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Andethor sat across from Xarek in one of the small restaurants on the station. This one specialized in Paraxian food, which tended to be hearty, spicy, and cheap.

And it often gave Xarek heartburn, which Andethor thought was hilarious. Big grumpy Altarian bastard couldn’t handle a little spice.

“ Still working on the Paraxians,” he said after taking a bite of his food, keeping his voice pitched low. “They’re sticking to their neutrality.”

Xarek grunted, offering a terse nod. “The Paraxians are set in their ways. They’ve learned to stick to the shadows.”

“ And it’s benefited some people. Like yours,” Andethor reminded him.

Xarek gave him a look that would have struck fear into the heart of most males. “It also worked against us. They maintained that neutrality, as you call it, by helping both sides until it became to their advantage to finally choose one.”

“ So we need it to be very clear to them that being part of the Alliance is an advantage to them. They seemed ready to sign on after they helped your people.”

“ They did, until their leader started getting resistance from the council. Their neutrality is their safety at this point. And they don’t trust the Alliance to keep them safe. They’ve worked against too many of us to feel secure of our goodwill.”

Andethor set his eating utensil down and thought for a while. Their past definitely made the Paraxians a target for far too many.

But that wasn’t the entire story. It was coming down to one very, very stubborn representative. One who could very well be doing something to undermine his own people in his greed. Andethor and a few other members of Bellarian Intelligence had turned their focus to him. Jax’el Xiaron.

As the humans would say: what a dick.

He was squeaky clean as far as they could tell. He’d set his public image in stone. Serving the Paraxian people like his father before him, and his father before him…

Sounded an awful lot like nepotism to Andethor, but if that’s what the Paraxian people put up with, it wasn’t his problem.

Until it was. And Jax’el Xiaron was definitely a problem. Not only would the Alliance help protect the Paraxians, it would also keep them in line. Ideally, keep them from sabotaging any of the other Alliance members at the behest of an enemy.

He and Xarek ate in silence until the Altarian got up, clapped a heavy hand on Andethor’s shoulder, and lumbered off without another word.

How the hell Maggie, who was one of the most bubbly people he knew, lived with such a grumpy bastard was beyond him.

He ate more, thoroughly enjoying the food. He needed to do some maintenance on his ship to make sure it was ready to go if he needed to be off in a hurry. Stock up on a few supplies…

… Definitely avoid going to the fitness center to ogle a certain luscious bartender who did her volunteer shifts there twice a week.

He’d barely been able to stop thinking about Julia after she’d danced like that.

He’d sent her food, and then felt like an idiot, but then felt like much less of an idiot after she’d started messaging him.

And it felt good to take care of her like that. To know she was eating something she enjoyed instead of whatever she would have managed to scrounge up in her exhaustion.

He wouldn’t examine that too closely. He didn’t make connections like that anymore.

He didn’t have the kind of life that allowed for stable, long-term relationships.

He was away too much, might have to leave at a moment’s notice, and couldn’t just talk about his day at work.

Too many secrets, too many absences he couldn’t explain.

It was no way to treat someone he cared about, and he’d seen firsthand how completely everything could explode after the little tensions and arguments built up too much.

He cringed. Ayza. He’d been so in love with her he’d almost walked away from the work. A job had taken him away for a few months of deep cover. Longer than he’d expected it to.

And when he got home,.. Well. It hadn’t been the homecoming he’d hoped for.

Andethor shook off memories of Ayza and took a last bite of his food, then carried his dishes and utensils to the sanitizing station before heading through the corridors to the docking bay.

This was just what he needed. Some time on his ship, which felt more like a home than most places did, now. Preparing, planning. Some Earth metal blasting. No one talking to him.

So when he drew closer to his ship and a figure stepped out of the shadows, he could have punched something. When the person stepped into the light, he straightened, his formerly-scattered attention coming back into deep focus.

“ Andethor.” The towering Bellarian, the man who’d trained him, crossed his arms over his powerful chest. “We should speak,” he said, nodding toward Andethor’s ship.

Andethor nodded, hit a button on his comm, and a hidden panel on his ship dislodged, revealing a short stairway that led into the ship.

He waved the other Bellarian in, then followed.

Once the door was secured behind them, he nodded. “Vexlan. I’m guessing you have news or you wouldn’t have made the trip.”

The other Bellarian nodded and took a seat at the small table Andethor ate at when he was away on long missions. Andethor sat, watching as Vexlan ran his fingers through his short hair. He looked exhausted.

“ We finally may have our chance. Our Paraxian contact got in touch. Apparently Jax’el Xiaron enjoys visiting pleasure resort planets when he takes time off. And he is doing that now. For the next 7 days, as they tell time on this station.”

Andethor nodded. It was just what they’d been waiting for.

Getting to the councilmember on his home planet was nearly impossible, especially now that he knew they wanted to talk to him.

His staff was an impressive wall between him and anyone he didn’t want to talk to.

His home, like those of every high-ranking Paraxian, was under heavy security. He traveled rarely.

“ Security detail?” Andethor asked, and Vexlan shook his head.

“ Apparently the councilmember doesn’t want his people to see whatever it is he plans to get up to on Eralis,” he said with a smirk, naming one of the most popular pleasure planets.

Andethor huffed out a short laugh. “So I’m going to Eralis, it sounds like.”

“ You are. You should find someone to bring with you.’

Andethor jerked in surprise. “Why?”

“ He’s skittish, as we well know. A big Bellarian showing up?

He knows we want to talk to him. And we know he’s up to some shady shit or he wouldn’t be preventing this movement among his people to join the Alliance.

But. You show up with an attractive woman hanging all over you? Just another tourist.”

And why, damn it, did his mind immediately go to Julia? Her curvy, mouthwatering body pressed against his, her lips on his neck, making it look for all who saw them that they were there to partake in the planet’s more… exotic… pleasures, like so many other couples.

His cock definitely seemed to like the idea, and he nearly growled.

“ I don’t have a woman.”

The look Vexlan gave him said all it needed to: Find one.

“ I’ll take care of it,” Andethor said, wondering how the hell he was going to do that.

“ Do it fast. Your reservation is set for tomorrow through the next 5 rotations. Enjoy your trip, Savis Eletath.”

Andethor blew out a breath when Vexlan named that particular alias of his. Savis was a partier, known for opulent tastes, a complete damn deviant in every way. Especially when it came to women.

Eventually he nodded, and Vexlan let himself out, returning to the shadows so many of the people he knew best lived in.

Now, he just needed to collect the clothing Savis Eletath would wear, instead of what Andethor would wear.

And he needed to find a woman who’d be okay with him treating her less than respectfully.