Tethered by Meljean Brook Page B

refusing to voice a single giggle, and retaliated with the scrape of her claws across his chest.
    He groaned. “Stop arousing me like that, woman. You’ve already squeezed me dry.”
    So she had. She’d enjoyed every second of it.
    But she hadn’t enjoyed everything that had happened the previous night. Her laugh ended on a sigh, and was echoed by Archimedes’. He was better, but trouble hadn’t left their home.
    Archimedes hadn’t forgotten, either. “Where’s Bilson?”
    “In the stateroom, recovering. He’s still unconscious.”
    “Unconscious?” His brows rose. “How badly unconscious?”
    “I broke his jaw. That put him out. Then I infected him with Anisa Stoker’s blood. He’s full of opium now. It ought to keep him down for another day.”
    “And the device?”
    Heaviness settled in her gut. “I didn’t find it.”
    “And you can’t risk the crew looking for it.”
    So he’d already realized the threat to her position. She’d planned to keep that knowledge from him, but he understood her ship too well now. “I’ll ask Vashon and Longcock to search for it, but to treat the search as an inspection. Anyone whose station or storeroom is out of order will receive scullery duties.”
    Archimedes nodded, but didn’t appear hopeful. “It won’t be anywhere obvious.”
    “No. But there are only so many places to hide it.”
    “And if we don’t find it?”
    “Then we fly to New Eden.”
    “No.” He pulled away from her, stood. “You won’t risk your freedom and your ship for—”
    “Don’t think to give me orders, Mr. Fox.”
    Though softly said, she meant it. He knew it.
    His mouth flattened. Frustration glittered in his eyes, a bit of anger—and something more. Fear? “How do you like it, Yasmeen, knowing that I’m your soft spot? That I’m your exposed belly, and that my friend is holding a knife to it?”
    “Truthfully? I don’t like it at all.”
    He froze. It was a long moment before he spoke again, his face rigid and voice hoarse. “Do you regret me?”
    “Never.” It was a vow. Her gaze didn’t waver from his. “But I hate that I don’t know how to protect you, except by giving in to his demand.”
    A grim smile tilted the corners of his mouth. “I hate that I don’t know how to protect you and your ship, except by giving in…or leaving.”
    “Don’t leave. And I’ll protect myself and my lady. You don’t have to worry about it.”
    “Only if you don’t worry about protecting me.”
    “I can’t.”
    “Then don’t ask me to do the impossible, either.” He dragged his hand though his hair. “Christ. As it is, I am behind on the protecting. I have to save your life a few more times just to pull even. I ought to be hiring men to line up and shoot at you so that I can jump in front of the bullet—but God knows, you’d likely get to them first and snap their necks, and I’d end up paying the poor bastards to die.”
    Despite herself, she had to laugh. He could be so wonderfully absurd.
    He flashed a smile, then took a deep breath. “All right. We’re
not
giving in—we’re delaying while we look for the damned thing. We’ll find it, and that will be the end. Yes?”
    “Yes,” she said, but in spite of his declaration, lines of worry formed on his brow. “Archimedes?”
    “He always has a plan on standby.” He drew the statement out, as if thinking aloud. “But he didn’t try to stop me when I left the ship last night. You could have flown out of range—or I could have walked out of range, nullifying the threat. And he has to know we might find the device en route. No, this was to secure our attention or to serve as a distraction, and perhaps to keep us in line or to protect himself, but—”
    By the dawning horror in his eyes, the answer struck him the same moment that Yasmeen realized it, too. They wouldn’t risk everything for Bilson’s brother. But for Archimedes’ sister…?
    “Zenobia,” he whispered. “Dear God.”
    His stunned