by Kali Argent
He’d dressed simply, wearing a pair of dark jeans and a black, zippered jacket with a high collar. This day was for Cami, and he wanted all attention on her.
“What is all of this?” Going around the room, Cami greeted her friends with a brief hug. “What’s the occasion?”
“You, of course,” Scarlett answered. “We thought we’d have a little party to celebrate yours and Tariq’s mating.”
Scarlett being Scarlett had forgone all pomp and circumstance. She wore jeans, the same as Tariq, though she’d selected a sleek, shiny top in screaming red for the occasion. Tariq didn’t care what she wore. He was just grateful she’d come to support Cami.
His angel glowed with pure radiance, and her smile shone with the brilliance of a thousand stars. “All of this? For me? I haven’t even had a birthday party since I was fourteen.”
“Tariq, this is amazing. I don’t even know what to say. Thank you. For this. For loving me. For everything.”
“Haven’t you learned by now that there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you? In fact, I have one more surprise, angel.”
Cami wore his mark with pride, but while she had claimed him as much as he’d claimed her, he had no mark of his own. She hadn’t said anything about it, hadn’t even thought it, but Tariq wanted it. Not just for her, but for him as well, a permanent symbol of his devotion to her. In short, he wanted the worlds to know who held his heart.
“Sion, do you have it?”
“Right here.” Holding up the rectangular marking device, Sion hurried forward to place it in Cami’s hands. “Congratulations, Cami.”
Cami thanked him, but her eyebrows drew together when she looked at the device in her hand. “I don’t understand. What am I supposed to do with this?”
Unzipping his jacket and sliding it off, Tariq tossed it to a nearby chair before kneeling at Cami’s feet so she could reach him comfortably. Then he took the device from her and twirled it around in his fingers. “It’s already programmed. I hope you don’t mind.” He probably should have asked her opinion on the design, but again, he hadn’t wanted to ruin the surprise. “I was thinking it should start here.” Smiling, he tapped the spot just below the right side of his jaw. “I’ll leave it up to you, but I want it visible, so everyone knows where my heart truly belongs.”
Cami smiled, though a few stray tears trickled down her cheeks. “I never thought I’d have this,” she whispered. “When I was broken, you made me whole.” She smoothed the marking device down the side of his neck and across his shoulder. “When I was afraid, you gave me courage.” She sniffled as she moved the device down his bicep to his elbow. “When I was weak, you made me strong.”
“I love you, Cami Navarra.”
More tears streaked down her face as she bent to kiss his lips. “Tariq Navarra, I will love you every moment of every day until my last breath. Thank you for being mine.”
Cheers rose up from their friends, and if Tariq didn’t know better, he could have sworn he’d seen Scarlett dab at her eyes. Sion offered a hand to help him to his feet, then held up a mirror for Tariq to see his new markings.
The tattoo looked more amazing than he could have envisioned. Intricately laid into the swirling black lines, Cami’s name—not just her initials—marked him from neck to elbow.
Swelling with pride and happiness, Tariq swept Cami off her feet and bent her backwards to capture her mouth in a hard, searching kiss. His cock hardened behind his zipper as her taste bathed his tongue, and he longed to have her naked beneath him.
“Get a room,” Scarlett insisted, earning her laughter from the rest of the group.
Tariq didn’t laugh. Given his choice, he’d have scooped Cami into his arms and disappeared before anyone could argue. This wasn’t about him, though. With a great deal of effort, he broke the kiss and straightened, bringing Cami with him.
“Go enjoy your party, angel.”
“Okay.” She stretched up to give him another lingering kiss. “Thank you.”
Tariq hated socializing, but he did his best for Cami. After half an hour of congratulations and well wishes, however, he wished for the solitude of his quarters. He didn’t know half the people in the restaurant, but they all seemed to know Cami. She’d become quite the presence in the atrium, and it wasn’t hard to see why.
She greeted each person by name and thanked them when they congratulated her. The topic of conversation never revolved around her for too long before Cami steered it into other directions. She asked about their businesses, their families, and their healthy. In her melodic voice, even the most mundane things sounded interesting and exciting.
“Tariq.” Sion approached him with a wary frown. “Commander Cain just notified me that Cami’s family has landed in the docking bays. What do you want me to do?”
Commander Maverick Cain had become an important ally in the days that followed their initial meeting. Tariq still didn’t know if he trusted the man, but he’d stopped actively distrusting him. That had to count for something.
“Cami, your father and brother have arrived. Do you want Sion to stall them?”
The pair could dump themselves out of an airlock for all he cared, but only Cami could make the decision to invite them to her celebration or not.
“No,” Cami answered through their mental bond after a short pause. “They’ll find me soon enough. We might as well get this over with.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said aloud as she came to stand beside him. “They can’t hurt me anymore, and it’s time they knew it.”
Tariq gave the nod to Sion as he wrapped an arm around Cami’s shoulders. He had no doubt she could take on an entire armada and win if she set her mind to it, but she wouldn’t have to do it alone.
“That’s my girl.”
“Come dance with me.”
Tariq surveyed the room. “No one else is dancing?”
“So?” With a wicked gleam in her eyes, she pulled him into an open space in the center of the room, and rested her head on his chest. “See? This is nice.”
He could kill a man in six different ways and make it look like an accident. He could dismantle and reassemble anything mechanical with his eyes closed. He could survive in the most hostile environments with relative ease.
And she wanted him to dance.
Sighing, he cradled the back of her head and swayed with her to the rhythm of the music. “You are spoiled.”
He didn’t see her, but he felt her nod against his chest. “I know.”
Tariq snorted as he caressed the skin along the column of her throat, enjoying the way she purred when his fingertips brushed over the twin scars. He’d give her anything she asked for without blinking because she deserved nothing less. Hell, he’d even consented to her working at Starscape, though he’d asked Sion to keep an eye on her while she was in the atrium.
“How’s the list coming?” he asked when the song ended and she leaned away from him.
“Really good, I think.” Her entire body seemed to vibrate with an excitement Tariq would never understand. “I’ve marked off everyone except General Whitmore and Lorelei.” Pursing her lips, Cami dug her fingers into Tariq’s hip and growled—a very human but still impressive sound. “As much as I want to just blame it on her and call it a day, I have to make sure. The problem is that after our little disagreement in the hallway the other day, she’s been avoiding me.”
“Wait, you talked to Lorelei in the hallway? When did this happen?”
“Well, I wouldn’t call it anything as polite as talking. That kitten has a serious hard-on for you, and she just wanted to impress upon me her displeasure that you had chosen me.”
“Hard-on?” Tariq rolled his eyes. “You spend too much time with Scarlett. Now, back to when this happened. Why didn’t you tell me?”
He knew exactly why she’d withheld the information. It didn’t matter that Lorelei was a female. If she posed a threat to Cami, Tariq wouldn’t hesitate to put her in her place.
>
“It was the same day all that stuff happened with the lieutenants, and I didn’t tell you, because I knew you’d overreact.”
“You knew I’d overreact?”
“Yes.” Cami nodded. “Like you’re doing now. I can always tell when you’re mad because you repeat everything I say.”
They were supposed to be celebrating, not arguing. “I’m not going to fight with you.”
“Good, because there’s nothing to fight about.” She placed a chaste kiss on his jaw and grinned. “Come on, love. You look like you need a drink.”
They never got that drink, though. Cami had just taken his hand when a loud, irate voice echoed through the restaurant. “Camille Angeline Brighton, you stop right there!”
With an adorable huff that sounded more exasperated than nervous, Cami lifted her head and squared her shoulders as she turned to face the newcomer. “Hello, Daddy.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
In the logical part of her brain, Cami knew it had only been weeks since the last time she’d seen her father. So much had happened in that short amount of time, it felt more like a lifetime ago He looked no different than the last time she had seen him. His dark hair and blue eyes were just the way she remembered, as was the scowl of disapproval that lined his thin lips.
“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded. “You disappeared, stole a cruiser, and I have to travel across the galaxies to come get you. Then I find you here on this forsaken rust bucket with this…this…riffraff. Explain yourself, young lady.”
They’d started to gather a crowd, an angry one by the expressions on her friends’ faces. She could have made a scene, insisted that she was no longer a child and that he couldn’t bully her any longer. She could have said all of those things, and she still might, but she wouldn’t do it in front of half the atrium.
“I’m not going to do this with you here. If you want to discuss this like adults, you can follow me back to my quarters.” She shifted her gaze to the left. “Hello, Lucas.”
Lucas gave her a beaming smile in return. “Hello, chipmunk. You look beautiful. What’s the occasion?”
“I mated a Helios,” she answered bluntly, and laughed when Tariq nuzzled the top of her head. “Isn’t he fantastic?”
Lucas’ eyebrows shot up toward his hairline, but the smile never left his face. Her father, on the other hand, looked in danger of stroking out on the tiled floor. His face mottled in an ugly mixture of red and purple, and the muscles in his throat jumped. He moved his mouth soundlessly, but Cami knew he’d find his voice, and when he did, everyone on the station would know exactly what he thought of her pairing.
Sure enough, a heartbeat later, Canaan Hart exploded. “Have you lost your fucking mind?” he roared. “You are not mated to a Helios. You are not mated or bonded or whatever the hell else you want to call it to anyone!”
“You will watch how you speak to my companion, or I will rip your tongue out and shove it up—”
“Tariq.” Cami placed her hand on his elbow to stop him from carrying through with his threat. “It’s okay. I can handle this.”
Standing half a step behind their father, Lucas winked at her. “Congratulations, chipmunk. Let’s see it.”
Lucas confused her. She’d expected him to react more like Canaan, but he hadn’t stopped grinning since they’d arrived. Furthermore, he looked pleased as punch about her choice in a partner, and every time Tariq touched or caressed her, Lucas swelled with satisfaction.
She didn’t have to ask what he wanted to see, not when he kept staring at her throat. Turning her head to the left, she stretched her neck, showing off the red starburst that dotted her skin.
Canaan sputtered and cursed, but Lucas just nodded. “It suits you.”
“You really think so?”
“Yes. It makes you look tough.”
“She’s all grown up,” Lucas thought. “I’m so damn proud of you, chipmunk.”
Clearly, Cami didn’t know the entire story. Tears welled along her lower lids, and as much as she tried, she couldn’t stop them from overflowing. “Lucas, this is my companion, my love, Tariq Navarra. Tariq, this is my brother.”
“This is not going to happen!” her father yelled. “I forbid it! You will pack your things and prepare to leave at once.”
“No,” Cami answered calmly. “As I said, you’re welcome to come back to our quarters so we can discuss this, but I’m not going to have a screaming match with you in public.”
“Excellent.” Lucas’ gaze traveled somewhere beyond her, and the poor man looked as though he’d been clubbed over the head. “I, uh, I think I’m going to sit this one out, chipmunk.” Pushing past their father, he nodded at Tariq and bent to place a kiss on Cami’s cheek. “You’ve got this,” he whispered.
“I won’t let anything happen to her,” Tariq promised.
Some unspoken communication passed between the two males, and though she tried not to listen, Cami couldn’t help but overhear Lucas’ approval.
“I won’t allow this. She’s not safe here. I need to protect her. She’s all I have left, and I can’t lose her.”
Her father’s frantic, almost panicked thoughts gave Cami pause. On the outside, he appeared outraged and unmoving, but within the privacy of his own mind, something much different was happening. That didn’t excuse the things he’d done, but it might help to explain them.
“This way.” With Tariq at her side and her father trailing behind them, Cami led the way to the lifts. “Did you have a pleasant trip?” she asked when they were all crammed into the small elevator.
Canaan glared at Tariq. “The trip was fine.”
“I don’t think he likes you very much.”
Tariq shrugged. “I don’t really give a flying comet what he thinks of me.”
She’d know his response before he’d projected it to her, but it still made her giggle. Sobering when her father turned his glare on her, Cami couldn’t have been more thankful when the lift doors opened on the lower level.
Tense silence surrounded them as they filed down the hallway, and it didn’t abate once inside their quarters, either. As much as she wanted Tariq there for support, she also knew she needed to speak to her father alone, at least at first.
“Could I have a few minutes, please?”
“No.”
“Tariq, I’ll be okay. This is between me and my father. I need to do this.”
“Fine. I’m not leaving, though. I’ll…take a shower.”
More like he’d skulk around the bedroom and eavesdrop, but Cami figured she wouldn’t get a better offer. “Okay, thank you.”
“You will watch your tone,” Tariq warned Canaan. “If you hurt her. If you make her cry. If you even look at her wrong, you will answer to me. Do we understand each other?”
Canaan grunted, which apparently passed as acquiescence, because Tariq vanished into the bedroom.
“He does seem to care for you,” Canaan acknowledged. “It doesn’t matter, though. You will return home at once where it’s safe.”
“Safe?” She’d always thought her father an intelligent man. Maybe she’d overestimated him. “Did you not just hear him? Do you honestly think I’m not safe with him, that he wouldn’t destroy anything that might even think of harming me?”
“That’s not the point,” Canaan argued. “You don’t belong here, sweetheart. You need to come home.”
“No, Daddy, you’re wrong. I’m exactly where I belong, and despite everything you’ve done to try to prevent it, I’m not a child anymore.”
“Camille, this is nonsense.”
“Is Derrek dead?” she demanded. “Tell me the truth. Did he die that day in Fort Nacht? Have I spent all this time hiding from a ghost that doesn’t exist?”
“Who told you that?”
“Answer me!” Cami didn’t want to hear his lies or his excuses. She wanted the truth. “Is he dead?”
Canaan cleared his throat and stared down at his hands where they rested on his kn
ees. “Yes.”
Though she’d already known the answer, it hurt more than she’d have thought to hear it spoken aloud. “And what about me? Am I also dead?”
Thankfully, he didn’t feign ignorance. “As far as the records are concerned, yes.”
“Why?” Cami whispered. “All this time. Why?”
“Because I’m weak. My best friend murdered the love of my life. I couldn’t lose you, too, Camille. You almost died that day, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified.” Hesitantly, he reached out to take her hand. “I swore on the day I brought you home that I would never let anything hurt you again, that I’d protect you, even from your curse.”
“From my gift,” Cami corrected. “It’s not a curse.” She’d thought so at one time, but she no longer saw it that way. Her abilities allowed her to help people, and in her mind, that couldn’t be a bad thing. “I’m not Derrek. I’m stronger than you think, Daddy. Tell me why you did it.”
Canaan’s eyes shimmered in the overhead light as he squeezed her hand. “I didn’t plan it. I didn’t even think I could get away with it. My affiliation with the hospital made altering your records easier than I anticipated, and then it was done.” He looked down at their joined hands and sighed. “If you had died along with your mother, no one would come looking for you.”
“Derrek was already dead. Who else would come looking for me?”
“Sweetheart, your abilities made you too special. I knew the Alliance would try to use you.” The muscles in his jaw hardened, and his eyes creased at the corners. “With your abilities, they’d want to bring you into the Security and Investigation Division. It was too dangerous. I couldn’t allow that. I couldn’t lose you.”
Cami thought about the Alliance, about working as an investigator. She imagined how her life might have turned out had her father not been so afraid. The whole thing played out like a dream in the span of a few seconds, but in the end, she couldn’t miss something she’d never had. She couldn’t be sorry for the way things had gone instead, not when it had led her to Tariq.
