Seeing with the Heart Read online

  “It’s awful to lose the people you love so suddenly,” Molly whispered. “I know…I know about that kind of loss. Some of it, anyway. Braxx and I talked about it a little. We got…quite close. I had hoped that we might get…” She cleared her throat. “Get even closer.”

  “He could use a worthy female who values more than looks,” Baird said.

  “Well, that would be me since I’m almost completely blind,” Molly remarked lightly. She had explained about the healing crystal and how it had been nearly depleted at the beginning of her talk with Commander Sylvan. “But even if I could see again, I wouldn’t care about his scars. I was… hoping to meet him when I came up here to the Mothership but then I was told he was off on another mission.”

  “No, he’s not,” Baird said, surprising her. “He was supposed to go but his ship had some engine trouble. It’s being fixed in the mech-bay and he’s scheduled to go tomorrow instead.”

  “Really?” Molly’s heart, which had been down somewhere around her shoes, suddenly leapt up into her throat. “Do…I mean, are you sure?”

  “Sure, I’m sure. I just had a drink with him after our shift. He said he was going to turn in to his suite and try to get a good night’s sleep before leaving early tomorrow.”

  “So Braxx is in his suite all alone, is he?” It was Liv’s voice again. She came and sat beside Molly on the couch. “Sorry, I was just in the other room getting our little boy down for the night and I couldn’t help overhearing.”

  “No worries, lilenta.” Baird came over and leaned down to kiss her affectionately. “Is our little guy sleeping well?”

  “All tuckered out from playing so hard today.” Liv’s voice was soft. “I swear, he’s growing up so fast! I wish I could keep him little.”

  “Can’t turn back time,” Baird remarked.

  “No, but you can make up for lost time.” Liv took Molly’s hand and squeezed. “And that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Come on, Molly—I have an idea.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Molly tried to still the nervous pounding of her heart as she knocked rapidly at the metal door of Braxx’s apartment—or suite as the people here on the Mothership called it. She was aware that Liv was hiding just around the corner, watching. The other woman had promised to wait for her and make sure she got in all right before leaving. She’d also given Molly a think-me—a thin silver wire headband type thing that fit around her head like a crown—and explained how to use it if she needed it.

  “You can call me anytime if you need to get away,” she’d told Molly, as she slipped the thin wire band into her purse. “But I don’t think you’re going to need to.”

  “Thank you,” Molly had taken the think-me gratefully. It was good to have a backup plan in case things didn’t go well. But she was determined everything was going to be fine. Now that she knew the real story of Braxx’s past, she wasn’t going to let him put her off again.

  Lifting her chin with renewed determination, she knocked again and called, “Braxx? Are you awake? I need to talk to you.”

  At last the door slid open and a big, male shape filled the doorway. The warm, spicy scent of his skin washed over her and Molly breathed it in deeply—God, she had missed this! Missed it so much she felt almost like a junkie in withdrawal. Smelling him again was like getting a much needed fix.

  “Molly?” He sounded confused and half-asleep. “Are you really here or am I dreaming about you again?”

  “You’ve been dreaming of me too?” Her heart began pounding even harder. “Because I’ve been dreaming of you almost every night for the past three months. Let me in so we can talk about it.”

  “I don’t know…” His voice sounded hesitant and his muscular bulk was still blocking the doorway. But Molly wasn’t going to take no for an answer. They needed to at least talk damn it!

  “Just for a minute,” she said and pushed past him into the suite, feeling an electric tingle as her skin brushed his.

  “You always were direct.” There was something like a cross between irritation and admiration in his deep voice as he followed her into the living area.

  At least, Molly assumed it was the living area. Hopefully it was laid out pretty much like Liv’s suite had been. There wasn’t much light to cast shadows so she had to feel her way to the couch before she could turn and face him.

  “We need to talk,” she said firmly. “I mean really talk, Braxx.”

  * * * * *

  Braxx ran a hand through his sleep-rumpled hair and frowned unhappily. Was this real or was it another dream? It seemed like it might be the latter. He’d just drifted off and had been dreaming about Molly walking down a long metal corridor of the Mothership with a determined look on her lovely face. Now, here she was, standing in the middle of his living area with her hands on her hips, looking up at him with a frown on her face.

  She looked just like she had in her dream—right down to the silky red shirt which showed a hint of her creamy cleavage and the black skirt which emphasized the full curves of her hips.

  I’d forgotten how beautiful she is, he thought and ached to take her in his arms.

  Somehow, he resisted. Though he’d thought of nothing else but Molly for the past three months, he was firm in his belief that she wasn’t for him.

  “Well?” she said, lifting her chin even higher. “Can we talk?”

  “What is there to talk about?” Braxx growled.

  “The fact that I’m crazy about you.” Her voice dropped a little. “And I think…I hope you feel the same way. I haven’t been able to get you off my mind for the past few months. I miss you, Braxx. Can you honestly tell me you don’t miss me?”

  Braxx opened his mouth to tell a lie and heard the truth come out instead.

  “You’re all I can think about,” he admitted, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Holding you again…breathing in your sweet scent… You fucking consume me, Molly.”

  She let out a breath and he realized she was relieved.

  “Good,” she said, her voice shaky. “I’m glad this isn’t a one-way street. So if you’re crazy about me and I’m crazy about you, what are we doing apart?”

  “You know damn well why we’re apart,” Braxx growled. “You saw for yourself on Tal’os Trenta.”

  “You mean your scars?” she asked directly. “Listen, Braxx—even if I could still see your face, I wouldn’t give a damn about those. I didn’t fall in love with you for your looks, you know.”

  So many thoughts and emotions rushed through him, he could scarcely put any of them into words.

  “What do you mean if you could see my face?” he demanded at last, striding over to her. “And…did you just say you loved me?”

  “I’m blind again—well, mostly blind. And yes, I love you.” She ran a hand through her wild mane of caramel hair. “Look I know it’s crazy—we were together for less than a week. But during that time I felt a connection with you I’ve never felt with anyone else. And Braxx, it’s not going away. I want you more now than the day you dropped me off at the hospital. I…I want you so badly I can hardly keep my hands to myself!”

  Looking down, he saw that her little hands were, indeed, balled into fists. Suddenly, he couldn’t stand it anymore.

  “Then don’t,” he growled. Leaning down, he took her mouth in a hot, hard kiss—the culmination of three months of longing and need that nearly threatened to overpower him.

  Molly gave as good as she got, tangling her fingers in his hair and dragging him even lower, deepening the kiss by thrusting her sweet little tongue into his mouth.

  Braxx growled and scooped her up, holding her close in his arms. Molly clung to him and somehow her black skirt got hitched up over her hips so that he could feel the warmth of her pussy pressing against his midsection as they continued the rough and luscious kiss.

  Hardly knowing what he was doing, Braxx went to sit on the couch with her in his lap. She straddled him, still kissing him hungrily as he ran his hands through her hair and dow