Holy.Shit.
Her muffled moan threatened to trigger my own orgasm.But this one was for her.
Her body continued to shiver against mine, every little spasm pushing me a half step closer to the edge I was trying to walk back from.
“Oh my god,” she whispered against my neck.
I smiled against hers.
Slowly, tentatively, her legs loosened from around my hips and found purchase on the floor.It took longer for her to release her grip on my shoulders, so she once again lay beneath me.
Her breath came in rapid pants.“I can’t believe we just...I mean, anyone could’ve...wait, did you?”
“That was for you.”Bracing my weight on my knees and elbows, I dipped my head down to nuzzle her neck.I was still rock hard, but seeing her like this, gazing up at me with pupils blown wide and a hazy expression, was enough.
“I could...We could...”The flush that had started receding from her cheeks flared again.
I’d never seen her so flustered.Endearing and strange, it tugged at emotions that I wasn’t ready to explore.So I kissed her.Unlike our earlier lust-driven kisses, this one was tender, slower.
And infinitely more dangerous.
41
Lacy
“That’s stupid!”Burn broke into my explanation of how cargo hauling on Yarty worked.Small planet, known mostly for their beers, they had very specific requirements before they allowed you to take on any of their precious beers as cargo.
“Yeah, it is,” I agreed.“But they make the beers, they make the rules.”
We were sitting in the mess going over the unspoken rules of interplanetary cargo.The reason Burn had agreed to let me back onboardFortuna.She was proving to be a good student who took meticulous notes on her tablet, but every once in a while, the more arbitrary rules confounded her.
She stared at me wide-eyed.“But...”She stopped, started again.“How do people get things done?”
I shrugged.“I honestly have no idea.Magic?”It was as good a reason as any.
She leaned over her tablet, making notes of this latest crazy custom.
I watched her with a half-smile.There really was no method to my madness when it came to sharing my knowledge.Sometimes I stared at a map and let planet names tickle my memory.Other times, Burn or Dax asked about a specific planet.
They seemed almost disappointed when I had to remind them that I hadn’t been everywhere.That was when I pulled out some of the more outrageous customs.
I wasn’t the world’s best teacher—I liked engines better than people, so I could never do this for a living—but I was having a lot more fun than I imagined.
Plus, it kept my mind off my sister.And the upcoming rescue.And the new crew members who would be joining us.
Oh yeah, and yesterday’s sexy times with Dax.
I definitely needed the distraction.
“Maybe it’s some religious angle.Or the reason could be lost to time.It doesn’t matter why.What matters is not doing it will unravel any deal on Yarty and probably cost you any goodwill you may have built up.It’s rude,” I repeated.
“It’s stupid,” Burn echoed.
“Okay, fine.It’s a dumb superstition, but it’s the way it works.I’m sure your planet has customs that seem backward.”
“That’s because they are,” Burn muttered and shoved away from the table to start pacing.
Her reaction reminded me how little I knew about her.She was an adrenaline junkie.She’d been in the space corps.But I knew nothing about where she came from.Her reluctance to discuss it told me there was a story there.Same as me.
