I say a quick prayer to the Goddess, then jump back to the floor, where I start the chore of putting my things away.
CHAPTERFOUR
IGID
* * *
My body is still zinging from my brush with Brox as I slide into Treto’s spot as navigator. Everything is overly sensitive, from the tips of my breasts all the way to my toes. The worst part? I can’t stop thinking about the way Brox slammed my back against the wall, caging his body around mine, preparing to fight off any perceived assailants.
I am more than capable of protecting myself. Everyone I’ve ever let close to me knows this.Brox knows this.And still, he was ready to go to war because he thought I was in danger.
The block of ice that surrounds my tender heart starts to crack, which makes me angry. I do not have feelings like these for males. Especially not for cocky pups whosemotherhappens to be someone I think of as afriend.I don’t let many people close to me, but I hold Deja in high regard. We share an affinity, and I’m not about to let anything—not even her son—do something that might strain our friendship.
So, I do what I always do with strange feelings I’m not sure what to do with. I shove them deep, deep down inside. Then I throw up a thick wall with a lock so I can forget about them. Or at least try.
Calling up the nav program, I start working my way through the pre-flight checklist, making sure everything lines up. I’m thoroughly engrossed in this when Brox finally strides onto the bridge and takes his place as pilot at the helm.
Since it’s only the two of us, we’ll be taking on all of the crews’ jobs, which is fine with me. I flew theShadesolo for revs before taking on Rovos as my first crew member. Given my distrust of males, I still think back on that and wonder what it was about him that got me to trust him.
I’d recently broken ties with a small band of bounty hunters to strike out on my own. I was young and naive to the universe in a lot of ways, which is how I ended up broke and desperate. Down to my last credits, with no prospects for future jobs. I was stranded at the edge of Prime Nebula on a small station, rethinking if I was even cut out to be a bounty hunter.
That’s when I met Rovos. He was also stranded, in need of a mechanic—or more accurately, a miracle—to fix his ancient shuttle.
From the moment we met, we were kindred spirits. Both of us stuck, trying to find our way, but not knowing what way that needed to be. When Rovos learned I was a mechanic, he hired me to fix his junker of a shuttle. Desperate as I was for credits, and despite my distrust of males, I took him up on his offer. Maybe it was because he reminded me of another Vesen I’d once trusted.
Less than a rotation later, I found myself at one of the station’s bars, laughing with Rovos at where our paths had led us. Despite our vastly different pasts, I’d found an unexpected friend. Someone I could trust. By the rotation after that, Rovos managed to sell the shuttle for scrap and became my first crew member. With similar ideals, we decided to build our own bounty hunting team.
“Igid?” Brox’s voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I snap my head to the side. The slightly louder inflection and the way he’s looking at me make me think he called to me more than once before I heard him. “Are you ready to go?”
“I’ve been waiting for you,” I huff, willing away the heat creeping into my cheeks. I wasn’t, but I’m not about to admit that I was lost to my thoughts instead of focusing on our mission.
Settling himself back into his seat, Brox wastes no time getting our mission underway. His hands dash across the control panel as he calls up Control.
“This is Brox piloting theShade,requesting permission to leave atmo.”
Forcing my attention away from him, I do one last skim through the nav chart, checking our trajectory through the quadrants and into the neutral zone one last time before linking it to the main computer. Treto helped map a path through the asteroid field for us, using both star charts and his memory, with the plan to comm him when we get there so he can be an extra set of eyes. Ultimately, it will be up to Brox to find the hidden auction house.
The panels under my feet start to vibrate just before my stomach does a little flip when the engines wind up into a roar and we burst through Pamia’s atmosphere. Then again when Brox engages the hyperdrive. After all of that, it’s just a matter of setting the course and tolerating each other’s company for the three rotations it will take to reach the neutral zone.
Three. Fucking. Rotations.
Stuck on theShadewith Brox.
My eyes drift to where he sits at the pilot’s station. His back is to me, so I let myself watch him for a moment. Every move of his hands across the controls is competent. His voice when he speaks to the computer is clear and concise. Everything about him is at ease and, as much as I hate to admit it, he’s a talented pilot. Not even I can slip theShadeinto hyper so smoothly.
Without so much as a bump, we’re soaring through the stars, and he’s leaning back in his seat. I can just imagine the satisfied smirk on his face.
Would he have that same smirk after pleasuring a female? I can’t stop watching the way his long fingers deftly work across the controls. No doubt those hands know their way around a female just as well. My nipples tighten under my shirt, and heat flares between my legs, forcing me to squeeze my thighs together.
Where did that just come from?
Sitting up straighter, I shake those thoughts from my head. Why would I care what, or who, he does with his hands? My mind starts to wander again, and before I can stop myself, I start to wonder what those hands might feel like on my body.
Pushing my chair back, I jump to my feet.There will be no more ofthat.
“You okay?” Brox’s deep voice startles me, and I spin to find him watching me over his shoulder. His brow is wrinkled with concern. For me.
“Worry about theShade,not me,” I snap at him. “I’m fine.”
