He scowled. “And if I want more?”
Nera stepped away from him. He was asking for the impossible. It was time for her to go. “I don’t have more to offer.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Nik stepped out of his cabin, gritty eyed. He’d slept like shit, haunted by sexy dreams of a dangerous and out-of-reach woman.
He strode down the corridor, intent on taking more of a look around the ship. He knew they’d docked at Enterprise Station during the night. He’d visited there once or twice. It was a nice, neat space station that existed mainly for trade. It had good security and clean, sparse corridors. It lacked the rustic charm of some of the space stations closer to the galaxy’s edge. And it had none of the danger of the truly wild ones like Galaxy’s Edge.
He watched the Institute crew bustle around, in their neatly pressed uniforms. He felt a pang of something akin to regret. When he’d first joined the Institute as a teenager, hungry for knowledge and with a huge thirst to learn, he’d loved being a part of something bigger than himself. Wearing that uniform had meant something to him.
Then he’d uncovered the dirty little secrets some of the people he’d respected were hiding. He shook his head. It was sad what some people would do for money.
He paused on the mezzanine level above the cargo bays. The large cargo door into the station was open. People hurried in andout, some operating small cargo lifts carrying pallets of goods, while others wore powered exosuits with mechanical arms for heavy lifting. Stacks and stacks of goods and supplies sat in neat rows. Avril certainly wasn’t short on money for this expedition.
“Sleep well?”
Like she’d stepped from his dreams, Nera appeared beside him, her impassive gaze on the controlled chaos below.
“Not really.” She was in another all-in-one black suit that hugged every one of her slim curves.
She leaned a hip against the railing. “Nightmares about Gunn?”
“No. Dreams about you.”
Her head swung back to him, her multi-colored eyes assessing. Then she turned back to the work below. “It appears they’re almost finished with the loading. I’d guess we’ll be underway soon.”
Frustration choked Nik. Nera wasn’t a coward. If she kept dodging him, she had reasons. Deep, dark ones he’d only guessed at. He focused back on the movement. He noted rations, weapons, and stacks of parts. All standard supplies. Then he frowned. “Are those containment boxes?”
Against the far wall were four large, reinforced boxes. They were heavy duty, with an electrical containment system built into them. He’d seen them used by animal hunters who captured exotic alien wildlife.
“They do look like containment boxes.” Nera stared at them. “Perhaps for storing the artifacts?”
“Yeah.” They could have been modified to be safe storage for artifacts.
But containment boxes kept things in, not people out.
A siren started wailing, and the large outer doors began to rumble closed. The crew was now busy securing the supplies on the deck with mag locks.
“Dr. Phoenix?”
Avril’s voice drifted up from below. He spied the astro-archeologist waving from the cargo area. He lifted a hand in return.
“We’re ready to get underway.” She ran a hand over her ponytail. “And thank you for your well-thought-out suggestions for the hunt. I’ve assessed everything and think we have a very good plan of attack.” Her gaze slid to Nera, her face taking on a slightly pinched look. “Ms. Darc, your input was valuable as well.” She smiled back at Nik. “See you on the bridge shortly.” She bounced away.
“She’s attracted to you,” Nera said.
Nik turned his head. “Huh?”
“Dr. Sickly Sweet wants to fuck you.”
He grunted. He didn’t really give a crap about Dr. Luma-Smythe. She seemed nice and competent, but best of all, she seemed to truly care about history and wasn’t a part of the darker muck of the Institute. “We should head to the bridge.”
Nera pushed away from the railing with a nod.
They navigated the corridors together. He was surprised to find the silence wasn’t charged. In fact, it felt kind of companionable.
They entered the bridge. It was large and spacious. Two tiers of curved desks with high-tech comp screens were manned by an efficient crew consisting of a mix of humans and alien species. Everyone was busy with pre-flight preparations, making ready to push back from the space station.
