Captive (15 page)
“They're all dead because of you,” she sobbed. “Why did it have to be you?”
“You think I don't know that?” he growled, his fingers tightening in her hair.
“You think I don't live with that every day of my life?”
“Then why?”
“I can't explain it here; just understand, I will.”
“Because someone could be listening?” she asked.
He pulled away from her and rubbed his thumbs under her eyes, wiping away the tears. His touch was so soft, the look in his eyes so haunted.
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Who?” she whispered. “I don't understand any of this. I don't understand you or me or what's happening --”
“All that matters is what's happening right now, between us.”
She shook her head. “No. That's not all that matters.”
“Right now,” he said, giving her a slight shake. “Right here. Us is all that matters.” He pulled her to him, slanting his lips across hers and silencing any protest she might have. She opened her lips, welcoming his tongue. She sucked softly, and he groaned, deepening the kiss. He tugged at her top, lowering the left side and exposing her breast. He palmed it, squeezing hard, and she arched her back.
She broke the kiss, letting her head fall back as he massaged her aching mounds.
He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck, gently nibbling with his teeth, and she shivered from head to toe.
She could hardly breathe and gasped when he sucked at the sensitive flesh just under her ear. A beep sounded from far away, and she struggled to figure out where it was coming from as the noise continued.
“Son of a bitch,” Sidious growled. He pulled away and grabbed his communicator. Flipping it open, he snapped, “What?” Mikayla sighed and laid her head against his shoulder, trying to get her raging body back under control. She knew he'd have to leave, and jumped back and forth between relief and anger. Physically, she wanted him. Emotionally, she needed some space.
“Can you not handle this?” Sidious asked in impatience.
Mikayla pulled away and shook her head.
Go
, she mouthed, and Sidious frowned at her.
“I need you to go,” she whispered, silently begging for him to understand.
She could hear the officer on the other side of the line. She couldn't understand the language he was speaking, but she could hear him. Sidious's scowl deepened, and Mikayla tried to climb off his lap. He held her down and shook his head.
Moving the speaker away from his mouth, he growled, “You're not going anywhere.”
He brought it back to his mouth and snapped, “Handle it till I get there, and don't call me again about this. I'm busy.”
Flipping the communicator closed, he silently glared at her.
Taking a deep breath, she glared right back. “What? Are you pissed now because I don't want to have sex with you?”
“That's not why I'm pissed, damn it,” he growled.
She tried again to climb off his lap, but he held her down. “Damn it, Sidious. Let me up!”
With a sigh, he released her elbow, and she quickly jumped off his lap before he changed his mind. “I just need some space,” she said, then sighed, brushing her hair back from her face. Glancing down, she noticed her exposed breast and quickly pulled her top back over it.
“I'm not the monster you think I am, Mikayla,” he said.
She turned to look at him through the tears gathering in her eyes. “I don't know who you are. That's the problem. You're one person with me, another in front of your men. I hear them talk about how coldhearted you are…how cruel. Then I see the way you are with me, and the two just don't mesh.”
He looked to the floor, his cheek twitching.
“I hate myself every time I'm with you. You're destroying my home, my family, my friends!”
He stood and took an angry step toward her, making her jump back in trepidation. His eyes glowed almost black, but the anguish she could see shining in them gave her pause. It was those little glimpses of the inner torture that made her think she might be wrong about him.
He stopped, the muscle in his cheek still twitching, his lips set in a firm angry line.
It was when he looked like that, she could see why men would fear him. At the moment, even she feared him. Without a word, he left the room, leaving her alone. She walked to the bed and fell to her stomach. Burying her face in the mattress, she let loose, sobbing into the blankets.
Sidious stood outside in the hall, leaning his back against the wall and listening to her racking sobs. Each one cut a little deeper into his chest. He hated to hear her cry like that and wanted to go back in and comfort her -- he wanted to let her know everything would be okay. But for now, he would do as she asked, and give her space.
With a sigh, he dropped his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He had to tell her the truth, before he lost her forever.
* * * * *
Mikayla lay across the foot of the bed on her side, staring out the window toward Earth. To look at it from here, it didn't appear as though anything were amiss. She could see the moon just to the right and up a bit, its bright light reflecting down. It was so strange. It didn't seem real even now, to be looking at her home from here. She'd spent most of the night since Sidious left walking around in a daze.
Depression weighed heavily on her chest. She missed home so much. She missed the outdoors, the smell of the grass and flowers. She missed watching the snow fall.
Her lower lip began to tremble, and she swallowed back her tears. She couldn't cry anymore. She needed to stop feeling sorry for herself. Her bedroom door opened, and she froze. In the reflection of the window, she could see Sidious as he silently walked in.
She closed her eyes quickly, pretending to be asleep. Maybe he would leave instead of waking her.
She felt the mattress sink, and so did her heart. He wasn
'
t leaving.
“I know you're awake,” he whispered.
She opened her eyes and stared at him. He sat at the head of the bed, his back leaning against the window.
“When you're sleeping, you snore very softly,” he said and smiled slightly. “It's cute.”
“Why are you here?” she asked.
“I didn't want to leave things the way they were.”
“I heard you talking earlier about someone named Woods.”
“Yes?”
“Why is he after you?”
“He thinks I'm a spy.”
“Are you?”
He was silent for a moment, then nodded, but the next words out of his mouth confused her. “No.”
He put his finger before his lips, indicating she should be silent, and she frowned.
Was he or wasn't he? And if he was, would it matter?
“I know everything is very confusing right now.”
She snorted and sat up. “That's an understatement.” He walked over to her dresser and indicated with a curl of his finger she should follow him. He pointed to the back of the dresser and nodded. She looked, seeing a small black object about half the size of a dime. She glanced back at Sidious and again he put his finger before his lips.
Woods
, he mouthed, and Mikayla's heart raced.
Woods must know he spent time in here, so therefore found a way to bug her room and listen. Had that been here earlier? Or the other night when he'd carried her over his shoulder? When had he found it?
She backed away from the dresser and dropped onto the bed. “I heard you say something earlier about taking me somewhere. Where?”
“I have to meet my brothers to take care of family business. I thought I would take you with me.” He leaned his hips against the dresser and crossed his arms over his chest. “I enjoy fucking you, so I thought I would mix a little business with pleasure.” She glared at him, and he winked. She instantly understood he said what he did for the listening device.
When?
she mouthed silently and pointed toward the dresser.
Sidious licked his lips, then mouthed an answer.
Earlier, while you were in the bar.
Agnus saw him.
She nodded as a shiver ran down her back. Someone was in her room? Someone was listening to them right now? The very thought gave her the creeps.
Sidious walked forward and clasped her hand in his, pulling her to her feet. She had to crane her neck to look up at him. Desire darkened his gaze, and deep down, she knew the desire she felt for him showed in her eyes as well. She couldn
'
t deny it, so she wasn't even sure why she tried. Pride, she supposed. Fighting against the physical pull he had over her made her feel a little better about what she was doing. But in the end, it did nothing to relieve her guilt over her growing feelings for him -- for the tender man who could make her feel so cherished.
He inclined his head toward the door. She followed behind meekly, her hand still clasped within his as he left the room and headed to the second level of the bar.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He came to a stop in front of one of the many small sofas that dotted the upper level. “Right here for now.”
“In my room, you said --”
He put two fingers over her lips. “Not here.”
Mikayla sighed and jerked her face away from his touch. “Then where, damn it?” she snapped. “I want some answers.”
“And you'll get them. Just not here.”
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
He shook his head. Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms and glared at him.
“What makes you think I want to go?”
He shrugged. “You want answers.”
“You're an ass, do you know that?”
“Yes. I know.” He grinned wickedly, sending a tingle of desire along her flesh.
“But you want me anyway.”
“Don't rub it in,” she grumbled.
He chuckled and took her hand back in his. With a slight smile, he put her hand over his heart. She could feel it beating, the pace just as fast and erratic as her own.
“Feel that?” he asked, and she gave a single nod. “That's what it does whenever I see you, whenever you're close to me.”
She swallowed and gazed up at him, sadness and guilt tightening her chest. She felt like such a traitor. If any of her family survived this, how could they ever forgive her? How could she ever forgive herself?
She stepped closer and laid her forehead to his chest. “Don't do this to me again.” He snorted and cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look at him. “I can't change who I am right now. I'll let you sleep tonight, but I'm not giving up. Accept it.” Mikayla watched him go with a heavy heart. What the hell was she supposed to do? She did want answers, and he'd promised them when he took her away from here.
But would those answers make any difference?
He walked through the door without looking back, and part of her wanted to run after him. The doors closed, and she waited in silence for the light to turn red, indicating they had locked. Time seemed to drag by, as the light remained green.
It remained green.
She gasped, staring wide-eyed. She held her breath, praying it wouldn
'
t change.
Was she seeing things? Why hadn't it locked?
This was her chance -- it may be her only chance.
She had to get off this ship before she ended up even more in love with him than she already was.
Sidious sat behind his desk blankly staring at the paperwork spread out before him. He couldn't keep his mind off Mikayla and how extremely difficult it had been to leave her last night. He'd wanted to stay and make love to her again. He remembered the feel of her hands against his skin, the tight walls of her pussy squeezing him, and his teeth clenched. Hell, he would have been happy to just hold her.
The beeping of his communicator brought him back to the present and away from his wishful thinking. Reaching down, he unclipped it and flipped it open. “Yeah.”
“Sidious, Mikayla
'
s left the ship,” Agnus said.
“What!” he nearly shouted. “What do you mean she's left the ship?” God, he felt like he had just been kicked in the stomach.
“I had her profile scanned when she first arrived. The computer says she's not onboard.”
“I
'
ll see what I can find out.”
How had this happened?
Then he remembered: he had forgotten to lock the door when he'd left. He opened his communicator again and called the cargo bay.
“Sergeant Brogan here,” the man replied upon answering.
“This is Captain Marcone. Have any ships left for Earth this morning?”
“Yes, my lord. As a matter of fact, there was a cargo ship that left not two minutes ago.”
“What was its destination?”
“Northeastern section of the area called the US. Battalion sixty.” He snapped it shut and headed to flyer deck six at a run. The
Triton
was much faster than a supply ship, and if he hurried, he should get there about the same time they did. He just hoped that he was right and she was on that ship.