“Let’s try again.” He hadn’t taken his hand off hers. “Don’t think of the ship as separate from you. Become the ship. Close your lids and just feel—no, really—there’s nothing out here to hit. That’s it, shut your eyes and pay attention to how it feels. When is the right time to lift off?”
She accelerated, this time pressing down to launch the craft at exactly the right moment. It wobbled but immediately stabilized.
“You did it!”
Her lids flew open, and she beamed. “I did it!”
Stars, he loved that smile on her. It transformed her taut, serious features into divine radiance.
“Now, land. Eyes open, this time, but imagine you’re a bird alighting on the ground. You don’t want to stumble or trip as you come down. Adjust your speed—slower!—that’s it. Pull up now.”
She pulled up too hard, and he applied pressure to the back of her hand to level the craft out. It bumped and skidded to a stop, and the whole group laughed with exhilaration.
He grinned, reluctantly removing his palm from Cambry’s slender hand. “Next.”
~.~
Cambry would give anything for a shower.
With no water source on Shooku, the Zandians had ordered water on the pod be rationed. It could only be used as fast as the pod could recycle it, which was teeth-gnashingly slow. Captain Rok had announced while he understood every being wanted to bathe, they would only receive the privilege once a week, and they would not be permitted a shower or tub, just one small basin-full. Enough to dunk her head, not her body.
Cambry received her wash-card, and it was for five planet rotations from that day. After their flying lesson, which had been a thrill beyond what she’d hoped, there’d been more housekeeping. They were each assigned chores as the Zandians worked to establish routines and order from the chaos.
Lundric had disappeared—she presumed to sleep. At some point, he’d installed a simple but effective latch on the inside of her door, so even if she wanted him to, he couldn’t sneak into her room that night.
She perched on the edge of her cot, loneliness gnawing at her. Not the ache of missing Tal, which was still there, but a fresher sort of emptiness that could be caused only by the enormous horned warrior who’d taken an interest in her.
A tap sounded at her door, and she leaped up, forcing the grin from her face. She’d known he’d come. “It’s me,” he said softly.
It’s me.
Were they already at that stage? Shouldn’t she play hard to get, still?
But she already had the door unlatched, and he shoved it open.
“Take me to a shower, and I’ll let you take me.”
She hadn’t seen the cocky young warrior lose composure before, but he did now. Lundric’s jaw dropped then snapped shut with a frown. “What the veck?” he spluttered, clearly angry at her request.
Why? Because she’d propositioned him? Hadn’t that been what he was after?
She didn’t play the sexual card—not ever, but it felt easy with him. It felt safe. She leaned in and let the tips of her breasts brush against the hard ridged muscles of his stomach. “I don’t want you to touch me until I’m clean. It’s been a really long time since I’ve had a chance to bathe. Please, Lundric?”
The muscles in his jaw eased, somewhat, but he grasped her wrists and pressed her back against the door, wrists pinned beside her head. He was seven feet of solid, aggressive male giving off a threatening vibe, but she wasn’t scared. A low, persistent hum had started up between her legs.
“Do you make bargains like that often?” he snarled.
Ah. Jealousy. She could handle that. In fact, she rather relished it.
“No, Captain. Never.” It wasn’t a lie.
His eyes narrowed as he studied her face as if to determine culpability. “Sex is not a commodity between us, little female,” he growled. “It’s not something you trade or use to manipulate. You already belong to me.” He knocked her feet apart, shoving one hard thigh between her legs and pulling his knee up until he lifted her to her toes, suspended by her crotch. She rocked her pelvis forward, grinding her clit against the solid muscle.
“If you get my cock, it’s because I decide you deserve it. Understand?”
She sucked in a breath, too shocked to speak. White-hot anger flooded through her, along with a trace of fear, but behind it came fully charged lust, which overpowered her indignation.
He doesn’t mean it, she chanted to herself. This was the way he approached sex. She’d seen last night how he liked to dominate.