Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“Your turn,” Preston said. “Who do you want to spar with?”
I shrugged. “That’s up to you.”
He beamed. “Wonderful, then you get to fight me. I wasn’t able to witness any of your feats and I’d like to see what you are capable of.”
“Don’t go easy on him,” Zeke said from his spot sitting on the floor.
Wayne and he had decided on a draw instead of continuing their fight once they’d started bleeding. They said that they hated trying to get their bloodstains out of the pads.
With a nod to Zeke, I walked out to the middle of the room and took a ready stance.
Preston stood before me and raised his hands up to his face. “Ready when you are.”
“Sixty percent,” I whispered.
Scout chirped an acknowledgement.
Preston scowled. “Using your toy is not allowed.”
“I’m not using it,” I told him. “I’m providing notes for the recording.”
“Recording?” he asked.
I nodded. “I record all of my fights to analyze later. To see what I could improve and to learn my opponents’ moves should I fight them again later.”
He smirked. “You may record whatever you want of our time together, pet.”
My cheeks warmed and I dropped down, attempting to sweep his legs out from under him.
He stepped back and aimed a punch at my face.
I rolled away, but he followed my movements easily. With a jump, I got back to my feet and faced him again.
“You move pretty well,” Preston said.
I smirked. “So do you.”
He charged me, trying to grab me, but I had expected it. Most men tried to wrap me up, to hold me with their greater strength.
I dropped and rolled between his legs, coming up behind him. He turned, but I jumped and wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck at the same time.
However, since he turned faster than I had anticipated, I ended up wrapped around his front instead of back, making the hold much different.
Eye to eye, he smiled and then dropped to the ground and pinned me beneath his body. He put his face next to mine, pinned my hands down by my sides, and used his legs to hold mine.
I squirmed and tried to break free, but he was heavier and I couldn’t get out. His warm body pinning me to the ground was making me think nefarious thoughts and all I wanted to do was give into the heady lust filling my brain and body.
“Ugh, you’re so heavy,” I grunted, trying to keep focused on the task at hand.
He chuckled. “What are you going to do? How are you going to get free?”
My options were super limited. Instead of trying to fight him, I gave in just a tiny bit to my lust.
I turned and kissed his cheek.
He lifted up, freeing me, his eyes wide, and I took the moment of opportunity to grab his wrist, raise my legs, and flip over, putting him in an armbar.
He tapped the mat. “I give.”
I stood and smoothed down my clothes. “That’s how I’m going to get free.”
“That’s only going to work on a few people,” Wayne said. “And only once.”
With a shrug, I walked by them all and put my shoes on. “It worked, didn’t it?”
Before they could say anything else, I went into the elevator and rushed to my room. I needed a cold shower. Fast.
I made it to my room and stripped out of my sweaty clothes before one of them interrupted me by knocking.
With a sigh, I wrapped a towel around myself and opened my door.
Preston’s eyes dropped to the towel for a moment before raising back to my face. “Are you injured?”
I scowled. “No. Why would you think I was injured?”
He stepped into my room and picked up my clothes. “You ran off quickly. I thought you were trying to hide an injury.” He sniffed my clothes.
“What are you doing?” I demanded and felt my cheeks heat.
“Checking for blood,” he said, dropped the clothes to the floor, and turned to face me. His grey eyes were soft, almost calm, and having them solely focused on me was like being in a ray of sunshine on an otherwise shadowed planet. “You aren’t injured?” he asked, his voice soft, but insistent.
Just my pride.
“No, I’m not injured,” I said. “I swear.”
He stepped closer to me. “You’re the first woman who has bested me.”
I smirked. “Good to know.”
His eyes dropped back to my chest and he scowled. “I didn’t realize you wore a necklace.”
“Yes, I always wear it,” I said. “My mother gave it to me the last time I saw her.” Thankfully, the locket was hidden beneath my towel, nestled between my breasts so he couldn’t see the design.
“May I see it?” he asked.
I stepped back and shook my head. “No. Sorry … I can’t show anyone.”
His scowl deepened. “Why not?”
“Did you really just come here to ask me if I was injured?” I pulled my towel up higher to completely cover my cleavage and the necklace hidden there. I didn’t believe he would kill me if he saw it, but it was a lot harder to run away on a ship flying through space than if we were on a planet.
His eyes raised back to mine and he nodded. “Yes, I just wanted to see if you were injured and if you were, tend to the wound I had created. I do not enjoy hurting women.”
I smiled. “Thank you for your concern, Preston. I am fine. I just came to shower.”
He nodded again and headed towards the door. “Good.”
“Preston?”
He paused and turned, his hand on the panel to open the door. “Yes?”
“You mustn’t say my true name when you’re on Exostalon either, okay? If you have to say you were traveling with a woman, call me Diamond. Okay?”
He nodded and left.
That cold shower was in even higher demand now.
Should I hide the necklace? Now that he knew I had it, he would become more curious. I could find a place on the ship that they wouldn’t look to hide it.
Not wearing it made me feel vulnerable for some reason, though.
Plus, I had no idea if they had some type of security system that would tell them where I hid it or at least where I traveled to.
Having them find it would be even worse than them trying to get me to remove it or show them.
Decisions like this sucked a lot. I hated making them.
This was a huge reason I’d been solo for so long.
Yet, just being on the ship with the four of them made me feel so many emotions I’d long thought were dead in me.
After a long shower, I dressed and went on my exploration of the ship. Scout provided me the schematics and I went into every room, including their storage room.
There was one room I couldn’t go into, though. One that was not labeled on the schematics or on the door. It was locked and even Scout couldn’t get into it.
My only option to get in was to break in, but I didn’t want to do that. I would just ask them about it and see what they said.
Once I’d explored everything, I went back to the coolest rooms to give them a more thorough examination.
The one I liked the most was their flora room. It had large neon-colored plants and was incredibly warm. There was a circular table in the middle of the room. I couldn’t figure out what it was for, but used it as a chair, sitting in the center of it.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. It smelled so … clean.
“Ah, I see you’ve found our jungle room,” Wayne said.
“Jungle?” I asked, eyes still closed.
For such a quiet male, I could still sense him and his location. He moved closer to me, weaving through the plants.
“It’s a place with lots of plants like these and a ton of wildlife,” he explained. “We have them on our planet.”
“It’s peaceful,” I whispered. “And beautiful.”
“You are beautiful,” he whispered back from very close to me.
I opened my eyes and smiled at him. He stood just a few feet away from the table, staring at me.
“Thank you. You’re very attractive, too.”
He shrugged. “Attractiveness is based on symmetry and I have a very symmetrical face.”
I laughed so hard I had to clutch my stomach.
“Why are you laughing?” he asked.
“You don’t take compliments very well, do you?”
He shook his head. “No. I’m not sure how to deal with them.”
“Obviously,” I said and wiped my eyes. “So, do you come here often?”
He nodded. “I like to nap in here.”
“Is this table where you sleep?” I asked. It was just a wooden table, so I couldn’t imagine it was comfortable to nap on.
He frowned. “What? No. That’s just a table we use for tools and supplies when we’re tending the plants.”
“Where do you sleep then?” I asked.
He pointed up.
I tilted my head back and my mouth dropped open. There were hammocks suspended from the ceiling. “Oh.”
They were so high, though. Could they really jump that high?
“Want to try it out?” he asked.
Lowering my head to look back at him, I nodded. “Yes. Yes, I would.”
He scooped me up off the table with a single arm beneath my butt, his wings popped out of his back, and he flew up to the ceiling and on one of the hammocks. It swayed gently, but he kept his hold on me as he sat in it.
“Um, are we going to share one?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Sorry, didn’t really think about it.” Carefully, he turned and set me in the hammock he’d sat in, flapping his wings to keep aloft, and then flew to the hammock across from mine.
We laid down and I immediately closed my eyes. I could definitely get used to this.
“I could build you a hammock that hangs lower,” he commented after several silent moments.
“I don’t want to trouble you,” I said and rolled my head to the side to look at him.
He shrugged. “We’ll be flying for another two weeks before we reach Exostalon. I’ve got time to kill.”
“I’d love a hammock in here,” I said, my body fully relaxed. “That would be nice.”
“If you’re going to stay in here when I’m here, you’ll have to follow some rules, though,” he said softly.
“Rules?” I asked.
“Only one. If I’m napping, you can’t talk,” he said.
I chuckled. “Okay. Deal. Starting now.”
He adjusted his position in his hammock and then we were both quiet.
It wasn’t until he shook me that I woke.
“What?” I asked and rubbed my eyes. That nap had been amazing.
“I need to use the restroom and didn’t want to leave you up here, stranded,” he said.
“Okay,” I said and sat up.
He wrapped his arms under my shoulders and pulled me from the hammock, making it spin around as my legs dangled in front of his.
His ability to hover so steadily was really impressive. I envied his wings.