Nokx (The Sraibur Crew #3) - Layla Nash Page 0,121
after another bounty. For the time being, the Sraibur accompanied the Lovelace through ungoverned space until the space chickens gave more guidance. Faros insisted they would one day just disappear, but so far Violet had ignored him or convinced him to remain. EJ wondered how much Faros actually ran the Sraibur, or if Violet gave orders on the side and got what she wanted regardless.
Nokx walked up behind her and slid his arms around her. “Thinking about something very hard, little marmox. Something wrong?”
“No,” she said. “Just wondering where we’re doing next.”
“Whatever you want to do,” he said with a grumble. “Although I like the idea of staying here, so we don’t end up in a battle with Slasu or Tyboli. I wouldn’t want you in danger.”
EJ frowned over her shoulder at him. “Not that I want to go running into a laser fight again, but I’m not going to let that limit our choices.”
And it felt amazing to use “our choices” when she talked about the future. Even if Nokx’s overprotectiveness was misplaced and got annoying. She needed to talk to Violet about how the lawyer kept her mate in line. From what everyone said, he’d mellowed quite a bit since meeting Violet and somehow convincing her to love him. EJ still couldn’t figure that one out.
Nokx rested his chin on her head and squeezed her closer. “You won’t go running into a laser fight if I’m there. I’ll tie you up before I let that happen.”
EJ pulled away to scowl and jab him in the chest, even though his scales bruised the tip of her finger. “Look, friend. You’re not going to tell me what I can and cannot do. And if you ever dare to tie me up to keep me from doing something I want to do, you will not like the consequences.”
The hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth just irritated her more. EJ’s eyes narrowed. He really hadn’t learned to not laugh at her, even in the past two weeks that they’d spent learning how to live with each other. Intense passion had carried them through a few disagreements, but she could sense that this one would not be so easily resolved.
Nokx tried to kiss her forehead. EJ dodged out of reach and scowled more. “You’re not going to distract me.”
But her running away had the opposite effect than she wanted, because interest sparked in his eyes as he leaned forward. EJ wanted to groan. She knew that look. He wanted to chase her and carry her back to their quarters so he could ‘mark’ her yet again. Despite that there were literally only three other males on the entire ship, he insisted that he wanted everyone to know she was his.
And now that she’d thought of it... Maybe the only reason he wanted to stay on the Lovelace was because there weren’t any other males. EJ folded her arms over her chest and planted her feet. “Look, you.”
He must have heard something in her voice, because he stopped stalking her and instead shook away the fog that no doubt clouded his thoughts. Every now and then he could sense her real anger and so far had managed to listen and take it seriously. EJ appreciated it more than she could really tell him, but that didn’t help smooth her temper right in the middle of being mad.
EJ tried to count to ten and work on her patience. She had no doubt that Violet would have advised exactly that, although the coolheaded lawyer didn’t look like she’d ever freaked out in her life. EJ still felt like chaos hurtling through the stars whenever she talked to Violet, even if the other Earther never deliberately made her feel that way.
“You’re not going to tell me what to do,” she said as calmly as she could. EJ knew she couldn’t let that sort of thing get past her without commenting on it and correcting his obvious misunderstanding of what she wanted out of their relationship. “And you’re not going to stop me from doing things I want to do. You’re not the boss of me and I don’t have to follow your orders.”
His scales flared with hints of orange, like they always did when they disagreed on something, particularly when it had to do with her safety and wanting to do something that had any probability greater than zero of getting injured. Or inconvenienced, even. But Nokx had never raised his voice, even