“So what are we loading?” she asked, forcing a smile and following him as he went back to pick up another box.
“Medical supplies that are being shipped out this evening to the city of Glorus.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Are you sure you can walk in those shoes?”
She rolled her eyes and grabbed one of the smaller boxes, lifting it high against her chest. “I love my shoes, and I have been walking just fine in them since I turned the age of fifteen.”
He lifted a huge box and laughed. “I remember that. When you stopped wearing ragged old athletic shoes and put on those teetering high heels.”
She grimaced. “Oh, please, do not remind me of my lack of fashion as a child. I idolized you and Ryder so much that I think at times I fancied myself a boy.”
“You could never be a boy.” He set the box in the back of the ship next to the other one and shook his head. “Trust me on this.”
“Thank you, Dillon. Although some may argue with you about that.” She set her box down and went back to grab another.
The room went quiet, and she turned around to make sure Dillon hadn’t left her alone. He was still at the loading dock, but now he looked angry.
What had she said? “What’s wrong?”
“Who said it?”
“Said what?” She gave a nervous laugh and continued to grab another box.
“That you look like a boy.”
She scooped up another box, not answering right away. You don’t have a lot to work with . Trevon’s comments about her breasts had stung. Had made her feel anything but sexy. Forget what he said, he didn’t mean it. He was drunk .
“No one said it outright, and it does not matter.” She shrugged as she walked past him with the box. “I have always been a little self-conscious about my body.”
“You have no need to be.”
She gave a wry smile. “You’re practically under obligation to say that, being that you are my friend.”
He caught her elbow and halted her. Where his fingers touched, her bare flesh tingled. She lifted her gaze to meet his and the air locked in her throat. His eyes seemed a darker shade of blue and were intent upon her.
“I do not say that as your friend, Krystal.”
Something about the way he said the words made it seem as though he was being more than just supportive.
“You don’t?” She ran her tongue over her lips and his gaze dropped to her mouth. Her pulse quickened and she blinked, trying to force away the sudden haze in her head.
What was happening? Why couldn’t she form a straight thought? Wasn’t she here to get Dillon on her side about her being allowed to date…Her mind came up blank.
Trevon! Oh gods. How could she not even remember his name, when not even an hour ago he consumed her every thought?
“No, Krystal, I do not.” He reached up and touched one of her curls. “I say that because—”
“We should finish loading the ship.” She cut him off before he could finish. She didn’t want to hear the rest. Something deep in her gut knew it would change everything that had ever been simple between them.
Dillon’s mouth tightened, but he sighed and released her. “Yes. I suppose we had better. I need to take this shipment out before the next hour.”
Krystal’s hands trembled as she went to grab another box. What had just passed between them? The undercurrents in the room had changed into something heavy and thick. She lifted the box and closed her eyes. She wanted it back, that light and friendly ambiance they usually maintained.
More minutes of silence passed as they moved boxes, and finally she couldn’t take the quiet anymore.
“Do you remember when I was a child and used to spy on you and Ryder?” She brought up an old memory, something amusing to lighten the mood.
Sure enough Dillon’s mouth curved upward. “Of course. You always were a naughty little child.”
“I was not naughty, I was curious.” She grinned. “Naughty would be Ryder when I spotted him throwing gillie fish eggs at his instructor’s pod.”
Dillon laughed. “Ah, you saw that, did you?”
“Yes. I was quite scandalized.” She giggled. “And I remember this one time you had taken a girl to the lookout over Ile-scot Crater, and I followed you.”
“You did?” He raised an eyebrow, now looking very interested. “And what did you see?”
“What did I see? I saw—” She broke off as the image filled her head. She’d seen him kiss the girl, and then remove her shirt and kiss her breasts. His hand slipped under her dress.
A blush heated her cheeks. At the time she had thought it disgusting and good for a laugh, but now…now it did not seem so funny.
“I don’t remember,” she finished, her voice husky.
His eyes twinkled with amusement and something else she couldn’t put her finger on. Her stomach felt a bit fluttery and she pressed her hand against it. Perhaps her lunch did not agree with her?
“Is everything loaded?” she asked to change the subject.
“Yes, I believe that is everything.” He kept watching her and her stomach fluttered again.
Was she ill? She should hail a sky taxi and leave before it got much worse. Trevon. Oh gods. She’d completely forgotten to bring up Trevon. How would she ever sway Dillon to her side if she didn’t make an effort?
“Dillon?”
He shut the cargo door. “Yes, Krys?”
She hesitated. “You want to see me happy, do you not?”
A beat passed before he answered. “More than anything. You know I do.”
Her pulse skipped. Maybe he would help her. She took a deep breath and then plunged on. “Then surely you could not protest my relationship with Trevon. I am in love with him and he with me—”
“You haven’t figured it out yet, have you, Krystal?” He turned to face her and all traces of amusement were gone, his jaw tight.
“Figured it out yet?” she repeated, frustration clawing in her gut now. “What? That you and my brother do not want me to go anywhere near him? Yes, that’s fairly obvious.”
“No.” He closed the distance between them and slid an arm around her waist, jerking her hard against him. “That you belong to me.”
10
T he shock of his words penetrated, just before his mouth crushed down on hers. His lips were hard and demanding. She gasped and the movement allowed him to press his tongue inside her mouth.
He tasted faintly of mint as his tongue rubbed slowly against hers. The fluttering in her stomach doubled and seemed to burst, sending heat between her thighs.
Confusion warred in her head. The urge came on strong to pull him closer, to find out what would happen with the heat in her body if he kept kissing her.
This is Dillon. Stop this at once.
She lifted her hands between them to push him away. Her palms met solid muscle under the linen of his shirt and everything went hazy again. Why had she never noticed how solid his chest was?
His kiss gentled and his tongue curled around hers and he began to suck rhythmically. She groaned, feeling a familiar dampness between the folds of her pussy. Never had she grown this wet unless she was using her clitabrator, and yet here h
e was evoking the same response.
He backed her up until her ass bumped into the wall and then his hands moved down to her hips, squeezing them. His knee thrust between her legs and his thigh moved snug against her cunt.
He tore his mouth from hers and kissed the curve of her neck.
The room spun and she clung to his shirt to remain upright.
“I do not feel well.” She gasped as his tongue flicked over a sensitive spot.
“How do you feel?” His lips closed over her skin and she gasped.
“Dizzy. Oh…” She closed her eyes. “Hot. Flushed.”
“Do you, now?” His laugh was deep and husky, sending shivers through her body. “That is a good thing, kitten.”
She arched against him and whispered, “How could it possibly be a good thing?”
His thigh rubbed hard against her sex and she gasped.
“You are wet for me.” His voice was confident.
She struggled to focus again. There was something she should be remembering.
“For me, Krystal, not that rich-ass boy you fancy yourself in love with.” His knee rubbed in circles against her. “You will end whatever you have with Trevon immediately.”
Trevon. How had he slipped out of her thoughts? She stopped clutching at Dillon and shoved hard against his chest.
“Release me. At once, Dillon, release me.” Her voice echoed shrill in the hangar.
His gaze narrowed, but fortunately he stepped away from her.
She pulled her dress back down, ignoring the ache between her thighs and the pounding of her heart.
“Have you lost your mind?” She shook her head. Why were her hands trembling so badly? “You are my friend, Dillon. Nothing more.”
Even as the words left her mouth she heard the ring of falsehood in them. Oh gods, this was wrong, so wrong!
He was oddly calm as he turned and walked back toward the cargo ship. “We will be married before the month is over.”
She gaped, aghast. “Married?”
“Yes. It would be in your best interest to inform Trevon that you no longer—”
“No. How dare you? Nobody tells me whom I will marry. Nobody . Ryder will probably have your ass strung up for what you have done—”
“Ryder is in agreement with me, kitten,” he said quietly. “It has been decided, and it will be done.”
Her jaw went slack and she blinked. Ryder knew about this and approved? The slow boil of anger worked its way up from her belly.
“I see.” She clenched her teeth. Arranged marriages had never been in fashion on Belton and she would be damned if she became the first casualty. “I will head back to my quarters now.”
Dillon stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “You will end things with Trevon. Is that understood?”
She would show them. Dillon and Ryder. But until she could figure out how…“Yes. I understand completely.”
Surprise and suspicion flickered in his gaze. “I am not so sure I believe you.”
Smart man . She forced what she hoped was a docile smile. “It is just unexpected, Dillon. Perhaps I need a little time for it to sink in.”
He watched her for a moment longer and then gave a brief nod.
“I will be back tomorrow in the morning. Why don’t we have lunch? I will come to get you around one.”
Her smile felt brittle. “I’ll put it on my calendar, Dillon.”
He reached out, the pad of his thumb moving along her bottom lip. Another shiver ran through her body and the ache between her thighs increased.
“See that you do, Krystal.”
She stepped back and walked around him. Tears of frustration pricked at her eyes. Gods help her, had the entire planet gone mad?
It was madness. Complete madness. Talia stared out the window of her room, a tiny smile curving her lips. She was in love with him.
Wrapping her arms around her waist, she rocked back on her heels and sighed. Denying it was futile at this point. She’d attempted to talk herself out of the fact for the last couple of hours to no avail. The sheer fact was that Ryder affected her in a way that no man before ever had; had touched her on the deepest level.
She dragged in a deep, shuddering breath and walked to the closet to find a dress to wear to dinner.
Tonight she would share all she knew of the Council’s plans with Ryder. She should have done so earlier. Belton was not the evil planet that she had been led to believe. It was a wonderful, thriving planet; full of beauty and good people.
She pulled a black dress from the closet and held it against her body. It had no straps, would hug her breasts before falling in soft folds to the floor. Running her hands over the fabric, she sighed. What sort of material was this dress? Soft and slippery, so unlike the starched fabric she’d worn back on Zortou.
Was there time to bathe before Ryder came to see her?
Her door beeped and she glanced up in surprise. Was he early?
Krystal strode into the room, her face blotchy and stained with tears.
“Krystal?” Talia hurried forward, her brows drawn together. “Tell me, what has happened?”
Already she prepared for the worst. That the man Krystal was seeing had forced himself upon her, or maybe they’d already made love and perhaps she was now pregnant—
“I hate him.” Krystal heaved an unsteady sigh and dashed her hand across her cheek.
Talia nibbled on her lip before asking, “Hate whom?”
“Dillon. Ryder. Men in general.” Krystal flung herself down on the bed and said something else, but with her face buried in the pillow Talia could not understand her.
“I’m sorry, I did not hear you,” she said hesitantly and went to sit next to the younger woman on the bed. “What is the matter?”
Krystal lifted her head and her lower lip trembled. She looked so incredibly young and vulnerable that Talia had to remind herself Krystal was just barely a woman.
“Apparently my brother and Dillon have decided that it is in my best interest to get married.” Her lips curled downward and her eyes flashed. “To Dillon!”
Talia blinked and took a careful breath in. “To…Dillon? Are you sure? What makes you certain?”
Krystal snorted a most unladylike sound. “Besides Dillon telling me as much? His assault on my person was a fairly decent clue.”
Talia’s mouth tightened and a slow burn of anger built in her belly. “He assaulted you? Are you hurt? Did he…” How to ask this delicately? “Penetrate your barrier?”
“My barrier? Oh. My barrier.” She flushed. “No. And I am not hurt. Though I felt sick during the entire episode.”
“Sick? How so?” Had he beaten her? Restrained her? If so, she would have words with Ryder. As it was, she intended to.
“I was dizzy and flushed, and my heart was beating as if I’d gone running for hours.” Krystal shook her head. “Truth be told it was very odd, Talia. Never before have I experienced such a feeling.”
Talia drew her lip between her teeth. What Krystal described was very similar to what she experienced with Ryder. But Talia was not inexperienced enough to mistake that for illness.
She looked more closely at the other woman. She knew Krystal pleasured herself, but was she really so innocent that she did not recognize the physical affects the right man could have on one?
Talia bit her lip and then murmured, “Perhaps this match with Dillon is not such a bad thing?”
“Not such a bad thing?” Krystal’s eyes widened. “You are on their side as well! You think Dillon to be a good match for me?”
“I do not know Dillon and could not be a judge of that, but…” How to explain Krystal’s reaction to Dillon, when she herself was still a bit new to love and desire? “There must be a reason Ryder would have you marry him.”
“I could not say. And Dillon is not a bad man; he is actually quite wonderful at times. But I love Trevon and that is the point.” Krystal sulked and beat her fist against the pillow. “It is completely ridiculous that they are attempting to control my future.”
Talia sighed. Krystal’s conviction seemed genuine. It was entirely possible she was in love with Trevon. Still, doubt lingered heavy in her gut.
“What do you intend to do?”
Krystal rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “I have not yet decided, but there are ideas in my head.”
Talia lowered her gaze and twisted her hands together. “I am sorry, Krystal. And please, if you need to talk, I will always be willing to listen.”
“Thank you.” There was a small pause. “How are you fairing, Talia? Has my brother improved his treatment of you?”
Talia’s body heated and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Ryder has improved his treatment significantly.”
“Hmm.” Krystal sat back up, looking unconvinced. “I still find what he’s doing to you appalling.”
The urge to confess her newly discovered feelings for Ryder came on strong. She bit her tongue to keep from telling Krystal everything. It was just too soon; there was still so much she needed to figure out for herself.
Take Me Page 12
