by Anna Hackett
“You stumbled onto it. That’s why you left?”
He made a bitter sound. “Stumbled, yes. I’d led a dig on Chang Xui and found an old Terran starship wreck. Some of the artifacts were in pristine condition. They were amazing.” He stared at the plush floor covering. “When the artifacts went missing, I couldn’t let it go. I knew something was off. I got a few anonymous warnings, but that just made me work harder to find the artifacts.”
“You didn’t know the Institute was involved.”
He rested his elbows on the table. “Naïve of me, wasn’t it? But I soon found out the truth.” Found out his mentor, a man he’d thought was one of the greatest astro-archeologists ever and a guardian of history, was nothing but a thief.
“What happened?” she asked quietly.
“At first, I threatened to go public. I was so angry.” He’d been incensed. “But they threatened my brothers.” And then he’d discovered his best friend, Galen, had been involved too. Nik hadn’t known who to trust anymore. “Finally, they ‘fired’ me, and I left.”
“That was it?”
Old, bitter anger welled up. Along with that damn sense of failure that never went away. He thumped a fist against the table. “There was nothing else I could do. I couldn’t let them hurt Dathan and Zayn.” They’d promised Nik the reach of the Institute was long, and one little “accident” on a treasure hunt and his brothers would be dead. “I turned tail and went home.”
“They would have destroyed you if you’d threatened the millions in e-creds they make.”
“I did nothing.”
A hand reached out and covered his tight fist. “And that’s eating you up inside.”
He stared at her elegant fingers. A beautiful hand that hid such strength. A hand he knew had killed and stolen. He knew Nera would never walk away from what she wanted to do or have.
“I left. I left them to continue to cherry pick the best pieces of our past and barter them away like cheap tourist replicas.” Nik ruthlessly shoved the anger away. “Enough of that. Let’s move onto the next course.” He set their empty soup bowls aside, and moved a plate of zhoma-berries to the center of the table.
She peered at them. “I’ve never seen berries like this.”
“They’re rare, and native to Souk.”
“The market world your moon orbits.”
He nodded. “I still remember the first time I tried one. These are from the printer, unfortunately, so not quite as good as fresh, but you’ll get a feel for them.”
He watched her take a bite of the red berry. White teeth sinking into succulent flesh. His body hardened as he kept his gaze on her mouth. Her eyes widened.
“Stars,” she murmured.
He grinned and watched her devour the berry and reach for another. He’d guessed that Nera rarely let herself enjoy something as simple as good food. She licked her fingers, and for a second, he got a glimpse of what Nera might have been like as a child.
Except he suspected she’d never been allowed to have a true childhood.
Nik took a couple of berries for himself, but let Nera have the rest. She finished them and licked her lips. “What’s next?”
He laughed and set a plate of grilled and marinated Soukan fowl and steamed rice in front of her.
She tried the dish, was silent for a second. “This is good, too.”
“Told you that you’d like me taking you to dinner.”
A small smile. “So you did.” She took another few bites. “How long until we reach our destination?”
Nik checked his timepiece. “Another hour. But it’ll be dark by the time we arrive, so we’ll rest and start the hunt in the morning.”
“Tell me about Mexico.”
“Well, we’re headed to New Mexico City. It was the new capital of the country. The old Mexico City was once a sprawling metropolis, overcrowded and polluted. The country had a history of problems with drug trafficking and cartels, but in the century before the Terran War, records show the country had turned itself around. They eradicated the drug trade and helped their country prosper. New Mexico City was built, and was a shining example of sustainable architecture and planning.”
She raised a brow. “How’d they manage all that?”
“In the years before the turnaround, an enterprising group of leaders had focused on education for the young. They had the presence of mind, and the patience, to invest in a long-term solution. It was those children who grew up to lead the country onto bigger and better things.”
“And it had a lot of history. I’ve seen many ancient artifacts from there.”
He pulled a face. “Stolen them, you mean.”
“You say stolen, I say acquired.”
He gave a wry laugh. “Yes, Mexico had a long and fascinating history. From what astro-archeologists have pieced together, it had a rich history of ancient cultures. Olmecs, Mayans, Aztecs. We know so little about them, but there are records of fantastic archeological sites, including great stone pyramids and temples.”
“I don’t think we can fit a pyramid in the cargo bay.”
Nik smiled. “They had plenty of smaller artifacts, too. Gold, stone carvings, pottery. The Museum of Anthropology in New Mexico City was built to transfer all the artifacts from the old city’s museums. The collection was said to be excellent. I suspect a lot of small stuff made it off-planet, as we do see examples turn up from time to time.”
She tilted her head. “You’re after something bigger?”
“There were lots of stone carvings. I’m hoping the ones that were too big to transport easily might have survived.”
“But you’re after something in particular.”
Looked like she knew him quite well, too. “Yes. The Sun Stone.”
“Sun Stone? I haven’t heard of it.”
“It was an intricately-carved Aztec calendar stone. It was described as showing many different eras and how they ended. It was supposed to predict the end of the world in the Terran year 2012.”
“Guess they got the dates wrong,” Nera said. “2012 was long before the Great Terran War.”
“Right. It was also said to be three-and-a-half meters in diameter.”
“That’s big. And it’s made of solid stone?”
“Yes. It would weigh several tons. We have the tech to move it easily now, but back then, it would have been harder for them to transport stuff like that without a lot of organization and equipment.” And he really, really hoped that meant it was still in place.
He nudged a bowl of Melarian chocolate across the table. “Dessert time. Try this.”
She dipped her spoon in eagerly. “Mmm, delicious.” She licked her spoon clean.
Nik’s cock had been hard throughout the entire dinner, but now it reached new levels of painful. Damn. Everything this woman did made him hard. “Nera—” His voice was a little choked and he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say.
“You just have to ask, Niklas.”
“I want to know more about you.”
She stiffened a little, the tension so fine he would have missed it, if he wasn’t so attuned to everything she did.
“It isn’t an interesting story.” Nebula eyes lifted. “Isn’t who I am now enough?”
“Everything in the past makes us who we are, Nera. Pushing it into a box doesn’t make it any less true.”
She let out a breath. “You start. Tell me about you.”
“I was the oldest brother. And I always liked books. Zerzura is covered in ruins and legends of Terran colonists.” He shrugged. “No surprise I wanted to study and become an astro-archeologist.”
She took another spoonful of the chocolate. “But it’s more than that, isn’t it?”
Yeah, it was. It was something that inspired and fed his soul. “Have you found that thing, that thing that’s necessary for your being? That just immersing yourself in it for a little while makes you feel…rejuvenated? Like you can take on the world.”
Her gaze was locked on his face. Then she
cleared her throat. “I don’t think so.”
“That’s what history and learning is for me. It just…fills the well.”
“I was too busy surviving.”
His fingers curled around the edge of the table. “Someone hurt you?”
“Not exactly.” She shoved a hand through her hair. “I was trapped, expected to be anything and everything. To survive, I had to find a way to preserve me—hell, I had to find me first.” A wry smile. “I’m not sure I’ve even achieved that yet.”
He swallowed. “Klavinoi.”
She shot to her feet, her chair tipping over and crashing to the floor.
He rose slowly. “I’m sorry.”
When he took a step closer, she stepped backward. Her face was pale.
He held out a hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t pry. I just…dammit, I want to know everything about you. You tell me when you’re ready. If you’re ever ready. Your secrets are yours, Nera.”
“How…how do you know the name of that planet?” She spat the words out.
“Xander.”
She lifted her chin, her mouth firming. “Of course, that nosy cyborg. Fucking Centax Security can never keep their noses out of other people’s business. And since your cousin has him wrapped around her little finger, I assume she—and by blood you—have access to whatever information you like.”
“He mentioned it in passing. You’re on their radar. But he had no details. He mentioned Novalia as well.”
She waved a hand. “Novalia was information I dispersed to muddy the waters.” She looked at him. “I never wanted anyone to know my past.”
He swallowed. “I’m sorry. If that’s what you want, that’s the way it will be.”
She shook her head. “You are a good man, Niklas. I’ve run every search I could on you and your brothers.” A tweak of her lips. “I know the name of your first pet, and the name of the first girl you had sex with.”
His eyes widened. “Ah…well.”
Nera’s face turned serious. “You’re too good for me. I’ve always known that.”
He grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers. “Don’t say that.”
“I’m a bitch, Niklas.” A harsh laugh. “Even your biocomputer doesn’t like me. I have no family, no friends…only enemies. I’ve made my life like that, carefully cultivated it. I care for no one, and no one cares for me.”
Her matter-of-fact tone made his chest hurt. “I care about you.”
She tugged on her hand. “You’re stupid to do that. You care, you get hurt. That’s how life works.”
He didn’t let her pull free. Instead, he tugged her an inch closer. “Some hurts are worth it. Some pay you back a hundred times over. I can’t tell you how many times my brothers have made me angry, pissed me off, slammed me with truths I didn’t want to hear, made me envious…but they’re worth it. Every second of it.”
“Some hurts break you.”
“I won’t break you, Nera.” He reeled her in closer, and slid his hand along her arm. So soft. Such a contrast to the hard shell she showed the galaxy. He stared at her face. So beautiful, yet she ignored it. She didn’t paint it, enhance it, flaunt it or use it.
He cupped her cheek, his thumb running across her sharp cheekbone. “This is one hell of a face.”
She shrugged. “Genetics. Luck, or perhaps a sign I have a lot of e-creds.”
No, there was no way she’d paid for this face. She would have preferred a nondescript face that let her blend in over this beauty.
“There’s one hell of a woman under it, too.” He squeezed her toned shoulder with his other hand. “Strong muscles. Discipline and training. Brilliant mind. I’ve seen you leap into a fight with the coolest look on your face. All that attracts me. I’ve seen the hunts you’ve executed, and I love watching you figure something out before me. It really turns me on.”
“That hardly happens.” A quiet snort. “I let you use that brain of yours and work it out first, then I just steal it out from under you.”
A laugh escaped him. “That’s sexy, too.”
She cocked her head. “I know it’s made you angry in the past.”
“No, that’s Dathan. It just made me brood because I wanted to know more about you. I wanted to get closer to you, but I didn’t know how.” He stepped in until they were plastered against each other. “I didn’t know how to get past your protective walls.” He pressed a finger to the pulse at her neck. It was racing.
“You’re past them now,” she whispered. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
He touched his mouth to hers but ruthlessly controlled the desire pounding through him. He wanted to push her to the floor, tear her clothes off and feast on every inch of her.
He pulled back, touched her cheek again. “I want to give you pleasure.”
Chapter Nine
Nera stayed very still. Pleasure her? She hadn’t heard those words…ever. Sex for her was a quick, sweaty ride—that she instigated and controlled—and a short pop of an orgasm.
It had been a long time. Since this…infatuation with Niklas had grown, she hadn’t wanted to hire a pretty pleasure worker or pick up some young space jock at a space station bar. And deeper in her past…well, sex had never been about her pleasure.
She swallowed, hiding the unfamiliar nerves. She hated being nervous. “What did you have in mind?”
“Just let me do the work.” He spun her, his big body pressing up against her back.
God. Her eyelids fluttered. The sensation of him was… She could stay here for hours, absorbing him. She let one hand rise up, touching his face.
“Uh-uh.” His hand circled her wrist.
“Don’t restrain me.” She hated that her words sounded clipped.
His grip loosened instantly. “Put your hands on the wall.”
She hesitated. She didn’t take orders from anyone.
His lips nipped the back of her neck and she arched into the touch. “It’s a request, Nera. I want you focused on what you’re feeling, not me.”
She placed her palms against the wall. The metal was cool under her skin, while Niklas’ body was burning hot at her back.
“That’s it.” One of his hands slid around her front, caressing her belly. “I’m amazed at how smooth your skin is. It’s got me wondering how smooth it is on your belly, your thighs…between your legs.”
She hissed out a breath. “So find out.”
“Patience.” He teased at the hem of her shirt. Then he dipped his fingers beneath, brushing over her belly. He made a humming noise.
Nera stared blindly at the wall. She always imagined that when she and Niklas finally came together, it would be an explosion. Wrestling, rolling, tearing at each other.
This…seduction was not what she’d expected. Although knowing his steady patience for his work, maybe she should have guessed he’d apply the same concentration to sex.
His teeth were at her earlobe, nipping and tugging. That small touch shot through her, arrrowing between her legs. She shifted restlessly.
The hand at her waist slid down over her skirt. Then it ducked beneath the silky fabric, and her breath hitched. Fingers trailed up her thigh.
“Such strength and beauty all rolled together,” he murmured.
Those slightly callused fingers rubbed circles on her inner thigh, moving higher and higher. Every muscle in her stretched tight. She was always in control. She always selected a partner and initiated sex. She was never seduced. Warmth spread through her, flaring white-hot.
His fingers reached her underwear. He teased at the silky edge, and his breathing rate increased, his chest rising and falling against her back. It made something in her loosen a fraction. She wasn’t alone. This was affecting him as much as her. But how could simply touching her, pleasuring her, turn him on so much?
His finger slid under the silk and all her thoughts scattered.
He stroked through her folds and groaned. He traced the tiny strip of hair above her sex, seemingly fascinated.
“I…researched you. And the women you’d had in the past,” she said breathlessly. He stroked again and her hips moved into his touch. “You like a woman…well-groomed.”
“Nera.” He groaned again, his touch becoming more forceful. “I should be angry at you, prying into my love life.”
“There haven’t been many lately.”
He slid a finger inside her, his body pushing hard against hers. Against her bottom, she felt the hard prod of his cock. “No, there haven’t been any lately, have there?”
All she could focus on was that thick finger moving deep inside her. He pulled out, leaving her feeling empty. Then two fingers sank back into her and she moaned.
“Holy stars, Nera, you are so tight.”
She couldn’t form any words. He kept those clever fingers moving, pushing her higher.
Then his thumb brushed her clit and she jerked hard with a moan.
“You like that?” He brushed again, his touch firm. He flicked, pushed, learned what she liked from her cries and movements.
Nera couldn’t take it anymore. She moved her hands and clamped them on the outside of his strong thighs.
He didn’t say anything, so she just gripped him, needing something to anchor her in the firestorm of sensation crashing over her. She heard small cries echoing in the room and realized they were coming from her.
Hot lips were at her ear, the side of her jaw. “Come for me, Nera. Come on my hand and let me hear you.”
She was helpless to do anything but give him what he wanted. One more hard caress of her clit and she exploded like a supernova. She screamed…and it was Niklas’ name she called out.
When she could think again, she was held up by strong arms wrapped around her middle. His chin rested on her hair and he surrounded her. Strong, solid Niklas. She let herself sink back into him and enjoy the moment.
