Page 64 of Tail, Dark and Handsome: Celestial Mates
Well, fluff.
“We’re through the worst of it,” she said, and not just for Joseph and Zero’s benefit. She needed to hear the affirmation, too.
“Any firepower to blast a clear path?” Joseph asked.
Mari rolled her eyes. “Like you don’t know this is a civilian vessel.”
“It’s custom built. You never know. Rich dudes are eccentric and have secret weapons stashed away, like Mars Man.”
“Oh my fluff and stuff, this isn’t a cartoon.”
“Mars Man is a beloved comic book icon, I’ll have you know,” Joseph sniffed.
“Zero, does your dad have a stash of secret weapons?”
“Like what?” he asked.
Joseph gave a triumphant laugh. Mari rolled her eyes. “I heard that,” Joseph said, because of course he did.
“My brother thinks this vessel has a massive plasma ray or drill, something rated for mining, which this ship doesn’t have the power supply to support or the space to even carry,” she said.
“No. Nothing like that.”
The ship shuddered. The proximity alarms blared. Zero yelped, digging his claws into the chair’s armrest. Joseph shouted, “What was that?”
“Asteroid. Shield integrity is holding. It just shook us around a little,” she said. Without thinking, she reached over and squeezed Zero’s hand. “We’re fine.”
“The stabilizers should have absorbed that,” Joseph said.
“I know! It’s a CayneTech ship, so the stabilizers gave up the ghost when I looked at them funny.”
“Ugh, really? Enjoy your bumpy-ass ride.”
She checked their progress on the nav screen. Three-fourths of the way through the field, and thankfully the debris thinned out. She still needed to pay attention to avoid collision, but it was not as tense as fifteen minutes ago.
“Are you going to be okay now?” Joseph finally asked.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“You’re the one paying the bill.”
“Which I will forward to the boss,” she replied, knowing that audio calls were inexpensive.
“Be safe. Love you,” he said.
Mari returned the sentiments, disconnecting the call. Winter arrived, holding a hot mug of her favorite fruity tea. “You never brought me that water,” she said, accepting the mug gratefully.
“I thought you’d appreciate having power to the shields.” Grease smeared his cheek, and a clump of dust clung to the end of his tail. Without thinking, she brushed the dust away. Winter sucked in his breath, then gave her a heated look. So much heat.
What caused that reaction?
Oh.
Oh.
“Um, we’ll be, um, back on track soon,” she said, blushing furiously and stumbling over her words. She did not just grab that man’s tailin front of his son. It was tacky and gross, and she acted before her brain caught up with what her hands were doing. “Returning power to environmental systems. You should have heat in your cabin again, Zero.”
“You heard Marigold. Return to your cabin. You are under punishment,” Winter said, his eyes never leaving her.
