Breakwater: Hyde (BBW Bad Boy Space Bear Shifter Romance) (Star Bears Book 4) by Becca Fanning Read Free Book Online

out the door before realizing she had no idea where she was going or what she was doing. She wandered aimlessly until she realized she was hungry and made her way to the kitchen where she found Zosha and Delphine watch a holovid over what appeared to be dried fruit.

    They looked up when she entered, Zosha smiling and Delphine nodding in acknowledgement.

    “Hey there,” Zosha said brightly. “Care to join?”

    Thalia smiled back and took a seat. Delphine pushed the plate of fruit over to her and she gratefully took what she thought was an apricot.

    “So, are you going to interview us?” Zosha asked, leaning forward and propping her chin up on her hands.

    “Do you want me to?” Thalia asked around a mouthful of apricot. “Because I totally can.”

    “Great! Do I need to pull my hair back so I look more serious?” Zosha asked.

    “No, I work mostly with audio,” Thalia said, laughing. She opened the recording app on her multi-tool and cleared her throat. “Breakwater series, entry one, subjects Zosha and Delphine. It is nine hundred in standard time and we are in the Breakwater ’s kitchen. How did you two end up on the Breakwater ?”

    “I stowed away in the cargo hold because I was trying to get away from people chasing me,” Zosha said. “So, a little like you. We had to settle a civil war to get them to leave me alone, but we did it. I ended up falling for Rick and never left.”

    “I was sent to assassinate the crew in retaliation for a business relationship that was disrupted when they settled that civil war. They convinced me to join them,” Delphine said.

    “Hyde mentioned that you were a splice. Who did you work for?” Thalia asked.

    “I would prefer to keep the company I was employed by off your recordings as part of an arrangement we currently have with them,” Delphine answered. “I will tell you later if you are curious.”

    “Sounds good. How do you think being part of the Breakwater crew has changed you?”

    “I am more aware of myself, I think,” Delphine said. “I was raised to believe that love and attachment were weaknesses and that I should feel nothing and only obey. Now I realize I am not a means to an end.”

    “The Breakwater’s a lot more stable than life on Lytos. And I have people. It’s nice to know that you’re not alone even when you’re by yourself,” said Zosha.

    “I see. Delphine, you said you no longer feel that, well, feeling is a weakness. How has that changed?” Thalia asked.

    “It hasn’t. Love is still a weakness, but it has made me understand that I was also weak before. It is merely an allocation of strengths and weaknesses. Before, I had little to lose but I was virtually alone. Now I have much to lose, but I have—as Zosha said—a network. Looking over my past weaknesses and my current ones, I must say I prefer the present,” Delphine answered easily.

    “That’s amazing. But I have to ask—Custer? How does that even work?” Thalia asked.

    Delphine let out a little laugh. “He is not, perhaps, a good man, but he is a good friend and an excellent lover."

    “Nice,” Zosha said with a leer, nudging Delphine in the ribs with her elbow.

    Thalia grinned. “Zosha, what’s being with Rick like? He’s first officer, right?”  

    “First mate, technically, because we’re not working within the boundaries of a legal system, but yeah. And he’s… he’s great. He’s calm and kind and so, so funny. And we never fight, which is a new thing for me. Whenever one of us gets mad, he makes us sit down and talk it over, so we disagree sometimes but it never becomes a big thing, you know? Anyways, he’s the kind of guy that makes you think ‘okay, this one I’m keeping.’” Zosha looked like she was far away, a smile on her face and a shine in her eyes.

    “What about Annie and the captain? What’s that like?” Thalia asked. She was curious about the captain, she’d admit.

    “He acknowledges she’s ninety percent of our