3013: SALVATION (3013: The Series Book 5) (8 page)

“You should not have to talk to
them in order for them to back off, but I appreciate the gesture.” Katra sighed
and leaned down to press a kiss to his temple, then repeated the gesture with
Alexis. “He may be annoying at times, but I do love my brother.”

“He has his moments,” Alexis said
with a smile then yelped as Xavier playfully nipped her ear with his fangs.

Once Katra left the room, Xavier
turned his glowing silver eyes back to the screen. “Skylar, we will grant you sanctuary
with us if you are being forced to mate against your will.”

“What?” Skylar, Serra and Alexis gasped
as one.

“As my mate’s friend, you are
important to her, therefore you are important to us,” he said simply. “But I
fear that will not solve the issue of your abilities growing more unstable.”

“Thank you for the offer, but
I...” It took Skylar a moment to recover from her shock. Xavier’s offer had
been so unexpected that she had no clue what to say. A few weeks ago, hell,
even a few days ago she would have been thrilled by Xavier’s offer, but now, the
thought of accepting and never seeing Dom and Arik again made her heart clench.
“I can’t.”

Xavier curtly nodded, as if he
had been expecting her refusal. “The offer stands. Both of you will always have
our protection if needed.”

“Thank you.”

Alexis’ head titled to the side
as if she were distracted. A second later she said, “Galan just informed us
that we are flying near a meteor shower, so we’ll be losing communications for
a bit. I’ll try to call again in a few days. Oh, and Skylar? Stop being so damn
stubborn and go get your men.”

“Hey—!”

Skylar’s voice was cut off as the
call ended. Alexis shifted on Xavier’s lap when he chuckled. “What?”

“You are devious, mate.”

Her glowing eyes sparkled as she
asked, “Whatever do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I am
talking about. We may be flying near a meteor shower, but it is not affecting
our communication systems yet. You dropped the call, but I figure you had
already accomplished your goal. You set your friend up.”

Alexis slowly smiled. “No. Serra
and I did. We know Skylar. There is nothing she hates more than being called a
coward, so we figured we’d give her a little friendly push.”

“Little one, it is dangerous to
play with people’s feelings.”

She sobered as she regarded him. “Skylar
is in love with Dom and Arik. I truly believe that, or I never would have
agreed to do it. She’s been alone for so long, Xavier. I just want her to be as
happy as I am. I love you.”

“And I love you, little one. Come
now, let me take you to our sleeping chamber so you can rest,” Xavier ordered
as he stood with her in his arms. “Our youngling has tired you.”

She wrapped her arms around his
neck, cuddling closer. “What if I don’t want to rest?”

“Then we shall find some other
way to occupy our time.”

Alexis laughed as her mate
carried her out of the room. What she’d said was true. There was no better
feeling than loving and being loved in return. And she wanted that for Skylar. Alexis
loved all four of her mates completely, and knew that Serra had found her own
happiness with Jax and Archer. Was it devious what she and Serra did? Of course
it was, but it was the kick in the ass that Skylar needed.

Now, it was up to Skylar to go
after what she wanted.

***

Chapter Seven

Skylar spent the rest of the
afternoon pissed off.

It hadn’t taken her long to
figure out what her friends had done after the call had ended and Serra had
left. That call had been an ambush.

A well meaning one, but it was an
ambush all the same.

They knew how much Skylar hated
being called a coward. It had been that way since Skylar had first arrived at
the Academy. Back then she had been pretty out of control. The instructors had
worried about her, since she had basically arrived with no history. She had
been the girl with no memory, and because of that she had no one to help her
through the difficulties of fitting in with the other children.

Skylar had learned quickly that
the best way to protect herself was to keep others at a distance. But then she
had met Serra and Alexis. Serra’s genius status had set her apart from everyone
else, making it almost impossible for her connect to others her age. Alexis helped
bring Serra out of her shell, accepting her for who she was. As an infertile
female who had been looked down upon by scrolls and whose family had basically
thrown her away, Alexis had forced herself to be stronger and more independent
than other female elites. She and Serra had known one another for almost two
full years before Skylar had met them. At first Skylar had been suspicious of
their offer of friendship, but the three of them had bonded over their misfit
status.

Over the years, Alexis and Serra
had become Skylar’s family. They made an interesting group. Skylar was the
courageous one and Serra was obviously the brains, while Alexis balanced them
out. They’d been through a lot together over the years. No one knew how to fuck
with someone’s mind better than family, and that is exactly what they had done.

Serra and Alexis had practically
dared her to go after what she wanted, and was that so bad? No, she admitted,
it wasn’t. It wasn’t that they had said anything that Skylar hadn’t already
known. She had a tendency to drag her feet when it came to change, and could
see that was exactly what she’d been doing now that she’d been forced to re-evaluate
the situation. But shit was going to change regardless of whether she wanted it
to or not, and she damn well wasn’t going back down from a challenge.

Not when it was something she
really wanted.

The Regents may have given her an
ultimatum, but Skylar was going to be the one to make the choice for her own
future. It had been a shock when Xavier had offered to grant her sanctuary, but
it had also been freeing. Having an option helped put things in perspective for
her. She had already admitted to herself that she wanted Dom and Arik, and thinking
about leaving them had twisted her up inside. No matter how exciting it would
be to travel the universe with the Dragon Warriors, she now knew without a
doubt she couldn’t leave Dom or Arik.

Damn it, she just couldn’t do it,
because...

Skylar stopped pacing the living
room of her quarters so abruptly it was as if she slammed into a brick wall.

Well...hell.

She loved them.

Now, she just had to figure out
what to do about it.

Skylar had always prided herself
on being independent, someone who didn’t need anyone. It was jarring to realize
that she had come to depend on Arik’s calming presence in her life. And even
though Dom drove her crazy half the time, she knew that having him watch her
back had allowed her to be who she really was.

There were still things she was
worried about, but if they were willing to put aside their differences to be
with her, how could she not meet them halfway? She didn’t know how to be in a
relationship, not really. Being in love wasn’t something she’d ever experienced
before. Sure, she loved her friends, but that was different. What she felt for
Dom and Arik was something more...but if she sucked at it, they would just have
to deal.

She looked at her data unit and
muttered a curse. She’d spent too much time brooding and now she’d have to
hurry to get ready if she didn’t want to be late for her dinner with Dom.
Stomping into her bedroom, she tore open the door to her closet to look at her
clothes. She frowned at the uniforms hanging from the poll. This was a date.
She shouldn’t wear her uniform to dinner, right? Maybe she should wear a
dress...not that she’d brought a dress or anything that could be classified as
date-wear with her on this mission.

Disgusted with herself, she
yanked a plain black shirt off a hanger and a pair of black pants. She took a
quick shower, then stalled again when she realized she hadn’t brought any
makeup or face enhancements with her either. Fuck it, she thought to herself. Being
a girl seriously sucked sometimes. Dom was just going to have to take her as
she was.

And if he complained, she would
just have to kill him.

Fifteen minutes later, she stood
outside of Dom’s door and was disgusted when she realized that her hand was
shaking slightly as she raised it.

Man up, Sky...

Forcing herself to knock, she impatiently
waited for him to answer the door. It was ridiculous to feel so nervous about
seeing him again. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen him every day for the last few
months, but now things were different.

Very different.

When the door finally slid open, Dom
stood framed in the doorway. He looked like a dark god, so handsome he didn’t
seem real. His midnight black hair was tussled as if he had been running his
hands through it repeatedly, and his dark eyes had an intensity in them that
made her breath catch in her throat.

Dressed in similar black lounge
pants and a casual black shirt, his casual apparel did nothing to mask the
masculine beauty of his body. It didn’t matter what he was wearing, Skylar
always noticed it. But now that she had owned up to her feeling for him, it
just made it worse.

Stars, she wanted him.

Skylar’s heart pounded in her
chest as their eyes met and locked, and she wondered what he would do if she
just jumped him right there in the doorway and ripped off his clothes. Just
thinking about it had her growing wet, her body preparing for him. Electricity
seemed to sizzle in the air between them, making her clench her hands into
fists to stop the surge of energy she could feel building inside of her.

“Come in.”

The commanding tone of his voice
usually irritated her, but at the moment she couldn’t think of a snarky remark
like she would have normally made in response to his demand. Instead, she
stepped inside his quarters, letting her body brush his as she did. She was
rewarded when he sucked in a harsh breath at the contact, and felt some of her
nerves settle.

Skylar ignored the sound of the
door sliding shut behind her as she looked around the room, giving herself a
few moments to compose herself. His quarters were identical to hers, with a
comfortable living room area, small kitchen area and one bedroom attached
through an open doorway.

“Can I get you something to drink?
I have a whiskey...the good stuff. Or I have wine. Maybe we should have wine
since we’re eating.”

Skylar turned at the baffled
irritation in his voice and took a good look at him, realizing with no small
amount of shock that he was just as nervous as she was. Seeing it made the rest
of her nerves fade away, and she smiled at him. “We aren’t really wine people.
If you say you have the good stuff, let’s stick with the whiskey.”

Dom let out a relieved sigh. Damn
it, this dating shit was harder than it looked.

After the mission brief that
morning he had rushed through several conference calls and updates so he would
have enough time to plan the perfect evening to spend with Skylar. After
fucking up the invitation that morning when he had pretty much ordered her to
have dinner with him, he wanted to plan the perfect meal for them.

The trouble was, he had no clue
how the hell to do that.

He gestured to the small square
table that was set up for dinner, and pulled out one of the chairs. “You must
be hungry. Have a seat and I’ll go get the drinks.”

The back of Skylar’s knees hit
the chair as he shoved the chair forward, giving her no choice but to sit. He
cursed himself for his stupidity as he walked back toward the kitchen area where
he’d left the bottle of scotch. Pouring the amber liquid into two tumblers, he
told himself to calm the fuck down and stop acting like he’d never entertained
a woman before.

Only, he hadn’t. Not like this.

Arik had spoken to him last night
after he had left Skylar in the kitchen, but he hadn’t done it to brag. No, the
D’Aire male had made it clear that they had fucked up waiting for her. Dom
wasn’t a man who knew anything about romance. He’d always made sure that the
women he slept with in the past knew there wouldn’t be anything more than
physical release between them, but Skylar was different.

He hadn’t been with anyone since
he had met her, knowing that no other woman would be able to sate the hunger he
had for Skylar alone. It had been a struggle to try to be patient, to let her
realize what they could have together and come to him, but he had been arrogant
in assuming she would. It made sense after Arik had pointed it out, and Dom
could have kicked himself for not putting more effort in winning her heart. All
this time he should have been showing her how much she meant to him...and
starting now he would.

Dom carried the drinks back to
the table and handed one to Skylar. He set his own glass down then took his
seat adjacent to her.

“Shit, the food!”

He stood up and hurried back to
the kitchen food console unit to grab the special meal he had asked the ship’s
chef to prepare, then carried two plates covered with metal domes back to the
table before sitting back down.

Skylar forced down a laugh as she
watched Dom awkwardly serve her their meal. Somehow, it calmed her to see that
he was as nervous about dinner as she was. It also told her that he wasn’t used
to making this type of gesture, which made it mean more to her. Raising her
glass, she smiled at him. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner. What should we
toast to?”

“Us.”

Dom’s dark eyes were serious as
he stared back at her, and all she could do was nod as they tapped their
glasses. She hummed in appreciation as she took a sip of the scotch, then set
the glass back down on the table. Dom lifted the covers off the plates, and her
eyes went wide with surprise. “Oh, wow!”

He smiled for the first time
since she arrived. “Since you have the appetite of a teenager, I thought
burgers and fries would please you.”

“It does.” Skylar took a bite of
one of the fries and groaned. “Truffle fries. My favorite.”

“I know. The chef wasn’t too happy
with me since he claims burgers were beneath his culinary talents.”

She shot him a sly look. “But you
convinced him anyways.”

His dark eyes gleamed with
amusement. “Did you have any doubt?”

“Of course not,” she said with a
laugh. Relieved that the atmosphere was less uncomfortable, Skylar took a bite
of her burger, watching as Dom did the same. They began to eat and Skylar
searched for a way to start the conversation she wanted to have with him, but
couldn’t seem to figure out a way to bring it up. Her nerves returned with a
vengeance as they continued eating. The silence between them wasn’t natural,
and it made her tense up again. Finally, she’d had enough. “This is stupid.”

“What?”

“This. Us. We’re acting weird.”
Frowning, she waved a fry in the air. “Things are just...and then the thing
happened and now everything is weird.”

After a moment, Dom said, “I have
absolutely no clue what you are trying to say.”

She dropped the fry and picked up
her glass, draining the contents with one gulp. “I’m saying we have things to
talk about. We kissed and then things happened with me and Arik—”

“We don’t have to talk about
that,” Dom said with a scowl. “I already know what happened between you and
Arik.”

“But we do have to talk about it.
That’s the point, isn’t it? We have to talk about all this stuff if we’re going
to move forward.”

“Are we?” Dom asked quietly. “Are
we going to move forward, Sky?”

“We are,” she confirmed with a
firm nod. “The last few days have been...”

“Weird?” Dom offered with a
slight smirk.

She glared back at him. “Yes.
Damn it, it has been weird. And I don’t want it to be.”

He leaned back in his chair. “It
doesn’t have to. We’ve known each other for months, Sky. You’ve never been
uncomfortable with me before.”

“But things have changed now, and
it’s not the same. Everything is different. You know me. I’m not indecisive,
but hell, I’m starting to annoy myself with all this convoluted bullshit.”

“Well, that makes two of us.”

“You are not funny,” she growled.

“I wasn’t trying to be.” Dom
picked up his glass and drained it before slamming it back on the table. “You
obviously have something you want to say, so just say it. You’ve never held
back before, even when I’ve wanted you to, so why start now?”

“Fine.” Skylar took a deep
breath. “I want to be with you, but I don’t want you to claim me...yet.”

There was a long pause as Dom
stared at her. When he finally spoke, his voice was harsh with fury. “That’s
pretty fucked up, Sky.”

“Listen—”

“No, you listen,” he snapped. “I
know this hasn’t been the easiest situation for you, but this hasn’t exactly
been fucking easy for me either. I want you, I think I’ve made that clear. And
when I say that, I mean I want you to belong to me. I’m a pretty possessive
bastard, so knowing I have to share you with Arik is like a knife to the gut.
But I’ll deal with it because I have to. I know if I don’t, I’d be hurting both
of you. What I don’t have to like is knowing that you’re going to have a
connection with him that I won’t have with you. But telling me you won’t let me
claim you is just bullshit at this point. Actually, it’s like saying fuck you
to me.”