spicy enough to burn the hair out of her nostrils and singe her eyebrows. “So, uh, what’s the plan? After breakfast, I mean. I’m sure you have work and I don’t want to get in the way, so I can...”
“We have a lot to do in the loading bay,” he said. Nokx stripped the sheets off the bed, moving with an efficient intensity that made EJ’s heart sink. He ripped away any hint that she’d been there. Right in front of her, he got rid of the evidence of their night together. The Xaravian didn’t look at her as he went on. “You told Faros you were willing to work to stay on the ship. Now is the time to prove that.”
She swallowed the knot in her throat and a mouthful of something with the texture of eggs. “Right. Of course. Whatever I can do to not go back to the Hollbrd, I’ll do it.”
His shoulders tensed, then he glanced back. “Anything, hm?”
“Well, yeah.” EJ shrugged and went back to her breakfast. She’d learned not to miss out on food when it was available, no matter what else was going on. Especially when the food was hot and edible and spicy enough it cleared out her sinuses even in the spaceship’s dry air. “I mean, I’m a stowaway. I don’t want to go back. If that means pushing boxes around in the loading bay, I’m in.”
She smiled when she looked at him, since working with him was far more enjoyable than anything else she could have imagined. Nokx studied her, his head tilted, and something in the way the scales around his eyes tightened made her think he was puzzled. Perplexed maybe. She didn’t know what there was to be confused about.
EJ adjusted how she sat, tucking her feet underneath her, and sipped the lukewarm coffee he’d brought. She needed to thank Violet and Gemma for making their mates obtain actual Earther coffee from somewhere. No doubt it was dearly expensive, but it was worth it. Every sip was worth it. She smiled and tilted her head back to savor it.
When she opened her eyes, Nokx stood in front of her, all the confusion replaced with intensity. Intensity and longing. Her breath caught as she looked up at him.
Nokx’s hands captured her cheeks and dragged her mouth to his for a deep, searching kiss that she felt all the way to her toes. EJ murmured and managed to fumble the coffee mug onto the table before she dropped it and linked her arms around his neck. Nokx straightened and brought her up with him until she dangled in his arms. EJ worked her hands into his hair and wrapped her legs around his waist. Maybe they wouldn’t make it to the loading bay to move boxes. She wouldn’t mind that a bit if it meant she got to be with Nokx again. Or several agains.
His breathing went ragged and uneven by the time he broke away, though both his hands squeezed her ass hard enough that EJ ground down against him eagerly despite the lingering bruises from the spanking. Nokx chuckled and bumped his nose against hers. “Well. Trying to distract me to get out of work?”
She laughed and squeezed his waist with her thighs, then wrapped her fingers around one of the heavy spikes on his shoulder. She gave it a long, slow stroke and was rewarded by his full-body shudder and a groan dragged from deep in his chest. Nokx pressed her hard against him and headed for the bed.
EJ laughed and seized another spike, one in each hand, since it seemed to drive him wild. Nokx growled and ripped her clothes trying to get them off. EJ wormed around to get rid of the rest, though she froze when something chimed at the door again. Nokx went still, his silver eyes narrowed, and snarled as he looked back at the door. EJ didn’t move, just in case he got crazy like he had the night before when she’d woken him up, and kept her attention on the door. Just in case.
Nokx shoved upright and threw the fresh sheets and blankets over her, leaving her sheltered in the bed as he stalked to the door. EJ peeked through the tangled mass of fabric and braced for some kind of altercation.
The door slid open and the other Xaravian waited well back from the door—so far she couldn’t even tell who it was. “Captain wants the inventory lists updated by