Star Crossed (3 page)

Krista jerked her head back, knocking it against the door. His amused gaze locked with hers and he grinned.

“Don’t start, Stefan.”

“It’s already started, Kris. It started at the wedding.” God, the man was unbelievable. “Well, I’m stopping it now. You know damn good and well this is not a good idea.”

“We’re adults. We can make this work,” he reasoned.

She placed her hand against his chest and pushed him away. Taking a deep breath of air, she tried to rid herself of his heady scent. “Maybe you can, but when it comes to sex and relationships I can be very childish. I refuse to let you come between me and Mikayla.” When he opened his mouth to argue, she snapped, “End of discussion.”

“End of discussion for now.”

Grumbling to herself, she kept her eyes on her purse as she put her keys away. “So, how are we getting to the
Vultair
?” At least on the large ship, she could find somewhere to get away from him.

“We’re not going in the
Vultair
.”

Krista snapped her head up in surprise. “We’re not?”

“No.” He pointed to the small ship in the field across the street from her apartment.

It didn’t look much bigger than a single-engine prop plane from the mid 1900s.

“We’re going in that?”

Stefan chuckled. “It’s safe, I promise.”

She should have been used to this by now. Since Earth’s induction into the Galactic Senate, small ships parked in odd places were the norm. They had the same leeway as

helicopters—they could land wherever there was an empty spot big enough. But it wasn’t its safety she was worried about. It was her and Stefan’s close proximity to each other for the duration of the trip.

Krista warily studied the ship as they made their way to the field. Wings curved forward from the long narrow center section and ended in a point about two feet in front of the cockpit. The solid black color made it appear even more menacing, if that were possible. Three windows surrounded the center section, one big one across the front and one on each side.

Stefan patted the side of the ship and smiled. “You’ll be traveling in style to Daego, my dear. Top-of-the-line Litarian Cruiser. It was a gift to Taron when the rebellion ended.”

“And he actually let you borrow it?” She knew how possessive Taron was of his toys, as well as how much Mikayla enjoyed teasing him over it.

“Well.” Stefan glanced at the ship and grinned. “Forced me to take it is more accurate. A military escort would only draw unwanted attention. Since I refused the hounds, as I call them, Taron thought the cruiser’s cloaking capabilities might be useful.”

“Sounds like your security advisor is doing his job.” She stood back and allowed him to open the side hatch.

“More like my little brother is being an overprotective, overbearing pain in the ass.” Krista laughed until she saw the way he looked at her. His seductive gaze locked with hers and for a moment she swore he could see right into her soul.

Did he do that on purpose? Did he have any idea how her heart raced when he looked at her like that? Resisting a slight shiver, she turned her gaze away and climbed into the ship. With a sigh, she tried her best to make herself comfortable in a seat she considered to be way too close to his.

Oh, lord, this is going to be a long trip.

He climbed in, tossed her overstuffed suitcase behind the seat and settled beside her. The engines roared to life but he kept the ship on the ground while he made a few adjustments to the wings.

Krista noticed him glance in her direction, and she turned her head to stare out the side window.

“You seem a little nervous. You’ve made this trip before, this time should be a breeze.”

Krista faced him. “Both times were in the
Vultair
. At least in that ship I could stay in the kitchen. No windows.”

“You could always just close your eyes. Lay your head on my shoulder, perhaps.

Once the autopilot kicks in you wouldn’t believe all the things we could do in here to help you relax.”

“Perhaps not,” she countered dryly.

“Come on, beautiful. We should at least try to make this trip a pleasant one. And nothing would be more pleasant than your body molded to mine.”

“I don’t believe pleasant is a word that can be used to describe this trip. Especially with you making crude comments the whole way.”

“You could always just give in to our attraction.” She opened her mouth to reply, but he continued, “And don’t try to tell me you’re not attracted to me. I may not be a Legana mind reader, but I know desire when I see it.” Krista’s mouth almost dropped to the floor. “I can’t believe how arrogant you are.”

“I’m not arrogant. I’m observant,” he said with a grin.

“You’re impossible,” she growled. “Can you just please get me to Daego, without the seduction.”

“But where’s the fun in that?” he asked, his gray eyes dancing with mischief.

“How much fun do you think a slap upside the head would be?”

Stefan chuckled as he turned back to the controls. He lifted the ship then punched it out of Earth’s atmosphere. The force of the unexpected acceleration threw her back against the seat and she gripped the armrests. She could only anxiously stare as they zipped through the clouds, passing birds and even planes so fast the objects were nothing but a blur. Once in space the pressure eased and she was able to move again.

“Was that necessary?” she growled through clenched teeth.

“I’m sorry. I probably should have warned you about that.” He gave her a sheepish grin, and she didn’t believe for a minute he was sorry. “In order to get through Earth’s atmosphere we need a lot of speed. It’s either fly low and slowly build or just gun it.”

“You could have warned me you were going to gun it.”

“True.” He grinned mischievously. “But then you wouldn’t be staring at me as though you wanted to kill me. Which makes you look absolutely gorgeous, by the way.”

She rolled her eyes and looked out the side window. The man was impossible. He’d done that just to piss her off. So much for trying to make the trip pleasant.

His arm brushed hers, and she stiffened. Looking down, she noticed the offending appendage as it rested on the small ledge between their seats, scant inches from her own. The heat emanating from his muscular arm seeped into her pores and settled with alarming swiftness in the pit of her stomach. She shifted and crossed her arms.

Forcing herself to relax, she studied the field of stars spread out before them. They seemed so much brighter up here than they did from Earth—more touchable. She wanted to test that theory and try to grab one.

Glancing to her left, she noticed Stefan entering information into the navigational computer.
Oh God
, she thought. She’d forgotten all about the transport gate. “How long would it take us to get there if we didn’t go through the gate?”

“We couldn’t do it in this. Even in the
Vultair
it would take years. Not nervous about flying through it, are you?”

“No,” she said, then inwardly cringed at the slight squeak to her voice.

Stefan smiled slightly and pointed out the window. “Take a look at that.” Turning, she caught sight of the moon and sucked in a breath from surprise. She’d never seen it this close before. It was beautiful. What looked like small lakes from Earth were in fact huge craters created by long-ago asteroids. The mountains wove shadows across the floor of the valleys, creating stark black and white images. There was no gray.

Only white where the sun hit and black where it didn’t.

Earth had been toying with the idea of colonizing the moon for the last six months.

Krista didn’t understand what the point would be. They had the whole galaxy at their disposal, what did they want with the moon? Stefan slowed the ship to allow her a better view. “That is amazing,” she sighed.

He chuckled. “See what you missed by staying in the kitchen?”

* * * * *

Stefan loaded the last of the coordinates into the flight computer to open the transport gate, a manmade wormhole that allowed ships to pass from one galaxy to another. They had to be opened in specific locations based on where you wanted to exit.

Sometimes navigation took a while, depending on how far you were going.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Krista. She fidgeted with her hands, twisting her fingers around each other. Was she nervous? He wondered if it was from being this close to him or traveling through space in a small ship.

She was just as beautiful as he remembered, with her long honey-blonde hair and sky blue eyes.
Lord, I could get lost in those eyes
. Her figure was slim but curvy, and she had an adorable pert nose. Although tall for someone from Earth, she still only came to his shoulder.

She bit her lower lip and he almost groaned, then looked back at the controls with a frown. He needed to keep his mind on flying and not those lips. He had to keep reminding himself what happened the last time he couldn’t keep from kissing her.

“How long will it take us to go through the gate?” Her voice startled him from his thoughts and he looked at her. “Not long. Twenty minutes, give or take.”

“The thought of traveling through a wormhole…” She shuddered. “Are they stable?”

“The manmade ones are much more stable than the ones that occur naturally. We only have problems about once a month or so. Actually, we’re overdue for one. It’s been over two months since the last collapse.”

He laughed at her pale face and wide-eyed expression. That comment had been a little mean, but he couldn’t help teasing her. Besides, he owed her one.

“That’s not funny,” she said with narrowed eyes.

“You’ve done this before.”

“I know, but I didn’t see it. I never even knew we were going through the thing.

Here,” she waved her hand, indicating the massive front window, “I have a bird’s eye view.”

He smiled at her comment. “Would you feel better if you knew how the gate worked?”

With a shake of her head, she scrunched up her nose. “No. I wouldn’t understand.

When it comes to anything scientific, despite my best efforts, I’ll end up tuning you out.”

“Just think of it as a shortcut.”

“A shortcut.” She took a deep breath and let it out with a whoosh, then grumbled,

“A shortcut that folds space.”

“I thought you didn’t know how it worked?”

“I know the basics, but I don’t really understand the specifics. I’m not sure that I want to. I may refuse to go through it at all.”

He reached out and flipped a couple of switches. His hand brushed the side of her thigh and the contact sent an electrical jolt through his forearm. She shifted in her seat, putting a little more space between them. He couldn’t blame her, if she’d felt the same current he had. It would be a smart thing to think about something else.

“You sound like Mikayla.” Raising his voice a couple of pitches, he mimicked her.

“I didn’t ask for a science lesson, just tell me which button to push to turn the damn thing on.”

She laughed and the sound vibrated through the cockpit like bells. It floated around him, over him, even through him, to settle in his cock.
My ever-tightening cock
, he thought with a groan. Despite their last encounter, the woman still had the power to send him into an immediate state of arousal.

And all the hell she did was laugh.

He punched in the last coordinate, hitting the enter key a little harder than necessary. Immediately, the space in front of them was awash with blue light.

* * * * *

Krista watched with dread as the blue circle was engulfed in black.

God, I hate dark places
.

She took a deep breath as Stefan piloted the ship right through the center. It made her feel so claustrophobic. There was nothing here. No stars, no light, not even sound—

it was like they floated through nothing.

She hugged herself as the ship suddenly became several degrees cooler. She wondered if it wasn’t all in her head.

Trying to direct her thoughts elsewhere, she studied the dashboard of the ship.

Nothing there looked familiar. Everything was foreign, even the symbols. They looked similar to what she’d expect to see on the side of an Egyptian pyramid.

“Is that Litarian?” She pointed at the symbols across the dash.

“Yes.” Indicating each symbol, he told her what they were. “These are our speed, location and engine readings.” He brought her attention to the ones above them. “This is the cloak and that one is environmental control.” She glanced at the black void that spread before them. The only lights were the ones from the dash casting an eerie glow over everything. It gave her the creeps, and she couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through her.

“You okay?” He placed his hand on her knee and gently squeezed it.

For a second, she closed her eyes. His touch sent a wave of sensation up her leg that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with—or wanted.

He’ll just use you and break your heart, remember that, Krista
.

But that didn’t stop her from wondering what he’d be like in bed. It had been over two years since she’d been with anyone. For a second she wondered what she was fighting this for. He was gorgeous and he could certainly kiss. She had no doubt sex with him would be incredible, but also not a good idea. He was Mikayla’s brother-in-law and Mikayla was her best friend. She considered Mikayla family, the only family she had left. And that made Stefan off-limits.

“Hey,” he said as he gave her knee a slight shake. “You still with me over there?”

“Yeah.” She let out an anxious breath.