Page 48 of Stealing the Star Stone
“Why didn’t we think to ask sooner?”Thorne’s good humor was still present in the curve of his lips.
His good humor had gone a long way to easing the tension in her shoulders.As did the residual hot tea in her belly.Frederik was a godsend, having prepared them better than she could’ve hoped.
“The ship’s markers are not in any known database,” the computer said.
“Pirates?What are the odds?”Thorne hurried to the weapons locker and started arming himself.
She grinned.“Fat lot that’s going to do you when we’re jettisoned into space.And the odds are pretty high.Space beyond the station-sec’s boundaries is a free-for-all.Computer, plan an escape route with Lethara in our sights.”
“It can do that?”he asked, kneeling to strap a blaster to her thigh.
She swiveled the chair to grant him access while keeping her hands on the lever.“Let’s just hope they don’t have tracking missiles.All this weaving will be for nothing.”
With him between her thighs, she relished his shoulders nudging her, the dip of his head, the brush of his fingers, all while praying none of it aroused her.Sporting a hard-on now would be so inconvenient.Regardless of her opinion on the matter, life stirred in her groin.As soon as he leaned back, she faced the console, tempted to fold a leg over the other.
It was his cock, after all.Surely she need not hide its misbehavior from him.But what she was truly trying not to reveal was how he could garner such a reaction out of her.She’d stated no kissing.No anything, and yet, they’d been inches away from doing exactly what she’d claimed was disgusting to her.
In two days, she’d gone from seeing him as an intruder in her body, to just seeing him.The outer appearance no longer played a role in her impression of him.
Another jolt hit the shuttle’s ass.
“How much more of that can we take?”he asked, sliding a dagger into her boot.
“Shields are at 72 per cent,” said the computer.“Escape route planned.”
“Take control,” she said, flipping a switch.
The shuttle veered right, away from Lethara.She opened her mouth to ask why, but the forescreen altered, showing the projected path.Oh, now that’s brilliant.
She grinned.“Clever.”
“What?”Thorne asked, stuffing the knapsack with bottles of water, and her box of tea—the sweetheart.
“She’s taking us past—”
“She?”He paused.
“Yes,” Nova snapped.“She’staking us past a research station in the Kegawa Belt, barely manned but still in use.That would put the pirates in station-sec’s territory.”
“And once they’ve abandoned the chase, we can head to Lethara.”He chuckled.“Thatisingenious.”
“Found any space blankets?”
He frowned.“None.Damn things are so tiny when compressed.Could be a sheet of paper and I wouldn’t know.”
“You’ve done well so far.”She met and held his gaze.“We can do this.”
“One step at a time.”
She pursed her lips then admitted, “I hate and like that we’re working as a team.”
He laughed.“That’s because I’m not fondling parts of your body.”
“True.”But it wasn’t.Not anymore.Besides the breast-jiggle from last night, he’d been amazing at keeping her clean, dressed—for the most part—and STD free.Though it had been touch and go there with Xander Payne.
“Viator IV, do you require assistance?”A woman’s face appeared on the screen.“Oh my word, is that Eli Thorne?”she gasped, glanced away, then a man joined her.
Since they were both in station-sec uniform, Nova pasted on a broad smile.“Hi, yes, we’re on a joyride and have been shot at by what our computer says are pirates.”
