Page 22 of Vindicated

Then what are you doing?

I shook off the question ringing in my head and glanced up to find Athena eyeing me warily.Tvek. Now I was frightening her.

I cleared my throat and motioned to the food. “You have had a trying day. You should eat.”

She took a round of bread and took a bite, but made no move to fill her plate with the savory stews and dishes.

I suspected she was overwhelmed with the chaos of the Zagrath attack, the escape, her first exposure to a Vandar warbird, and her fall into the pool. Maybe learning that thewarlord who’d taken her preferred to live like his barbarian ancestors had been too much.

My own brother did not understand why I chose furs on the ground instead of a grand bed like other warlords. But he also embraced the technology I merely tolerated and believed that the Vandar should shed the traditions of our past. I believed that abandoning our past had weakened us. Maybe if we’d maintained our vicious reputation as merciless barbarians we would not be dealing with a resurgence of the Zagrath.

“You don’t need to worry about making new clothes for me,” she said, interrupting the tempest of my thoughts.

I didn’t hide my surprise at this statement that had come from nowhere. “No? You prefer to wear my towel?”

She cut her gaze to the fabric wrapping her body, laughing as if I’d said something amusing. “I mean that there’s no point. We won’t be on your ship long enough to warrant a new wardrobe.”

I tilted my head at her. “You won’t? How do you plan on leaving?”

She spluttered as she ripped her round of bread into pieces. “I mean that you promised to drop us off at the nearest safe planet. That can’t be far.”

I leaned back, curling my hands around my knees and marveling that the woman knew so little about the location of her planet. “Far is a relative term, but, yes, we are far from a suitable planet, especially since we cannot use space warping speed that would reveal our position.”

Her forehead wrinkled. “We have to go slow in order to stay invisible?”

I did not want to go into the mechanics of space travel or the technology that cloaked our horde ships, but I nodded. “We do. Unless you wish the Zagrath to find us.”

Her scowl deepened. “I guess not.” She absently popped one of the bits of bread into her mouth. “When you said you’d takeus to the nearest planet, I suppose I thought it would be a quick trip.”

I almost chuckled at her naïveté. The space between habitable planets was vast, even if we didn’t need to travel with caution. Not to mention the fact that I had no intention of making the trip quick. Dropping off our passengers so soon after their arrival would defeat the purpose of me bringing Athena on board in the first place.

No, I intended to spend as much time and as many nights as I could with her. How else would she assume my mating marks? How else could I make her my war bride in more than name only? The thought sent heat skittering across my skin and a quiver buzzing the length of my tail.

“It will not be quick,” I growled as I stood. “If I were you, I would reconsider my offer for new clothes.” Then I smiled at her and allowed my eyes to drift down to the swell of her breasts above the tucked fabric. “Although I do not mind you like this.”

She sucked in a quick breath, her eyes flashing outrage and her mouth opening to snap back. Before she could respond, I strode away from the table and toward the door.

“I will leave you to enjoy your dinner while I return to my command deck. Do not wait up for me.” I registered an indignant huff before I paused at the door and peered over my shoulder. “I will see you later, Athena.” I slid her another smile as my tail swung behind me. “In my furs.”

Chapter 15

Athena

What an arrogant prick.

I watched him leave and sighed when the door slid shut behind him. Then I turned my attention back to the food spread across the table in various bowls and dishes, suddenly ravenous. It had been impossible to eat when he’d been there. There was no doubt he was a huge guy, but his presence took up even more space than his body, and it had been hard to breathe or think when I could feel his gaze on me.

“And I’m supposed to live with him?” I muttered angrily to myself. “For however long it takes to reach another planet?”

My cheeks burned as I thought of the way he’d looked at me when he’d explained why we wouldn’t be dropped off tomorrow. He must have thought I was an absolute idiot, although a deep understanding of space travel had never seemed relevant before.

“Let’s see him memorize all the lines to ‘The Fisherman’s Muse.’”

I scooped a spoonful of a brown meaty stew into my mouth, the spices tingling on my tongue. Vandar food wasn’t so differentfrom the food I’d grown up with, although I noticed a distinct lack of anything sugary on the table. Had I boarded a ship that didn’t believe in dessert?

I almost laughed out loud. Was I truly worried about the lack of sweets when I had to deal with sleeping on a pile of furs and pillows and bathing under a death-trap of a waterfall?

Stealing another glance at the sleeping area, I tried to recall the exact terms of the deal I’d made while holding a blade to his throat. I’d been so sure I’d gotten the better end of it, but now that I was on his warbird, it was clear that I’d made a few too many assumptions. One of those assumptions had been that he would be compelled to honor any agreement we’d made.