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After intense questioning, Venik accepted that the server truly had no idea who had wanted her to attack Dawn. Sevanti and the jjaawirs presence prevented him from gutting the female as he’d intended. Letting her live went against his every instinct but he had no choice. They might need her later for more questioning.
Since the excitement was over, customers resumed their seats to finish their meals. Fights and outbreaks at a station port weren’t unusual. Authorities were only called if necessary. Sevanti’s uniform probably delayed even that.
Though Venik wanted to rend her in two, Rafeyi went home for the day. He turned to Sevanti, who’d been silent, letting him lead the questioning. “See about getting the security footage.”
Sevanti’s mouth formed a wry twist. “Of course, Commander. Keep in mind if someone made a deal with the Zudan, it could have occurred at any point.”
Venik’s brow ridges lowered and his lips firmed with mounting frustration. Sevanti’s point was valid. Anyone could have brokered the deal, leaving them no closer to finding out the culprit’s identity. Across from him, Dawn spoke to Harum in low tones, renewing his jealousy at their seemingly close connection.
Soldiers were usually the last to accept change and newcomers into the ranks but members of the jjaawir admired strength and Dawn had that aplenty. It wasn’t surprising that segment of the Black Star was slowly acclimating to her presence.
“I don’t care. Get me whatever you can find, Sevanti,” he muttered, forcibly turning his stare away from Dawn and Harum.
Fortunately Sevanti didn’t refuse or point out Venik’s odd behavior. His friend was no longer his subordinate yet Sevanti took no offense to being ordered. After witnessing Venik’s purchases, he understood this was about more than rank.
“I’ll put in the request, Venik.”
Calming his nerves so he could speak rationally, Venik cleared his throat. “Dawn Reavers, do you want to go back to the ship?”
***
Dawn Reavers. The way Venik said her first and last name would probably always cause a bit of a tingle and shiver for her. It took effort to shake off the sudden rush of desire and focus on his question. Aside from this minor instance, Dawn had been having a pleasant time. “I’d like to look around some more if possible.”
Sevanti waved in a three finger salute. “The information will be waiting. I’m returning to the Black Star.”
“If you don’t mind, lom Dawn, we can head back also. I have duty on a late shift today,” Gorsun said.
Biryn, Harum, Anders and Callie waited for Dawn’s confirmation. Their willingness to delay their responsibilities surprised her. Harum’s words from earlier came back. They were on her side. Seeing Callie’s defense was further proof. It was a small group but her faith was growing. The Vassi would adjust to her at some point.
“Thanks for showing me around.” She included each of them in her acknowledgment. “I’ll be fine with Venik.”
Callie winced at Dawn’s personal use of his name. “I’m free for a few days and plan to look around more.”
The rest of the group took their leave, with Callie heading in the opposite direction until it was just the two of them.
“Are you sure the Zudan’s stings don’t hurt?” Venik asked.
Honestly, she’d forgotten. Dawn cupped her cheeks. The skin was puffy and a little tender. “As long as it’s not poisonous, I think I’m okay.”
Probably the wrong thing to say. His expression darkened. “Not poisonous.”
She expected him to declare Anders her guard again, but instead, Venik started walking and tipped his head toward her bag as they headed down a central pathway. “What did you get?”
Exuberance returned and Dawn shook her purchase in the air. “Thilas!”
The corner of Venik’s lips edged up, his black eyes gleaming. The rugged features she’d once found shocking were imbued with a rare lightness, his fore ridges settling in place as he maneuvered around pedestrians. “Vassi circular blades. A good choice.”
Adding a little skip to her step, Dawn grinned into his fierce countenance. She couldn’t believe they were out together, walking side by side. Amidst a plethora of aliens, they were just two beings hanging out. No one looked at them askance, no frowns for their un-nat-ur-al desires. She wouldn’t get over that phrasing any time soon.
Cutting a look back to him, she arched her brows. “Do you use them?”
Venik shook his head, dark braids swaying with the motion. He wore another hooded shirt in deepest navy blue, with matching pants and fahsi. The hotness factor was well and truly in effect and Dawn had to resist the urge to spin around into his path and grab him to her.
“I prefer the plasma cannon but that’s a carry over from my military time. I’m skilled with a few blades but it’s not my weapon of choice.”
They continued along in companionable silence broken with an occasional explanation from Venik about something. Feeling emboldened, she decided to bring up something that had been on her mind. “You didn’t seem very excited about seeing your parents.”
He grunted and placed a hand on her lower back to steer her around an individual speeding along the middle of the walkway on a hover scooter. The heat of his touch seared and distracted at the same time.
“What makes you say that?”
As soon as they cleared the reckless rider, he dropped his hand away. Dawn ignored the pang of loss when he removed the heavy weight of his palm and tried to think of a nice way to describe the stilted atmosphere from the brief greeting she’d witnessed. It was more than grief causing what she’d sensed. “I guess I expected more. It’s been a while since you’ve seen them, right?”
“Yes.”
She searched his face for more but he didn’t add anything so she pressed on. “They hugged you and it felt like you wanted to avoid it. I’m not versed enough on family dynamics to read into that all the way. My parents and I weren’t close. They wanted me to be a certain way but I’m shy and awkward, which leads to angry fear and that can come across as rude or sarcastic. It’s my self-defense mechanism.”
They paused near a row of sculptures oddly placed. Alien creatures on four legs she didn’t recognize in different posed positions were placed at a center roundabout.
Venik shifted his stance to face her. Black waves and braids fell about his shoulder, strands fluttering about from the artificial air circulated within the station. “Technically at fifty senims, our youth are considered too mature for affection. My parents and I don’t agree. So I accept their hugs gratefully and they know I cannot give it back. Publically.”
Dawn’s mouth parted. “Really? What about...I mean I hugged you in the training room and you did the temple touch thing.”
She’d done so many things wrong.
“A mature male can be affectionate within reason with the designated female who holds his attention.”
Unless they were human like Dawn and viewed as a perversion but she didn’t bring that up. She had far more interesting questions to ask. “How did you end up in the military?”
He started walking again. “The stars always fascinated me. The moment I was old enough, I joined. My eagerness paid off and I advanced quickly. The adaptive prediction ability made me stand above the rest. Soon, defending the planets in the Protectorate became a passion.”
Everything Venik shared aligned with what Dawn knew of him.
“After the Bantok war, I was promoted to the highest rank of High Commander and stuck on a battleship to lead. Being on the ground, I’d done good work but in this new role, I was able to do more,” he continued.
“I’m surprised you stepped down. I can hear your love for what you do, did.”
His lips quirked. “There is a limit to the time of service. When I reached it, I accepted a position teaching war strategies at the Academy for young incoming potential jjaawirs.”
Learning about him in this way opened Dawn more and more to him. “Why a limit? I mean, if you were so good, wouldn’t they want to keep you?”
Her breath caught. Was that a smile? The curve of his thin lips did things to her, made her private parts dance.
“It’s why I was sent as an instructor to the Academy. The Vassi are an aggressive race and it came to our attention that too much time at war only increased what nature gave us. It also made settling into a family structure afterward much more difficult for those who’d been in military service for an excessive amount of time.”
“That makes sense.” Earth did something similar.
“We are an enlightened race,” he added blithely.
Dawn heard the smug humor behind his words. “Haha. How long did you serve?”
“Fifty senims is the max. I did the whole fifty.”
Of course he did. He wouldn’t have wanted to walk away before he had to. Dawn bumped her hip into his. “Sounds like you.”
***
Dawn’s smile with her small, pebbled teeth shouldn’t have caused such a strong reaction in Venik, but it did. The rage he’d felt toward the Zudan faded and Dawn’s delight at her newly acquired weapons reminded him of his own special purchase.
Thoughts of being able to join sexually with Dawn heated his cockti. The middle of a space station wasn’t the place to let desire rule his thoughts, so he brought up the information Sevanti had given him while they walked. “An agreement has been finalized. In addition to Earth being accepted into the Protectorate, they will allow a select few to act as liaisons off planet.”
Dawn gaped and reached out with her free hand to grip his wrist. “That’s great news, Venik!”
His name on her lips created a secret thrill, her touch on him a fiery brand. On her world, he’d followed her lead with the free use of each other’s first name. There had been no need to adhere to Vassi culture. Now more than ever, the level of intimacy it implied warmed him deep at his core. An intimacy that moved quickly with the rich scent of her filling his nasal passages.
“We should head back to the ship,” he stated bluntly.
Her head jerked up in his direction then she looked around them. “Do you sense anything?”
Only the rise of his arousal. “No danger, Dawn. I would like time with you away from prying eyes.”
The truth had her spinning back around in his direction.