Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
The Grum-Rou way station looked like one of the “dive bars” Evie had seen in historical photos. Everything in it was at least four decades out of date, and some things looked much older than that. It smelled like engine coolant and centuries of body odor from dozens of species.
Evie followed Jarran through the shuttle bay and into the main corridor, staring everywhere, like a tourist. Grime had filled in every seam of the floor panels.
Lights flickered overhead and two were fully dead.
There was a dubious stain on the wall near the entrance that she chose not to examine closely.
A handful of stalls lined both sides of the corridor, crammed together, staffed by aliens of species she’d never encountered before.
They sold things that looked like garbage.
Actual garbage, in some cases. Scrap metal.
Used components with visible corrosion. Containers of liquid in colors that didn’t occur in nature on Earth and probably shouldn’t occur anywhere.
One vendor appeared to be selling live insects from a tank, though whether as pets or snacks, Evie couldn’t tell and didn’t want to ask.
Still, it was fascinating. They were in the deep-space equivalent of a truck stop. Evie had been to a truck stop once, outside Tucson, at two in the morning, but it was cleaner and better lit.
Jarran moved through it without hesitation. His height and bulk cleared a path, and his dark expression did not invite questions. Evie felt conspicuously human and profoundly out of her element.
The lodging counter was a window cut into a metal wall, staffed by an alien with mottled gray skin and four arms, two of which were occupied with eating something from a pouch. The alien barely looked up when they approached.
Jarran asked for a room in Universal.
“Bed or tank?” the alien responded, still barely looking up.
“Bed.”
The alien grunted, peered at the two of them as if calculating size, then began tapping something into a screen.
“What’s with the tank?” Evie whispered as they waited for the alien.
Jarran shrugged. “There must be species in this region who rest submerged in a liquid.”
Evie mouthed the word wow, and the alien grunted out what sounded like a number. There was a brief and confusing discussion about payment, then they were handed two thin metal cards through the window.
“Room code and meal vouchers,” the alien said, and that was it. No identification requested. No questions about why a massive Virilian male and a human female needed a room on a way station in the middle of nowhere. The alien went back to the food pouch.
“How are we paying for this?” she whispered, worrying about what happened to people who didn’t pay their bills in places like this.
“It’s common at stations like this for payment to be made after a trade deal happens, so I told him I’d pay after we conducted our ‘business.’ Don’t worry,” he said as her brow creased.
“Sifter ships are stocked with weapons and other equipment, even small ones like the one we took. We’ll find something in in to settle up with.
We won’t be here long enough to rack up large fees.
” His brow furrowed. “I got us one room. We need to stay together at all times.”
“Oh. Okay.” She couldn’t argue with that last point, even if the payment details sounded sketchy.
“Good.” He cocked his head. “Are you hungry?”
“Stars, yes,” Evie said on a sigh, and followed Jarran toward the galley deck.
The food was served through a slot in a grease-stained wall.
There wasn’t a menu, except to specify what kind of digestive system one had.
Evie took her tray of gray and brown lumps and sat down opposite Jarran in the cafeteria-style eating area.
She took a bite and decided it was better than nothing.
The lukewarm bites tasted like salt and starch, with no other discernible flavor.
Evie ate every morsel. She would have eaten more if the voucher allowed a second helping.
Jarran finished his tray faster than she did, which was impressive given the flavor situation. He set his utensil down and leaned back. “I’ve had worse.”
“Where?” she asked. “In a dumpster?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “On the Korath-7. The Baylans occasionally served a protein cube that tasted like compressed chalk.”
“I remember those cubes.” She grimaced. “You’re right. This is an upgrade.”
He looked at her across the narrow table.
The galley was loud and grimy and crowded with aliens she couldn’t identify, and the overhead light turned everything a sickly yellow.
All the while, Jarran watched her with a different kind of hunger that had nothing to do with the size or quality of their meals.
“Stop looking at me like that,” she said. “I’m covered in bath salt residue and I haven’t brushed my teeth in two days.”
“I don’t care.”
“You will when I breathe on you.”
He laughed. It was still rough and unfamiliar, but it came easier now than it had on Durik’s ship. She liked the way it changed his face. The hard lines softened. His eyes creased at the corners. He looked younger and lighter and almost…happy.
She caught herself staring and looked away. The galley was thinning out as diners shuffled toward the exits, trays discarded in a bin that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since the station was built.
“You know what I keep thinking?” she said. “Nobody’s watching us.”
Jarran tilted his head.
“No guards,” she said. “No energy barriers. No locked suite in an enemy ship. We’re just here. Nobody gives a shit who we are.” She paused. “It’s the most normal I’ve felt in a while.”
His eyes glinted as they passed over her. “I was thinking something similar.”
“Yeah?” Oh boy. This was heading somewhere, and it was heading there quickly.
“I was thinking that we should turn in to our room.” He looked away, then back at her. “If you’d like.”
The words had a heady meaning, and she didn’t pretend to misunderstand them.
She didn’t say anything for a moment, because her heart had started beating fast and the heat that had centered between her legs was making her squirm.
Instead, she reached across the table and put her hand on his.
His fingers curled around hers immediately. Warm. His skin was always so warm.
“I would like,” she said huskily. “Let’s celebrate our newfound freedom with something that has a little more flavor.”
Those sexy lips curved again. “As you wish, Evie.”
They walked toward their quarters. The corridor narrowed as they moved deeper into the residential section.
The lighting was dim at best, as she counted the numbers on the closely spaced metal doors, looking for theirs.
Recycled air rattled through overhead vents.
It reminded Evie of a submarine, or what she imagined a submarine would feel like, with its tight, utilitarian interior.
Jarran scanned the card and the door slid open. The room was as basic as it got, but at least it appeared clean. There was a bed barely big enough for the two of them, shelves, and a door that probably led to a bathroom the size of a closet.
“We’ve been downgraded,” she said, eyeing the bed. On Durik’s ship, the suite had been obscenely large. Oversized tub. Steam shower. A bed built for someone Jarran’s size, with silk sheets and an actual mattress. This bed looked like it was built for a species roughly the size of a large dog.
“I disagree.” He stepped inside and the door slid shut behind him.
“Do you?” She gave him a cheeky smile and gestured at the bed. “Your feet are going to hang off the end of that bed.”
“But you’ll be in it with me.” He moved in closer until she could feel the heat coming off his body. “So I won’t care.”
“Oh,” she said, suddenly breathless. “I guess we’ll have to stay close.” She swallowed thickly. “So neither of us falls out.”
He smiled and stepped even closer so his chest barely brushed her breasts. “I’ll hold onto you.”
“Good idea.” She didn’t even try to hide her raspy voice. “We wouldn’t want to—oh.”
He reached out and cupped a breast. He just stood there, holding it gently, testing the soft weight as Evie felt her nipple harden to a peak against his palm.
His thumb brushed over the firm tip. She bit her bottom lip and stayed where she was, letting him caress her breast but not touching her anywhere else.
“Evie.” His voice was deep and gravelly with need. “I want to touch you. I want you, and I don’t want to stop this time.” His hand squeezed gently, lifting her breast and compressing her aching nipple between his thumb and finger. “But only if you want this too. Tell me to stop and I’ll stop.”
Stop? That was the last thing on her mind. Her heart hammered. Her skin felt hot and too tight.
“Jarran.” Her hand came up to his chest and she covered his own nipple. “If you stop, I’ll kill you.”
His eyes went dark. His other hand came up to claim her other breast and they both let out gasps. He cupped them high and lowered his mouth to hers.
This kiss was different from the ones before. This was slow and full of promise of what was to come. This was the first kiss they’d shared as two free people with a locked door between them and the rest of the galaxy.
His mouth opened against hers and she opened to him, accepting his tongue as it slid against hers. She made a sound like a whimper and threaded her fingers into his hair. It was smooth and thick and cool. She gripped it and felt his breath catch.
He relinquished her breasts to put his arms around her and pull her closer. Both arms wrapped around her waist, pressing her into the heat of him.
She pulled back just enough to find the hem of his shirt and tugged it up. He helped, pulling it over his head in one motion and dropping it to the floor. Her gaze roamed over the dense, carved muscle layered over his strong frame. And it was all hers.