Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Britta
“ W hat do you mean, the Taori is your new teacher?”
I leaned across the long wooden dining table and shushed Jess before she made the entire cadet dining room stare at us. Luckily, the Drexians were too preoccupied with eating vast quantities of the savory— and often spicy—alien food and trading loud war stories from the morning’s classes to hear one human voice over the din.
“Sorry.” Jess glanced around, before bending low over the table to close the distance between us. “Did you know that Zav would be teaching an engineering class?”
“No, I didn’t know.” Even recounting the story of discovering that my crush was now my teacher made my cheeks heat. “It makes sense that he would teach advanced engineering, since the Taori have technology that not even the Drexians have discovered, but a warning would have been nice.”
“A warning about what?” Morgan sat on the bench next to me and slid her plate of steaming Drexian stew onto the table, along with a bowl of hot rolls.
I inhaled the rich aroma, and my stomach growled. I shouldn’t have skipped breakfast.
“Guess who her new teacher is?” Jess teased, her eyes sparkling with both amusement and mischief. Before Morgan could hazard a guess, Jess slapped a hand on the table. “It’s Zav, the hot Taori she wants to—”
“Fuck me!” Morgan sat back, her eyes going wide. “He’s teaching here now?”
I cringed, hoping the Drexian cadets were still too caught up with eating to pay attention to our conversation. “Yep. I don’t know how many classes, but at least the advanced class I was in this morning.”
“I can’t believe he’s your teacher.” Morgan shook her head and stirred her stew to release more steam. “How strange was that, to go from being his liaison to the Irons to being his student?”
“Pretty weird.” I plucked one of the rolls that Morgan had brought for the table. “But also, kind of normal, since we’ve been talking about engineering issues and tech since he arrived.”
Jess nodded. “I guess it would be stranger if you’d made a move on him.”
“Or if they were banging,” Morgan said.
I fought the urge to kick them both under the table. “No one is banging anyone.”
A smile curled Jess’s lips. “Speak for yourself.”
I groaned. “But Torq isn’t a teacher. There’s no conflict of interest.”
“True.” Jess snagged a roll and tore it in half. “So, what does this mean for you and Zav?”
“There is no ‘me and Zav.’” I took a bite of the soft Drexian roll and remembered that I could happily make a meal from their bread alone. “I’m still his liaison to the Irons, and I’m working with him on a holochamber simulation for Kann.”
“Kann.” Jess sighed. “Now there’s another one I wouldn’t mind—”
“Fucking hell, Jess.” Morgan shook her head. “Leave some for the rest of us.”
Jess laughed. The brainy brunette had come out of her shell since getting together with Torq. I hadn’t been a fan of the cocky cadet at first, but I loved seeing Jess confident and comfortable in her own skin.
I pointed at Jess and then Morgan. “Do I have to remind you both that Lieutenant Kann is also an instructor?”
Jess frowned. “And we’re sure hook-ups between teachers and students are forbidden?” She held up her hands palms out. “Just asking for a few friends.”
I laughed. “I’m pretty sure. Besides, Kann and I are friends.”
Morgan took a bite of her stew and swallowed. “And he isn’t my type.”
Jess and I both swiveled our heads to her.
“He isn’t?” Jess blinked rapidly as if she hadn’t heard correctly. “You mean a tall, dark, hot, bad boy isn’t your type?”
That was a pretty accurate description of Kann, with his perpetual five o’clock shadow, his longer-than-regulation dark hair, and his uniform that was never buttoned up.
Morgan shrugged. “I’m not saying he isn’t all of those things, but he’s too much a player for me.”
Jess made a small, dismissive gesture. “That’s true. From the stories Torq’s told me, he doesn’t seem to be the settling-down type.”
Morgan lifted a brow at Jess and waited.
“Okay, okay.” Jess released a breath. “He’s a fuck boy.”
“Total fuck boy,” Morgan said. “Not that I don’t love the guy. He was a great sparring instructor, and it’s been fun getting to know him during the break as more of an equal.”
“Agreed.” Jess slid forward to let an exceptionally bulky Drexian pass behind her. “He’s been great as we’ve worked together on a plan to rescue Sasha. I would absolutely trust him with my life in a fight, but just maybe not in matters of the heart—or the bed.”
I knew Kann’s reputation. It was one of the reasons I’d taken him up on his offer to teach me how to flirt with Zav. If anyone knew how to flirt, it was him. At least, according to the stories of his time in Inferno Force. But I also knew there was much more to Kann than his reputation with females.
“We’re talking about matters of the heart and bed?”
I looked up to find Fiona at the end of our table with Ariana sliding up to stand next to her. The two instructors had their own staff dining room, so I knew they weren’t there to eat.
Ariana flicked her fingers through her short hair. “Anyone we know?”
Fiona held up a hand. “Do we want to know?”
Morgan shook her head. “Definitely not.”
“How did classes go, professors?” Jess asked.
Fiona’s wavy, blonde hair was pulled back and tied at the nape of her neck, which meant she was trying to look tough. Not that she wasn’t tough. I might not be in the School of Strategy, but I knew better than to underestimate the captain.
Ariana glanced at Fiona. “Some promising female cadets.”
“And plenty of cocky Drexian ones,” Fiona added in a lowered voice.
Ariana held up a finger. “Not that there aren’t cocky humans.”
“So true.” Fiona laughed and flitted a gaze at the cadets around us. “Basically, all the males are overconfident. Nothing new.”
“But you braved the cocky cadets to find us here,” I said, eyeing the women.
Ariana grinned at me. “We wanted to tell you about the game tonight.”
Morgan straightened. “A card game? I thought those were over now that the new term started.”
Fiona shook her head, and a curl came loose and fell across her forehead. “Not when I’m so close to beating Vyk.”
Ariana patted her friend on the back. “Are you close?”
The competition between Fiona and Vyk was ferocious, despite them being a couple. And as good a card player as Fiona was, Vyk was many times better, especially when it came to Drexian cards.
“If the game is still on, then I’ll be there,” Morgan said. “Who else is coming?”
Fiona held up a hand and started ticking off names. “Me, Ariana, Volt, Kann, Vyk, Tivek, you all. The usual gang.”
Morgan’s smile widened. “Count me in.”
I was relieved I hadn’t heard Zav’s name in the list. I would be glad for a break from the Taori and my conflicted feelings about him. But I was glad Kann would be there. I needed to tell him our deal was off.