Tags:
Science-Fiction,
Romance,
Sci-Fi,
SciFi,
sci fi romance,
science fiction romance,
love,
Romantic,
Future,
sensual,
space
couldn’t look at him
so she pushed off and floated to the window. Shame filled her along
with embarrassment. What kind of engineer couldn’t fix an engine?
Granted they were low on parts and weapons fire had damaged it, but
she still should have been able to fix it.
“ Are we ever
going to get to Lyra Prime?” she said to the night.
“ I don’t mind
if we don’t.”
She looked over her
shoulder at him. He had his head hung forwards, staring at the
floor. A blind person could have seen he wasn’t happy. She’d
thought he’d be pleased to be returning home, to see his family and
the planet he’d grown up on again.
“ Why?” she
whispered, not confident enough to voice that question
clearly.
When he looked at her, she
looked back out of the window at the distant galaxy. The atmosphere
in the room was oppressive as she waited for him to speak. She’d
never said as much to him in her entire year of service as she had
these past two days, and most of that had been today. Now she felt
as though they were bordering on intimate, travelling into
uncharted territory, and a part of her was frightened he’d discover
her feelings and that he wouldn’t return them. What if he made her
leave him? Would she be happy to serve her system then?
What if he sent her back
to Captain Lyra II? Seeing his brother everyday would be a constant
painful reminder of him.
“ What would you
say to a man... about to be married?” he said with none of his
usual confidence.
She didn’t dare look at
him as her mind raced to draw an inevitable conclusion and tears
began to fill her eyes.
“ Congratulations.” She forced the word out through a throat
tight with emotions.
Silence.
“ What would you
say to a man about to be married... who didn’t want to be... who
wanted someone else, someone of his own choosing?”
She kept her face forwards
when he drifted up next to her, his hand coming to rest on the grab
rail near to hers. She looked down at them, at how close they were
to each other, and then up into his eyes. Their aquamarine depths
were asking her that question. What would she say to him? He didn’t
look as though he wanted to be married. She felt nauseas. Her hand
moved closer to his, their little fingers touching.
“ I’d fix the
ship and take him away from his future wife so he’d be happy
again.”
He laughed, mirthless and
empty. “I wish that were possible, but I’m bound by duty... and it
was my own fault for waiting too long from fear and foolish
pride.”
His confession floored
her. If the gravity drive had been working, she would’ve fallen on
her backside. As it was, she was shaken to the core and sent
trembling. Was he saying he liked her? Her eyes searched his. There
was so much fear and hope in them, so much fire and passion, and so
much regret. It hit her hardest of all. He really didn’t want this
to happen to him. She wished there was something she could
do.
“ Then I’d give
the man something to remember me by... so he knew that the one he’d
chosen had chosen him too.”
He frowned and looked
pained. She raised her hand to his face and swept her fingers
across his cheek, her insides quivering with nerves. His eyes met
hers again.
“ Captain Lyra
III... if there’s anything I can—”
“ Call me Acer,”
he said, cutting her off. His hand ghosted up her arm to catch her
shoulder. A slight tug and she was against him, her body pressing
into his. Zero gravity had its advantages.
Her hands came to rest
against his chest. The feel of his warm muscles beneath her fingers
sent her heart racing.
Her eyes darted between
his and his mouth.
“ Acer, I...
every girl in the galaxy has probably said this to you... every one
but me... I don’t care what happens tomorrow... I just want this
for tonight.” She didn’t know where those words had come from, but
she felt incredibly powerful when his eyes narrowed on hers,
filling with dark hunger, and his grip on her