Born of Ice

“Don’t you dare argue with me. I’m your father.”


“And I’m your son. A grown man. It’s time you realized I can pull my own boots on, you know? I don’t need you to wipe the drool off my chin anymore. If this was Grandpa who was in danger, would you walk away and leave him?”

Devyn ground his teeth as his anger warred with his common sense.

But in the end, he knew Omari was right.

All the way around. He wouldn’t be able to walk away and leave his father in danger, and Omari, in spite of Devyn’s denial, was a man. At his age, he’d been in the middle of his medical residency with people’s lives dependent on his skills. And he didn’t even want to think about what his parents had been into at Omari’s age.

The kid was grown.

Sway snatched the pad from him and wrote on it quickly. We’re in this to the end. Then he added one additional word. Asshole.

Devyn laughed. “I hate you.”

Sway blew him a sarcastic kiss.

Devyn went back to writing. Fine, then. Let’s at least try to control the situation.

“How, genius?” Vik asked.

I don’t know. I was hoping one of you did.

Sway gave him an obscene gesture.

Vik unplugged from the wall. “You know, Captain Obvious, that part we need is only available on Charisis. I think we should stop there and procure another one.”

Devyn mouthed the words, What are you doing?

Go with it, Vik mouthed back. I have a plan.

Sway added in a stilted voice, “If that’s the only place we can go . . .”

“Good, then.” Vik cut him off before Sway gave away their plan with his really bad acting. “You organics should get some rest. Let the mecha handle everything.”

“All right, Vik.” Sway used that same choppy speech. “See everyone in the morning.”

Alix didn’t move as the room cleared. Her thoughts were on her family.

Without thinking, she reached for Devyn as he walked past her. “I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice tight. “I wish I could go back and—”

“And do what? What could you do differently? Besides, had it not been you they sent for me, it’d have been someone else.”

She looked around the room nervously while the warmth of his hand seeped into her skin. “You think he can hear us?”

“Probably.”

“Do you think we stand a chance?”

“There’s always a chance. In this case, not a good one. But there’s always something.”

Alix sighed. She’d really screwed up this time. The phrase No good deed goes unpunished rang through her mind. All she’d wanted to do was give her family a chance. A better life than what she’d had.

A taste of freedom.

And now she’d risked causing everyone aboard this ship the chance of losing their own lives.

How could she have been so selfish? Looking into Devyn’s eyes cut her to the core. He was the only man who had ever treated her decent, and because of that, his entire crew and ship were in grave danger.

He couldn’t die.

Not because of her.

Not because of the lies she’d told to help her family.

A whirl of emotions played through her. How did this get so complicated? “I’m sorry.” She peered up at him, hoping he didn’t hate her.

He should hate her. He should detest being in the very room with her. Like her father always had. But the way he looked at her . . .

Devyn growled inwardly as her gaze met his. He could almost believe she actually was sorry. The softness of her face, the way she was so tough yet feminine. She’d done so much to endanger them, and yet . . .

He couldn’t hate her.

Alix laced her fingers through his. Dainty long fingers intertwined with his, and the sight of them made him possessive. He wanted her. He wanted her with everything inside him.

Right here.

Right now.

Pulling her to him, he melded her body to his.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, the words so sincere he almost believed her. A tear welled in the corner of her eye and it damn near tore through him. What had she been through?

Well, she was worth something. She was worth more than she could ever imagine, and he was about to show her just what she meant to him.

He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her slowly. Tiny moans escaped her as their lips met with a passion that almost brought him to his knees.

Alix truly was sorry, but with Devyn’s mouth on hers the only thing she was sorry for at the moment was that he wasn’t inside her.

Imminent danger radiated through her. It haunted every member of the crew. They could all be dead in a matter of minutes, and the only thing she could think about was Devyn and the way he made her feel.

Special.

Wanted.

Important.

In his arms, she wasn’t a convenient body to ease an itch he had. She was a human being with feelings that seemed to matter to him.