Chapter 3
“Captain, a word?”Varik’s seductive voice echoed up the tubular hallway that connected the bridge to the rest of the ship.
Auvi swiveled his upper torso to face his former lover. The male was still as captivating as the first moment Auvi had seen him. Tall, lean, pale blue skin, eyes and hair so dark Auvi would’ve sworn they were black instead of the deepest shade of green. But his aching, racing-heart reaction to the Chalcanthian male had been replaced with the sick, swirling bile of betrayal. The only reason he kept him on the crew was there was no better engineer to be had in the galaxy.
No that was a lie.
In truth, he couldn’t quite give up his attachment to the love of his life. Even if the male’s presence made Auvi murderous, sending Varik away would be unrecoverable. He was the only being who’d ever tied Auvi’s tentacles in knots.
Auvi sighed, longing for a future that didn’t exist. “Make it quick. I’m meeting Cyra.”
“We need to talk about her and her place on this ship.” Varik closed the distance between them.
Auvi resisted the urges to step back or to clutch the male to his chest, both of which warred within him. “Why would her role on my ship be any of your business?”
“There was a time you trusted my opinion.” Varik’s voice took on a coaxing quality and Auvi shifted away.
“I think we both know why that ship sailed.”
“You got it all wrong.” Varik shook his head. “But I’m not here to talk about us.”
Another lie. Auvi glanced down the hall, longing for the privacy of his quarters.
“What do you really know about this girl? A vagabond you picked up because of some sob story. And now, she’s like your first mate, in all the senses of the word.”
So Varik believed Cyra was Auvi’s lover? That explained some of his angst and gave Auvi a perverse pleasure.
“In a short time she’s gone from being an underfoot intern who could barely run a coms unit to launch assistant?” Varik crossed his arms. “What’s next? Engineering?”
Auvi would never put Cyra under Varik’s authority. “I’m the captain. I place people where they are best suited.” Except, Varik was best suited to be shot out an airlock, but Auvi couldn’t bring himself to murder the treasonous bastard. Or even kick him off The Treasure at the next port as he should have done when he’d first discovered Varik’s double-crossing plans. If only he knew why, but even if he asked, Varik would lie. Their conversation had dragged on too long.
“I know what I did was wrong. But it was one lapse. I’ve been loyal to you for years. I’m still loyal.” Varik grazed his fingers down one of Auvi’s tentacles. “You have to miss us as much as I do.”
Auvi shuddered internally. His former lover’s touch still ignited him, but the involuntary reaction disgusted him. There was no future with the betrayer.
“I’m going to prove myself to you again, get back what we had. And if it exposes that female for the fraud she is at the same time, so be it.”
“Anything else? I’m late.” Auvi made his tone purposely cold. Varik could turn any argument. His power of persuasion is what kept them together far longer than Auvi should have allowed. The signs had been there all along.
Silently, Auvi resumed his trek down the corridor. The prospect of searching for a new engineer daunted him, but he could no longer avoid the task. Varik had obviously decided Cyra was the only reason they weren’t back together. Auvi blamed himself for that. By perpetuating the deception, he’d put Cyra in danger.
“I will get you back,” Varik called out behind him.
Not a chance.
The temptation to go to the wet room was strong, but Cyra was likely there and preferred her privacy. He’d gone earlier that cycle in preparation for the ER bridge crossing. Traveling the wormhole while dehydrated was an experience he preferred to never repeat. He returned to his cabin, locked the door, and after taking care of some urgent correspondence, checked the listings for engineers looking for work. Perhaps he could pick up a new hire on Cassan station to complete the delivery leg of this transport.
A yellow light flashed, and an announcement that the ER Bridge crossing was one galactic hour away echoed through the ship.
There—that listing looked promising. A female. Exceptional training. Former captain of her own ship. There was a story there. Auvi would like to hear it. He typed a quick message to send after the crossing. A scratching sound dragged his attention from the video screen. Odd.
Scritch. Scritch scritch.
Of all the noises the ship made, he’d never heard that before.
Auvi stood, scanning his room. The noise came from above.
He shifted his gaze, catching movement as the creature dropped.
Eight pointed legs dug into his soft head.