeing what Wren was working on.Every time he’d tried to peek, she’d swept a cloth over the workbench.When she’d first done so, it had stung—the pain hitting him in the chest like the slap of a dagger’s blade.She’d clasped his forearm, peered into his eyes, and said, “It’s a surprise.I’m not hiding it to hurt you.”
Which meant he had to be patient.
As an operative, doing so was something he could endure.And in the meantime, he could master controlling his emotions.She didn’t need to know how many hours he’d spent remembering the way her black garment had clung to her body.Or how he’d longed to press a kiss to the underside of her knee.After he banished those memories, he found himself admiring the curve of her cheek or how she chewed on her bottom lip when she was in deep concentration.Her mutterings were amusing though he doubted she knew she was doing it.
His O.D.I.buzzed.He dragged his gaze away.TheNahatyrwas less than a day away.Joy warred with sadness; his time with Wren was ending.Worse, he was nowhere closer to finding out if she could be his Dar Eth.
“You’re so talented,” Lady Violet was saying.
“More like a reason to keep my mind and fingers busy.”
“True.”On a sigh, Lady Violet’s shoulders slumped.“When Durok’s on shift, I’m bored as hell.”
“Oh?”Wren faced her.“What did you do before this…adventure?”
Lady Violet gasped.“I…never thought that was possible.”
Wren grinned.“Look at this.Cylo ordered all my tools from the replicator.”
“You can do that?”Lady Violet threw back her head and laughed.“Please, excuse me.”She hurried out of the bay, calling, “Durok, honey.”
Wren chuckled and continued to tap-tap-tap.
The way her hair tumbled down to hide her face fascinated Cylo.He drew in a shuddering breath and willed himself to focus on his tablet and the research he’d found on ancient Hatimaye techniques.
