6. Maryse

CHAPTER 6

MARYSE

P rofessor Chen's voice drones on about hydroponics system maintenance, but my mind keeps drifting to last night. The way Bruticus touched me. The heat of his skin. The tenderness in those fierce red eyes.

"Girl, you're practically floating." Eve's whisper cuts through my daydream.

"Pay attention." I try to focus on my datapad.

"You're glowing. Spill."

"I'm not glowing."

"Please." She rolls her eyes and sighs. "Your face gets this dreamy look every thirty seconds. Who is he?"

The stylus slips from my fingers. "There's no-"

"Did you get laid?"

Heat rushes to my cheeks. "Eve!"

"You did! Oh my god, you totally did."

"Fine. I met someone yesterday."

"And?"

"And... I might have taken him home."

Eve's squeal pierces through the lecture hall. Professor Chen's laser glare zeroes in on our row.

"Sorry!" Eve shrinks in her seat. Once the professor returns to discussing pH levels, she leans close. "Details. Now. Was he human?"

The memory of bone spurs under my fingertips makes me shiver.

"Not exactly."

"Ooooh. What species? Vakutan? Kiphian? Please tell me it wasn't a Fratvoyan."

I shiver with disgust.

"God no! I'm not into sex with Teddy Bears. Especially not perpetually drunk ones."

"Okay, let's see..." Eve taps her stylus against her chin. "Andorian? Zentari? Oh! Is he one of those new crystal beings from-"

"If I tell you, will you shut up?"

"Cross my heart."

I lean closer, dropping my voice to barely a whisper. "He's a Reaper."

The color drains from Eve's face. Her stylus clatters to the floor. "A... Reaper?"

"Shhhh!"

"But they're all raiders and pirates!"

"Not this one." The lie tastes bitter on my tongue. "Well, not anymore..."

Eve's eyes light up like a fusion reactor.

"Oh. My. God. You're dating a reformed space pirate?"

"Keep your voice down!" I hiss.

"This is better than those romance novels you pretend not to read. Was he, like, actually a pirate? Did he have a ship? Did he steal-"

I clamp my hand over her mouth. "The entire university doesn't need to know about my love life."

Her muffled squeal draws curious looks from nearby students. Professor Chen clears his throat pointedly.

"Sorry," I mouth, sinking lower in my seat.

Eve peels my fingers away. "You have to tell me everything," she whispers. "Every. Single. Detail."

"Not here. And you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"But-"

"Eve. Promise me."

"Fine." She pouts. "But you owe me the full story later."

Eve drags me to the station's food court as soon as class ends. The scent of spiced noodles and sizzling meat fills the air, but my stomach's too knotted with anxiety to feel hungry.

"So." Eve slides into the booth across from me. "Spill the deets."

"There's nothing to tell." I poke at my salad.

"Nothing to tell? You slept with a Reaper! That's like, straight out of 'Pirates of Passion' or 'Dark Desires in Deep Space.'"

"Keep your voice down!"

"Did he tie you up with those fancy quantum-locked restraints?"

My face burns. "Eve!"

"Where's your slave collar?" She leans forward, squinting at my neck. "I'm surprised you made it to class today, instead of still being tied to the bedposts..."

The fork trembles in my hand. Fine. She wants details? I'll give her details.

"You know what? All those rumors about Reapers? True. Every single one."

Eve's mouth drops open. "Even the thing about their-"

"Especially that."

"And the-"

"Yep."

"What about the-"

"Three times."

Eve fans herself with her napkin. "Holy shit."

"Now can we please talk about something else?"

"But-"

"The hydroponics exam next week. Professor Chen's new hairpiece. The weather in the biodome. Anything."

"Fine." Eve sighs dramatically. "But you're living every girl's fantasy right now. You know that, right?"

If she only knew the half of it.

Thank the stars Eve has Advanced Xenobiology next period. My cheeks still burn from her interrogation.

"See you tomorrow!" Eve winks. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"That's a very short list."

The holovid flickers to life as I slip into my usual seat in Professor Zhang's engineering lab. The familiar blue glow of plasma coils fills the screen. My fingers trace the edge of my compad, mind drifting from the narrator's monotone explanation of containment fields.

I wrote fifteen pages on this exact topic last semester. Got an A too.

The compad screen lights up.

"Missing you already," I type, then delete it. Too clingy. "Hope your morning's going well." Send.

Three dots appear immediately. My heart skips.

"Better now that you messaged. Though I keep getting distracted by memories of last night."

Heat pools in my belly. "Which memories in particular?"

"The way you gasped when I..."

I bite my lip, crossing my legs.

"When you what?"

"When I kissed that spot behind your ear. The one that made you shiver."

Professor Zhang drones on about power conversion ratios. I sink lower in my seat, typing: "I'm in class right now, you know."

"Then pay attention. Wouldn't want to corrupt your education."

"Too late for that." My fingers shake as I send the text. "You've thoroughly corrupted me already."

"Hardly. We've barely started."

My pulse quickens. "Promise?"

"Cross my heart, little human."

My fingers dance across the compad screen. "You should hear what my friend thinks about you."

"Oh?"

"She's convinced you're some kind of reformed space pirate."

"Reformed?" Three dots pulse. "What makes her think I'm reformed?"

A laugh bubbles up. "She also thinks you've got me locked in your quarters as your willing slave."

"Interesting theory. And what did you tell her?"

"That all the rumors about Reapers are true."

"Which rumors would those be?"

"You know. The ones about being insatiable. Demanding. Possessive."

"And did you confirm or deny these allegations?"

Heat creeps up my neck. "I might have mentioned the thing about three times."

"Only three? We'll have to improve those numbers."

My breath catches. "She thinks you're going to tie me up and do outrageous things to me."

"Very well, Little Delicacy. I will grant all of your most depraved desires."

My fingers hover over the keys. I start to type "I was just kidding" but pause. The thought of being at his mercy sends a delicious shiver down my spine.

I delete the text.

"See you real soon," I type instead, and hit send.

The lights flicker on and I gather my things in a daze, barely registering Professor Zhang's reminders about next week's assignment. My skin still tingles from Bruticus's messages.

The station's artificial sunlight hits my face as I step out of the building. My ex Derek would have never sent such provocative texts. He'd get all awkward if I tried to flirt, changing the subject to safer topics like quantum mechanics or the latest holoshow.

Before him, there was James. Sweet, proper James who treated me like I might break. Who apologized after every kiss, who needed three drinks before he'd touch me below the waist.

And Michael... stars, what a disaster that was. He'd freeze up if I so much as suggested anything beyond missionary position with the lights off.

But Bruticus... The way he looks at me makes my knees weak. No hesitation, no awkward fumbling. When he wants me, he shows it. When something pleases him, I know. His growls of approval, the way his hands tighten on my hips, how his eyes flash that deeper crimson...

The human men I dated kept everything locked away, like showing desire was somehow shameful. Their touches were tentative, uncertain. Their compliments came wrapped in layers of polite restraint.

Bruticus calls me his "little delicacy" in that rough voice that makes me shiver. He doesn't hide his hunger when he looks at me. Doesn't pretend he isn't thinking about having me against the nearest wall.

The memory of his hands on my skin, possessive and sure, makes heat pool in my belly. No second-guessing, no careful distance. Just pure, honest want.

Eve's right. I am living a romance novel. The dangerous, brooding stranger who saves the damsel in distress, then sweeps her off her feet. The kind of story I'd curl up with on a rainy night, pretending such things could happen in real life.

Except this is real. Bruticus is real. The heat of his touch, the intensity of his gaze, the way he makes me feel... it's all gloriously, terrifyingly real.

My hand shakes as I pull up the transit app. The thought of seeing him again makes my heart race. This is crazy. We met two days ago. Two days, and he's already under my skin, in my blood, consuming my every thought.

It can't last. These whirlwind romances never do. The passion burns too hot, too fast, leaving nothing but ashes. That's what my mother always said. "The hotter the flame, the quicker it dies."

But Bruticus... there's something different about him. Something in the way he looks at me, like I'm precious and wild all at once. The gentleness in his touch despite his fierce appearance. The vulnerability he showed when he woke from his nightmare.

The transit car arrives with a soft hum. I slide into the backseat, punching in my destination.

"Welcome, passenger. Estimated arrival time: twelve minutes."

Twelve minutes. My fingers drum against my thigh. Twelve minutes until I see those crimson eyes again. Until I feel his hands on my skin. Until I hear that deep voice call me his "little delicacy."

Maybe Mother was wrong. Maybe some flames don't burn out. Maybe they just grow stronger, hotter, better with each passing moment.

The car merges into the station's traffic flow. My reflection in the window shows flushed cheeks and bright eyes. I look... transformed. Alive in a way I've never been before.

Twelve minutes. I can hardly wait.