I pulled myself out of his embrace, stumbling off his lap. I would have hit the floor if he hadn’t grabbed me by my shoulders to stop my descent.
“Don’t.” I righted myself, shoving his hands off me and finally sitting on the couch. My cheeks were hot and the tightness in my chest made it hard for me to breathe. “You’re not entitled to kiss me. That’s for my husband.”
He stood and I pressed myself further into the couch. Was he going to force the issue? His eyes were huge, pupils dilated. “There isn’t a so-called rebel alive—for the record, we prefer being called Nomads—who could afford a whore. We have wives, although our marriages aren’t arranged with a contract and a money exchange. Most of the time, we have family units. Several men, one woman. She chooses, and they come together because they want to be family forever. Ochoa doesn’t like it. If their women ever learned they had a choice, they’d flee from the hell that is their captivity so fast it would make your doctrine-filled head spin.”
“I…” How was I supposed to respond to the idea that the rebel wives committed to more than one man? That went against everything proper. One man, one woman—if nothing else remained true, the rightness of a single pairing held fast.
Didn’t it?
“I’m going to fly this piece of shit, modern monstrosity until we get to the Artemis. I suggest you get some sleep.”
Geoff stalked away, heading toward the front of the shuttle. I let out a breath. My body vibrated, and I had to admit it wasn’t from fear. Despite his anger, his kiss awakened my body. I’d not thought about sex since I’d opened my eyes at Master’s. After his kiss, my desires made themselves known again. My breasts ached and my breath quickened. I wanted Geoff. Between my thighs. As soon as I could get him there.
Groaning, I lay back on the couch. I couldn’t give in. He might be completely right and I might be totally wrong, yet it changed nothing. My baby deserved a life better than being the wife to multiple men while we ran for our lives trying to overthrow the government.
What kind of life was that?
Why had I chosen it to begin with? If Geoff told me the truth, then it was possible I had been in a relationship with multiple men. What happened to them? They’d probably been killed when they tried to destroy the governments as all rebels, or Nomads, eventually were.
The ship moved beneath the couch. I hadn’t noticed it since I’d thrown up, my brain instead focusing on anything else other than the moving monstrosity hurtling through space. After a minute, the nausea returned in a major way. I covered my mouth with my hand and ran for what I hoped was the bathroom. I barely reached the toilet before I threw up again. I hadn’t eaten for hours. How was there still so much in my stomach?
My baby rolled inside me, adding to the utter and complete discomfort of the hellish moment.
“You okay?”
I jumped at the sound of Geoff’s voice. He squatted behind me and then rubbed my back. Was he actually being nice? Shouldn’t he be furious?
I shook my head. “I haven’t gotten sick one day at Master’s. I hate this ship. I hate space.”
“It might not be space-sickness. You could simply have a virus, or something you ate isn’t agreeing with you. Where I’m taking you is a ship called the Artemis. There’s a doctor on board. He’s really…well, I can’t really describe Dane, but he’s good at what he does. He’ll help you.”
I leaned my head on the plastic seat of the toilet. I couldn’t keep my neck upright. All the strength from my body had fled. “I’m sorry I was mean before. You have or had a wife, don’t you?”
“Come on. Let’s get you off this toilet.” He lifted me, then carried me over to the couch. I moaned when he tried to put me down.
“Please, don’t put me on that. The ship moves too strongly when I lay here.”
“The ship isn’t moving any more there than it is anywhere else. I’ll sit with you. It’ll be okay.” He sat me on his lap, and even though I should’ve objected until I turned blue in the face about how it wasn’t acceptable, I couldn’t bring myself to bother. Especially not when I suspected my stomach might go for another round of awful heaving. Geoff rubbed my back in a circular motion with the tips of his fingers.
“You were someone’s husband, weren’t you? I can tell you know how to do the whole care for the woman thing.”
He snorted. “It wasn’t usually my job, actually. Like I said, we have a doctor. If the wife got sick, she went to him.”
“Then this is a brand new thing for both of us.”
“You have no idea.” He didn’t speak for a few seconds. “You asked before if I had a wife, and I didn’t really answer. I don’t really do double speak. I’m an explosives and weapons guy. This whole talking about my feelings thing, it’s hard for me. I blow up and then I get over it. So, yeah, I had a wife. She was taken, and we were told she died. That happened six months ago, maybe a little more. Every day has been hell since then, Melissa.”
“I’m sorry to hear you’ve suffered. I don’t know you, but my heart bleeds for your pain. That being said, I need to give my baby a better life. What kind of future can he have with me running all the time? Take us back to Master’s. Let me have a life.”
“I can’t give you what you’re asking for. I just…won’t. Ask me for something else.”
I closed my eyes. Maybe it was the ship tearing through space at a stomach-wrenching speed. Perhaps it was the whole overwhelming nightmare of Geoff’s deciding to keep some vow and kidnapping me. I really didn’t know why, but the tears came. I couldn’t stop them. They rushed out of me, and I wept.
“Shit.” Geoff stopped stroking me. “Please don’t cry. I have no idea how to…”
His voice trailed off and, a second later, a loud beep filled the room.
“Geoff, so help me, I’m going to put you out an air lock.”
I recognized that voice. It was Cooper Jackson, the prince who had spoken to me the day before. Had it even been a full twenty-four hours? I’d lost track of time. Raising my head proved difficult, yet even after all the effort, I didn’t see Cooper anywhere.
Wouldn’t we have heard him come in?
“Cooper, you mother fucker.” Geoff tapped my arm before he maneuvered me off his lap and onto the couch. He stood and made his way to the control panels. “You hacked the communication system. Can’t track me but you can transmit voice. Smart move. I should have given you more credit. I guess you’re not a spoiled idiot.”
“You have stolen a royal shuttle, and you’re calling me the idiot? Is Melissa okay? You carried her like she was hurt. A lot of the women here took some time to recover from the ear-piercing hell you put them through.”
Geoff shook his head. “They’ll all be fine, and you don’t get to ask me about her. Go crawl in your hole and drop dead.”
My captor hit a button and disconnected the communication. He placed both hands on the controls before turning to look at me. “Sorry about that.”
“You know the prince.” It wasn’t a question. “How?”
“We’re old friends.” Geoff abandoned the controls to return and stare at me. “I don’t know him. No one really does. If I’d had more time, I would have gotten rid of him before I got you out.”
I sat abruptly and all the blood rushed to my head. I closed my eyes to right myself. “You’re talking about killing a prince. Are you out of your mind?”
“No. I’m stone cold sober and in my right mind. Trust me, sweetheart, you don’t want to know how much I want him dead.” He scooted over to me. “Lay back down. Your poor stomach. I won’t have you getting sick again, not because you’re worrying about Cooper Jackson. I think you should get some sleep. It’ll help you relax, and when you wake, we’ll probably be at Artemis.”
I obeyed. It wasn’t worth the fight. “I won’t sleep. I hardly get any rest at all.” Why was I sharing?
“Not surprising, actually. Master’s isn’t exactly set up for sleeping well. All the screaming and the weather constantly pou
nding on the roof. Artemis is more comfortable. Here, scoot over.” He climbed in behind me on the couch and pulled me against him. “You’ll doze off, no problem, like this.”
I wasn’t so sure. He held me like he had the right to do so. I wasn’t his. Somehow, when I got to Artemis, I was going to have to get away from him. If I didn’t return to Master’s, I would never get my baby a decent father and…
Geoff was warm, and he was doing the rubbing thing again on my back. Circles. The rhythm of it soothed me, even though I’d never really get to sleep. He smelled like something I couldn’t identify, but it was utterly masculine. Had he put on a scent or did I smell his soap? I’d love to know. It would be great to…
I dreamed of Geoff. His hair draped longer, and it fell over his eyes. I laughed at him, joy making me giggle.
“We’re going to have to get you a hair elastic. Or maybe you should start wearing one of those man buns.”
The campfire in front of us popped and smoked while he strummed on his guitar. The night was cold yet I was warm. He played a gentle tune. “You know you like it long.”
“I like it however you wear it.” I laughed again. Everything was so easy with Geoff. I’d miss him. Hell, I was going to miss all of them when I had to go. “You’re sexy, and you know it.”
He played a few more nonsensical notes. If they were part of a song, I didn’t know them. “Are you ever going to tell me?”
“What do you think you need to hear?” I stretched my legs out in front of me as far as I could without touching the flames.
“Whatever it is that’s making you sad. I’d do anything for you. Anything to take the unhappy away from your blue eyes.”
He would. Out of all of them, Geoff would never question what I asked. He’d do it because he believed in me, in all of us. Nolan argued. Wes fretted like a mother hen. CJ found reasons why things wouldn’t work. Dane worked out details before he said yes or no. Cooper tried to take the burden off my shoulders, but Geoff always did what I asked.
They all loved me as they could, and I would die for all of them. Geoff would survive.
I would save him. All of them. That’s how I knew how to love. Even if that meant I had to lie to the people who I only wanted to know the truth.
“Everything is fine. I laughed seconds ago, hot stuff. Play me an Earth song. An old one, from before the planet melted and the girls stopped being born.”
I could always distract Geoff with music. The man could blow things up better than any other person alive, yet he had a soft spot for his guitar. And for me.
No one had ever been luckier than I was right then.
I jolted awake. My head throbbed, and my dream faded away instantly. Whatever it was my subconscious conjured up to pass the hours didn’t stick around for me to dwell on. Instead, I could hear Geoff speaking to someone from the command center. Had Cooper buzzed in again? Had Geoff risen as soon as I’d conked out? Better question—why had he laid with me in the first place?
I swung my legs over the couch, stood, then padded toward the conversation.
Geoff’s back was to me as he faced the screen. I was glad he knew how to work everything. Beyond the screen, a vast, empty darkness filled the viewport. My stomach lurched, and I resisted the nauseating surge. I didn’t need any more of the sickness. I’d had enough.
“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen her with my own two eyes. After that, it was a question of how fast could I get myself in and get her out. I’d have contacted you if I could have. Trust me, I would have loved the help.”
The man who spoke to Geoff was completely bald. He wore two earrings, one in each lobe, and a dark tattoo covered part of his neck. Other than those impressions, I couldn’t make out much about him since only the very top of him was visible. I thought his eyes were green, although it was hard to tell. They could be blue.
“I…” The man’s voice trailed off. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” Each time he swore the profanity got louder. “I…”
Geoff raised his hands. “I know. We’ll work out how to kill him later. For now, when I get to you, we need to head straight to The Bridge. Ask Dane if he knows another way, unless you want to handle it differently, Nolan.”
I must have made a noise, because Geoff swung around in his chair. He looked me over before he grinned and extended his hand. “Come and meet a friend.”
Shyness made me want to stay where I stood. Geoff was an enigma, an acquaintance at best. More my captor or kidnapper. With my feet back under me, I didn’t think I should start making myself comfortable.
“He doesn’t bite, particularly over a com link. In person, who knows?”
I couldn’t exactly run away. In a physical match, he’d easily overpower me. Maybe it was better to keep whatever goodwill existed between us. Maybe the bald man—Nolan—could reason with him
Taking Geoff’s hand got easier each time I did it. When our fingers laced, I knew he’d squeeze them, and then he did. Familiarity would be my undoing. It was hard to stay aloof when he remained my entire lifeline. Without him, I’d be adrift in space.
“Melissa, this is Nolan Westbrooke. Nolan, this is Melissa Alexander. She has no memory of anything before she woke like this in Master’s. You know the protocol for the wipes. She’s here. She’s real.”
Nolan stared at me, silently, until I was forced to speak, if for no other reason than to fill the silence. His lack of a response made me want to throw something at him. “Hello.” Was my greeting enough? Should I say something else? “Geoff has taken me hostage. Do you think you could talk him into letting me go?”
Geoff’s bald friend snorted, loudly. “I doubt I could, even if I wanted to, Melissa.” He looked away and, when he glanced back, his eyes hardened. “That’s a baby in her stomach—got any explanation for that?”
“Oh, you know the birds and the bees, friend.” Geoff shook his head. “If you don’t, you’ve been doing something wrong.”
After he’d first spoken to me, he hadn’t looked at me again. His lack of interest left me cold. “How many months?” Nolan took a pull from a drink he picked from the table in front of him.
The remoteness in his expression didn’t encourage me to answer. Geoff didn’t seem equally dissuaded. “We’ll have to ask Dane. Cooper wanted her and the baby.”
“I bet he fucking did.” Nolan nodded before he pointed at the screen. “Back tomorrow, no later, by noon ship time. Sync your shuttle to Artemis’ clock. We’ll be at the rendezvous. Amazing work, and awesome job stealing the shuttle. We’ll make bank on it. Out.”
The screen went blank.
Geoff smiled at me. He still hadn’t let go of my hand. “Bet you’re wishing you had learned how to play cards. Helps with the intrigue, with figuring out why people do what they do. At least that’s how I think of it. Nolan, for example, why did he quit making eye contact with you? Also, it passes the time.”
His words made so little sense that my head pounded harder. What was causing my headaches?
“I smell like puke.” And I needed air, or at least distance from the man who had kissed me and woken urges I didn’t need to contemplate. Who cared why the bald man did what he did? I needed a husband, not a harem. “Can I use the shower now?”
Geoff nodded once and dropped my hand. “We’re far enough from Master’s and our course isn’t on the main shipping lanes. Go ahead.”
“Thanks.”
“Melissa…”
Damn. “Yes?”
“If the water shuts off abruptly, brace yourself.”
And on that terrifying thought, I fled the room. I really didn’t belong in space.
Chapter 4
Powdery White Substances
“YOUR move.”
We’d spent the past six hours not speaking beyond a lesson or five in playing King’s Cards together. He won every round, but I was at least getting to a point to where I could understand the game. Geoff had a tell—the term he said meant being able to see through a person’s bl
uff. Of course, he hadn’t realized I could already make out when he was lying, and I hardly intended to let him in on my discovery of his inability to hide his losing face. When he didn’t have great cards, he shifted slightly in his seat. I’d noted the action each time. Yet even when he had nothing great to play, he still beat me.
I figured my inability to win stemmed from the fact my nerves were frayed. How could he sit so calmly and shuffle cards like it was no big deal after the kiss we’d shared? My nap and shower hadn’t erased his taste from my mouth.
Every so often, he’d check the controls at the helm. According to his complaints, he hated how the ship flew itself. I shook my head. Why couldn’t I understand what he meant half the time?
“Could we have a conversation?”
Geoff raised his gaze above his cards to look at me. I couldn’t see his mouth but his eyebrows furrowed before he spoke. “I think you need to eat and should get some rest.”
“I’m not hungry.” My stomach churned at the thought of food. “Please don’t give me any reason to start heaving again.”
“It can’t be good for the baby for you not to eat.”
I shook my head. “Can’t be good for him when I bring the food back up, either.”
“Have something to drink, then. Dehydration in space is common. We haven’t been on the shuttle that long yet, but it’s easy for us to lose track of day and night and with that the need to eat and drink lessens. I don’t want you getting sick.”
As though reminded by his mentioning it, my throat went dry. He retrieved a bottle of water from a small fridge tucked into a compartment before handing it to me. The liquid tasted cool and swallowing it did make my throat ache less.
“Thank you.” I nodded. “Nice of you to think of it.”
“I should’ve thought of it earlier. What did you want to talk about?”
“Anything.”
He raised a dark eyebrow. “Now that’s a risky statement. I have a lot of interests that might bore you to death.”
“I know about nothing. It’ll all be fascinating. Where are you from?”