Page 6 of Frequency of Attraction

“Tate, this is history in the making,” Chen grinned. “As much as I hate to relinquish the glory, Vadim is going to be the man who takes the first commercial passengers to space. If you can beat the other guys. No pressure.”

Shaking his head, Tate looked to Vadim. “I don’t think we have any hope for a normal interview with Chen around, so why don’t we take a tour and you tell me what you think I should know.”

Vadim nodded. “Thank you for taking the time.”

Chen dominated the conversation as much as he could. He rattled off Vadim’s test scores and strengths and wildest training feats like Vadim wasn’t there to do so himself. But he played along because Tate didn’t seem to mind. And, hey, if having Chen act like an Olympic commentator worked…

In between introductions to dozens of people, including Elle, and Chen’s antics, Vadim grilled Tate about the spaceplane. He wanted to hear Stratos’ entire history. You couldn’t take a piece of equipment new places if you didn’t know where it had been. He was itching to learn more.

“Everything’s catalogued,” Tate told him. “Literally anything you want to know is in a report on the network or in a manual somewhere. You’d have reading material for the rest of your life. Not that you’d have much time. We’d need you in the training aircraft immediately to get you up to speed in time for the next test flight.”

It was the first time Tate had alluded to the fact that Vadim wasn’t qualified. He had to acknowledge that. “I know taking me on would be more involved than it would be with someone else, but I learn fast.”

“It would,” Tate admitted. “And you’d have to.” Vadim couldn’t fault him for his honesty. The man had a business to run. Hiring Vadim was a risk to his schedule, if nothing else.

He gave Tate a nod. “I can handle the work.”

After more introductions, including to the gruff former military officer named Thomas who would be his boss, they toured the simulation bay. The multimillion-dollar setup looked like a video game, but was way fucking cooler. The fully immersive system could even mimic temperature, vibration, and pressure inside Stratos. Vadim tried not to moan as they fired up the screens for him.

Then Tate took him to see Stratos.

The gleaming white ship sat squarely in the middle of the cavernous hangar, her sleek silver tail sprinkled with yellow stars. Scores of employees worked at tables and on ladders around her. The spaceplane was the literal heart of Tate’s operation. Vadim swore in Russian under his breath. A high he hadn’t felt since he’d first set foot in Star City floated into his body. He might be steps from his future. From space. Finally.

The technicians on the ground around Stratos seemed happy to answer all his questions. He wandered around the spaceplane, caressing her like he would a lover. Her flawless exterior made it clear she’d only had a handful of flights. She was fucking beautiful.

A darker energy took over as he toured the tight cabin full of lush blue carpet, metallic wallpaper, and high-quality reclining seats for the über-wealthy passengers. Vadim wanted this job so fucking badly, he was almost afraid to look inside the cockpit.

Almost.

Inside, he fingered the supple leather of the pilot’s seats and pictured himself sitting there. He envisioned Earth filling the windows, imagined he could feel the utter strangeness of his heavy body becoming weightless. He pictured his inked fingers manipulating the controls. He sighed with pure want as he ducked back into the cabin where Tate waited.

The man in charge was smiling. “Vadim, I like what I see with you. What I hear. I want you to join our team.”

Vadim’s heart thumped painfully as Tate continued. He tried to hold back the triumphant smile that surfaced.Fuck. Was this really happening?

“Your résumé might not match up with the others in contention, but for me, experience is less important than drive and grit.”

“Good. I have both,” Vadim answered, keeping his tone light. He would not let the enormity of this conversation show. No one, not even Chen, really knew what this chance meant for him. “I know you wanted Chen leading your program, but you want to know what else I know?”

Tate waited, still and silent.

“If that asshole can get you to space, so can I.”

Tate laughed. “I believe you.”

Back down in the hangar, surrounded by bright lights and gleaming cement floors and a full view of Stratos, his new reality struck him in the gut with such force it became hard to breathe. After several detours, his life was back on track to the stars.

No more waiting or wishing.

It was at that moment that a little blonde nearly crashed into him. Vadim scowled as he tore his eyes away from the spaceplane that would soon be his. He dropped his gaze down to the woman’s upturned face. And, for some reason, even with Stratos right there, with his future beckoning like a siren, he couldn’t look away.

Maybe it was the galaxy of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Possibly it was her intelligent hazel eyes that were a shade brighter than ordinary. Or he was curious what she could do with those full lips and hourglass hips. Mostly, he was drawn by the war waging on her face. As stark as characters on a screen, lust, confusion, and horror flitted across her features. The woman tried to recoil, but her body propelled her forward as if magnetized to his. Somehow, Vadim felt that same pull.

Who the fuck wasthis?

Whoever she was, this little blonde, she was moving closer. So was Vadim. The closer they moved, the more panicked she looked. It was like her body and mind couldn’t agree. He’d never seen a woman fight so hard against an attraction to him. She wassquirming.

In a different time and place, Vadim would have taken her internal conflict as a challenge. The right words, a few touches designed to set her ablaze, and he’d win that war. She’d melt under his attentions with almost no energy expended. It would be as fun to see her fight that as it would to feel her give in.

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