Page 39 of Star Bringer
Chapter 15
Ian
What the fuck was I thinking? Kissing Kali? What a disaster that would have been.
I didn’t see who was watching us, but the alarm that started ringing not long after was a much-needed wake-up call. For me, not her, considering I’ve got absolutely no idea why she’d suddenly want to kiss me anyway. I know she thinks I’m hot, but I have a hard time believing this has anything to do with that. More than likely she’s just trying to get on my good side so I’ll take her back to Mommy like she wants. Too bad that’s not happening—no matter what she says, the Empress would have her entire fleet on our asses within minutes of getting her baby back.
I don’t plan on keeping her forever—who the fuck wants that kind of complication?—but until Max and I find Milla and the three of us can disappear on one of the outer planets and stay completely out of the Empress’s orbit, the princess stays where I can keep an eye on her.
An eye, not a mouth, I tell myself as I race back to the bridge. No matter how sexy—how tempting—that plum-colored mouth of hers might be.
Max hasn’t shut up about my sudden determination to keep her with us since I told her she wasn’t going anywhere near the palaceorher mother. He thinks it’s a mistake, but what the fuck else is new? We’ve been doing things differently our entire lives. Yeah, we’re both determined to do whatever it takes to get to Milla—it’s just that our whatevers almost always vary.
The alarm is still ringing—in fact, it seems to be getting louder—and I expect us to crash at any moment. It’s been that sort of day.
That sort of year, actually.
But as I finally make it to the bridge, I skid to a halt. Because Gage and Max are just sitting there, talking loudly. Completely ignoring the blaring alarm. “What the fuck is going on?” I yell to be heard over the noise.
Gage shrugs. “Everything came to life about five minutes ago. I pressed that big red button over there—” He waves a hand at the big red button in question.
“Why?” I demand. Did the asshole think we didn’t have enough problems? He needed to create more?
“Because it’s big and red and I wanted to see what it would do.” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
And, okay. Sure. What else are big red buttons for if not for morons to press? But I still need to know: “What did it do?”
“Nothing. But the alarm started about thirty seconds later.”
“Well, did you push it again?”
“Didn’t seem like the best idea, considering who knows what it did the first time.”
I look at Max. “Is this guy for real?”
He gives me an amused look. “Apparently.”
“Next time, remind me to spring for the top-of-the-line rogue technician, because this bargain-basement version doesn’t seem worth the planetas we paid for him.”
Then I walk over and push the big red button for what is apparently the second time. Because it’s big and red and how much worse can we be fucked than we are already?
“Hey, don’t—” Gage starts but breaks off when the alarm stops. “Oh. Okay, then.” He grins like he’s the cleverest guy ever created. “I’m guessing the big red button is a manually activated alarm.”
“How can someone that smart with technology also be this ridiculous about everything else?”I mentally roll my eyes.
“Is there a word for below bargain basement?” Max asks dryly.
“If there isn’t, there should be.” I turn to Gage. “Don’t press any buttons unless you know what they do.”
“Well, that’s no fun.”
“Because everything else about this day has been a real party,” I growl.
“Emergency over?” a voice asks from the doorway. I turn to see Beckett standing in the doorway to the bridge. Seconds later, the high priestess and Merrick appear behind her. The little blonde looks flustered, her cheeks pink. It’s a good look for her.
The scowl on her big friend’s face, not so much. Which makes me think it wasn’t him who put the color in her cheeks.
There’s still no sign of the princess—not that it matters to me. No skin off my ass what she’s doing, as long as it isn’t sabotaging this ship. Still, it pisses me off that I even noticed.
