She held up a hand. “Don’t even start with me. I know he works for you, too. If you didn’t trust him, you would never have assigned him to me four years ago.”
Jax let out a weary sigh. “How did you know?”
“Maybe it was the way he never once looked at me as more than a colleague, or maybe it could have been how he turned into a freaking ninja every time someone bothered me. Science geeks usually aren’t trained to know a hundred ways to kill someone with a coffee cup.”
Archer, Dom and Arik laughed, but Jax glared at her, not amused. “Who exactly was bothering you and why didn’t I hear about this?”
She rolled her eyes. “Probably because the situations were taken care of, and it was nothing for you to be worried about. Like last month for instance, when we were on our way to The Black Hole on Alpha Station: X2 when those—”
Archer lost his smile “You went where?”
“What the hell were your guards thinking letting you go there? The Krytos who own that bar are fucking crazy!” Jax exploded. “Not to mention all the other scum that take refuge in that sanctuary! And Officer Takeshi was with you? That’s it, I’m busting him down to—”
“You will not,” Serra ordered. “Besides, it’s not his place to tell me where I could go. He was and is my assistant, not my keeper.”
“You always were stubborn,” Jax muttered.
Serra let out a delicate snort as she speared a fresh berry with her fork. “I am.”
“Why were you going to the Black Hole, Serra? That place is too wild for you, and I know you don’t like crowds,” Archer added.
“I was having lunch with Alexis Tesera-Volis and her four, very large, very skilled dragon warrior mates. X2 may not be the calmest station, but you know as well as I do, once I passed through the doors of The Black Hole, the owners would have never let anything happen to me. I’ve remained friends with Alexis since we were in the Academy together.”
Jax waved her on. “So what happened before you got there?”
“Oh, well…there was a Helios male that grabbed me and wanted to scent me—”
“Son of a bitch!”
“Jax,” she chided in a tone that seemed to calm him…marginally. “Troy was with me, as were two of my guards. Before my guards even knew what was happening, Troy had done something to the Helios to get him to release me, and I found myself behind his back without even knowing how I got there.”
“You could have been hurt,” Dom said. “The Helios seek out companions based on scent and if he wanted to smell you then—”
“I know,” she said. “But Troy got me away from him. Before the Helios could retaliate, Alexis and her mates arrived and they poofed the Helios male to the other side of the space station, so I didn’t have to worry about him anymore.”
Dom blinked. “They…what do you mean they poofed him?”
Surprised, Archer asked, “Didn’t you know? Those dragon warriors can use magic.”
“But they can poof people? That’s just not right.” Dom glared. “And now you have me saying poofed, damn it. Can we get back to talking about killing people?”
Serra studied the director her bonded called a close friend, and saw that he was a severe man, with an edge of unhappiness all but clinging to him. “I think you need sex.”
Dom sputtered, coughing on the coffee he’d just drank. He gawked at her as the rest of the men tried to hold back their laughter. His astonishment turned into a dark glower. “I have sex.”
She shook her head, ignoring the other men. “Then perhaps you need to do it more often. Sex released endorphins into the system that elevates stress and enhances mood.”
Dom glanced over at Jax. “Is she for real?”
“What?” Serra said, blinking at the table as the other men lost the fight to hold back their hilarity. “From your gruff demeanor, I believe you would benefit from a steady increase of sexual release to improve your disposition. Factoring in that you are also
Jax let out a weary sigh. “How did you know?”
“Maybe it was the way he never once looked at me as more than a colleague, or maybe it could have been how he turned into a freaking ninja every time someone bothered me. Science geeks usually aren’t trained to know a hundred ways to kill someone with a coffee cup.”
Archer, Dom and Arik laughed, but Jax glared at her, not amused. “Who exactly was bothering you and why didn’t I hear about this?”
She rolled her eyes. “Probably because the situations were taken care of, and it was nothing for you to be worried about. Like last month for instance, when we were on our way to The Black Hole on Alpha Station: X2 when those—”
Archer lost his smile “You went where?”
“What the hell were your guards thinking letting you go there? The Krytos who own that bar are fucking crazy!” Jax exploded. “Not to mention all the other scum that take refuge in that sanctuary! And Officer Takeshi was with you? That’s it, I’m busting him down to—”
“You will not,” Serra ordered. “Besides, it’s not his place to tell me where I could go. He was and is my assistant, not my keeper.”
“You always were stubborn,” Jax muttered.
Serra let out a delicate snort as she speared a fresh berry with her fork. “I am.”
“Why were you going to the Black Hole, Serra? That place is too wild for you, and I know you don’t like crowds,” Archer added.
“I was having lunch with Alexis Tesera-Volis and her four, very large, very skilled dragon warrior mates. X2 may not be the calmest station, but you know as well as I do, once I passed through the doors of The Black Hole, the owners would have never let anything happen to me. I’ve remained friends with Alexis since we were in the Academy together.”
Jax waved her on. “So what happened before you got there?”
“Oh, well…there was a Helios male that grabbed me and wanted to scent me—”
“Son of a bitch!”
“Jax,” she chided in a tone that seemed to calm him…marginally. “Troy was with me, as were two of my guards. Before my guards even knew what was happening, Troy had done something to the Helios to get him to release me, and I found myself behind his back without even knowing how I got there.”
“You could have been hurt,” Dom said. “The Helios seek out companions based on scent and if he wanted to smell you then—”
“I know,” she said. “But Troy got me away from him. Before the Helios could retaliate, Alexis and her mates arrived and they poofed the Helios male to the other side of the space station, so I didn’t have to worry about him anymore.”
Dom blinked. “They…what do you mean they poofed him?”
Surprised, Archer asked, “Didn’t you know? Those dragon warriors can use magic.”
“But they can poof people? That’s just not right.” Dom glared. “And now you have me saying poofed, damn it. Can we get back to talking about killing people?”
Serra studied the director her bonded called a close friend, and saw that he was a severe man, with an edge of unhappiness all but clinging to him. “I think you need sex.”
Dom sputtered, coughing on the coffee he’d just drank. He gawked at her as the rest of the men tried to hold back their laughter. His astonishment turned into a dark glower. “I have sex.”
She shook her head, ignoring the other men. “Then perhaps you need to do it more often. Sex released endorphins into the system that elevates stress and enhances mood.”
Dom glanced over at Jax. “Is she for real?”
“What?” Serra said, blinking at the table as the other men lost the fight to hold back their hilarity. “From your gruff demeanor, I believe you would benefit from a steady increase of sexual release to improve your disposition. Factoring in that you are also
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