“I had… a systems update to discuss,” I replied, too fast. Her eyebrow arched, but I didn’t elaborate.
Instead, I let the silence stretch while I observed her. The lines around her eyes were softer tonight. She wasn’t guarded. That made it harder.
She tilted her head. “You always do that.”
“Do what?”
“Stare like you’re trying to calculate the tensile strength of my bones.”
“I already know that,” I said without thinking.
She laughed, and the sound landed somewhere beneath my sternum and stroked my cock.
“I had dinner with Silla and Garth,” she said after a moment. “They asked if I wanted to go to Rottvan.”
“What's on Rottvan?”
“They’re still building the settlement. It’s rough terrain—new systems, no infrastructure. They need engineers.” She hesitated, then added, “They asked if I’d consider helping establish it.”
“You just arrived on Astrionis,” I pointed out. I didn’t like the idea of her going to another planet, but had no idea why. It shouldn't matter to me if she was on Astrionis or Rottvan. Tomorrow, I would be on Pandrax, and a good fight and plenty of spirits would exorcise her from my mind.
“I know.” She glanced down at her hands, then back up at me. “But they’re offering full autonomy. I'd get to build the colony’s systems from scratch.”
I forced my expression to remain neutral. “It sounds like a challenge.”
She grinned, “Exactly.”
Of course, she would like that.
“They want you to leave right away,” I said. It wasn’t a question. It was an ache.
“No,” she said gently. “They offered. I haven’t decided.”
I wanted to tell her not to go, that she was better off on Astrionis, and that it wasn’t worth the risk. But I had no claim, no right.
“Then decide carefully,” I said instead. “Don’t let them push you into it.”
Her smile softened, small and unreadable. “You’d miss me.”
I didn’t answer, but I knew I would. Because I already did. She let the silence speak for both of us this time.
“Goodnight, Xyrek.” She finally said.
“Goodnight… Alice.” I replied, already dreading the stillness of my quarters and the ache I knew would spread with the loneliness. Frygg. I had never felt lonely in my entire life before. Then she was gone again, and the echo of her voice lingered like static through the comm line.
* * *
Excited, I woke the next day in Pandrax's orbit. I requested permission to land, and within an hour, I set foot in the Fighting Pit I had selected. The air inside was thick with heat and scent—the kind that sank into your skin, your blood, and your bone. I had been in places like this before. Places where things were brutal, simple, and uncomplicated. Just what I needed.
Before I had a chance to find the Fight Master, a tall, dark-skinned female with shimmering eyes slinked toward me. She assessed me from head to toe. "You look like a male in need of a distraction."
"You could say that." I grinned like an idiot, anticipating the fight that would physically exhaust me enough to give my mind the break it needed.
She gestured smoothly toward one of the private chambers. "I can help with that," she purred suggestively.
Her suggestion shouldn't have taken me by surprise, but it did. She wasn't here to welcome me to a fight; she was offering her body. Shewaspretty and looked clean. But I didn't feel the slightest stirring from my cock. No desire. None. I could have been talking to anybody, not someone offering me mind-blowing sex.
The memory of how my cock had deflated at the idea of looking for relief in a pleasure house returned full force. Followed by green eyes and a wide smile appearing in front of my vision. Damn her. Damn Alice.
