I stared at the door in shock.

“Nadira?” Loree’s voice snapped me out of it. “Want to tell me what's going on?

I gave her the quick rundown and handed over the earcomms. Before we used them, I wanted to be damn sure they didn’t pass through the ship’s systems. "But the important thing is to check, is the jump drive off-line?"

"No need to check, I could tell as soon as you guys entered the code.” She tapped the tablet. “It flashed up as an emergency on this, and, besides, you can hear the difference in the engines.”

She was right, I could.

I looked away. “I’ve been a little occupied arguing with a wall.”

"Do you think he's okay?" She scooted her feet out of the way and I leaned back crossways on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"I have no idea." I thought of the careful dinner the night before, how hard he seemed to be striving for normality. "I'm not entirely sure he's been okay for a long time. On the other hand, we’re pretty far from okay ourselves."

"You better go to him, settle him down. I think he's just worried about you."

Worried seemed like an understatement, but Loree was right. "Later. But if we’re out of jump space, we need to send that message. It could be days before it's answered, may as well send it out as soon as we can."

"I'll take care of it." Her fingers flew across the tablet. “I had it queued up and waiting for you guys to get back.”

“Thanks.”

I thought about Ronan, how angry he had been. And how quiet things were now.

"Now I'm worried about him." I pushed myself from the bed. "I'll be right back."

“Hey, maybe you shouldn't promise that."

I glanced back at Loree, surprised. She grinned, with the spark in her eyes that usually meant she'd been up to something clever and possibly illegal in somebody’s systems.

Now, I wasn't entirely sure what it was about.

"Why not?"

"He looks at you like you're the one true thing in his world. A little intense, maybe, but kinda nice." Loree turned her attention back to the tablet. "Maybe that's an opportunity you don't want to miss."

I stopped, thought about it.

And made up my mind.

* * *

The door wasn’t completely latched, but this time I didn't hear Ronan talking to anyone, or himself. This time it was silent. I paused. Maybe he needed time to get himself together, maybe I shouldn't intrude. But I really was worried about him.

I had woken to his rage, but he hadn't frightened me. On our race back to our sanctuary, that hadn't been anger in the set of his jaw, but fear.

Nothing he'd ever done had made me feel like he was a threat. At least not to me. Anything else was up in the air.

And I wanted to know what was going on.

I pushed the door the rest of the way open, but my words died on my lips.

Ronan stood, broad-muscled back to me. His injuries had almost healed, but what caught my attention was the ludicrously tiny pair of scissors in his hands.

He jabbed and snipped at his mop of hair and I caught the sound of his low muttering, if not the words.

I hurried to him.

"Here, let me help." Meeting my eyes in the mirror, he slowly relinquished the scissors to me. "Sit down, it'll be easier." Still silent, he followed me to the chair.

Seated, his head still reached my sternum.

I ran my fingers through the tangle of curls. "How short you want it?"

Long moments passed as he sat rigid under my hands. "Just cleaned up."

"Good." I started snipping at the worst of the knots. "It's pretty, not like mine that just lies flat. I’d hate to have it all go."

I wished for a brush, but my fingers would have to do. “Loree’s going to send the distress call. Next step, airlocks.”

My mind should have been filled with planning to control the airlock, about the compound, who would respond to the distress call. About how we were going to move his brothers’ bodies.

But now all I wanted was to focus on the man seated in front of me, the feel of his skin under my hands, the softness of his hair,

"I'd never have the skill to charge for a haircut, but it's better." I ran my fingers through his curls again, until not a single snarl caught.

I moved to work on the side and stopped. His hands clenched the arms of the chair, knuckles white.

"Ronan? Everything all right?" His eyes snapped to mine and he nodded.

I brushed over his ears. The slightly pointed tips were easier to see now that his hair was shorter. His breathing hitched.

"Do they bother you?" he rumbled.

"No," I stroked the sides again, fascinated at his reaction. This time he rewarded me with a low groan.

"I feel like I should be asking if it bothers you."

He shook his head. "Not the way you mean."

I finished in silence and put the scissors on the shelf behind me.

Neither of us moved, until I couldn’t take it. “Ronan, I’m not good at this. Between school and the clinic, I didn’t date much. I don’t know much how men act, outside of a clinic.”

No response. Well, that was stupid.

The decision might have been made, but now I couldn’t get the words out. “Never mind. You asked me to stay in Loree’s room. I’ll go keep her company.”

Time to retreat, and never speak of this again. I backed away, but his hand shot out, imprisoned my wrist. “Wait. What are you saying?”

I covered my eyes with my free hand, unable to face the mess I’d made. “I’m not good at reading between the lines. Not when it’s something like this. I thought maybe you…” I twitched the side of my skirt, “but I was wrong. I should go.”

He drew me back until I was on his lap, caged me with his arms. “Nadira, are you asking if I’m attracted to you?”

Shame burned through me and I looked away. “This isn’t the time, and it was a stupid question. You’ve got other things on your mind.”

A snarl ripped through him. “You’re the only thing on my mind, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

Oh.

“I do.” Leaning forward, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his mouth close to mine. “Kiss me,” I whispered.

His arms shook, but still he resisted. “You saw back there, in the engine room. My control is so thin. If I touch you, I’ll break. I’m not safe for you.”

“I’ll take that risk.” And since he wouldn’t move that last micron, I did.

At the first gentle kiss, he froze. And when I teased my tongue across the seam of his lips, he boiled over, crushing me to his chest with one hand while the other hand tangled in my hair, pulling my head back, arching me against him.

He plundered my mouth, leaving me gasping as he switched his attention to the side of my neck, licking and biting a path up to my ear.

“Tell me to stop. I probably can, still. I will, just tell me.” His hot breath tickled my earlobe.

I squirmed in his lap, grinding against the hard length I could feel digging into my hip. “More.”

His teeth latched on to my throat and I moaned at the sudden pressure.

“Mine,” he growled, then pushed me away, and I staggered to my feet, mind reeling. Surely we weren’t done now?

“Clothes. Off. Now.”

There might be times for a slow striptease. By the burning in his eyes, this wasn’t one of them. Not if I wanted to keep my clothes intact.

As the last layer hit the floor, he swept me up, kicking the table out of the way, until my back was in the corner of the room, legs splayed wide over his shoulders, and I gripped his hair for purchase.

“Ronan,” I stuttered, but he didn’t hear me, just drove on, alternating broad sweeps of his tongue across my folds with nips at my inner thighs, until I couldn’t tell what to expect, lost in the heat.

I cried out as he finally pierced me, then circled and sucked my clit relentlessly.

The wave of sensations spiraled through my belly until a final spike tore through me, left me screaming in shock.

Before I’d caught my breath, he lifted me off his shoulders, cradling me in his arms.

He nuzzled my hair as I clung to him. “More?”

A demand, a question, I couldn’t tell. I just wanted him.

“More,” I begged.

His arm swept across the table, clearing it with a crash, and he spun me away from him, one broad hand pushing my shoulders down while he pulled my hips towards him.

Thick fingers cupped my mound, and I quivered as he curved them, gliding between my slick heat.

He bent over me, his free hand wrapping around my chest, kneading my breast, pinching my tight nipple.

Desperate at his onslaught, I squirmed, but he trapped me, snared me as tight as any bond, holding me fast, leaving me no way to escape the burning sensation pulsing through my core.

“Mine,” he whispered behind my ear, and I whimpered as he impaled me with two thick fingers.

“Mine,” he thrust again, and I rocked against him, sobbing for more.

“Mine.” A third finger joined, and he twisted them against me as I shattered, pumping me until I finally lay quiet, heaving beneath his chest.

Boneless, I slumped over his shoulder as he carried me to bed. When he slid in beside me, I realized he’d lost his pants along the way.

I rolled to lie on his shoulder, his warmth enfolding me as his arm held me close.

My hand stroked his chest.

“Yours?”

“Mine.”

I stroked lower.

“So you’re mine, too?”

His breath hissed out as I stroked the broad head of his cock.

“Always.”

I wiggled out from his arm to dot kisses down his chest.

“Stop.”

He pulled me back up to his shoulder and wrapped his arm around me tightly enough that there was no escape.

“But you said…”

“When I spill, it’s going to be in you, while you’re screaming my name. And before that, I want you rested. You’ll need it.”

A shudder ran through me at the heat of his words. He rolled to his side, pulling me into the curve of his body. Surrounded, exhausted, and satisfied, I dropped into a dreamless sleep.

Until I jolted awake, bolt upright, hit by knowledge that made no sense, but had to be true.

Ronan sprang up, instantly alert, searching for threats. “What is it? Loree?”

“The tanks.” My awake mind struggled to catch up with the clues my subconscious had left me.

“What?” He frowned, baffled.

“Your brothers.” I stared at him.

“They’re not dead.”