Page 84 of Star Bringer
Merrick pushes himself up so he’s sitting. His hand goes to his face, and he gently touches his broken nose. Then he looks past me to where Ian is standing with an amused expression on his face.
“You don’t fight fair,” Merrick growls.
Ian shrugs. “That’s what you get for picking a fight with a mercenary. Besides, I was getting bored. And we need to be on our way.” He gives Merrick a pointed look. “To Glacea.” He turns away and says something to Beckett, who sits down in the pilot’s seat and starts pressing buttons.
Despite the fact that Merrick is currently bleeding all over the place, I can’t help wondering if maybe she’ll teach me how to fly. Ian kissed Kali, and now he’s going to teach her to fight. It only seems fair that Beckett teaches me something as well.
“Bastard,” Merrick mutters as he once again climbs to his feet. But he actually looks quite impressed.
Ian turns back. “You didn’t even ask Rain if she wants to go home.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Merrick replies. “We all have duties in this life.”
“Not all of us,” Ian tells him. “Some of us do whatever the hell we want. So go ahead. Ask her.”
I hold my breath because I don’t want him to ask. The answer should be easy.
“Rain?”
And itiseasy, I realize. But it’s not the one Merrick is looking for.
Chapter 30
Ian
Well, that went better than I expected.
I figured from the start that eventually Merrick and I were going to have to go a round or two. He’s the type to want things his own way. The only problem is, so am I. And when it comes to finding Milla, I’m not prepared to compromise.
Despite that, I actually like the guy. More, I feel sorry for him. He has a mission to protect a girl who clearly does not want to be protected. Even though she dodges his question and says they’ll talk later, we all know what her answer was going to be.
Good for her.
“Do you always solve things with your fists?”
I glance up at Kali’s voice. She’s standing beside me, hands on her hips, looking judgy as all hell. What now?
“Mostly,” I answer, because why lie when you don’t need to? I’m not ashamed of who I am. I’ve had to fight for every scrap of joy in my life, and I’m fucking good at it. It’s why Max and Milla and I have made it out of scrapes on every one of the seven planets. “Sometimes with my fists. Often with my knife. Occasionally with my pistol, and once with—”
“I get it,” she snaps, giving me an eye roll before she whirls around and strides away.
Why the fuck’s she rolling her eyes at me, anyway? My proclivity for fighting saved us from those guys last night. Twice. Two separate groups of assholes. Making me doubly awesome.
And didn’t she ask me to teach her to fight? What’s the point of that if she doesn’t expect to ever use it?
Besides, she has no clue what it’s like to struggle for every single thing you own. For every single thing you eat and for every single breath you take. I decide I need to point that out to her. Right now.
I follow her off the bridge and can’t help noticing just how hot her ass looks in that jumpsuit. And her legs. Not to mention her—
Max casts me a glance as I pass. “Really?” he says. “You’re going there? Right now?”
“No, I’m not. I just need to set the princess straight on one or two small things.”
“You ever think that maybe she needs to setyoustraight on one or two small things?”
“Fuck that. And fuck you.”
He grins.“If you say so.”
