set an alarm, so no telling what time it was. An arm tightened around my middle when I would’ve rolled over, and Loch nuzzled the back of my neck.
“Morning,” he murmured.
I stiffened. I could count on one hand the number of times I’d woken up with a man. As the daughter of a High House, I had to be careful, both because I was completely defenseless during sex and because many men thought they could use my body to win my heart—and therefore my name. My hookups had been with men I’d trusted, but even then it wasn’t usually a stay-the-night kind of event.
Loch’s thumb drew a distracting little circle on my waist and all thoughts of being careful scattered. He slid his hand under my shirt, and his palm blazed a trail of heat up my body. When he stopped at my ribs, I arched in invitation. His hand remained where it was.
I huffed in annoyance and he chuckled. “Did you want something?”
I wanted his hands on my breasts, his mouth on my nipples. I wanted him inside of me. The sheer force of my desire shocked me. I took a deep breath and reined in my wayward body. “I want many things,” I said honestly, “but I should get up.”
Loch pulled me over onto my back and pressed up against my right side. His hand slid out from under my shirt and I shivered from the loss. His grin told me that I wasn’t playing it as cool as I thought. It also made him unbearably sexy. Down, girl.
“What is your plan for the day?” he asked.
I shoved aside my desire and mentally sorted through all of the things that needed to happen today. “The bank first, I think. Then I can decide if it’s worth renting a room or if I should just keep running. Plus it’ll be done if I get caught.”
“I will go with you,” Loch said. “What else?”
“Talk to Veronica, scan the ship for trackers, figure out what supplies I’ll need and purchase them, update my sister . . . really, the list goes on forever. What time is it?”
“Almost ten, local time,” Loch said.
Shit, no wonder I felt like I’d slept hard—I’d been asleep for nearly eleven hours. That was plenty of time for Richard to catch up with us if he’d managed to track me straight here. I pushed myself up and out of the bed.
Shower first, but for that, I needed my bag of clothes. While I stood thinking, Loch rolled out of bed. All of that gloriously exposed skin drew my eye, but the bandages refocused my attention. His abs were barely bruised this morning; just a faint yellow hinted at what had been.
Even with nanobots, healing that fast was incredible. Maybe he’d spent some extra time in the medbay before he came up to talk last night?
My eyes dropped lower. His boxer briefs did very little to conceal the impressive erection tenting the fabric.
“Sweetheart, you keep looking at me like that and we’re going to be back in the bed in two seconds flat.”
I lingered for a long second, torn between keeping my distance and gobbling him up. It was already going to hurt when he left. What was a little more pain?
He must’ve sensed my hesitation, though, because he turned away with a growl. “I put your clothes bag in the bathroom. After you get dressed, I’ll meet you in the mess.”
I showered—with hot water, soap, and shampoo—then put on the pale blue tunic and dull gold pants I’d tried to wear on TSD Nine. I draped the blue and gold scarf over my shoulders. Before I went out, I’d wrap it around my head and neck until just my eyes were visible as extra insurance against recognition.
The mess hall was half dining room, half galley. Two long tables that each sat eight took up most of the room. They were upgraded models with plastech tops modeled to look like wood.
A gleaming industrial kitchen lined the back wall. A state-of-the-art commercial food synthesizer was placed next to an old-fashioned fridge and stove. The extra weight alone proved that this was Richard’s personal ship—no merc captain would bother with real food prep when a synthesizer could do it for a fraction of the cost and weight.
Loch sat at the end of the first table and gestured me to a seat with a covered plate. I sat and removed the thermal cover. I was greeted with steaming eggs, bacon, and