“Moon’s glove,” Graydon said. “It only blooms at night. The ooril is drawn to their scent.”
“They’re beautiful,” Kira said, turning her head slightly to find his face startling close, his breath mingling with hers.
Bathed in silver moonlight, with the harsh planes softened, Graydon seemed like some prince of the night, intimidating and forbidden.
For a split second, she was tempted to close the distance between them, touch her lips to his and see what happened. She saw the same need in his eyes as he waited with the patience of a hunter for her to make her decision.
She hesitated, on the brink of withdrawing, all the reasons why this wouldn't work beating at her. He was too demanding. Too autocratic. Her path lay elsewhere.
"Fuck it," Graydon murmured, closing the distance.
His lips touched hers, barely there as they brushed against hers in question. In answer, she rose to her toes, fitting herself against the hard length of him.
He made a guttural sound but remained still, not closing his arms around her. He was letting her take the lead.
That decided her, making her bold as she explored his mouth, the warm pressure sending tingles quaking through her.
It was sweet and gentle, until suddenly it wasn't. Desire engulfed them as they crashed together, fury and need rising.
There was a burst of sound, laughter from inside the suite as the door opened. It broke the spell they’d fallen under. Kira jerked back.
Graydon's eyes blazed at her as he struggled not to reach for her again. For a moment she thought he would, and she knew it would put them past the point of no return.
She waited, not knowing what she'd do if he did.
He shook himself, his face calming as his expression turned inscrutable.
"This was a mistake," she said. For so many reasons that she couldn't afford to name.
"One I fully intend to repeat again and again."
She had no answer for that, choosing to stage a tactical retreat instead. She headed for the safety of the suite, knowing the presence of others would keep her from doing anything unwise.
In future, she'd need to avoid moonlit terraces. They seemed to bring out the incautious side of her.
Her steps faltered when she caught sight of Finn and Solal waiting.
"Did you enjoy the show?" Kira asked.
"It was certainly an interesting one," Finn said.
Kira shook her head and moved toward the door.
"I don't think I recall the commander ever being so obvious when making his interest in a woman known," Finn said. "Do you, Solal?"
His voice was neutral, but Kira suspected he was laughing at her.
"Never. He usually lets them pursue him," Solal said. "He is very particular."
Kira didn't respond, prowling toward the door.
"And I've never heard him share even the barest details of his past with any of them," Finn murmured.
Kira's head turned toward him slightly. Her mouth firmed. No, she wasn't going to get drawn into this, even if curiosity was a bitch.
She stepped into the bright lights of the common room of the suite, the source of what had interrupted their moment immediately obvious.
Graydon's minions were arranged in various poses of relaxation around the room. Two were in the center playing some type of game involving daggers and juggling.
They flung the weapons at each other almost faster than the eye could see, each one catching a dagger before flinging it back at the other.
Kira counted. There were five daggers in play.
Dangerous game. It was impressive there was no blood or holes in the furniture.
As she watched, someone standing to the side tossed a dagger to one of them. Isla caught it, sending it spinning toward her opponent in one smooth movement.
There were shouts of encouragement and jibes as those watching tried to break the players' concentration.
"They'll go until one of them dodges or draws blood," Graydon murmured, coming up behind her.
Kira didn't jump, having sensed him seconds before he spoke.
"Whoever lasts the longest wins. The more daggers you can keep in the air, the more impressive," he continued.
"That seems like a good way to put someone out of commission," Kira said blandly.
Graydon shrugged. "They need the danger to burn off their excess energy. Better this than pointless duels because everyone is irritable."
Kira turned to look at him.
He arched an eyebrow. "There are consequences to our gifts. I suspect you already know what I'm talking about."
Kira's expression remained neutral.
Jin lowered from the ceiling where he'd been watching the proceedings. "That would explain so much about you."
Kira glared at her friend.
"If we'd known that, maybe you wouldn't have decided to tangle with the strigmor eels and razor ash and we'd still have a working ship," he said, ignoring the signals she was giving him to shut up.
"I'm beginning to see why you keep leaving your drone behind," Graydon said dryly.
From over his shoulder, Finn scowled at her. "You know Tsavitee toys are very dangerous, right?"
"Somehow I managed to figure that out.”
"You should avoid them," he pushed, ignoring her.
"I'm a salvager. They're a hazard of the job."
"How much energy does she need to burn to be a reasonable person?" Jin asked, ignoring the exchange.
Kira picked up one of the small items on the table next to her, an intricately cut figurine. She spared a moment to regret its likely fate before chucking it at Jin.
It stopped an inch from him, hovering in the air.
"Oh, I didn't realize you wanted to play," Jin said cheerily. "All you had to do was say."
Kira's eyes widened as he threw the figurine at her. He pulsed once, then three of the daggers the oshota had been flinging about, turned and darted for Kira, one after another.
"Damn it, Jin," she spit out.
She caught one and flung it at him, doing the same with the other two. The figurine nearly beaned her in the head. She managed to stop it before sending it winging at him.
He chortled, having fun. The daggers she’d flung reversed direction as he added another, this one zipping from the belt at Graydon's side.
"Bet you can't beat me," he taunted.
"You're on, Tin Man," she returned, forgetting where they were for a moment.
The daggers flew back and forth, the movement a dance. Soon other objects entered the game as they both added whatever they could reach.
Kira caught a rock and chucked it back at him. The uneven shapes made the task more difficult.
Kira was conscious of the others giving them room, the cheers and boos as Graydon's soldiers urged them on.
Soon Kira was laughing as the items got more and more ridiculous. It didn't take long before it was impossible to keep up and she was forced to rely as much on instinct and blind luck to protect herself.
"Is that all you've got, Nixxy?"
"Some of us don't have the luxury of antigravs."
He blew a raspberry at her, no sign of stress in his voice. "Excuses, excuses."
She missed a grab, the item sailing past her.
"Score," Jin crowed.
The rest of the items dropped to the ground as he did a victory lap. Kira bent over, slightly winded.