Captive (13 page)
Sidious closed his eyes tight against the pain racing through his chest. He didn't know the answer to that himself. He'd tried so hard to turn a blind eye to what he did --
tried to tell himself it was all for the greater good. They needed someone on the inside, and to be on the inside, he had to be someone he despised.
He could be himself with her; unfortunately, she didn't know him. She still saw him as her enemy -- an enemy she couldn't deny -- and he'd used that to his advantage more than once. In some ways, he felt like such an ass for doing it, for seducing her the way he had. But now, when he held her in his arms, he knew eventually it would be all worth it, because eventually he would tell her the truth.
He just couldn't do it here.
He stroked his hand up her back and into her hair. Fisting his fingers within the soft strands, he held her still against his chest. He bent his head and whispered softly,
“Soon you'll understand. I promise. You just have to trust me.” She sniffed, and he closed his eyes against the sound of her tears. “I can't trust you.”
“I know, baby,” he said with a sigh.
Mikayla stared out at the stars visible from the window in her quarters. She hadn't slept much the last several days. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Sidious, felt his hands on her body, his lips on hers.
Damn, the man could kiss.
She hadn't seen him in at least two days, and truthfully, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. At night, alone in the bed, she would think of him and struggle with her growing feelings. She could not…absolutely could not fall in love with him. It would be beyond stupid, not to mention make her feel even more like a traitor than she already did.
Pushing Sidious from her mind as best she could, she decided to get to work. The best way to forget your troubles was to keep busy.
Stepping out of her room, she almost collided into Dorian, who was leaving Celine
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s. “Good morning, Mikayla,” he said with a smile, sidestepping to miss running into her.
“Good morning,” she said as she returned his smile.
After he passed, she looked down the hall to see Celine standing in her doorway watching Dorian. The two of them were so cute together. She hoped that one day she could find what they seemed to have.
“Do you want to go eat breakfast with me, or do you need more sleep?” Mikayla asked with a grin.
Celine laughed. “Give me ten minutes to change, and I'll meet you downstairs.” Mikayla awoke this morning to Agnus's usual quick knock on the door to let her know he had unlocked it. She still hadn't been able to leave the bar by herself. The two times she'd gone to Sidious's quarters, she'd been escorted by guards on her way back.
Agnus was convinced if she tried to get away once, she would do it again.
He was right, of course, but it was still aggravating that he kept her on such a tight leash. Coming down the stairs, she found him at his usual spot, sitting at the bar drinking a cup of Korniga and going over the weekly invoices.
“Agnus, when are you going to let me explore the ship a little?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“When
gorgins
fly,” he replied and then scowled when he saw Mikayla mouth the exact words, silently mocking him. “You know, someone needs to put you over their knee and beat some of that sass out of you,” he said, pointing a finger at her.
“But when I'm sassy, I'm me, and would you really not want me to be me?” she asked sweetly while pouring herself some Korniga.
“I'm not sure. What do you think, Sidious?”
Sidious? Mikayla turned to see him standing behind her. She hadn't even heard him come in, but the minute she saw him, her body reacted just like it always did --
pulsing to life with erotic sensations that made her want to growl in frustration.
Leaning his elbows on the bar, his eyes twinkled with amusement. “Personally, I like her a little sassy, but the idea of putting her over my knee has possibilities. Do you like to be spanked, Mikayla?”
She wasn
'
t sure if it was the way he said it or the mental picture that flashed through her mind, but something sent a wave of shivers down her spine. Brushing it off, she scowled. “Don't you have another poor unsuspecting world to invade?” He ignored her jab and gave her his best sheepish expression. “But if I left I would be denying you the pleasure of my company.”
“And what makes you think that I find you company pleasurable?”
“I thought you certainly did the other night. Are you telling me you don't?” He placed his hand over his heart and tried to appear wounded. “I'm devastated.”
“What you are,” she snapped, “is full of it.”
Sidious's deep baritone laughter floated through the room. Even his laugh was sexy, she thought with aggravation.
“We were just fixing to order some breakfast. Sidious, would you like to join us?” Agnus asked.
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
Mikayla would have preferred he leave, but no such luck. Celine wouldn't be happy about it either. She was very shy and quiet, and Sidious made her very uncomfortable. He made Mikayla uncomfortable also, but for an entirely different reason. Mostly because when he was this close, she couldn't think of anything other than jumping his ass for sex.
Sidious quietly watched her as she made her way around the center of the bar.
Catching her looking at him over the rim of her cup, he winked, then chuckled when she rolled her eyes. Agnus went to the door to retrieve their breakfast, and Sidious took advantage of the momentary solitude.
Walking up behind Mikayla, he softly touched his lips to her temple. Her body stiffened against him, but he ignored it, nuzzling the side of her neck. “Do you have any idea how gorgeous you are when you
'
re agitated?”
“Do you have any idea what an annoying pain in the ass you are?” He chuckled and turned her to face him. He tipped her chin up with his thumb and forefinger. “I love it when you fight me, do you know that?” She swallowed, trying to ignore the heat from his touch as it traveled down her neck to tighten her breasts. “You're a sick man, do you know that?” she countered.
“Why? Because I like a feisty woman?”
She turned her gaze away.
“Mikayla,” he murmured close to her mouth.
Her gaze shot back to his and she watched him in silence.
“I'm amazed you haven't yet discovered you could have anything you wanted from me.”
“I want to go home,” she whispered.
A shadow passed over his eyes. “Except that.”
“You said anything.”
He dropped his hand and backed away from her. “Except that.” With that, he walked off to help Agnus set out the food, trying to ignore the pain her request had caused him. Damn, he should have kept his mouth shut.
“I'm starving, so you better come and eat before there's nothing left,” he said, smiling over his shoulder.
Mikayla walked over and sat down, Celine next to her. Sidious watched her pick at her food and felt a pang of regret at the sadness he could see in her eyes.
Agnus cleared his throat, getting his attention. “I spoke to your father yesterday.”
“What's he up to?” Sidious asked as he lifted the warming lid to his plate.
“You mean besides bending my ear about the fact you haven't been by to visit them lately?”
Sidious rolled his eyes. “I haven't had a chance, and he knows that.” Unfortunately, it didn't stop either his father or mother from complaining. He also didn't go home often for another reason. His father's constant bragging and telling him how proud he was could make him feel incredibly guilty. When everything finally came to a head, it was likely his father would disown him, as well as Stefan and their adopted brother, Taron.
“I told him that, but you know your father. He thinks you could make the time if you really wanted to.”
Sidious smiled. “Yeah, but who says I want to? Speaking of parents,” Sidious said, looking at Mikayla. “I called the commanding officer in Ocala, and he is searching for your mother.”
Her startled gaze met his, hope glistening within their depths. “How long does he think that it will take?”
“We won't know anything overnight. They have to see if she is on the list first; then they'll have to actually track her down. It may take them a while.”
“At least someone is searching. I'll feel a lot better once I know that she's okay.”
“Mikayla,” Agnus began. “You may have to face the fact she may not be okay.”
“I'll cross that bridge if I get to it,” she replied.
Suddenly, he realized that in her concern for her family on Earth, she'd never mentioned a father. “What about your father?”
She pushed her plate aside and picked up her Korniga cup before replying. “My father died about ten years ago.”
“I'm sorry,” he said sincerely.
“It was a long time ago, and I wasn't that close to him.” She lifted her shoulder in a shrug and turned her gaze away.
Sidious watched her, lost in his thoughts about how to handle all this. He would give anything if she would talk to him, trust him, but he knew that would be asking for a miracle until he could get her away from here and tell her the truth.
“Mikayla, we should probably go upstairs and start cleaning,” Celine said as she stood to leave the table.
Mikayla agreed and got up. His eyes followed the slight swaying of her hips as she walked away. Her thigh muscles rippled beneath the tight fabric of her pants as she climbed the stairs, and his crotch thickened uncomfortably. Damn, the woman could set his blood on fire without even trying.
Agnus snapped his fingers in front of Sidious
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s face to get his attention.
“What?” Sidious asked, thinking he had missed something Agnus had said.
“Your eyes give you away.”
“Yeah, and if I didn't have this jacket on, there would be another part that would give me away as well,” Sidious said dryly as he lifted his Korniga to take a sip.
Agnus burst out laughing.
Sidious grimaced and shifted in his seat. “I'm glad you find it so amusing.”
“You would too, if you were in my shoes. Have you set up a time to meet with Taron?”
“Yes.” He studied the empty cup in front of him. “And I was thinking about taking Mikayla with me.”
Agnus whistled. “Are you sure that's a good idea?”
“No.” Sidious sighed. “But I have to find a way to get through to her.”
“Maybe you should stop antagonizing the poor girl, for starters.” Sidious smiled slightly. “I can't help it. Baiting her is entirely too much fun.” He glanced to the top of the stairs and caught her watching them.
“Well, it may be fun, but you're driving the poor girl nuts.” Agnus was right; he needed to stop trying to make her angry and start trying to get her to fall in love with him.
* * * * *
Sidious stepped into his office later that morning and spread out maps of the northern United States. If he had any hopes of pulling this off, he had to make sure no one interfered. He had not been using the militia as he should have been, deliberately holding them back slightly in certain areas. His maneuvering had been so subtle, no one had picked up on it, and he hoped that he could keep it that way. But that would certainly change if too many people started sticking their noses in. He heard the bell at his door, and without looking up, he said, “Come in.”
“Here is the information that you requested from the scouts on Europe,” said Alonis.
“Thank you,” Sidious replied as he looked up to take the folder from him. He was surprised to see him, for it was very unusual for Alonis to deliver anything himself. He had always liked him. He reminded him a lot of his father. “Is there a specific reason you're playing delivery boy, or did you just miss me?” Alonis returned the smile and replied, “Actually I do have something that I would like to talk with you about.”
“Of course.” Sidious nodded and pointed to a chair in front of his desk.
Once the two of them were seated, Alonis began. “How are things really going down there? I've been hearing from some of the men that they feel they are extremely outnumbered.”
“We are,” Sidious replied. “The only real advantage we have on them is the flyers.
If we had to fight them with only ground troops, we wouldn't have gotten this far.”
“Do you still think that we stand a chance?”
Sidious was quiet for a minute before he answered. “Yes, but I think that it certainly isn't going to be easy. This planet has proven to be much more of a challenge than I initially thought.”
Silently Sidious admired this planet and its leaders. Once the prime minister was gone and everything was back to normal, Earth would make an excellent addition to the galactic senate. Of course that was provided they would even want any part of it.
Hopefully, he would be around to make them see that joining the senate would definitely be to their advantage.
“Are you having second thoughts about this one, Alonis?” Sidious asked.
“Let's just say that I think Rigora may have bitten off more than he could chew.”
“Time will tell.”