Treasured By the Alien Pirate by Celia Kyle Page 0,27
the ship. I could just go visit her—it’s not like I don’t know where her room is—but she has a roommate and I never know when she’ll be there alone. The last thing I want to do is make a fool out of myself in front of yet another woman. Doing so in front of one—even if she is my jalshagar—is bad enough.
I’m nearly at my room, located not far from the bridge, when I think my eyes are deceiving me. Unless I’m going crazy, Lamira is snaking her way through the narrow corridor before me. Her typical beaming grin is plastered on her face and aimed in my direction, disarming me completely. I’m dumbfounded for a moment, as I hadn’t expected to see her, but I recover quickly and return her smile.
“Just the Kilgari I was looking for.” Her voice is a sultry drawl.
I stop short and wait for her to reach me. Damn all the gods for how I turn into an anxiety-riddled mess whenever she’s near. I feel like I lose all form of coherent thought, which causes me to trip over my words. It’s a miracle she doesn’t think I’m a complete idiot.
“How can I be of assistance?”
She wastes no time tiptoeing around the truth of the reason why she’s sought me out. “Fiona thinks she’s pinpointed what and where Solace is.”
“Are you serious? That’s excellent news,” I tell her.
The women are adamant that they want to know what happened to them, even though part of me thinks it’s best for them not to.
“Yeah, I thought so. Do you have a moment to talk?”
All my previous exhaustion from the long night instantly vanishes. Seeing her and hearing the husky tone of her voice has given me a second wind. The pull of the unconfirmed bond between us is so strong, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Her scent is overwhelming—overpowering—and this close, the urge to protect and care for her is so strong I can barely keep ahold of myself.
“I always have a moment for you.” I want so badly to touch her, to kiss her and hold her against me, but I need more time to figure this out. I need a sign from her that she wants me too. I won’t be one of those males who takes what he wants and damn the consequences. I’ve always been too level-headed for that. Maybe to my own detriment.
Lamira leans against the wall and crosses her arms over her chest, but her stance isn’t defensive. In fact, she looks more relaxed and comfortable than I’ve ever seen her. Her hair is tied into two long braids that frame her face, and her eyes are warm and open as she peers up at me. A small smile plays at her lips and I find I can barely drag my gaze away from them, tantalizing as they are.
“Okay, so here’s what Fi thinks. She checked the area surrounding Tartus, and found a whole bunch of moons. One is called Consolation—which is a synonym for Solace—so she’s convinced it’s a codename, either for the entire moon or a facility there or something.”
Her voice has increased in speed and volume, belying her excitement. Even though she hasn’t moved otherwise, I can tell the information has caused hope to set up camp inside her heart.
“That’s certainly interesting—and a good assumption. Who else knows about Fiona’s theory?”
“Me and Varia at this point. Varia’s planning to speak with Solair about it. We want to go to Consolation. If there’s even a chance of there being information there about why we were taken, we need to find it. We can’t—I can’t—keep living in the dark like this.”
Her brow creases with frustration, but she’s no less beautiful because of it. I hate to cause her any disappointment, but I won’t lie to her.
“Even though Tartus is relatively close by, we’re privateers. We need to complete jobs to make money, especially now that the Queen’s occupancy has nearly doubled. There aren’t many jobs to be found this far out of League space, and I don’t see Solair agreeing to take us even further, even if his mate is asking.”
I lean in closer to her to soften the blow, drawn in by both her scent and the crestfallen look on her face.
“You don’t think he could be convinced? Even if say, you were to speak with him?” she asks, gazing up at me with wide eyes.
“I would, but I already know what his answer will be. And