Page 63 of Caged By the Ruthless Thief

Holter pilots past Braesen. Their display won’t be as grand as it was earlier in the day. They love their animals, and leaving them to twirl around the dome isn’t something they would do for hours.

Theomadapulls into the airlock. Holter pulls into the private Drakos portico. We must be in one of their vehicles. Not the newest, but one of their many. The name plate in front of the slip reads “Drakos 25.” My family has money, but the Drakoses, they’re a different level of wealth that I can’t imagine.

I’m out of the front seat and opening the door in a flash. I don’t care if it looks like I’m the doorman. I’m her servant, that’s for real. Holter comes around from his side. The docks here automatically surround theomada, sealing the riders away from any water that might get near their expensive clothes. It’s a different way of thinking in Zaffiro. We take the old as something to be cherished. It works, so don’t change it.

No way is Holter going to let me carry her in here. It’s fine. I’ll come in behind them. As long as they don’t slam the door on me. Holter reaches for her.

“I can walk.”

“But you don’t have to.”

She cocks her head at him and takes his hand instead. Nico glares at me. They’re a few steps away when she stops. “Are you two coming?”

“Yes.” Nico’s eyes narrow to slits. It makes me want to sleep like a dolphin, keeping one half of my brain alert at all times to make sure I’m safe.

“Eros?” Sunshine reaches out her hand for me, and I take it.

30

NICO

It’s been three days, and I want to ask what happened to her because I don’t believe she stumbled into the Zaffiro shop in Athens on her own. She is being deliberately vague, and Annabelle is an open book. Eros is making her keep secrets from me, from Holter.

But I made a promise, so I’ll give it a week.

They all seem to think a week will make me less angry. Angry yes, perhaps, but frustrated, aggravated? No, those emotions grow with each passing minute. It’s why Eros still feigns sleep in the pod room. Although, I understand how hard it is to get out of bed when Annabelle is still in it. I’ve been there. I don’t want to leave her in the mornings either.

But I have things I need to do—which I haven’t figured out yet. I’m expected to renounce my commission next week. I’ll be retired, and we’ll have to go through all the formalities of me leaving. I knew it would happen one day, that I would leave theCentauri, but a good part of me believed I would be older than Muster when it happened. Or I’d be dead.

We agreed to a week, which is a crazy amount of time.

“Holter?”

He’s making coffee in the kitchen for Annabelle, but I know he can hear me.

“Nico.” He sets the mug down on the table in front of the sofa, the spot where Annabelle likes to sit because she can see her sharks better. They tried to put M32 out on another assignment, but he kept breaking through his force field to come here. Milo and Constantine have given up, and he’s officially her pet.

“A week is a long time.” I’m the one who suggested it, but now I’m regretting it. I absentmindedly rub my wrist.

“Four more days, Nico. You can last.”

A noise huffs out of my throat. To most it’s a grunt, but it’s the way I sigh now, apparently. I want this over. And I’ve caught Annabelle looking at me more than once. She wants to ask me questions. But a promise is a promise. I’ve broken too many of them in our time together to not keep this one for four more agonizing days.

I hear her coming as she slides into her position on the sofa, her right foot reaching out for mine, her elbow extending to touch Holter.

“Good morning,” Holter says. She shakes her head, bringing the coffee cup to her lips. He chuckles. “Oh, Belle. You can talk without your coffee.”

“Maybe, but since I don’t have to, let’s not push it.” Her hair is wild, and there’s a red glow to her cheeks that confirms Eros isn’t asleep back in the pod bed. “What are you going to do today?” She puts her mug down on the table. Mug, not cup. It’s a gift Eros gave her. She wiggles her toes on my leg and reaches up quicker than a dart fish and pulls herself onto my chest.

“This.” I kiss along her collarbone, and she exhales. It travels down my body, an electrical light storm that ends and begins with her. My hands roam over her ass. She’s my rope teether. She’s what keeps me from feeling the pain coursing through my body.

Soft lips play along the shell of my ear. I can’t hold back the groan. Her touch is making me heal faster. Already, I’m stronger. More sensation returns to the skin on my ankles and wrists each day.

Her hand skates along my forearm and flattens on my chest, pushing me to the back of the sofa. She straddles me, and fuck, I want her now.

“Do I have your attention?” A smirk lights up her face. A smirk that is too much like Eros’s. I drop my hand from her waist to her leg, and she puts her hand over mine and squeezes. “Good. I see that I do.” She bites her lip. “What are you going to do?”

“I told you, Annabelle. I’m going to fuck you.”

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