Page 9 of Venomous Lust
That voice, full of authority. Full of the knowledge of his own power. Hazel gritted her teeth and her hands closed into fists. How easily he dismissed her.
Commander Khal pulled out a wide, comfortable looking chair and set it against the bare back wall of the room. He didn’t say anything more, but she knew he wanted her to sit down.
Sit down and shut up.
Anger rose inside her as she watched him move behind a large control desk, then sit and work. Work like she wasn’t even there, hitting keys and reading things written in his strange language. Ignoring her completely.
So she remained standing. She knew it was useless to defy him, but something inside her knew she had to stand her ground. Eoks valued strength above all else, and her only strength was her defiance.
Time passed. An hour, then two. Still, Hazel stood.
Her legs were getting tired but she refused to sit. Khal hadn’t lifted his blue gaze to her once in all that time, ignoring her as easily as if she were a fly on the wall.
Easier, maybe.
Like I don’t count.
It was starting to get on her nerves. Hazel paced in front of the desk, slowly, each step making a deliberate sound on the metal floor. As she did so, she could see Khal’s knuckles becoming paler within the deep blue of his skin, and lines of tension ran from his neck to his shoulders.
Good. At least she wasn’t the only one annoyed.
Hazel paced some more, her feet pounding the rhythm of her steps, hard. Harder than she should.
“Will you stop that infernal noise?”
A sharp sting of satisfaction filled Hazel as Commander Khal turned, neglecting his precious screens to stare at her with impossibly blue eyes. Prussian blue on Prussian blue. Too blue; deep and intense like a bottomless lake. Eyes that saw everything, and gave nothing away.
I’ll show you.
“I pace when I’m nervous,” she answered in her usual sharp voice. “It’s your fault. You won’t tell me anything.”
She was rewarded by Commander Khal’s hard, full lips reducing to a fine, firm line. He lifted his head, flattening his long fingers on his desk as he braced his arms against the immaculate surface.
This one isn’t used to defiance. Good, I’ll get under his skin even more.
“Where are we going? You can tell me that, at least.”
His deep blue eyes reduced to dangerous slits and the corners of his hard mouth twitched. She smiled inwardly at his reaction, but was careful not to let it show. She wanted to get on the Commander’s nerves, not get mauled to death.
“That’s becausewe’renot going anywhere.Youare going back to Aveyn, end of discussion.”
“Not happening.” Hazel crossed her arms, biting the inside of her cheek so hard, blood pooled on her tongue. The game she was playing was dangerous, but she had so little to lose, it didn’t matter.
“And how do you propose to stop me from shoving you into the next Eok ship going back to Aveyn?”
“I’m not stupid.” She swallowed, her chin and her arms dropping, losing the defiance to prove the facade it was. “I can’t stop you from doing anything. But you can’t stop me from telling you you’re making a mistake, either.”
His firm mouth lifted at one corner and those deep, deep blue eyes gleamed with something different. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think it was something akin to respect.
“You’re a peculiar kind of annoying, you know that? An insolent Little Mouse.” A shadow passed across Commander Khal’s face, and in a flash, Hazel saw the ghost of another warrior in the harsh features. A warrior who smiled easily and laughed often. Then it was gone and sharp features were devoid of softness again, but he was still paying attention to what she had to say.
She had her chance.
“When Knut sold my twin sister, I thought I had lost her.” Hazel spoke fast, afraid to lose the precarious hold she had on the Eok warrior. She was resolved to make him understand how getting back to Sally was important to her. “And then, all of a sudden, she was found. Sally was freed by the rich male who owned her for the past three years and was sent to Earth. She’s the only family I have left.” Then a flash of memory came to her; something she had learned about the Eok. “I know how family is important to you. How you care about your brothers. I might not be a powerful warrior or a commander, but I care about Sally just as much.”
Khal stared at her for long seconds before standing and straightening, towering above her like some ancient idol. His Prussian blue skin gleamed under the harsh lighting, each of his scars clearly visible to her eyes.
“I have no choice but to send you back. You cannot stay aboard the Myrador.” His tone was final and Hazel took a step back, bending slightly as if hit in the stomach.
