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He opens his mouth to argue, but I glare him down and thrust an angry finger toward the closet. “Now!”
Thankfully, the little pain in my ass cooperates, grinning at the prospect of engaging in more mischief. I tap the orb light by the bed to illuminate the room and rush over to the door. I open it a few inches and peek my head out.
“I thought I told you I need some space.”
“I want to apologize,” he says, standing stiffly with his massive hands in at his sides. “May I come in? Please?”
I hesitate. “You can apologize from right there.”
His clothes are different, and they’re dirty in places. A smattering of purple stains his silver hair. He even changed his boots, but the Alliance standard clocks haven’t even dawned the new day yet. What has he been getting up to?
He nods, surprising me slightly by accepting that. “I’m sorry that I took advantage of you. I was caught up in some mating aggression, but that is no excuse for my behavior. When I told you I wouldn’t steal your affection, I meant that. I won’t touch you unless you ask. I swear it.”
My fingers tighten on the latch, and I hope to God that Raffa can’t hear him. There are things I could say to him about what happened between us— many, many things, but I won’t say them with the boy in earshot.
“Thank you for saying that. I’m sorry for certain harsh words that I used too. And I accept your apology,” I reply. “Now I’d like to sleep a bit longer.”
His nostrils flare, eyes drinking me up like a man starved for more. Part of me can’t stand how palpable his desire is. It would be so much easier to hate him if he weren’t so magnetic. His intensity is like catnip. Something predatory flickers in his gaze.
“You should get some rest. I’m sorry if what happened between us kept you up,” I say, moving to shut the door so the sight of him can’t tempt me.
He catches the door with a lightning reflex.
“Wait a moment,” he says. “I scent something.”
I wince, half-expecting him to accuse me of arousal again. How mortifying would it be if he mentioned the “smell of your need for me” again with Raffa in the room? But he throws the door open and pushes past me, pulling a gun from his belt.
“What are you doing?”
“Someone has been here. A male scent that isn’t mine.”
“Oh please, it’s your crazy hormones again,” I say, having never expected to be the deliverer of such gaslighting.
He ignores me, checking behind the drapery near the window. He’s sniffing around like a hound dog and his eyes have turned black, tensing into full-on murder mode. When he approaches the closet, I run to stand in front of him, fearing he’ll shoot Raffa before he even realizes it’s a defenseless teen among his clothes.
“Ti kori, what are you rutting doing?” he demands, lowering his weapon. “Even small ships can be infiltrated while traveling at high speeds, and I’m not imagining this scent—”
“Don’t be angry,” I say.
That surprises him.
“There’s someone in the closet, but I don’t want you to hurt him. I can explain—”
Upon my statement, he lurches forward to throw open the doors, tugging me behind his body in the process.
“No!”
Raffa leaps out with anikaniraised. “You might be Kaye’s mate, but you had no right to force her aboard this ship!”
I dig my fingers into the commander’s arm, expecting I’ll have to restrain him somehow, but he doesn’t move. He simply sighs and tucks his gun into its holster again.
“I’d like an explanation as to how thisyouthcame to be on my ship.”
“I’d like an explanation as to how exactly you took advantage of an innocent female!” Raffa quips without hesitation.Shit.Of course he was listening, wasn’t he?
“How long has he been in this closet?” Kalla asks me.
“Only a minute,” I sigh. “Taps,” I correct myself, so he’ll understand that the boy wasn’t nearby when Kalla had his hand between my legs hours ago.
