that close, with the hard muscle of his thighs right against hers, and cleared her throat a few times. “So you have a plan for the afternoon already?”
“Absolutely.” Nokx’s attention went to her neck and the sensitive spot behind her ear; he inhaled from her hair and growled. “I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t need to eat. I would find another way to feed you.”
That sounded sexy and definitely messy. “We could do that anyway.”
His arms tightened around her. “We should. But...” His attention strayed to the door where Violet had gone, and he took a deep breath. “But it is important that the captain sees what you mean to me.”
What she meant to him? EJ tried not to react or immediately demand an explanation. Did that mean he actually cared for her and wanted the captain to see it? She nodded and wiggled to get back to her seat. “Sure. Don’t want him to exile me, right?”
She said it absently but noticed the tension gathering around his mouth. Nokx nodded and picked up the ordering tablet to search for something to eat. EJ leaned against his shoulder, despite feeling self-conscious, and paid only some attention to the various dishes and photos that scrolled past. She couldn’t read his reactions as well as she wanted and made a mental note to ask Violet about what the different colors of their scales meant.
EJ started dozing by the time Violet returned, practically dragging Faros by his ear, and sat up straighter as the captain grumbled and took his seat. Nokx draped his arm along the back of EJ’s chair, suddenly possessive, and the awkward silence made EJ squirm. Violet pulled out a bottle of clear liquid and popped the top off, filling four glasses, and the strong burn of alcohol reached EJ from across the table.
The lawyer slid the glasses around and gave her mate a dirty look. “Let’s toast to new friends, hm?”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Gemma?” EJ asked, glancing over her shoulder at where they’d entered the room.
Nokx snorted. “It might be a while.”
EJ frowned, then flushed. Oh. Right. Her mate had been very focused on kissing all of Gemma’s neck and shoulders and face, so... She bit her lip to keep from laughing and poked Nokx’s side. “At least someone is having fun in the loading bay.”
Violet smiled with half her mouth, like she wanted to laugh but felt like she had to stay dignified. “Right. I’m sure Nokx had similar plans, right?”
EJ’s whole face burned. Did everyone just have sex wherever they wanted on the ship? “Well...”
“Of course,” Nokx said. He lifted his glass to make a toast. “To new friends, eating fast, and spending time alone.”
Faros exhaled with irritation but grudgingly raised his glass. His flinty silver eyes found EJ just before he drank. “And no more surprises.”
Violet sipped her drink, so EJ followed suit, and was glad she didn’t try to gulp it like the males did. But at least she didn’t cough and hack, and the warmth of the strong liquor slid all the way to her stomach.
The lawyer toyed with her dark hair as a robot delivered several trays of food, and she watched EJ and Nokx with consideration. “Well, EJ, we didn’t get a chance to talk much in the loading bay before Nokx returned. I meant to ask what your plans were before you got caught up by the gen ship.”
“Before she got arrested and condemned to hard labor on a distant planet,” Faros said.
Nokx’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, like he meant to clobber the other male, so EJ touched his arm to distract him. “I didn’t really have plans, to be honest. Just—surviving.”
“There isn’t something you always wanted to do?” Violet’s head tilted. “Even as a kid, didn’t you dream of something? Or after you ran from the Fleet? It seems like the rebellion might have given you a job or a mission, something to do.”
EJ shrugged, uncomfortable with the attention and questions. It was tough to admit she’d been aimless and adrift for so long, until she found Bula. Well, until Bula found her. Most people had some kind of goal, right? Violet looked like she’d always had goals and always achieved them in record time. EJ felt like she’d wasted her life in comparison. “Well, I don’t know. I joined the Fleet to get off Earth and hoped it might give me some skills or a purpose or something. When I left, I was so focused