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I hold up my fist, picturing the damage those rounds could do to a Toad attack ship. “That’s abigasshole.”

Theme blushes again. He’s never gotten used to my dirty tongue, and to be honest, it’s fun to be a little extra crude to make him embarrassed.

It’s he’s feeling embarrassed, it’s a good thing. It means he’s feeling something. When he gets too scared, the animal fear takes over his brain and he can’t think.

“That’s beside the point,” Tasha snaps, and I see the pressure she’s under. It’s worse than when we were escaping the Toads. “We need to find a way to get Theme past the three guards outside. Garrick and his triad feel a duty to you, Sawoot.”

I sigh, then smile, trying to appear as confident as I can while inside my stomach does flips. “Okay, then, I suppose you can leave that to me. I’ll distract the Aurelians guarding us. I suppose I still need to show them my…appreciationfor what they did for me.”

Theme’s face goes a brighter shade of magenta.

I wish I really was that confident.

I’m not. The one good thing about this is that when they find out I’m not Bonded to them, they’ll stop caring about me. I won’t have to live the rest of my life wonderingwhat if.

I’m ashamed…but not because I’m attracted to them.

I’m terrified of what I feel for the three noble men.

I’ve never had sex with someone I felt anything for. It’s always been bodies, rubbing together, mutual release in the coldness of space. A brief warmth. A brief escape from the horrors of the universe.

I’m not going to let these two see me shook. I’m Sawoot, and I’ve always been the woman who can take care of herself. The woman who breaks hearts and leaves bad boys sobbing and missing me.

Tasha surveys the room, then turns to Theme. “Were you planning on taking the couch?”

Theme’s eyes widen, like he’s shocked by the suggestion we’d be sleeping together. After we’ve spent months in Wild Space crammed together in the tin can of theWayward Scythe, I can’t believe he’s still so skittish.

“No. “I’m in the next room over. These are guest rooms, Tasha—normally for dignitaries, although I doubt thatbruteAelon has welcomed anyone of substance onto his ship in quite some time.”

There’s a little flash of emotion on Tasha’s face.

If I wasn’t looking for it, I would have missed it. He hit a nerve. It’s the same flash of emotion I felt when she called Garrick’s triad a bunch of lunks, and I instantly felt protective of them.

Aelon’s flawed, but he’s got his claws in her. She doesn’t want to feel anything for him, but she does, in the same instinctual way I do for Garrick.

“Good, good.” She claps her hands together. “Okay, so, if the Toadsarecoming, we’ve got at least a couple of days before they hit us. I have no reason to believe Aelon can’t handle himself, but I’d rather be as far away fromThe Instigatoras possible when they hit it.”

I’m not eager to be in a space battle with the battle-mad commander. Aelon’s like an Orb. Bloodthirsty and willing to risk everything for a chance to kill.

I don’t know why he hates Toads so much, but I can’t say I disagree with him. The only good Toad is a dead Toad, in my books.

Tasha walks up to the holo-screens that look just like a window. She stares out at endless space, and I follow her gaze. It’s quiet out there, but we’re both imagining the space filled with las-fire as the Toads attack.

“Okay, so it takes time to organize an attack, especially the type of attack the Toads are likely to run. This gives us space to plan.” She wheels around, facing us, and she’s full-on captain mode. My spirits rise. I wouldn’t want to be stuck on an alien warship surrounded by hundreds of testosterone-marinated warriors with anyone else. “I’ll take the room across from this one. Tonight, we’ll just rest up.”

There’s only one bed in the diplomat’s chambers that I’m staying in, but normally Tasha and I would share it to have more time to plan.

If she’s going to the chambers across from me…

It means she’s going ahead with my idea. Now it’s out of my hands. I offered to keep Garrick and his triad’s attentions, and if it gets us off this ship alive, it’ll be worth it.

I’m just scared of what it will make me feel.

Tasha gives me a mischievous grin. “Tomorrow—if you’re still feeling up to it—you candistractthe Aurelians, and Theme and I will sneak down into the control room. You said we’ll have full control of the doors and the loading bays?”

She brushes over my part of the plan. I know it’s because she trusts me, and because I’ve made a point of being open with how easy it is for me to break a man’s heart. There’s an art to turning a bad boy into your plaything, and I’ve perfected it. To her, she thinks it’ll be one of my flings.

She trusts me, but I don’t trust myself.