Chapter Nine

Caleb took control of the Iliad. We all sat and anxiously watched as the ugly grey planet grew larger and larger in front of our eyes.

"It's massive," Audrina's lower jaw fell open. "I'm not feeling very good about our decision to land."

"Yeah. I know. It seems like it almost tripled in size in the past hour." I sat back staring at the object thinking about my parents. Would they arrest us after we landed? There were so many things I just couldn't figure out right now, but one thing I knew for certain...Merak was a big place.

Theo leaned close to my ear. The sound of his voice made me jump slightly. "Follow me to the back of the ship."

"Why—"

His finger gently brushed against my lip. "Just follow me," his mouthed.

Theo's muscular hand wrapped around mine as he pulled my body up from the seat. We walked in silence towards the back of the Iliad. The ships hallways were extremely narrow and the ceiling was low enough that it caused both of us to crouch down slightly. He opened a door at the very end and walked inside. It was a little cabin with nothing else but a bed and desk.

"What's going on?" I asked.

He spun my body around to where we were facing one another. His blue eyes burned with a new intensity. I had never seen this look on his face.

"Theo, is everything alright?" I exhaled sharply. He seemed different right now.

Without a word, Theo's arms wrapped around my waist as he suddenly pulled me in towards his body. His head dipped down towards my neck. I had to restrain myself from jumping back at the feeling of his mouth on my skin.

His lips seemed to linger on my neck as I felt my body move in closer to his. He pulled back. His gaze burned into me, causing a slight gasp to escape from my lips. Theo looked so beautiful standing in front of me.

A soft smile tugged at the corner of his lips as his hand ran along my shoulder and then down my arm. His head leaned in again, but this time his lips found mine. My mouth responded to his soft touch and grew more and more intense before he pulled away. He looked at me. Suddenly, his eyes clouded and his facial expression grew serious as he leaned in towards my ear.

"I gave you something to swallow. It's a BOT that will play a message for you in just a second," he whispered.

The words had barely finished when I saw a message in front of my eyes.

"What is that?" I asked.

Instead of responding, he just put his finger up to his lips. "You are the only one who can see it Esa."

My eyes quickly took in the contents of the message. It was coordinates as well as information on Merak. Everything was different from what Caleb had told us just minutes ago. He had been lying to us.

I understood now why Theo had brought me back here. It was the only way to tell me something without Caleb hearing. I knew he had done what he had intended to do, but I wasn't finished with him. My body wanted more. I reached out and grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards me. He didn't hesitate. His warm breath tickled my check as he paused before his lips found mine again and grew more intense. I felt my body get pushed up against the wall behind me as his hands cupped my face.

Our breathing was heavy. It had been a long time since I had felt this alive. Theo made me want him more and more.

"Guess this is not a good time to remind you that I'm in the room too," Luther's voice laughed from somewhere on the other side."

"Don't worry, I didn't forget. Just giving you a little show," Theo taunted, just as both of my palms pushed his body angrily away from mine. Luther had been hiding in the closet.

"Maybe you could have told me," I hissed, suddenly feeling used. How could Theo treat me this way?

"Luther leave," Theo's eyes looked back into mine as his hands wrapped around my wrists. Luther pushed back the door and walked out.

Theo looked back at me. "Sorry. I asked him to hide to make sure we weren't followed. I'm sorry. I just feel like we all need to take extra precautions right now, but don't worry. He's gone now. Esa, don't overanalyze the fact that Luther was here. I just wanted to make sure I had back-up in case it was needed."

"Backup? For what? The boogie man. We're the only ones on the Iliad."

"We don't know that for sure."

His words caused me to pause. "Fine, but you should have told me he was in here."

"I'm sorry. My plan took a detour I wasn't expecting," his eyes looked down towards my body.

Almost instantly, his lips crushed onto mine. Everything inside of me felt alive. I didn't want him to stop as he walked me over to the bed. I fell backwards with him on top of me. His lips slowly kissed my neck and then travelled back up to my lips. I kissed him back passionately.

After several seconds, Theo's body reluctantly rolled off of mine and onto his back. He tilted his head towards the ceiling, his breathing uneven. "We have to go back to the bridge of the ship. The Iliad will be landing soon and I can't wait to see the rest of the James family."

"Me either," I slid off of the bed and tried to smooth down my hair. My cheeks still burned, but I didn't want to show any more signs of weakness. Theo had that ability over me. I knew if I was going to be successful then at some point I needed to get away from him. "You are very frustrating. One day, I will need to understand this power you have over me."

"Captain James, I agree."

"Good because we're done. Please go back to the others." I looked back at the wall, away from his curious eyes.