She lowered her head. “Yeah. Sure. If being forced into sexual slavery and given to some guy translates into being ‘treated well’. Sounds fun. That’s sarcasm, by the way. And at least now I know it’s a planet. I wasn’t sure where you were taking me.”

“Garden is beautiful, and the weather is favorable year round. The trees won’t attack you. The name we gave it is an accurate description.”

She looked at him. “Will I ever see you again once you dump me there?”

“The city isn’t that large. I’m certain we’ll meet again when I’m on the planet’s surface.”

“You spend most of your time in space?”

“Yes. This shuttle is mine. I volunteer for all the dangerous missions.”

“Adrenaline junkie?”

“No. I don’t seek excitement and danger to enhance my life experiences.”

“Then why do you do it?”

“Someone has to.”

“You have a hero complex, don’t you?”

“No.”

“A death wish?”

He hesitated a little before answering. “I’m not in a family unit, nor do I have many close associations to other cyborgs. I’m expendable.”

It caused her chest to ache. He really believed that. She could see the sincerity in his eyes. Had anyone ever loved Stag? She doubted it.

“I’d grieve you, so don’t get yourself killed.”

He pulled his hand away. “Those are polite words but spare them for someone else.”

“Now you’re breaking my heart.” She turned on the bed, inching closer to him. “We’ve been intimate. I don’t hate you, Stag. Sure, sometimes I’d like to strangle you. You’re tough to get close to but you’re a good man. I wouldn’t kill you.” She grinned. “Just a little choking would be involved if you really pissed me off, but I’d stop before I really hurt you.”

“Sexual intimacy means nothing.”

Again, his words stung. “Ouch. Well, I’m not you. It meant something to me. I can’t compartmentalize my body from my feelings. Sorry. You die, I’m going to cry. Deal with that.”

That seemed to either irritate him or make him uncomfortable. “Go to sleep.”

She frowned. “I thought you wanted me to―”

“No,” he cut her off. “This ends now.”

She studied his handsome face and the way he looked at her. “You’re starting to feel things for me, aren’t you? Afraid?”

He glared.

“I’ll take that for a yes.”

“You don’t frighten me, Earther.”

“Right. And stop calling me that. I think you’ve spent a lifetime, however long that is, keeping everyone distanced. You admitted you don’t have many friends and spend all your time on this ship. You don’t want anyone to care too much about you because then you might feel something back. You make me sad, Stag.”

“Go to sleep.”

“Do you plan to tie me up again?”

“You’re no threat. Just stay near the wall and don’t touch me.”

The rejection hurt. So did the fact that he wasn’t ever going to let her get close to him again, emotionally or physically. Part of her wished she could hate him, but she wouldn’t have that ache in her chest if that were possible. Stag might be prickly and remote, but she’d seen traits in him that had softened her heart toward him.

“Fine.”

“I no longer wish to talk to you.” He stood. “I need to check on something.”

She watched him leave. It was more like fleeing.

She cursed, lay down, and scooted all the way over against the wall. Tears filled her eyes and she let them flow.

Maybe she’d allowed herself to feel for him only because she’d lost everything else in her life.

Chapter Eleven

Stag wiped sealing gel off his hands, staring at Kelis. “Well?”

The cyborg checked the sensors and nodded. “Pressure seems to be holding. We’ll know for certain after the engines start.”

“I wonder what else can go wrong?” Hellion closed one of the electronic ports and sighed. “This has to be the worst mission we’ve been on.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Kelis kept his focus on the pad he held. “Remember that colony ship we found adrift? I still have nightmares about that.”

Stag grimaced. “I try to forget.”

“What are we talking about?” Maze entered the engine room.

“The ship where the colonists went nuts and slaughtered each other,” Hellion answered. “We had to clean up bodies for days so we could haul it back to Garden for them to salvage.”

“I thought we decided to never bring that up again.” Maze handed out water and an power bar to each man. “Drink and eat. You’ve been down here for six hours without taking a break. What reminded you of that ship?”

“Hellion believes this has to be our worst mission.” Kelis put away the pad and opened the energy bar, taking a bite. “I disagree. We were able to blow up the Pride, didn’t have to scrape up decaying bodies, or haul that thing back to Garden. We did escape the dead zone. This flooding mess wasn’t as bad as body removal and it didn’t involve wearing suits to avoid a putrid smell.”

Stag thought of Nala as he ate the bar and drank his water. She’d loved the Pride. He wondered what she’d have thought of having her freighter salvaged for building supplies on Garden, rather than being blown up. He was glad he never had to find out. Her crew and father had died aboard. It was probably best that she never had any kind of reminder of that once she reached the planet.

“Let’s hope nothing else goes wrong.” Hellion took a seat on the case containing all the damaged wiring he’d had to replace.

“Did you feed our guest?” Stag addressed Maze.

“Of course. She claimed you’ve been avoiding her.”

“I’ve spent most of my time down here sorting this mess.” He hated the way he felt he needed to defend his actions as the males all gave him questioning looks. “The line ruptured and flooded out this section. I wanted to personally be on hand for all the repairs.”

“Every wire, circuit, and filter had to be switched out for new ones,” Hellion grumbled. “I found damage in all the panels. I also replaced the seals so they won’t leak if this ever happens again. Stag and I have practically had to live here.”