Page 33 of Collision!
If he wanted to hold her closer.
He gazed down at her curves tucked against him.What was closer than this?
Where the bed was half unmade, he lowered her to the luxury sheets.She rested so languidly against him, he was sure she was already fast asleep.But as he stepped back, her brown eyes were wide and steady on him.
“You won’t stay.”Her tone straddled the line between question and statement.
“I intended only to bring you the gift,” he said.
“Which you did.”
He might’ve been slow to understand Earther smiles, but the quirk of her lips now was gentle.
He put his hands behind him, gripping his own wrists.“You told me you were ready—”
“Fucking ready,” she reminded him as she angled herself slightly, putting those curves on display.
He gave her a look.“But maybe I…am not.”
Though she’d lowered the prismatic lights, tiny rainbows still danced in her eyes.“Then thank you for what you gave me.All of it.”
Studying her, he locked the moment into memory.“This isn’t over, Mariah.”
“Nothing ever is, Chief.”
It sounded a bit like a threat.
And he liked it.
But he forced himself back another step.“Sleep now.When we deploy the fake goblhob guns, I’ll call you.”
She tucked her hands under her chin, eyes narrowing with satisfaction.“You saw the inspiration.”
“Lub was also impressed.”
“I hope it scares off our pursuers.”
The way she peered at him through her lashes, he wondered if she hoped the opposite for him.
He hoped so too.
+ + +
It was late as he headed back to his engines.All systems were nominal, but he wanted to check on the main fabricator.He also needed to plan a schedule for routine inspections since the ship would not be returning to port as scheduled.Maybe he’d ask the captain to promote Griiek from deck tech to shift engineer.
After all, he wasn’t alone on the ship.He could ask for help.
Despite the tasks lining up in his brain, he found his boots carrying him to the Starlit Salon.
Maybe this time he wouldn’t glare at the anomaly.
Maybe he’d stand in its light and dream about the power of—
To his surprise, the ship’s owner was sitting at the bar next to the sensor aimed at the resonark.Evens had one hand clenched around an empty glass, a bottle tipped on its side next to him.
Suvan might technically work for the stowaway Earther, but he had no reason to speak to him.
Except with Mariah’s taste lingering in his mouth, maybe he needed a drink to clear his head.
