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She was going to kill him for real this time.

Her thoughts were a whirlwind as she stirred the rice in her pot and set the lid atop. She’d been in a state of exhausted panic for nearly an hour now.

She’d tried calling him through the vent a few more times before she’d given up, locking up the vault and heading toward the upper decks. She’d wandered a few levels, checking her garometer while peering at vents as she went. Unfortunately, the energy levels never went past seven, and she worried she’d start looking too suspicious searching around, so she forced herself back to her unit. She found a message from Nadine when she pulled up her computer, telling her and the rest of the crew that they would schedule a meeting as soon as possible to address the events on X110 but had yet to give a time. Soon the city would be rubble, and they would be leaving X110’s orbit to move on to whatever destination was decided next, and Kryxis would be stuck here for good, until they could figure out how to help him.

But the longer he was stalking about, the more chances he might be seen, and the harder getting him out without trouble would be.

Where the hell could he have gone? And how could he be so damn careless?

She tried to understand, remembering that he was nearly feral and trying to make him stay put in a crate wasn’t ideal. But she wished he could have at least waited a little longer.

Spending hours trying to find him was pointless. He could be anywhere, and the ship was the size of a small city.

He wasn’t going to mess around and scare people again. He would come find her.

And yet, she couldn’t shake the anxiety as a less confident part of her told her otherwise.

He’s a vrisha, one of the most powerful races in the known systems. He has so much more to explore. Why would he waste his time hanging out with you?

Her heart sank at the thought. Crazy that she actually felt sad at the idea when less than a day ago, she wanted to get away from him.

Maybe it had been kind of fun when he had been…exploring her.

She wanted to laugh at that, until she realized she was serious. Being back in her unit, safe and sound, should have made her feel better. Instead, she felt an odd sense of loneliness, the space feeling emptier than ever, even with her cat Chowder purring at her feet.

Trying to keep her mind off the fact that there was a giant, terrifying alien sneaking around the ship and that she was missing him, she unlatched her belt, setting it on a chair. Taking out the tools and other accessories in her pockets, including the datachip which she set next to her computer, she yanked off her suit, kicking it over to the dirty clothes pile.

Stepping into the bathroom next, she started the shower. The water was a blessing, and she nearly let out a moan when it hit her aching back. Scrubbing the dust and grime off her was the best feeling she’d had in hours. When she’d washed it all down the drain, she remained standing in the shower, her mind drifting back again to Kryxis. The warmth surrounding her was kind of like...him.

She shut her eyes and hugged herself. She wasn’t a fool. Those times with Kryxis, those little moments when he touched her—he’d wanted more than a friend. She saw how he looked at her, the unmistakable hunger there in his searing red gaze.

She’d tried to ignore it. But in reality, she knew. All those times her pulse raced, or face flushed, or stomach was in knots, she’d called it fear. But that wasn’t all true.

She’d felt something she shouldn’t. And that feeling was slipping through the cracks of the imaginary wall she’d put up.

A vision of him in his battle attire swept over her. He’d been trying to impress her before they had gone into the tunnels. And he had. All of him. He had been terrifying and…

Stunning.

She licked the water from her lips. This wasn’t just her wanting intimacy for the sake of it. She’d gotten that easily with several men before. Hell, she could call up Garret right now if she wanted something superficial and shallow.

But she didn’t. She wanted…

Hissing through her teeth, she shut off the water and got out, smacking on the heater.

Damn him. He was frustrating, and horrifying, and crazy, and reckless, and…and…

She thought she heard something outside. Shutting the heat off, she listened and realized it was a knock at her door. Grabbing her robe, she shot out of the bathroom and flew to her unit door, letting it slide open.

“Hey.”

She tried hard not to look disappointed. “Garret…”

“Just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He smiled at her as he leaned against her door. “I picked this up for you.” He offered her a bag of candy and she took it reluctantly.

“Um, thanks.”

“No problem.” He stood there for a moment, and she worried he was expecting her to ask if he’d like to come in.