Page 2 of Survivor
“No,” Tide said. “That bastard, Chambers, shoved you. He wants your prime spot.”
“The extractions?”
Lore nodded.
Our plan had been to buy a ship and move on, but when we’d landed on the spaceport two weeks ago, there’d been nothing for sale. Tide had sold the shuttle immediately to the shipyard, which dealt in parts. The thing was dismantled, no way to trace us now. But it didn’t change the fact we were stuck here, because even if a ship for sale did become available now, the Athion government would be monitoring the guys’ accounts. The shuttle hadn’t fetched much, and we didn’t have enough funds to buy a ship.
Tide and Lore had taken jobs at the chop shop, but the pay was shit. Anything more prominent was asking for trouble. Vex and Xavier were hauling space trash down at the depot that dealt with the spaceport waste. Shuttles passed every few hours, and they loaded the waste to be dumped into the local asteroid belt, Minerva X.
The guys had kept me off the grid. The owner at the chop shop had given us use of one of the rusted ships that was practically welded to the ground, and this had been home for the past two weeks.
I studied Lore’s hand, turning it over and wincing at the bloodstains. Extraction was dainty work, the work that required a steady hand. And no one’s hands were steadier than Lore’s. He was a scientist, a surgeon of sorts.
I peeled back the edge of the bandage. “We need to clean you up. This bandage is filthy.”
“I need to shower first,” Lore said.
With that hand? “I’ll help.”
He blinked up at me. “What?”
“You’re going to need help washing with that hand.”
“She’s right,” Tide said with a small smile.
Twin spots of color appeared high on Lore’s cheeks. “Um … I … I can manage.”
“Maybe, but we have limited water, and it will be quicker if I help.” I headed out of the room. “Come on.”
There was a short corridor and a sharp left to the washroom that Vex had customized to suit our needs. The whole room was a shower now. The toilet was in a separate cubicle.
Now that I was here, my pulse was pounding. I hadn’t been alone like this with Lore before. I felt him enter the room behind me.
“Rogue, I can manage. You don’t have to do this,” he said softly.
I turned to face him. “Maybe I want to.”
His throat bobbed, and his gaze dropped to my mouth. He closed the door.
I bridged the gap between us. “We should get rid of this bandage first.”
He held out his hand, and I unwrapped the dirty, yellowing fabric. There was a cut underneath, deep but no longer bleeding. I wet a washcloth in the sink and wiped away the dried blood.
He sucked in a quick breath.
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
“It’ll be fine by tomorrow.” His voice was soft. “I can just shower then.”
I locked gazes with him. “I know you, Lore. That would drive you crazy.”
The guy was a semi-germophobe.
He cracked a smile. “Yes, yes, it probably would.”
I grasped the hem of his shirt and slowly tugged it up to reveal his slender, muscled frame. Tight abs and dark blue skin, pectorals speckled with dark blue hair. He was perfect. And then the shirt was over his head, and he was bare-chested and glorious. I moved on to his trousers.
“Wait.” He gently grasped my hand with his unhurt one. “You’ll get wet if you stay.”
