Chapter 18
Miran
It was clear that Nova was thinking deeply about something. He’d tried to ask her several times as he walked her around the ship, but all she’d said was that it was nothing.
It wasn’t nothing. It was important because it was bothering her!
Something occurred to him. He stopped them in the middle of the corridor. “Are you upset that you’ve never been with anyone else?”
She blinked. “Huh?”
“I can tell that something we talked about in the exercise room is bothering you. It has to be that you’ve never been with anyone but me.” The more he thought about it, the more he was sure that had to be what was wrong.
He didn’t realize he was being loud until she drew back.
“You’re not making any sense.”
It was hard, but he reined in his worry and spoke in a more moderate voice. “You’re wondering if you might like someone better than me.”
A slow grin spread across her face. “Is that what I’m thinking?”
He was confident that he was right. “Yes, that has to be it,” he said.
How could he assure her that they were meant to be together? She had no reference to what intimacy could be like outside the two of them.
She gave him a sardonic grin. “How do we test your theory? Should I have sex with a couple of guys on the ship?”
“No!”
She laughed at his loud refusal. “It was your idea.”
“I didn’t suggest you do that,” he grumbled. It was an obvious conclusion to his comment, but that wasn’t an acceptable solution to her doubt.
Wait, she didn’t need to sleep with anyone else to know how special they were together. A simple kiss would make it clear.
“I know how to fix this,” he said. It wasn’t going to be easy, but it needed to be done so she could end any uncertainty about their relationship.
“Great,” she said with a chuckle and a roll of her eyes.
He tapped on his data bracelet until he found what we needed. Grabbing her hand, he led her down a corridor. “This way.”
“Are we going to the solution to my, um, problem?” she asked with another laugh as she took a few dancing steps behind him.
Soon they were in the staging area next to the tunnel leading to the Assist.
“Are we going over to see the kids?” she asked, sounding excited.
“Not right now,” he said, looking around the busy room. Everyone was so focused on their tasks that they weren’t noticed at first, but as they stood there, the warriors in the room stopped working and turned to stare at Nova.
“But they’re right there,” she said, keeping her eyes on the tunnel. “All we need to do is walk across the tunnel.”
By the time he spotted Lazil and Nerin, they were already moving toward him with questioning looks on their faces.
He used a hand gesture to tell the two men to follow him, then he turned and led Nova out of the room.
“Hey, that’s the wrong way,” she protested.
“I’ll ask if we can visit the children later,” he said as all of them moved to an empty area next door.
“Saris said the same thing,” she grumbled. “Are you guys allowed to take a shit without permission?”
He ignored her sass. He was preparing himself for the unpleasant task he had to do.
“Did Nova try to run again?” Lazil asked the moment they were gathered in a circle in the empty room.
“How are you doing, Nova?” Nerin asked. “You look very nice.”
She gave Nerin a broad smile, blatantly ignoring Lazil. “Except for being confused, I’m fine.” She ran her hand over the front of her tunic. “Isn’t this pretty? I have so many more back in Miran’s room.”
“I’m sure that’s only the beginning of your wardrobe,” Nerin said with a happy expression. “It’s good to see you smiling.”
“Why do you need us?” Lazil asked Miran. “Is there a special assignment?"
“In a manner of speaking,” Miran said. “I want both of you to kiss Nova.”
His teammates reacted as he expected. Lazil looked intrigued, and Nerin took a step back with a frown.
Nova spoke first. “Oh, this is your plan. I’m going to kiss these guys so I know you’re better?” Her voice was highly amused. “Shouldn’t there be a few more men? Two doesn't seem like much.”
Shouldn’t she be a little more resistant? Not that he wanted her to say no, but she should at least give a token protest.
“I trust Nerin and Lazil,” he said, not letting go when she tried to pull her hand free of his. “I don’t know if I could trust anyone else on this ship.”
“Why are you doing this?” Nerin asked. “Is this some strange test of Nova’s loyalty? Do you need to talk to a mind mender?”
Lazil didn’t say anything, his gaze focused on Nova’s neck. There still weren’t any mating marks, but it had only been a few days. Miran was sure they’d appear, it was only a matter of time.
Nothing else was possible.
“I’m the only male Nova has ever been with,” Miran said. “She doesn’t have a point of reference for her feelings for me. After she’s kissed the two of you, she’ll be able to judge our relationship better.”
Lazil moved his eyes from Nova’s neck to meet Miran’s gaze with a smirk. “Are you sure you want to do this? I’m not sure she’ll want you after only a single kiss from me.”
He knew Lazil was joking, but it was hard to keep his temper in check. He might trust both of these men, but that didn’t mean he liked this situation. It was too bad this was the only answer he could think of to Nova’s inexperience.
“No, I won’t do this,” Nerin said. He met Nova’s eyes. “You saved my life after I was bitten by the sand spider. You could’ve stayed hidden, but you didn’t. I won’t thank you by doing this act of betrayal.”
“This isn’t an act of betrayal," Miran said, confused by Nerin’s words. “I’m asking you to do it.”
Nova let out an annoyed huff. “He’s talking about betraying me, not you.”
Shame made Miran duck his head. “I’m sorry, Nerin. I wasn’t thinking.”
“That’s the truth,” Nova said. “Can we go see the kids now?”
Miran turned his attention to his other team member. “Lazil?”
“Only if she’s willing,” Lazil said.
“Of course,” Miran said.
Nova pulled hard enough to get her hand free of his. “Miran! You can’t agree for me. I’m free, remember? Or at least that’s what you keep telling me. If you don’t own me, then I get to say no.”
Miran turned to face her. “Don’t you want to be sure that we belong together?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were sure.”
“I have no doubts, but I’m scared that your doubt will keep your mating marks from appearing.” It wasn’t until the words left his mouth that he realized this was as much about him as it was about Nova.
Logically, he was well aware that it could take up to a month for mating marks to appear, but every day they spent together without the red pattern forming had caused him more fear.
If they weren’t a match, and Nova left him, he’d be devastated. He might join his father’s ghost in the Hissa jungle.
Nova’s expression turned gentle. “I like being with you. We’re having a good time. I don’t have any interest in anyone else.”
He was very aware that she hadn’t used the word love. His earlier worry turned to fear.
“What if you kiss someone and like that person more than me?” he whispered.
“You’re really obsessed with this,” she said with a grimace.
His jaw was so tense it was hard to speak. “I’d rather know now than wait.”
Nova threw her arms up. “Fine!” She stomped over to Lazil and glared at the warrior. “Keep your hands to yourself, got it?”
He nodded once, slowly, his expression no longer mocking or smirking. He looked as serious as when he’d been prepared to go to war with the Diniki.
“I’m here to help Miran, not take advantage of you.”
“Yeah, right,” she griped. “Bend over.”
Instead of bending at the waist, Lazil sank to his knees and put his hands behind his back. She shifted in place a few times, mumbling something to herself, and rubbed the back of her neck with one hand.
Her body was nothing but tension and agitated movement. His doubt was causing this. He opened his mouth to put a stop to it when Nova suddenly leaned over and pressed her lips to Lazil’s.
Lazil remained perfectly still, only opening his mouth so she could deepen the kiss if she wanted to.
Rage swept through Miran, making him want to roar and charge Lazil.
It was only Nerin’s quick thinking that kept him from doing something irredeemable. Nerin tackled him, sending them both to the floor with a crash.
His strong emotions made him clumsy and slow, so Nerin was able to quickly subdue him with a simple joint lock.
Nova’s face appeared in his field of vision, frowning with concern. “What happened?”
Seeing her calmed him immediately. As the rage drained away, shame filled him.
“I think Miran tripped,” Lazil said from somewhere beyond Nova. “There’s an uneven spot on the floor from where an overloaded droid dropped some full crates.”
Nerin let go of the hold keeping Miran trapped on the floor. “I tried to keep him from falling but ended up only sending us both to the ground.”
Nova grinned. “If you’d learned to flip, you wouldn’t have ended up on the floor.”
Nerin got up and turned to help him stand, but he was already rushing to his feet.
Lazil was still kneeling on the floor, but he’d sat back on his heels and was resting his hands on his thighs. His expression was carefully blank, but he couldn’t hide the painful longing.
Not only had he pressed Nova to do something she didn’t want to, but he’d tortured his teammate and friend.
“I’m sorry,” he said. Lazil gave him one jerky nod, then jumped to his feet and left the room without a word. He could only hope he hadn’t ruined their friendship.
Nerin let out a long sigh, then gave Miran a warning look. “This better be the end to your foolishness.”
“It’s not like anyone plans to trip,” Nova said, unaware of the subtext going on.
“Yes, you’re correct,” Nerin said, giving her a tight smile. “But it helps to keep your attention on where you’re going instead of where you’ve been.”
She frowned at that. “I hate it when you guys do that.”
“Do what?” Miran asked as Nerin left as well.
“Talk in code,” she answered. “All three of you will say things that don’t sound important but then you give each other significant looks.”
“I’ll try to be better,” he said. “Nerin’s words meant that I wasn’t paying attention to what was important.”
She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
He knew what she wanted to hear, and he didn’t hesitate to say it. “You were right. This was a dumb idea.”
A huge, triumphant grin stretched across her face. “Say it again.”
“You were right.”
She stepped closer. “Again.”
“You were right.”
She let out a lusty sigh. “That’s so sexy.” Going up on her toes, she reached up to cup his cheek. Her grin disappeared, replaced with resignation. “And maybe it wasn’t entirely a bad idea. I learned something."
It was hard, but he kept himself still. This was entirely his fault, and he deserved whatever revelation Nova had from kissing Lazil.
“What did you learn?” Although the words came out as a growl, Nova didn’t flinch.
“He didn’t taste bad,” she said.
He couldn’t speak. Nausea rose in his belly, threatening to choke him.
“But he didn’t taste good either,” she continued. “It was like kissing the wall of a cleansing unit while taking a shower. Warm and wet but not enticing.”
Her description was so unexpected that it took him a moment to process her words. “A wall?”
“Yeah, but don’t tell Lazil that. I don’t want to hurt his feelings,” she said. “He didn’t smell good either. Not like you. Actually, none of the other Hissa smell as good as you.”
All his doubt disappeared. Nova moved her hand from his cheek to the back of his neck and pulled his face to hers.
“You are special to me, but not because you were my first,” she whispered, her lips almost touching his. “You are special, and that’s why you were my first.”
All the doubt and worry that she’d leave him without the marks on her neck disappeared. Their lips met, and she opened her lips to him.
There was no hint of Lazil on her lips. It was all intoxicatingly her. If he could’ve been sure of their privacy, he would’ve put her on the floor, stripped off her pants, and pressed his face to her core.
It was only the sound of footsteps intruding on their moment of intimacy that made him end the kiss.
“Someone’s here,” he whispered.
“I know,” she said. “We can say hi, then go back to your room.”
“Our room,” he corrected. “Like the money I gave you, everything I have is yours too.”
“Same,” she said with a giggle. “You can have half of my old circus costume.”
He chuckled at the same time a voice called out from the open door.
“Nova? Miran?”
Tangling his fingers with Nova’s, he turned them to face the newcomer.
“Is that you, Qusin?” Miran asked, surprised to see the man.
“Yeah,” he said, stepping further into the room. “Palir said you two were in here. Several of the children have been asking about Nova, and one of them keeps getting out of her bed.” He focused his gaze on Nova. “Mender Jonur asked me to get you. Are you busy?”
Nova’s expression brightened. “No, I’m not busy. I can go there right now!”
Her excitement at seeing the children made him think that maybe he’d misjudged all her deep thinking. What if she was simply worried about the little ones?
He groaned at his stupidity.
“Are you ill?” Nova asked.
“No,” he said.
She frowned. “Are you sure?”
He grunted. “I’m sure.”
Her gaze dropped to the bulge in his pants, then back up to his eyes. Her grin was unrepentant. “Sorry about that.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry about him. He deserves to suffer. Let’s go visit the children.”
“This way,” Qusin said with a grin, then turned and led them out of the room.
Nova danced next to him as they walked down the tunnel toward the faint sounds of children's voices at the other end.