“Kohen, calm down.” Captain’s warm hands landed on my shoulders. He squeezed them, rubbing the tense muscles. “I won’t let anyone take you away from me. We’re bonded, remember? Where you go, I go.”
“But you just said—”
“I know, and maybe I need to censor some of the information I share with you until you are a little calmer. Breathe, okay? There may be some calls for action against us by those who are dirty or who were colluding with the Elites and hoping not to get caught, but I know Freska. She’s damned every single one of the dirty bastards. They’ll go down for this. And even if governments are calling for action against us, there’s a simple solution.” Captain pulled me toward his chest, folding me into his arms.
Bunching my hands into his uniform, I breathed in his scent, took in his heat. Fronts pressed together, there was no escaping my reaction to him, but this wasn’t that kind of intimacy. I matched my breathing to his, slowing down my sharp gulps for air. I pressed my forehead to his shoulder. “Thank you.” I blinked and leaned my head back. “What solution?”
A slow smile spread across his face. Captain shrugged. “We just go to one of the planets that is hailing us as heroes and settle down. I’m sure at least a few of them are good enough to stick around forever on. You trust me, right?”
“Always.”
“Good. I already knew that, but I wanted to be sure that you remembered you trusted me. That you can always trust me.” He leaned in, his lips parting.
Knowing what was coming, wanting it, I met him in a gentle kiss of lips. His hands roamed my back, hypnotizing sweeps up and down along my spine. Brushing our mouths together, he covered every inch of my top and bottom lip with tiny nibbles with his lush lips, taking his time before finally giving me the firm pressure I craved.
“Mmm,” I sighed. The last of the tension leeched out of my body. Captain backed me up to the bunk. I watched languidly as he finished getting ready and then left. Sleep claimed me soon after.
The door alert woke me, but it took me a few moments to put on some clothes. “Danie?”
“Can I come in?” Danie looked up and down the corridor.
“Sure?” I drew out the word, backing up so he could step inside. He was acting strange, which was saying a lot for him. His behavior was never quite what was expected. His outsides might mimic a human perfectly, but he hadn’t been programmed to act perfectly.
Bandages covered his arms. “Are you okay?” I asked him.
“Yes. The medic says they will heal quickly, but they are deep enough to warrant covering.” He’d been scratched during the attack. I’d forgotten.
Being busy killing people had that effect.
“Are you… um… do you want to sit down?” I waved a hand toward the lounge area.
“I guess.” They both sat a foot or two apart. Danie sat quietly, but he didn’t speak. I shifted around, looking at him then away, then back at him.
“What did you come by for?” I asked. It might sound abrupt, but well… I wanted to know.
“Do you dream?” he asked.
I frowned. “Dream? Like make plans for life? Or like sleep?”
“It is an ambiguous term. I meant sleep.”
“Yes.” Though I hadn’t, not with Captain watching over me. He made everything better.
“I had… flashes. While I was recharging and in stand-by. Freska says I’m sleeping, even though I’m not really human, so was it a dream?”
“Maybe?” How was I supposed to know? I didn’t want to say that though. “Did you ask Freska?”
Danie’s eyes widened. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” Now I was curious. I settled into the couch.
“It was about her. What if she became upset or some other emotion? She’s different from everyone else. I can connect with her.” He touched the back of his neck, but his other hand drifted up his chest. I don’t even know if he realized it. “I don’t want to lose that.”
He was worried about offending Freska. Maybe embarrassed about the dream? And he didn’t want to lose his connection to her? The longer Danie was alive, for lack of a better word, the more he was integrating his hardware and software. His humanness.
“Is that all you dream about? Freska?”
“It was after we killed those people. When she connected with us. I could feel her inside me. I-I like it. What if she did it again?” Danie tilted his head. “I don’t understand any of this. Is this how you felt, when you were rescued?”
Was it? He’d been scared, confused, stressed, angry, happy, and so much more in such a short span of time. There’d been a plot to capture or use or kill him since he’d been sold the first time, and his first brush of freedom hadn’t stopped that.
But Captain had. Maybe that’s what Freska did for Danie. “Some. But what I’ve learned is that talking with people is the best way to make sure they know how you feel and you can learn how they feel. So you should talk to Freska, even if that seems like it’s a bad idea.”
“That’s it? Talk to her?”
I stood. “That’s it.” I needed to get some clothes on. I’d slept enough, and talking with Danie made me realize if I wanted to be a part of Captain’s decisions, I needed to remember I didn’t want him protecting me. I had to stay strong, rebuild the confidence I had.
This crew made me one of them, so I wasn’t going to shirk my duties. First I’d seek out Captain to learn what was happening and what our plan was, then I’d find something useful to do.
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