Swallowing hard, I forced down the desire.“Why don’t we discuss the care and feeding ofFortuna’s engines somewhere else?”Somewhere the air wasn’t heavy with desire.
His fingers swept across my cheek and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.I shivered.Heat flared in his gaze and I was glad to see I wasn’t the only one still affected by our encounter.Our kiss.
“Good idea.”
“Let me finish cleaning up and I’ll meet you out there,” I said, when he didn’t leave.
After one last, long look, Dax turned and walked away.It wasn’t until I heard the clang of the door sealing shut behind him that I was able to take a full breath.
Ohmygod, that kiss!
There’d been a few interesting men on Elegium and I’d taken full advantage of the situation, but they hadn’t revved my engine the way Dax Cooper did.How the fuck was I supposed to survive on a ship with him?
17
Lacy
Alone in the engine room,I took a few minutes to recenter myself.Breathing in the oil-scented air cleared Dax’s fresh scent from my nose, but did nothing to erase the memory of his taste.
“Get it together, Lacy,” I muttered.I still hadn’t convinced him to help me find Layla, but I had an idea now.A good one.
I stowed the tools in the cubby under Engine 2 while crafting my argument.Then, when I’d procrastinated as long as I dared, I made my way back to the main section of the ship and checked the mess.No Dax.My next stop was the bridge.
Determined to be on my best behavior, no matter how much I wanted to just stroll onto the bridge, I stopped outside and knocked on the open door.“Can I come in?”
He turned away from a data screen to face me.“You’re asking this time?”Humor laced his voice.
My cheeks warmed, but I didn’t argue because I deserved it.“I can play nice.”
“C’mon in.”
He was sitting in the captain’s chair, which wasfine, it was his, but I still was drawn to it after my time onMako.
I took the navigator’s seat.He studied me a long moment and I tried not to squirm.“You’ve got something...”Trailing off, he gestured to his cheek.
Dammit.I wrapped my sleeve over my wrist and scrubbed at my cheek.“Better?”I prayed I hadn’t made it worse.
“Better,” he confirmed.“You’re sure the engines are running smoothly?”
“I’m sure.I gave them a little extra TLC, but they would’ve been fine until your mechanic got here and inspected them.”Would he take the opening and tell me that he didn’t have a mechanic?
“Good.When I saw you working on them, I got worried.”He stared at the stars outside.“Some days I worry that I bought the wrong ship.”
My eyes widened and I gasped at his blatant blasphemy.“He doesn’t mean that, baby!”I patted the console.“You’re a wonderful ship and he’s lucky to have you.”I continued to petFortunaso she didn’t get offended.
“Are you talking to my ship?”His voice was dryly curious.
“Yes!And you should too.She’s the one keeping you safe from the wonders of space.Didn’t they teach you anything in the space corps?”
He didn’t respond right away, so I glanced at him sideways.Was he going to laugh at me?I’d never met an engineer who didn’t speak to their ships and their engines.
“They taught us that our armor and our weapons provided that protection.”He paused.“Well, maybe not from space.But they taught us that our odds of survival were only as good as our gear.”
It was a smaller, colder way to put it, but yeah, I agreed.“Think ofFortunaas the biggest—and best—piece of gear you own.If you love her and care for her, she’ll do the same for you.”
“That a lesson from growing up in space?”
“I don’t think anyone ever said it out loud, but yeah, our ship was our home.Why wouldn’t we love her and care for her?”
