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Chapter 6
Dallin was certainhe’d be winning the biggest dickhead award of the year. He’d hurt Sloane, and he never wanted to do that.
The taste of her still lingered in his mouth as he waited for the docking ramp to descend, and his cock was still hard from the feel of her in his arms.
Sloane stood slightly behind him, the speed of her breathing suggesting she was angry. And she had every right to be. He’d rejected her, but it was for her own good. She had to understand that.
Dallin glanced at her, hating the tension between them. “I overstepped the mark.”
She didn’t look at him. “Which mark do you think you overstepped?”
He grimaced. Sloane wasn’t going to make it easy on him, and he deserved nothing less. “I shouldn’t have kissed you.”
“I kissed you. You simply didn’t stop me. There’s a difference.”
“Sloane, I didn’t want you to stop. But we had to.”
“Let’s focus on what we’re here to do.” She shoved something at him. “I found these in a locker, not that you deserve them.”
He took the small package and opened it. There was a pair of wraparound blackout shades and noise defenders for his ears.
Dallin shook his head. Sloane was still helping him, even after he’d treated her so poorly.
“It might make being on the waystation bearable if everything is dim and muffled.” She lifted one shoulder. “No more fainting.”
“Thank you.” He fitted the glasses over his eyes and plugged his ears. The world dimmed, and his supersensitive eyes stopped aching.
“I figured damping down some of your senses would make this experience less painful for you. You’ll still be able to see fine, and those noise defenders don’t block out all sounds, just everything in the mid-range. High-pitched sounds will still bother you, but I figured you wouldn’t want to be totally without hearing.”
“They’re just what I need.”
“Good. And stick close to me when you can, until you’re comfortable on the waystation,” Sloane said. “I’ll look out for you. Are you ready?”
He nodded, trying to ignore his somersaulting stomach.
“Then let’s move.” Sloane went ahead of him, her soft sigh as she brushed past suggesting he had work to do if he was going to make things right between them.
Dallin stepped onto the landing area and took a moment to get his bearings. There were dozens of other aliens around, and so many smells they overwhelmed him. Engine fumes, oil, alien sweat, cooking food. It was too much.
Sloane’s light touch on his arm kept him centered, and he remained close by her side as they headed through the docking bay, checked in with security, and then entered a large open corridor with glittering lights in the ceiling.
Sloane tugged him to one side, and they stopped by a large wall of screens. “These display the waystation layout so everyone knows where to go.”
Dallin adjusted the ear defenders as a squealing group of aliens staggered past in sparkly clothing.
Sloane grinned as she watched them walk past. “That looks like a hen party.”
“Those hens need to be quieter.” He accessed the panel, bypassed the security system, and overlaid his own map on the waystation’s floor plan.
Sloane’s smile faded as she looked at all the routes they’d need to explore. “This is going to take a while. Are you sure about this? I could always do it on my own.”
“I’m sure. And we might be able to visit all the locations before the rest of the crew arrives,” Dallin said. “We should concentrate on the sites where most of them went during their last visit. Those bars seem popular.” He pointed to three locations. “And this store was also visited regularly.”
“I can guess why. It’s a bakery.”
“Let’s start at the bars since they’re close together and not far from here. Then we’ll try the restaurant we identified earlier. We’ll scan the sites, see if there are any traces of poison, and find out if anyone else has gotten sick.”
They headed away from the main corridor, Dallin careful to avoid any large groups of aliens. It felt strange to be close to so many strangers. The solitude and quiet of his lab seemed a long way away, and he missed it.
