Chapter 2 #2
He’d tried to tell himself about a thousand times—she was a rival, she was dangerous.
Hell, she’d tried to kill him and his brothers numerous times.
He frowned. He knew her well enough now to know that if she really wanted him dead, he’d be dead.
He let his eyes close. He was so wrong in the head when it came to this woman.
The blade was back at his throat. A slight prick. His frown deepened. No, it wasn’t a knife—it was her nails.
“I want to know, Niklas,” she said silkily.
His cock jumped and he cursed mentally. Why her? Why couldn’t he be attracted to some easy, comfortable woman? He liked them smart, sure, and Nera was definitely that, but someone like Avril Luma-Smythe would have been a far better choice. A safer choice.
Nera’s nails dug deeper. “Don’t force me to hurt you.”
Instead, he wanted this dangerous, untouchable, and complicated woman. God, he even liked it when she hurt him. “We both know you won’t do any real damage.”
“Are you sure?” her voice was a near purr.
No, he wasn’t sure about anything when it came to her.
She was an enigma. And if there was one thing Niklas loved, it was a puzzle that needed solving.
It was why he’d become an astro-archeologist. He’d wasted hour after hour researching her.
Trying to find where she’d come from, her past, where she lived. Anything.
Instead, he’d found nothing.
“You aren’t the bitch you let the galaxy think you are.”
She didn’t make a sound, but suddenly, she was off him and he was yanked up off the bed.
Shit. Nik stumbled and spun. A fist slammed into his stomach and he grunted. He grabbed for her, but she was quick and all he felt was air.
A kick landed on his side and this time he growled. She wanted to prove she was a badass, fine. But he wasn’t going to let her beat him up.
On her next kick, he grabbed her foot and twisted. She leaped with incredible grace, spun, and got free of his hold. She moved again, and in the darkened room and with her armor, he lost sight of her.
He turned in a circle, tensed, ready for anything.
A weight hit him on the back. He stumbled forward, and long, slim legs wrapped around him. Tight. Damn, she was strong. He gripped her thighs, trying to pry her off, but she was all muscle.
Hot breath on his ear. “You move surprisingly well for an astro-archeologist.” As she spoke, her lips brushed his ear.
His cock was so hard it was heading toward painful. He dragged in a breath, trying not to let her muddle his head. All he wore was a pair of dark sleep shorts. If she looked, she’d hardly miss his body’s reaction to her.
“You don’t have the body of an academic, either.” She reached around, and dragged her nails across his bare chest.
“I’m a treasure hunter.” He’d left the tatters of his career behind. It had almost killed him to do it, to leave the thing he’d loved most. The thing that had given him a lifeline out of the shithole of his childhood. But he’d had no other option.
He didn’t regret it. He loved working with his brothers. He liked the life they’d made for themselves.
She twisted, and he lost his balance. He landed face-first, Nera riding him to the ground. With one hand on his neck and a knee in the small of his back, she kept him down. She always bested him. He wondered why that didn’t bother him more.
Her mouth was back at his ear. “I like that about you, Niklas. What you show the world isn’t who you really are.”
He pondered her words, wondered why he sensed a deeper meaning to them.
Then sharp teeth nipped at his ear. The shock of her mouth on him made him jerk and swallow a groan.
Any touch she offered him, whether it was a stolen dance on a space station, being tied to a chair on a desert moon, or the sharp bite of her teeth, he drank it all in. Nera Darc was his addiction, and he’d long ago realized he’d take whatever she gave him.
But it was time for him to admit he wanted more. Even though he knew deep inside, the slightest wrong move from him and she’d run. Or kill him.
“What did they want?” she asked again.
It took a second for him to process what she was talking about. The Institute, right. He sighed. “They’re mounting an expedition to Earth.”
He felt her still. “And?”
“They know it won’t be a neat and tidy dig. They decided to hire treasure hunters to help.”
“So, you’re going to Earth?”
“No. I turned them down.”
Silence. “Did they tell you they’d let you see the Hawass Documents?”
Nik’s chest tightened. “No.” He’d sell one of his brothers for the chance to see the Hawass Documents. Maybe.
They were a collection of records of famous Terran books and documents that a historian on Earth had collected. The historian had clearly seen that the war was not going to end and spent several years collecting everything of historical significance he could before he’d left Earth.
“It’s a pity you aren’t coming, then.” Her weight lifted off him.
Nik spun and sat up. He tried to see her face, but all he got was a flash of creamy skin in the darkness. “You? They asked you to go?”
“They hired me to go.”
“They came to you?” he asked incredulously.
She straightened. “They wanted the best. And I want the chance to uncover the rarest old Earth treasures.” Her helmet slid back into place.
“It was nice catching up, Niklas. Remember, I haven’t forgotten you owe me a few favors.
I helped rescue Dathan on Beta7. I helped Zayn and Ria infiltrate the Tekton hideout.
And I helped your cousin and her cyborg get onto that rogue planet. ”
Yeah. Nik remembered. Each debt was burned on his brain. Along with the fact she had yet to call them in. He was still trying to work out why the Institute would hire her, the least trustworthy and deadliest of the treasure hunters in the galaxy.
He liked it even less that she would be in the middle of an Institute expedition. Nera could be cunning, but the Institute could not be trusted.
“Sleep well, Niklas. And thanks.”
And like that, she was gone.
He knew her armor had spectrum camouflage built in, rendering her invisible at the flick of a button. How she got on and off a starship traveling at interstellar speed—an impossible feat—was another mystery he had yet to solve.
Then he tensed. What had she just thanked him for?
He swiveled and strode to his desk. He tapped the mirror and a backlit display appeared in the shiny surface. He quickly pressed his palm to it and waited impatiently for it to read his bioprint.
The door opened with a hiss.
The safe was empty.
The Incan idol was gone.
He thrust his hands on his hips and looked at the ceiling. Dathan was going to lose his mind. Not only about the idol, but also about the fact that Niklas was now going to join the expedition to Earth.