Larissa groaned as Kirlos sank deep into her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and tilted her hips to take him deeper. But the sound of the bedroom door sliding back penetrated the haze of pleasure that surrounded them.

Shit! Devlin had returned. He'd told them both to lie still while he was gone. The thought of what he might do made her shiver with apprehension and wicked lust.

Kirlos looked down at her. She mouthed "uh oh," and he smiled.

She held her breath, waiting for Devlin's explosion, but he didn't say a word. Kirlos pulled out of her and rolled over. Then she saw the captain. He'd sunk into the chair across from them and dropped his head into his hands. She and Kirlos sat up. She got off the bed and went to Devlin, kneeling beside him. "What's wrong?"

His back rose and fell as he took a long slow breath. She reached out to caress him, but he brushed her hand off and sat back. "I just talked to Ragland."

"What did he want?"

"He's planning to destroy us. We're inconvenient to his plans for Protectorate domination."

Kirlos snorted. "If he comes here, he's going to die. Then his whole movement will fall apart without him to lead it."

"As will ours without me."

Pain echoed in the captain's voice. Larissa's heart sped up as fear pumped through her body. She ran her hand over Devlin's short hair. "You're going to give the bastard exactly what he deserves."

Devlin snorted. "I'm certainly going to try my damnedest to. I want to live almost as much as I want Ragland dead."

Kirlos pushed back the covers and sat up. "I assume Ragland didn't detail his plan for our annihilation."

Devlin shook his head.

"What did he say?"

"He's coming to destroy me, the station, and everyone I cared about."

"Any hints about when?" Kirlos kept his voice steady, but Larissa noted that his hands gripped the sheets so tightly his knuckles were white. She worried he'd rip the fabric.

"That's part of the fun for him. He not only wants me dead, he wants to know that I'm spending my days waiting for an attack. He's a cat. He likes to play with his prey."

Larissa rubbed her hand in circles on Devlin's back, wishing she could comfort him. "Do you think he'll want to do the job himself?"

The captain nodded. "Killing me would give him too much pleasure. He won't leave it to anyone else."

"As if anyone else could carry it off -- he's the only shifter whose strength of both body and mind matches yours."

"True. He won't trust me to any of the others, but that doesn't rule out his sending an assassin for you or" — he turned toward Larissa — "you. He may lead his squad of shifters and mercenaries and attack us all at once, or he may pick us off one by one."

Larissa's heart slammed against her ribs. This was the first time she'd ever heard Devlin talk about a fight without being irritatingly arrogant about his chances of winning. And when he spoke, she heard the growling rumble in his voice. He wouldn't be on the verge of changing if he wasn't feeling powerful emotion.

She studied Devlin's hands and noticed they were shaking. When she looked into his eyes, they'd changed from dark amber to the golden color of his wolf, but she could see the fear in them. He looked away quickly, embarrassed by what he'd revealed.

She'd never met Ragland. But after hearing Devlin, Kirlos, and other members of the station's crew talk about him, she'd imagined someone with Devlin's deadly strength, the training to be a focused killing machine, and absolutely no conscience. Now that she'd seen what the prospect of Ragland's attack did to Devlin, she feared that as bad as it was, her mental image wasn't evil enough.

Tension vibrated in the room until Kirlos cleared his throat.

"How do we prepare to crush this bastard?"

Devlin was silent for several seconds, but when he spoke, his voice was fully human again. "We double the numbers of men on patrol both inside and outside the station. But doing so will divert resources from shipping and inspection. Send a communication down to Abrigana and find out how many men they can send us for temporary work as loaders. We need a few Abrigan cargo pilots too. We'll focus our own crew on our special clients and leave routine deliveries to those we can bring in."

"We should alert Donovan. Ragland will almost certainly refuel in his sector of space. With his tech skills and equipment, he can lock onto Ragland's signal and alert us to his presence."

"Good. Do it. We'll also see that Jeff has his pilots doing drills twice a day every day. Have him keep a squadron ready to fly out with a moment's notice."

Larissa felt Devlin relax as he began issuing commands. By making him focus on something other than his fear, Kirlos had been able to comfort him in a way she never could with caresses. She wished she could get to know the man under Devlin's tough exterior as well as Kirlos did, but the captain wouldn't let her in.

Devlin's list of plans went on for several minutes before he wrapped up his discussion with Kirlos. "Page Claire or whoever's supervising in command at this hour. Have them wake all the officers. I want everyone in the conference room in one hour."

Kirlos frowned. "Do they really need an hour? If we're getting them out of bed, we might as well do this now."

"I need an hour."

Kirlos raised his brows.

Devlin smiled for the first time since he'd returned. "I have no intention of leaving this room until I've reddened both your asses for defying me."

Larissa inhaled sharply as her fear receded and her body pulsed to life.