Page 48 of Journey to the Forbidden Zone
A moment later, the faint, high-pitched whine of the cutter started, accompanied by a shower of tiny orange sparks spitting from the opening. Carmen watched, mesmerized by the brief, violent light illuminating the curve of Mila’s shoulder, the line of her spine.
Roughly a minute later, the whine stopped.
“Coupling severed. Proceeding with shunt installation.”
More soft clinks and scrapes followed. Carmen stayed crouched, her knees starting to ache, unable to look away. The tension in the small bay felt thick, charged. Zed remained asilent, boxy sentinel nearby, his cameras periodically rotating to observe.
“Shunt secured,” Mila announced after another tense minute. “Initiating primary power reroute ... now.”
A deep thrum vibrated through the deck plates, stronger than the usual engine buzz. Lights on the main engineering console flickered briefly before stabilizing. Zed’s chassis emitted a series of rapid clicks.
“Power flow reroute successful,” Zed confirmed. “Secondary pathways active. Thrusters registering at 39% efficiency. Stability within predicted parameters. Environmental grid stable. No feedback detected.”
Relief washed over Carmen, sharp and sweet.
“Thirty-nine? That’s better than you estimated, Zed.”
“Affirmative. Mila’s installation of the thermal shunt was optimal, minimizing energy bleed.”
Mila began backing out of the access way. Carmen instinctively reached out a hand to steady her as she emerged and caught a glorious, vulnerable view of vagina, open, inviting.
Her fingers closed around Mila’s upper arm, just below the shoulder. The fur was surprisingly soft, dense, and warm beneath her touch. She felt the solid muscle underneath, the heat radiating from Mila’s skin.
Time seemed to slow. The contact sent another, stronger surge of heat through Carmen, stealing her breath.
Mila turned, still partially crouched, her eyes meeting Carmen’s from mere inches away. Carmen saw the intelligence there, the focus, but also a flicker of something else. Awareness? Surprise?
“Captain?” Mila’s voice was soft, questioning. She didn’t pull away.
Carmen couldn’t speak. Her hand remained on Mila’s arm, the connection feeling electric, vital. She saw the subtle rise andfall of Mila’s chest, the way the light caught the different shades of yellow and red in her fur. The thought of what it would feel like to run her fingers along that short hair, to feel the warmth and strength of the body beneath, slammed into her with dizzying force.
It wasn’t just attraction anymore; it was a deep, aching pull, a fascination that went beyond the physical, rooted in the fierce competence and calm intelligence she’d just witnessed. She wanted to know this woman. All of her.
The moment stretched, fragile and charged. Carmen’s heart hammered like a pulse cannon. She saw Mila’s gaze drop briefly to Carmen’s lips, then flick back up, holding hers.
“Captain?” Mila repeated, even softer.
Her free hand came up, not to remove Carmen’s grip, but to rest lightly, tentatively, on Carmen’s forearm where it braced against the bulkhead. The touch was feather-light, but it burned through the fabric of Carmen’s sleeve.
“The reroute is stable,” she said. “We succeeded.”
A small, genuine smile touched Mila’s lips, transforming her face, making her green eyes crinkle slightly at the corners. It wasn’t the serene mask; it was warmth, shared accomplishment.
The sight, the touch, the scent, the sheer overwhelming presence of her short-circuited Carmen’s control. Logic, responsibility, the precarious state of the ship, the danger they were flying into – it all receded, drowned out by the roaring need in her blood. She leaned in, just a fraction, drawn by an invisible force, her gaze locked on Mila’s. The air between them crackled.
Suddenly, the heavy hatch leading to the main corridor slammed open, crashing against the bulkhead. Letitia stood framed in the opening, her dark eyes blazing, her chest heaving as if she’d been running. Her gaze swept the scene – Carmen crouched close to Mila, her hand still gripping the Xena’s arm, Mila’s hand resting on Carmen’s forearm, the scant inchesbetween their faces. Fury and raw panic warred on Letitia’s features.
“Captain!” she snapped. “Get away from her! Now!”
CHAPTER 18
The command crackedthrough Engineering Bay Alpha, sharp as a gunshot. Carmen jerked back as if electrocuted, her hand snapping away from Mila’s arm. She stumbled upright. Letitia stood framed in the heavy doorway, chest heaving, dark eyes blazing with a fury that burned hotter than plasma fire. The raw panic beneath it froze Carmen’s blood.
Mila froze. Her eyes widened, flicking from Letitia’s furious face to Carmen’s own shock. Confusion sat on her face like a mask.
“What the hell, Letitia?” Carmen managed, trying to reclaim command, to shove the disorientation aside. She gestured sharply at Zed’s projection. “Thrusters at thirty-nine percent. Mila just fixed?—”
“It’s not real, Carmen!” Letitia cut her off, striding into the bay.