Elana leaned against the wall in the Sky Nomad dining room and tilted her drink. Ice tinkled in her glass. It was a tradition on the Phoenix Convoy to throw a party for the new passengers before they set off on the journey.

“This is awesome.”

She glanced sideways at the young man beside her. Milo was a new employee on the security team. He was young, with a shock of orange hair. His green eyes were wide as he took in the room. Elana shook her head. She was pretty sure she’d never been as young and fresh as Milo.

“You’ll always remember your first convoy.” She’d never forgotten hers and her nerves at working with the handsome, rugged Rynan for the first time. From day one, she’d been fascinated by her strong, taciturn boss.

“I’m so excited.” Milo grinned. “I can’t wait to learn everything.”

Elana couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm, although it just underscored her own sense of disquiet. Her gaze went to Rynan. He was on the other side of the room, standing with the blonde-haired, broad-shouldered Sayer, another member of the security team. Ry didn’t look like he was enjoying himself. She knew he wasn’t a big fan of parties, dinners, and gatherings. Goldie was beside the men, waving her hands as she spoke rapidly.

Her man, Arus, was beside her, decked out in the latest fashions from the central systems. The flowing tunic made him look…silly. Especially beside Ry in his dark cargo pants that hugged strong legs, and his simple security T-shirt stretched over a broad chest. Looming behind Goldie was a mountain of a man she’d introduced as Daarn, her bodyguard. He was probably only a little younger than Goldie, and part reptilian, with a scale pattern on his dark skin. He hadn’t showed any expression or said much. Elana snorted quietly with amusement. It seemed Ry had a competitor in the grumpy department.

Nearby, Dare stood with his arm across Dakota’s shoulders. He was always touching his wife, like he didn’t want her too far from him. Elana’s lips quirked. It was nice. Next to them, Justyn was being his charming self with some of the passengers. Nissa stood beside him, looking as stunning as always. Her reptilian heritage gave her golden skin and a bald head that suited her. With her long, elegant neck and gorgeous features, she was striking. Elana always felt a little dowdy and plain beside Nissa.

Rynan managed to shake free of Goldie and strode across the room toward her. He caught Elana’s gaze and rolled his eyes. She tried to hide her smile.

But before he reached her and Milo, he was intercepted by two female passengers. The women stopped him with wide smiles, and started flirting. A second later, she saw Ry’s firm lips tip up in a smile.

Elana’s stomach dropped and she looked away.

Over the years, she’d seen it plenty of times. When all three of the Phoenix brothers had been unattached, they’d been quite happy to take their pick of the single, willing female travelers. Sometimes, Dare would pick a woman to warm his bed for the entire convoy. Not Rynan, though. He’d only take a woman to bed once. They only ever got one night, and after that, he cut them loose.

At least they got one night.

Tink. Tink. Tink. The sound of metal on glass. Dare stepped forward and raised his voice.

“Welcome to the Phoenix Deep-Space Convoy. It’s our pleasure to have you aboard, and we are happy you’ve selected us to take you beyond the galaxy’s edge. We’ll take good care of you on our way to the trading planet of Naahlaw. We have a small convoy this trip, only two other ships in addition to the Sky Nomad, but we do have some exciting potential stops planned along the way, for those of you who are interested in trade and exploration.”

The crowd tittered and clapped.

Justyn moved forward, a huge grin on his face. “I also have another announcement to make.”

A hush drifted over the crowd, and Justyn pulled his wife in front of him, wrapping his arms around her.

“This is Nissa, my gorgeous wife, the captain of the Sky Nomad, and…the mother of my unborn child.” Joy suffused his handsome face. “We’re having a baby!”

There were smiles and cheers around the room.

As Dare called for a toast, Elana watched Justyn and Nissa smile at each other, then lean in close for a kiss. Elana’s chest tightened. They were so in love, so right for each other, and now they were having a baby. It was wonderful, but mixed with her happiness for the couple was…envy.

Not for a child. She never wanted that after growing up with a crowd of brothers and sisters she’d helped raise. But she was envious of the closeness she saw between the couple.

She watched Dare and Rynan hug the couple. Justyn pressed a palm to his wife’s still-flat belly, and it just underscored Elana’s own lack of…everything.

She released a slow breath.

Rynan would never be hers. She watched him as he smiled, slapping a hand on his brother’s back, and hugging his sister-in-law.

One of the female passengers, a curvy woman wearing a short, yellow dress, was still by his side, clinging to his arm.

When he stepped back, she slid closer and rose to kiss him on the cheek in congratulations.

And with that, Elana was done.

“I’ll catch you later, Milo.” She set her glass down.

The man frowned. “You’re leaving?”

“Remembered something I had to do.” She walked out.

It was time for her to make some changes in her life.

* * *

It’d taken him a while, but Rynan had finally escaped the party. He wasn’t fond of them, nor of pushy women who wouldn’t take no for an answer. He’d had to escape the curvy passenger, Teela, who’d attached herself to him in a cloud of perfume.

Since his accident, he’d been less interested in meaningless hookups.

Instead, he’d hidden himself away in the maintenance bay, working on some equipment that needed repair. He swung his sonic hammer, slamming it down against the metal. It was good, honest work that helped clear his mind.

By now, the party would be over, and everyone on the ship—except their skeleton night crew—would be sleeping.

His brother was going to have a baby. Ry shook his head, still not able to believe it. Justyn a father. Growing up, their childhood had been hell. They’d spent a lot of it locked in the basement by their asshole stepfather. Bleeding and bruised, lying in the dark, Ry had made a vow that he would never have kids. He’d never submit a child to what his mother had put them through.

He focused back on his work, and realized he wasn’t sure what he needed to do next. Shit. He’d hit one of those black holes in his memories. He tightened a few screws, and picked his hammer up again. He was going to get this finished if it killed him.

He’d missed Elana at the party. His mind shifted to the bar fight on Galaxy’s Edge and he smiled. For the first time in ages, he’d felt himself. Swinging into the firefight with Elana by his side, knowing she had his back.

He wondered why she left the party early. He had a nagging sense that something was bothering her, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Distracted by his thoughts, he idly swung the hammer down. Bang. Pain exploded through his hand.

Fuck. He grabbed a rag and wrapped it around his bleeding finger. The damn thing stung like hell. He tried to bend it and nausea rolled through his gut.

It was broken. Great.

He didn’t relish trying to fix it himself. Besides, if he messed up the med bay, Elana would ream his ass.

Wrapping the rag more securely around his injured finger, he slipped out of the maintenance bay and headed up to the crew quarters. Reaching Elana’s cabin, he pressed the buzzer on the electronic lock beside the door.

A second later, the door opened, and she stood there, blinking sleepily.

She frowned. “What are you doing here?”

Ry’s chest tightened. All she was wearing was a pair of tiny shorts and a tank top that left a lot of skin bare. Had her skin always been this smooth?

“Rynan?” She pushed her dark hair back off her face. It was loose, falling in a sheet of black silk half way down her back. Then, her gaze dropped to the bloody rag on his hand. Her gaze cleared, turning businesslike. “What did you do?”

“I broke it with the sonic hammer.”

She made a noise and reached for him, pulling him into her cabin. All no-nonsense, she nudged him to sit on her bed. “I have my emergency med kit in here. Let me grab it.”

The place smelled like her, and his gaze circled the room. Her small music drive sat on her built-in desk. He knew she loved listening to music and collected recordings from every planet they visited. He’d watched her groove across the med bay, lost in the tunes, more times than he could count. Then his gaze fell on the rumpled bed sheets. Instantly, an image of her lying there popped into his head. Her naked, all bronze skin on white sheets. And him beside her.

Jeez. He quickly stomped on those thoughts.

“Let me see.” She knelt down in front of him.

Ry shifted, looking at her dark head. She moved slightly, and he had a perfect view straight down her top to her braless breasts.

Shit. He felt his cock stir. “Shouldn’t you put some clothes on first?”

She snorted, uncovering the rag. “I’m hardly naked, Rynan. You could see a lot more of your friend in the little yellow dress at dinner.”

Elana studied his finger and Ry frowned. His friend? He guessed she meant Teela.

Then Elana hissed out a breath. “You really did a number on this finger.” She reached over and fished around in her kit, pulling out a medscope. She flicked the device on and blue light shimmered out. She ran the scope over his hand.

She made a humming noise. “I have to do some manual manipulation before the medscope can finish the job. I’m going to give you a painkiller—”

“No. Don’t want a painkiller.”

“Uh-huh.” She lifted her hand, and before he could move, she pushed a pressure injector against his neck. He felt a quick sting.

“Dammit.”

“This is going to hurt, and I don’t need you being a macho man.” She rested his hand in her palm. Ry took a second to note how big his hands were compared to hers. “You’ll need the drugs. Now, hold still.”

She carefully manipulated the bones in his finger back into place, and he barely felt any pain. Then she waved the medscope over him again. He watched the damaged skin knit before his eyes.

“There we go, all done.” She set the device aside, then leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to his finger. “You were a very good boy.”

It was only the tiniest brush of her lips on his knuckles. Nothing provocative, but he felt that small touch all the way through him. His cock hardened.

She must have sensed the change in the air because she froze. Her gaze shot up to his.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Rynan was fully aware that he was sitting on her bed with his legs apart, and Elana on her knees, practically nestled between his knees.

Suddenly, she shifted closer.

“Elana—” His voice was low and husky. The subtle scent of her surrounded him.

“Shut up, Ry.” She pressed her body against his and a second later, her lips touched his.

Fuck. The taste of her hit him like a lightning bolt, and his control snapped. He wrapped his arms around her, and delved into her mouth with his tongue.

She moaned, twisting upward and wrapping her arms around him. Desire exploded, and it felt so damn good.

The next thing Rynan knew, they were stretched out on her bed, and he was rolling her into the sheets, his body on top of hers. He ground his cock against her.

“Rynan.” Need vibrated in her voice and she slid her hands into his hair.

Reality hit, equally hard. This is Elana. Elana.

He pulled away from her, and rolled off the bed. What the hell had he been thinking?

His rock-hard cock pressed against his cargo pants. He hadn’t been thinking at all.

She gingerly sat up, watching him carefully. One strap of her tank top had slid down, the top of her breast spilling over the neckline.

“This shouldn’t have happened.” This was Elana. His friend. His employee. One of the few people he trusted completely.

He backed away toward the door.

She swallowed, her face studiously blank. “Ry—”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. This was a mistake. A big mistake.”

He slapped his hand against the door lock, and as soon as it slid open, he shoved out of her cabin.