He stilled. “What?”
“No way I’m letting you anywhere near the Constitution without me two meters from you.”
Her lack of trust stung. He dragged a hand through his hair. “I’m not going to run off with the damn thing.”
“So you say.” She rounded the desk. “Go and get our outfits organized. You’re dismissed.”
He stared at her for a second, then left with a wave.
His boots made no sound on the rubber flooring in the corridor, nothing to distract him from his thoughts. She wantedto come with him to Alchemia. Fine, sure, no problem. The farther he walked, though, the more he warmed to the idea. This would be a prime opportunity for one-on-one time with Nissa Sander. Showing her the incredible sights of Alchemia.
He’d finally have the woman of his dreams all alone, out beyond the edge. No rules, no laws, no limits.
Justyn was smiling as he commandeered the goods printer. He was whistling to himself as he ordered up his outfit. He was outright gleeful as he ordered Nissa’s clothes.
He organized for an ensign to deliver Nissa’s outfit in her personal cabin and headed off to the cabin that had been assigned to him so he could shower and change.
He whistled as he walked. He couldn’twaitto see Nissa in her outfit.
As long as she didn’t try to kill him.
CHAPTER FIVE
Hair still damp, Justyn yanked on brown woolen trousers, shrugged on a white lawn shirt with a stand-up collar, and followed that with a dark leather waistcoat. He holstered twin double-barreled pistols at his hips and tugged a leather ammunition belt—filled with honest-to-God metal projectile bullets—sideways over his chest. To finish, he yanked on short leather gloves and lifted his hands. Hmm, he rather liked the dashing look of them.
Glancing in the mirror, the last thing he did was attach a clunky ocular device over his left eye. It was made of copper-colored metal with a glowing green lens in the center. It would blend in perfectly on Alchemia.
He looked around the cabin, adjusting to the enhanced view. No one would know it wasn’t actually grafted to his skin. And no one—except him—would know that inside the antiquated shell was a modern, high-tech device that provided night vison and thermal imaging.
Time to see how his partner was doing.
He strode down the corridor and up a set of steps to where the captain’s cabin was located. He pressed a hand to the panel beside her door and waited for her permission to enter.
The doors slid open soundlessly. Everything on theFreedomwas in top form. Nissa ran a hell of a tight ship.
He stepped into a modest living area with a small kitchen area tucked off to the side. A doorway led into what he guessed was her bedroom.
Bedroom.
Hers.
An instant cue for his brain to start running away thinking about where she slept…and did other nighttime things…
“Just a minute,” she called out.
Justyn gave himself a mental slap and forced his focus elsewhere. He wandered through her living area, curious about her private space. There wasn’t much in the way of personal touches. It was neat and tidy, which he expected. Stars forbid Nissa Sander had a messy cabin. There was a framed picture of a man in uniform with a woman with caramel-colored skin on a shelf across the room. Justyn frowned, his gut tightening. Did Nissa have someone back in the central systems?
He grabbed the frame, ready to smash it against the wall.
Then he relaxed. The woman wasn’t Nissa. The stern-looking older man had gray threaded through his brown hair. The shape of his face and nose were exactly the same as Nissa’s. Her father. The smiling, half-reptilian woman by his side gave a good indication that Nissa would age very well.
“I’m not wearing this.”
He set the frame down and turned. His mouth went dry as space dust.
The black synth-leather pants were so tight they looked painted on. They were tucked into black boots that hit her knees and were covered with heavy silver buckles. The white top—he swallowed the lump in his throat—was covered with a tight, black leather corset. The thin white cotton of the shirt was so fine he could see the shadow of her golden skin beneath. Thecorset was so tight it cinched in her waist to impossibly tiny proportions and plumped up her very fine breasts.
Have mercy. He’d planned to tease her with a sexy outfit that was also practical for their mission, not torment himself.
