Return to Dark Earth (6 page)

“These are where we come from, Nera.”

She went very still. “The past is the
past.”

He narrowed his gaze. He detected…something
in her voice. Damn, he wanted to know more about her. “The past,
for better or worse, has made us who we are.”

Her nebula eyes skewered him. “So a drunken
father, deserter mother, and the crummy planet of Zerzura made
you?”

He wasn’t surprised she knew his history.
“Partly. Zerzura’s history inspired me to learn more about it. My
parents inspired me to be better, to escape, and do something more
with my life. And my brothers…”

“Yes?”

“They showed me that we all need someone.
Someone who has your back, who loves you…even when you screw up.”
He knew she didn’t have that, wondered if she even wanted it.

She ran a finger along one glossy shelf.
“Trust is a risk. People can take what you give them and use it
against you.”

Her words were a punch to his gut. Someone
had hurt her…and dammit, he wanted to know who. “When you trust the
right person, what you get back is beyond valuable.”

She eyed him. “Yet, you only let your
brothers in.”

“No. I’ve got two sisters-in-law now. My
cousin, Malin. And a certain teenager who somehow wormed her way
into our lives.”

“Lastite Lala,” Nera said, her tone
dubious.

“Yeah.” Bomb maker extraordinaire,
opinionated teenager, and often a pain in his ass. But she was
theirs now. “She had a messed up childhood.” He met Nera’s gaze.
“No one in her past showed her how to feel, how to give affection,
yet she does. Generously. I think it’s built into us. Humanity,
through all the millennia, has always had a need to belong.”

Nera pushed off the wall and kept wandering,
this time touching the spines of the old books. He let himself
drink her in. Her skin wasn’t pale or dark, but some fascinating
shade in between. He looked at her long fingers, amazed that such
elegant hands could steal, subdue, or kill with such ease.

“You think emotions for another person is
just a biological imperative?” she asked.

Their eyes met. “I think the biological
drive is there, but we don’t feel for everyone we meet. It can be
more. Sometimes much more…a meeting of souls.” He’d seen it happen
for both his brothers.

Nera’s lips quirked. Not quite a smile. He’d
never seen her smile. “Poetic.”

“What made you, Nera?”

She stiffened. “A nightmare.” She strolled
across the room with her lethal grace. “And how about your past at
the Institute? Did that make you, too?”

He tensed. “That’s not up for
discussion.”

“So, you just pick and choose which parts
matter?”

His hands curled into fists. “I don’t want
to discuss it.”

She inclined her head. “I’ll leave you to
your work.”

He watched her leave the room, and pondered
biological imperatives and the burning need to connect with someone
who probably would never feel the same way.

***

With her spectrum camouflage on, Nera walked
back into the library. She’d paid a lot of e-creds for the upgraded
tech that rendered her virtually invisible. It made her job a lot
easier.

She sank into a chair across the room and
just watched Niklas Phoenix.

He was a man who was easy to watch. Tall,
broad across the shoulders, but with a rugged face that had a
studious edge to it. His intelligence radiated off him like heat
waves.

What was it about him that kept drawing her
to him? Nera fought the unfamiliar urge to fidget. Aside from the
good looks and a sharp mind, he had a tendency to brood. And there
were billions of men in the galaxy who were more handsome, and
easier to deal with.

She watched him bend his head over the
document laid out before him on the desk. A lock of his dark hair
fell over his face. Steady and true. That’s what she saw when she
looked at Niklas Phoenix. And she hadn’t met many people in her
lifetime who she’d describe that way. He had an encyclopedia of a
mind, admirable dedication to his brothers, commitment to his
craft.

Nera remembered when she’d first seen him.
She’d only just moved into the treasure-hunting game, and had spent
a lot of time watching the number one players. And that had been
the infamous Dathan Phoenix and his brothers. The camaraderie
between the men had been apparent…even when they were bitching at
each other. It had left her confused. She’d never in all her life
had that kind of solidarity with anyone.

She watched Niklas tap notes into his Sync.
His brow was creased, and he rubbed the back of his neck. She’d
been trained to interpret the smallest facial expressions and read
someone’s needs. He was intrigued but frustrated by what he was
reading.

After a few more minutes, he put a call
through to the ship’s galley and ordered tea and a snack.

She could watch him for hours, she decided.
There was something so soothing about this man’s intense
concentration. It made her wonder what it would be like if it was
focused on her.

Nera shifted in her seat. Not somewhere she
was ever going to go. Niklas was a fascination, but she would
never, ever change the strange relationship they had. She couldn’t
seem to break off her contact with him, but couldn’t risk anything
else.

Niklas’ Sync chimed.

“Phoenix.”

“Nik.” Avril Luma-Smythe’s voice.

Nera frowned. She did not like the woman.
She was too…perky. All earnest enthusiasm and flattery for Niklas.
And the way the woman looked at him, and smiled at him. Nera
sniffed. No, she did
not
like the astro-archeologist.

“I just wanted to check how the work was
going,” the woman said. “Maybe you want to bounce some ideas off
someone?”

“No, but thanks for the offer. Nera’s here
with me. If I need to bounce anything, I’ll bounce off her.” He
politely ended the call.

Nera sat there, frozen. How had he known she
was there?

He didn’t acknowledge her in any other way,
just went back to his work. Soon, a staff member came in. The man
wore a crew uniform and kept his head down over the tray he
carried. She didn’t pay him much attention, except to note his
uniform was pulled too tight across his stocky shoulders. Sloppy of
the Institute.

The man set the tray on a side table with a
mumble, and shuffled back toward the door.

Niklas turned over two cups and poured the
tea from the pot. Fragrant steam filled the air. He pulled one cup
closer and pushed the other one in her direction. She shot him a
wry smile and breathed deep. She caught the scent of berries and
citrus oil.

Then, she noted movement at the edge of the
room.

The man had never left. Instead, he was
pulling out a disruptor pistol and sneaking up behind Niklas.

Gunn
.

She should have recognized him, even wearing
that ill-fitting uniform. God, Niklas messed with her senses. She
rose, pulling out three of her shuriken throwing stars.

Niklas was staring at the documents again,
completely oblivious.

Gunn got closer, raising the pistol. Nera’s
hand tightened on the throwing star.

Suddenly Niklas moved. Fast. He spun,
shoving his chair back into Gunn. Gunn stumbled and Niklas landed a
hard punch to the man’s face. Gunn hit the floor, and a second
later, Niklas pressed the chair over the downed treasure hunter.
One chair leg was pressed against Gunn’s throat, making him choke
and splutter.

“Attacking from behind,” Niklas said, his
voice calm and controlled. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Fuck you, Phoenix.”

“Ah, and there’s that sparkling intellect of
yours.” Niklas pulled the chair back and set it back at the desk.
“Get out of here.”

Gunn rose and Nera saw his hands flexing,
forming fists. Niklas was already turning away when Gunn let out a
short roar and ran at him.

Gunn rammed into Niklas, driving them into
the wall.

Nera had had enough. She shimmered out of
her camouflage and tossed the shurikens in quick succession.

“What the hell?” Niklas fought against the
two throwing stars pinning his shirt to the wall. He shot her an
angry glare.

She ignored him and focused on Gunn. He was
cradling his hand. Her third shuriken was lodged in his palm. Blood
flowed down his arm.

“You nearly cut my thumb off!” he
yelled.

“Just be grateful I didn’t slice it off…like
I did your finger.” Nera walked toward him and reached over her
shoulder. She pulled her Tauvi sword from its scabbard on her back.
It looked like a black baton…until she shook it and the long,
silver blade extended.

She had the pleasure of seeing every drop of
color drain from Gunn’s face. She held the tip of the blade to the
man’s throat.

“If I see you attack anyone on our team
again, I’ll gut you.” She let the blade kiss his skin before moving
it downward. She sliced two buttons off his shirt and let the point
rest against his belly. He gasped and she took a step closer, the
sword end putting uncomfortable pressure on him. “And if I see you
come after Phoenix again, I’ll hurt you so badly, you’ll be sobbing
for me to kill you.”

A large drop of sweat rolled down Gunn’s
forehead and down his scruffy cheek. “You his guard dog, then?”

“No. But if anyone is going to cause him
pain, it’ll be me.” She stepped back and lowered her sword.

Gunn stared at her for a second before he
dropped his gaze. Muttering, he stalked out.

Nera strode over to Niklas and yanked one
star out. Niklas poked a finger through the hole in his shirt and
shook his head. “I had it under control.”

This close to him, she smelled his scent.
That dark, masculine essence that she found intoxicating. “Gunn
doesn’t like you.”

Niklas snorted. “He hates you more.”

“But he’s scared of me.” She pulled the
second star out.

“And he underestimates me.” Niklas grabbed
her arm. “I did have it under control, Nera. I’m hardly
helpless.”

Oh, she was very aware of that. “You
shouldn’t underestimate Gunn, either. He may not be smart, but he’s
mean, and you aren’t.”

“And you?” Niklas said.

She lifted the star to his neck, and pricked
his skin. “I’m the meanest of all.”

He reached up, closing his hand over the
star. He leaned closer to her, which pushed the star harder against
his skin. His lips came very close to hers. Just a few short
centimeters that could be crossed in one tiny movement.

“I seem to find your brand of mean
attractive.”

Her stomach clenched and she felt a low,
warm heat inside. “Maybe you aren’t as intelligent as I thought you
were.”

His blue eyes burned with an intensity that
threatened to steal her breath. “I will have you, Nera. We both
know it’s coming.”

Her heart was beating so hard it hurt.
“No.”

He leaned in another centimeter, his breath
brushing over her lips. “You’ll scream my name.”

Nera had to work hard to keep her voice
cool, controlled. “I thought you were the least arrogant of your
brothers. Clearly, I was wrong.” She hid her shaking hand by her
side.

He stepped back and she gratefully pulled in
a breath.

“I have a proposition for you.”

She looked up, her pulse tripping.
“Niklas—”

“I suggest we team up. Work together.”

Oh
. “I’m not into teamwork.”

“Just for this mission to Earth. You watch
my back, and I watch yours.”

She’d already planned on watching his
back…and very fine ass. “I see the benefit in that. I don’t have
any friends on this ship.” She didn’t have any friends, full
stop.

He extended a hand. “Shall we make it
official?”

She shook it and let a frisson of something
hot and electric skitter up her arm. With his palm pressed against
hers, she felt the calluses on his hand, the warmth of him.

Now she raised a brow. “Are you going to let
go of my hand?”

He pressed his thumb against her pulse
point. “Your skin is so much softer than I imagined.”

Her lips parted a little, and she tried to
pull her hand back, but he held fast. “My skin isn’t relevant to
the deal.”

“No, but I still plan to explore it.” He
pulled her closer, until her chest brushed his.

“No.”

“Let me in, Nera.”

She swallowed. “I…I can’t.”

Frustration crossed his face. “Dammit, I
don’t want to hurt you.” The words burst out of him.

Seeing his control snap made her belly
clench.

“I want to get to know you, Nera.” His
fingers flexed on her skin. “I want to pleasure you.”

She dredged up some much-needed willpower
from somewhere. “A business partnership, Phoenix. I’ll watch your
back, you’ll watch mine. That’s it.”

He scowled. “And if I want more?”

Nera stepped away from him. He was asking
for the impossible. It was time for her to go. “I don’t have more
to offer.”

Nik stepped out of his cabin, gritty eyed.
He’d slept like shit, haunted by sexy dreams of a dangerous and
out-of-reach woman.

He strode down the corridor, intent on
taking more of a look around the ship. He knew they’d docked at
Enterprise Station during the night. He’d visited there once or
twice. It was a nice, neat space station that existed mainly for
trade. It had good security and clean, sparse corridors. It lacked
the rustic charm of some of the space stations closer to the
galaxy’s edge. And it had none of the danger of the truly wild ones
like Galaxy’s Edge.

He watched the Institute crew bustle around,
in their neatly pressed uniforms. He felt a pang of something akin
to regret. When he’d first joined the Institute as a teenager,
hungry for knowledge and with a huge thirst to learn, he’d loved
being a part of something bigger than himself.

Then he’d uncovered the dirty little secrets
some of the people he’d respected were hiding. He shook his head.
It was sad what some people would do for money.