Chapter 3 #2
His face was inches from hers. The light was blinding, so his features were in shadow. She could make out his lips, though. Nicely shaped and far too full for a man.
“Okay, definitely nothing broken.” He reached back. When he straightened, he was holding a slim metallic object. “I’ll have it healed in a few secs.”
A medscope. The small object was capable of healing most simple to moderate injuries in a matter of minutes. They were very expensive. She sat still as he held it over her cheek. It bathed her in blue light.
“There you go.” He snapped the scope off. “I am sorry you got caught in our fight.”
“I’m fine.” She cocked her head. “Who was Niklas talking about? The man you want to prove wrong?”
Dathan’s mouth firmed into a line. “Nobody.”
She fingered her cheekbone and watched the shadows dance in his eyes. “Sometimes it hurts worse to hold it in.” When she realized what she said, heat filled her cheeks. Suva, she didn’t want to know Dathan Phoenix’s nightmares.
But he zeroed in on her now. “Let’s just say he’s the person who taught me to always be on my toes and watch for the ulterior motive.”
Did he really believe that? When he stood and pulled his shirt off, her thoughts scattered.
She got another view of his sleek body and her mouth went dry. When he turned to the side, she hissed in a breath.
“This happened just now?” She jumped off the bench and looked at the nasty cut on his side.
“No. Darc did it during our scuffle over the timepiece. I just hadn’t had a chance to heal it before you arrived.”
She bent over and studied the ragged edges of the cut. It was deep. “He threw a shuriken at you?”
“You know your ancient weapons.”
“Of course I do, it’s my job. I’ve always been fascinated by the weapons of ancient Japan.” Especially the small bladed throwing stars. “I didn’t know anyone still used them.”
“Yep. Well, a certain treasure hunter likes to mix the old with the new. And it was a she.”
Eos raised her head. Who the hell was this female treasure hunter? “Let me.” She tugged the medscope from his hand, switched it on, and held it over the cut. The flesh started to knit immediately, and she knew the light would eradicate any infection. “She could have killed you.”
“Nah, not with the throwing star.” Lazy amusement in his tone. “But when she zapped me with a Tase and left me twitching as Lumina’s suns were rising, she gave it a good shot.”
Eos sucked in a breath. He thought almost dying was funny. She remembered the way the space brigand who’d killed her mother had laughed in court. The same irreverent attitude to life.
She snapped off the scope and slapped it back in his palm. “You’re fine. Not even a scar. This time.”
He eyed her, then set the medscope back on the shelf.
She tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. “What do I have to do to convince you to take the job?”
He leaned back against the wall, crossed his ankles. “Just how far are you willing to go, Doc?”
Damn him. She needed him and his skills on board, and he wanted to play games. “Two days ago, a mining company scanning…let’s call it a distant moon, found evidence of an ancient settlement. The moon was believed to be uninhabited and never settled by sentient life forms.”
A spark of interest moved through his eyes. “What makes you think its Star’s End?”
“My mother believed she could trace her lineage back to old Earth.” She’d been so proud of that fact.
Eos felt the familiar bittersweet pain. “When I was a child, she told me stories that were passed down in her family. One involved Star’s End.
I thought nothing of it until I got older and went into astro-archeology. ”
“Go on.”
“The story held small details I didn’t realize were clues until later. I’ve narrowed down an area of space I believed the Terran colonists headed for. This moon is smack in the middle of that area.”
“You got concrete evidence your mother’s fairy tales are true?”
“Oral storytelling is a tradition on Vedia.”
“Right. So that’s a no.” He turned to leave.
“Hang on.” She gripped his arm. “The storytellers are trained in remembering facts and passing them on. I know the details are accurate.” She huffed out a breath. “Please, I need your help to find Star’s End and the Mona Lisa.”
He stepped close enough that their bodies bumped, and she fought back a gasp. He bent his head, his breath fanning across her cheek. “Why? Why’s this so important to you?”
A lump lodged in her throat. “Because it was important to my mother.” Because it was all Eos had in her life. A dream that kept her going.
“Your mother’s dead. Finding Star’s End and holding an old piece of painting won’t bring her back or make her proud, or whatever you think it will do for you.”
“I don’t expect you to understand.”
“You want my help?”
Her heart was thudding like crazy, banging against her ribs. “Yes.”
He moved until his mouth was an inch from hers. “How badly?”
Her lips parted but she couldn’t form any words. She felt a hand in her hair, tangling in the strands.
“I’ll help you, if you do one thing for me,” he whispered.
Desire ignited, a hot insistent burn in her belly.
She couldn’t believe he was doing this to her.
Males and romance were low on her priority list. She usually had no trouble ignoring her colleagues who asked her out.
The few she did date were interesting, intelligent companions, but they never made her pulse pound.
This man was none of the things she looked for in a man, with his scarred, lean body, and his wild blue-green eyes.
“Do what?” Her voice was a husky rasp.
“You have to give me something I want, Eos Rai.” He tugged her head back. “I want the Mona Lisa.”