Page 22 of Alien's Love Child

"You're assuming I won't just shoot you and space your body right now."

"You won't."

"Pretty confident for someone at gunpoint."

"Because you're smart. You know I have skills you need on a planet like Glimner. Military training. Combat experience. The real stuff, not the sanitized version I fed you before."

Her lips twist into a half-smile. "At least you're honest about being a liar."

Jesse drops into her desk chair, running her fingers through her copper hair. "All this time. Years running a tight ship, never letting my crew down. And then I let a bounty hunter onto my ship." Her laugh holds no humor. "Some captain I turned out to be."

"You saw what you wanted to see." I step closer, the scent of her jasmine shampoo hitting me like a physical force. "But maybe what you saw wasn't entirely false."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

My skin tingles with the urge to touch her, to explain about fated mates and the pull I've been fighting since I first laid eyes on her. She'd probably space me in an instant if I did.

"There are things in this universe bigger than bounties or smuggling runs."

She looks up at me, those green eyes searching my face. "Like what?"

"Like--" The words catch in my throat. How do I explain something I barely understand myself? "Like the way you make me question everything I thought I knew about myself."

Jesse rises slowly from her chair, close enough now that I can see the light dusting of freckles across her nose. The air between us grows thick with possibility.

"That's quite a line for a bounty hunter," she whispers, but there's no bite in her words. "Or a mob goon. Or an ex-Sirius crew. Or whatever you are."

"Not a line." I reach out, my blue fingers hovering just shy of her cheek. "The truth, for once."

She leans forward, her breath warm against my lips--

"Captain!" Rena's voice crackles over the intercom. "Got us clearance at Landing Pad 47-B. ETA two hours to Glimner atmosphere."

Jesse jerks back, the moment shattered. Her cheeks flush as she hits the comm button. "Copy that, Rena. Good work." And with that she rushes out, not bothering to look back

The landing padstinks of burnt fuel and ozone, typical of the shadier districts on Glimner. Jesse and I crouch behind a stack of cargo containers, watching a suspect ship. It looks damn close to the one that boarded us not hours ago, and the steam formed by the rain says it just landed.

"That's definitely them."

Jesse shifts closer, her shoulder brushing mine. "Now what?"

A kid in a leather jacket emerges from the ship's cargo hold, lighting up something that glows blue in the evening light. The sweet scent of contraband tobacco wafts our way.

"Stay here." I touch her arm. "Let me handle this."

"Like hell. He's my cargo they took."

"And if he sees you, he'll recognize the captain whose ship they just hit." I raise an eyebrow. "Me? I'm just another face in the crowd."

She grips my wrist. "Don't kill him. We need information."

"Trust me."

"I don't." But she releases me anyway.

I circle wide, using the shadows between ships for cover. The kid's too busy trying to look cool with his smoke to notice me approach. Amateur. One quick move and I have him in a chokehold, dragging him backward into the alley.

"Hey, what the--" His protest cuts off as I tighten my grip.

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