by Kali Argent
“You didn’t mean to imply that I’m a prostitute?” Isla asked, her voice tight, but she still wouldn’t look at him. “You didn’t mean to accuse me of trying to sleep with you to manipulate you?”
“Yes, that.” He scrubbed both hands over his face and let out his next breath slowly. “I’m an asshole. I know you’d never do something like that.”
Finally, Isla turned, shifting in her seat to look at him head-on. “Then, why did you say it?”
“Because I was hurt, and I wanted to hurt you back,” he said honestly. “Bas told you about Ursa?”
“That Krytos bitch that ripped out Slade’s heart and did the tango on it?”
Knox didn’t know what a tango was, but he got the gist of what she meant. “When you said that Slade’s difficult—and I’m not arguing that—it was almost exactly what Ursa said to us. Slade was too difficult to love.”
To his shock, Isla started to laugh.
“I meant that Slade is resistant. He hides behind his tough-guy façade, but he’s definitely not hard to love.”
How could he have ever doubted her? Isla was warmth and sunshine and joy, all rolled into a beautiful, gracious package that not a damn one of them deserved, especially not him.
“Then you said you hoped we’d both want to be with you, and—”
“And you thought I meant you and Bastian.” Isla nodded. “That’s what I was just thinking about before you knocked on the door. I’d say we’ve both made mistakes.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Knox answered immediately. “You were trying to tell me. I just didn’t listen.”
“All the Krytos I’ve ever known have been mated to the same woman. I shouldn’t have assumed it was the same for the three of you.”
Knox could understand that, but he also stood by his claim that none of this was her fault. “That was the plan. After Ursa, things just changed. Slade closed himself off, even with me and Bastian to an extent. There were two other females after Ursa, but neither of them lasted very long. After a while, it just seemed like the best thing was to agree that we’d all find our own mates.”
“It was the only way to keep from tearing you guys apart.” She bobbed her head as though that made perfect sense. “I get that, but I’m not Ursa. Look, I’m not saying any of this makes sense, because it doesn’t. I don’t know if it’s because of the spell Torren did, or maybe we were always going to end up here, but I know what I want.”
“I know, sweetheart, and I’m so damn sorry I hurt you. I never wanted that, not ever.”
“You were protecting your brothers, and I can’t really hold that against you. I’m not saying what you said is okay, but I know why you did it, and I forgive you.”
“Thank you.” He still had a lot to make up for, and he’d try every damn day to be the kind of male she deserved. “Isla, you know I want to be with you. Focus. Feel what I’m feeling, and you know I’m telling you the truth, but…”
Her mouth curved into a sweet, tender smile, and she sighed wistfully. “I can feel it, and I can also feel your hesitancy.”
“Sweetheart, I just, I don’t, I think maybe—”
“It’s okay. I know what you’re going to say, and I agree.” Rising from her chair, she crossed the three steps to the bed and eased down beside him, taking his hand in both of her own. “Bastian is impatient, and dare I say, impulsive. I know he claimed me, in part, to protect me, and I’m so grateful. If you claimed me now, though, I think it would just push Slade further away.”
Knox breathed out in relief. “This doesn’t change anything.” With his free hand, he cupped her cheek and bent his head, claiming her mouth in a deep, lingering kiss. “You’re still mine.”
She hummed a little and kissed him again before pulling away, sitting up straight to look him in the eyes. “So, how do we get Slade on the ‘mine’ shuttle?”
“Patience.” Slade was hiding, pushing Isla away, but Knox could already see the difference in his brother. He wouldn’t be able to deny her or his feelings for much longer. “Just keep showing up, sweetheart. Let him know he can trust you not to break his heart.”
Her smile grew wider, and she arched up to kiss him on the cheek. “I can do that. So, when do we start?”
CHAPTER NINE
As it turned out, getting close to Slade was harder than she had anticipated. For almost a week, he’d dodged her at every turn, cordoned himself off in his office, or skulked around his quarters. Every time she managed to get him alone, he’d invent any excuse to get away.
Isla sighed as she stepped off the Storm Rider and into the cavernous docking bay on Alpha Station: X4, her hand linked with Cord’s. She looked forward to meeting the brothers’ adopted family, and Cord was beside himself with excitement, but she still worried about Slade.
He’d continued to block his emotions, effectively shutting her out in every way. Isla, on the other hand, kept herself open, even trying to push her own feelings at the male, trying to break through the wall he’d built around himself. Nothing seemed to work.
“There’s someone Knox and I are supposed to meet,” Bastian said as he joined her in the docking bay. He kissed the top of her head and caressed Cord’s hair. “We’ll meet you guys at Fortuna.”
Isla knew the plan, but her stomach still fluttered. “We’ll be okay.” She looked up at Knox when he came to stand on her other side. “Take your time.”
Slade grunted from his place a few feet in front of them. “I still don’t know why this meeting takes both of you. Who the hell are you meeting anyway?”
Knox and Bastian just smirked before walking away without a word. It had been their idea to “disappear,” giving her some time alone with Slade in a situation where he couldn’t run. In theory, it sounded great. In practice, however, Isla had her doubts. Still, at this point, she was willing to try anything.
Quietly, she and Cord followed Slade across the docking bay and through a set of double, sliding doors into a busy corridor. Once Slade had logged his credentials with the security officer, they continued down the corridor to another set of sliding doors that opened onto a lift.
The silence was awkward, and the way he wouldn’t even look at her was worse, but Isla kept a pleasant smile on her face and talked to Cord about all of the things he would see on the space station. When the lift doors opened into the main shopping area, however, Slade practically had to shove her out of the elevator.
Stars above, she’d never seen so many people in one place. X4 had been fashioned as a kind of overall sanctuary after the Alien Wars. For their aid in defeating the bug-like creatures, the Alliance had offered the Krytos asylum on the newly built station since their own home world had been destroyed by the Zyphir.
While the majority of the full-time inhabitants of X4 were indeed Krytos, Isla also spotted Helios, D’Aire, and, of course, several elites. Every time she passed an officer, she ducked her head, making sure he hair shielded her face from view, but Slade was always right there, standing protectively over her. Even if an elite did recognize her, she felt sorry for anyone who decided to tangle with the surly male.
As the crowd thickened in the center of the common area, she worried about Cord getting separated from them, so she lifted him into her arms and held tight while they navigated the throng of people.
“I can’t see!” Cord wailed, bouncing up and down on her hip as he craned his neck, trying in vain to see over the bustling crowd. “I wanna see.”
Considering Isla stood more than a foot shorter than the majority of the passengers on the station, it was no wonder that he couldn’t see anything. “Sorry, leelan. We’re almost there, and then you can see the sanctuary. Okay?”
Without a word, Slade pulled Cord from her arms and lifted the boy onto his broad shoulders, holding him by the ankles to keep him steady. Isla melted, and it just proved that Slade wasn’t nearly as unaffected as he pretended to be. Slipping her hand into the crook of Slade’s elbow, she pressed closer to his side, letting
him lead the way through the busy crowd.
“Look at that!” Cord pointed to a place somewhere in the distance, but still stuck on the ground, Isla couldn’t see. “What’s that?”
“That’s where we’re going, kid. That’s Fortuna.”
A minute later, they arrived at the doors of the sanctuary, and Isla understood exactly why Cord had been so fascinated by the place. The entrance stretched three storefronts, and it didn’t have an actual door. Lights in the shape of stars twinkled and swirled over the entrance. They spelled out the name of the sanctuary, then dissolved to fall across the sign like shooting stars, only to repeat the process again and again.
Lime green and hot pink lights strobed from inside the bar, dancing to the rhythm of the base, and the entire ceiling looked like one, unending galaxy in shades of purple and orange. The inside of the sanctuary was no less crowded than the shopping center, and the sheer number of bodies was overwhelming.
Isla squeaked when a barbaric-looking Helios male bumped into her, then growled as if she’d been the one in the wrong. Before she could panic, Slade shifted Cord down to his hip, holding him securely with one arm, and wrapped his other around Isla’s waist, pulling her closer.
“Apologize,” he demanded of the Helios.
“Fuck off, Cadell.”
Slade’s eyes flashed red, and his fangs grew more pronounced. “I will rip your tongue out and wipe your ass with it, Van. Apologize.”
Proving that survival instinct was a real thing, the Helios named Van lowered his head and offered a begrudging apology to Isla before hustling away to the other side of the bar.
“He’s a dick, but he’s essentially harmless,” Slade explained over the bump of the music. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” More than. Slade had not only defended her, but he’d basically lost his shit over the perceived slight. “Thank you. Is it always like this?”
“Pretty much.” He jerked his head toward the gleaming gold-plated bar at the back of the room. “Through that door over there. Stick close.”
Castar and Vandal Indo were exactly what Isla had expected after seeing their sanctuary. She hadn’t, however, realized they were twins, identical from the ends of their waist-length black hair to the stitches in their deep-blue vests and matching pants. Only in personality did they differ, but even then, it was hard for Isla to keep them straight.
Castar had an abundance of energy, and he couldn’t seem to stay still for more than a few seconds at a time, moving around the spacious office behind the bar with a slight bounce in his step. Vandal seemed more reserved, more like Slade in fact, but he grinned broadly and slapped Slade on the back in greeting.
“It’s good to see you, brother. Where’d you get the kid?”
“It’s a long story.” Slade introduced Isla and Cord, giving her a little nudge forward so that the Indo brothers could see her properly. “I’m officially requesting sanctuary for them while we’re on X4.”
“Of course,” Vandal answered, but his forehead creased. “You know I have to ask why, though.”
Isla cleared her throat, calling everyone’s attention. “The simple answer is that I’m wanted for murder. I didn’t kill my mother, but I understand if you don’t want to get involved in this mess.”
“You don’t look like a killer.” Castar sat in the wide, high-back chair behind the polished desk, but immediately jumped up and began pacing the room again. “If Slade trusts you, that’s good enough for us. Welcome to Fortuna.”
Cord hadn’t said a word since they’d entered the office, but he watched the Krytos males with interest, his eyes narrowed and his lips pursed. When Vandal greeted the kid, holding his hand out to shake, Cord just looked at him.
“Can you fly?”
Vandal said nothing for several seconds, then he burst into deep, rumbling laughter that reverberated around the room. “No, sorry, runt. I can’t fly.”
“Oh.” Cord thought this over for a minute, then shrugged. “Okay. Do you have cookies?”
“Cord,” Isla scolded him lightly. “Remember your pleases and thank-yous.”
The boy seemed confused at first, but eventually, his expression brightened, and he looked almost smug when he spoke to Vandal again. “Thank you for please giving me cookies.”
The Krytos in the room chuckled at this, and even Isla had to grin. The logic of children both surprised and amused her.
“You’re all right, Cord.” Castar held his hands out, looking quite pleased with himself with Cord went to him with minimum hesitation. “Come on, buddy, let’s find you those cookies. We might even have some apple juice.”
Slade trusted the Indo brothers with his life, but at the worried look on Isla’s face, he felt obligated to remind Caster to keep an eye on the boy and not let him wander.
“And keep him out of the damn bar,” he called as Castar exited the office with Cord in tow.
Castar waved a hand over his head to acknowledge that he’d heard the warning, but his main focus was on the boy. They talked in short, odd sentences that didn’t make any sense to Slade, but they seemed to understand each other. Cord threw his arms out wide and made big circles with them while he made noises that sounded like the rumble of an engine.
“He’ll be fine,” Vandal said as he watched his brother leave. “They clearly speak the same language.”
“Where’s Krenza?” The brothers’ younger sister normally worked behind the bar on busy nights, but he hadn’t seen her on his way to the office.
“Working security. She’s around here somewhere, so make sure you find her before you leave. Otherwise, she’ll have my ass for it.”
“Who’s Krenza?” Isla asked.
The question was spoken casually, just a mere curiosity, but Slade could feel the spark of jealousy through the invisible bond that connected them. Pleased by her reaction, but not wanting to show it, he turned away to hide the grin forming on his lips.
“Our sister,” Vandal answered easily.
“She’s the only female I’ve ever met,” Slade added, “who can simultaneously tell you to fuck off and have a good day, and you’ll be happy to do both.”
Krenza had a flair for the dramatic, and much like Castar, she had a hard time staying motionless for too long. Just watching them try to shake off their boundless energy exhausted Slade, but they were his family, and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them.
“Are you two hungry?” Vandal asked. “Don’t worry. We have more to eat than just cookies.”
Isla stared down at the floor, scuffing the toe of her soft boots across the beige carpet. “I’m okay. Thank you.”
He could hear her stomach rumbling, and he knew it had been hours since she’d eaten lunch. Then it dawned on him. As he’d reminded her during their first meeting, she didn’t have a single credit to her name. They were guests, and Vandal would be offended if Slade even thought about paying him, but Isla didn’t know that. Even if that weren’t the case, he’d never let her go hungry. Hell, he’d never allow her to want for anything.
“Just bring us whatever the special is,” he instructed, giving Vandal another brief, one-armed hug. “Thanks, brother.”
“Thank you,” Isla whispered when Vandal left to put in their orders with the kitchen.
“It’s not a big deal.” Her gratitude made him uneasy. “It didn’t cost me anything.”
“Well, I still appreciate it.” With her hand resting on his forearm, she rose up and brushed a gentle kiss across the curve of his jaw. “And thank you for watching out for me and Cord. I know you didn’t sign up to be a babysitter.”
Being in her company wasn’t a chore. He’d go to the ends of the universe to keep her and the child safe. He just didn’t know how to be with her. For so many years, he’d closed that part of himself off, shoving it into the deepest, darkest corner of his heart. Isla had awoken feelings in him he hadn’t dealt with in a long time, things he didn’t know if he wanted to allow himself to feel again.
Ursa had been his match in every way. She’d been a warrior with an eye for detail and a mean left hook. She’d made love like she’d fought, and Slade still had a few scars on his back to prove it. No matter the situation, she’d always spoken her mind, and she had never backed down from a confrontation, not even with him.
Stars, she’d been gorgeous, with flawless bronzed skin and long ebony hair that flowed down past her hips in spiraling curls. From the moment he’d set eyes on her, Slade had been completely enamored, and from that moment on, he’d never wanted anyone else.
Not even when Ursa had shattered his heart and vanished from his life had he wanted another female. The pain had faded, but the memory remained, and he refused to put himself through that kind of agony ever again.
Then Isla had come along, blowing into his path like a wild storm. She’d upended his universe and wrought complete havoc on his life. The female had more baggage than anyone he’d ever met, himself included, and she was the last person in the cosmos he should want to get involved with on any level. Yet, he couldn’t get her out of his head.
“Is everything okay?”
Her fingertips smoothed along his jaw and down the side of his neck, making his dick swell and his heart pound. Tiny bumps erupted over his skin, and a steady thrum buzzed in his ears. The concern in her voice touched him, and his chest filled with a warmth that had been missing for a long time.
He wanted to let down his guard, to feel what she felt, to let her in, give her access through their link, but like a coward, he kept the walls he’d built firmly in place.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he lied. He hadn’t been okay since she’d stepped onto the Storm Rider. “Just wondering what’s taking my brothers so long.”
