"Trained for one?" I hadn't been trained beyond the basics. When I'd asked for more, a tech had patted me on the shoulder and said in his most condescending tone, "In an emergency situation, you'll need your flight suit and helmet. Without them, you'll die." So helpful.
"No." Sebastian's voice was a low growl. "I'll take it up with management when we get home." He sighed. "If we can even go home. If they send another crew to get us …"
"We can't stay," I said. "They'll run out of food. Isn't another shuttle coming next week?"
"Our competitors, Space Jet, are sending a manned crew."
"Could we ride back with them?"
He laughed. "Dad would absolutely hate it, so I'm tempted, but let's hope we can limp home on our own."
I didn't like the sound of that. I'd seen footage of shuttle explosions. Even if we survived, with perfect conditions, we could end up stranded in the ocean for hours, waiting for the cruise ship to find us.
"Don't worry," Sebastian said. "I'll get us home. I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Fear made me sassy. This was supposed to be a routine mission, but everything had gone haywire. Add to that the fewminutes my wolf had been on the outside instead of a voice I sometimes heard inside my head …
"I'm sorry," I said. "Today's been a lot."
"We should get some sleep." He sighed. "They won't let us help, so what else is there?"
My wolf could think of a pastime to keep us busy until Mari's spacewalk.
Sebastian inhaled sharply through his nose. "What are you thinking?"
"I thought you could read my thoughts."
He frowned. "Only when one of us is—" he curled his fingers like claws and swiped at the air, like that was what we looked like when we were wolves.
I laughed at him and stuck my fingers up on either side of my head, like I had wolf ears.
"You look ridiculous," he said.
"Not as much as you."
He grinned, and my heart melted a little. I was starting to like this nerdy billionaire, against my better judgment.
This time, when he unbuckled from his cot and drifted toward me, my pulse spiked for an entirely different reason.
"What are you doing?"
He pushed my hair from my forehead and trailed his fingers along the shaved edge above my temple. He leaned in, his golden-brown eyes only inches from mine, his gaze as intense as his wolf's. "You smell so good."
"I smell like I haven't had a real shower in three days," I reminded him.
My wolf rose to the surface of my awareness asSebastian trailed his lips along my neck, sucking lightly at the tendon.
"This is inappropriate," I whispered in his ear.
"Is it? The voice in my head keeps saying you're my mate."
"Mine, too."
"Don't you want to know where that leads?"
Gods, did I, but I also knew nothing good would come from it. A man like Sebastian Paska would never settle for a guy like me. It was unheard of.
"I'm not built for one-night stands on the space station." My whisper sounded harsh in the tight space.
