AN HUGE thanks to Wanmei for being my wonderful beta on this. Also thanks to everyone who reads this. Any crit you have is MUCH appreciated.

Chapter 4: Come Clean

Eight years earlier

Zoë followed Kyan to the ship feeling more awkward than she’d felt since she was a teenager. As a soldier, she rarely thought of men sexually. She’d spent too much of her time in the company of men to gravitate toward one or another. It would be irresponsible of her to get involved with another soldier. But Kyan was most definitely not a soldier. He wasn’t like any other man on the base. There was something unpredictable about him. She knew he watched her, but she could never really get a feel for what he was thinking. It was plain enough that he wanted her. That in itself was downright odd. Men respected her. They saw her as an equal, or they were intimidated by her. Zoë didn’t know what Kyan thought.

Once inside his ship, Zoë glanced around the cargo hold. A man in his fifties sat on top of a huge crate looking of a big hunk of metal. She’d caught glimpses of the mechanic before, but never been introduced. He smiled at the pair. “Knew you didn’t have the sense to stay dry, boy, but did ya have’t drag the gel along?”

Kyan let out a deep laugh. “I’ll have you know I saved this fair damsel-in-distress.”

Zoë cocked a brow. “You picked up a crate…I wouldn’t go too far with that.”

He laughed again. “I have to make myself look good somehow,” he told her, before turning back to the man. “Captain, I offered Zoë the use of our washer and dryer. Is that alright?”

“Watcha askin’ me for? Ya already know it is.”

Zoë was smart enough to see the tension between the pair. She wondered who resented who more for the mechanic’s promotion. Then again, it wasn’t her place to care.

Kyan led her first to his bunk, and handed her a set of his own clothes to change into. “These will have to do for now. You might as well take advantage of a hot shower while your clothes are washing.”

“Thank you,” she said takin