“I thought the ship wasn’t leaving until morning,” Angela whispered, her back pressed against the cool hull of the ship and her side pressed against Treyjon as he peered past her and into the cargo hold. Soft thrums reverberated through the deck under her sandals.

“That’s what Hierax told me.”

Treyjon lifted his logostec to his mouth, but the screen came on, seemingly before he gave a command.

“Is that him now?” Angela asked.

She felt so in the dark here. She’d planned to stay outside and wait for Treyjon, but seeing that floating drone had spurred her into jumping onto the crate and sticking with him. She hadn’t wanted to be out there alone if it shot at her or security showed up.

“Actually, that’s the captain finally comming me back.” Treyjon held up a finger and answered.

“Have you gotten to the bottom of those people shadowing me?” she heard Sagitta ask without preamble, as if he’d known all about the spies and Treyjon’s pursuit of them. Maybe he had been aware of it. Or maybe Treyjon had left messages to update him on everything when he’d been separated from Angela.

“Not exactly, sir.” Treyjon pushed his tangled locks of hair back from his face. “We’re—I’m—in a freighter owned by the company that seems to have been employing those spies. Nebula Won. The freighter just took off from Platform 83.”

Angela noticed that correction. He must not want the captain to know that she was along. She couldn’t blame him. She shouldn’t be along. What did she know about spying or aliens?

“Took off where?”

“I don’t know yet, but judging by the tilt, we’re heading straight up and out of orbit.”

“Treyjon.” Sagitta’s tone turned extremely dry. “I haven’t approved any shore leave for you. You’re going to have to convince that ship to turn around and bring you back.”

“Yes, sir. I was thinking along those lines myself.” Treyjon looked at Angela. “Did you have any luck convincing the archons that the women should be allowed to go home, sir?”

Sagitta’s voice turned from dry to irritated. “It’s proving difficult at the moment. Everything is in flux here because of the discovery of Gaia. The archons aren’t willing to call a public Assembly and take a vote, because they believe there’s a need for secrecy. I’ll hold a briefing in the morning and update the senior staff.” The dryness returned when he added, “I expect my tracker to be there.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll work on it.”

“Sagitta, out.”

Treyjon lowered his wrist, but the screen lit up again before it dropped all the way.

“Sure, now everyone comms me back,” he grumbled, raising the logostec again. “Treyjon, here.”

“Are you at the wine cellar picking out my selection?”

“Not exactly, Hierax. Do you have any more information for me? Such as what this corporation is doing chatting up the Zi’i ambassador?” Belatedly, Treyjon realized he should have mentioned that interesting tidbit to Sagitta.

“Chatting him up?”

Angela didn’t know Hierax at all, but she was fairly certain that was his stunned voice.

“He was invited to dinner,” Treyjon said, his mouth twisting in distaste.

Angela shuddered at the memory of that dinner being discussed. A human being served up for that huge animal-like alien. How could people betray their own kind like that?

“Well,” Hierax said, “what I learned is that Nebula Won no longer has their headquarters and the manufacturing base for their biggest and most popular supplement on VR-6, that moon I mentioned. VR-6 had a human-compatible atmosphere, and the key ingredient for that supplement grew there. Apparently, it grew there far better than anywhere else in the system—Nebula Won knows because they had been trying out different locations for decades with little success.”

“You said had. What happened to the moon?”

“The war ended, and when the treaty was drawn up, VR-6 ended up being in Zi’i territory. Our government told Nebula Won that it had to move. The CEO, as well as the people living and working there, objected. Instead of making plans to leave when they were told, the workers stayed and continued to harvest the plant and produce the supplements. Meanwhile, one of the corporation’s board members tried to negotiate with the Zi’i. He offered to pay a percentage of all sales to the aliens if they were allowed to stay on the moon.”

“Let me guess. That didn’t work out.”

“They ate him.”

Treyjon didn’t look surprised. Angela could only listen in horror to this conversation and the others she’d heard this night. It was hard to wrap her mind around the idea of some other intelligent species wanting to eat human beings. Animals didn’t know better, but intelligent beings should recognize similar traits in others and not treat them as prey.

“The Zi’i proceeded to take several warships to the moon and hunt down, kill, and eat everyone still there.”

Treyjon shook his head. “So why is Nebula Won trying to make a deal with the Zi’i now? Why would they want anything to do with them?”

“I don’t know, but that popular supplement they were making has been out of stock for five years, and people are paying insane amounts for old unopened packages of it, even though they’re expired.”

“What does the Hades-cursed thing do?”

“Increases longevity. According to the product description, it—” Hierax’s voice changed, as if he were reading something aloud, “—keeps telomeres from shortening, significantly reducing the age-related breakdown of our cells. Regular supplementation can add more than twenty years to the average person’s life.” His voice changed back to normal. “There are claims that it cures a lot of diseases too. Surprisingly, the reviews seem to back up all the claims.”

“Would you rather I bring some of it back instead of wine? I seem to be trapped on the corporation’s ship. If anyone has stockpiles left, it would be them.”

“Trapped on the ship? Treyjon, I told you to spy on it, not climb inside it.”

“I must have misunderstood your suggestion.”

“Well, get yourself untrapped, and don’t forget my wine.”

“Tyrant.”

Treyjon closed the comm. “Have you noticed that none of my people are offering to rescue me, Angela?”

“Do you want them to?”

“I don’t particularly want the Falcon 8 to have to fly up, attack this ship, and send a boarding party to extricate us, no, but it would have been nice if someone had offered.”

“It sounds like they think you’re competent enough to rescue yourself.”

“It’s a burden being me.” Treyjon murmured an order into his logostec, and a large screen projected out of the small one, displaying specs for a spaceship.

The one they were on?

“All right. The captain’s cabin should be here.” Treyjon tapped the air, his finger causing the image to ripple slightly. “Guest cabin there. We’ll avoid that. Bridge. Engineering. We’re here. Crew complement of twenty. That’s more than I expected, but if we wait until most people are asleep—let’s hope they’re synced with local time, and it’s night on board—I should be able to get to the captain’s cabin and do some coercion. If there aren’t security measures. I wonder where they’re going, anyway. With the Zi’i ambassador on board. This is crazy. Aren’t ambassadors supposed to stay in their embassies?”

“That seems like a reasonable expectation.” Angela wished she could say something more useful. She also felt guilty because she was starting to wish she’d stayed back on the Star Guardian ship. She didn’t want Treyjon to be stuck here alone, but she missed the familiarity and relative safety of the rec room. Also, who would feed the svenkars if both she and Treyjon were gone on an extended trip? The captain didn’t even sound like he was back on the ship yet.

She leaned her head against Treyjon’s shoulder. He turned off his logostec and lowered his arm.

“So we wait until you can sneak out and do… things?” she asked.

“That’s the plan. I’m sorry I don’t have a better one.” He tapped the stunner on his belt. “I could try to enact it now, before we get out of orbit, but I think it’ll be better if the crew has had time to settle into the journey and isn’t expecting any trouble from within.”

“I agree.”

Angela leaned more of her body against Treyjon, hoping he didn’t mind. She liked having him there and was relieved she wasn’t in this situation by herself. But it occurred to her that he might be hurt—or killed—when he tried to reach the captain and force the man to change course and reveal his secrets. And then what? She would be alone. Until hunger drove her out of hiding. Or until that alien found her. And hunted her down and ate her.

Treyjon shifted to wrap an arm around her back. That was nice. It made it easier to lean against him. Their tight spot between the crate and the hull didn’t leave a lot of wiggle room, and they couldn’t have faced each other, even if they had wanted to. She supposed that meant make-out sessions were out.

“I’m sorry I got you into this,” he murmured, resting his cheek against her head.

“I thank you for that, but I volunteered. I got myself into it.”

“True, but I feel your days in general were less dangerous and eventful before you started doing things with me.”

“This is true. You shouldn’t have had such interesting animals in your keep. I probably wouldn’t have wanted to follow you off into the city.” Such a lie, but the svenkars had been part of the appeal. Even though she should be horrified now that she knew what a killer Lulu was, she wasn’t. They were predators. Killing was what they did. They needed good handlers to keep things like that from happening by accident. With time, she could learn to be a better handler.

Treyjon chuckled softly, his breath warm against her temple. “I love that you find them interesting instead of horrifying, especially after today.”

“I’m sure it’s a great challenge to train them, but I imagine it would be rewarding too.”

“It is.”

He nuzzled her gently, and her scalp tingled, sending warm sensations through her body. He shifted in the tight space and slid his other arm across her stomach. His hands linked in a loose grip at her hip. She didn’t particularly want to be on this ship, but she didn’t mind being in his arms one bit.

“You asked if I was acting earlier,” he murmured, “when I put my arm around you.”

“Yes,” she said, though there was nobody to act for now, and he had his arms around her.

Was he just trying to make her feel better? For being trapped here with him?

“It wasn’t an act. I wanted to do it.”

“Oh.”

She could feel the heat of his arms through her dress. The material wasn’t very heavy.

“Is that all right?” he asked softly.

“Yeah.” Her voice came out squeaky, and she swallowed, then gave him a more firm, “Yes.”

“Good.” He shifted one arm slightly, and his fingers trailed along her hip and side.

Hot shivers radiated outward from the spot, and soon goosebumps rose all over her body.

“What about the kiss?” Angela asked, then wished she hadn’t. He’d already said that had just been for show. Why would she bring it up?

“I confess, I thought of that because I didn’t want the spies to think we were paying attention to them. But…”

Hope surged through her at that but. But what?

His hesitation made her ache with impatience. Or maybe that was something else aching. As he continued to stroke her through her dress, fingers sometimes straying to her stomach, only a few inches above her groin, she grew more and more aware of the heat gathering between her thighs.

“As soon as you started kissing me back,” he finally continued, “I forgot it was supposed to be an act. I almost forgot to pay attention to the spies at all. It was—the kiss was wonderful.”

The words delighted Angela. More than that, they made her feel even hotter for him. Especially the way he sounded husky as he spoke. Was he thinking that they might pass the hours they had to wait with kisses like that first one? Or maybe even something else?

He’d stopped nuzzling her hair, but he hadn’t moved his face away, and she could feel him watching her, feel the heat of his eyes upon her as his fingers continued to explore. They drifted across her stomach again, brushing the top of her panties. Could he feel them through her dress? It seemed so intimate to have someone touching her underwear. It wasn’t something that happened that often. Oh, she wasn’t a virgin, and there had been boyfriends in college, but it had taken her until the end of her junior year to actually have sex with someone. It wasn’t as if she’d had much experience with boys at her small high school where there had only been forty people in her graduating class. And she’d known everyone there since grade school, so she’d never been tempted to date any of the boys. In college, she hadn’t even known how to ask someone for a date, and she’d waited for interesting offers to come to her. She’d always waited, never speaking her mind. She couldn’t even imagine being as brazen as that Bethany woman. The idea of having sex with someone she hadn’t known for a while seemed crazy.

Though, as Treyjon continued to explore her body through her dress, she knew she would have sex with him right here if he wanted it. After the last few days, she felt she knew him almost as well as she’d known Thad or Kevin. She and Treyjon had been through so much together.

“You agree?” Treyjon murmured.

It took her a few seconds to remember what they’d been speaking about. Right now, she was focused on the way his fingers stroked her in a pattern from hip to stomach to opposite hip, and how he was brushing lower and lower with each circuit.

“Yeah,” she whispered, her voice squeaky again. “It was hot.”

“Good,” he purred, kissing the side of her cheek, his eyes still intent as he regarded her.

She could have turned her head, to meet his eyes, but it seemed so forward. And she was enjoying the way he watched her, and the way his fingers delved lower and lower, finally brushing the top of her crease. An extra tingle of pleasure zipped through her, and she felt her nipples harden. He hadn’t even touched them—past boyfriends had usually started there—but she didn’t care. All she wanted now was for his fingers to continue lower.

She looked down. Even though the lighting was poor in their dim nook, she wanted to watch him. She noticed that her nipples were visible through her bra and her dress, like daggers pushing against the fabric. That made her blush. Would he notice? Did she want him to?

“I liked watching you work with the svenkar,” Treyjon murmured, his gaze still on her face. “I told you, I think you could be a great trainer.”

Her cheeks warmed further under the praise. “My mom thinks I should be using the business degree I got to help out with the family business instead of wasting my time gaining dog-training experience, and references, at the animal shelter. Like I said, she says training animals isn’t a career.” Not that her parents truly needed help with the farm or selling what they created on it. Her ex-lawyer mom was a whiz. She’d gotten their lavender lotions, soaps, and fragrances into all of the local organic stores, and she and Dad could barely keep up with the demand.

“It’s a career here,” Treyjon said. “Many people need svenkar trainers. They are incredible trackers. I’d like to take you out in the woods or jungle to let you see them work.”

“I’d like that.” She would also like his fingers to slip between her thighs again, or maybe even slide down her leg to lift her dress.

“If you want, you can stay aboard the ship once the others go back. For a while.”

He kissed her cheek again, then shifted to her ear. At first, he rubbed it with his nose, but then he took her lobe between his lips, sucking gently. She shivered in his arms and leaned her head closer.

He nipped at her earlobe, and she gasped as electricity sparked from the soft bite. It arced through her, searing her nerves on the way to her core. At that moment, his hand slid lower, fingers finding her crease through her dress. She wriggled unintentionally, pushing herself against him.

“I want you to stay with me,” he murmured against her ear. “Let me teach you what I know. You’re so good.” He returned to sucking on her ear, eliciting even more sensations of pleasure. “And you taste so good.”

“I…” She didn’t know what else to say. It didn’t help that her brain was having a hard time focusing on anything other than what his lips were doing. And what his fingers were doing, stroking her and rubbing her through her clothes. She wouldn’t have guessed that she could feel so much through her dress and panties, but her whole body was hot and wet and eager for him.

“I got hard watching you,” he murmured, the admission so soft she wasn’t sure she heard it right. “When you were working with the svenkar. Before we even kissed, I was daydreaming about taking you. Right there in the middle of everything and everyone.”

The huskily spoken words excited Angela as much as his fingers did. The naked admission. How had she not known he felt that way?

“Are you hard now?” she whispered, wanting him to say more, to tell her how hot she was.

But as soon as the question came out, she doubted herself. She was just standing there. Why would he be hard? She hadn’t kissed him or stroked him or done anything to get him excited.

He answered by shifting toward her as much as he could in the tight space, angling so he almost stood behind her. His hands never left her, or she might have protested. Then he was against her back, and she could feel him, feel that he was hard.

His entire body was, with the heat of his taut muscles pressing against her, but she could especially feel his cock prodding her in the lower back, could tell that it wanted out of his trousers, could tell that it wanted her. He wanted her.

His lips shifted to the side of her neck, his hair dangling forward to brush her cheek as he kissed her skin. He looked down, and his gaze seemed to snag on her breasts, on the nipples still standing at attention.

She remembered her instinct to feel embarrassed, but did it matter? Were there truly any secrets between them now? Surely, he could smell her arousal, and knew the way she squirmed under his light touches.

His free hand came up to stroke her breast through her dress, his thumb brushing her nipple. That felt amazing, but her focus soon shifted to his other hand, the fingers stroking her lower heat. She wanted so badly to feel the warmth of his fingers against her hot, swollen flesh.

She reached down and hiked up her dress, though she wasn’t sure what to do with it after that. She wasn’t even sure what she was asking. For him to find a position in which they could have sex? She didn’t have any birth control of any kind with her, and she felt ashamed that she didn’t even care at that moment. If he lifted her against that crate and rammed into her, she would welcome him fully.

His warm, calloused fingers brushed her bare thigh, and her breath hitched. He found the top of her panties and slipped his hand under the waistband… and lower.

As he kissed her throat, licking and nibbling, he watched her. Watched the way her breasts moved with her rapid breaths, watched the way she went rigid when he first slid his fingers between her lower lips. Watched the way she responded to him, pushing into his hand, wanting him to touch the core of her heat, the center of all these sensations.

When he brushed her clitoris for the first time, she gasped, going up on her toes and back into him.

He surprised her by groaning softly, and she realized she was grinding back into his cock. She also realized that even though she wasn’t doing anything to him, just letting him touch her, he was aroused, incredibly aroused. Maybe she should do something. Maybe she shouldn’t just stand there and ask him to touch her.

She’d no sooner had the thought than he started stroking her again, this time inside of her. She couldn’t keep from arching into him, grinding against his hand, wanting him to touch—yes, there. Oh God. He knew just how to rub her, keeping it gentle but touching every single nerve ending down there. She writhed in his hold, grabbing his forearms and digging into the muscles there. Pushing against him until—

She came with an explosion of sensation and almost cried out, but at the last second, she clamped down on her lips, remembering where they were. But she didn’t clamp down on anything else. She welcomed the waves of ecstasy that flowed over her in the aftermath.

With an intensely satisfied sigh, she collapsed back into him, every muscle sapped of its strength.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her deeper into his embrace. She felt his hard cock still pressing against her and immediately felt guilty. She’d had her climax, and he had nothing except his own aching need.

“Your turn?” Angela whispered, shifting toward him.

She wanted to face him, but the closest she could manage was turning her hip toward him again. She reached up and touched his jaw, tracing its length, wanting him to know how much she’d appreciated that, and also that she could be ready for him. That wouldn’t be hard at all. He’d left her so slick that she vowed to bring fresh panties along on her next spy mission.

He chuckled, though it sounded rough. Forced.

“No,” he murmured. “This isn’t the place for me to be caught with my trousers around my ankles.”

He sounded so full of regret, so full of aching longing. He believed what he was saying, but she knew he didn’t want to believe it. He wanted there to be a way that it could make sense.

Well, maybe they shouldn’t have full on sex here, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t give him some quick relief.