Page 9 of Revenge (Warriors of the Drexian Academy #6)

Chapter

Nine

Sasha

I held my breath as the office door slid open, my heart hammering so loudly I was certain whoever had entered could hear it echoing off the stone walls. The heavy fabric of Commander Vyk’s coats pressed against my face, carrying a distinctly masculine scent.

Behind me, Deklyn’s body was a wall of solid warmth, his chest rising and falling in silent, controlled breaths. The memory of our escape from the Kronock prison flashed through my mind and how his presence had made me feel both safer and more reckless at the same time.

Heat flooded my cheeks as I remembered the intensity in his eyes that had made my pulse skip despite our circumstances. Even now, trapped in what was probably the most dangerous situation I’d put myself in since our rescue, I couldn’t ignore the way my body responded to his closeness.

I tried to shift away from him, but the moment I moved, his arm curled around my waist, pulling me flush against him with iron certainty.

“Don’t move,” he breathed against my ear, the words only a figment of a whisper. “Unless you want to get us both caught.”

The warmth of his breath sent shivers down my spine that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the way his voice seemed to vibrate through my bones. I forced myself to stay perfectly still, even though being pressed against him like this was setting my entire body on fire.

What had I been thinking? Breaking into the security chief’s office on an impulse, without proper planning or backup routes, all because I’d overheard he would be busy?

This was exactly the rash decision-making that I’d mocked in others, the kind of thing I never would have considered before my capture.

The thought of getting caught sent a wave of nausea through me that had nothing to do with our cramped hiding spot.

If they discovered us, I would have to explain my actions to Admiral Zoran, the academy staff, and Ariana.

My sister had just begun to trust me again, had just opened her heart to the possibility of a genuine relationship between us.

How could I face her if my reckless pursuit of answers had embarrassed her in front of her new crew?

I closed my eyes, hoping to slow my breath, but suddenly I was back in the alien prison being held by a scaly Kronock, his clawed hand gripping my arm.

The flashback was so sudden and felt so real that my heart raced as my eyes flew open.

I pressed my lips together to keep from making any noise as the panic that had so quickly ricocheted through me ebbed away.

Hold it together, Sasha. You’re safe.

The sharp footsteps halted, and for a heart-stopping moment I was certain we’d been discovered. Then I heard Vyk’s distinctive gruff voice. “Fiona?”

“Just a moment,” came a familiar female voice from somewhere in the corridor. Getting closer. “I wanted to catch you between meetings.”

My skin went cold as the door glided shut and Vyk and Fiona were both inside the office.

The soft murmur of intimate conversation gave way to the unmistakable sounds of passionate kissing.

Deklyn’s breathing quickened behind me, and I felt his body tense as we both realized exactly how compromising our situation had become.

Being caught eavesdropping on a private conversation would be embarrassing. Being caught hiding during an intimate moment between the security chief and his lover would be catastrophic.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think of anything else—flight patterns, engine specifications, the fuel capacities of various vessels—anything to distract myself from the sounds coming from just a few feet away.

But it was impossible to ignore, especially when Deklyn’s arm tightened around me in what I suspected was his own attempt to maintain control.

The soft moans and whispered endearments seemed to go on forever, each sound making me want to crawl out of my own skin with mortification. This was so much worse than simply being caught breaking into an office.

“I have enough of a break before my next class,” Fiona’s voice suddenly cut through the haze of my embarrassment, slightly breathless. “We could sneak back to my quarters.”

Vyk’s response was a low growl that spoke of masculine appreciation and immediate agreement. “Lead the way.”

Then there was rustling fabric, footsteps, the soft swish of the door opening, and then blessed silence.

For several long moments, neither Deklyn nor I moved, and the only sound was our now ragged breathing. Finally, when I was certain we were truly alone, his arm loosened around my waist.

I staggered out of his grasp and away from the coat rack, putting several steps between us before turning to face him. My legs felt unsteady. Whether from adrenaline or the lingering effects of being pressed against him for so long, I wasn’t sure.

“I owe Fiona a big one,” I said, trying to inject some levity into my voice despite the way my hands were shaking.

If I’d expected Deklyn to laugh it off, I would have been disappointed. He scowled at me, his arms crossed over his broad chest as he pointed toward the door.

“You need to go,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “And you need to forget this idiotic plan of sneaking around looking for evidence. Next time you might not be so lucky.”

For once, I didn’t have a snappy comeback ready. He was right, and we both knew it. If Fiona hadn’t provided the perfect distraction, if Vyk had opted to work at his desk instead of following his lover to her quarters, we would have been discovered in the most humiliating way possible.

I walked to the door on unsteady legs, checking the corridor carefully before slipping out of the office.

I paused at the threshold, glancing back to see Deklyn, his expression thunderous as he watched me go.

At least I didn’t have to worry about my inconvenient attraction to him anymore.

At the moment, he looked like he wanted to throttle me with his bare hands.

The thought should have been reassuring.

Instead, as I hurried down the corridor away from Vyk’s office, all I could think about was how I now owed the cocky Drexian pilot yet another debt.

He’d risked his own safety to follow me into that office, had helped hide me when we could have been caught, had probably saved me from a scandal that would have embarrassed me and Ariana.

I could kick myself for giving him a reason to think I was reckless and irresponsible and make him regret getting involved with my quest for answers.

But as I made my way back toward the residential wing, one thought kept nagging at me: he’d followed me into that office.

Despite knowing it was dangerous, despite having every reason to wash his hands of my problems, he’d tracked me down and put himself at risk to make sure I didn’t face the consequences alone.

That meant something, didn’t it?

Or maybe I was just reading too much into the actions of a man who’d made it clear he thought my entire revenge plan was a mistake.

Either way, I was back to square one in my search for evidence, with the added complication of knowing that Deklyn was watching my every move.

This was going to be more difficult than I’d anticipated.