And Raz noticed she didn’t put down the small weapon. “I ask that you not attack me again.”
She stared at him through narrowed eyes. “Just making up for missed opportunities.”
He gave her a nod. “You tried to escape Blackworm? That is commendable.”
“We failed,” Lishelle said curtly.
The little one, Trixie, sidled away from her guard witha sidelong glance, tucking herself closer to Lishelle as two other Earth females crept out of the purple forest to join them. All five life signs accounted for. “He kept us asleep,” she said softly. “Most of the time. We’d still be there if not for Rayna.”
Raz gave her a short bow. “Lady Rayna. It speaks well of you that you sought to rescue your fellow prisoners. Although Iwascoming for you,so your failure was inconsequential.”
“Inconse…” She stiffened, and the few extra inches her spine lengthened made her shirt shorter, revealing an inappropriate—and intriguing—expanse of tawny-hued skin below the hem. “I’m not a lady.”
Well, that was good to know… He forced himself to focus onnother thighs, even if they were as enchanting as the little soonyili birds that turned flower nectarinto ghost-mead. “I meant it as a sign of respect, since you are leader of your people here.”
“What? No. Nope.” She shook her head, making her tangled hair flap around her face. “Not a lady, not a leader. I’m just…me.”
“Rayna,” he said softly, ending her inexplicable tirade. “Very well. I will drop the honorific if that is more to your planetary cultural standards.”
“So…” Lishelle drawled.“We’re in space. Like, outer space.”
For all her bluster, Raz noted how her hand shook around the piece of glass. “Specifically, an illegal space station on the edge of a black hole.” He gestured overhead, aware of the rest of the away team joining them in the conservatory, apparently summoned by the captain. “That is my ship—yes, a spaceship—theGrandiloquence. It’s here to take you home.”
Trixie swayed, and one of the other women sobbed, the sound of relief quickly stifled as if she wasn’t sure she trusted the news. After one quick glance upward, Lishelle glared at him again.
But he was watching Rayna.
Why did she intrigue him so? Aside from those sleek thighs, of course. Knowing she had been the first to rouse, that she’d broken free and tried to save her friends impressed him.She’d taken on a terrifying responsibility and then made herself vulnerable again, distracting him while her crew of kidnapped brides sought to blindside him.
And she wasn’t even a lady.
“Come back to my ship,” he urged. “No more attacks, no more worries. We’ll get you cleaned up, fed, clothed.” It took every erg of his well-honed strength not to let his gaze dip to her legs. Really, she hadlovely legs. “We’ll get you home before you know it.”
And definitely before anyone else tried to claim the space station.
The other women looked at Rayna, and she tilted a little to one side under the intensity of their wordless regard. She’d said she wasn’t their leader, and he realized she’d been telling the truth. She didn’t want this responsibility.
So he’d take it from her.
Stridingforward, he grasped her elbow. “We’re too close to the singularity to dither,” he said briskly. “Blackworm chose a precarious place for your prison and you should be delighted to leave.”
She glared up at him and tried to jerk her arm out of his hold. “We would be delighted to leave. Just not sure it should be with you.”
“Who else?” He tilted his head, genuinely curious who else she thought mightbe coming. “Your Earth is many light years away. At your current technological capability, one of your ships could be here…oh, essentially never.”
She shifted her weight, obviously aware of the problem.
“Rayna,” Trixie whispered.
That was all the girl said, but Rayna shuddered under his hand as if it were a scream.
Frowning, he looked down. And realized she was trembling not just from thefear.
“You’re hurt,” he bit out. “Your arms are torn. Why didn’t you larfing say something?”
“It’s nothing.” She closed her eyes. “Nothing compared to being in the coffin, anyway.”
He jerked his head up to pin the sec-off second with a stare. “Take the Earthers back to theGrandiloquence. We’ll be right behind you.”
