Chapter 16
Aano
I leaned against the sleek wall of the Nova's common area, watching Leah strut around like she'd single-handedly saved the galaxy.
Fresh from our narrow escape from Arec, her cheeks flushed pink against her porcelain skin, blue eyes bright with adrenaline as she recounted her version of events.
Something warm and possessive unfurled in my chest—not just desire, though there was plenty of that watching her gesticulate wildly with her perfect ass pressed against the navigation console.
No, this was something deeper, more dangerous than lust. I bit my lip to keep from grinning too hard.
Our little princess had teeth, and fuck if I didn't love watching her bite.
"Five!" Leah held up her hand, fingers splayed. "I took down five of those Ducal assholes while you two—" she pointed accusingly at Yahn and me, "—managed what? One each? Maybe one and a half?"
The Nova hummed around us, sleek and secure as we pushed deeper into space, putting distance between us and the Arec station.
Through the panoramic windows, stars streaked by in blurred lines of light.
Safe, at least for now. The luxury shuttle's pristine white interior seemed to amplify Leah's vibrant presence—her curls bouncing with each emphatic gesture, her designer clothes somehow still immaculate despite the brawl we'd escaped.
"I mean, I'm practically a ninja at this point," she continued, miming a karate chop that shouldn't have been as endearing as it was.
I exchanged a glance with Yahn, whose copper eyes reflected both amusement and concern. His tail twitched, sliding slowly up my calf, then wrapping around. A subtle gesture of affection made more meaningful by his normal reticence.
"You did knock them down," I conceded, pushing off from the wall to approach her. "Because Yahn and I were perfect decoys."
Leah waved dismissively. "Details. I still landed the final blow."
I stopped just short of touching her, close enough to catch her scent—expensive perfume mixed with sweat and adrenaline. Heady. Intoxicating. "You're too fucking cute when you get all fired up, princess."
The nickname made her eyes narrow, but the flush spreading down her neck told me she wasn't really annoyed. "I'm not cute. I'm dangerous."
"Dangerously cute," I teased, reaching out to tuck a wild curl behind her ear. The simple touch sent electricity through my fingertips. Fuck, I was in deep.
Yahn cleared his throat, his tall frame unfolding from where he'd been leaning. "What you are is reckless," he said, his voice low and controlled. "Those weren't ordinary thugs, Leah. The Ducal Syndicate trains their enforcers to kill."
"Well, they did a shitty job of it today," she shot back, but some of the bravado drained from her posture.
Yahn moved closer, his steps silent despite his size. I watched his tail curl toward her—an unconscious gesture of protection I wasn't sure he realized he was making. "You could have been hurt. Or worse."
"If you're so worried about me," Leah said, her arms crossing over her chest, "maybe you shouldn't have dragged me into this mess in the first place."
The tension in the room thickened. I stepped between them, a habit I was developing. "Hey, no one dragged you anywhere, princess. As I recall, you volunteered your shuttle and your—" I let my gaze drop to her lips, "—other services rather enthusiastically."
Her mouth quirked up at one corner, the beginning of the smile that always made my cock twitch. "That was before I knew we'd be dodging Ducal hitmen and making rescue runs to hostile planets."
"We needed a way off that station," Yahn said, his analytical mind always circling back to the practicalities. "The evidence we recovered was too important to risk losing."
Leah spun to face him, jabbing a finger into his chest. "Then maybe you should have told me that before we docked on Arec. 'Hey Leah, by the way, we're about to land on a planet where my brother's been kidnapped by the biggest crime syndicate in the sector. Hope that's cool!'"
"We didn't know Ruhn had been taken until we arrived," I reminded her, though a twinge of guilt accompanied the words. We hadn't been entirely honest with her, true. But hell, we'd been running for our lives with data that could cripple the Ducal operation. Transparency hadn't been our priority.
"You could have told me after," she insisted, turning her accusatory finger on me. "Instead of 'Surprise! We're hauling ass to Arec for totally innocent reasons! Just a big ol' fuckfest!'"
My lips twitched. "Fuckfest? I was a little busy trying to lose the two ships tailing us at the time. Forgive me if full disclosure wasn't top of my priority list."
"Bullshit," she snapped, and the heat in her voice made my cock stir despite the argument.
"You were protecting me like I'm some fragile little rich girl who can't handle the truth.
After everything we've—" She gestured vaguely between the three of us, encompassing the tangle of sex and feelings we'd been navigating.
"I deserve to know if the things I'm doing are risking my life. "
"Like at the nightclub?" I asked.
She jabbed me in the chest with a finger. "That was not a risk. That was the best goddamn public sex you've ever had. Okay, and maybe a slight risk, but nothing like getting me chased by big blue jackasses."
She was right, and the knowledge sat uncomfortably in my gut. I'd been treating her like a temporary passenger in our crisis, not a partner. And after what she'd done today—standing her ground against trained killers—that wasn't fair.
"You're right," I admitted, the words feeling strange on my tongue. I wasn't used to conceding points. "We should have told you."
"We should have," Yahn said.
Leah blinked, clearly thrown by my agreement. She'd been ready for more argument, another round in our verbal sparring that often led to more pleasurable activities. When none came, she seemed almost disappointed.
"Well... good," she said, less conviction in her voice. "Because I'm not just your fuck toy or your fancy ride. I'm—" She faltered, and I could see her searching for the right words to define what she was to us. What we were to each other. None of us had put a name to it yet.
"You're with us," Yahn said simply, filling the silence. "Whatever that means."
Leah held his gaze for a long moment, then mine. Something passed between the three of us, unspoken but palpable.