She fell in behind him and surprised herself when she let her gaze drop to the snug fit of his uniform across his ass.
Not happening.
She had a long list of wrongs to avenge, and getting distracted by anything, or anyone, was not on the agenda.
Chapter Five
Eric knew that Nyx was one of the most dangerous, capable beings he’d ever encountered. Too bad logic had taken a back seat to his sudden, primal urge to take care of her.
“Would you like me to show you how to use a food dispenser? Or are you familiar with this kind of tech?”
She pressed her lips together and stared at the machine. It was obvious that she didn’t know how to use it, and equally clear she didn’t like not knowing.
“I can figure it out, but it would probably be faster if you showed me.”
He kept his explanations brief, showing her the basic operating controls and the expansive menu of food and drink options. It was the way she stared at the menu that twisted his heart. There was moment of disbelief and wonder that she quickly hid behind an impassive mask, but he’d seen it. It was as if she couldn’t quite accept that it was all real. Not just the choices, but the fact she was free to make them.
“Your first meal as a free woman definitely needs to include dessert. I’m thinking chocolate ice cream. What else would you like to try?”
She waved her hand at the screen, then grinned at him. “All of it.”
“How about we start with some of the crews’ favorites? A burger, a couple of slices of pizza, and lasagna—you’re going to love that.”
She made the selections as he suggested them, adding several of her own, as well.
“Oh, and the ice cream,” she said.
“I think you’re going to need some apple pie, too. It’s my favorite.”
“Then I definitely need to try that.”
It would take the dispenser a few minutes to prepare their orders, so Eric moved over to another station, one programmed for beverages only. This time, he made the order himself, requesting one of the items he’d programmed in himself. Two mugs of steaming cocoa appeared a minute later, both of them topped with whipped cream and scented lightly with cinnamon. He handed one to her and raised the other in salute.
“Welcome to freedom, Nyx.”
She raised her mug in an action that mirrored his own. “Thank you. I…” she looked around, and for a moment he saw past her armor to the vulnerable and uncertain woman beneath. “I’m still trying to come to terms with it all.”
“Chocolate will help. Trust me.” He took a sip of his cocoa, then watched as she tried her first taste.
She took the smallest sip, then made a small coo of pleasure so sexy it sent a surge of blood straight to his cock. He watched, mesmerized as she drank more of the cocoa with obvious enjoyment. She drained the mug in one go, and when she moved her hand away, she had whipped cream smeared across her upper lip, and there was a little on the tip of her nose.
His brain short-circuited, leaving him staring as she swiped the froth away with her tongue, doing it just slowly enough he wondered if she was aware of how tempted he was to do something stupid, like kiss away the last traces of the rich foam.
“You’ve got a little uh… there.” He touched the tip of his nose and inwardly congratulated himself for resisting temptation. Then she broke him again by running her forefinger down her nose, then licking the cream from her finger.
“Gone?”
“All gone.” His voice was so rough it sounded like it had been dragged across sandpaper.
“Could I have another one? That was delicious. What was it called, so I can order it again?”
He cleared his throat and willed his brain to start working again. “Of course. You can have whatever you—I mean, as many as you like. The galley is fully stocked. It’s listed under my name, see?” He pointed to the menu, which included personal favorites for each of the crew. “It’s the cocoa with whipped cream option.”
She held the mug up. “What do I do with this?”
“Put it in there. The computer will run a cleaning cycle once the unit is full.”
She put the mug into the cleaning unit, then requested another cocoa from the dispenser. She bounced on the balls of her feet while she waited for it to finish making the drink, and had the fresh mug in her hands less than a second after the whipped cream was added. “So good. I mean it. I had no idea. Sometimes I got flashes of experiences from the others, but all I felt was their enjoyment, not the sensation itself.”
A thought struck him, and he knew the answer even as he asked the question. “Flashes? Is that how you recognized me back on the station?”
She nodded, suddenly cautious again. “It is. I sometimes see things. Impressions mostly. The people who held me didn’t know about that. I kept it from them. They tore me apart trying to understand why I was different, but I managed to keep that hidden.”
“You saw me with Echo.”
“Only bits and pieces, but yes. I know you were kind to her.”
“Uh, yeah. I didn’t know her long, but I liked her.” He finally remembered his own drink and took several more sips, buying himself a little time to organize his thoughts. Finding Nyx had been important to him because it was a way of honoring Echo’s memory. But now she was here, he didn’t feel like he was doing this for Echo anymore.
“She liked you, too.” Nyx tipped her head to one side and the slightest hint of pink stained her cheeks. “None of the others ever felt that way about anyone. At least, not that I knew of. You were special.”
“So was she.”
Nyx uttered a soft sigh. “They all are — were,” she corrected herself and hoped he didn’t catch her slip. For now, she intended to keep the existence of the last free fury a secret. If she could connect to her, she might be able to track her down, and the last time they’d connected, that fury had been with Absalom. It was a thin chance, but it was the only chance she had.
The conversation faded into silence, but before it turned awkward, the food dispenser beeped, announcing that the first of her meals were ready. They still had a little time, so he helped her carry the dishes to the table. It was little more than a long sheet of scratched and dented steel, and like the chairs around it, created to be practical and sturdy, not comfortable.
Most civilians would have complained about the lack of padding, but Nyx claimed a seat without comment. It was another reminder that she wasn’t like most people he knew.
She looked from dish to dish for several seconds, took one of the fries off the plate, dipped it in ketchup, and tried a bite. After a few seconds, she swallowed, her expression unreadable.
He sat across from her, curious to see her reactions to the rest of her feast. After the fries, she worked her way through every dish on the table. Her expression didn’t change much, but he could tell that she was enjoying herself. She tackled the dishes with enthusiasm, and couldn’t quite suppress her occasional moans of pleasure as she discovered something she truly liked. Those moans made him grateful he was sitting, because listening to her delightful little sounds of pleasure kept his cock in a constant state of arousal and filled his imagination with thoughts he had no business having about a woman he’d just met.