But does he really? Or is he going to ask me to resign or transfer—maybe offer me a commission on another ship so he won’t have to be reminded of what we did every time he sees me? Tabitha thought it was likely. But there was nothing she could do but go to his quarters and find out.
Keer let her in the moment she rang and Tabitha stalked swiftly past him into the living area, trying not to think about the activities they’d engaged in the last time she’d been there. Damn the man for making her so hot and damn him for looking so good. His big body clothed in the Intergal uniform looked twice as delicious now that she knew what lay beneath the crisp fabric. And, as usual, he didn’t have a hair out of place. There was an impassive look in his blue-gold eyes that was impossible to read—it might have been desire or censure or just irritation that he had to talk to her again. Tabitha’s heart began pounding as he turned and took a step toward her but she forced herself to hold her ground.
“Tabitha…” His deep voice was hesitant for once, surprising her. “I…I needed to talk to you about something,” he began haltingly.
Tabitha wanted to spare him and herself both the pain and embarrassment she was afraid was about to follow.
“If this is about last night—”she began.
“No.” He held up a hand to stop her. “At least…not yet. First I need to show you something.” He gestured toward the blue couch in his living area. “Please, sit down.”
Uneasily, Tabitha sat. Why had he called her here if not to talk about the night before? And what could he possibly have to show her? She didn’t have to wonder long. With a flick of some hidden remote, Keer brought up a vid projector and started a vid loop. He sat on the couch beside her, much too close for Tabitha’s comfort, but by then what she was seeing on the vid screen so engrossed her that she didn’t even try to move away from him.
There was the hot, dusty slave market of Ortha Six filled with the purple-robed merchants and human merchandise. And as the crowd parted in front of the camera, there was Tabitha, chained and spread on the auction block with her bare breasts heaving and her pussy wet and open for anyone to see. As she watched, a hand came up and seemed to adjust the view to include V, who was standing right beside her. A familiar hand—Keer’s hand. Suddenly she realized that this must be from a hidden vid surveillance device he’d been wearing when he came to rescue her.
“What…why are you showing me this?” she asked numbly, watching as the scene shifted to show him fondling her breasts as he spoke to the slaver. She could almost feel his touch all over again as she watched and a shiver of pure desire rushed over her.
“To let you know that your little foray into undercover work wasn’t a complete failure. We’ll be able to use this evidence to prove that V is actively selling slaves. Of course, we’ll blur out your face and your name won’t be mentioned, but I thought you’d like to know.”
“Thank you.” Tabitha looked down at her hands, trying not to watch the way Keer was touching her in the vid. If only he would touch her like that one more time, but there was no chance of that because there was no reason for him to. The Drusinian love knots had been removed from her body and since he’d never had any motivation other than his sense of duty to make love to her, it was never going to happen again. She might as well go back to her quarters and stop torturing herself with wishes that would never be fulfilled.
“I’d like to explain something to you about last night.” Keer scooted closer to her on the couch and Tabitha’s caught the warm, masculine scent of his skin. Suddenly her mouth was so dry it was hard to talk.
“Honestly, Sir, no explanation is necessary,” she murmured, looking away.
Keer lifted her chin gently with one hand, forcing her to look at him. “It most certainly is, Tabitha,” he murmured, searching her eyes with his own. “I put you in a frightening position last night. Don’t you want to know why?”
Tabitha took a deep breath as the heat of a blush bloomed in her cheeks. “I know why—because you were determined to get the love knots off me no matter what. And you were right—I admit it. So really, it’s not a big deal,” she said in a rush, wishing he would let her go. Even the feel of his hand on her chin was maddening—reminding her of what she could never have again.