“Are you in, or are you out?” Mischief sparkled in his eyes. “You and me one more time.”
Nyko put his hand on my shoulder, shook his head. “I challenge you, Captain Mills to a shootout. If I win, I do the two-man run with Megan, not you.”
My friend looked up at my mate and tilted his head, as if sizing up the competition. “Look, Nyko, just because my sister, Sarah, mated one of your old friends, doesn’t mean I’m going to take it easy on you.”
Nyko’s smile was almost frightening. “You and me, Captain. Then, when I beat you, Megan is mine.”
“Cocky, aren’t you?”
Nyko glanced at me with a heated gaze and I easily deciphered his smug, possessive expression. “When it comes to Megan? Absolutely.”
I hid laughter behind my hand as I pretended to cough. Nyko’s reference to being “cocky” had nothing to do with the challenge, and everything to do with…
Seth nodded. “Done.”
My gaze darted back and forth between the two men, but settled on Seth. “Your sister mated an Atlan?”
“Yep, Warlord Dax. Big son of a bitch, but he’s a good guy. Saved me from the Hive. She lives on Atlan now, in a fucking fairy castle wearing pink dresses and shit.”
I cringed. “What’s wrong with pink dresses?” I mean, they weren’t really my style, but I was all about choices for women, not rules.
“She used to be like you. Before Dax came along, she was in command of ReCon Unit 7.”
Gasping, I looked at Seth with new eyes. As one of the few women fighters onboard this battleship, I’d heard all about its recent history, and the rare woman who’d come before. “Sarah Mills is your sister?”
“Yep. And she’s a pain in my ass, just like you.” Seth checked the practice weapon strapped to his thigh and lifted his chin to Nyko. “You ready, Warlord? Let’s do this.”
Nyko rolled his shoulders as I tried to grapple with this new information. Captain Sarah Mills? The crazy Earth woman who’d run an unauthorized—and suicidal—rescue mission into Hive territory? But it hadn’t been crazy. She’d gone in after her brother. And her new mate, a beast just like Nyko, had gone with her.
Nyko moved to walk past me, but I stopped him with a hand to his chest. I knew I was the only person who could stop him with such a gesture. He was too strong for anyone to stop if he didn’t choose it. “What are you really doing?”
“You’re a better shot than he is, aren’t you?” The question took a moment to register, warmth seeping in to dark, cold places inside me I didn’t know were there.
“How do you know that?”
Nyko frowned. “How many times have we run combat missions together, mate?”
“I don’t know.”
“Seven.” He knew?
I frowned. “So?”
“So, I pay attention.” Nyko smiled, the sight almost feral. “At least to you.” He leaned down and kissed me, a quick, soft kiss in front of everyone. “I’m winning you. I’m faster than he is, and I don’t want his fucking name next to yours on that fucking board.”
I kissed him back. I’d never been into the dominant, possessive, jealous type who marked his territory. But this time, I kind of felt like I was marking mine. And I was just competitive enough to be thrilled with the idea of an unbreakable record up on that board. And having Nyko’s name next to mine long after we both left the Karter behind gave our match a legacy, proof that we were not only well matched in bed, but on the battlefield.
When Nyko beat Seth by five full seconds in their individual match, I cheered and gave him a huge kiss in front of everyone. Again. Being a beast, he turned the kiss into something hot, wet and better suited to the bedroom, but everyone just rolled their eyes and waited for Nyko and me to run the gauntlet.
Seth shook Nyko’s hand and glanced at me with a sly grin. “It was a good run, you and me. But you’ve got your mate now.”
Yeah, I was done with fighting. Seth and I weren’t a team any longer. It seemed Nyko was my new partner, and not just in bed.
“Ready?” Seth held up his hand as Nyko and I put on our helmets and crouched at the entrance of the training run. I traded mine out for a standard issue. I didn’t want the extra weight of my specialized helmet slowing me down. And I didn’t need the magnetic shields here, on board the battleship. “Three. Two. One. Go!”
We raced, dodged, ducked, fired and ran like hell. My heart pounded so hard, I could barely hear over the rush of blood in my ears. Gasping for breath, muscles burning, head pounding, I pushed through next to my mate. The adrenaline rush was divine, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had so much fun. Nyko was faster than he looked, and strong. In the end, we reclaimed the top spot.
“Four-fifty-one.” I took off my helmet, dropped it on the floor and pumped my fist in the air, then flipped Seth the bird. That shit was going to be impossible to beat.