Chance of Stardust

Stardust (ch 10)

That jumpsuit was going to be the death of him, Revelin decided two days later. Dragging his eyes off the woman currently leaning over Kyall’s shoulder and talking in quick, animated gestures, he tried to get his mind off the willowy grace of her body and back on the sensor readout.


Yesterday, she’d changed into the clothes she had been in when they’d taken her in order to clean the jumpsuit. Only two changes of clothes limited her options. He understood that. He also understood that his brain had developed an unhealthy fascination with her legs. The black fabric hugged the lean length, showing muscle and grace all the way up to the sweet curve of her bottom and beyond.


A growl rumbled in his chest and he forced his eyes to remain on the screen. A low, feminine laugh had him gritting his teeth. The fields of cloth at worn by the ladies at court had confused him for years. How was a woman to lure a mate if she covered her body in a mountain of fabric? Today, that seemed preferable to Cassie sleeked into that jumpsuit that hid nothing. She was driving him mad.


She defied him or she ignored him. She didn’t laugh with him. Not that he wanted her to but if she kept making nice with his men, there would be mutiny when the time came to set her free. She wasn’t a pet and his honor was at stake.


“Hello, Rev.” Llyr leaned into his side, his slight weight a familiar distraction.


“Hello yourself.” He wrapped an arm around the boy and pulled him between his knees so he could better see the screen. “No word from your father yet.”


Llyr hummed a little, wagging his head. He didn’t seem concerned by his father’s lack of communication. But, then, there was every possibility that he knew something. The thought turned edged.


“Have you seen something, kytt?”


Llyr shrugged. “Blurry things. Things not formed. Blood. But I see us going back to Gael.”


So, there was a good chance Cassie would succeed. Llyr wasn’t always right but his accuracy was uncanny. According to Arno, Llyr’s mother had been the same. Revelin hadn’t been around the woman enough to know, just long enough to form memories of a slight built waif of a woman with silver hair and laugh that brightened the room. Foresight was not an exact science. Until a specific event happened, the choices people made could change that future.


“I like Cassie,” the boy admitted. “She’s nice even when she’s sad.”


“She’s missing her parents, kytt. Can you blame her for being sad?”


The boy looked up at him for a long moment. “Do you miss your parents, Rev?”


The old wounds throbbed in his chest, still raw from his conversation with Cassie two nights ago. It had been so long since he’d allowed himself to revisit those days, he felt as if he were living them all over again.


“Yes. I miss them.”


“Oh, dear God.”


Cassie’s squeal of delight cut the air and he turned to see her jumping in a circle, her hands over her mouth.


“Is this what you need?” Kyall wanted to know.


“I need WiFi and you hack some poor schmuk’s smart phone.” She laughed, shaking her head and setting her long braid swinging across her back. At least it was braided. The silky mass tempted him almost as much as her legs.


“My mama raised me not to steal, but let’s see if we can borrow some of his data, shall we?” A moment later, her smile faded. “Well, that’s my luck. He turned off his phone.”


“I can keep a link to this device if it will suffice for your needs,” Kyall told her.


She patted his shoulder. “Thanks. You do that and we can try again later tonight after he’s gone asleep.”


But the joy was gone from her voice. Revelin watched her leave, noting the slump to her shoulders that hadn’t been there before. What was going on in that head of hers? He eased Llyr aside.


“Wait here.”


He caught her at the door of the med room before she could escape back into the solitude she seemed to prefer.


“Cassie.”


She flinched from his voice, her arms going around herself as she turned. Defensive? Why?


“Don’t worry. I’ll get your part for you.”


The misery in her eyes told another story. He said nothing. Acting on instinct, he reached out to slide a hand under hair and tug her closer. She resisted for a moment and then gave in, slumping against him in a dejected curl that hid her face. Her fist thumped his chest, hardly a blow at all.


“I’m trying. Really I am. He turned his phone off. People do that when they see their device doing things they didn’t tell it to do. He’s probably calling tech support right now, complaining his phone is possessed. We’ll have better luck tonight. Late.”


He’d comforted Llyr in the years they had been his guards, but he’d never been so aware of the being in his arms as he was at that moment. She felt so fragile, so small and soft. The pain in her voice had nothing to do with the setback in her search but something else. He rubbed a soothing hand across her shoulders, wishing he knew what to say.


“You will find what we require. I trust in that. What has you so upset?”


She rocked her head against him whether in denial or frustration, he couldn’t tell. She thumped her fist into his chest again, a mere tap. Her anger wasn’t aimed at him, then. He remembered the way she’d used her claws on him before. He would know if she were angry.


“I could have called them,” she said into his chest, her breath warming the metal plates of his shirt. “I could have let them know I’m alive at least.”


Her parents. He sighed, knowing words would never ease that pain. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he held her, feeling his resolve crumble.


“You can contact them if you wish, but you cannot give away our position or our existence.”


“I know.” Her fist relaxed and she smoothed a palm over his shirt. “Okay, that’s not true. The problem is that I don’t know. I don’t know if these Gurot are keeping an ear out for signals out of this area or if they can even track that sort of signal. I don’t even know if knowing I’m alive would help my parents or make them more frantic. I just don’t know.”


“When you decide, let me know and we will find a way.”


A chuckle rippled over her, more a shiver than a sound.


“What happened to you being an impatient, unkind grouch?” she asked. She tilted her head to rest her chin over his heart. “You’re too nice to make a good kidnapper, Revelin.”


Something in his chest tightened and then gave way with a small jerk he felt through his whole body. Those pure as sky eyes weren’t laughing but held a knowing humor that slid through him like a knife between his ribs. No looked at him like that, as if they saw under his skin to the man beneath the defenses. He wrapped his fingers around her braid and held her still.


Awareness flared in her eyes, a soft gasp parting the curves of her mouth, drawing his attention. He wanted to kiss her. He was stronger than she was, bigger. He could hold her, take what he wanted and make her submit. The desire surged through him to do it, caution be damned.


And she knew it.


He forced himself to let go of her, to step away. He’d never been so aware of a woman, of the femininity that challenged him to lay claim. She didn’t run and didn’t move away, but watched him as he retreated.





Restlessness plagued him the rest of the day. He ran the agility course, sparred with Kyall until they were both dripping with sweat. He’d even worked with Llyr on self-defense. Nothing dimmed the memory of Cassie, a tactile temptation in the flesh. She remained in self-imposed isolation in the med room denying him the chance to get the need to see her out of his system. Maybe, if she became a familiar sight, he would no longer find her so tempting.


Ari had been right when he’d accused him of choosing to be alone. His people were gone, dust even in his memories. Court offered him nothing meaningful, only a parade of used flesh and mind games. He needed nothing they offered.


He looked up as Ari stepped into the dining hall. The youngling shook his head.


“She says she isn’t hungry.”


“She said the same thing at midday,” Kyall reminded them.


Revelin rose without a word and left the table. She wasn’t going to get away with this. He’d had enough of her sulking. His temper strained as he stalked through the halls to her room. He rapped on the door and waited.


“I said I’m not hungry.”


She wasn’t going to pacify him with a conversation through a door. He triggered the controls and stepped inside. Cassie spun around with a squeak, the brush in hand, her hair swinging loose around her.


“It’s time to eat.”


“I’m not hungry.”


She tossed the brush onto the tube and gave him her back. His eyes drifted down and a purr rumbled to life in his chest. Her hair brushed the slight nip of her waist, highlighting the curve of her bottom. She gathered the silky mass and began to plait it in stiff, angry motions. He closed his eyes, rubbing at his temples. She couldn’t have done anything more arousing if she had stripped naked in front of him. The line of her back dared him to take her. As she pulled the long strands into the plait, it exposed more and more of her body to his hungry gaze. The woman had no idea what she was doing to him.


“You will come eat.” He bit off the command with the last bit of patience he could muster. “You will join us at the table and share in the food. I will not have it said I starved you.”


“I’m not hungry,” she snapped, spinning around to glare at him. Wrapping the tie into place, she flung the rope of hair over her shoulder.


“And I don’t care for liars.”


“I’m not—” She broke off, her lips compressing into a thin line. “Leave me alone, Revelin.”


“No.”


Her eyes went to his mouth and then jerked away and he understood.


He advanced on her, stalking her as she backed away, her eyes going wide. Her shoulders bumped the far wall and she flattened her body to the surface, never taking her eyes off him. Revelin felt a smile curve his mouth but the emotion coursing through him was anything but humor.


“Revelin,” she began. “This isn’t going to help anything.”


“I think it is.”


He couldn’t help the purr in his voice. He would take what he wanted, satisfy his curiosity and still her fears at the same time. There would be no more avoidance or wondering when he would pounce. They would be done with this nonsense.


She edged away from him but he planted a hand on either side of her shoulders, halting her escape. Her eyes darted to his mouth again and he knew he was right. Without a word, he bent his head and kissed her.


She went stiff against him, her hands pushing at his chest, but he wasn’t about to move. Her mouth softened under his and the purr in his chest rumbled louder. So soft. So sweet. The warm scent of female rose, drawing him deeper into the moment. When her hands eased against him, creeping up to caress his face, he knew he was lost.


It took all his strength to pull away from her. She gazed up at him, her eyes wide and her hands still cupping his face. He stepped back, cursing himself for a fool.


“It’s time to eat.”