Desire coiled in belly. “As wonderful as that sounds, I’m tired from everything I’ve gone through today. If you stick around, I promise you can show me later.” A yawn followed her statement. “Sorry.” She couldn’t take any more fluctuating emotions. Earlier, she’d thought she’d lost him. Now, she lay safely in his arms. Too much, too soon.
“Sure thing. I’ll throw on some clothes and go see what that barmaid is doing…”
“Like hell you will.” She shoved him onto his back, then thumped his stomach with a fisted hand. Stratton grunted and covered his midsection. “You’re staying in this bed with me. We need to talk about how to leave the planet. We don’t have many options.”
“Has anyone told you how fantastic you are when you’re mad?” He folded his hands behind his head and crossed his legs at the ankles. “I’m feeling a little anxious. How about you rub my belly while we talk? Soothe my bruises.”
“Keep dreaming.” She scrambled under the bed linens. “I’m tired.” The hard truth was they had no options. With zero money, no goods to barter or even ship parts to sell, they were shit out of luck. Biting her bottom lip, she waited as Stratton joined her beneath the covers and sighed when he lay on his side, pulling her backside against his front. “If we need quick cash, I can, um, I could try asking around to see if any of the men would be interested—” She broke off with a yelp when Stratton pinched her ass.
“No dice. Not as long as you’re with me.” He put his lips against her ear and said, “Do you understand?”
Willa nodded. For once, his possessiveness wasn’t annoying. It made her feel desired, which was an odd experience. “Unless you have any bright ideas, this is the plan on the table.”
“Don’t you know it’s not good to make a man talk after sex?” His arms tightened around her. “Beds are for two things—sex and sleeping. Three if you count more sex. If you’re not going to rub my belly, then shut your yap.”
The man was full of aggravation and sin. Not a good combination, and definitely one that would erode her nerves before long. She relaxed against him, enjoying the heat seeping from his body into hers, chasing away the last of the chill. A shuddering sigh escaped her lips. I could get used to this. Her eyes fluttered closed as Stratton’s idle stroking up and down her hip lulled her closer to sleep.
Just before she succumbed, her eyes snapped open. “We have to steal a ship.”
Stratton’s even breathing stopped. She felt his chuckle long before she heard it. “How? It’s not like folks scratch the startup codes into their paint jobs.”
“It’s a matter of crossing some wires, reformatting a few drives. Lucky for you, I picked up these skills on the racing circuit. Simple.”
His hand drifted to her thigh, one finger drawing abstract patterns on her skin. “That doesn’t sound like you. Did you learn that from Chaf?”
Though there was a distinct, warning growl in his voice, it didn’t stop her pang of longing. I need to get a grip, but he makes me so…well, she knew what he made her feel like. For now, she planned on enjoying every minute of it. “Yup. That man talks in his sleep like you wouldn’t believe.” She couldn’t resist teasing him.
“Don’t start.”
She killed the giggle that threatened to burst from her throat. “Nice to know you can be just as jealous.” Her eyelids heavy with sleep, she settled against him, then stiffened. “Oh, no! It doesn’t matter if we make plans.”
“Woman, do you ever stop talking? Conversation’s not my thing.”
“I don’t have the datapad, so I couldn’t check in at the marker. There’s a good chance we’re last, and it won’t matter come morning because—”
“Willa?”
“Yeah?”
“I took care of it. We’re still in this thing, but if you keep talking, I’ll be worth nothing tomorrow, for committing crimes or anything else you had in mind.” He nudged the back of her leg with a knee. “Shut it.”
“Sometimes you amaze me.” The damned man actually did a good deed. Just another sign that he wasn’t the bad seed he portrayed. She turned in his arms, much to his growling annoyance. “You know, when you’re not shooting off your mouth and showing everyone what an idiot you are…” Hey, she couldn’t give him praise all the time; otherwise, his head wouldn’t fit through the door. She gave him an openmouthed kiss. “Thank you.”
“I try.” Smug pleasure hung thick in his voice. “Now let me sleep, or so help me, I’ll put your naked ass in the hallway.”
Willa grinned. He probably would. Burrowing against him, she sighed. Maybe partnering with him wouldn’t be that difficult. All she had to do was figure out how to score a ship, catch up to the pack, finish in a decent place and help Stratton take down his quarry. She at least owed him that.
I’d trade it all for clean underwear. At times, life on an extended race junket grossed her out.
Chapter Thirteen
Stratton gritted his teeth as the countless knots in his stomach tightened. As a rule, he didn’t mind stealing a ship. What he took exception to was doing it in the middle of the day, in full view of anyone who happened to pass by, especially in their highly visible spot in the hangar of a shuttle dealership. The only saving grace had been that the facility was situated on the far end of town. Yet Willa had insisted, arguing and bringing her stubborn nature to the forefront. When he’d attempted to distract her with a quickie bout of sex, she’d given him a freezing glare and had told him he wouldn’t be allowed in her southern hemisphere until the end of the Trike.
He’d expected her response. His Willa would never sanction anything that would distract her from achieving a goal. Right now, there was nothing she wanted more than finishing the damned race. He understood. Maybe more so than she. There was still the matter of what to do about Chaf. Yes, he and Willa had reached an understanding of sorts and had come to a truce at a base level, but they’d never addressed the issue of his job.
Guilt added its bit to the unrest. This was exactly the reason he never kept women around after the initial hookup. The longer they stayed, the greater the chance he’d get interested and start caring.
As a soft string of cursing wafted to his position, he focused his gaze on Willa. A few sparks rained down on her as she worked on a ladder, wedged at a weird angle beneath a gorgeous, black cruiser. The wings sloped downward over an oblong belly and would provide smooth aerodynamics while entering and exiting atmosphere. He relaxed his jaw and smiled. The difference lay in Willa herself. She didn’t come off as needy or clingy. Hell, he wasn’t real sure where he stood with her at the moment, but he was willing to do whatever it took to find out.
Too bad the crux of that problem was one bastard liar and thief. He’d worked too long and hard at chasing Chaf to abandon the bounty now, yet—
“We’re in!” Willa’s low shout shattered his thoughts. “Let’s go.” She scuttled up the remainder of the ladder and disappeared into the cockpit’s back seat.
“Great.” Though he’d questioned the wisdom of stealing a brand new Ghost-class shuttle, from the moment he’d sat in the forward seat of the sporty ship, he’d agreed with her decision. Supple, black leather covered the seats. Lights blinked from a shiny state-of-the-art console. Two thick joysticks for steering felt right beneath his hands. As the ship was smaller than their first two crafts, there was no cargo hold or any other storage area. It would be just the two of them, alone, in the fast, lightweight ship. “You okay with me piloting this bird?” He twisted around to look at her as the canopy door lowered into place with a soft hiss.
“For the moment. Don’t screw it up, Ace.”
“Aye, ma’am.” Stratton grinned and strapped into the safety harness. A few clicks behind him indicated Willa had done the same. He detached a black helmet from a hook above his head, then put it on and connected the few hoses. “Let’s get her up and into space.” A flick of a red switch activated all vital systems. The cool air of the controlled environment wafted over his face. It still had t
hat new-ship smell. “Rolling out now. Hope we’re armed in case there’s a chase getting airborne.”
“We’re carrying two photon cannons and an array of four lasers. All of it’s the newest technology in this part of the galaxy, which is funny since it was so easy to break into.” The clack of her fingers over her control panel filled the enclosed space. “Hangar bay doors will open in three, two, one… Get a move on before the owners can assemble a patrol. It’s lunchtime, so they haven’t spotted us yet, but our luck won’t hold.”
Two giant metal doors slid to the sides of the hangar. Stratton eased forward on the steering stick. The ship advanced, knocking the rolling ladder out of its way.
“Increasing speed. How long until we can employ rocket engines?”
A beep sounded from behind him. “Two minutes. There’s a short runway just beyond the hangar. You’ll be able to clear it with no problems.” She dropped a hand on his shoulder. “Good luck.”
As soon as they cleared the hangar, he flipped another switch, and the ship smoothly lowered while the extended landing gear retracted. “By the way, what’s her name?”
“The New Independence.”
“Sounds about right.” A small jolt concluded the gear’s lowering. They rolled along the paved strip, steadily picking up speed. “Computer, set course for the planet Renara.”
A series of beeps echoed in the cockpit; then an automated voice said, “Course laid in. Target will be reached in thirty-six hours, twenty-three minutes.”
“What? That can’t be right.” He frowned at his console, not sure which button to press that would figure out the information. “Willa, double check that intel.”
“I’m checking now.” Willa’s fingers on the keys reassured him she’d figure it out. “The computer is right—partially. Without the use of hyper-light, her figures are correct. We’d only be going half the speed of light, or roughly 150 kilometers a second. If we employ hyper-light, we can go much faster and be there in an hour, give or take.”
That made sense. “Computer, please figure hyper-light speeds into—”
“Fuck!” A gasp from Willa cut into his command. “Uh, Stratton? This is a Ghost-class vessel. The engines aren’t big enough to obtain hyper-light speed.” Silence followed her speech. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know, otherwise I wouldn’t have suggested stealing it.” He couldn’t be sure without seeing her, but he thought he heard a tiny catch in her voice.
All the previous excitement seemed to be sucked out of the atmosphere in the ship. Stratton reeled with the news as his blood chilled. They’d never make the end of the race in time. “Let me think about this.” He fisted a hand, resting it on his thigh. “Computer, please go to autopilot and idle here until my next command.”
“Stratton, we’re not even airborne yet! It’s too risky to linger.”
He ignored Willa’s outburst. “Patience.”
Gonna need a miracle here.
After pushing a few buttons, he examined the star chart that illuminated the windscreen. Treachin Houth on the map blinked in blue, while other planets in the system were depicted in green. Not far off, a different sort of object flickered in red. “Computer, is there a space station or spaceport between Treachin Houth and the next planet?”
“There are no outposts in this quadrant.”
“Great.” At the moment, he wanted to chuck the smart-ass computer out the window. Time to rephrase the question. “Computer, there’s an object in red on my star chart. What is it? I don’t recall seeing it before.”
Both the computer and Willa answered, “The Cangatarist Shooter.”
“Of course!” Stratton switched off the chart. “We’re saved, Willa. We can use the Shooter’s power to reach an accelerated velocity. From there we can achieve hyper-light, but only for a while. If we’re lucky, it’ll be long enough to reach Renara and join the rest of the field.”
“It’s a long shot. If we hurry, we can return the New Independence and maybe exchange it for—”
“Oh, that’ll work.” He huffed out a breath. “You think the authorities will let us quietly return a stolen ship and request an exchange? Nice try.” Rubbing his jaw, he stared into the atmosphere. The urge to move into space pressed in on him.
Finding a way to reach the end of the Trike wasn’t the issue. Being able to trail Chaf was, and if they had no hyper-light capability themselves, neither of the goals could be achieved. Utilizing the Shooter was the only way.
“Computer, set course for the Cangatarist Shooter. I’ll resume control now.”
A beep sounded; then the electronic voice replied, “Course laid in.”
Willa thumped the back of his seat. “You do realize that’ll take us off course, right? And if the Shooter doesn’t work like you say, we’re screwed.”
“Yeah, but we were pretty much shit out of luck anyway. At least it’s a chance, so shut your yap and let me do this.” When she smacked his shoulder, he grinned. “Hey, you had the opportunity to be the pilot. Since you bowed to common sense and realized the man is always right, we’re doing this.”
“Wow, if your ego inflates any more, we’ll explode.”
“That’s right.” He chuckled, enjoying the return of their verbal sparring. “Stick with me, and you’ll be surprised at where I’ll take you.” If she doesn’t end up killing me.
“Actually, I’m beginning to regret that decision already.” A string of Lingorian curses filled his ears, too soft to properly translate, but he had a feeling she’d called him cattle excrement again. “I think I might hate you.”
“It’s a fine line you walk, my girl, and you’re no party either, yet somehow I intend to put up with you for a bit longer.” Relaxing slightly, Stratton leaned into the supple leather. The steering joystick felt made for his hand, and the ship responded to the slightest movement. “Good choice on the bird, by the way. A guy could get used to this.” He needed to change the subject and raise the temperature in the ship a few degrees. The danger of teasing Willa was that she ran hot and cold by turns, until he had no idea which he faced. A thrilling game he could easily become addicted to.
Frosty silence reigned in the cockpit.
Stratton rolled his eyes. “Come on, kita. This is what we do. I know you want to brag about stealing the craft. So tell me, then I can crap all over your parade and you'll get mad. Don’t mess with what works.” He’d never worked so hard to cajole a woman into talking. How the mighty have fallen. He ignored the thought. This was different.
The intercom crackled. “It was a means to an end. After the race, I’ll plead with my father to pay for the use of the ship, so try not to ding it up, all right?”
“Of course, daddy dearest to the rescue. Must be nice.” His knuckles whitened as he clenched the controls. The differences between them couldn’t be ignored.
“I’m covering all bases in case I ever want to come back to Treachin Houth.” Annoyance hung in the air between them. “You don’t know everything.”
As the ship picked up speed, the scenery went by in a blur. “Why would you want to revisit the planet? It’s tacky and cold. Seems to me it’s all about the tourist money. An icy playground for folks with ranking.”
“You have to overlook that side of things. I’d forgotten how magical it really is. I might want to remember, you idiot, but if you keep talking, I’ll change my mind.”
Heat crept up his neck from her candid words. She wants to remember, which meant their time together must have made an impression. His cock twitched as he recalled last night’s events. Maybe having company along wasn’t a bad thing if he could get past the huge learning curve. “Fire booster rockets. Let’s see how this bird handles in the air.”
“Rockets employed.”
The roar of the engines filled the cabin, muffled by his headgear. Easing back on the joystick, Stratton grinned as the New Independence parted ways with the ground as quickly and painlessly as picking up a baby. A thump was the only indication the landing gear had tucked itsel
f into the belly of the ship.
In seconds, white clouds enveloped the ship with a few peeks of azure blue mixed in. Not long after that, the fat clouds gave way to higher atmosphere and thin ribbons of mist. “You’re right. Treachin Houth was my favorite rest stop in this whole race.”
“Wait, can you repeat that? I can’t believe you agreed with me.” A smile in her voice broke through her teasing and sounded intimate in his ears. “Let’s catch up to the field. I’m in the mood to kick some ass today.”
“Sounds good.” The blackness of space blanketed the ship, bringing with it the accustomed quiet and brilliant stars. “Leveling off. Adjust course a few degrees. Radio silence until we get to target.” He guided the New Independence slightly to port, then put it on autopilot, though his mind was far from calm. As he watched, another racer went by, a Scout-class vehicle, the name of which was unfamiliar to him. Not long after it passed, it jumped into hyper-light, vanishing with a flash.
They’d reach the Shooter soon, and he had to make a decision. Should he follow Chaf’s secret course or stay on the rally path and finish the race? He narrowed his eyes and stared out the windscreen. The money he’d get for the bounty could change his life, yet the prize purse for winning the Nebulon Trike could be enormous. Plus, he and Willa would get a new ship, a free vacation and endorsement contracts on top of it all.
There was no easy answer. He’d either lose the job or lose the girl. Both options left him cold and empty…and more than a little angry. Why couldn’t he have both? Where was it written he had to choose?
After a few minutes, he couldn’t take the silence. The drawback of the new ship was that they weren’t sitting side by side. He couldn’t see Willa, couldn’t catch her facial expressions or be distracted by her, yet he missed being able to talk easily to her. Of course, the logistics might make the conversation easier.
“Willa, we need to talk.”
Ricochet Page 18
