something. You two together would be like glaciers colliding. There’ll be a lot of ice, a lot of sharp edges, a lot of noise, and a lot of pain. You need someone softer. Daniels is fucking miserable. I think I might hate him.”
What was it with the crew thinking she needed someone to hook up with? Not even in the academy had men asked after her. Was there something about space and companionship she wasn’t getting?
“Like you?” she muttered, suddenly finding her screen fascinating. It only took three days in space for Raul to make his move.
She’d told him off. Told him there’s no way she was going to bed with him. She couldn’t risk growing attached to anyone.
Companionship wasn’t in the cards for her.
Last time she loved and cared for someone, he was murdered.
Raul stretched, undisturbed. “I’m up to the task. I’m pretty soft when I want to be. Very soft, actually. Hard as hell too when the need arises.”
“Hey, you coming?” Pigeon called from outside the menagerie.
Alexa could’ve kissed him for his perfect timing. It was easier to ignore Raul’s advances than to actually interact with him. And sadly, she didn’t know if he even wanted to be with her. He could be teasing her for all she knew. She had no idea. Flirting and the interplay between a man and a woman was something she was sorely ignorant about. No one had ever wanted her.
“Trying to get Alexa to come with us!” Raul yelled back as Pigeon entered the lab.
Alexa stood as he approached.
Pigeon’s face wrinkled when he smiled. “If anyone needs to take a load off, it’s you. Join us. For one drink at least.”
“Not today.” She was already backing up to her cabin door. “I think I’m going to catch up on some sleep. Raul snores.”
“I don’t snore,” Raul grumped. “Maybe a little. They’re affectionate snores, the robust kind. My body’s natural way of attracting a mate.”
Pigeon laughed. “Next time then. Being cooped up on a ship isn’t good for anyone. You’ll look forward to these port visits once you’ve been in space for a few months.”
“Next time,” she agreed.
“Taking that as a promise,” Raul said as he followed Pigeon out.
When she heard the pressurized sound of the hatch go off, Alexa stood there on the precipice of her quarters for another minute to make sure she was alone, twirling her wristband.
She glanced around the space and the giant glass cages that were lined on either side of the menagerie, most embedded in the walls. Some were small, some huge, like the ones the locusts were using. Each had its own habitat, own computer system, all linked up to the main panel she and Raul sat at.
In the last week, she’d explored every inch of the space. The rooms off the sides created for plants, the empty cylinder capsules filled with chemicals to transport corpses, and the biodomes for microbes. The plant room also could grow food—like the leaves the locusts consumed.
They’ll need to be fed soon… That reason alone was good enough for her to stay behind. She grumbled for having not thought of it. She and Raul could set them up to be manually fed, but the locusts were finicky with the machines and so they did it themselves.
A thump sounded, and her gaze snapped to the male locust. Its four forearms were braced against the glass, framing its large, fanged face, and between its furry legs was its rigid cock, purple and meaty. Hell.
Its eyes were on her.
Like Hysterian’s.
The male locust watched her constantly. It made her skin crawl.
The locust was almost worse than Hysterian. She didn’t know if the locust wanted to eat her or to do something far more horrific. Considering its bulge, she had an idea… She did her best to ignore the beast as much as possible, only approaching it when necessary. Even Raul noticed how much the alien creature was interested in her. He offered to do its feedings.
She appreciated his concern but refused him. If she couldn’t handle the first alien animal to be transported, then she wasn’t qualified for this job.
Which amused her to some degree since she only took the job for one purpose only: to get closer to her target. Still, she didn’t want to do a bad job in case it took a while for her to figure out how to achieve her goal.
Getting fired is out of the question.
It was perhaps also hope that she’d survive destroying Hysterian and that she’d