Page 38 of Coveted

He’d been on the verge of tossing those plans out the window when they’d entered the room and he noticed Alana staring at the bed. He hadn’t thought about there only being one room and one bed for them to share once he picked her up, and he should have realized she would be uncomfortable being forced into that situation.

They walked back to the room, and he reluctantly release her hand. She moved to pick up the tablet again, and he grimaced as he realized he had to take it from her.

“I’ve got some calls coming, and I don’t have the SurfaceScreen set up to accept them. How about we switch, and you can use the desk?” he offered.

“Oh, of course. You don’t have to give up your desk, I can…”

She trailed off as her eyes darted around the room, searching for something else to do. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much, but it would be easier for him to keep working at the desk so he had access to it while he handled the meetings.

“I can put my things away and get cleaned up, so the shower will be free for you later.”

She shrugged as he stared at her, but her suggestion had sent his mind spiraling in a different direction. Just the thought her naked in the next room had him rock hard and clenching his hands at his sides to keep from grabbing her.

He finally forced his neck to bend enough to seem like a nod as he realized she held the tablet toward him. It was a test of his will to take it without brushing his hand against hers, knowing that the feel of her skin right then would snap his control.

Alana turned away, moving to the drawers on the lower half of the shelving across from the bed. The top section held the VidScreen and he’d crammed all his things into the lefthand drawer, which left the other five as well as the entire hanging section for her. Once she realized there was so much space, she got to work removing things from her bag.

It seemed silly for her to unpack for a four-day trip, and he opened his mouth to offer the desk again, but the tablet vibrated in his hand, remining him he had more important things to argue about.

The first call was from Varner with an update on how things were going with the new mine as well as how many new miners had arrived. Vax had the report about the refinery’s output from the previous day, and while it was steadily increasing, he also had messages from multiple Chancellors complaining about how many they needed.

Now.

The meeting with Varner was short, and Vax moved on to the next call, Chancellor Ganavough complaining in person instead of sending a message like the others.

“When are we going to get the crystals we need?”

“We should have a shipment of approximately six hundred Grade C, four hundred Grade B, and another hundred Grade A ready within the next day.”

The shipment was ten percent more than usual, but there was no sign of that on the lumpy green face scowling at him from the tablet.

“That’s not enough Grade A to build a warship! I need three hundred more for the Class D shell sitting useless, and another thousand for the Class F in production. I can’t fill my orders because your workers are slacking, and you refuse to do anything about it!”

Vax’s fingers curled around the edge of the desk, and he had to remind himself that screaming at the other Chancellor would make things more difficult, no matter how much he may want to. When his nostrils flared and he caught the sweet notes of Alana’s citrus blossom scent in the air, it reminded him he had an audience and helped him calm down.

“The miners are working as fast as they safely can. Grade A crystals aren’t as common as the others, and they take longer to refine. You’re also not the only one who needs them.”

Blubbery lips peeled bad in a sneer.

“Chancellor Osmel produced twice as many in less time, and didn’t charge nearly what you do. Your greed will be your ruin.”

Control snapping, Vax’s fist hit the desk beside the tablet, making it jump.

“Chancellor Osmel’s greed is what caused the rest of you privileged pompous asses to think you can get what you want at the snap of your fingers. The crystals would be twice the price they are now if he’d still been alive, and my people would be dying in droves, but you only care about your own pocket, not who must suffer to meet your demands. You’ll get them when you get them.”

The growl in his chest continued even after he ended the call, until his heaving breaths brought him the scent of burnt sugar. Swinging his gaze to where Alana stood at the end of the bed, hetook note of her stiff posture, her pupils blown and fists clenched over her chest.

Choking off the rumble, he gritted his teeth and turned his gaze down to the screen on the desk. He should be able to control his temper better, but it was the same thing over and over, and no one cared about his reasons for the decreased production versus when Osmel was in charge.

When he glanced up again Alana had gone back to hanging her dresses, but her bag was almost empty, and he still had more meetings lined up. He went through his messages until the next one came, then the one after that. Before he realized it, hours had passed.

Jerking his head up from the workorder he was reviewing, Vax looked around for Alana. His neck was sore from hunching over the desk for so long, and he rubbed it as he stood and looked around the room again, searching for the little omega. He didn’t see her, but the door to the bathroom was shut, so he moved to it to check if she was there.

Rapping on the door with his knuckle, he called her name, but there was no answer. Pressing his ear to the door didn’t bring him the sound of running water, so he knocked again before tapping the pad to open the door.

It slid back in silence, revealing an empty bathroom. Moisture lingered in the air and there were new bottles littering the counter, but no female.

Irrational fear flooded his system. They were on a ship and there was nowhere for her to escape to, but for her to have left the room without him realizing it had his instincts kicking into overdrive.

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