Page 2 of Stealing the Star Stone
Nova met his gaze, tapped a panel, and offered him a suit.“Coming with?”she asked Sharon.
The petite brunette scoffed.“Of course not.”
“Then get out of the airlock,” Nova snapped.“Or you will be.”
“What bee flew up your ass?”Sharon muttered as she sauntered down the corridor.
“Do I strip?”Thorne asked, eyeing the thin spacesuit.
“Yes.Boots are here.”Nova opened another panel where various sizes were stacked in neat rows.“I’ll fetch the equipment.”And change.What she didn’t want was for him to see the tattoo.Sure, it was in an ancient alien language a xeno-archeologist had discovered in a then-unknown solar system.Still, she couldn’t risk Thorne learning about it.
She followed Sharon’s disappearing shoulders, intent on some privacy in the cold confines of the storeroom when Petr hurried toward Nova, boards under each arm.Shit.And the poor guy had been so happy to be helpful.She waved the suit at him, nudged her head at the airlock, and slipped into the first available room—a maintenance closet.Wiggling into the damn suit took the remnants of her patience.It was designed for short excursions in space, able to take pee, if needed, and keep her warm for a few hours.Across her back, heavy and awkward, sat the circular bracket to which Petr would attach the oxygen tanks.
Leaving her uniform hanging from exposed pipes and her boots on the floor, she padded to the airlock.In time to catch Eli mid-suit.Her heart leaped into her throat, her eyes widened, no doubt to absorb the absolute beauty of this man.Hours of hard work and discipline reflected in every ripple and bulge that formed his chest.His biceps and shoulders were masterpieces.He hadn’t been this sexy when he’d had her beneath him.
She forced her gaze away, the cold floor reminding her that she needed boots.The magnetic straps wrapped up her calves, ensuring no air or heat escaped.Same applied to the gloves, from fingers to her elbows.She dropped her pair and his on the floor, needing dexterity to prep him and herself.
“You’re not going to help?”he asked, his trademark green eyes narrowing.
“It’s a jumpsuit.”She didn’t flinch, meeting his glare head-on.“How useless can you be?”she muttered, scooping up a glove to peel onto his hand.Sure, his suit had tangled, the fabric almost too thin to feel.But she wasn’t touching his skin, even by accident.
He rolled a shoulder and, just like that, he could fasten the suit shut, finally hiding his gorgeous body from her.Petr buzzed around him, adjusting the suit, fixing the tank to his back, then offering him the helmet as she worked on the other glove.
She knelt, taking the boot from Petr and raised her gaze to Thorne’s.
He grunted and lifted his foot, allowing her better access to strap on the damn boot.But when he ‘lost’ his balance, pressing down on her head, she almost threw the offending footwear at him.
“Sorry,” he crooned, a shit-eating grin on his soft-looking lips.
A memory flashed of where he’d brushed kisses over her breast.
She scowled.“I don’t have to help you.Out there, you could die, and we wouldn’t be held responsible.”With one violent flick of his boot’s last magnetic strap, she stood and grabbed the helmet from Petr, who then shuffled behind her to lock a tank in place.The weight almost bowed her shoulders, but in space, it wouldn’t matter.“You signed a waiver, remember?”She beamed at an angry Thorne, showing all her teeth.
Petr’s wince meant her pseudo-politeness had come across as a grimace.Well, fuck that.She was doing this cloud-surfing bullshit against her better judgment.Niceties weren’t part of the deal.
Petr locked the helmets in place then touched his neck.“Check check.”
His whiney-twang came through the headpieces loud and clear.“Got ya,” she said.
“Same,” Thorne said, choosing the longer board Petr had leaned against the bulkhead.
“Fresh fuel canisters on the boards and in the boots?”she asked Petr when he handed her the other board and pressed the controller in her right hand.
“Yup.”Then the smiling idiot left the airlock and watched her through the porthole after the doors had sealed.
“When I say we return, we do so immediately,” she said to Thorne, clipping her feet to her board.“Velis’ clouds contain droplets of sulfuric acid so we can’t stay out too long.”
He balanced on his board with surprising agility as he too locked his boots in place.The click-click confirmed him good-to-go.“Acknowledged,” he said.
She gritted her teeth.That wasn’t an agreement.But if the ass wanted to get himself killed, she wouldn’t stop him.
While they waited for the airlock to depressurize, marked by the flickering red lights, he angled his head at her.“Don’t like me much, I see.”
She stiffened.“After your last stunt?Who would?”
The light flashed green, and she shot through the parting doors, micro-jets on the board’s tail-end propelling her.Puffs of white engulfed her.She’d parked theValianceclose enough as to limit the amount of time it would take to catch the first cloud.Aiming for Velis, she flicked out her legs to change direction.
He whizzed past her, the wall of rolling clouds heading toward them.Two bright plumes of his jets trailed him with every flick of his board.She followed, catching a cloud a little distant from him.His whoops and cheers sparked an answering bloom of excitement.Her breathing became ragged, a perpetual smile spreading her lips.The adrenaline rush was unparallel.She hadn’t done this in ages.
