Page 7 of Igid's Bounty
His eyes slowly drag over my body, and, for a moment, I swear I can feel their caress as his lips curl up into a slow smile.
Cocky. Self-assured. Overconfident…I grind my molars until my jaw aches—which makes me think of something else that might make my jaw ache…
Oh, for fuck’s sake!
There’s really nothing left for me to do on the bridge anyway so… “I’m going to check the solar panels.” I shove my seat against the desk, only my feet take me back to my room instead.
I don’t stop until I’m standing in the center of the small quarters and my eyes drag to the back wall, where Brox used his large body toprotect me. It had been an instinctive reaction. Not for show. And my body reacted, which was a surprise. When was the last time I had a reaction like that to a male?
Sliding my eyes closed, I remember how I drew his dark scent into my lungs. How it went straight to my head like some kind of hallucinogen. The way my body warmed and the tips of my breasts grew sensitive, my core hot.
My breath shudders, and I push that memory away, turning to sit on the edge of my bed and letting my head drop into my hands. What iswrongwith me? What is it about Brox that affects me like this? I’m not usually so easily irritated, and yet there is something about him that pushes my buttons like no one else.
A dull ache tightens in my lower stomach, and I reach for the comm I always keep in my pocket. Pulling up the calendar, I count the days since I last took my suppression injection. I’ve been taking them for revs without missing a dose, to keep me from going into heat. They also curb these kinds of lusty thoughts. Or I thought they did, since I don’t often have them.
Just as I thought, I’m not due to take my next dose for several cycles.
With a huff, I push myself to my feet and storm out of my room, making my way to the center of the ship where I’d told Brox I was heading. I open the panel where the solar panels are kept and remove one of them, sliding my finger along a touch screen that controls the functions. Only my mind isn’t on the task because it’s still focused on the strange way my body is reacting. My insides feel too warm and my skin too thin, like I’m sensitive all over. Even my tail is restlessly flicking back and forth by my ankles.
Wrapping my arms across my chest, I hold them against my sensitive breasts. It’s been so long since I’ve felt this way. Revs.Tens of revs.Since before I started taking the suppression injections.
Shaking out my arms, I return the panel and reach for the next one. Maybe I need to take the edge off. It’s been awhile since I’ve pleasured myself, since it’s not something I often have the urge for.
No. That isn’t what I need, I tell myself even as my stomach clenches in dissent.
I make quick work of inspecting the row of panels, then I head back toward the crew rooms, only that’s not the destination I have in mind. Passing by my room, I don’t stop until I reach a much larger door at the far end of the hall. Hitting my fist on the wall, I bring up the lights for the training room, or as Anna and Bela call it, theAlien Gym.
Bypassing the equipment I usually use when I come here, I go straight for the sparing mat. Usually I train with Rovos, but this time I call up a computerized opponent and turn up the controls to its most difficult setting. What better way to cure my restlessness than by taking my frustrations out on the ship’s computer?
I barely get myself into position when the large male I’ve chosen flickers into existence and rushes at me. The program gives me no time to do more than brace for his attack, and I realize too late that I may have made a terrible mistake.
CHAPTERFIVE
BROX
* * *
From my seat, I watch Igid disappear from the bridge, and my smirk vanishes from my lips, replaced with an aching void in my chest. I don’t know how else to get her to notice me, so I tease. And each time she walks away from me, I feel like she takes a chip of my heart with her.
Melting back into my seat, I blow out a long exhale.
What happens when she takes the last of my heart, and I have nothing of hers in return?
Your heart has belonged to her since the moment you saw her battling to save Anna from Volethos. So at least it’ll be where it belongs.
“Not helpful,” I mutter.
Pushing myself up, I double-check the controls and nav charts. It’ll take a few rotations to reach the neutral zone, and, for the most part, theShade’sauto-pilot can handle the journey without any help from me.
Still, I link the ship’s computer to the comm I wear around my wrist. That way, I won’t miss any alerts and can check in without having to be at the controls.
Trying to keep my mind off Igid, I make my way around the bridge, checking the stations and just ensuring everything is on course. Since we don’t have a full crew, it’s left to me to double-check that everything is where it should be. Although it seems Igid is, as usual, way ahead of me and already has everything buttoned down.
With nothing else to keep me busy, I wander into the belly of the ship.
Two wrong turns later I find myself in the galley. As I’m staring at the replicator, trying to decide if I’m hungry or not, my ears pick up on a rhythmic thumping peppered with grunts and… moans.
The sound makes me freeze because… it sounds like someone’s getting it.
