Chapter 2
On board the Gallant spaceship, heading for Narenda
Gweneth slanted a glance at Ellard as their ship plunged into the darkness of space and the green-and-brown planet of Viros grew smaller.
His stubborn jaw appeared hard enough to break her fist—should she decide to hit him, and the thought had crossed her mind.
His pretty green eyes remained glued on the instrument panels. His conversation nil.
Her mouth firmed while her brain busily played the angles. Somehow, some way, she had to get him to talk. Something more and better than manly grunts. Flirtation, but nothing too overt. But that needed to come after he started conversing.
An entire cycle portion passed in silence, and she thought back to the advice she’d received from her friends, those who had become her family.
Ry had told her not to prattle at him too much because males didn’t enjoy useless conversation.
Camryn had warned her not to let him bully her because that set a bad precedent.
Jannike had suggested taking him by surprise and tying him up until he succumbed.
Kaya had told her to get her hands on his cock, to pet it and stroke it, and he’d follow her around like a pet.
Nanu had suggested she strip off her clothes and proposed she practice with him.
And Mogens had told her to be herself and trust in fate because the clouds predicted beneficial news.
All excellent advice, but she still needed to get him to see her as a potential mate instead of a troublesome child, which meant getting him talking.
“Would it be all right if I put on some music?” she asked in desperation, the view gone since they’d long ago left the vicinity of Viros.
The bridge of the Gallant was smaller than that of the Indy, with seating for two in front of the instruments—the minimal lights and guidance systems not much in the way of distraction—and the silent disapproval started to weigh on her chest and her conscience.
She couldn’t continue this nerve-racking silence for another cycle portion.
He shot her a suspicious glance. “What sort of music?”
“Would you like to hear some Earth music? I have lots of different types. You can choose. Please, the silence is driving me mad. If I can’t play music, I’ll start prattling, and I know you hate that,” she ended in a rush.
They stared at each other for a long moment, but she couldn’t read him. Her stomach twisted, and a frisson of awareness swept her, tiny whooshes of pleasure ghosting across her breasts and to her sex. She experienced the same enjoyment whenever she used her vibrator, so definitely sexual in nature.
Weird. Ellard bore little resemblance to the man of her dreams—the one she’d described to her Earth friend, Olivia.
Yes, he was big and strong, but no one could call him handsome.
Some might comment on his arm since his right one was artificial.
He never spoke much, didn’t initiate conversations, and wasn’t outgoing.
Yet no other male made her feel this way.
Only Ellard.
“We could listen to music,” he conceded.
Yes! “I’ll play some of everything. I have lots of different playlists.”
He appeared baffled as he often did when she used Earth jargon. Never mind. She’d start and see what happened. “This is classic rock.”
A gritty male voice started to sing about being back in black.
Since Ellard refrained from comment and scanned the instruments before shifting to autopilot, she relaxed a fraction, let the song finish and change to another about champions.
Music she’d come to love, and each time one of the familiar songs played memories flashed to the fore.
Memories of her on the Indy.
Memories of dancing and shared laughter.
Memories of family.
Her stomach bucked at the thought, but it was true.
Her friends were more family to her than her father had ever been.
After the running of the Dowry Derby, he’d handed her over to Ry and turned his back on her.
Not once had he attempted to contact her.
She took after her mother, and the resemblance counted as an unforgivable sin in his eyes.
Another portion of a cycle passed, less strained thanks to the music.
“Want something to eat?” She unfastened her security harness and stood, aware she’d start blubbering if she continued to think of her father’s rejection. Ellard wouldn’t deal well with tears. She sensed it without proof.
He unfastened his own harness. “I want to research Narenda anyway. I knew of its existence but know little of the planet and its residents.”
“I decided to send the link message to them at the last moment. Lynx and Shiloh suspected the leaders would ignore their invitation. They attempted to land once and were escorted away by fighter ships.”
“What?” He sounded appalled. “Lynx never told me that. I thought this was an easy assignment.”
No, no, no! She’d hate him to insist they turn around and travel back to Viros.
“As I mentioned, they responded after everyone else had left. Lynx and Shiloh want to meet all our neighbors and have contact with them. It’s safer that way.
Lynx said something about know thine enemy.
They are offering a hand of friendship by extending an invitation for us to visit.
They’re willing to listen. Besides, do you think Ry and Camryn would let me go to Narenda if they thought the assignment would place me in danger?
Or Jannike?” She crossed her fingers and prayed her gabble reassured him.
“No, they wouldn’t. Nor would Lynx and Shiloh.
Go on, admit it.” She paused because prattling made her mouth dry.
She swallowed and swallowed again after sneaking a glance at him.
She hoped this stern expression vanished in the bedroom because that would never do. A definite mood-killer. “I’ll sort out something to eat.”
She fled to the tiny galley without a backward peek, her heart pounding with a boom-boom-boom, loud enough to alert a feline there was something amiss.
How would she ever get him to kiss her when he kept his distance?
What would Olivia do? For almost another portion of a cycle, she dithered and considered the matter while she made sandwiches, taking her time to regain equilibrium.
Set the mood.
Flirtation.
Finally, after even more soul-searching, she plonked the sandwiches on a small float table and set it to deliver to the cockpit. Once it floated off, she picked up two tubes of a fruit drink—a type of citrus-flavored fruit, purple in color and one she’d never tried until landing on Viros.
“Here you go.” She plonked into her seat in the cockpit. “I hope the sandwich is okay for you.” She batted her eyelashes in her first attempt at flirtation.
“It’s fine.” He glanced at her and tilted his head to the side.
It was working. She added a smile and continued a slow and sexy blink.
His brows rose. “What is wrong with your eyes?”
A puff of breath escaped her and she cursed under her breath. Stupid man. “I’m flirting with you.”
“Why?”
This time the swear words slipped free. “Fuck a duck.”
“What?”
Honestly. Did she need to hit the man over the skull to make him understand?
She opened her mouth and let her tongue slide out to moisten her lips.
Not a calculated move, but holy heck, she’d attracted his attention.
To test her conclusion, she repeated the action and his gaze followed the slow glide of her tongue like a pet on a leash.
She still needed to get him talking—a topic to help him relax and pass the flight. “How does it feel to shift to feline?”
He stared a fraction harder, his brow knitted together like an Earth dishrag. “What?”
“I’ve never shifted, and I want to know what to expect, should a miracle occur.”
“You want to shift?”
“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I? Jannike and Camryn can shift. I bear the feline mark on my cheek, yet I’ve never shifted. Describe it to me. Please. When did you start shifting? Was it scary?” Oops, prattle alert.
“Prince Jarlath and I shifted at thirteen rotations.” His gaze softened, the green of his eyes lightening as his mind drifted into memories, the dish rag effect fading to smooth, tanned skin.
His lips—so sensual they tempted her to touch—curved into the beginnings of a smile.
“If you ask him, he’ll tell you he shifted first. That’s not true.
” He flashed her a genuine grin, and her breath stalled, her tube of fruit juice halting halfway to her mouth.
The spurt of humor made all the difference. It took his face from plain to arresting. Never handsome. No, her Ellard escaped handsome, but oh, he exhibited heart.
“So tell me the truth.” Gweneth set her tube down and leaned closer, mesmerized by his expression.
“I shifted a min earlier than Jarlath. We’d made a deal a couple of rotations earlier to attempt a shift together the sec we felt our felines stir.”
“Did you do that?”
“We did. Jarlath told me his skin itched, and he felt as if his chest might burst.” Ellard chuckled. “I couldn’t feel a thing, but I told Jarlath otherwise.”
“You lied?”
“My pride was on the line.”
She smiled, easily imagining the two young felines indulging in a case of one-upmanship. “What happened next?”
“We decided not to tell my father. He was in charge of training us. Lynx and Shiloh too.”