Page 6 of Taken By The Alien Warrior Pirate

They obviously adored each other, and their behavior made me yearn for that same kind of intimacy and fondness for someone else.

I thought about my blossoming relationship with Cyburn and wondered where things would lead for us as far as an intimate relationship was concerned.

Up until I’d met Cyburn, I’d never actually put much thought into relationships. Perhaps it was because the ‘right guy’ had never come along and wowed me the way Cyburn seemed to do.

Speaking of which, Cyburn approached me from behind, cutting through my thoughts.

His almond shaped black eyes roamed over me with concern. “How are you doing?” he asked.

I gave him a warm smile, grateful that he took my feelings into consideration.

“I’m just trying to learn the ropes by watching you all work,” I admitted.

Cyburn’s jaw clenched slightly, and he cast me somewhat of an apologetic glance. “Sorry… it can be a bit of a stressful situation.”

“No, I understand. There is a lot on the line.”

“Like our lives.” Cyburn’s dark eyes twinkled.

I adjusted myself in my seat and chuckled lightly. “Yes, that’s kind of important.”

His smile radiated affection. I wanted him to kiss me, but I was too shy to admit it or ask for it.

Maybe I could work up the nerve to do it myself, although I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

Not to mention, every time Cyburn gave me even the mostremoteamount of attention, I could feel Amada’s scathing leer over my shoulder without even looking at her.

It made me somewhat uncomfortable, but I did my best to try and ignore it. Cyburn had yet to offer up any details on his involvement with her, although I could tell by the tension between them that there must have been something going on between them in the past that probably fizzled out. Then again, how could I really be sure? I was just running off conjecture here.

Perhaps she had feelings for Cyburn and harbored some resentment that he didn’t feel the same way. He didn’t admit it either way, but I could tell that her mere presence got under his skin.

They continuously barked at each other. Armada was the one who was causing the most trouble. She seemed to have a problem with everybody. It wasn’t just Cyburn that received the brunt end of her anger and frustration, but he seemed to be getting the heaviest dose of it for sure.

“We don’t needoutsiderson thebridgewith us,” Amada whispered through clenched teeth, jabbing me with a pair of dagger eyes.

Cyburn sighed as if he was trying to draw in patience from deep inside himself.

“Amada, Carmela is going to be our resident roboticist. We can’t afford to burn bridges right now. It’s important that we all try to get along.”

Part of me was annoyed that he was trying so hard to appease her. She seemed like the type who needed constant attention and wanted everyone to adore her.

I tried my best to stay out of her way for this very reason.

Amada huffed as she began to aggressively punch a series of green and yellow buttons on the edge of the bridge’s control panel.

Cyburn stood up and walked away, profoundly rolling his eyes as if he was ready to throw in the towel and just give up on trying to reasonably talk to her at all.

“How are we moving on the coordinates, Captain?” one of the crew mates asked, approaching Cyburn as he left Amada’s post — almost as if he had been stalking him in order to talk to Cyburn alone but was waiting until Cyburn was out of Amada’s earshot to do so.

Cyburn planted his hands on his hips and heaved a heavy sigh. “Well…”

“Is trouble still brewing out there?” the crew mate asked.

I remembered seeing him when we initially returned toThe Blade.He had been one of the lucky ones who hadn’t gotten badly injured on Jun’s Harvester ship. He’d managed to escape with only a few relatively minor cuts and bruises.

Then again, I counted myself among the lucky as well, along with Cyburn and Nix. Even though tensions were mounting and there was a lot of unsettled fear in the air, we had to count our blessings that we were still breathing.

Cyburn placed a hand on the crew mate’s shoulder. The alien was a lot lankier than most of the others. He didn’t exactly have a muscular physique, either, but I tried not to judge a book by its cover.

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