Page 59 of Stealing Mercury
Chapter Sixteen
ArenaDogsCampsite,PlanetG-45987
Earth Alliance Beta Sector - Gollerra Border
2210.167
Samantha sat cross-legged and barefoot in a patch of grass on the slope down from the cargo-drop campsite. The breeze rustled in the trees and some sort of insect provided a concert of clicking noises. They’d arrived back at their original campsite early the day before. Lo had continued on, to check on Drake and Resler. Mercury and a still limping Carn had disappeared into the woods at sunrise. It seemed impossible Carn had been able to hike on that knee so quickly—genetic engineering at work.
They’d been gone for hours, but she wasn’t worried. Once the urgent need to stop the low frequency pulse had been met, they’d become more interested in exploring this new world and she knew they wouldn’t be so far that they couldn’t get back if she ran into trouble.
She studied the collection of objects she’d pulled together—a scrap of thermal material, a small emergency toolkit with a cutter and a sealer, and packaging from supplies they’d already used. She’d never had a need to make shoes before, but she wanted something besides her deck boots to wear around camp.
Samantha tugged the tool-case open and peered inside. She had the cutter in her hand when she realized she was no longer alone. Lo stood like a living statue under the nearest tree. Only his chest moved. He had one hand pressed on the trunk of the tree, the other against his belly. The muscles of his arms and chest were sharply defined in the dappled sunlight.
He stood there, watching her, even after he knew she’d seen him. His teeth hid behind his lips, but the tip of his tongue peeked out.
Sometimes he took her breath away.
What did that say about her? Her feelings for Mercury had grown so strong she could barely contain them. She shouldn’t even be noticing Lo. She’d grown fond of them all. How could she not? But that didn’t mean she should get hot and bothered by two of them. She wasn’t her father. Stars, she couldn’t be that faithless and weak.
Something broke the spell and Lo strode toward her in long, fluid movements. He crouched in front of her but kept nearly a meter between them. “All is well, little Sam. I’m no threat to you.”
She reached out and waited for him to put his hand in hers. “I know, Lo. I know.”
His touch burned hot against her palm. His claws were barely visible. His presence dominated her field of vision. So close, it was impossible not to notice his raw sexuality, but she refused to acknowledge her reaction.
It had been a mistake to touch him.
She slipped her hand free and wiped her sweaty palm against her thigh.
Lo followed the movement and she considered trying to explain, but he tipped his head back and howled.
“Calling the guys,” she guessed.
He nodded, then tilted his head to the side and twitched his ears. “They’ll be back soon.”
“Great,” she said with more enthusiasm than she intended. “I wasn’t making much progress on my shoe project, anyway.”
He looked down at her collection of materials and frowned. “Isthatwhat you were doing?”
Samantha sighed. “I hadn’t really started yet.”
He pushed to his feet but didn’t offer her a hand to stand and she didn’t ask for one.
They walked in silence back to the cluster of boulders. Samantha tucked away her supplies and took a seat on one of the containers. Within a few minutes, first Mercury and then Carn jogged back into camp.
The men greeted each other with small touches—a clasp of an arm, a pat on a back, a brush of shoulders—as if they needed the physical contact to reassure each other that they were all together again. When Lo and Carn found spots to sit, Mercury settled on the ground near her. He pressed his arm against her leg, instantly making her feel like one of them.
She hadn’t realized until he did it that she’d been envying them as she watched the small ritual. She put her hand on Mercury’s shoulder, and something tightened in her belly then eased in her chest.
“They remain in their camp,” said Lo. “But I saw the whip-master speak into a panel on the escape-pod.”
Mercury peered up at her. “Could he be trying to call for help?”
“No.” Samantha shook her head. “He couldn’t use the pod to contact anyone. It doesn’t have that kind of range.” She tried to think, but she was certain the Roma men didn’t have the skills to rig up a relay with theDove.
“What’s the range?” asked Carn.
