Page 52 of Phoenix's Last Heist
“Kidnapping? Ha! Jorax was very much a willing participant, I’ll have you know. And I got my karmic retribution, anyway. He bailed as soon as we stopped to resupply. That bastard Dreller was only using me for a ride,” I say. “In more ways than one.”
Displeasure radiates off Orion, but I don’t know if it’s judgment for my choices or a spark of jealousy. I tilt my head at him, but don’t press.
“I take it Evie wants you to pay out the remainder of his contract, then?” he surmises.
“Yeah, and she wants me to apologize, which is frankly ridiculous,” I sniff. “I mean, we’re all adults here. It’s not my fault Jorax went AWOL. At least, it’s notentirelymy fault. Maybe a little? Okay, 15% my fault.”
Orion glares at me.
“25% my fault, final offer. Anyway, if it means short-term refuge for us, fine. I can play nice and apologize. We should get this over with before I lose my nerve,” I say, blowing out a breath.
Orion nods, placid expression firmly in place. His outward calm stokes my anxiety, pulling my frayed nerves taut. He straightens his uniform and leans against the corridor, waiting for me to open the outer bay doors.
“Hey, so…are we—are we good?” I ask, wondering if I’ve ever felt so unsure of myself after taking someone to bed.
He arches a brow.
“I don’t know how you want me to take that question,” he replies.
I fling my hands up in exasperation. “Take it however you want, if it’ll give me an honest answer.”
Pushing himself off the wall, he steps toward me.
“Well, morally speaking, I think I’m pretty good, but there’s some room for debate regarding where you stand,” he murmurs, crowding me back against the wall. “If you’re asking me if we’re good togethersexually, then yeah, I’d say we wereverygood, but that’s just my opinion.”
Just like that, the smoldering embers of my desire roar back to life, engulfing my rational mind in memories of his touch—his taste. I reach for him, only to catch myself at the last second and fist my hands down at my sides.I’m the one who told him no, I remind myself miserably.
“Then again,” he continues. “If you’re asking me if I have a problem with where we stand with each other given everything that’s happened and what we’re about to head into—I told you before, Lyra. I respect your decision. I’m not going to pretend it’s what I want, when every cell of my body is clamoring for me to fuck you until the stars burn out, but those aremyfeelings to deal with. Not yours.”
It takes all of my strength and then some to stop my body from arching toward his. My instincts beg me to throw myself at him—to bury my face in his neck and wrap my limbs around him in a death grip.Don’t let me do this,my heart implores him.Don’t let me push you away.
“Good,” my voice cracks. “Good. Yes. We’re good. Okay.”
The corner of Orion’s lip twitches.
“Are you?” he presses.
“Am I good? Stars, no. I’m a fucking mess. But as long as you’re good,we’regood.” I’m incredibly impressed with my ability to reach new levels of awkwardness, especially with some guy who might still be considering sending me to prison.
I move to pull the hatch on the door open, but Orion stops me, grazing a finger across the cut on my lip.
“We’re good,” he repeats.
My traitorous heart hangs on the words, desperate for them to mean more than the casual reassurance he probably intends. Insides roiling, I nod and pull down the hatch.
“Don’t get too comfortable, Ada,” I mutter. “There’s still a chance we’ll need to head out at a moment’s notice. I’m going to ask Evie about the hull repairs to see if we can get them going as soon as possible, but do me a favor and start running a full diagnostic. I want to know what kind of shape we’re in, in case Kraxis catches up to us.”
Noted. Good luck. Try not to steal anything this time.
“Hey, Dickhead,”Evie spits, one hand hovering above the plasma pistol she always keeps belted at her waist. “Stars, you look like shit! What kind of trouble are you in now?”
She looks exactly the same as the last time I saw her—wavy blue hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, pale lavender skin shining with sweat, thick navy jumpsuit decked with grease and dirt. I’m pretty sure that smudge of machine oil atop the orange freckles is in the same exact spot. The crow’s feet around her moonstone-colored eyes are a little deeper, the laugh lines around her full lips a little more pronounced, and her voluptuous hips a littler rounder, but she’s still the same ‘ol Evie.
“No more than usual,” I reply, eyeing her with equal wariness. “I see you’re the boss now. Who’d you have to threaten to make it to site manager out here?”
“Threaten? Oh, that’s rich coming from you. You know,someof us have ambition beyond finding the most fuckable way out of any situation. I happened to earn my way into my job, no thanks to you abducting my best worker,” Evie shoots back.
I cock a brow at her.
