Chrystal Bones (Finding Home Book 1) (22 page)

Blue watched the view screen making sure to say and do nothing to distract Jayden. It was a scene right out of her and Riley’s video game. If the situation wasn’t so deadly this would be fun. Her fingers itched to take the controls. Enough that she sat on her hands to keep from reaching out. She watched as Jayden maneuvered the ship between two astroids the size of small moons only to have to dive down to miss a group of smaller rocks too close together to slide through.

A tense two hours later they were in the center of the astroid belt. The space surrounding the gate was clear of rocks and debris. The gate itself was a large oval shape and looked like a dense cloud of smoke in the middle of nowhere. Blue could see no frame or anything else that would hold it together.

She checked the sensors for the Ragillian ships. They were catching up but there was no way they would be able to navigate the astroid belt in their larger ships. They would either wait for them to exit the belt thinking that they couldn’t stay in forever or send combat shuttles in to force them out. Jayden wasted no time in heading straight for the cloud of smoke.

With all the things that Blue had been through since she left Earth this was the weirdest. As soon as Jayden drove the ship into the smoke everything became distorted. Stretched out of shape like they were a rubber band being stretched to the limits. Everything was in slow motion. With a snap things went back to normal as soon as they left the gate.

Blue heard Leo’s roar of anger and fear just before the cat launched himself at her. She wrapped her arms around five hundred pounds of a scared and shaking cat who was doing his best to climb into the chair with her. She glared at Jayden, “You could have warned me when you told me about the gates.”

“I am sorry. I have been through the gates so many times that I did not even think of the effect or what a shock it would be to someone who has never gone through one,” Jayden said reaching out to give Leo a quick scratch behind his ears.

It took Blue awhile to sooth Leo and get him settled back down. When she had she asked,”Where are we?”

Jayden activated the Halo Map and showed her where they were and where the space station Farpoint was.

“If there are no more delays we should get there a day or two ahead of Idris and the Trilleion.”

“Let’s hope so because according to your friend something is going on and I would rather they don’t walk into it blind.”

She fell silent for a few minutes and Jayden could feel the fast thinking that was going on in her head. He really liked being able to feel her all the time in the back of his mind. When she spoke again he was once more impressed with her ability to put facts together and come up with the right questions. This woman continued to amaze him on a daily basis. Nothing seemed to faze her.

“Jayden what are the odds that two high ranking officials from two of the founding planets of the Alliance would be on an out of the way space station, that’s known for its criminal element, at the same time?”

“Oh, I would say about a million to one. Which brings up the question of what are they up to?” he answered.

They flew through the stars in a companionable silence for the next hour. When Jayden saw her eyes droop he said, “It has been a long day. Let’s go to bed. I will set the alarms to go off if anything comes within ten light years of us.” He stood and held his hand out to her.

Blue stared at his outstretched hand. She knew if she took it she would be agreeing to sleep with him again. Once she could pass off as an one night stand, twice and she would be agreeing to a relationship. She was not sure she was ready to take that step despite the feelings she had for him.

Remembering the pleasure she had found in his arms she slowly put her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet. “What is the name of your friend?” she asked curiously.

“Krakin. Why?” Jayden asked.

“I figure if I’m going to be snooping around his ship and sleeping in his bed I should at least know his name.”

“The only bed you are going to be sleeping in is mine princess,” he told her possessively, leading her to the bedroom.

Chrystal Bones Billie Jo Hanlin

Chapter 22

For the second morning in a row Blue woke in Jayden’s arms. It was so odd, for all of her life she had slept alone and woken instantly aware. Yet here she was, laying here in sleepy comfort after getting the best night’s sleep she could remember. She had never given it much thought but, if she had, she would have said there was no way she would ever feel safe enough to sleep with another person. Let alone a strong powerful man like Jayden.

She knew she wouldn’t be able to defeat him in a physical fight. He was too large, too strong and he moved with a deadly, graceful speed. Striking before his opponent saw him move. When she had watched him spar with the guys she had been impressed.

Vihan was a vicious fighter and he was fast, but compared with Jayden he almost seemed to move in slow motion. Sparks and Jos were decent fighters and could hold their own against most people but their expertise lay in other directions. They weren’t on the team for their fighting skills.

Dro didn’t fight at all but she would bet that he spent a lot of time patching the guys up after one. Idris was the only one who could come close to holding his own with Jayden in a fight.

Idris was an enigma to her. She could accept the fact that he was her brother. There was really no way she could deny it at this point without sounding stupid. She still didn’t remember anything or anyone from her first few years on Shillidon. But Idris’s face was the face from her dreams. She knew she had loved him a long time ago in another life. The life she would have had if things had turned out differently.

She liked the man Idris was. He was strong and honorable. She knew he loved the little sister from his memories. Sometimes she could sense him staring at her and she couldn’t help but feel the emotions churning inside of him. Confusion, guilt, hope, love, fear. They all rolled together when he looked at her. It was overwhelming.

Dro was teaching her some ways to mute the emotions of those around her. It would be nice to be in a room with someone and not know how they were feeling unless they told her. When Idris told her how and when she went missing she understood the guilt even though it was not his fault. What she couldn’t understand was the fear. It was eating him from the inside out and it was getting worse not better.

Jayden rolled her over onto her back. He leaned over her fitting his leg between hers. Tenderly he pushed her hair back from her face, then ran his fingers lightly down her cheekbones. Tracing every line before cupping her face in a large calloused hand.

“What are you thinking about so hard this morning princess? I can feel you buzzing in the back of my mind.”

Blue put her hand over his. Not sure if she meant to push it away or hold it in place. “I can try again to break the connection if you want.”

“No, do not do that. I like feeling you buzzing away in here,” he told her tapping his head. “Now what is on your mind?”

“Do you know why Idris is so afraid when he looks at me?” she asked.

“I did not know he was,” Jayden said with a frown.

“Well he is. I just don’t know why.”

“Have you asked him?”

“No,” she sighed. “It seems so intrusive that I know what everyone around me is feeling that I try not to bring attention to it. Most people don’t like knowing I can tell what they are feeling.”

“There is nothing you can do about it right now. I suggest the next time you see him, talk to him. I promise you he is not going to hold it against you or get upset,” Jayden assured her.

“All right I will,” Blue agreed.

They fell silent looking at each other. Blue and pink eyes stared into deep purple eyes.

Blue watched Jayden lower his head as he brought his lips to hers. Once, twice he brushed her lips with feather light kisses. Then he ran his lips over her cheekbone kissing his way to the side of her neck and behind her ear. Blue’s eyes closed when the soft kisses sent slivers of fire racing through her, setting her nerves on a slow burn. He worked his way down her body and then back up to take her mouth in a deep sensual kiss that had her back arching in pleasure.

It wasn’t the frantic, can’t get enough of you, sex of last night in the cave. Instead it was a slow, soft seduction. Jayden treated her body like it was a delicate, priceless instrument to worship. He took her to the heights of pleasure over and over, kissing and caressing every inch of her body. When it was over Blue lay in a boneless mass of quivering flesh.

Jayden gave her a lazy satisfied grin and kissed the tip of her nose. She was sure he was making a point with the way he had made love to her. What that point was she was going to have to figure out when her brain started working again in, oh, about an hour or so. He had not just turned her body to mush but her mind too.

Jayden pushed himself off the bed and stood, stretching his tall muscular frame before striding into the bathroom. Blue’s eyes followed him and she felt her blood start to heat again.
For Pete’s sake he is turning me into a nymphomaniac,
she thought pulling the light sheet over her.

She couldn’t reduce what had just happened between them as just sex. Even she, with her limited knowledge, knew it was much more than that. She had never thought of herself as needing someone to complete her but Jayden felt right. She could see him being part of her life.

She was still lying where he had left her when he came out of the bathroom still gloriously naked. No issues with modesty on his part she noticed. She was never comfortable walking around naked. She had done too much of that in the labs. He walked over to the wall and a recessed door slid back revealing a huge closet.

He rummaged around and came out with a small stack of clothes. “You are awfully comfortable in a ship that’s not yours,” she said sitting up and watched him dress in a black pair of sturdy pants and tight t-shirt that surprise, surprise fit him perfectly.

“It might as well be part mine. I helped Krakin fix up a lot of it. You should have seen it when he first got it. The inside looked almost as bad as the outside,” he said with a chuckle. “I thought he was insane for even thinking about fixing it up instead of hauling it off to the junk station. It came out better than I expected,” he said looking around at the luxurious room.

Blue thought about the work that had to have gone into fixing the ship up. “It must have taken him years,” she said.

“It did. Once he gets something into his head he finds a way to make it happen,” Jayden replied before ducking back into the closet and coming out with another stack of clothes. He set the small pile on the end of the bed.

“You can wear these. I’m going to head to the control room and check on things. Come get me when you are done and we can have breakfast.”

As soon as Jayden left the room Blue got off the bed and walked to the bathroom. She stopped dead in her tracks in the doorway her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She really hadn’t paid any attention to it last night. She was paying attention now. It was as big as the bedroom and filled with wonders.

A huge forest green tub, the size of a small pool was set up in one corner. There were vid screens covering the wall above it. She walked over to get a closer look and saw that not only was it a jetted tub, but the screen was a mini control center. Delighted she fiddled with the controls.

From his tub Krakin could monitor every part of his ship and the space surrounding it. He could also watch entertainment vids, listen to any type of music. Heck he could even read a book on the screen if he wanted to.

Before she left she promised herself she was going to indulge in a bath. Behind the tub was a half wall that hid a large toilet. Looking at it she decided she would need a stool to reach it and her feet were still going to swing. Krakin must be as tall or taller than Jayden.

Along one wall was a countertop the same green material as the tub with three sinks. What did a guy need with three sinks? Two she could understand but three?

A dressing area was opposite of the sinks and sported a full length mirror with a couple of chairs placed precisely four feet apart. The walls were done in a nice soothing cream with hints of silver. There were no sharp angles, everything flowed from one space to another.

It was a room designed for personal pampering. The shower was behind a wall of clear glass and when she went through the program found it could be set for water or sonic waves. She programed for sonic and stepped into the enclosure.

A warm gentle wave of energy wrapped around her. The great thing she had found about sonic showers was that they left every inch of you squeaky clean in very little time. Even her teeth were cleaned and refreshed. She stepped out and dressed in the clothes Jayden had provided.

They were of course too big. But they covered her nakedness and were comfortable. The shirt fell to her knees and the pants had a drawstring so she was able to tighten them enough that they didn’t fall to the floor when she moved.

There was no way for her to fix the length though without scissors. If she wore them she would be tripping on them with every step she took. Because they were made out of a soft linen they did not hold when she tried to roll them up. Giving up on the pants she decided that the shirt would work on its own.

She padded barefoot over to the counter and brushed her hair with the brush Jayden had left for her. She had to leave it down when a search didn’t turn up anything she could use to tie it back. Oh well, she shrugged this will have to do even if she did look like a little kid playing dress up.

Jayden looked up when he heard her come in. His mouth went dry. When he had picked the clothes he had not given any thought to how she would look in them. His only concern had been to find something that would stay on her slender body. She ought to look ridiculous, instead she looked ridiculously sexy.

The oversized shirt emphasized her small bone structure and ended at her knees, leaving the rest of her legs bare. Her feet were slender like the rest of her and her toenails were painted a bright pink with tiny white flowers. The touch of whimsy had delighted him when he saw it this morning while kissing every inch of her delectable body. Something he planned on doing again very soon.