Chapter 97

Chapter Ninety-Seven

Connor wasn’t sure if he’d drifted off to sleep and dreamed the noise, or if he’d heard it just before slipping off.

He sat up in the bunk, head tilted as if that might help him to hear, straining for any sound other than the grumbling air recycler pushing cool air through the overhead vent.

Breathing. Somewhere in the darkness near his hatch, someone was breathing softly.

And then he recognized the scent: the soft perfume that might be orange blossoms on a sea breeze, the gentle musk he’d come to miss when waking.

“Selen?”

Bare feet shuffled across the floor, and her flesh pressed against his hand. She was cool when she normally was warm to the touch. “I dreamed about you. I was scared.”

“You can’t just override security like that. What if someone else saw you?”

“No one’s awake. No one has to know.”

He pulled away. This was the last thing he needed. “It’s a violation—”