Page 32 of Stolen Fire (N.O.A.H (Nostradamus Outerspace Advancement of Humanity) #2)
Blaize pressed her lips to Cifer’s. He startled before deepening the connection.
She poured all her longing and doubts back into him as their tongues tangled.
He was warm and spicy, temptation and alarm.
She’d spent years alone without the ache that had wriggled its way into the spaces of her heart.
He caressed her cheek, running his fingers through her hair.
The urge to succumb to his possessive touch, to cast aside all the warnings and dive into him, rolled over her.
But nothing had changed. He was still who he was. She blamed the romantic location, the way his skin shimmered in the forest light, the way her heart pounded around him, dampening all logic. But she wasn’t impulsive. She didn’t kiss bad boys. She didn’t let her heart lead. Not again.
She broke away, shoving him, and stepped back.
He staggered, the look on his face as if he’d been stabbed. “What?”
“I can’t, Cifer.” She struggled for a calm breath and searched for an explanation. “I can’t be with someone like you.”
“What are you talking about, someone like me?”
The pain in his tone made her second-guess her decision for a split second.
But she couldn’t break the rules, especially the ones she’d set for herself.
The ones she’d made so she’d never be hurt again.
“You’re a thief, a criminal. Or you associate with criminals, and you break the law, which technically makes you a criminal.
And you left me, went off with a girl. You left me .
Without a word. And then I find you in the bar with Varik, and the next thing I know, you’re mixed up in kidnapping children.
And then there’s the fact that I don’t even know what you truly look like.
I’ve seen you naked, and I don’t know. How is that possible?
And don’t tell me I imagined your tail. The altered skin coloring wasn’t surprising, but a tail?
Seems like something a lover should know about. Especially?—”
“I’m sorry, Beauty.” Cifer stepped toward her, but she held out her hand to stop him. “I should have explained. I planned to be back before you realized I was gone. To wake you when I returned. To love you again.” Sadness and regret filled his gaze.
She’d been fooled by soft looks before. “What about the bar? You and Varik?”
Cifer stepped closer.
She didn’t move, and he wrapped her in his arms. The weight of his presence anchored her in place when she should be running.
“I’m sorry I left. So sorry. Words can’t begin to describe the depth of my regret when I returned and you were gone.”
She shivered.
“You’re cold.”
Although the sun was sinking in the sky, the shadows were much longer, and the spray coming off the waterfall had dampened her clothes, her reaction wasn’t to the temperature.
Her tremors were caused by the war between wanting him and the certainty that it would be her downfall.
She let him lead her back to the house where they were staying.
When they neared his room, she pulled out of his arms. “I have to go.”
“Wait. Give me a chance?—”
She shook her head. “I need to change and then run through some system checks. We’re taking off soon, and I need to check on the ship.”
“But I still need to explain everything.”
Not a chance they’d do any talking if she let him lead her through his door. A second time would only give her twice as much to regret. “I have responsibilities.”
“Would you like my help?” His soft question hung in the hall between them.
She corralled all the weakness for him and shoved it down deep. “There’s nothing you can do.”
He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned at the last second and his lips ended up on her cheek, leaving a warm mark she wanted to press her fingers to, holding it against her skin.
She curled her hands into fists, spun, and strode away without looking back, despite how desperately her body ached for one more glance.
Giving in at the waterfall had been a mistake.
No matter how much she burned for him, she’d given herself boundaries, and she’d broken them.
Crossed line after line. And not just the kiss.
She’d broken into Varik’s ship, smashed the locks.
She could have been arrested. An arrest record would kill her chances of being employed on most ships if Cyra ever ended their partnership.
Who was she becoming since spending time with Cifer?
It didn’t matter. It was over. No matter how long they spent on the ship together, she wouldn’t break again. Work would fill the hole in her chest. That was how she’d gotten over Varik, and it would work with Cifer too.
She made quick work of changing her clothes and repacking her bag.
Better to stay on the ship until they left Din’ Gale.
Something about the beautiful landscapes, rich accommodations, and lack of tasks led her to make impulsive decisions like kissing Cifer.
She swiped the back of her hand across her traitorous lips, grabbed her bag, and marched out of the elegant home. Back to reality.
The hover ride back to The Treasure was quick and smooth.
If the pilot had any concerns about what she was doing leaving in the dark of night, he kindly didn’t express them.
He’d probably report to Dez and Cyra, but she didn’t care.
It would only prove how dedicated she was to being the best engineer possible.
Darkness had settled in the corridors of the ship.
Blaize flicked the light on her data pad to low, enough to see without tripping.
She went to her quarters and dropped her bag.
As she came back out, a pink glow filled the space between her door and Cifer’s quarters.
The glow seemed to intensify as she palmed her door closed.
Whatever. The damn orb wasn’t her concern.
Blaize leaned against the back wall of the wide cargo bay.
Dez supervised the loading of the perishable goods going with them to Chalcanth.
Once they launched and she confirmed all was well with the engines, she’d catch some sleep.
She pushed herself upright and went to the bridge to confirm with Rhysa and Bodi that their systems checked out.
“You look like shit.” Rhysa tilted her head. “Good sex or no sex?”
“Checks for takeoff are complete. Any systems issues for you, Rhysa, or you, Bodi?”
“No sex,” Rhysa declared.
“I’m good.” Bodi continued to tap on the keys of her console. “Chalcanth Port Authority is expecting us and has granted preliminary docking permission.”
Veda arrived and settled into the empty chair to Blaize’s right. “Thanks for the help with the plants, Blaize.”
“No problem.” It truly hadn’t been, despite the fact that Blaize had felt eyes on her the entire time she was in the greenhouse with Veda. Probably a leftover reaction from when Cifer had been hiding on the ship, before they knew he’d stowed away.
Dez and Cyra entered the bridge. Dez settled in the chair behind the launch console first, and Cyra lowered herself onto his lap. Blaize forced herself to face forward, despite the tightness in her thighs and the desire in her core.
“We have clearance to launch,” Bodi announced without a glance back.
“Navigation is set. Ready when you are, Captain.” Rhysa had spun her chair around to face Cyra and Dez, completely shameless.
Blaize glanced back to catch Cyra rolling her eyes at her navigator as they lifted off the flight deck.
The real show wasn’t required until they were ready to leave the atmosphere.
Blaize couldn’t help but side-eye the couple over her shoulder.
They rose faster and faster as Dez whispered in Cyra’s ear, his arm around her middle and his hand between her legs, hidden under layers of diaphanous fabric.
Cyra’s breathing increased, her chest heaving.
Dez scraped his teeth along her neck. Blaize clutched the armrests of her chair as Cyra slammed her hands to the console and released a shuddering moan.
The Treasure burst through the atmospheric layer and into the dark embrace of space.
Dez scooped Cyra into his arms as he stood. “The captain and I will be in her quarters if needed.”
Rhysa let out a joyful whoop.
Blaize squirmed in her chair. The feeling of being watched only made her voyeuristic arousal more embarrassing.
Veda released the straps that held her to the chair. Blaize realized she’d forgotten that critical safety feature.
She followed Veda off the bridge. “I’m going to check the engines.”
“Again?” Veda asked.
“Need to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”
“See you at mid meal,” Veda called back before veering into the med bay.
If Blaize forgot something as simple as her safety harness, what else had she missed? She began again from the start and worked her way through each checklist for the third time.
“You still in here?” Veda’s voice tore Blaize from staring at the completed list on her pad.
How long had she been staring at the same screen?
“Here.” Veda handed her a protein bar. “You missed the meal.”
Blaize tugged open the wrapper. If she didn’t, the soft-spoken medic would turn fierce and insist on a full medical scan. “Thanks,” she said with a full mouth.
“Come on.” Veda tugged at Blaize’s uniform. “You need to get out of this room. Come breathe some oxygen with me. It’s good for the plants.”
Blaize let Veda lead her into the greenhouse. And Veda was right. After a few minutes in the greenhouse and finishing the protein bar, she did feel better. Physically.
Silence filled the corners of the room. Veda seemed content to wander from plant to plant, inspecting the small blossoms or emerging fruit. She even had more seedlings started.
“I can’t sleep.” Blaize clenched her jaw, unsure why she’d admitted the situation to Veda.
“That makes sense. You’ve been using work to avoid the emotional issue of starting a relationship with Cifer.”
Blaize blinked at Veda’s back.
“Do you want friendship or a medical opinion on how to get some sleep?”
Blaize wasn’t in the frame of mind to dish on her fucked-up relationship—or non-relationship—with Cifer. “Sleep advice?”
“Burn some energy. Get your muscles tired.”
“I’ve been working in the engine room.”
Veda shook her head. “Aerobic workout. Either sex or the gym. Equally effective.”
“Did you just prescribe sex?”
“It’s very effective for insomnia.”
Not that Blaize could prove. She hadn’t slept well at all since she’d had sex with Cifer. “I think I’ll head to the gym.”
Veda shrugged. “Okay.”
After changing out of her work coveralls, Blaize lingered outside of the room Dez had configured into a gym on the way to Kolben.
Workout equipment had been part of his contract to keep him in shape for the mines, but the entire crew made use of it periodically.
She didn’t hesitate to enter because she was uncertain about working out.
It was the voices coming from the room that had her pressing her body against the wall and shifting ever so slowly toward the door while trying to remain unseen.