Atrophy (20 page)

Steam rolled out along the floor and wafted through the air, sweet scented, tempting him onward. The shower stall came into view, the sheer crystal partition mostly misted over, but giving him a glimpse of those curves he hadn’t stopped thinking about since the first day he’d met Zahli. With a rough movement, he whipped his shirt off, hoping she didn’t go nuclear.

He swung the screen away. A rupture of steam washed over him and he stopped short, the toes of his boots at the edge of the welling water.

Zahli turned as he reached for her, surprise one of the many emotions that crossed her face. He didn’t give her a chance to say anything, didn’t want any words to mess up something that should have been simple between them. He concentrated on her face, knowing if he looked anywhere else, he’d never get out of this shower—the last place in the entire universe he wanted Rian to catch him.

Instead, he studied her watery eyes, her cheeks flushed pink from the steam, the brush of freckles across her nose, and the passionate warmth lighting her eyes when she comprehended what him being here meant.

He couldn’t ever hurt again, would rather face Rian’s wrath and risk losing his place on the
Imojenna
than see pain in Zahli’s expression.

Not daring to move his hands from the chaste roundness of her shoulders—because if he touched her anywhere else he’d be lost—he leaned down and caught her lips, tasting her tears and wanting to kick his own ass for being the cause of them. The urge to pull her flush against him, to shove her up against the wall and slide naked and wet against her hit him hard, like a drug in his system, like an addict trying to resist the high.

With a groan, he broke the kiss and pulled back. She touched her hands to his chest, her skin heated from the water as though she had a fever.

“Tannin—”

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers.

“Please, don’t say anything. I have to go back up to the galley. Rian’s waiting for me.” He took one breath and then another, before straightening. “You were right, and I’m an idiot. Some things are more important, and I should know that better than anyone. I’m not making any promises, and obviously Rian can’t ever know about this, but I need you to know that
you’re
what’s more important to me, Zahli.”

He dropped his hands from her and moved back, then swung the screen back between them. She grabbed the edge and looked around it, watching him with a teasing smile as he bent to pick up his shirt. “Tannin—”

He held up a hand then shrugged into his top. “Nuh-uh. I told you not to say anything. Not one word. Otherwise I’ll be in that shower and all over you. And when Rian comes looking for me, I’m pretty sure his pissed off face will be the last thing I ever see.”

“Your loss.” She ducked back behind the screen and stretched, running her hands over her wet hair where it streamed along her back. Groaning, he spun away from her and avoided stepping on her clothes as he retreated into the main room.

“Not for long,” he murmured to himself. As he tapped the crystal display to open her door, he heard her humming, the soft melody rolling out of the privy along with the steam. It took him two tries to put the right commands in because he was too busy picturing her as he’d last seen her, posing for him, teasing him, tempting him to throw caution to the wind.

Okay, so he’d decided to defy Rian, but that didn’t mean he had a death wish. Enough self-preservation won out over his lust to stop him from taking a stupid risk.

He jogged back up to the galley, surprised Rian hadn’t come looking for him already. Callan and Jensen had joined Rian at the table, full glasses of Violaine all round. Lianna had presumably gone to bed, while Ella and Kira had already retreated to their cabins earlier.

“What happened?” Rian asked as he approached the table.

Tannin shrugged. “She’s still not happy, but we talked. Things should be okay. It won’t cause you any more trouble.”

Rian looked down at his legs and then back up again. “And?”

“And what?”

“Your legs are wet.” Jensen indicated with a nod.

Oh Christ
. He glanced down at the splashes of water that darkened patches of his pant legs. “Yeah, I knocked over that bottle of water she had.”

Lame
. It sounded so lame. But plausible. Rian looked suspicious, but that wasn’t unusual. The three returned to their conversation as he dropped down into one of the free seats.

He only half listened as Rian talked schematics and subterfuge. Taking a mouthful of the Violaine, Tannin hoped it’d go some way to calm the heavy pounding of blood through his veins.

Tight anticipation and desire rode him.

He wanted Zahli more than he’d ever wanted anything, even more than he’d yearned for freedom. Exactly how long he could live on the edge like this?

Chapter Sixteen

“T
ell Uzair the rest will be paid in due course.”

Zahli crossed her arms and watched as Rian handed over the whole nineteen and a half thousand credits she’d managed to talk Payton out of to the two rough-looking men who’d delivered the delta-shield. And just what did her brother mean by “the rest”? How much could he have possibly agreed to pay for the frecking thing?

Jensen maneuvered the hover-pallet into the engine room and then he, Callan and Tannin lifted the main unit off and set it close to where it would be spliced into the engine. Zahli tilted her head as Tannin bent, the muscles in his shoulders and back flexing taut against the thin material of his shirt as he moved a few of the smaller components.

Part of her refused to believe what’d happened last night, insisting the shower scene had been a wine-induced hallucination. Of course, if it had all been in her head, Tannin certainly wouldn’t have left after one brief kiss. No way. He would have gotten naked and joined her, taken her to bed,
and then
told Rian he cared for her, so the frecking rules could go to hell.

But if she’d needed proof that last night’s brief encounter had been real, the heated, intimate smile Tannin had given her first thing this morning would have confirmed it. He looked a little rough around the edges, tired eyes and scruffy hair, but all the guys had turned up at breakfast sporting a similar appearance. Apparently it’d been a late night as they’d planned how they might get proof Isah Ayden was really a Reidar.

The two thugs took their hover-pallet and walked down the ramp as Rian went into the engine room to inspect the
Imojenna’s
latest upgrade. Tannin came over and leaned against the bulkhead next to her, brushing dust from his hands onto his pants. She bit her lip over a smile, enjoying having him near, wondering if she dared get closer, wondering how far she could push the boundaries before her brother worked out something was going on between them.

Rian paced around the parts as Jensen got down next to the main unit, pulling a panel off the side and looking in.

“Let me guess. You want to know how long it’s going to take to install?” Jensen’s voice echoed a little from inside the shield generator.

Stopping once he’d completed a lap, Rian crouched down next to Jensen, bracing a hand against the shield’s outer armor.

Jensen continued, “If Lianna and I work through the night, we’ll have this installed at about this time tomorrow. Of course, then we’ll have to run sims and worst case scenario—”

“We’ll do that once we’re on the way to the Tetsu transit gate.” Rian pushed back to his feet.

“Why aren’t we going through the Rim gate?” Zahli asked as Rian walked back toward her.

“If we travel through a less-used gate, security is likely to be more lax and not notice any glitches in our authorization codes.”

Rian brushed past her, so she followed him out of the engine room, Tannin keeping up beside her. “And what are we supposed to do for food this month? Even the protein powder for the meal replicator is getting low.”

“I sent Kira to the trade depot to see what jobs we might be able to pick up in the region of space we’re heading for.” Rian reached the stairs and paused. “When she gets back, find out how much currency she made and organize supplies. But don’t spend too much. I need to make a payment for the shield.”

She frowned at him. Why had he sent Kira to secure their trade arrangements, which was her main responsibility on the ship? But instead of calling him on it, she tackled the bigger issue. “How much did you agree to pay for the shield?”

He turned and jogged up the stairs. “You don’t need to know. Just get the supplies and don’t pay too much for them.”

She threw up her hands. “He goes and blows a fortune on some stupid piece of tech we don’t need, but doesn’t want me to spend too much on food. Why do I have to be the one who deals with that?”

Tannin stood a few steps away from her and she caught his grin, though he tried to hide it by folding his arms and bracing a hand against his mouth.

His light expression took away most of her annoyance, replacing it with the buoyant, bubbly feeling she got whenever she looked his way, but she pointed a finger at him. “You were there. You know how much he paid for it, don’t you?”

“I’m not saying anything. I might be willing to flout some of Rian’s rules, but currency definitely isn’t worth getting maimed over.”

Moving closer, she raised an eyebrow. “And just what rules might you be willing to defy?”

He glanced over his shoulder then looked back at her. Tannin touched a finger to her chin and she tilted her head back, breathing out a long sigh. When he studied her so intently, she didn’t want to do anything except melt into a puddle of goo at his feet.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. You shouldn’t tease me, because I’ll get my revenge.” His green eyes darkened as his gaze dropped to her lips.

A fluttering tingled through her stomach as she touched her lips to his with the lightest pressure, taking simple pleasure in the feel of his mouth against hers, demanding nothing, yet promising everything.

A drift of laughter and chatting voices had her pulling away from him, a flush of heat rising over her skin.

Kira had returned with another hover-pallet droning its way up the ramp. Tannin stepped back, touching his lips. This time, his smile was pure wickedness and it sent a lance of unadulterated lust spiking through her system.

Holy frecking stars
.

Tannin would be the end of her. If she forgot there shouldn’t be anything going on between them and threw herself at him, she’d probably combust from all the heat he ignited within her. She didn’t know how much more she could take—the teasing, the sneaking around and having to pretend like she hadn’t fallen for him.

A different kind of heat streamed through her, bursting from her heart.

Maybe she should have been more surprised at the revelation, but as she stole another look at Tannin, with his soulful green eyes, the profile of his jaw, and the fall of his thick, black hair, she knew it’d been coming since the first day she’d seen him on Erebus, prison inmate or not.

“I got us some great deals.” Kira handed over her commpad, which had a schedule listed on the screen.

Zahli looked down at the display, her mind going blank for a moment as Tannin leaned closer to read over her shoulder. She shook her head, attempting to get her brain back into working order, trying to ignore the enticing scent and warmth of him as she studied the information.

Ten crates of metium ball bearings delivered within two rotations to Kearny Mining on Tetsu; one thousand credits.

That gave them a good start. She ran a finger across the screen to scroll to the next page, but almost dropped the commpad when the data appeared.

Passenger transit OR-789. Captain Admiral Zander Graydon to rendezvous with the
Swift Brion
in orbit around Tetsu: four thousand credits.

The currency was a fortune for a single passenger. But it’d been years since they’d flown any passengers, because Rian didn’t like having them on-ship. There was a trust issue, plus he worried the Reidar would put someone onboard to take him out. The two guest rooms had since been turned into storage. And worse, this passenger was an IPC officer. A captain admiral, at that. The
Swift Brion
was one of the IPC’s flagships. With all the
slightly illegal
modifications going on, not to mention Tannin’s presence, having an IPC officer onboard would be about the dead last thing Rian would want.

“A passenger run, Kira? I’m not sure Rian will go for that. Did you look at who the passenger was?” She handed the commpad back.

“No, I just saw the amount and the destination and figured—” Kira frowned as she read the screen. “Oh no. Rian’s going to kill me.”

“Its fine, I’ll get him to override the acquisition.” She took the commpad back again.

“Why wouldn’t the officer take an IPC ship?” Tannin asked, following her up the steps.

She shrugged. “Sometimes there’s not a ship available or it’d be faster to take a private transport rather than wait, while some officers are just as happy to travel by public transfer.”

“But a captain admiral? You’d think someone as highly ranked as that wouldn’t go anywhere without an entire fleet of security personnel.”

They passed Lianna at the top of the stairs on her way down to help Jensen. Up on the bridge, Callan sat in the pilot’s chair, while Rian stood behind him, looking at the data streaming across the viewport.

“Kira organized two jobs for us.” She passed Rian the commpad.

“Five thousand credits. Good.” He handed the device back and returned his attention to the screen as Callan muttered a couple of swear words about a hole in the authorization codes.

Annoyed at his dismissive gesture, she moved around so she didn’t have to talk to her brother’s shoulder. “But did you see what the currency is for?”

“Delivery and passenger transport.” He still didn’t look at her, seeming absorbed in whatever Callan was doing.

“A passenger who happens to be the captain admiral of the
Swift Brion
? Don’t you think that might be a small problem?”

Rian ran quick fingers over the display, changing around the torrents of ciphers, the beads on his wrist clinking. “Why would that be a problem?”

This time she didn’t bother trying to hide her frustrated sigh. She leaned a hip against the command console and tilted into Rian’s line of vision.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because our tech analyst is an escaped prisoner. Or maybe because we’ve got a priestess onboard who has a two million credit bounty on her head. Or maybe because we’ve got a new delta-shield sitting in the middle of our engine room that didn’t come with any authentication papers. Or just maybe, it’s because even now you and Callan are forging authorizations to say we’re permitted for gate travel when clearly we’re not.”

Rian put a hand on each of her shoulders and moved her out of his way. “Captain Admiral Graydon will be aboard for little more than a rotation, and as long as we don’t give him any reason to suspect we’re doing anything we shouldn’t be, he won’t. I used to be one of them, remember? I think I can handle one IPC officer.”

She glared at him. “One of these days your reputation isn’t going to keep you out of trouble any longer.”

“And until that day, I’m taking the ride for all I can get. Now go and make sure one of the guest rooms is in decent condition.” He waved her toward the hatchway as he looked at Tannin. “We could use some of your knowledge with this. Callan knows how to alter the ciphers, but the program keeps punching holes in it.”

“Did you access the base parameters before you added the cipher foundation?” Tannin moved closer to the viewport, studying the figures running across the display and just like that, she was forgotten.

With another sigh, this time for apparently being less interesting than a computer, Zahli went down to the guest-slash-storerooms to clear one out. Luckily it didn’t take too long—though she left making up the bed with fresh linens for the time being—and after that, she headed down to make sure the crates got stowed away correctly. As she passed the crew level, Miriella came out of her room, looking a little lost.

Zahli hesitated. She hadn’t really spoken to the priestess since she’d come aboard because of everything going on with Tannin. It must have been hard for the woman, being kidnapped and then told she couldn’t go home. Not to mention the fact that every bounty hunter and half of UAFA would be after her for that prize. And Rian had told the priestess she could no longer leave the ship. Although, from what she’d heard, the priestess could use her mojo on them and go wherever she wanted. And there wouldn’t be anything anyone could do about it.

So, why stay with them, especially since Rian continually made it clear he hated having her around? He couldn’t even stand being in the same room. Zahli knew she hadn’t been the only one to notice Rian’s swift departures whenever the serene priestess was around.

“Did you need something, Miriella?”

The priestess stood in the middle of the passageway, doing that uncanny-still thing that seemed to be second nature to her.

“Please, call me Ella. This might seem stupid, but everyone has something to do, and I’m just wandering around, taking up space. Back home on Aryn, my days were filled with duties I was required to perform. Now that I have nothing to do, I find myself at odds.”

Zahli indicated the general direction of the stairs. “I’m going down to make sure the cargo is stored away properly, and then file paperwork with the spaceport authorities before tomorrow’s launch. It won’t be very entertaining, but you’re welcome to come.”

“It’d be better than sitting around thinking about
things
.”

She waited for Ella to catch up with her. “I can understand. I always like to have a task to keep me busy when I’ve got a lot on my mind. And I guess since your whole life has been turned upside down, you have an awful lot on your mind.”

Ella shrugged. “Actually, I don’t believe my life has been turned upside down, I believe that I’ve simply been set on a different path to that I expected. It’s not bad or wrong, just new. Something I’ll adjust to.”

She glanced at Ella as they reached the cargo bay floor, finding the woman’s expression clear and untroubled. It was hard to tell how old she might be. Her youthful features could have been that of an eighteen year old, but her serene expression seemed much older and wiser, like seeing the life-experience of a thirty or forty year old.

“That’s really well adjusted of you. Most people would be doing everything they could to get back home to their old life. I know I would be. What are you going to do?”

“For now, stay onboard the
Imojenna
. I get the feeling you could all use someone with a few extra abilities around. Plus, Rian said it wouldn’t matter where I went, either the Reidar or a bounty hunter would find me. There’s not much point trying to go anywhere if that’s the case.”