Captive (17 page)

Mikayla nodded. “Yes.”

“The one that hasn't taken his eyes off you since we sat down?” With surprise, she glanced up and turned to look at him. His eyes bore into hers with an intensity that made her shiver, and she quickly averted her gaze, once again intently studying her mother's hand.

“Has something happened?” Amy asked, her voice shaking slightly. “He hasn't forced you to…”

Mikayla was quick to relieve her mother's fears. “No,” she said, shaking her head.

She licked her lips nervously. “He hasn't made me do anything I didn't want to.”

“I see,” Amy whispered.

Seconds of silence ticked by, and Mikayla thought her heart would scream from the stress. She had to know what her mother was thinking. Raising her eyes, she stared into her mother's concerned ones. Amy gave her a reassuring smile. One of understanding, and Mikayla sighed in relief.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Oh God.” Mikayla began to cry and talk around her sobs. It felt good to get it all out. Like a weight lifting.

“Mikayla, don't beat yourself up over this. You can't control your feelings. No one can. That's just the way things are.”

“But he's the enemy.”

“Sometimes these things happen, and I don't think you're a bad person because of it. Granted, I would have rather you fell in love with a nice doctor, but --”

“I'm not in love with him,” Mikayla spat venomously.

“Of course you're not, dear.”

“That's not funny.”

“I know it's not. None of this is funny.” Her mother's hand touched her cheek in support. “Is he good to you?”

“You mean when he's not being a pompous, arrogant pain in the ass?” A tiny grin touched Amy's lips, and Mikayla groaned. She just kept digging herself deeper in the hole. “Yes, he's good to me. Better than anyone has ever been, really. God,” Mikayla sighed and wiped away a stray tear. “Why did he have to be the enemy?”

“Why did they have to invade? Why did you have to be at that rest stop? I'm a firm believer that all things happen for a reason. No matter how bad or how good.” Her mother studied Sidious for a moment, then turned back to her. “I've always been a good judge of character. I've always been able to read things, to feel things others can't.”

Mikayla nodded. Her mother had always possessed that ability, and if she'd been smart, she would have listened when her mother warned her about Greg. “What are you saying? You can sense something about him?”

“Yes. But your friend is approaching, so we'll have to discuss it another time.”

“But we might not have another time.”

“We will. I know it in my heart.”

Amy smiled and laid her palm against the side of her cheek. The warmth of her skin made Mikayla feel secure and safe.

“It's time to go, Mikayla,” Sidious said quietly from behind her.

“Can't we stay a little while longer?” she asked, turning to look at him. She wasn't ready to leave yet. They still had so much they needed to talk about.

“No,
kisary
, we have to go,” he said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Mikayla turned back to her mother with tears in her eyes. Her mother enfolded her in her arms, reminding her of when she was a child. “It
'
ll be fine, honey. You go back. I'll still be here when all this is over, and we'll see each other again. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

The two women stood, and Mikayla watched as Sidious leaned over and whispered something in her mother's ear. Amy's eyes widened for a second; then a twinkle appeared, and she smiled at Mikayla. “Everything will be fine, Mikayla,” she said before blowing her daughter a kiss.

Mikayla walked back to the ship with Sidious, trying not to look back. She wanted to crumble into a heap on the ground and cry her eyes out. Everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours had drained her, sapped her of all the fight she had left. She glanced at Sidious with a frown. “What did you say to my mother?” she asked.

Sidious shrugged, one corner of his lips lifting in a cocky grin.

“Well?” she prodded.

“You
'
re not ready to hear what I said to your mother.”

“What?”

He opened the ship door and waited for her to climb in.

“You're not going to tell me, are you?”

“Not yet.”

She growled and climbed into the ship. The man was impossible. Turning, she waved to her mother, who stood exactly where she'd left her. As the ship took off, she tried to wipe the tears away from her face.

“Thank you for taking me to see her,” she said softly.

“You're welcome. Although I'm not sure you deserved it.” He gave her a teasing grin, but then his brow crinkled in concern when she didn't rise to his bait. He reached out with a finger to raise her chin, making her meet his fathomless eyes. Eyes that could see right through her and had the power to make her melt beneath their seductive gaze. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” she said and then pulled her chin out of her grasp. The way he looked at her like he was trying to read her thoughts made her nervous, so she turned to look out the window.

As Sidious flew the ship out of the atmosphere, she looked over at him. He seemed deep in thought, and she wondered what he was thinking about.
Probably how
to keep me from running away again.

She thought back to all their times together. He always watched out for her, and he could be quite charming and fun, when he wasn
'
t being obnoxious. Not to mention the fact he was absolutely gorgeous.

As if he had just heard her, he turned, giving her a wink and a very seductive smile. Just that alone made her almost want to slither in the floor and beg him to fuck her.

Mikayla stared back out the window, trying not to think about her traitorous body, and noticed they were coming up on the Destroyer. It's huge, she thought as they

flew by. It was one thing to hear how big it was; it was quite another to actually see it firsthand.

Sometimes she still had a hard time with the fact they were actually in space. It didn't seem real to her, even now. When he got to the end of the ship, she thought he would turn and go back, but he didn't. He kept going farther out into space.

“Where are you going? I thought that we were going back to the ship,” she said as she turned toward him.

“I told you, remember? We're going to meet Stefan,” he said, not looking at her.

He kept his attention on the flight plan he was programming into the navigational system.

“But where are we going?” She crossed her arms and eyed him suspiciously.

“To meet Stefan,” he said, staring at her with a pointed look.

“How long will it take us to get there?” she asked, trying to get her mind off the way he kissed, the way he filled her as he thrust in and out of her body.

“Once I open the transport gate, we should be there in about a hour.”

“A transport gate?” she asked

“You
'
re just full of questions, aren't you?” he asked, teasing her.

“That's a sign that I'm intelligent,” she replied smartly, turning her nose up to appear snobbish.

“After your stunt this morning, I think I'll reserve judgment.”

“Could we please try to keep this trip pleasant and not bring that up?” Sidious chuckled. “I brought you some clothes to change into. What you're wearing, although sexy as hell, isn't appropriate for where we're going.”

“That confident you would find me?”

“What can I say? I'm that good.” He reached behind the seat and handed her the outfit.

She scowled at him, refusing to take the clothes. “Surely you don't expect me to change here?”

“Why not?” he asked, a seductive light in his eyes. “Don't think I can control myself around you?”

“I think it's already been proven we each have control issues where the other is concerned,” she snarled, grabbing the clothes.

He just grinned, which only served to worsen her nervousness. Getting naked in front of him was not her idea of a smart thing to do. “Keep your eyes frontward.” He pointed toward the window, indicating the reflection that could be seen there, and she sighed. Even if he faced toward the front, he would still be able to see everything. His grin widened, and she scrunched her nose at him.

“At least keep your hands to yourself.”

“I make no promises,” he purred, and the hairs on her arm stood at attention.

God, the man was sexy.

She squeezed between the chairs as best she could and tried to balance herself on her knees. The ship was too short for her to stand, so this was the best she could. Not looking at Sidious, she turned, putting her back toward him, and unfastened her shirt and bra. The cool air of the ship hit her breasts, and her nipples formed hard pebbles.

Warm hands reached around and cupped them, making her jump from surprise and moan from pleasure, all at the same time. Quickly getting herself more under control, she swatted at his hand. “You were supposed to keep your hands to yourself, remember?”

He spun her around to face him. With one hand at the small of her back, he pulled her close, and her heart pounded in her chest like a runaway stallion. The other hand moved to the back of her neck, his fingers massaging her skin, sending tiny tremors down her spine. “I said I make no promises,” he whispered before capturing her lips with his.