Chapter 13 #2
She stretched her arms above her head, working out the kinks.
Her cabin was more spacious than she’d anticipated and over the last three days, she’d slowly made a mess of it.
It was her secret weakness—in her own space, she had a bad habit of tossing clothes and things wherever they landed.
On the Freedom, she forced herself to keep her cabin clean.
A captain couldn’t be a slob. In her little apartment on Raxus Station, where Patrol had their base in the Exodus quadrant, it often looked like a space storm had hit.
Snatching up the coffee she’d made from the small food printer in her cabin, she took a sip and immediately grimaced. It was stone cold.
During the last three days, she’d spent most of her time poring over the records and making notes. Most days, she and Justyn worked side by side in the empty cabin they’d commandeered as an office. In the evenings, she continued in her cabin.
And kept Admiral DeRuyter apprised of everything they were doing.
Nissa felt…dirty. She hated that she was lying to Justyn. He’d demanded her loyalty, and instead, she was spying for the admiral. She dropped her head into her hands. The guilt was eating at her like acid.
Her self-control wasn’t faring well, either. Justyn tried every day to coax her to join him for meals in the mess, but she was trying to keep her distance.
Having Justyn Phoenix so close, hour after hour, was slowly, painfully wearing her down. The man was always there, leaning over her shoulder, touching her arm, grinning at her, surrounding her with his delicious scent.
With a sigh, she stared at her notes again. She really didn’t want to climb into her bed and toss and turn, her head filled with Justyn.
She swiped the Sync to turn to the next page. She was reading an e-book history of the caravanserai and its many visitors. It was actually quite interesting reading.
The sentence she read suddenly hit her. She reread it, her heart starting to pound. She read it again.
Goddess. Nissa shot to her feet. Energy raced into her veins. She had to tell Justyn.
She swung out of her cabin door and jogged down the corridor. Justyn and his brothers had cabins on the next level up, separated from the main guest level.
When she reached his door, she was surprised to find it ajar. Without thinking, she pushed it open. She couldn’t wait to tell him what she’d found, even if she had to wake him up.
She stumbled to a halt. Her heart stopping.
He was awake.
He and the woman stood close together, her hand pressed against his bare chest. She was wearing…
not much. A small, silky scrap of a nightgown in a vibrant purple.
She was one of the female colonists who’d been flirting like mad with all three Phoenix brothers.
Justyn’s jeans were hanging low on his hips, the top button undone.
His hair was mussed and he had that “just got out of bed” look on his face.
Justyn’s head whipped around. His gaze crashed into Nissa’s.
She finally got her brain functioning around the pain roaring through her body. “Sorry…” She stumbled backward. “I…sorry.” She didn’t want to see the tableau anymore. Or see that woman touching him.
“Nissa! Wait! Shit.”
She hurried down the corridor. Goddess, it hurt. She had no claim on him. She shouldn’t feel like her insides were shredded.
A hand grabbed her arm and yanked her to a halt. “Nissa, I said wait.”
She hadn’t heard him. Either he could move damned quietly when it suited him or she was too messed up to be paying attention.
“Look, I’ll talk to you in the morning.” She tried to pull away, not looking at him, instead staring at the plush carpeted floor like it was the most interesting thing she’d seen.
“Dammit.” He tightened his grip and backed her up against the wall, caging her in. “Let me explain.”
Oh, no. Nissa didn’t want to hear any explanations or details. She steeled herself, looking over his shoulder. “You don’t have to. It’s not my business who you fuck.”
“I wasn’t fucking anyone,” he growled.
She flicked a glance at his face. It was smoldering with rage. Right, she’d interrupted. He wasn’t fucking the attractive woman in his cabin at one in the morning…yet. Goddess, she was so cut inside she was surprised she didn’t see blood running down her body. “Then I’ll let you get on with it.”
He leaned in closer, his bare chest pressing hard against her breasts. His fists were planted on the wall on either side of her head.
She felt her nipples harden and she sucked in a breath. “Let me go.”
“I can’t.” Another growl in her ear. His lips pressed to the side of her neck.
She cried out. His lips were hot, his tongue finding the sensitive space below her ear. Had he kissed that woman in the same place, made her writhe and light up inside? “Get off. Go back to your friend!” She pushed against him.
“She snuck into my cabin?—”
“I don’t want a blow-by-blow!” Nissa shoved again. “You fuck whoever the hell you want.”
He stilled, then thrust one hard thigh between hers. As hard muscle rasped between her legs, she made a strangled moan.
“What if I want to fuck you, Nissa?” Hot breath across her skin.
Nissa squirmed against Justyn’s body, making every nerve in his body flare to life.
“I won’t let you touch me after you were touching her?—”
“I never touched her.” He hadn’t touched a damn woman in so long because the only person he wanted skin-to-skin with him was Nissa. “She was looking for Dare’s cabin and got mine by mistake. He’s been fucking her the last two days.”
When Nissa stilled, Justyn pulled back. He watched a range of emotion flit across her face. Oh, his sweet captain felt something for him. If only she’d stop denying it to herself.
Driven to the edge, he took her mouth with his.
All thought was erased from his head. All that existed was the taste of her, her body straining against his, and the way she kissed him back.
It was as much a battle as a kiss. She took it all and demanded her own pleasure. Soon his arms were locked around her, sliding under her shirt, finding the smooth skin of her lower back.
With a moan, she clung to him, winding one long leg around his hip. He felt the damp heat of her through the soft trousers she wore. She pressed hard against his thigh, and he thrust it harder between her legs, until her other foot was off the ground.
She tore her mouth away, her head falling back against the wall. “Goddess.” Her voice was soaked with desire. She moved against his thigh, grinding hard against him.
“I want you so badly.” He pushed the words through his gritted teeth. Then he slid his hands down to cup her ass and move her against his leg.
Her breaths were coming in sharp pants, her yellow eyes glittering as she watched him. She was moving with him now, her lips parted.
His cock was hard and throbbing. He wanted nothing more than to rip her trousers off and sink inside her. But first, he wanted to watch her come. This time with no chemical involved. Just the two of them.
He kept one palm on her bottom, urging her to keep moving. With the other hand, he gripped her thigh, and pulled it tighter around his hip. It tilted her hips, driving her farther down his thigh, his erection digging into her.
Air hissed between her lips. “Yes.”
“So fucking sexy, Nissa.” Her movements against him were driving him insane, but he could feel her getting closer to orgasm. “Go over, baby.”
He slid his hands between them. He tunneled his fingers between her legs, feeling how wet the fabric of her trousers was. A few strokes and he found the spot he was looking for. One hard rub and she exploded against him.
“Justyn.” Her leg clenched on him, her hands clutching at his shoulders. He felt the sting of her nails drawing blood.
So damned beautiful. His own desire was an incessant pounding in his blood. He dropped his head, burying it in the crook of her neck. He pressed a kiss to the thundering pulse he found there. “Come back to my cabin.”
Her body had relaxed against him, but tiny shudders were still running through her. She opened her mouth?—
“Sorry to interrupt…”
Rynan’s voice broke through the haze. Justyn watched Nissa register the fact that they had company. She squeezed her eyes shut, then pushed at his chest.
With great reluctance, he pulled away from her, but he was damned pleased to see disappointment flash in her eyes.
“Ry…you’re lucky as hell you’re related to me,” Justyn muttered.
“Yeah, I get that.” The tiniest smile flirted around Rynan’s lips. “Alarm went off. Security breach in Nissa’s cabin.”
“What?” She pushed forward, all color leaching from her face.
“Come on.” Justyn grabbed her hand. “Let’s check it out.”
“All our notes…” Yellow eyes stared up at him. “Everything about the Constitution and the Nero is in there.”