Blaize tried to keep up as Cifer moved faster and faster along the main causeways filled with beings and transports. Finally, it got to be too much; she was panting for air and jerked to a stop. “Where are you taking me, and why are you dragging me? I’m not a thuringy on a lead. I thought we were going for a walk, but you obviously have someplace in mind. And it’s not that I won’t go. I probably will, but you should talk to me, ask me.”
“I’m sorry.” Cifer dropped his head, and before he moved away, Blaize stepped into him and wrapped her arms around him. His solid strength was so in contrast to his soft words. “I want to… I was going to show you my…my rooms. Where I live. When I’m here.” He closed his eyes.
“You’re taking me home?” No one had ever willingly brought Blaize into their private space.
The attraction between them was undeniable and only increased when she was this close to him. But what did she really know about him? And what was he still hiding? Because she was certain there were secrets she still had to discover. But he was taking her to his home, his most personal, safe place. And were his secrets bigger than him saving her life from the falling ballast? More important than him protecting The Treasure from Varik? More indicative of his character than him providing for the orphans?
“Will you trust me?”
And that was the question. Blaize hadn’t easily trusted anyone since Varik had devastated her entire life. But Cifer didn’t control her livelihood, her safety, or her self-worth. If anything, he’d done more to protect and support her than anyone since her mother was alive. He was the one being vulnerable. With her. “Yes.”
“It’s not really a home.” He held out his hand to her again, and they walked shoulder to shoulder. “It’s nothing special. Too small to be called…anything. But I’ve rented the space for years.”
A large male bumped into Blaize, knocking her back. Cifer seemed to expand in size, his copper skin taking on a redder hue, and he clacked his jaw. The inconsiderate male jumped and murmured an apology before racing off. Blaize doubted what she’d seen, because when she eyed Cifer again, he seemed exactly as he had been before, although his gaze was still locked on to the retreating guy. She tugged Cifer’s hand, and he instantly focused on her.
“Are you okay?” He swept her hair back and caressed her jaw.
“I’m fine. It was nothing.”
“It was rude. Nobody should touch you.” He glanced down at their clasped hands. “Unless you want them to.”
“I want you to.” The words slipped out, and the glow inside her chest ratcheted up, along with the heat between her thighs. Cifer’s grip tightened, and he tugged her forward, moving faster than before. Blaize grinned and raced to keep up, his urgency spilling into her.
The structure he paused in front of was an elongated capsule that had been constructed when the quarters along the edges of the station had no longer been sufficient to house the growing population. Blaize had studied the construction of Cassan in her spare time while at the academy. The way it had come together so long ago, originally from the Earth ships reconnecting and then as manufacturing took hold. Cassan grew organically. As a result, it could never be used for travel again. Instead, it remained in place, its own jumbled planetoid.
He guided her onto the power lift, and they emerged on the sixth floor and walked a short way down a curved, dim hall to a gray door that looked like all the others. He keyed in an access code and turned the handle but didn’t press forward. “I haven’t been here in…too long.”
“I’d like to see it.” Desperately. The urge to push past him and inspect the hidden parts of him was overwhelming. She grazed her fingers down his arm. “Let me in?”
“You’re the first one I’ve brought here.” He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close.
Blaize pressed her lips to his, and the hallway disappeared. There was only Cifer. His heat and taste, the tangle of his tongue with hers. A door slammed shut. She ended the kiss, her lips still tingling. They were in his room. She hadn’t been aware of moving inside, she’d been so caught up in their kiss.
Blaize took a few steps forward, and the lights brightened with her movement. She gasped, trying to see everything at once and finally turning in a slow circle. “This is yours? You did all this?”
“Uh-huh.” Cifer went to the tiny refrigeration unit. “Do you want a drink?”
“Cifer, this is… There aren’t words.” Statues like the small bird Cifer had made on The Treasure filled the walls and surfaces. Bins of parts were lined up on a small desk. He handed her a glass with cool water. She sipped it and moved toward an object that reminded her of a winged insect she’d seen pictures of once as a child. The long, segmented body was slightly longer than her fingers, and its gossamer wings jutted to the sides, changing color depending on the angle of her gaze. “How did you create the wings?”
“Scraps of a material that appears translucent. Very expensive stuff.”
She dropped her hand to her side to keep from touching it and possibly harming the fragile material.
“Do you like them?” He lifted his hand and swished it through the air as if he could capture all of his creations in one swoop.
“Do I like them? Cifer, you’re an artist and a mechanical genius. These all move, don’t they? It’s obvious they do—the articulations, the details. Do you sell them? Where did you learn to do this?”
“I just started making them when I had time on my hands.”
“But how did you learn?” She picked up a tiny, half-finished bird from his desk. A light tap of her finger, and both wings flapped several times before coming to rest. “The movement is so realistic.”
“I just played with them until they did what I wanted.” He shrugged and turned away.
“You should have been an engineer. I mean, assuming you aren’t because you’re a…” Heat rushed up her cheeks. “Sorry. I’m not sure what you call yourself.” The word thief had nearly popped out.
“No apology needed. I do break the rules, frequently.” He filled a second glass of water from the chiller and sipped it. “But just so you know, lately, even before I met you, I’ve been trying to get away from that world, or to at least do something good with my…talents.”
“You’re very talented. And you do a lot of good for the orphans.” She reached for a sculpture suspended from the ceiling. “What is this? It’s not a bird.”
