Chapter Twelve

Four Weeks Later

"I don't understand why this is so complicated." Naya tried to suppress her frustration with the clerk in the clothing department but it was proving difficult. "I gave you the name of the warehouse on Calyx. How hard is it to import two cases of shirts and pants?"

The older Harcos male shot her a pissed-off look. He manned his computer console as if he were a sentry guarding state secrets. "I can't force them to trade with us. They won't meet our terms for import taxes and fees. Unless you want to pay the difference, those boxes aren't leaving Calyx."

"This is ridiculous." Naya rubbed her forehead and tried to think of a way to deal with the red tape. "Look, where I can get a copy of the trading agreements and tax fees and all that?"

The man pointed to the scanner on the corner of his desk. "Scan your chip. I'll have the relevant files sent to your personal tablet."

Naya waved her hand in front of the scanner until it beeped. "Thank you."

Annoyed, she left the store and made her way into the retail sector of the ship. Now that she and Menace had been together for more than thirty days, there was no issue of her being taken by another male. He had taken her off restrictions two weeks earlier as long as she had an escort, usually Hallie because no man on this ship would dare bother the wife of the general.

Naya glanced around the bustling shopping center. Her gaze fell on an empty storefront. The idea Hallie had seeded all those weeks ago about opening a store here had taken hold and sprouted. At the wives meeting earlier, Naya had confided her dream to Hallie. She planned to familiarize herself with the laws and rules before she made any concrete plans. Money would probably be an issue but she had a good chunk waiting for her in a bank on Safe Harbor. If it was enough and the laws were in her favor, she would talk to Menace and see what he thought about her idea.

There was no doubt in her mind that he would support her. Bit by bit, her sexy sky warrior had chipped away at the wall she had erected around herself. There had been arguments in the last month and there were times she really wanted to whack him upside the head with the nearest heavy object, but he truly was the most honest, loyal man she had ever met.

That he absolutely adored her, even when she was acting like a raging bitch, still left her feeling a bit uneasy. Her experience taught her to be wary of any man who thought that her waspish tongue was "cute". She tried to take their relationship day by day, but it was hard sometimes. She felt as if the ground was constantly shifting beneath her feet.

Crossing to the elevator bank, Naya caught movement out of the corner of her eye. At first she didn't even see him but then his one-eyed, scarred face registered. Her stomach coiled painfully. What the hell was he doing here?

Naya hastened her pace and squeezed into the already filled elevator. She dismissed the irritated glances of her fellow passengers. There was no way she was going to wait for the next car, not with Creeper McCreepypants giving her the stinkeye.

A week ago, Naya had overheard Menace talking to Vicious about Terror and his team leaving on a new mission. Her eavesdropping had confirmed her suspicion that Terror was no mere logistics clerk—and that he was incredibly dangerous to her. Knowing he was back onboard the Valiant made her knees knock together.

While Terror was away and no longer posing an immediate threat, Naya had been able to convince herself that Menace didn't need to know all the ugly details of her teenage years. She had done her research and learned that the things she had done were in a gray area when it came to the statute of limitations.

Menace kept telling her the past was the past and it couldn't be changed. He had overlooked her involvement in the Red Feather, but if he ever found out about the other things she had done? Naya's chest ached with the very real possibility that he would turn his back on her.

When she reached the floor where the armory was located, Naya stepped off the elevator. The guard at the doorway seemed surprised to see her but he scanned her wrist and waved her through to the office Menace occupied. She had come down here with him twice, both times only to grab something he needed from his desk.

No doubt he wouldn't be thrilled that she'd broken protocol to visit him while he worked, but the thought of making the long trek back to their private quarters with Terror hot on her heels made her sick. There were too many infrequently used corridors where the frightening Shadow Force soldier could snatch her.

She rounded a corner—and slammed into a very familiar chest. " Oof! "

"Naya?" Menace grasped her shoulders and set her back on her feet. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see you." She glanced over her shoulder to make sure she hadn't been followed.

Menace cupped her chin and peered down at her. An expression of concern colored his face. "Are you okay? You look scared."

Naya licked her lips. "I thought someone was following me."

He caressed her cheek with his knuckles. "Did you go to the med bay for your mandatory head check?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not crazy!"

"I didn't say you were. Space sickness is a very real threat, sweetheart. You've gone from spending every day of your life on solid ground to spending…what? Thirty-three days in space? It can affect your mind."

She huffed loudly. "I don't have space sickness. I thought Terror was following me."

Menace reeled back in surprise. "Terror? He's back on the ship?"

"I just saw him in the retail sector."

"He was probably trying to catch up with you to talk. I know he's terrifying on the outside but he's a really great guy when you get to know him."

"I'll have to take your word for it."

Menace cracked a smile and checked his watch. "I'm off-duty in half an hour. You want to come back to my office and watch me finish inputting some data? We can grab dinner when I'm done."

Relieved that he would let her stay, she happily nodded. "I'd love that."

He slid his arm around her shoulders and led her to his office. The space was cramped and hot. Menace gestured to the chair in front of his desk but she ignored him, choosing instead to slide onto the empty space next to this workstation.

Chuckling, Menace dropped into his chair. "You are the prettiest damn paperweight I've ever seen."

"You could hire me on as your assistant. I could perch right here every day and brighten up the place." Naya crossed her legs, making sure to show off as much skin as possible. It wasn't often that she wore skirts back on Calyx but up here on the ship she'd rediscovered her childhood love of them.

Menace had discovered his love of the garments as well. His hand moved to her bare leg. He stroked her skin. "Temping offer, sweetheart, but I don't think I would get much work done."

"Probably not," Naya agreed, only too aware of his raging libido. She grasped his hand and returned it to his desk. "Finish your work so we can go home and play."

"We might not make it home," Menace grumbled and picked up the stack of shiny silver cards on his desk. He scanned them one by one and tapped information into the empty fields on the big touchscreen monitor mounted on his desk.

"What are you doing?"

"I spent the morning certifying the first group of soldiers to use the new weapons we'll be receiving tomorrow. It's the newest version of a plasma gun. It's supposed to be ideal for urban warfare."

"I see." Naya didn't like the sound of that. If the men in this sector of Harcos operations were gearing up for urban warfare, it meant they had identified the locations of rumored terrorists on Calyx. She feared what that would mean for the innocent people down there who would inevitably be caught in the crossfire.

Menace paused his scanning and tapping and pointed to a small digital catalogue on top of a pile of similar weapons catalogues. "The specs are in there if you'd like to see them."

Naya picked up the lightweight catalog and swiped her finger over the touchscreen to activate the sales pitch. Images of explosions and terrifyingly large soldiers decimating enemy forces popped onto the screen. The bright-white bursts from the muzzles burned right through armor, clothing and skin. The gaping holes left in the bodies smoked and sizzled. Twenty seconds into the pitch, she'd seen enough and stopped it. "Gross."

He chuckled. "But effective."

"You realize that the people down on Calyx are farmers and millers and tradesmen. I mean, dentistry is considered magic to some of those people in the far-flung corners of our civilization. Do you really need a weapon like this?"

"It's not your people we're worried about, Naya. We know that the Harcos faction of insurgents, the Splinters, are here. That bombing four years ago in The City near our embassy had all the trademarks. There's no doubt they're trying to sow seeds of dissatisfaction down there to gain followers and fighters for their dwindling army."

"So what? You're going to hunt them down with those guns? What if you shoot the wrong people?"

Menace didn't glance up from his scanning and typing. "That's war, Naya. Collateral damage is acceptable."

Naya didn't think. She pulled back her fist and punched him hard on the shoulder. "How can you say that? Collateral damage? Those are people, Menace!"

He frowned and rubbed his shoulder. "That hurt ."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she replied sarcastically. "That was collateral damage from my anger at your indifference."

Menace's jaw tightened. "What do you want me to say, Naya? That we never make mistakes? I'm no liar. Sometimes innocent people are in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can't change that. I won't sit here and lie to you by promising you that these weapons will only be used against terrorists."

"Okay and what happens when these weapons get into the hands of those Splinter guys?"

"They won't."

His arrogance burned her already frayed nerves. "You can't know that, Menace. Hello! Your people have imposed a weapons ban on Calyx for centuries, yet we have weapons. You confiscated one from me, remember?"

"Oh, I remember all right."

"Then please listen to me. You are in the wilds of the galaxy out here. You cannot protect every shipment that comes your way." Naya stopped herself before she said something incriminating. This definitely wasn't the time to come clean to him, not here in his office. "Look, all I'm saying is that there have been things that came through the front doors of my pawnshop that were straight off your ships. You couldn't control pieces of tech. How the hell do you intend to control the flow of weapons, Menace?"

He sat back in his chair and studied her. Finally he spoke. "I don't disagree with your assessment, but that's not my department. I'm just the weapons specialist."

She sighed slowly and dropped her gaze. "People are going to die, Menace."

"They already are, Naya. That's why we have to stop these terrorists before they gain a real foothold on your planet. A handful of surgical strikes and we solve the problem."

She shook her head and stared at him. "That easy, huh?"

"That's what they tell people in my paygrade."

Signaling an end to their discussion, Menace returned to his work. Naya stifled the inner voice that urged her to just fucking tell him already. Their discussion had given her the perfect opening to just lay it all on the line. Fear stopped her. The idea that he would react with anger or disgust made it impossible for her to take the brave step of confessing her sins.

Menace worked diligently at her side. The hands that had brought her such pleasure and that cradled her close at night mesmerized her. She gazed at his handsome face. The thought of never again seeing his smiling face across the dinner table or feeling his lips gliding over her skin squashed whatever courage she'd been able to muster.

Refusing to ruin what she shared with Menace, Naya convinced herself that Terror couldn't possibly know what she'd done. There were no records. She'd only ever been arrested for petty crimes. Maybe Terror had his suspicions but he didn't have proof. She wasn't about to give it to him by unburdening her conscience on Menace. Some secrets had to be kept…whatever the cost.

Naya had gone awfully quiet as he worked. Menace scanned the last card and inputted the final pieces of data before logging off. He placed the cards back in their case and slipped it into the drawer of his desk where he kept the range records of every soldier on the ship. Touching her knee, Menace got her attention. "I have something I want you to see."

She rolled her eyes. "I think you showed me that this morning in the shower."

Menace chortled and shoved out of his chair. "No, not that ." He held out his hand and tugged her off his desk. "I was going to give it to you later but you're here now so we may as well play with it."

"Now I know you're talking about sex. Is it another one of your weird toys?"

Menace frowned at her. "You make it sound like I'm a sex-addicted pervert."

"Um…have you looked in the mirror lately?"

"Watch it," he warned. "There's enough soundproofing in the shooting range for me to toss you across my knee and swat that little ass of yours until it's bright-red."

Naya laughed and patted his chest. "Tease."

"You're awfully brave today, sweetheart." He led her into the shooting range and punched in the activation code that would alert the control rooms and police that any shots fired were for training purposes only. The last thing he wanted was an SRU team storming the range in the search for an active shooter.

"Take these." Menace pressed a pair of headphones and safety glasses into her hand. "You'll have to wear them."

She examined the protective equipment. "Why?"

"Because I'm rather fond of your beautiful eyes and I'm sure you like being able to hear," he replied. "Once we're in the shooting area," he gestured to the stations on the far end of the room, "you'll wear that gear or else you won't get to fire your weapon."

She perked up at that tidbit. "My weapon?"

Menace nodded. "Venom brought it down earlier. Vicious and Admiral Orion finally got around to stamping my permit. I know this is your firearm, but technically it's mine now. That means I'm responsible for it which means that after firing it today it goes right into the gun safe in our quarters."

"I understand."

"I'll bring you to the range as often as possible." Menace unlocked the armory gun safe. Unlike the small box in their closet, this safe was actually a room with walls covered in weapons. He kept at least two models of every weapon within the current Harcos arsenal in the safe, one for testing and the other for teaching.

Naya's small firearm was in a drawer near the door. He retrieved the unloaded weapon and removed four magazines from a nearby drawer. He didn't keep many of these old-school projectile rounds on the ship. They were so antiquated that only he and Venom had any proficiency with the projectile weapons.

"Before I give this to you, we need to discuss the safety procedures down here." Menace pocketed the magazines and carried the gun out of the safe. As he led Naya to a shooting station, he walked her through the rules and regulations of the range. To be sure she was paying attention, he made her repeat them and quizzed her on what to do if she had a jam or a misfire. Satisfied with her answers, he instructed her to put on her safety gear and handed over her weapon and one magazine.

Like an expert marksman, Naya checked the weapon. Holding it with the muzzle pointed downrange, she pulled back the slide along the top of the barrel twice to ensure the chamber was empty. Satisfied it was clear, she examined the magazine to be sure it had been loaded properly. She smacked the magazine into place, racked the slide again to force a round into the chamber and ran her finger over the safety to ensure it was locked.

"Fuck, Naya," Menace swore loudly. "That is the sexiest thing I've ever seen."

She laughed and shot him an amused grin. "Whatever happened to your no bad language rule?"

"Yeah, that went right out the window the second you picked up that gun and showed it who was boss." Menace moved behind her and touched the target control built into the station's frame. "If your aim is as good as mine, it's all over, honey. I might have to take you right here."

Naya glanced over her shoulder. "You're joking."

Gripping her hips, Menace pressed his erection against her soft backside. "Does that feel like a joke?"

"No, but it sure feels like a violation of your range safety rules."

Laughing, Menace put on his safety glasses and headphones. He tapped her shoulder twice to let her know she was clear to fire. She flicked off the safety, took aim and fired her first round. She hit close to the center target, close enough to tell him that she knew exactly what she was doing with that gun. She popped off two more and moved closer to the highest target value.

When she'd emptied the first magazine and stopped to reload, Menace took the opportunity to adjust her stance. "You're a damn good shot but you could be even better."

To his surprise, she didn't give him her usual attitude when he tried to correct her.

"Show me."

Menace wasn't about to pass up the chance to teach her or to put his hands on her hips and arms. Ever the good student, Naya followed his instructions to the letter and vastly improved her accuracy and precision. By the end of the fourth magazine, he was already making plans to bring her back and let her try out different firearms in the arsenal.

Back in the gun safe, he reloaded the four magazines and tucked them into their drawers. He made quick adjustments to the inventory and did a final sweep of the range to make sure everything was cleared away and tidied. The layers of ballistics gel and magnets behind the projectile targets had caught the bullets fired by her. The spent casings were nabbed by the vacuum sensors on the floor of the shooting station.

"Thank you," she said as he closed down the range and locked the door. "This was actually a really sweet thing for you to do."

Menace tucked her unloaded firearm into his empty thigh holster. "I knew the moment I Grabbed you that you were the woman for me."

"Oh really?" Now she was laughing at him.

"Yes." He snatched her by the waist and dragged her into the small engineering access room just inside his office. "Any woman that thinks an afternoon at the gun range is sweet is a woman after my heart."

Giggling, Naya kissed him. "Why are we in a closet?"

"Why do you think?" The blinking lights from the ship's systems and the miles of communication conduits and cables glowed all around them.

"I think we're going to get into trouble. Aren't there cameras all over this ship?"

"Not in here," he answered. "There's too much interference from all this stuff to let them work properly. Now lift up your skirt and let me take off your panties."

"Menace!" she hissed. "We can't have sex in here."

"We can and we are." He dropped to his knees and shoved her skirt out of the way. If she wanted to play hard to get, he would just have to play harder. He gripped her inner thighs and forced them wide apart. The soles of her shoes whooshed as they slid across the slick floor. He grasped the fabric of her panties and pulled it out of the way.

"No, Menace! You can't—oh fuck!"

This was one time he didn't mind her exclamation. He sucked her clit right between his lips. Her hands flew to his head but she didn't try to force him away from her sex. Her capitulation only confirmed what he already knew. She couldn't resist him any more than he could resist her.

Intoxicated by his need for her, Menace lashed her pussy with his tongue. He coaxed her clit out from its hood and fluttered his tongue over the swelling bud. She moaned his name and scratched her nails over his scalp. The fiery sensation she evoked made his toes buzz. Loving her taste, he lapped at her pussy until she hovered right on the edge.

When he pulled his mouth from between her legs, she groaned in protest. He made quick work of freeing his cock and grasping the backs of her thighs. She placed her hands on a wide, strong bar that ran around the room and lifted her ass so he could jerk her panties down her legs. Balancing with one hand, she reached down and grabbed his dick. She pressed him into her wet entrance. He thrust forward and impaled her on his cock.

Gripping his shoulders now, she let him bear her weight and fuck her as if he were a wild man. Cheek-to-cheek, they panted and moaned. She clawed at his back and whispered his name again and again. In their month together, he'd grown so attuned to her body and her needs. A shift in the angle of his penetration and sinking his teeth into her neck sent her over the edge with a screech of pleasure. He surrendered to the sheer delight of her pussy gripping and squeezing his cock. Balls-deep, he shuddered and shot his seed.

She lovingly stroked the back of his head while they both tried to recover from the intensity of their quickie. Smiling, he licked the spot he'd marked with his teeth and kissed it gently. Now seemed like a good time to tell her about his plans for their evening. Sated and sleepy with afterglow, she was less likely to whack him upside the head.

"We're going out tonight."

"Dinner, right?"

"Not exactly," he said carefully and pulled back enough to meet her questioning gaze. "I'm taking you to the officers' club."

"You're what ?"

"I'm taking you to the officers' club. We're going to have some fun." Before she could argue, he put his finger to her mouth. "This isn't up for discussion. We're going. You will have a good time."

"Will I?" The tone of her voice warned him there would be repercussions for his unilateral decision to take her to the BDSM club.

"You don't scare me, sweetheart." He kissed her hard and deep and then let her slide to the floor.

Naya righted her clothing. "Brave words from a man who is bringing my sidearm back into our quarters."

He wanted to believe she was joking, but she was just feisty enough to be serious. "It's unloaded."

She brushed by him and opened the door. Tapping his chest, she smiled mischievously. "As if I'd let a little thing like that stop me."

Her breasts rubbed against his chest as she disappeared out of the closet. He stepped out after her and snatched her arm, hauling her tightly to his chest. He pushed loose waves of hair behind her ear and peered into her dark eyes. "Give this a chance, Naya."

She exhaled roughly. "You could have asked me first."

"I could have," he agreed, "but I wanted to surprise you."

"Yeah, well, mission accomplished."

"Don't be like that," he whispered and kissed her tenderly. "I arranged something especially for you."

Interest sparked in her eyes. "Oh?"

He let his hands travel the curve of her back to settle on her backside. He gave her bottom a little swat and she rose up on her toes. "Remember that film we watched last week?"

Her shallow breaths and the faint blush of embarrassment told him she did. "Um…yes."

The moment her riveted attention had snapped to the screen that evening in their quarters, he had recognized that he had finally uncovered her deepest, darkest fantasy. He still wasn't sure if she wanted to live that fantasy out in the flesh, so to speak.

Tonight he planned to get that answer.