room turned from a sanctuary to a trap. A very small trap, closing in around them. No way out, no way to...
“Come on,” EJ muttered.
He looked over and found she’d unhooked a door hidden in the wall, lifting it over a lip and letting it swing in silently. She tilted her head at the small opening, though she kept her eyes on the door. Nokx wanted to kiss her, his creative and adventurous mate. He’d once teased her about sneaking all over the ship as she searched for things to steal and regretted every joke. He hauled himself into the dark passageway and she crowded close behind him, shoving the door closed and resetting the locks that she’d accessed through the vent.
EJ remained near the door, hardly breathing, as more loud noises echoed through the walls. Nokx hated not being able to see through the peep hole or whatever gave her a view of the room, though his eyes adjusted to the darkness enough to pick out a narrow passageway within the walls of the ship. Something that the engineers used, no doubt, or maybe the security teams.
And smugglers and criminals. He touched her shoulder and she jumped, smacking her head on a nearby pipe, and turned to give him a murderous glare. Nokx couldn’t take it. He captured her face and dragged her mouth to his, kissing her deeply. He’d hungered for her every moment they’d been apart, even if it had just been a matter of hours. She tensed in his arms and he braced for the flailing nauwat to return and show him how she felt about what he’d done—and failed to do. Instead, EJ melted against his chest and her lips parted and she opened to him.
Nokx swallowed his groan and hers, holding her tight, as everything else in the universe faded away.
Chapter 35
EJ
She wanted to remain furious with him, and fully intended to punish him for however much time they still had together, but when he kissed her... EJ planted her hands on his chest, mindful of the wound, and pushed him away before her hormones took over and she dragged his pants off to fuck him right there in the walls. They didn’t have time to get distracted, and she wasn’t ready to overlook how he’d failed her.
EJ took a deep breath and scooped up the comms stuff he’d put down, then marched past him deeper into the ship and farther from the danger of the engineering room. They had to get somewhere they could communicate with the Sraibur, either by his wrist unit or the fancy puck device that Violet had given her. She wasn’t going to just forget what landed them in that swamp of trouble and misery, waiting for a Slasu invasion.
Nokx limped after her, apparently undeterred by her unwillingness to canoodle in the middle of a battle, and followed without trying to take over. She hadn’t expected it from a Xaravian. They weren’t known for patience or letting others lead. She clenched her jaw and pushed aside thoughts like that. She wasn’t going to feel anything toward him. There wasn’t time for that, and she couldn’t afford to go soft. She’d opened her heart to him once and it backfired—badly.
EJ didn’t speak until they’d made several turns and gone up a few tall ladders. She paused in a small alcove near the hull of the ship and set down her gear. Nokx had started to wheeze and slow, no doubt hurting from his wounds, but was too proud and bullheaded to ask for a rest. She pretended to ignore as he sank to the floor and stretched his legs out, and instead she fiddled with the different devices she’d picked up.
Nokx’s rough voice still made her shiver, reminding her of exciting times in his bed. “What’s the plan, EJ?”
She’d miss the way he said her name, the slight emphasis on the E. It wasn’t enough to convince her to forgive him, but at least it made her think of something more enjoyable than being abandoned and sold out. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and dug up the med pack to place over his leg once more, since the wound had reopened. “We’re going to signal the Sraibur, if we can, or try to communicate with anything friendly in the vicinity. If your pals have abandoned both of us, then we go to plan B.”
“And what’s plan B?”
She tried to be grateful that he didn’t argue with