Page 17 of Willow and the Wraith

She rose to her feet, then stopped and put her hand on his arm.

“Thank you for everything you have done for us.”

She leaned over and brushed a quick kiss against his cheek, smiled, and left.

He couldn’t move. No one touched him. Ever. Now his arm and cheek seemed to burn, the memory of her skin against his like a permanent brand. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, his normally iron-clad composure in tatters.

He’d never felt like this before. Hot. Hungry. Confused. Need burning through him.

He didn’t know whether to rage against his own weakness or surrender to it.

No. He would never be weak again.

With a savage snarl, he slammed the door shut on his emotions. He had a job to do. Nothing else mattered.

CHAPTER SIX

Willow forced herself to walk down the corridor, even though her knees felt unexpectedly shaky. Kissing Wraith’s cheek had seemed like such a harmless gesture - she’d done the same to Malacar several times. But kissing Wraith had been entirely different, his skin warm and smooth beneath her lips. His scent had surrounded her, a subtle spicy scent that made her head swim.

And those eyes, staring at her with that dark, heated intensity, purple fire burning in their depths.

She pressed her hands against her hot cheeks as she paused outside the small lounge. But it wasn’t only her cheeks that felt warm - her whole body felt flushed and overheated, an unfamiliar ache deep inside her.

What’s wrong with me? She’d always been the cautious type when it came to dating, waiting until she felt really comfortable with a man before committing to a physical relationship - which hadn’t happened often. It had never been hard to wait, but she’d never felt this rush of need before either. Not even when she had been in a relationship.

Maybe its alien pheromones, she told herself, remembering his tantalizing scent. I’ll just have to keep my distance from now on.

A resolution that had proven surprisingly easy to keep, she thought regretfully a few days later as she sat at the small table in the common area with Sooni. The area opened to the galley and consisted of a seating area with an oversized couch along with a built-in dining area. Like the rest of the ship, it was utilitarian and completely devoid of personality, but it was well-equipped and surprisingly comfortable.

Sooni was carefully practicing her letters, her tongue flicking out as she concentrated. Willow was both helping her and learning the language herself since whatever translation device she’d been given didn’t extend to written language, but her mind was on Wraith rather than her lessons.

Given the size of the ship, she’d expected to find it hard to avoid him, but he seemed equally determined to steer clear of her. But despite both their efforts, she was frequently conscious of his presence. She knew he often lingered just out of sight, listening but not participating. The datapad in her hand was a case in point. She’d been talking to Malacar, bemoaning her inability to read and write Galactic, the most common language in the Empire. A few hours later, the datapad had appeared on the table with a learning program already installed.

“There.”

Sooni proudly held up a sheet of the reusable paper that Wraith had also provided, covered with slightly crooked letters.

“Wonderful. You’re doing a great job.” She smiled at the little girl, amused but also pleased that she had once again ended up teaching. “Shall we try -”

A loud clang from the engine room on the lower level interrupted her, followed by a muttered string of not quite audible curses, and the two of them shared a knowing smile.

“Grandfather’s fixing things again.” Sooni’s eyes were bright with amusement.

Malacar was not good at just sitting around and it hadn’t been long before he’d discovered something to fix. Although Wraith had not been happy with his interference at first, he’d eventually admitted, grudgingly, that the results were an improvement.

As if summoned by her thoughts, Wraith’s tall form appeared in the doorway. The colors in his skin danced under the ship’s lighting, and she felt a familiar flutter in her chest. She firmly ignored it as he nodded curtly.

“How are the lessons progressing?”

“Look! I wrote all these myself.”

Sooni excitedly showed him her work, and Willow hid a smile. The little girl often sought him out and despite his brusqueness, he was surprisingly patient with her.

“Very good,” he said, and Sooni glowed with pleasure. “Your grandfather wants you,” he added, his eyes gleaming purple as he glanced briefly at Willow before looking away.

Sooni bounced to her feet, lessons forgotten. “Coming!”

She scampered off, leaving the two of them alone.

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