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She remained composed, not cracking once, but he spotted the tiny signs she was masking her agony.

He caught on to her jaw tensing during holo briefings, how her fingers fluttered toward her comm tab, only to retract before touching it.

What captivated Xander wasn’t just the steel in her backbone.

It was the worry for her loved ones that she tried to hide, how sadness pooled behind her poise when no one else was looking.

Her pain was also evident in the hollowness that flickered in her eyes when her thoughts strayed to her family, and her ship was caught in an unprecedented crisis.

Still, she maintained her dignity.

Her stance was always calm and commanding, no doubt the chief of security of the most influential generational ship in the Wildlight.

She didn’t try to impress. She didn’t posture or throw her largesse around.

Yet still he sensed her vulnerability, and he ached to ease her suffering.

When the group dispersed after twelve hours of planning, Xander stroked a hand down her spine.

He leaned in to her. ‘Come with me,belleza.’

She nodded, wordlessly.

They walked with his arm around her waist through the winding, lamp-lit corridors of the Signet command deck, carved into the curved side of the ship’s inner flank.

She leaned into him, yet she held her chin high.

She was camouflaging, he detected, in her hitched breath and strained lines of her eyes.

At the entrance to his quarters, he tapped a code into the keypad, and the sliding panels opened to let them into his private suite.

He pulled her inside the door and trailed his lips to her temple.

Her eyes gave him a tiny flicker of shyness that almost knocked him to his knees.

It undid him more than any overt flirtation could, wanting to protect and claim her, over and over, until she begged him to stop.

Savvine hesitated on the threshold, her gaze sweeping across the minimalist decor.

Dark stone walls, plex panels that opened to a projection of a starlit lake, recessed lighting, books, and weapons arranged with clean precision.

Nothing was gaudy here, just strength, simplicity, and serenity, as he liked it.

‘Not the cabin tonight?’

She sounded surprised and weary.

‘Nada,mi cielo, I want to be close to the bridge in case of any emergencies.’

Her eyes clouded as Xander stepped behind her and tilted her chin up, his voice a coaxing rasp against her temple.

‘We can’t do anything about tomorrow’s cares,’ he murmured. ‘So for now, relax,mi cielo.’

Her lips parted, not in protest, but in relief.

He moved, taking her hand and leading her through the vast living area into his primary.

Into a sunken spa chamber, where soft hidden lights turned on with a sweeping gesture.