Page 18 of Tempting Cargo

She was sitting on the floor when I got there, a couple of tools twisted into her headspines, her face screwed up in concentration. “Bit of a problem, but nothing a tea break can’t fix.”

“Oh?”

“Okay, I lied. It’s the ship, Cap. She’s beautiful, but she’sold. Every time I have to fix something, I find something else broken before I can get the first bit sorted.” She pulled a twist driver from her headspines and rolled it between her fingers. “I can do it. Of course I can, and it keeps me busy, but I worry about how long she’ll last before she needs major repairs.”

Kheh. I’d been putting this off. Mother and Father would not be pleased, and it would be my fault even though I was neither the god of time nor rust. “We need to limp her along as long as we can.”

“It’s not cost effective, Cap. I can keep her going for years, but it will cost so much more. Better to book her into Lietan or Xyrgrla and do all the modernisation she needs.”

“That will cut into the profits too much.” I’d have dearly loved to do what Muzati suggested but it wasn’t an option.

“Fine. It’s your credits. Humans are kind of cute, don’t you think?”

I snorted. “They’re small and soft.”

“Not all of them. That big one’s wider than me.”

“You’re svelte, though.”

Muzati laughed. “Whatever. I’ve seen you looking at him.”

“Kheh,fine. His form is pleasant to look at.”

“Is that all you’ve got to say? Kri’s spines, Sho, you can do better than that. Think he’d let me slap that tight arse of his?”

I growled, my reaction firing from that instinctive place deep in my gut. “You leave the cargo alone! That’s an order.”

She just smirked. “Aye, Cap. Now grab a crosswrench and help me with this.”

CHAPTER NINE

Playing medic

Garrison

WHAT THE fuckjust happened?

There was no denying the sexual tension—that was, until she realised she was on top of a human and snarled her displeasure.

I paced back to the cargo bay, cross with myself for even thinking something might have happened.

But, damn, if the feel of her on top of me hadn’t been the most erotic thing I’d experienced in a very long time. The way she sniffed me, like I was a breath of fresh air—or a snack. The way she looked at me. Her potent, spicy scent, like ginger, cardamom, and something perfectly, indescribably alien. In that moment, it had all blended into something I’d wanted to taste more than anything.

But that snarl. Maybe she’d hit her head and it had just taken her a few seconds to come to her senses, but damn.I wouldn’t mind hearing her snarl like that while I’m deep inside her.

What had gotten into me?

My dick bucked in my trousers, and I thanked fuck for the pile of blankets to hide my very obvious erection as I walked back to the others.

Nobody appeared to be hurt. Cargo blankets had been spread out on a section of floor near the harness tie-down points, and everyone must have held on through the ship’s rolling and jerking. Though nobody was nursing an injured limb or rubbing their head, it didn’t stop me making sure, starting with Zerena. “Is your arm okay?”

“I’m fine, Garrison. We all are. What happened to you?”

She gestured at my forearm in front of the pile of blankets. Turning, I put them down, and sure enough, a red bruise spanned from elbow to wrist.

“Fell over in the corridor,” I said. Then, without meaning to, I added, “Damn captain fell on top of me.”

“Oh?” Zerena said, raising an eyebrow.