Return to Dark Earth (11 page)

He thought he detected the faintest tremor
in her voice. “I won’t rush this.”

“You’re making this into something…”

“Important? Hell, yes, I am. And you aren’t
a coward, Nera. If all you want is a quick roll in a bunk, I’m not
the man for that.” He reached up, stroking the damp strands of her
hair back. He loved the fact her chest hitched. To be able to
affect a strong, capable woman like Nera dazzled him. “Let’s do
this properly.”

“Do what?”

He cupped her cheeks and spun her until she
was pressed against the wall. “Kiss.”

He took her mouth, not gently, but not in a
rough, needy assault, either. But one taste of her, that spicy
addictive taste, and he groaned.

Her hands gripped his shirt, and then it was
his turn to be pressed firmly into the wall. Her breasts mashed
against his chest and she moaned into his mouth. His tongue touched
hers and she tilted her head back, her hands digging into his
shoulders.

God
. That was Nik’s last thought
before feelings, wants and desires took over.

Moments later they parted, panting. Nera
pressed her fingers to her lips. “Hell of a kiss.”

“Yeah.” He was feeling a little dazed,
himself. “I want to take you to dinner.”

Some expression crossed her face, her eyes
widening for a second before she hid it. “Dinner? I’m a killer, a
thief, a treasure hunter…and I’ve been other things, too. Not nice
things. And you want to take me to dinner?”

“Yes.”

Her eyelids flickered and something occurred
to Nik. “Hasn’t anyone taken you to dinner before?”

“No. Like I said, killer.” She dragged a
hand through her hair, a flash of something crossing her face.
“People are afraid of me.”

God. What kind of life had she led? He
wanted to be the one to show her the quiet pleasures…and the
not-so-quiet ones.

She straightened, her features hardening.
“What’s it matter? Dinner’s no big deal. I can get my own damn
dinner.”

“I never said you couldn’t. Now, grab a
shower and get changed. Then meet me at my cabin.”

She watched him for an eternally long
moment, then finally, she nodded. “Okay.”

Nik hurried to his cabin. He was tidy by
nature, so he didn’t need to clean up. He quickly ordered food from
the tiny food printer in his room, and then placed an order to the
galley for a few fresh things. He kept his shower to a quick
in-and-out, mainly to scrub the Earth dirt off.

He paused in the act of pulling on his
shirt. Earth. He still couldn’t believe he was here. He’d stepped
foot in the ruins of New York. Unbelievable.

The classic cars were a great find, and he
hoped Mexico, with its wealth of ancient history, would prove a
fertile ground for their hunt.

The food printer chimed, disrupting his
musings. He hurried to get everything set up on the small table in
his cabin. The food arrived from the galley and he arranged that as
well. He didn’t bother with flowers or a simulated candle. That
wasn’t Nera’s style. Instead, he focused on lush, tasty foods to
tantalize the senses.

He’d just finished setting the table when
his door chimed.

He opened it. “You look…” As he looked at
her, his words stuck in his throat. His chest constricted.

He’d mainly seen Nera in her armor. Always
black and formfitting. Once, at the Galaxy’s Edge space station,
they’d both infiltrated a nightclub to steal a special invitation
from a partygoer. Then, she’d been wearing a provocative black
catsuit—simply a civilian version of her armor.

He’d never before seen her legs bare. All
that skin… He gave his head a slight shake, and forced himself to
start at the top. She wore a simple, black wrap top that left her
arms bare and molded to her high, firm breasts. The short
skirt…holy hell, her legs were impossibly long, toned, with skin
the color of Amoron honey.

He cleared his throat. “You look
fantastic.”

She looked faintly amused. “You’re acting
like an idiot.”

“I know, but you are insanely
beautiful.”

“You know what I look like.”

“I do know what you look like, yes. But I
didn’t know your legs were that long, and seeing the skin of your
thighs…not many people get to see that. I like seeing it.”

“You’re easily pleased, Niklas.”

“No.” He reached out and fingered her
platinum hair. “I’m not.”

“Are you going to invite me in?” she
asked.

“Not yet. We have something to do first.” He
snatched up a small bag he’d set aside.

“What?” she asked.

“A delivery to make.” He grabbed her arm and
propelled her down the hall.

“I don’t like surprises, Phoenix.”

“Everyone likes surprises.”

“No, they don’t.”

He pulled her to a stop at the end of the
corridor and pressed a finger to her lips. A second later, a door
hissed open and heavy footsteps stomped their way.

“What the hell was so important I have to
get down there myself? Damn young upstart.” Gunn strode past
without noticing them, muttering under his breath.

Nik leaned closer to Nera. “I had Solomon
call Gunn away.”

Nera swallowed, her gaze burning into him.
“The bag. It’s for Alarah.”

He nodded and watched something move over
her face. Her hand grabbed his, squeezed.

His heart spasmed. “Come on.”

It took Nera twenty seconds to hack the door
lock on Gunn’s cabin. When they stepped inside, they spotted Alarah
sitting on a seat by the round window. She turned and when she saw
them, she gasped.

Nik’s jaw hardened. The woman’s left eye was
black and swollen shut. Beside him, he felt the tension in Nera.
Then she grabbed the bag and hurried forward.

“Are you okay?” Nera asked, kneeling by the
woman.

“You…you shouldn’t be here.” Alarah curled
her arms and legs in closer to her thin body.

“We won’t stay long,” Nera promised.

Nik stayed back and let Nera deal with the
woman. He watched her open the bag and when she pulled out the
medscope, Nera glanced up at him with a look that made him want to
do this a hundred times over.

“You know how to use this?” she asked the
young woman.

Alarah nodded.

“Just use it in short bursts. That way it
won’t heal you all in one go and make him suspicious.” Nera pulled
some other items out. Food and a mini-Sync. “I’m guessing you’ll
know where to hide these so he doesn’t find them.”

Nik’s fingers curled into fists. She said
that in a way that spoke of experience. Damn. It made him want to
hurt whoever in her past needed hurting.

Alarah nodded. “Thank you.” Her voice was so
quiet, so broken, it was hard to hear.

Nera gently touched the woman’s hand. “I
will get you away from him. Not today. But I don’t care how long it
takes, I promise you’ll be free.”

“He’s dangerous. Why risk yourself for
me?”

Nera dragged in a breath. “You matter. What
he’s done to you, that’s on him, not you. You belong to yourself,
no one else.” Nera rose, her tone lowering. “And I am far more
dangerous than Alexei Gunn.”

Alarah blinked up at her, then her gaze went
to Nik. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “Nera, we need to go. Gunn will
be back soon.”

Nera looked like she didn’t want to leave,
but finally she nodded.

They were silent as they made their way back
to Nik’s cabin. Now, it was his chance to spoil Nera.

When they stepped inside, she paused. “Thank
you. For what you just did.”

“I knew you’d go to see her before too long.
I didn’t want you to barge in there and confront Gunn. It wouldn’t
help her, or be good for you.” He ran a hand along her jaw. “Now,
in here, it’s just you and me. Okay?”

“Okay.”

He gestured her toward the table. “Please,
take a seat.” He helped push her chair in, which earned him a
puzzled glance. He sat in the chair across from her. It took him a
second to ladle some fragrant soup into their bowls. “Eat.”

He watched as she took a spoonful, saw the
flush of pleasure as the flavors hit her taste buds.

“It’s good,” she said. “What is it?”

“My own recipe. It’s Zerzuran stew. My
mother taught me how to make it.” Before she’d left their dusty
desert planet behind, and deserted her three rowdy, young boys to
the drunken husband she no longer wanted.

“Do you know where she is?” Nera asked.

“Yeah.” He, Dathan and Zayn had tracked her
down. They hadn’t seen her, just learned she’d remarried, had no
other kids, and lived on the megacity world of Rendar. “But she’s
happy where she is, so I don’t feel the need to intrude on that.”
He had his brothers. That was all that mattered.

“Do you miss the Institute?”

“No.” He set his spoon down. Damn, even to
him, that sounded too fast and defensive. He took a calming breath.
“I miss my job, yes. I loved research and the Institute has the
best resources available and access to the best artifacts in the
galaxy. But I don’t miss the Institute itself, with its politics,
hidden agendas and…” he trailed off.

“And the underground black market in
artifacts they’re running?”

He stiffened and met her gaze. She took
another mouthful of soup. “I know about it. I was approached once
to acquire something for them.”

Nik’s jaw tightened. “Did you?”

She made a scoffing sound. “They didn’t want
to pay me enough. Cheap bastards.”

Nik laughed and his shoulders relaxed. “It
isn’t all the Institute, just a small, but powerful and connected
group.” His hand tightened on his spoon. “They select some of the
best artifacts that come in from the digs, and then those items
conveniently go missing, or are ‘damaged in transport’ and sold to
their clients. Usually private collectors.” But he knew some scummy
crime lords had been clients at times.

“You stumbled onto it. That’s why you
left?”

He made a bitter sound. “Stumbled, yes. I’d
led a dig on Chang Xui and found an old Terran starship wreck. Some
of the artifacts were in pristine condition. They were amazing.” He
stared at the plush floor covering. “When the artifacts went
missing, I couldn’t let it go. I knew something was off. I got a
few anonymous warnings, but that just made me work harder to find
the artifacts.”

“You didn’t know the Institute was
involved.”

He rested his elbows on the table. “Naïve of
me, wasn’t it? But I soon found out the truth.” Found out his
mentor, a man he’d thought was one of the greatest
astro-archeologists ever and a guardian of history, was nothing but
a thief.

“What happened?” she asked quietly.

“At first, I threatened to go public. I was
so angry.” He’d been incensed. “But they threatened my brothers.”
And then he’d discovered his best friend, Galen, had been involved
too. Nik hadn’t known who to trust anymore. “Finally, they ‘fired’
me, and I left.”

“That was it?”

Old, bitter anger welled up. Along with that
damn sense of failure that never went away. He thumped a fist
against the table. “There was nothing else I could do. I couldn’t
let them hurt Dathan and Zayn.” They’d promised Nik the reach of
the Institute was long, and one little “accident” on a treasure
hunt and his brothers would be dead. “I turned tail and went
home.”

“They would have destroyed you if you’d
threatened the millions in e-creds they make.”

“I did nothing.”

A hand reached out and covered his tight
fist. “And that’s eating you up inside.”

He stared at her elegant fingers. A
beautiful hand that hid such strength. A hand he knew had killed
and stolen. He knew Nera would never walk away from what she wanted
to do or have.

“I left. I left them to continue to cherry
pick the best pieces of our past and barter them away like cheap
tourist replicas.” Nik ruthlessly shoved the anger away. “Enough of
that. Let’s move onto the next course.” He set their empty soup
bowls aside, and moved a plate of zhoma-berries to the center of
the table.

She peered at them. “I’ve never seen berries
like this.”

“They’re rare, and native to Souk.”

“The market world your moon orbits.”

He nodded. “I still remember the first time
I tried one. These are from the printer, unfortunately, so not
quite as good as fresh, but you’ll get a feel for them.”

He watched her take a bite of the red berry.
White teeth sinking into succulent flesh. His body hardened as he
kept his gaze on her mouth. Her eyes widened.

“Stars,” she murmured.

He grinned and watched her devour the berry
and reach for another. He’d guessed that Nera rarely let herself
enjoy something as simple as good food. She licked her fingers, and
for a second, he got a glimpse of what Nera might have been like as
a child.

Except he suspected she’d never been allowed
to have a true childhood.

Nik took a couple of berries for himself,
but let Nera have the rest. She finished them and licked her lips.
“What’s next?”

He laughed and set a plate of grilled and
marinated Soukan fowl and steamed rice in front of her.

She tried the dish, was silent for a second.
“This is good, too.”

“Told you that you’d like me taking you to
dinner.”

A small smile. “So you did.” She took
another few bites. “How long until we reach our destination?”

Nik checked his timepiece. “Another hour.
But it’ll be dark by the time we arrive, so we’ll rest and start
the hunt in the morning.”

“Tell me about Mexico.”

“Well, we’re headed to New Mexico City. It
was the new capital of the country. The old Mexico City was once a
sprawling metropolis, overcrowded and polluted. The country had a
history of problems with drug trafficking and cartels, but in the
century before the Terran War, records show the country had turned
itself around. They eradicated the drug trade and helped their
country prosper. New Mexico City was built, and was a shining
example of sustainable architecture and planning.”