Page 37

“Exhaustion is no excuse for negligence. I could’ve stepped aside and let a fresh doctor help her.” After that, Mom closed her practice and allowed herself to grieve.

Making sure she flourished wasn’t Britt’s responsibility anymore. Instead, she had a husband and a daughter. To travel through space to discover new creatures, to document their amazing biology, would never be on the cards for her.

She hadn’t meant to find love or to fall this hard. But never in planning her life had she considered her husband wouldn’t love her back.

Damn idiot that she was.

Tears slipped free, though crying without making a noise was harder than apologizing.

And it didn’t help that her blocked nose dripped.

She tried to suck in the emotions, to somehow take control after the horse had bolted.

Tomorrow, she’d look like an extinct puffer fish. Nerx would know something was wrong.

And yet, no matter what she tried, there was no stemming the flood.

With his enhanced hearing, he had to know she was this blubbering mess leaking all over him. Giving up on trying to remain silent, she pulled out of his arms and peeled on her discarded robe.

“Britta?” he asked, rising to sit. “What is the matter?”

His concerned gaze shattered her defenses, and she bolted, sobbing as she sprinted to Aldur’s quarters.

He’d follow, she knew that. And he’d pester her until she revealed how she longed for his love.

No. No way would she lose face. She pressed her back against the door once she reached her ‘sanctuary.’ Thankfully, no one had been in the common when she’d rushed through.

Still, being seen in a robe didn’t scare her as much as Nerx being hot on her heels.

Short of jettisoning herself into space, there was no escaping this.

Sniffling and with blurry vision, she ordered tissues from the replicator. She was through the third nose blow when Nerx entered. He hesitated in the doorway, looking damn fine in his robe. But the intensity in his eyes snagged her breath.

“Just let me cry without asking why,” she said, dabbing at her eyes.

“All right, if I can hold you?”

She flung herself at him, and he caught her.

Fresh tears fell as she clung to him, drenching his shoulder.

Him tightening his arms around her, the hand he trailed up and down her back, and the kisses he pressed to her head fueled her sorrow.

Such care had to mean something. But despite her ‘bravery,’ she was a coward through and through, unable to ask him outright.

He crossed to the bed, keeping her in place even as he sprawled out. “Sleep. We will talk when you are ready.”

She nodded, curled her fingers into his hair, and let his warmth sooth her.

B ritt’s eyes were swollen when she woke up. Nerx lay beside her, his arms cradling her close, but his focus was on her face.

“Morning,” she croaked and winced at the pounding headache making itself known, like a mild hangover. “How long have you been awake?”

“A while,” he said, brushing a curl off her cheek. “Are you in pain?”

“Yup, but a coffee will help with that.” She pushed herself up, knowing she did so only because he let her.

He followed, twisting to meet her gaze. “Much happened yesterday. I offer my apologies for not realizing this sooner.”

“What?” She frowned.

“Your mother is safe.” He dipped to kiss her, then leaned back when she touched his waist. “You are relieved and are finally able to express how much you did worry.”

She smiled. If only that was all her issues. But he’d given her a way to avoid revealing the state of her heart. “You’re right. A weight’s off my mind.”

“Will you be fine with her not staying on Fuyra?”

“If she visits often. I… I also need to find something to do, Nerx. I once planned to become a zoologist.” Her regret hit like a sledgehammer to her chest, pressing fresh tears behind her eyes.

She sniffed. “I was such an eager student, fully committed to my goals in life. Until the news of Dad’s accident reached me.

” She sucked in a shuddering breath, searching for strength.

“His car’s fusion pulse failed on the way to work, forcing him to crash land.

He died in an instant.” She shrugged. “Or so they say.”

He raised his arm, showing her the scar. “Kyerx fell, but I was not strong enough to save him. That is why I keep this, just like Lily has a circular scar her bad daddy gave her.”

“To remember?” Britt asked, her voice breaking. She swallowed over the lump in her throat. “I knew she’d been through much, but I wasn’t sure what.”

“My father blames me for my mother’s death at my birthing.

She died at Berrann Falls, which was forbidden to us.

” Nerx offered a weak smile. “Kyerx was a little rebellious, so we went there often without Father’s knowledge.

When… When I commed him that Kyerx was dying, the pain in Father’s voice resonated in me.

He barely spoke to me afterward, not that his attitude toward me before that was good. ”

He laced his fingers through hers and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Losing Kyerx expanded my void as if a decade of my life had passed. I had to assume a facade to minimize emotion. I refused to let it claim me before Father succumbed.” He grinned. “It is why I scowl at my males.”

“You used to be grumpy. That’s what you said.”

“And that you are beautiful,” he said, feathering a kiss along her inner wrist. “I meant it.”

She shivered, the warmth from his lips seeping into her. But when her stomach gurgled, he leaned back with a chuckle.

“My Dar Eth must be fed,” he said, sliding off the bed and dragging her with him.

“I am hungry. What will you have this morning?”

“French toast if I get to lick the syrup off your lips.”

She laughed. “Ew. Saliva all over my—”

He whipped her against his chest and kissed her, snatching her breath. “Do not ever believe that you cannot share what bothers or pains you, thamani . I will always listen.”

Her heartbeat skittered. “Do I get to hold a blaster to your chest if you don’t listen?”

He laughed, flashing that knee-quaking dimple of his. “Please do. I like your fire.”

“So I’ve learned,” she grumbled. “Kind of diminishes its effectiveness when it doesn’t shock you.”

“I have faith that you will never fail to surprise me.” He nudged her at the replicator. “Dress. Aldur is well enough to install your O.D.I.”

“Oh?” she gasped, excitement dancing along her nerve endings.

Or was this reaction from his hot, sensual kiss?

She ordered jeans and a T-shirt, then sat and slipped on her sneakers.

All while he donned another set of armor.

Her imagination painted him in low-riding jeans, bare feet, and a tight black T-shirt.

Her mouth dried, and she blinked at him.

“I’ll wear something Etterian, if you put on a pair of jeans for me.”

He arched a brow. “Intriguing, but yes, doable.”

She hummed her excitement. “I look forward to you putting it on…and taking it off.”