Page 87 of Dark Space
And really, I had no answer to that butyes. She’d always been that way, but her time with the Tirians had honed her sharper, as if she’d finally become fullyherself.
‘You weren’t in any danger,’ Vesper said airily, waving his hand in dismissal. ‘I would have gotten you out before anything interesting happened.’
‘Mine,’ Callan said thickly, his eyes darkening as they fell on Vesper. ‘He’s mine. They’re all mine. That’s what you said.’ He stepped forward, closer to the starling. ‘Did you mean it?’
I held my breath as Vesper’s gaze locked on our pilot, his eyes blazing gold. I knew that things hadn’t been right between them for a few weeks; Vesper wasn’t good at apologies, and it seemed Callan was having trouble overcoming his frustration.
‘Of course I meant it,’ Vesper answered, his brows drawing together. ‘Why would you think –’
Callan strode forward and took Vesper’s face in his hands, dragging him up for a fierce kiss.
‘Oh,’ I sighed, my insides melting as I watched them. Alcide pulled me down into his lap, nuzzling at my neck as Callan and Vesper’s kiss softened, then slowed. Vesper cradled Callan’s face, stroking his fingers over our pilot’s cheekbones, tracing his jaw.
‘Oh,’ Alcide echoed beside me, going still as Callan returned the caresses, his hands tangling in Vesper’s dark curls.
‘Do you think they need some time alone?’ I breathed to Alcide.
His nose brushed my ear as he nodded. ‘We can –’
‘No,’ Callan said, trailing his lips over Vesper’s cheek. ‘We don’t know how long it will take before the Council makes their decision. Neither of you are leaving our sight.’
‘I don’t think we’re in your sight right now, Cal,’ Alcide said dryly.
‘That can change,’ Vesper purred. He surged up to give Callan a final passionate kiss, nipping at his bottom lip. ‘I’ll make up with you later,’ he promised our pilot, his voice low.
‘Oh, Vesper,’ I said thickly. ‘You remembered.’
‘I’ve never forgotten a word you’ve said, lodestar.’ Vesper stalked to the bed, dragging Callan with him by his jacket lapel. I leaned back as my starling loomed over me, intense anddangerous and all kinds of delicious, his eyes flaring gold. ‘That was a stressful day, and your skull computers need a break. I’ve been thinking, and I want to try something,’ he said, trailing his fingertips down my throat and over the skin my dress bared, giving me a fair idea of what kind ofsomethinghe meant. ‘Do you trust me?’
I swallowed. ‘Yes,’ I whispered. ‘I trust you, Vesper.’
He stepped back, then headed to the doorway. I frowned, wondering what he was doing; he pressed a button on the control panel, and then another.
Callan gave a rumbling laugh; his hair began to fan out around his face in a dark halo. ‘Oh. I’ve heard about this.’
I squeaked as my limbs began to lift without me telling them to. A moment later, my body wasn’t resting on the bed anymore; the skirt of my dress was lifting around my legs as I floated.
A wave of dizziness had me closing my eyes; arms wrapped around my waist, mooring me. ‘You’ll adjust in a moment,’ Alcide murmured. He hooked his knee around the bedpost, keeping himself in place with my back pressed against his chest. It was the oddest sensation, like being suspended, weightless, in water; my stomach churned, settling after a handful of moments as I grew used to the feeling.
Callan reached out, wrapping his fingers around the same bedpost, his legs stretching out mid-air behind him as he took my chin in his free hand and nuzzled gently at my mouth. ‘Another thing at the academy I never tried. I had to listen to a lot of jokes aboutdocking.’ He lifted his face to Alcide, who kissed him with a soft groan. ‘This is going to take some set up, starling.’
‘Anna’s going to be our anchor,’ Vesper said, grinning. The low gravity didn’t seem to affect his body in the same way it did mine and my Roth’s; he walked back to Alcide’s bed like nothing hadchanged. ‘If she wants to, of course. We’ll put that stick to good use.’
‘The bed post?’
Vesper waved his hand again. ‘Whatever. And we’ll need some of that wet I got on Earth.’
‘Wet you got … Do you mean lubricant?’
‘Sure. That. Liquids behave differently in low gravity, so we might need … extra. But first, clothes.’ He fixed his eyes on mine. ‘Unless you want to be hit in the face by floating garments, we’ll need to put them somewhere contained.’
‘Hook your legs around mine, Anna.’ Alcide’s lips brushed my ear. When I’d done as he said, he let me go, his fingers going to the zipper at the back of my dress. ‘I’ve been wanting to take this off you since the moment you put it on.’
He slid the dress over my shoulders; I wriggled out of the skirt with more difficulty. I hadn’t worn a bra, so the instant I was out of the dress, Alcide’s hands went to my breasts, cupping and rubbing his thumbs over my nipples until they were hard and aching. I bit my bottom lip, reaching out to help Callan shrug his formal jacket over his huge shoulders, laughing when my dress floated by and I realised Vesper was right.
Callan grabbed it, taking my dress – and an armful of his own clothing – and pushing gently away from the bed, floating towards the built-in shelves that served as Alcide’s wardrobe. The door slid open; Callan stuffed our clothes inside and closed the door before anything could float out, the momentum sending him back across the room.
‘This might take some practise,’ he muttered.
