Page 96 of Stars in Halo

How much more could a man take in a short period?

He teetered on the precipice of blowing up against a cliff of steep feelings.

‘A whisky perhaps,’ came the direct yet gentle utterance from the impressive woman who swept to the salon’s bar.

‘Naam, please.’

The woman poured a scotch and handed it over, her gaze never leaving his.

‘Sante.’

He clutched the glass, hands trembling as he took a sip. The alcohol burned down his throat, a welcome relief from the tension building up inside him all day.

‘You’re quite the specimen,’ came the Khosana’s statement, seating herself down, her eyes raking over him.

He winced.

‘I also see you loathe being objectified.’

‘I’m fokkin’ over it,’ he growled.

‘You’re sulking, Rider, and somehow, I don’t think it’s your style. Perhaps it has less to do with your physical magnificence and the predicament it brings and more with the complex woman you tracked into my home along with you.’

His heart lurched, and he tipped back the drink down his throat to mask his reaction. ‘Who? Katya?’

The Khosana gave him a faint smile. ‘Is that her name? I recall she’s a D’Hanna. It’s a small house, and I’ve never met any of them. But Duke told me she’s quite the temptress who walks a thin line between what’s right and wrong. I looked her up, asked around, and discovered she was tangled up with Akira Claw. Now that got my hackles up!’

It did the same to Xion.

He knifed up. ‘Did you say Claw?’

‘Naam. Black Claw is a -.’

‘I know of their reputation,’ he grunted.

‘He’s not even Iccythrian. He’s Falasian but has modded himself to look like one of us. Y’know, the embedded gems, long hair with jewel strands and maglev worth of ink. All so he can act and look like a mobster when he struts around Pegasi. They were lovers, I believe.’

‘What the fokk?’ Xion choked and hissed under his breath, his mocha-jade eyes flashing with an unholy emotion: Jealousy.

When he caught the amused expression on the Khosana’s face, he cursed.

He’d been suckered into revealing his heart. ‘Oh, you’re more than what Duke described. You’re dangerous,’ he growled at her.

‘I’m ALMQ. We play dirty, which I presume is what my uncle did to you. On that note, it’s karma, baby. His dues have been coming for a long time. He must fall on his sword and let others sit on the throne.’

Xion shook his head, mesmerised by the woman and how fast her mind zipped around. ‘Back to Claw,’ he murmured, unable to help himself. ‘What do you know of him?’

‘He holds kinais to ransom and plagues the pirate lanes between here and Falasia. He eschews the Rhesia, Galicia, and Eden II routes for a good reason. You and your badass Sable brothers are a major deterrent to raiders and buccaneers like him.’

Xion huffed. ‘So we are.’

He stared into his glass, heart and mind churning.

Katya had been stealing from her ex-lover? As retribution or an attempt to get his attention. He had no clue.

He was lost in thought when Katya stepped into the room. Her face was flushed, and her hair was untidy from her recent experiences and tending to her kids.

Still, she was fokkin’ beautiful, and his heart lurched.

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