A Star Pilot's Heart

by Eva Delaney

  Doctor Hamal strolled up behind Orion. He looked even better in his tight gray t-shirt than he had in his lab coat. Again, he made my mind reel, but not from his handsomeness this time. Why was he here? Had he and Orion been sleeping on my ship in anticipation of an early take-off?

  “I’m glad to see you, Captain,” Hamal said, “but a pre-flight warning would have been nice.” He gingerly rubbed the side of his head and gave me an apologetic smile.

  I glanced back at Orion. His knuckles turned white as he clenched the door frame. “You locked us in the cabins.”

  How dare he be angry? He wasn’t supposed to be on my ship against my wishes. I wanted to rage at him and Antares, but if I did, I would lose the upper hand. I was the commanding officer, and the only woman on this crew, so I must appear in control. I must act like this was all according to my plan.

  At least, until Antares told them the truth and humiliated me before my crew. He could expose my lie at any time, and once the crew knew that I broke with orders, they’d lock me up and make Orion commander.

  “Oh good, you’re finally awake,” I said lightly.

  “Finally awake? It’s four am!” Orion seethed.

  Despite my shitty situation, I still got a perverse pleasure in seeing him flushed and angry. “It is? Then we’re already running late. Time is of the essence.”

  Orion narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t buying it.

  “We couldn’t wait for you to get your shit together,” I said. I glanced sidelong at Antares, but his damn dour expression didn’t reveal a thing about what he was plotting.

  “Your flying threw us around the cabins!” Orion shouted. But my ears strained toward Antares as I waited for him to ruin me. He said nothing. His expression didn’t even flicker. So, he was planning to blackmail me later.

  Maybe I could outflank him before then. Orion and Hamal wouldn’t be inclined to believe a Supremacy bounty hunter, after all.

  I fixed Orion with my iciest stare. “You know to strap in before sleeping on a ship in case of sudden maneuvers. It’s stranded practice…standard practice,” I quickly corrected myself.

  Orion was speechless in nothing but his tight-fitting underwear. I tried not to smile.

  “I remembered to engage the safety netting,” Polaris chirped from somewhere behind Hamal.

  Fuck. He was here, too? Well, Polaris liked me and was naive so this might be okay. As long as Rux was still at Star Keeper.

  “Good work, Po,” I said.

  “What are you doing here? What is he doing here with you?” Orion turned to Antares; his eyes were wide and hot with anger. The morose man stared back with a flat expression. It was more honest than his pretending to be startled or silently pleading with me to feel bad for him.

  No matter what Antares was planning, I had to grab control of this situation before he blew my cover. I unstrapped from the safety webbing and stood up, drawing myself up to my full height and glaring at Orion. “We are here to stop the Supremacy, same as you. Get your temper under control.”

  He didn’t argue like I expected. Instead, his gaze locked onto the gold seal of office pinned above my heart, but he didn’t stop there. His smoldering gaze trailed over my chest, my hips, and my thighs. A flush rose along my neck. His left eyebrow quirked and heat blazed between my thighs as though I were connected to his movements. I stole a glance at the growing bulge in his briefs. I could almost feel the memory of his rough hands stroking my thighs, my—

  Someone cleared his throat.

  I blinked to clear my mind. Orion’s gaze snapped back to the gold seal of office pinned above my heart. His expression turned grim. “Yes, ma’am. You’ll have no more trouble from me.”

  I had no doubt that he was lying. Part of me hoped he was. I pushed the feeling away.

  “We’ll be in transit through hyperspace for the next five days.” It was depressing to admit how long I was stuck with these men, but it changed nothing in the end. I’d play commander for a few days and then ditch them at Vinera Space Port, as I intended to do with Antares.

  Until then, I needed them to believe that I was in charge. If they suspected I had defied orders, they’d lock me up as a traitor and I’d lose the Firebrand all over again. I had to act as if this was a normal mission. “Get some rest. We start drills at 0900,” I ordered.

  “At least you’re doing that right,” Rux muttered somewhere in the hall behind Hamal.

  Son of a bitch! The chiseled tank of fury was here, too.

  I was so screwed.

  I took a deep breath. I was the commanding officer. I could handle this. “For your insubordination, you can start running laps now, Rux,” I said. To his credit, he didn’t whine or complain about the command.

  “Ah…sorry to interrupt, but drills?” Polaris said, his deep voice going not quite squeaky, but close. “Like military drills with running and pretend fights?”

  I sighed. He was a good guy, but now I was stuck training someone who had never served on a military mission before.

  “Don’t worry, kid, we won’t laugh at you…much,” Orion said.

  “I’m older than you are,” Polaris bristled.

  “Enough of your bullshit, Orion.” The cockpit felt like it was getting smaller, like these men were using up all the air. “I’ll be in my bunk.”

  “You mean our bunk,” Orion said.

  “No, I don’t. Move your shit out of my cabin.”

  “There’s only three beds. We have to share.” He flashed me a mischievous smile, and I remembered him giving me that same grin while his hard cock pressed against my thigh.

  The past was not helpful here.

  I pressed two fingers against the base of my nose to try to clear my mind. “It would not be appropriate for us to share a cabin—”

  “Since when do you care about appropriate—”

  “I’ll be happy to share with Calpurnia instead,” Hamal said.

  Orion rounded on him with a half-mad, half-quizzical look. Hamal shrugged. “We’ll be sleeping in shifts, anyway. What does it matter?”

  No, it would not do to have that man in my room either.

  “You, Rux, you’ll sleep in my cabin.” He was handsome in a rugged, angry way, but he hated me so wouldn’t flirt or try to seduce me.

  “What?” Orion and Rux said at the same time.

  “The rest of you figure it out like adults. Now, out of my way.”

  “What about the ship’s extension?” Polaris said.

  I blinked. “What?”

  “They were going to add an extension to the living quarters in the morning. Two small cabins off the cargo hold.”

  Motherfucker. I could really use that extra space now. I couldn’t let them know that because it would reveal that I had sneaked away without orders.

  “We’d have enough room if you hadn’t left early, Cali,” Orion said.

  “Extra space makes it harder to hide the ship,” I said. “We don’t need it.”

  Orion scoffed. “Two extra cabins isn’t enough to blow any cover.”

  “Are you claiming to know my ship better than I do?” I said, glaring at him.

  Orion glowered back with his arm crossed.

  “Are you claiming to understand smuggling better than I do?” I demanded.

  “No, Commander,” he said coldly.

  “I was promised my own cabin,” Rux said from the corridor.

  “Well, life is full of disappointment,” I said.

  “That’s the definition of life,” Antares said.

  “No one asked you, scum,” Orion snapped.

  “He’s a part of our team so you better be nice,” I said. In truth, I thought Antares was scum, too. But if I was going to play commander then I had to act as though they all belonged. “Out of my way,” I said.

  On a ship as small as the Firebrand, there was little room to maneuver. Orion tried to back out of the cockpit doorway, but Hamal and the rest of the men blocked the corridor. He turned sideways and I turned sideways, but
I still had to press against his bare chest and legs to slip by him. I refused to look at him for fear of what I would feel if I did.

  I shuffled pass as quickly as I could and opened the door to my cabin. With the sheets tangled by Orion’s body and his clothes taking over the floor, it didn’t feel cozy anymore.

  But somehow, it still felt familiar.

  Thirteen

  My stuff was tucked into the closet, and the dirty laundry that had been strewn on the floor was now folded neatly on top of my laundry basket.

  “God damn it, Orion,” I muttered.

  “What?” he said as he jammed pants and shirts into his duffel bag rather than putting any of them on. When he noticed me watching, he leaned in close to me. I could smell his soap, the same one he used years ago. I wanted to close my eyes and breathe deep. I didn’t.

  “That guy hates you. What are you doing? Are you trying to make me worried?”

  I leaned back and fixed him with an impassive stare. “What makes you think you factor into any of my decisions?”

  He gave me a disappointed look. I waited for his stinging comeback, but he did something worse.

  He sighed softly and flashed me a small, warm smile that melted my irritation. “I’m glad you’re here, Cali. You’re the best pilot I’ve ever seen and the strongest, most amazing commander I’ve ever served under. We could never do this without you.”

  Though I knew better than to listen to him, his words eased something within me like salve on a wound. I couldn’t let him know the effect he was having, or he would think it was an invitation to get back together. I’d fought too long and too hard to get over him and to learn to stand on my own to throw it away. “I know,” I said.

  He laughed, loud and hearty. His green eyes glinted, loving my response. He had always appreciated my cockiness.

  “It’s more than that,” Orion said, his voice turning low and husky. “I’ve thought about you every single day for the last six years, since you first kicked my ass in the flight simulator. When I stepped onto this ship and saw you, it was like a star flared to life in my chest. Cali—”

  “Stop.” Tears were building at the edges of my eyes, threatening to spill over and undo all the progress I’ve made to stand on my own without him, without anyone. Worse, I wasn’t hiding it from Orion very well. He watched me with hungry eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

  “You’re the most extraordinary woman in the galaxy. I’ve missed you.”

  He was full of shit. He left once and he would leave again. “Then you shouldn’t have abandoned me,” I said. “Get out of my cabin.”

  Guilt flashed across his eyes. “I deserved that. I never wanted to hurt you.”

  “But you did.”

  He flashed me a cocky grin. “I’m still going to try to win you back.” He picked up his duffel bag and strolled from the room. The door hissed shut behind him and I collapsed onto the bed, dropping my face into my hand.

  I was so screwed. I wasn’t sure if I could resist Orion until we reached Vinera Space Port. Worse yet, Antares had leverage over me. I owed him for not blowing my cover. What would a bounty hunter use that leverage for?

  I shuddered at the thought.

  The door hissed open and I sat up bolt straight before anyone could see me slumped over. Rux stomped in and dropped his ridiculously large gun on my bed and his duffel bag on the floor.

  I forgot. Until we reached Vinera, I didn’t get to be alone unless I hid in the secret smuggling compartment.

  “You know what I think, Captain?” Rux said in his gravelly voice as he yanked his shirt over his head.

  I started to protest his undressing, but my mouth wouldn’t work. My gaze lingered over his pecs and abs. He looked like a marble statue, so perfect that he must have been sculpted by an expert’s hand. His shoulders and biceps were covered with swirling black designs. Along his left rib cage was a tattoo of black and green lines in a pattern I didn’t recognize.

  I didn’t ask what he thought—I was too busy staring at him to care—but he answered anyway.

  “I think you’re bullshitting us, and those soft-hearted puppies are too smitten with you to notice.”

  Nobody was smitten with me. Not even Orion; he was just looking for a quick fuck. “What the hell are you talking about?” I said.

  Rux smiled, but there was no humor in it. “You and that Supremacy scum are up to something.”

  I laughed at him. “Causing drama doesn’t suit you, Magellan.”

  “Lying doesn’t suit you, Trix.” It was a shortened version of my last name. Nobody had ever called me that before.

  “That’s Commander, and why the hell are you undressing?”

  “Because you ordered me to.”

  “I would rather jump out the airlock than see you naked,” I lied.

  “You ordered me to run laps along the hall, Captain Trix,” he made the title sound like an insult. “I can’t do that with a shirt on.” He winked, but his expression remained cold as he stomped out of the room.

  I wanted to scream. The last time I was in my cabin I had wanted to do the same, but because of a different man.

  My heart leapt into my throat: Orion’s ring! I was so distraught about losing the Firebrand that I forgot to remove my stuff from the ship. I didn’t own anything worth saving, anyway…except that damn ring.

  I jumped up and tore through the dresser drawers. Nothing. I dropped to my knees to look under the bed. Nothing. I dragged everything out of the closet, spilling the neatly folded clothes and riffling through them. Where the hell was it?

  Orion couldn’t have found it, could he? Maybe one of the other men had and tossed it or kept it to sell later. That had to be it.

  Because if Orion found it, he would think I still cared about him. He’d keep flirting and giving me those looks that made my heart skip beats. I remembered when I found him cleaning the cockpit and he had gazed at me with a fragile, hopeful look. His perfect mouth had hesitated, just a bit, like he was unsure of how to say something.

  I didn’t care about him; I hadn’t since he left me, but my body apparently didn’t get the message. I didn’t know if I could keep seeing his sincere, vulnerable expressions without giving in.

  Fourteen

  I moved Rux’s unnecessarily large gun and settled into my bed, but it was clear I wasn’t going to fall asleep.

  The cabin door was soundproof, but the silence made it harder to doze off. What if Antares was telling the others about my attempt to ditch them? What if Orion was mocking Polaris? What if one of them ran systems checks and messed up the navigation?

  What if Antares realized we weren’t going where he thought we were? What if he tried to sabotage something?

  There were so many things that could go wrong.

  So, I slipped back into my jacket—things turned chilly with the temperature control going strong, but without it, the ship overheated quickly. I fixed up my braid and took a deep steadying breath before facing my crew again.

  I paused at the top of the ladder and watched as Rux ran laps on the lower deck. His skin glistened with sweat. As though he felt my gaze on him, he stopped and looked up. I gulped.

  “How many more laps, Captain?” he sneered, still refusing to use my new title.

  Someone who insulted a ranking officer needed discipline. I had a perverse desire to make his spoiled ass keep running. But pushing people was not the way to win over a crew.

  I didn’t want to win them over, I reminded myself. I planned to leave them before they decided to leave me. Still, without knowing why, I took mercy on him. “That’ll do, Magellan. Be ready for drills at nine.” I marched away before he responded with more mockery.

  On the Firebrand, there was nowhere to march to, unless you walked around the cargo hold. The living quarters were safe and cozy like a nest or a warm den—as long as there was only one person here.

  Orion’s laugh filled the short corridor like a song. He leaned in the open doorway to the kitchen at the en
d of the hall. His back was to me, and he still wasn’t wearing a damn shirt. My gaze trailed down his strong back to where his jeans hinted at what was underneath.

  Hamal appeared in the doorway, holding a spatula in one hand and clasping Orion on the shoulder with the other. His smile was warm as a bed in a cold room. It was the usual intimacy of guy friends who hid affection in teasing. Still, it made something ache deep in my chest.

  If Orion could be so affectionate with a man, why did he stop doing it with me? I took a step closer to them without meaning to. It must have been the exhaustion fogging my thoughts.

  Hamal’s gaze landed on me. “Commander Calpurnia, I’m making an early breakfast. Join us.” He said it as though he was glad to see me. It was nice of him to fake it, but unnecessary. My feelings wouldn’t be hurt if he were truthful.

  “Ah…” I glanced at Orion. He was watching me with the same look he gave me in the cockpit, a strange mixture of happiness and sorrow. He glanced away, crossing his arms.

  “Even commanders have to eat,” Hamal said.

  I couldn’t think of a good excuse to duck away and would rather not turn around and run into Rux, anyway. “Sure,” I said. Orion stepped out of the kitchen door. I turned sideways to slip by him and felt the heat of his body fleeting as a kiss.

  To distract myself, I breathed deep of the kitchen. It smelled of eggs and baking muffins. The Firebrand never smelt like that.

  “The second-best thing about this mission is Hamal’s famous cooking. The first best thing is you,” Orion said behind me, his breath stirring my hair.

  I gulped. I needed to get away from him. I slipped pass Hamal and settled into one of the two chairs attached to the tiny table.

  “Ah…” I tried to think of a way to change the subject from Orion’s feigned affection. “How do you two know each other?” I said it as though I didn’t care, but damn it, I did. I wanted to know how they became close.

  “We met in Livid Company,” Orion said. “Hamal was the gunner on my bomber. The entire team gained ten pounds thanks to him.”

  “The ships barely took off by the end,” Hamal said, and he and Orion laughed. “That’s why I went back to doctoring.”