“Yes.”
No way could she manage that.The saboteur had yanked on the wires and damaged the terminals.No, it was beyond her capabilities.Grata, how far had they gone off course?They’d been in the debris field for a while.
“If I fix them, I expect a kiss each day and a favor—unspecified—that I can claim at a later date.”
The fine hairs at the back of his neck prickled, and his feline stretched again—not uneasy but curious.It was his alarms—the male—that shrieked a warning.Give the woman a little ground and she stomped all over it and demanded more.
“Are we far enough out of the debris field to put the ship on autopilot?There isn’t much room under there.I need someone to hand me tools.”
“Give it another ten mins.I don’t trust the autopilot.”
“All right.I’ll start on my own and do my best.”Gweneth selected three different tools and slid under the panels until only her legs and knee-high black boots remained visible.While he stared at her shapely legs, his mind darted to thoughts of them unclothed, wrapped around his hips.He closed his eyes, swallowed, cursed his traitorous body.
No.He must focus on getting this job done, getting safely back to Viros, getting away from Gweneth.
He was no good for a woman and not one like Gweneth.
No, he must allow Gweneth to meet other males.Worthy males.Males of better appearance and station than him.
He concentrated on steering the ship from danger and studied the navigation aid in an attempt to pinpoint their location.As he feared, they’d gone way off course, and he had no idea of how far they’d deviated.The navigation equipment had seemed to function, but once he’d started the autopilot, they’d been heading off course.
His gaze drifted back to Gweneth and her sexy legs.
Yes, with other more suitable males in the picture, she’d forget him soon enough.
Chapter 3
Thiswasn’tgoingtobe as easy as she’d thought.Gweneth chewed on her bottom lip as she followed the wires from source to terminal.Ah, clever.The saboteur had rerouted several of the wires.Interrupted, she decided, which explained why they’d yanked some wiring free.They hadn’t wanted to kill anyone, merely cause trouble, which made her frown.The way the saboteurs had rerouted the rest of the wiring reminded her of the training she’d received from Nanu and Kaya.Come to think of it… Yes, both her friends had disappeared for a time last eve.They wouldn’t, would they?
She unscrewed the homing terminals, just as Nanu had shown her and reinserted them in the correct ones.
The ship’s engines died when she removed another.
“What did you do?”A tetchy snarl.
She quickly screwed it back into the correct terminal.“Try it now.”The wiring she’d affixed earlier was correct, and when Ellard tried the engine starter again, the engine purred to life.
“Yes!”Ellard shouted.
She slid out to retrieve the special tool for the communication wiring.“We shouldn’t have a problem now.Is the navigational system working?”
Ellard appeared unconvinced, but he stabbed the overhead monitor, starting when it flicked to life.“Skillful job.”
His surprise was evident, and she wrinkled her nose at him.“You lacked belief in my talents and capabilities.Grrrr to you!I expect those kisses.You owe me.”
“You haven’t fixed the communication equipment yet.”
She rolled her eyes, selected her tool, and blew him a kiss.“No problem.”She slid back under the panel and made quick work of the task now that she understood how to fix the problem.And she had her suspicions regarding the culprits.She would keep quiet at present but grata, she’d have words with Kaya and Nanu on her return to Viros.She and Ellard could’ve been killed.After one final check of the wiring for the other ship utilities, she pushed herself out and stood.
She slapped the dust off her backside, almost laughing out loud when she noticed she’d captured his attention.“Time for that kiss now.A real kiss,” she added.“I expect more than a mere brush of lips or a peck.A real kiss is what we agreed on.”
He stared at her, that scowl taking possession of his features again.
“I said I’m ready for my kiss now.”While she should have experienced nerves, they remained absent.Instead, a sense of fun and excitement bubbled as Ellard eyed her as if she were a three-headed monster.The thought made her laugh.“I promise not to bite.”
But she might later on, she decided.His tight butt or his muscular chest.That chest… She sighed.It contained hard dips and curves.What she wouldn’t give to lick his torso, down over the indentations of his abs.
“This isn’t a sound idea.”The big male actually retreated.
