Olivia, though still a bit dazed from her churning Infala, nevertheless pushed up to her feet, forcing her way into the mix.
“Stop it, you two!” she shouted.
Incredibly, the men’s aggressions ceased immediately as soon as she was involved. They stepped back, breathing hard, skin chafed in a few places from the encounter but otherwise unharmed. But Olivia wasn’t done with them. Not by a long shot.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? What are you, a couple of twelve-year-olds?”
“He issued a challenge,” Arkness meekly replied.
“Oh, and you just have to accept it? This isn’t some dick-measuring contest.”
“Mine is longer,” Ryker quipped with a little grin.
“In your dreams,” Arkness shot back.
“For fuck’s sake, will you two stop it? Knock it off! You’re ridiculous. Both of you.”
Arkness picked his shirt up from the ground and slid it back on. “I am senior. You should accompany me.”
She got a good whiff of him as he donned his clothing, and the combination of sweat and combat had made him even more appealing than before. Even after her prior night with Rykker, she couldn’t help what her body was doing of its own accord.
“The challenge still stands,” Rykker countered, reluctantly putting his own shirt back on.
Olivia sighed.I’m going to have to be the adult here, it seems. “Okay, listen,” she said, moving to Rykker.
He smiled victoriously. It would not last.
“We need this ship to be able to fly when we find Harper, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re the only one who can fix it, right?”
He did not like where this was going. “Yes, again,” he replied.
“Then it’s settled. This isn’t playing favorites. This is the logical, tactical decision. Rykker, you get this ship fixed while I go with Arkness to rescue Harper.”
“But I can make the repairs quickly,” he protested.
“That’s great, but we don’t have time to wait. If you get it working, you go look at the other crash sites. Arkness was right. We need to cover as much ground as we can, as fast as we can. If there really are others searching the area, we can’t afford any more delays.”
Arkness managed to keep his victorious grin to a minimum. “She is right,” he said. “Especially if Raxxians might be in the mix. We would not want them finding her friend before we do.”
Rykker hated to admit it, but the logic was sound. He took a breath, settling his mind and pounding heart, then nodded once. “Very well. Go.” He locked eyes with his rival. “And Arkness, you will be on your best behavior.”
To his credit, Arkness didn’t smile or laugh, but the amusement in his eyes was clear. “Of course. I always do my best.”
“That’s not what I said. I?—”
“Enough. We all get it,” Olivia interrupted. “Let’s go already. Lead the way, we’re wasting daylight.”
“As you wish.” Arkness replied, then shouldered the small pack with a day’s worth of supplies and stared walking, the human woman following close behind.
Olivia looked back, meeting Rykker’s defeated stare. She flashed him a grin and a wink, then was gone, vanishing into the woods, leaving him to his task.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Olivia felt bad leaving Rykker behind the way she did, but the way the two men were behaving made it necessary for someone to step in and settle things. Unfortunately, she was the only third party present as well as probably being the only one they would listen to anyway.
