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His words had been meant as a warning, but they only appeared to excite her further. “What do I look like? A pup?”
“I’ve never seen one of your kind in dragon form. To be able to fly outside the confines of a ship, in the open air, just from your own power. I’ll bet it’s amazing.”
It used to be. Now it barely got his blood rushing anymore. Yet,shedid. He changed the subject. “Where did you learn to handle a ship?”
She shrugged. “In space, you either rely on others to get you where you need to go, or you learn to fly.”
“And where is it you need to go?”
She reached for his drink, and he found himself handing it over without protest. She didn’t even look smug about it, just took a sip and passed it back.
“Home.”
“And where’s that?” He already knew where the Pakovian home world was, but something told him to feign ignorance. Maybe she’d offer him some truth for once.
“To be honest—”
“I know it’s new to you, but it only hurts the first time, I promise.”
He received a wry smile for that.
“To behonest, I’m not sure. It’s not documented on any map that we’ve found. We were hoping to get a look at the Phase Nine schematics—”
His gut twisted. Still a lie, but she’d slipped up all the same. “Ah. Finally we’ve come to the real reason you tried to trick your way onto my ship.”
“Huh?”
“The Phase Nine schematics are the most elaborately documented and accurate map of the nearby universe, hell, maybe the whole universe. It’s owned by the commissioner, head of the coalition, and is doled out in chunks phase by phase, and then removed from ship records before the next one can be accessed. Password protected, heavily encrypted, they cannot be hacked or copied.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
“Sure you didn’t. If someone did happen to somehow snag a copy, even a small chunk, it’d be worth a lot of money.” Universal maps were rare. Those currently in circulation were almost always flawed.
“That’s not what I’m—”
“And as for your home being undocumented?” He scoffed, then reached out to touch her three-pointed ear. She jerked away before he could, as though suddenly fearing his touch. He dropped his hand. “I know of your people.”
Shock filled her eyes, and maybe a little horror. Because he’d uncovered her true motive?
“Pakovian, right? The three points on your ears gives it away, and I know where your home world is, too. It’s not undocumented and it’s not hard to find. Your original story was better. A bunch of ruffians wanting to harm you? Really spoke to a man’s inner champion, but here’s a little something you should know about me. I’m no hero, and now I’ve learned all I need to know about you.”
Her eyes turned glossy, as if attempting to play on his sympathy. “Aidan, I—”
“We’re done here. You will not return to my ship. Find yourself another sap to latch onto.”
She appeared crestfallen, but he saw it as more games. More manipulation.
Downing the last of his drink, he slammed the empty glass on the bar before storming away. He expected her to be right on his heels, slinging those pretty words of hers, crying innocent. It would do her no good. He wouldn’t help her steal from the commissioner. That was one of those unbreakable rules that would lead not only to disqualification from Phase Nine, but possible jail time. Even having a thief like her aboard could make him an accessory.
He’d made it all the way to the marketplace before he realized she wasn’t behind him after all. Thank the gods, he thought. She was so good at turning a man’s head that capturing a man’s heart required little more effort. That kiss had been unreal. He still felt her on his lips. The warmth. The silky softness. Part of him wished that instead of speaking, they had just drowned in each other’s lips. As he’d left her sitting there, she had appeared small and fragile. Gutted.
Really gutted.
He stopped to wonder if that glossy sheen to her eyes might have been real.
No. It couldn’t have been. Could it? Likely it was her failure to fool him that hurt her so. Not his accusation.
He walked for several minutes with no purpose.
