How had Cyra gained the upper hand, when he had all the finances and the experience? The situation was so unfair. He scowled, cursed Auvi, and thew back his drink.
Chapter26
Cyra searchedthe ship for Dez.
“There you are.” His half naked body mesmerized her as he worked out on the gym equipment in the cargo bay. He was sweaty and bulging and she wanted to make him more sweaty, and bulging in a completely different way, a different room, and several different positions.
He sat up and his gaze bored into her, heating her between her legs. “I needed to work off my…excess energy.”
“Have you thought about moving into a bigger room?” She shouldn’t care. “The one you’re in is too small for the long journey to Kolben. It doesn’t even have a chair.”
“I was not invited to stay in the room I’d like to occupy during the trip.”
The breath in her lungs left on a word. “Dez.”
“You do not need to provide me with a reason, my queen. I’m capable of waiting patiently for what is inevitable.”
There was his alpha arrogance. “I think you’re a little optimistic. Nothing is inevitable.”
“We are.”
His confidence in their relationship and the tone of his deep warm voice tempted Cyra beyond reason. She would love nothing more than to abandon her responsibilities and her future and the future of her crew and take this male to her bed forever or at least the next hundred g-years. But she wasn’t impulsive, generally. And anytime she had been in the past it hadn’t been the best decision. She couldn’t afford to give in to her desires completely. But maybe partially. “The room next to the Captain’s quarters is available.”
“That works. For now.” Dez lay back down on the bench and resumed pressing the virtual grav bar above his chest.
“Veda said you’ve been working with the dogs.”
“Keeping them fit and engaged. A bored animal is dangerous.”
Cyra glanced at the kennels, all five thuringies were laying down, head on paws, staring intently at Dez. She couldn’t blame them, struggling with taking her eyes off him herself. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure, my queen.”
“Captain.”
“That too.” Dez continued lifting the bar up and down, muscles straining, trails of sweat tracing paths between each one. It would be awkward if Cyra remained, staring at him. Besides, the water chamber called her name.
Unfortunately, the relaxation she’d sought there had been short-lived, and after a long restless night, Cyra finally gave up on sleep and got up. She wasn’t certain Dez had moved, but she had a sense of him through the wall. She pressed her hand to the panel as if she could feel him. The decision to invite him to move closer might’ve been a mistake.
In the galley, she found nothing but the scent of the earlier meal and her wrapped divided tray. Of course Dez saved something for her. After quickly eating and tidying up her mess, she went to the deck. Blaize was doing system checks and Rhysa was plotting navigation based on updated dust cloud data.
“Hey Captain. Are you sure you don’t want jump there with some bridges? We could entirely avoid this class five cloud.” She pointed at the screen displaying the latest NOAH data. The official organization for all things space travel related.
“Rhysa, you know I hate those things.”
“It would be infinitely faster.”
“And yet, we could get there later. Only we might benefit from the time shift. We wouldn’t age but we could be well into the future or possibly the past, although it’s less likely, I don’t like either option. Not to mention the possible damage to the ship. Those things aren’t entirely reliable. I would much rather take the longer surer route since we have the means.” Her argument was weak. Ships used them all the time with rare complications. Even Auvi had used them whenever he could. But she dreaded the experience every time. And she had a living, breathing reason not to get to Kolben faster.
“Whatever you say captain.”
“Blaize?”
“Yes, Captain, we’re ready to launch when you are.”
“Let me just do my own final checks and talk to Veda. I’ll return soon, ready to leave. Get authorization from the docks for liftoff.”
The med lab was vacant. Cyra hadn’t seen Dez either. She headed for the cargo bays.
