“The smell. It’s my shampoo. It’s coconut.” She swayed toward him, head tilted back and arms braced against his torso.
“Oh, it’s much more than that, little mouse,” he whispered against her ear.
“Ready, T’arq?” A deep voice broke into their little bubble.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Krystal stiffened and tried to pull away, T’arq releasing her reluctantly.
“Nice timing, Domik.” He might be the most intelligent of the team, a walking encyclopedia as CJ called him, but Domik really had awful timing.
Krystal stepped away, trying to smooth her hair and looking around with wild eyes. T’arq adjusted himself unhurriedly. Krystal’s gaze fixed on the crotch of his pants and he smirked.
“Have dinner with me.”
“What?” Her brows drawing together in confusion before lifting as the reality of what they had just done hit her. She crossed her arms against her chest and pursed her lips.
“Dinner. You need to eat, right?”
She shifted her weight to one side and cocked her hip. “You think that just because of that,” she waved her hand around between them, “I’m going to put aside my anger?”
“Come on, Krystal. What do you have to lose? It’s just dinner.”
She stilled, something shifting in her expression as she shook her head. “No. It’s never just anything with you, T’arq.”
An uncomfortable pressure built in his chest, and he shifted to take a step away. Had he so completely misunderstood her? Had she not been a willing participant? Was he so used to getting his own way that he had pushed her into something she didn’t want?
His stomach flipped at the thought. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you weren’t interested,” he said, taking a step backwards to give her more space.
Her eyes shot to his. “What?”
Laila and Zac appeared from around the side of the shuttle, having thankfully missed the interaction between him and Krystal.
“Hey, Krystal. Zac told you we’re heading off again?” Laila approached, oblivious to the tension between her sister and T’arq.
“Huh? No, he’s asked T’arq to babysit me,” Krystal replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “Thanks a lot.”
“What?” Laila turned to look at Zac, shaking her head.
“Why would you want to sit on a baby?” Zac asked.
Krystal and Laila shared a look, Laila gesturing for Krystal to join her and the two women walked away to talk quietly, heads close together.
Zac shook his head. “I will never understand humans.”
T’arq watched the two women for a long moment, before turning away with a sigh. Whatever had just happened with Krystal felt unfinished. He pushed his hair back from his forehead and sighed. She might not want to have dinner with him, but he needed to clear the air at some point. He’d just have to find her later. After she’d had some time for her anger to diffuse. Hopefully.
T’arq turned to Zac. “So, what’s the plan while you and Laila are away?”
He, Domik and Zac pulled up some stray chairs to sit seemingly casually. They didn’t have a base of operations. They didn’t even have an official name, instead just calling themselves the team. Their meetings changed location regularly, aiming to appear just a group of friends who were chatting while they worked.
Today they were next to T’arq’s stealth ship in the hangar he had left only the night before. The lights were now set to the daylight setting, and workers rushed about readying craft for departure and completing routine repairs. Nearby, a maintenance team was repairing a scrape on the floor of the hangar. The dull gray of the walls and floor was replicated in the uniforms the starship’s crew wore, only a colored band showing their role. The noise of their laser cutter, and that of the transports moving around the hangar, stood in stark contrast to the quiet of the night before. All the better to cover their voices.
The team often met on the shuttle that Domik and Oren flew on cargo runs, which was their cover. The brothers often took the slower cargo shuttle on supply runs to smaller stations that the Zataras couldn’t dock with. But that shuttle was in for maintenance today and currently crawling with mechanics.
“That information you collected yesterday from our contact on Irith’s Moons is why we’re heading off so soon. We think the Taurean Purists are planning an attack. We don’t know exactly where or when, but we have a lead that Laila and I will follow up.”
T’arq shot a look at the two human women, before leaning in slightly and saying in a low voice, “Do you think that it’s wise to take Laila? You know how they feel about humans.”
Zac scoffed. “Just try to keep her away.”
