Page 25 of Dragon Me Through Space

His eyes dropped back to my chest and he scowled. “I didn’t realize you wore a necklace.”

“Yes, I always wear it,” I said. “My mother gave it to me the last time I saw her.” Thankfully, the locket was hidden beneath my towel, nestled between my breasts so he couldn’t see the design.

“May I see it?” he asked.

I stepped back and shook my head. “No. Sorry … I can’t show anyone.”

His scowl deepened. “Why not?”

“Did you really just come here to ask me if I was injured?” I pulled my towel up higher to completely cover my cleavage and the necklace hidden there. I didn’t believe he would kill me if he saw it, but it was a lot harder to run away on a ship flying through space than if we were on a planet.

His eyes raised back to mine and he nodded. “Yes, I just wanted to see if you were injured and if you were, tend to the wound I had created. I do not enjoy hurting women.”

I smiled. “Thank you for your concern, Preston. I am fine. I just came to shower.”

He nodded again and headed towards the door. “Good.”

“Preston?”

He paused and turned, his hand on the panel to open the door. “Yes?”

“You mustn’t say my true name when you’re on Exostalon either, okay? If you have to say you were traveling with a woman, call me Diamond. Okay?”

He nodded and left.

That cold shower was in even higher demand now.

Should I hide the necklace? Now that he knew I had it, he would become more curious. I could find a place on the ship that they wouldn’t look to hide it.

Not wearing it made me feel vulnerable for some reason, though.

Plus, I had no idea if they had some type of security system that would tell them where I hid it or at least where I traveled to.

Having them find it would be even worse than them trying to get me to remove it or show them.

Decisions like this sucked a lot. I hated making them.

This was a huge reason I’d been solo for so long.

Yet, just being on the ship with the four of them made me feel so many emotions I’d long thought were dead in me.

After a long shower, I dressed and went on my exploration of the ship. Scout provided me the schematics and I went into every room, including their storage room.

There was one room I couldn’t go into, though. One that was not labeled on the schematics or on the door. It was locked and even Scout couldn’t get into it.

My only option to get in was to break in, but I didn’t want to do that. I would just ask them about it and see what they said.

Once I’d explored everything, I went back to the coolest rooms to give them a more thorough examination.

The one I liked the most was their flora room. It had large neon-colored plants and was incredibly warm. There was a circular table in the middle of the room. I couldn’t figure out what it was for, but used it as a chair, sitting in the center of it.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. It smelled so … clean.

“Ah, I see you’ve found our jungle room,” Wayne said.

“Jungle?” I asked, eyes still closed.

For such a quiet male, I could still sense him and his location. He moved closer to me, weaving through the plants.