am your servant, right?” Setting the cup down on the tray, Louie sat opposite him.
“You’re my valet and my dearest friend. Not my servant. Besides, you got the tea last time.”
“A valet is a servant.”
It was an old argument they’d yet to resolve. “Shut up, Louie.” Bannon proceeded to pour them tea, then added three lumps of sugar to his and four to hers.
She picked up the cup and took a sip, staring at him over the top of it with one of her perfectly shaped brown brows arched. “What took so long?”
“I was contemplating whether a trip to the jail was worth it.”
“It’s called a brig.”
Know-it-all. Bannon took a drink of his own tea and promptly added another lump of sugar. “I ran into Prissy.”
With a sigh, Louie shook her head. “He will be gone from our presence in exactly one hour.”
“He will probably start war between Regelence and Skye with his pompous, selfish…. Wait. How did you know we’re an hour away from Skye?” He frowned and took a sip of his tea. Awww… much better.
She preened, damn her, and something told him that he was not going to like her answer.
“Lieutenant Taylor stopped by to tell me. Annnd… you owe me a pound.”
“Oh, you didn’t….”
She preened more and touched her lips and sighed dramatically. Then she smiled, took another sip, and turned her head to the right. “Oh, look a planet. I bet that’s Skye.”
He wasn’t falling for that. Studying her lips, he narrowed his eyes, and…. Dust and stars! They did look swollen and redder than normal. “You kissed him?”
“I’d never kiss and tell.”
He grabbed a biscuit and threw it at her, then glanced out the porthole. A planet was out there, but it sure was cloudy. Ominous gray clouds circled it, with some shooting high up into the atmosphere around it, like smoke. It was difficult to make out the planet’s round shape, but it certainly was mystical looking. He’d found the subject of his next painting and… was that lightning? Capital! It looked strange from that point of view, but beautiful.
She took a bite of the biscuit and singsonged, “You owe me a pound.”
“Just because he kissed you, doesn’t mean he isn’t bisexual.”
She gave him the most incredulous look, as if to ask really?
Right. It was a rather stupid statement, but she’d won their last two wagers. Drat it all, so it was his turn to win. Bannon picked up his cup and glared at her over the rim. As he set his lips to the porcelain, a loud blast sounded and shook the whole ship. The contents of his cup sloshed out onto his chin, shirt, and lap.
Bannon yowled.
Louie shrieked.
“Bloody hell! What was that?” He jumped up and brushed the tea off himself. Damn, that was hot! As he grabbed for the tea towel, the ship shook again, followed by another long bang. The tea set rattled fiercely, and tea sloshed out of Louie’s cup. Bannon dabbed at his trousers. “Anna, what’s going on?”
The ship did not answer. Not good. Anna always answered. Bannon had carried on entire conversations with her since he’d been onboard. She was really nice.
“Bannon?” Louie’s voice quivered, and she reached for him.
“It’s all right. Probably just turbulence.” Even as the words left his mouth, he didn’t believe them. Did ships even get turbulence in space? He didn’t know, but he suspected this was much more than a pocket of air, since space was technically a vacuum. Oh bother, this didn’t bode well. His chest tightened up, and a quiver snaked through him. He pulled Louie up from her seat and against his chest, hugging her tight. They should probably sit back down so they didn’t fall if it happened again, but his seat was wet.
The hatch door whisked open, and Lieutenant Taylor rushed in without so much as a by-your-leave. His gaze darted around until it landed on them, and Bannon’s unease increased tenfold.
“Quick! Come on.” Taylor reached out to them.
Bannon didn’t think, he just dragged Louie forward and grabbed Taylor’s hand. “What’s going on?”
Taylor hurried toward the door, tugging them along.
Releasing Louie, Bannon grabbed her hand and towed her with them. Even in the urgency and uncertainty, it crossed his mind to point out to her that Taylor was holding his hand, therefore he might still be gay. Stars, there was something wrong with the way his brain worked.
“We were attacked by a mercenary ship. We’ve destroyed it, but there are more on the way. Captain Kindros