Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(7)

“My, what big teeth you have,” I murmured.

“The better to eat you with, my dear,” he replied without missing a beat.

I gripped the door handle behind my back, so Loch wouldn’t be able to drag me farther into the cell. I rested my free hand on his chest. His flesh was warm and firm. He leaned into my hand. Up close, he was massive. It had been years since I’d felt dainty, but standing next to this wall of solid muscle, I did.

“Been a while since I was this close to a lady of a House,” he said. His face was mere centimeters away.

“Don’t make me stab you,” I breathed. I knew the merc was just outside, watching the video, and I didn’t want him to know that I’d stolen more than bread last night. “I’d hate to leave a hole in this beautiful chest.”

He chuckled and some of the pressure eased off of my hand. “Do you trust me?” he asked in the same barely audible tone.

“Not even a little bit,” I said.

“But you want off this ship.”

“Yes, but not in a body bag,” I said.

“You drive a hard bargain, darling, but fine. Give me your knife.”

“What part of ‘not in a body bag’ led you to believe that’s even a possibility?” I hissed.

“Too late,” he said.

I heard a shout from outside and in a damn rookie mistake, I stopped focusing on the immediate threat to focus on the new sound. I caught the movement out of the corner of my eye, but I was too slow. Loch pinned me against the door with his upper body and his mouth covered mine.

The kiss was hot and hard and over almost before it began. Metal screeched as the motors engaged to reel in the chains. Loch retreated across the room. I touched my lips. If he’d gone for my neck, he could’ve done enough damage that even my nanos might not have been able to save me. But instead he’d kissed me. Why?

Loch was pulled all the way back to the wall and the energy divider went up with a hiss. The door unlocked behind me and I stepped away to allow it to swing inward. I composed myself, then did the opposite when I heard the captain’s voice.

“Are you okay, my lady?” he asked.

“I’m not sure, Gerald.” I sniffled. “Everything was fine and then that man was loose and he was attacking me, and thank you so much for rescuing me!” I wailed and threw myself into his arms.

“There, there,” he said, awkwardly patting my back. “John made a mistake, but it’s all fixed now. Loch is safely behind the barrier. Why don’t you lie down and rest and I’ll have someone bring you breakfast?”

“Oh, thank you so much. But don’t forget to feed him,” I said with a little shudder and a tilt of my head. “I don’t want him looking at me like I’m food all day.”

“Of course, of course. Don’t worry about a thing.”

The captain left and a few minutes later the kid from the night before, Chuck, came in carrying two trays. One was laid out with bacon, eggs, and waffles. The other held a bowl of oatmeal.

Chuck glanced at me, the barrier, and me again. “Umm, can you . . . ? John must’ve forgotten.” He set the food on the bed and backed up to the open door.

“Sure.” I followed him out and stopped in front of the control panel. “Are you sure you don’t want to watch what I do? Just in case you need to know how?”

Chuck didn’t say anything, but he didn’t look away either. I showed him how to raise and lower the separator, as well as lengthen the chains so Loch could feed himself. “Understand?”

The kid nodded and ushered me back into the cell. “Thanks,” he whispered before he left.

“Making friends?” Loch asked.

“The mercs are holding the kid back. If I can help him, why wouldn’t I?”

“Why does anyone from a House do anything? For personal gain.”

He was not wrong, and it stung. I didn’t mind helping the kid, and in other circumstances I would’ve done the same. But in this case, the kid was between me and freedom and if I could win him to my side, it helped me.

But it took one manipulator to spot another, and Mr. Kissy McKissyface over there wasn’t off the hook. Kissing me was his own form of manipulation. I tried to win him to my side with food and conversation. He went with a more direct approach. And the hell of it was, it was working. He’d had the opportunity to hurt me, and because he didn’t, I found myself more willing to trust him. I needed to be careful or I’d be outmaneuvered and left behind.

I dumped the eggs and all but one slice of bacon on top of the oatmeal. It wasn’t super appetizing, but calories were calories and I doubted he’d complain about getting extra. I kept the waffles and remaining bacon slice.

“Reach out your hands as far as you can,” I said. I should’ve put the food on his side then released the chains, but I hadn’t been thinking.

He lifted his hands but made no effort to take the slack out of the chain.

“If you don’t want to eat, that’s cool, too.” I set the bowl down and picked up my slice of bacon. God, I loved bacon. I eyed his bowl.

“Hand it over.” He had stepped away from the wall and taken the slack out of the chain.

I gripped the very edge of the bowl. “No sudden moves, because if you startle me and I drop your bowl, that’s tough,” I warned. I passed the bowl to him without incident. He wolfed down the food. They definitely had been starving him.