The words meant nothing to her.

If I didn’t already have a dozen, a hundred reasons she shouldn’t come with me, the fact that she didn’t know the most infamous smugglers haven in the quadrant was proof she should be safe at home.

But then she grinned at me. “At least I don’t have a lot to pack.”

This spark in Loree’s eyes trumped everything else, any bit of sense I ever had.

But first, time to cause a little mystery for SysSec.

I tapped the tablet in her hands.”How long can you control this ship through that thing?”

“As long as we’re in the same region,” she shrugged. “I don’t think I’ll run out of power anytime soon.”

“Once we’re away, send it back into warp, see how far and long you can leave it there.” No way of knowing what sort of tracking they had on the Hunter, how long we had until someone else came to check up on things.

“They’ll find it eventually, but let’s slow them down.” My mind raced, sorting through possibilities. “I know you can wipe the cameras, but the longer it takes them to find out what happened on their retrieval mission, the better.”

“Then why don’t we just make the ship go away for good?”

Her wicked grin knocked my breath away.

“See,” Loree scooted next to me, tapping fingers flicking windows across the tablet screen, “if we start dumping the engines like this, and shutting down the rest of the safety protocols…”

“Wait ’til we’re off her before you blow her up,” I teased.

The woman was going to kill me. Her curves called my body, but watching her mind work was even sexier.

Her focus intense on the project, I guided her into the boxy charcoal recon shuttle.

“If the point of these things is to blend in, they should’ve made it less ugly.”

“Hmm?” Loree asked as she backed into a bridge chair, eyes still riveted to the screen.

“Just appreciating our new temporary home.” I reached around her to fasten the harness, avoiding getting too close.

If she was coming with me, I had to keep her safe. And that meant not letting my mind cloud, drift off like it did every time I touched her soft skin, watched the fall of her hair, the...dammit.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing, you about done with that?”

“Just need a little more time to redirect some searches.”

I glanced at her. “We’re trying to avoid being traced.”

“I’d guessed that. No, the results will get bounced around a few stations, then sent back to Orem.” She giggled. “I sent them to Nixie. She’ll know how to play with anyone who comes probing after the queries.”

“Really, she needs to be involved?”

“We’ve got an AI on our side.” Her mouth pursed and I forced myself not to look at her lips while I guided us out of the dock and into the void.

“I really would be an idiot if I didn’t take advantage of that. I’m good, but she doesn’t need to sleep.”

Behind us the larger ship streaked away as it jumped into warp.

“Speaking of sleep, why don’t you get some rest? You’ve had a long day, what with being arrested and all. There’s a bunk in the back.”

“Was that this morning?” she yawned and stretched, and I definitely did not look at how the shirt pulled across her body. Really.

I counted hours back. “Actually, I’m pretty sure that was yesterday. You’ll have plenty of time to sack out; it’s about eight hours in warp.”

“Just a few more twists to this search,” she promised.

By the time our course to Outlander Terminal was laid in, Loree had fallen asleep, tablet sliding out of her grip.

I placed the tablet safely on the console then released her harness, lifting her gently into my arms.

“I can walk,” she protested, “eyes closed.”

“I know babe, but I kinda like carrying you. Go back to sleep.”

She wiggled, and reflexively I tightened my grip on her. But all she did was curve into my chest, burying her face in my shoulder.

Her soft sleep sounds sent a flash of heat through me and for a minute it was difficult to walk.

Ducking under the door frame I placed her on the thin bed. Obviously not built for comfort, but she was too tired to notice.

Rummaging through the cabinets for a blanket I whirled back at her gasp.

She sat bolt upright, eyes wide and fists clenched.

“What is it?” I hurried back to her side, wrapping my arms around her, pulling her to my chest until her breathing evened.

“Nothing, nothing at all. Just suddenly I didn’t know where I was, didn’t know where you were.” She brushed her hair back from her face. “It’s stupid I guess, just sometimes when I’m almost asleep, I feel like I’m choking, can’t breathe.”

The memory of her sliding under the blue gel in the stasis pod kicked me in the gut.

I rubbed her shivering arms. “You’re fine, you’re safe,” I murmured.

She bit her lip, eyes still wide and staring. “Everything’s fine now. I don’t know why it still comes to mind.”

“Have you told Doc or Nadira?” I shifted back to rest against the bulkhead, keeping her tucked against me and pulled the blanket around us both.

“They’ve already done so much. I can’t expect them to fix nightmares.”

“No,” I stroked her hair, ignoring the ache of need that had settled low in my belly. “Nobody can really do anything about nightmares.”

Her fingers played with the fabric of my shirt. “What have you been doing since The Star? While I was well,sleeping, let’s call it.”

Going mad. But I wasn’t about to tell her that.

“You know, reclaiming fringe stations for pirate queens. Sorting through files, looking for clues as to the plans or whereabouts of a egomaniacal madman. The usual.”

“It was nice meeting Zayda.” Her voice was softer now as she drifted back to sleep. “I’d already met Eris and Kara. They’re… nice isn’t exactly the right word, but I like them.”

“As soon as we’re back, I’ll take you to meet Valrea, Geir’s mate,” I promised. “You should know everyone in your family now.”

Eyes still closed, long lashes resting on her cheeks, her nose wrinkled adorably. “I don’t think I remember much about him.”

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “That’s all right. As long as you remember me.”

“How many brothers do you have, anyway?”

A vice tightened around my chest. But her breathing slowed, evened. She faded into sleep before I could force the words from my lips.

“I don’t know anymore.”

Loose hair covered her face. When I pushed it back, she nestled into my palm and rolled slightly, throwing one long leg over mine.

A low groan coiled in my chest. I’d battled on scores of planets, had my arm damn near chopped off, watched my brothers die, and thought I was killing her.

But to spend the night with her pressed against me was a whole new kind of battle.

And not one I was certain I could win.

I forced myself to rest, to let my body regenerate from the fight with the Hunter, but even in sleep her scent wound through my dreams. After torturous hours I gave up.

“Loree,” I whispered, reluctant to startle her awake. “I need to go.” Carefully I moved her off my shoulder. I slid towards the edge of the bed but her leg tightened around mine.

“No.”

She kissed my chest and I froze.

“Loree,” I choked out, “what are you doing?”

She didn’t answer, only pressed another feather light kiss at the base of my neck.

With snap, the wall of self-control I’d built up through the night collapsed. I lifted her until she straddled my hips.

No longer sleepy, her eyes were glazed with something else.

My hands wrapped around her waist, fingers kneading her lush hips while her hands swept up my arms to land on my shoulders, run through my hair.

In the dim cabin light she glowed. A goddess, a fantasy made real.

“Mine,” I growled and pulled her to me.

The press of her body against my chest only spurred me on to feast on her, coax the delicate seam of her mouth, nibble her lower lip, each tantalizing taste of her sending me higher.

With a soft sigh she opened for me, her soft tongue twining hesitantly with mine.

I should go slow, I should be careful with her.

But the urge to devour her, to fill her, to possess every millimeter of her whipped me further.

In seconds her movements grew bolder, less tentative, her tongue just as needy, her hands demanding as they ran under my shirt, branding me with her heat.

With the last shred of willpower, I captured her wrists, bringing her hands to my mouth to kiss the delicate wrists.

“We have to stop, babe.”

“What?” Her eyes snapped open, dazed.

“In twenty minutes,” I calculated in my head, “maybe thirty, we’ll be coming out of warp. I need much, much more time than that for everything I plan to do to you.”

The “O” of her mouth tempted me again, but I pulled away.

When she came up to the bridge, her shirt was smoothed back into the waistband of her pants, her glorious hair confined into a bun.

She clicked into her harness without looking my way.

“What is this place, anyway?”

I flipped through the console. No weapons on this barge. At least, none that would do us any good.

“Outlanders Terminal is a free traders zone.” With a pop, we emerged from warp, the long spindle of the station blazing against the dark, the stacks of rings around it bulging with modifications.

“Easiest place in the Empire to get lost. But if you’re not careful, you may not ever come out.”

“Unmarked shuttle craft!” blared through the bridge speakers. “You are entering Outlander airspace. Are you prepared to pay the tithe?”

“Yes,” I answered. “What’s the rate for three nights docking?”

“32kcreds,” came crackling back. “No, 50,” another voice argued.

Loree’s eyebrows rose. “Don’t they know?” she whispered.

“May not have had control of the tower before,” I muttered back. “Always an interesting challenge.”

I flipped the comms back on. “38 and we’re done.”

“40 and you’ll transfer it now, “ a third voice countered.

“Transfer as soon as we’ve docked. Send me the account, and the docking codes..”

I took the tablet from Loree to set up the transfer of the credits.

“Do they always argue about the docking fee?”

“Depends.” I winced at the remaining balance, and handed the tablet back to Loree. The hidden account I’d set up for emergencies would be almost cleared out by this. The Pack could transfer more in, but the entire point of the setup was to have something unconnected, untraceable. The instant a transfer was made, a smart AI could make the connection.

“No one’s really in charge over there, so it can be hard to tell.”

“If no one’s in charge, who did you pay?”

Punching in the docking codes, I eased us through the first of the flickering energy fields. “Which ever gang was strong enough to take over the tower today. Usually it goes back and forth between a small set of fighters, and they have it worked out. These guys sound like they may not have had that much control before. Probably got lucky.”

She gnawed her lip. “If another gang takes control of the docks, will they still honor our payment?”

“Not sure if honor is the right word, but it’ll be safe enough.” The second field snapped closed behind us, and we were cleared for a landing bay. “If the gangs started backtracking on dock payments, no one would come here. And they’d lose credits. Not worth it.”

I cut the speakers, nodded to Loree. “Now’s a good time to blow whatever timer you’ve got on Tobias’s ship. Just in case things get busy down there.”

She instantly began a code sequence. “Done.”

“And so am I.” The shuttle settled into the clamps, and we were swung into the bay. The hiss and creak of the seal around the ship announced the arrival of atmosphere.

“Welcome to chaos.” I took her hand. “Stay close.”