Bannon groaned at the thought and steadied the tea tray he carried. Leave it to Timothy to find a bright side. His muse was annoyingly perky sometimes. Gritting his teeth, he stormed out of the mess deck and nearly slammed into a group of sailors going in. The top of his teapot rattled, the cups fell off the saucers, and the biscuits slid off the plate.
Someone grabbed his tray to steady it. “Sorry, Lord Bannon. I didn’t see you there.”
Blast, he’d been so distracted with his fury, he hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going. Bannon made himself relax his jaw muscles and looked up.
Lieutenant Taylor smiled at him, showing off a lovely set of dimples. The men walking with him paused too, but Taylor gave them a nod. “Go on without me.” He set the cups back on the saucers and reached for the biscuits but stopped short. “I’ll, uh, let you fix the rest. Would you like me to carry this for you?”
Bannon shook his head, his anger fading somewhat. Trouble was right. Taylor was handsome with his dark good looks. A little on the short side—not that Bannon had room to talk—but he filled out a uniform superbly, and to top it off, he was really nice. Regardless of what Louie thought, Bannon was certain Taylor preferred men to women. Maybe a shipboard affair would improve his mood? He’d never actually had an affair, but he was away from home, and chaperones, and…. But no, it would only make things worse. Galaxy only knew what would happen if his parents found out.
“Lord Bannon?” Taylor ducked down into his line of sight with that charming grin still in place. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, sure. Just preoccupied.”
Perhaps he’d agree to posing for me in the buff. That isn’t as bad as an affair, and it’s for the sake of art, Timothy whispered in his head.
Galaxy help him, he just couldn’t seem to help himself. He almost voiced the request. He couldn’t even imagine how far he’d be banished for that.
It would totally be worth it.
No, it would not! Great, he was arguing with himself again.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to carry this to your quarters?” Taylor asked.
Oh boy, would I.
“Er, no, but thank you for the offer.” He’d have to get rid of Louie, and that would raise questions. Just because he wasn’t on Regelence, it didn’t mean everyone didn’t expect him to act as a lord of the realm. Besides, it wasn’t like he could brag to Trouble about his conquest, and that would take some of the fun out of it.
“Well, then, I’ll let you carry on.” Taylor walked toward the mess deck, then stopped. “I don’t know if anyone has informed you, but we’re about an hour away from Skye.”
Thank galaxy. “Thanks, Lieutenant.” Bannon continued on his way to his cabin. In one more hour, he’d be rid of Prissy, and if he spent that time painting, he wouldn’t have to see the man again. At least not until he went back to Regelence. Whenever that would be. Not that it mattered. At this rate the IN would destroy them all, because Prissy would botch the negotiations on Skye. And Bannon wasn’t going to do anything about it. Nope. Not this time. On second thought, maybe he would do something about it. He would be sure to say “I told you so” to his father.
The door, or hatch, as it was called, on his cabin slid open, and once again he nearly wore the tea as Louie barreled out the door. This time one of the cups went sailing off the tray and hit the purple carpet. It rolled as everything else rattled, and Bannon shifted his weight, taking several steps back while bending forward to keep his tray upright. “Dust, Louie!”
“Blast, Bannon,” Louie shouted at the same time.
Shaking his head, he walked past her as she retrieved the cup. “Where were you going in such a hurry?”
“To come find you.”
“I told you I’d get the tea.” He set the tray on the small table next to the porthole and plopped down in one of the two chairs. This seat had been a source of comfort for the last fortnight. Who knew the utter blackness of space could be so soothing? It tickled Timothy, and Bannon had already done three good paintings sitting in front of this porthole. He’d also had dozens of splendid daydreams… mostly about Lieutenant Taylor.