“Hey, sweetheart,” some greasy-haired tank tech leers as she passes, “when doyouget off shift?”
She doesn’t miss a beat. “Right after your IQ hits double digits. So… never.”
The whole table groans. The cadet flushes, wounded pride leaking from his ears. She breezes past like a queen with a crown of daggers.
I growl low.
Not jealousy.
Butpossessiveness. That old ancestral heat twisting in my gut. Wanting to stand behind her and let the whole bar know—mine.
Except she’s not.
Not even close.
I don’t even know her name.
She circles back to me, one brow arched. “Still here?”
“I was promised sass and fire,” I murmur, sipping the next drink. “You delivered.”
“Is that why you’re staring like you’re trying to memorize my blood type?”
I grin. “Just checking for weak spots.”
She leans in. Not close enough to touch—but close enough to tempt. “Let me know when you find one.”
I choke on a laugh. Holy void. She’s fearless.
I want to know what her voice sounds like when it’s breathless. What her sarcasm sounds like when it trembles. I want to earn every inch of surrender she’s never given anyone. Not because I need to win.
Because Ineed to understandhow someone like her exists in this cesspit of a galaxy.
And because my body is already building blueprints for how she’d fit against me.
My comm buzzes. Ground crew update. My ride’s grounded till morning, at least.
I should find a bunk. Recharge. Stay clean.
But I look at her—and I know that if I leave, I’ll regret it more than any battle wound I’ve taken.
Fate’s a joke. Destiny’s a story cowards tell themselves. But this? This is somethingelse.
I didn’t choose to walk in here. But the moment I saw her, the rest of the galaxy fell away.
I toss a credchip on the bar. She eyes it. “Overtip much?”
“Buying your name.”
She laughs. Not cruel. Not fake. Just amused.
“You couldn’t afford it.”
“Try me.”
She leans forward, just a breath’s width from mine. “Alaina.”
Alaina.
