Chapter 41

Chapter

Forty-One

Vyk

F iona’s hand brushed my cheek and then the back of my neck as she peered at me. My heart skipped several beats as she fisted her hand into the hair at the nape of my neck and tugged me forward. I did not fight her, even as I doubted her judgment and my own.

The sensation of her mouth on mine was electric, and the room seemed to sway as I surrendered to the sweet taste of her, the eagerness of her lips, and her quickening breaths.

This is wrong. All wrong.

The voice in my head was sharp and commanding, like the orders I had given so readily over my career. It did not matter that she had kissed me or that her body hummed with desire. She had been compromised by the gin. She was not herself. I would not allow myself to enjoy stolen pleasures, even if they lit my entire body on fire.

I pulled away, breaking the kiss and sucking in a breath for strength. Fiona blinked at me, confusion etched on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

Her breathy voice sent heat arrowing to my cock. I curled my hands into fists by my side as I forced the words from my lips. “This is not you.”

She opened her mouth to speak again, and I knew in that instant that I would not be strong enough to resist her if she protested too much. But a hard knock on the door broke the spell between us.

I expelled a heavy breath that dripped with relief, straightened, and took a step back.

Her gaze darted to the door. “Who could need you now?”

It was a good question. This was not an Inferno Force battleship. There were rarely emergencies that required my attention in the middle of the night, even though I was the chief of security. An academy did not deal with the same level of potential danger, which was something I had come to value after years of living on the edge of battle.

“I do not know, but it must be important.” No one would disturb me otherwise. Admiral Zoran was no alarmist, and the rest of the staff was too terrified of me to dare disturb my sleep.

Fiona grabbed my arm before I could press it to the panel. “Wait,” she whispered. “How are we going to explain me? ”

There was no explanation I wished to offer anyone. The truth did not make me look good, and anything else would create more questions.

She pointed to the attached bathroom. “I’ll be in here. Just make sure not to offer your guest a full tour.”

Fiona darted into the room, disappearing into the darkness as I turned my attention to the door. I touched my palm to the panel as another sharp rap sounded.

When the door slid aside, Tivek stood on the other side. Maybe I had been wrong about Zoran not summoning me, or maybe there was trouble brewing.

“I would not bother you if…” the admiral’s adjunct began, then paused. “I thought you might have information about the whereabouts of the Earth envoy.”

I stared at him for a beat. “The captain? You think he is here with me?”

“No.” Tivek inclined his head to one side. “I thought you might provide insight into where he might go.”

“Are you telling me he is lost?” I had not expected this.

Tivek held up a hat. “The captain left this behind at the banquet table, but when I went to his assigned quarters to return it to him, he was not there.”

“And you thought that since I had spent most of the evening engaging in conversation with the man, I might have greater insight?”

Tivek frowned slightly. “You are the head of security. I think you, more than anyone, would want to ensure that he is safe during his visit. ”

The rebuke was deftly done. It was my responsibility, and after my lapse of judgment earlier that day, I needed to prove that I could still keep the human safe. “I will find him.”

“Thank you,” Tivek said. “I have not notified the admiral. I thought this could be handled quietly since it is most likely nothing.”

This consideration and discretion were probably more than I deserved. “The academy is cavernous, and more than one cadet had gotten turned around in the labyrinth of corridors. I doubt it is anything more than that.”

“Agreed.” Tivek allowed himself a breath, and he flicked his gaze around my quarters, landing for a moment on the two empty glasses. If he found this odd or if he believed I was secretly hiding the captain, he did not comment.

“We should search separately to cover more ground,” I suggested, knowing that Fiona would never forgive me if I left her in my room. “You take the main hall and the corridors and towers around his assigned quarters. I will make sure he has not wandered to the underground levels.”

Tivek gave me a curt nod and turned to go while I let the door slide shut. It had barely closed when Fiona strode from the bathroom.

“He’s missing?” She pinned me with a hard gaze. “You had nothing to do with this?”

“How could I? I have been with you since leaving the banquet hall.”

She rubbed a hand over her forehead. “Right. Of course. We saw him walking out with Britta together.” She snapped her fingers. “Britta!” Then she made a face. “She wouldn’t have taken him back to her quarters, would she? I know she was taking one for the team, but I didn’t mean for her to do that .”

“Chances are good he got lost. He did drink Drexian wine for the first time.”

She nodded. “I’m still going to check with Britta. Did I hear that you’re going to go to the underground floors?” Her expression darkened. “Please don’t tell me there are still beasts in the dungeons.”

“There are not, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t tunnels that are unsafe.”

She groaned. “This place is a death trap. Why did I think we’d be able to convince anyone from Earth that it’s safe?”

I stiffened at her comment. “The academy is only dangerous for those who do not heed warnings.”

“I don’t know if anyone gave Devon warnings.”

I disliked hearing her refer to him in such familiar terms, but I reminded myself that she was more concerned with the damage he could do with a bad report than she was for him.

She raked a hand through her hair. “I hope we find him before he gets into more trouble.”

“We will.” I eyed her disheveled hair and remembered her fingers tangling in my hair. As much as I wanted more of her, I did not trust myself. Not tonight. “It is late, and this search might take a while. I do not expect you to return here.”

I opened the door and stood to the side so she could exit first.

She glanced at me then quickly away. “As you wish.”

I hung back for a moment after she stomped out. The woman had no idea what I truly wished. If she did, she would have run.