Chapter 13 Lyra #2
“Anything you want to tell me about what I should expect down here?” he asks. His expression is pleasant—neutral—but the disappointment that still lingers in his eyes makes me feel ten kinds of rotten.
“Evie is a Strythian from Terrin-4. She was always a bit of a wild child, so when she hit puberty, her parents shipped her off to the Federation Military Academy. She was doing pretty well until she knocked out her instructor for, shall we say, mixed signals. After they kicked her out, she found a job as a salvage rat on a barge that brought her to Velusia right around the time my dad died, and—as my mom used to say, ‘Trouble sticks to trouble.’ She left when I got contracted to Brill, finding other salvage work around the sector, and has presumably worked her way up to site manager here. She’s smart as hell, tough as nails, and happens to be one of the only people in my life who hasn’t tried to kill me, sleep with me, or steal from me,” I admit.
“Considering the warm welcome she gave you, I’m assuming you didn’t pay her the same courtesy?” Orion asks with a raised brow.
I frown and, stars help me, actually blush under the weight of his disapproval. What is happening to me? This is ridiculous.
“Well, I won’t go into a lot of the dirty details, but the last time I hunted her down, I may have accidentally run off with something important to her,” I say.
“A ship? A chip full of credits? Precious metals, gemstones, or other valuables?” he wonders, shaking his head.
Actually, it was one of the better performing salvage workers from the Hephaestus. Lyra became sexually intimate with the Dreller and brought him onboard with her, then left the station without permission or approval for his leave.
“Thank you, Ada, for that very helpful contribution,” I grumble.
You’re welcome. Please give Ms. Redfern and the Hephaestus computer my regards.
“I will not! The two of you are the worst sort of gossips when you get together,” I say, shaking my head.
“So, you did actually move to kidnapping,” Orion accuses, folding his delicious arms across his even more delicious chest.
“Kidnapping? Ha! Jorax was very much a willing participant, I’ll have you know. And I got my karmic retribution, anyway. He bailed as soon as we stopped to resupply. That bastard Dreller was only using me for a ride,” I say. “In more ways than one.”
Displeasure radiates off Orion, but I don’t know if it’s judgment for my choices or a spark of jealousy. I tilt my head at him, but don’t press.
“I take it Evie wants you to pay out the remainder of his contract, then?” he surmises.
“Yeah, and she wants me to apologize, which is frankly ridiculous,” I sniff. “I mean, we’re all adults here. It’s not my fault Jorax went AWOL. At least, it’s not entirely my fault. Maybe a little? Okay, 15% my fault.”
Orion glares at me.
“25% my fault, final offer. Anyway, if it means short-term refuge for us, fine. I can play nice and apologize. We should get this over with before I lose my nerve,” I say, blowing out a breath.
Orion nods, placid expression firmly in place. His outward calm stokes my anxiety, pulling my frayed nerves taut. He straightens his uniform and leans against the corridor, waiting for me to open the outer bay doors.
“Hey, so…are we—are we good?” I ask, wondering if I’ve ever felt so unsure of myself after taking someone to bed.
He arches a brow.
“I don’t know how you want me to take that question,” he replies.
I fling my hands up in exasperation. “Take it however you want, if it’ll give me an honest answer.”
Pushing himself off the wall, he steps toward me.
“Well, morally speaking, I think I’m pretty good, but there’s some room for debate regarding where you stand,” he murmurs, crowding me back against the wall. “If you’re asking me if we’re good together sexually, then yeah, I’d say we were very good, but that’s just my opinion.”
Just like that, the smoldering embers of my desire roar back to life, engulfing my rational mind in memories of his touch—his taste. I reach for him, only to catch myself at the last second and fist my hands down at my sides. I’m the one who told him no, I remind myself miserably.
“Then again,” he continues. “If you’re asking me if I have a problem with where we stand with each other given everything that’s happened and what we’re about to head into—I told you before, Lyra.
I respect your decision. I’m not going to pretend it’s what I want, when every cell of my body is clamoring for me to fuck you until the stars burn out, but those are my feelings to deal with. Not yours.”
It takes all of my strength and then some to stop my body from arching toward his. My instincts beg me to throw myself at him—to bury my face in his neck and wrap my limbs around him in a death grip. Don’t let me do this, my heart implores him. Don’t let me push you away.
“Good,” my voice cracks. “Good. Yes. We’re good. Okay.”
The corner of Orion’s lip twitches.
“Are you?” he presses.
“Am I good? Stars, no. I’m a fucking mess. But as long as you’re good, we’re good.” I’m incredibly impressed with my ability to reach new levels of awkwardness, especially with some guy who might still be considering sending me to prison.
I move to pull the hatch on the door open, but Orion stops me, grazing a finger across the cut on my lip.
“We’re good,” he repeats.
My traitorous heart hangs on the words, desperate for them to mean more than the casual reassurance he probably intends. Insides roiling, I nod and pull down the hatch.
“Don’t get too comfortable, Ada,” I mutter.
“There’s still a chance we’ll need to head out at a moment’s notice.
I’m going to ask Evie about the hull repairs to see if we can get them going as soon as possible, but do me a favor and start running a full diagnostic.
I want to know what kind of shape we’re in, in case Kraxis catches up to us. ”
Noted. Good luck. Try not to steal anything this time.
“Hey, Dickhead,” Evie spits, one hand hovering above the plasma pistol she always keeps belted at her waist. “Stars, you look like shit! What kind of trouble are you in now?”
She looks exactly the same as the last time I saw her—wavy blue hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, pale lavender skin shining with sweat, thick navy jumpsuit decked with grease and dirt.
I’m pretty sure that smudge of machine oil atop the orange freckles is in the same exact spot.
The crow’s feet around her moonstone-colored eyes are a little deeper, the laugh lines around her full lips a little more pronounced, and her voluptuous hips a littler rounder, but she’s still the same ‘ol Evie.
“No more than usual,” I reply, eyeing her with equal wariness. “I see you’re the boss now. Who’d you have to threaten to make it to site manager out here?”
“Threaten? Oh, that’s rich coming from you. You know, some of us have ambition beyond finding the most fuckable way out of any situation. I happened to earn my way into my job, no thanks to you abducting my best worker,” Evie shoots back.
I cock a brow at her.
She returns with a fierce stare of her own, until her lips twitch and a grin of pure sunshine lights up her face.
“It wasn’t exactly a threat,” she finally admits. “And Jorla was a slug! He was lazy, stupid, never kept up with his paperwork and didn’t give a shit about the men. I deserved this job, anyway. I’m certainly better at it than anyone else on this floating garbage pile. Isn’t that right, guys?”
The two Drellers flanking her at the bottom of the landing platform grunt in unison.
I bark a laugh. “Stars, I missed you, you grumpy hag!”
“You libidinous terror! I can’t believe you stayed away for so long,” she chuckles, striding toward me with arms outstretched.
“It’s good to see you,” I exhale, breath squeezed out of me in Evie’s iron-banded hug. “I’m sorry about Jorax. That was rotten of me.”
Evie pulls back to cast a disapproving look at me.
“I don’t appreciate the selfishness, but I was more worried than anything. Jorax wasn’t particularly smart, and you were scraping the bottom of the barrel with him. Still, he was a good worker. I was sad to lose him. Sadder it kept you away.” She chucks my chin with her fist.
“I was a proper asshat to do so,” I nod.
“I take it this surly tower of sex is the aforementioned scorcher?” Evie smirks, gesturing to a confused, concerned Orion.
“Ranger Asterth,” he says, inclining his head in greeting. “Orion to my friends.”
“Well, I sure do hope we can be friends,” Evie says, fanning herself and flashing me her favorite are-you-serious look.
“Let’s head into my office. You can tell me more about the mess you’re currently inhabiting, and I’ll see what I can do for you.
Jerrin, head down and see if we have any available space in the barracks for a couple of refugees. ”
“You’re the best, Evie. I’ve got something onboard just for you,” I say, relief easing some of the tightness in my shoulders.
She snorts. “If you think you’re going to sauce me up on that wretched Zorium moonshine again, you’re mistaken. Just because I live and work on a salvage station doesn’t mean I go without life’s little comforts. I’ve upgraded since you’ve been here last, Pinky Pie.”
“Well, color me impressed! I’m ready to be dazzled,” I say with a laugh. “Before we go in, any chance you can have one of your mechanics take a look at the Aldrin? There was a lower hull breach and I think she needs a patch. I’m having Ada run a full diagnostic now.”
Evie nods and gestures to the remaining Dreller, who hurries off to do her bidding. She eyes Orion with interest, flashing him a blinding smile full of fangs, and links arms with him to lead us into the station’s main floor.
“So, Ranger Asterth! I hope you’ll tell me all about Xylothia. I’ve always wanted to go, you know. I hear the temples are some of the most impressive forms of early engineering this side of Andromeda.”
The pride and joy radiating from Orion’s smile would melt tungsten—igniting a flare of jealousy that burns just as hot within my chest. How come he’s never looked at me like that?
Oh, right, because whenever we talk, we end up fighting or doing something dangerous.
Or maybe because he’s a prime specimen of super hotness who oozes honor and the only thing I ooze is boner juice.
“Yes, my jurisdiction actually covers three of our biggest temples, including the Terrestrial Temple, the Temple of the Lost Sea, and the Celestial Temple. Each one honors a different Xylothian deity,” he replies, clearly warming to Evie and her rapt interest.
“Is it the Celestial Temple that has the map of all those legendary star systems?” Evie asks, steering us down a winding corridor of rusting, creaking metal.
Red-gold light filters up through the grates in the floor and makes the condensation on the walls glitter like jewels.
The air in the station is too warm and thick with cloying, metallic-tainted humidity that doesn’t seem to bother Evie, Orion, or the dozens of Drellers doing various tasks to keep things running smoothly.
I tug at the collar of my jumpsuit and blow a cool stream of air down my front, irritation rising along with my temperature.
“It is,” Orion says. “In fact, that’s actually where I ran into Lyra.”
“No shit! Let me guess—stealing something? Our Lyra can be a slippery fish,” Evie tosses a wink over her shoulder at me. “How’d you manage to catch her?”
“I knocked her out with my plasma rifle,” Orion chuckles, the synesfores on his neck shifting to a soft purple that almost matches Evie’s skin.
Evie grips Orion’s shoulder to keep her balance as she laughs uproariously at my expense. Their jovial bonding and the sticky heat of the salvage station make me sourly wish I’d taken my chances with Kraxis and the rest of his lizard vermin aboard the Edax Deorum.
After what’s become the longest hallway of my life, we finally reach a massive hatch with a heavy iron bolt. Evie wrenches the lock open one-handed and ushers us into her office with a welcoming sweep of her arms.
“Come in, take a load off, and tell me why you look like shit and your fucked-up ship is parked in my garage.”