smirk. “Then I wouldn’t have to worry about chasing either of you all over the ship.”
Sharing wasn’t unheard of, but it was usually reserved for emergencies. Depending on the size, tanks could accommodate one to four people because someone had done the math and figured that it became inefficient after four. Large military ships had dozens of tanks.
Sharing a tank could be considered intimate because of the lack of clothes, but I’d lost my modesty years ago. And with the hole in my leg, I’d be in too much pain for anything fun, anyway.
“I don’t mind if he doesn’t,” I finally said.
Ian’s head snapped toward me, his expression unreadable.
I shrugged at him. “Up to you.”
“An hour,” he allowed. “And I want a full report on MineCorp ready when I get out. If you need to jump before then, jump us back to Andromeda Prime.”
Aoife hummed something under her breath, but she went to the control panel on the far wall and tapped the screen.
“I don’t want full immersion,” I clarified. “I’ll sit.” Depending on the injury, the patient could sit or float in the tank. Floating required a breathing mask, so I avoided it when I could.
“You sure about this?” Ian asked.
“Could you be more specific?”
“Sharing.”
I grinned at him. “Are you worried for your virtue? I promise I won’t take advantage.”
His expression heated and the corner of his mouth tipped up. “I was less concerned about my virtue than yours.”
“Oh, are you planning to ravish me in the regen tank while your gut wound heals? You are an overachiever, Ian Bishop,” I teased. “But sadly for you, now that I know about your plan, I can take preventive measures.”
A pleasant, warm numbness had dulled the sharp edge of my pain and I sighed in relief. It might not block the tank pain, but even a moment’s relief was paradise right now.
“Is it working?” Ian asked. He watched my face closely.
“Yes . . . is something wrong?”
Ian shook his head. He really was unbelievably handsome. Had I thought his eyes icy? Today they were the warm blue of a cloudless morning sky. I touched his cheek, running gentle fingers over the bruise forming on his jaw before my gaze snagged on his mouth. I slid my fingers to the back of his head, into the soft waves of his hair and pulled him toward me.
He resisted and clarity briefly reasserted itself. I jerked my hand back. “Ian, did you give me a shot of foxy?”
“Foxy is included in the mix, yes,” he said. “That’s why I gave you such a low dose. I didn’t expect it to affect you so strongly.”
While foxy generally helped with focus and pain tolerance, it also had a well-known side effect as an aphrodisiac. Something about lowered inhibitions and feeling invincible made people excited. It’s one of the reasons it was so popular as a street drug.
I’d used foxy before—professionally. The first time I’d needed it was during one of my very first solo missions. Things did not go according to plan. I’d barely dragged myself out for backup to find me. I’d used it a few times since then and I had never reacted to it like this. Of course, I hadn’t used it in the past four years. This was yet another thing that Gregory’s tinkering had broken.
Still, the warmth floating through my veins was nice. “Perhaps you should be worried for your virtue after all, Director Bishop,” I said, using his title to remind myself of why that would be a bad, bad idea.
“I trust you, Lady Bianca,” he said gravely, but his eyes laughed at me.
Perhaps he’d dosed himself as well.
And I needed to stop that line of thought before it began.
A panel opened in the smooth wall at the back of the medbay, revealing a closet-sized room with a straight-sided, hip-high rectangular tank large enough for a tall man to lie down in.
My stomach twisted with remembered pain. This was going to be unpleasant.
I pulled my com out of my bodice and dropped it on the diagnostic table. I needed to get in the tank before the pain meds completely wore off because the first few minutes were always the worst.
I slid off the table with barely a twinge of pain. Now that I knew what to look for, I recognized the feeling of invincibility. I moved carefully, aware that I still had a hole in my leg, even if I couldn’t feel it.