Chapter 13

The trip to Halkon had been uneventful so far, but Xan was still nervous about going aboard the station the following day. It would be his first time around a large group of people who weren’t trying to attack or sell him in a long while. He was used to the crew now and felt comfortable there. It was going to be difficult to navigate the station, especially one he had visited in his past. Xan was sure it wouldn’t feel anything like it had when he was a carefree youth.

His time with Sloan since they’d departed Gru had progressed nicely. They were spending more time together. They ate their meals together, and she often visited him in the cargo bay. Xan was hopeful that this boded well for them. Being able to spend time with Sloan, not on the ship, was the main reason Xan had agreed to leave the ship once they arrived on Halkon. He felt it would be an important place for them. He was restless and had trouble sleeping.

Since he couldn’t sleep, Xan sat in his quarters for hours staring up at the ceiling or headed out into the corridors, sometimes even running in the nonresidential areas. Xan wanted to be fresh for their trip to Halkon in the morning. He hadn’t been there since he was a teenager, and he decided that burning off some energy would help him get some sleep. He left on his pair of sleep shorts, put on a shirt, and laced up his shoes. Closing the doors to his quarters, Xan made his way to a less populated area of the ship to run.

Rounding the corner to mess, he ran directly into Sloan. He braced his hands on her arms to keep her from toppling over. Sloan let out a squeak as she shot out her arms to keep her head from hitting the corridor wall. Xan managed to right them both in time avoiding a serious bump.

“Holy crap, you scared the shit out of me.” She grabbed on to her chest as she panted and leaned back against the bulkhead wall.

“Sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be out this late.”

“I could say the same. What are you doing out?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I was going to run and hoped it would help me sleep. What about you?”

“I couldn’t sleep, either. I was going to go for a swim. I’ve got to be up for the docking permissions with Halkon, and I didn’t want to go to sleep and then be woken up for that.”

“I hadn’t thought of a swim.”

“Do you want to join me?”

“I . . . that would be my pleasure.”

“Last one there has to buy first drinks on Halkon.” She sprinted toward the pool. Xan took off after her, following the sounds of her laughter as she tried to maintain her lead.

“You cheat!” He laughed as he gained on her.

“We never established rules in the first place,” she said over her shoulder as she rounded the final corner to the pool area. Xan pushed harder and managed to catch up as she pushed through the doors to the pool. He tried to put the skids on his run, but the momentum of their forward motion coupled with some dampness on the deck floor sent them both sliding across the floor and into the pool in a tumble.

Xan pushed off from the bottom of the pool, which wasn’t above chest height at this end, and he saw Sloan pop up from under the water, laughing and coughing. She pushed her soaking hair back from her face.

“That was not what I had in mind when I suggested we go for a swim.” She splashed him with a wave of water. “I still have my shoes on!” She bent down in the water to take off her shoes. Sloan drew her portable comm out of her pocket and slid it across the pool deck.

“I sure hope the water resistance is still working on this thing.” Xan bent down and unlaced his shoes, then threw them up onto the deck.

“I didn’t mean for us to end up in the pool. I was merely making that you didn’t get away with cheating.” Xan chuckled, splashing Sloan.

“Hey, I’m not a cheat. I know you have longer legs, so I was trying to level the playing field,” she teased.

“So, we’re at Halkon in the morning?” Xan asked.

“It’s a great station. Have you been before?”

“Yes, a few times when I was younger. You know . . . before.” Xan cast his eyes to the side.

“Ah, before,” she said solemnly. “You know you can always talk to me about things before if you ever need to speak to anyone about it. I know what it’s like to have a life before. It can mess with your mind when you’re back to being you again.” She tried to catch his eye.

“Thank you for that, Sloan. Perhaps someday I’ll be ready to talk about it.” He met her eyes, hoping she would understand.

“That’s good.” She gave him a small smile. “In the meantime, let’s see who’s got the fastest lap!” She kicked off the wall and swam past him toward the other end of the pool.

“You cheat again,” he yelled out before diving in and chasing after her. Xan kicked his legs and kept his strokes tight as he attempted to catch Sloan. He felt her brush past him as she touched the wall and flipped to continue the lap. He touched the wall and used it to kick off harder, coming within inches of catching her. When taking a breath, he saw that she had a few more strokes until she reached the far wall, and he pushed himself a little faster—so much faster that he had to shoot out his arms on either side of Sloan so he didn’t crush her against the wall.

She popped up, flung her hair out of her eyes, and wiped the water from her face. Xan was inches away from her as she breathed in and out rapidly from their second chase of the evening. Sloan licked some of the water off her lips, and Xan’s eyes were immediately drawn to their plumpness. The air around them was thick with tension, and Xan held himself still as he watched her panting in the water.

“You’re fast, huh?” she breathed out. Her eyes wandered over Xan’s face, zeroing in on his lips before she peeked up at him.

“I guess I am. I’ve always enjoyed the water,” he said, also breathing rapidly but for an entirely different reason. The weeks he had been on the ship had only confirmed what Xan had initially thought when he saw Sloan—his D’Auriel: she was his, and he couldn’t wait to have her.

Xan’s cock was straining against his swimming trunks, and his arms were braced on either side of Sloan. Her nipples pebbled through her wet shirt. Sloan’s breath was coming rapidly as her breasts dipped in and out of the water. Xan’s gaze shifted from her breasts to her lips. She licked them, and he had to hold back a groan. Moving in closer to her, he ran his nose along her neck, and she shuddered against him and let out a small moan.

Xan focused on her plump, wet lips. Leaning in, he felt the breath from her lips on his as they drew closer together. Neither seemed to want to break the spell by moving too fast. Their lips were a hairbreadth apart. At that moment, Sloan’s comm went off at the side of the pool.

“Captain, we need you here for Halkon docking authorization.”

Sloan leaned her forehead against his and chuckled.

“We’ll finish this on Halkon,” she said as she kissed his forehead and lifted herself out of the pool. Xan groaned and gazed up at her ass as she climbed out. Her wet shorts clung to her, accentuating her exquisitely curved body. Sloan grabbed her comm pad and a towel as she glanced over her shoulder before hurrying up to the bridge. Xan threw himself back into the pool and swam a few laps to burn off the sexual energy that coursed through him.