CHAPTER 13
Xaviara was having the sexiest dream of her life. She was naked and bracing herself against the wall opposite Nicholen’s bed while he thrust in and out, whispering flowing words in his own language. His fingers pressed into her hipbone, his cock was thick and hard, and her entire being shuddered with the force of their lovemaking.
She awoke to the dinging of her link, panties soaked through and sheets tangled between her legs. It took a second chirp before she figured out she was not screwing the hottest male alive. She activated her link. “Yes?”
“It’s Nicholen. I have the results of the scan from the planet.”
“Give me a minute.” The words came out a croak.
“How about I meet you in the library in a few?” He sounded amused. Could he read her emotions through the link? Her heart was still pounding, and when she let out a breath, she moaned with the desire still pooling in her nether regions.
“Sounds fine.” She ended the call before she could embarrass herself further.
The shared washroom down the hall had barely room for a mirror, sink, and shower, so she sat on the closed toilet lid while she brushed her teeth. She’d saved her water rations from yesterday, so she decided a quick rinse would calm her down. The shower itself was so tiny, she tried to imagine both herself and Nicholen inside together but failed—which somehow managed to push her raging libido down deep inside her.
She definitely would have to see about him paying her back today. Pleasuring a man had never made her this… this… randy before. But oh, how hot he was, sliding between her lips—
No, stop it! You’ll spend the entire day in agony if you don’t quit.
As she dried off, she thought about abandoned terraforming projects and all manner of beasts that could have evolved from the chemicals and radiation they’d doused the planet with a thousand years ago. That got her mind onto other things that made her heart race. Poor Manda. But her friend and superior was resourceful. I’m sure she’ll be fine.
With combed hair, a fresh standard-issue uniform, and her tablet under one arm, Xaviara marched toward the library. She passed by a viewport that displayed the vibrant green planet. Deep blue ocean faded into the half of the planet bathed in darkness. The view was breathtaking. The colors were even brighter than she remembered from yesterday.
Nicholen was alone inside, bending over a console displaying readouts from the lead ship. The sight of his broad shoulders and curve of his delectable buttocks made her stop in her tracks before she closed the door. I could look at this view all day.
“Good morning.” She tried not to wonder what emotions he was getting from her now. “What’s it look like down there?”
His grin was the same mischievous one from last night when she’d tried to entice him into coming to bed with her. Her cheeks heated. “Manda and Camlan are doing fine. The air is breathable, and we found a spot about thirty kilometers from where they crashed where it should be safe to mattrans them off the planet.” He pointed to a topographical map. “Now they just need to get there.”
“What about indigenous life?”
He pulled up more readings, which included sketches. “Plants. Lots and lots of plants. There are some reptile- and mammal-like creatures, but nothing larger than a small rodent.”
She let out a breath. “Good.”
Nicholen embraced her, and the heat of his body seared into her skin. “They’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I’ve got it under control.”
Her stomach churned—of course he did. He let go, removing his delicious heat and muscled chest.
“Are you ready?” he asked softly.
“Ready for what?” Xaviara steadied herself, hoping she looked casual and not like she was about to swoon in his arms.
“Ready for questioning Gloria? I need you to watch from your room again. You can make observations I can’t.”
“Of course.” This secret meeting in the library made her pulse race. “Give me five minutes.” She reached up to press his link and activate a call to her own, brushing her fingers across his ear and over the scar on his cheek.
He tucked his tablet under his arm, kissed her, and scooted her out the door.
Once back in her room, she pulled up the feed into the brig. Nicholen’s face was visible through the doorway. “I’m ready,” she said into her link.
He pushed the door open button and sauntered into the brig. A beep signaled the connection between herself and Nicholen had moved to ship-only—all quanten connectivity stopped at the door to prevent prisoners from communicating with the outside galaxy.
Gloria was sitting on the pallet, back against the beige wall, paging through her tablet in the languorous manner of someone reading a magazine. She must have downloaded it before being hauled in here. One more page flip, and she stood, setting the tablet on the small indentation that served as a night stand. She kissed her fingers and held them out in the traditional kadyyza greeting, though she didn’t move close enough to allow Nicholen to kiss them in return. “Good day, trincaar. How may I serve?”
Nicholen’s jaw took a hard line as he clenched it. He stepped forward, placed, his hands behind his back, and spread his leg in a stance that looked pure military—and pure sexy—to Xaviara. “We have some things to discuss.”
“Indeed.” She inclined her head.
* * *
Nicholen drew out the silence. Gloria was a seasoned diplomat, one unlikely to cave to the pressure of dead air, but she was also in a disadvantaged position, what with being behind bars. Her emotions wafted toward him like a spicy perfume, not much different from what he’d picked up from her these past few days. She was holding her emotions in check, keeping herself calm.
He admired that.
The thought somehow distracted him, though, pulling his mind toward the sexy aide secretly watching him. Despite her youth and how early she was in her career, Xaviara was also poised. The only out-of-control emotion he’d sensed from her was the sultry smell of her lust, which reminded him of lush, beautiful flowers in full bloom.
That was enough silence. It was time for him to speak.
“Do you have any response to the charge of sabotage levied against you?” he said.
“Not guilty.” Her emotions were steady, though the scent of rain-spattered earth churned underneath. Nerves, then, but that told him nothing. Everyone was nervous when accused, whether or not they had done it.
“That’s a likely story.” He inserted derision in his voice. Here was his forte: the interrogation. Diplomacy and parading around as a prince left him off-balance. But when it came to getting to the truth of a matter, he was in his element.
Gloria didn’t answer. Smart. Maybe diplomacy and interrogations weren’t so different from one another—but still, he disliked the pretense required by diplomatic negotiations.
He said, “You have the resources to cause a crash. You have the security clearance to bury their attempts at contact through the magnetic storm. And you have the motive for wanting to cause an intergalactic incident between our two species.”
“Motive? What motive?”
“Your PDJ stock.”
Gloria’s eyebrows raised. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re lying.” What did Xaviara think about this new side of him she was getting a glimpse of now? He could only hope it wouldn’t scare her off. “Your emotions give you away. And I have the information right here.” He flashed his tablet at her.
Gloria let out a breath. “You’re right. I apologize. I…”
Now they were getting somewhere. She was flustered.
“I do own stock in PDJ Company, but I would never betray my integrity to sabotage a mission. Those two sides of me are separate. My financial situation is personal, and my job as Senior Ambassador is professional.”
Interestingly enough, the spicy scent of her emotions was becoming stronger. This was something she cared about deeply. Her passion was fueling her calm. Nicholen had not expected this.
But he still had to dig.
“Where were you before the crash? Someone interrupted the ship-wide security footage.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Where were you before the crash?” he repeated.
“Catching up on reports in my bunk.” The faintest of smirks appeared on Gloria’s lips. “If you had matched the wiped footage with my security clearance, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. In fact, I don’t think you’re confident you’ve caught the right saboteur. I think you made me wait all night to put me off guard, and now you’re pressing for answers you don’t have.”
“So you have no alibi?”
“No, but I don’t need one. I didn’t do it.” She took a step forward. “Let me help you find the saboteur… trincaar.” She drew out the word.
She knows. Nicholen kept his face still, betrayed no emotion.
“I can help you find whoever did this,” Gloria continued, “and it will be a much better use of our collective resources than keeping me penned up in this cell.”
“What about the commdump? Explain to me how a seasoned Senior Ambassador—” he used the same inflection she had a moment ago “—failed to find the lead ship’s message.”
She blinked at him.
“I’m waiting.”
“Could we please speak alone?”
Nicholen’s lips tightened. “We are alone.”
Gloria nodded toward his ear. “I know you have someone listening in on the link. And,” she lifted a chin toward the camera, “watching, I’m sure. I need to know this isn’t going to leave this room.”
If he cut off Xaviara’s access, she would be upset at being excluded. However, his libido had to take a backseat to his duties—like Gloria claimed, he did separate his work and personal lives. At least, he usually did. It had been quite muddled ever since Xaviara had surprised him with the revelation that she was aware of he and Camlan’s subterfuge.
He reached up and severed the link with Xaviara. Then he turned and pressed the red button below the camera, cutting off the last of the communication. She would understand this was the only way they would get the truth out of Gloria.
He spoke before she could. “How long have you known?”
“Known what, trincaar?” She smiled.
He waited.
She kept smiling.
He waited some more.
The smile slid off her face. “My memories of the prince match you,” she said, “but I’ve been dealing with the kadyyza long enough to know that when something is off, it’s due to your genetically enhanced abilities. And something is off about you, Nicholen. You’re really the captain, and the man down there is the true trincaar. Is that right?”
He nodded curtly. It was the only thing he would give her.
She stepped forward and pressed her hands to the bars. “Then you need me more than ever. I’m not the one that sabotaged this mission. In fact, my career is on the line. Let me help you.”
“Tell me why I should believe that.”
Her emotions suddenly shifted; a scent like a torrential rainstorm smacked into him. He nearly reeled backward. She was afraid? Of what?
“Gloria,” he said, “tell me.”
“Fine.” Her hands dropped. “I’ll get right to it. I’m suffering from the early stages of a disease called Mayzar Syndrome.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s a degenerative brain disease. Are you familiar with Alzheimer’s?”
The translator didn’t have a kadyyza word for it, and the English word came out harsh and ugly. Nicholen shook his head.
“It was a disease that was mostly cured a long time ago. Tests are done in utero and treatment applied early on, like with all the other diseases we’ve eliminated. However, one strain can be detected but not cured until it manifests itself. I have it. It’s manifested itself.”
He tried to be delicate but couldn’t find the words. “How are you still acting in your current capacity?”
“I’m being treated. That’s part of this whole thing. In order to treat it, it must appear. Once it appears, I lose some of my implicit memories. Treatment is underway, but I never know what is going to be there and what’s not. I forgot about the commdump. Forgot.” She sounded so bitter, he couldn’t muster up suspicion.
“But why not take time off?” he pressed.
The rainstorm scent grew stronger. “I haven’t told anyone outside my medical team.”
He was stunned into silence.
“You know how the Coalition is. Ambassadors have to be seen as intelligent. Mentally nimble. I can’t risk word of this getting out, especially since the treatment only takes about six months.”
“But what about your staff? Why not bring someone senior in to make sure these mistakes don’t happen? Why bring in all young staff?”
She laughed a bitter laugh. “Someone senior would know right away that there’s something wrong with me. They would be obligated to file a report.”
He crossed his arms. “And you think I’m not?”
“Whatever you decide to do, this brig is a terrible place for me to be. The fact alone that I’m in here might mean an intergalactic incident, even if we get your prince off the surface safely.” She stepped back, took a deep breath, and let her shoulders relax. The rain scent disappeared. “Here’s what I suggest: leave me in here. Think about alternative suspects. Check into them. If it is me, I can’t do any more harm. My link isn’t working, and your security guards are quite fastidious—no one’s getting to me.”
“Let me see your tablet.”
She crossed the room, picked it up, and hurried back to hand it to him. He inspected it.
“You’re right.”
He handed it back to her.
“Well?” she asked.
“I’ll think on your advice,” Nicholen said. He was convinced, but he needed some time to review the other two suspects. With Gloria eliminated, that left only two other people, Breniel and Lianndra—and both were kadyyza. Neither seemed capable, and he didn’t like admitting that one of his own kind could do such a thing to their trincaar. Maybe Xaviara’s algorithm had picked up something more amongst the humans.
“Thank you,” said Gloria.
Her eyes followed him as he turned and left.