Chapter 16

Chapter

Sixteen

Fiona

“ L et me see if I have this straight.” Ariana hunched forward over the table in the staff dining room and lowered her voice, even though we were almost the only instructors there. Only a pair of loud Blades sat across the room from us—too far to hear and too absorbed in their own raucous conversation to care. “Not only do you know the inspector that Earth is sending to check up on how human integration is going at the Academy, but you slept with him?”

I avoided her gaze, as I dragged a spoon through a brown stew that smelled rich and savory. “He’s not an inspector, per se. Devon Gorman is a captain, and he was part of the initial team that worked with the Drexian envoys.”

“That’s the part you want to focus on?” Ariana raised an eyebrow and leaned back in her chair .

“It’s better than remembering that I haven’t spoken to him since I snuck from his apartment the morning after.”

My friend flinched. “Ouch. How did you manage to avoid him? I thought you worked together.”

“It’s pretty easy to avoid someone if you aren’t on the same planet.”

Ariana had picked up her forked but dropped it just as quickly, and it clattered to the table. “You slept with him right before you came here?”

I slowly raised my gaze to meet her shocked one. “The night before.”

Ariana’s jaw dropped. “I don’t know if I should high-five you or shake my head. What are the chances that this would be the guy they send?”

Now that I’d had a chance to think about it, the chances were high. Captain Gorman was high-ranking enough to be able to pull rank on others, he had been involved in the Drexian alliance from the start, and he was the kind of officer who would look at things dispassionately. From my experience, he was tough but fair. I hoped that carried over to how he would handle seeing me. “I’m not surprised it’s him.”

“Do you think he requested the assignment because of you?”

“If you mean so I think the guy is chasing me across the galaxy because he’s lovesick, then no. We were never anything but a fling. I’m sure part of him was relieved when he found out I’d shipped out. I saved us both from any awkward conversations. ”

Ariana didn’t look so convinced. “If you say so, but I think you’re downplaying your appeal. Any guy would kill to be with you.”

I smiled at her, knowing that she fully believed that. “Thanks, but I can be a lot. Not everyone wants a woman as stubborn and bossy as me.”

Ariana picked up her fork and stabbed a blue, potato-like vegetable that was cut into cubes. “Then they’re the idiots, and if this Gorman guy isn’t coming here to tell you that you ruined his life by leaving him and he’s thought of nothing but you since that night, then he’s also a fool.”

I laughed, my friend’s blind loyalty cheering me up. I could count on Ariana to make me feel better about myself. She’d been my biggest cheerleader since we’d met on our first day at the Academy. Being the only two human female instructors at the school had created an instant bond, and her willingness to play me at cards even when I almost always won had created another.

“I hope that’s not why he’s coming. The last thing I need is to deal with is having to tell him that our night together was just that—one night.”

Ariana wrinkled her nose. “So, he wasn’t very good?” She had her fork halfway to her mouth and she vigorously wiggled her pinky in the air. “Not very impressive, if you know what I mean?”

I rolled my eyes. “I think the Drexians across the room know what you mean. ”

Ariana cast a look over her shoulder then swung back around. “I don’t think any Drexian would connect something as small as my pinky finger with their very large—”

I held up one palm to stop her from revealing any detail about Lieutenant Volten. He might be her boyfriend, but I still had to work with the guy. “There wasn’t any issue with that, but as good looking as he is, there wasn’t enough chemistry.”

Ariana bit into the blue cube and chewed it thoughtfully. She swallowed and pointed her fork at me. “What I’m hearing is he’s hot.”

I groaned even though I couldn’t help grinning. “I guess he’s hot, but in a very buttoned up way. Nothing like the Drexians.” My mind traitorously went to Vyk and how he’d looked anything but controlled as he’d eyed me last night.

“Too bad.” Ariana sighed. “I was hoping to be able to finesse a romance for you since none of the Drexians here are your type.” She held up a finger. “Except for Vyk, and you can’t stand him.”

I considered telling Ariana about the bet I’d made with Vyk, but that would provoke so many questions. Questions I didn’t know how to answer. Not yet. Once I’d done my time with Vyk, I would tell my friend everything. Not that there would be anything to tell.

“Speak of the devil.” Ariana’s gaze drifted over my head to the doorway, and my heart beat erratically as I turned to watch Vyk step inside, scan the rows of wooden tables, and lock eyes with me. Then he walked toward me without lowering his hot gaze.

“Fucking hell,” Ariana said under her breath. “He looks…well, like he wants to kill you or— ”

“Commander Vyk,” I said sharply, so I could drown out her words before he heard them. “I was telling Ariana how I lost all my credits to you last night.”

Ariana slid her confused gaze to me but nodded along. “Congrats on the win, Commander.”

If he’d been planning on discussing the terms of our bet in front of her, I hoped my statement had dissuaded him. He glanced from me to Ariana and back. “I wished to speak to you about….”

“The upcoming inspection by Earth Planetary Defense?” I added quickly.

He hesitated for only a beat before giving me a curt nod. “That’s right. Are you available to meet later?”

My heart pounded as I held his gaze. If I’d thought he might not collect in short order, I was very mistaken. “Later works.”

He gave us both swift nods before pivoting on his heel and striding away.

Ariana released a breath. “I would not mention hooking up with the inspector to him .”

“Not a chance.” I allowed myself to breathe normally.

Vyk already did not have a great opinion of humans, so there was no way I was going to give him any more reason to think I was less disciplined or less worthy than my Drexian colleagues. I would just add this to the long list of secrets I was keeping.