He shrugged. “Just telling the truth.”
She shook her head. “Get back to work.” Snatching up her Sync, she went back to study the star map. She tapped one red mark. “I’m sure this is where theNeroleft what we now call charted space. Back then, they were already in the wild.”
“Agreed.” Justyn eyed the map. “Surely they wouldn’t have gone much farther out than that.”
She nodded. “Agreed.”
He jumped up and stood beside her. As his shoulder brushed hers, he savored the hit of heat to the gut. “The Colony Route runs very close to this spot. Even back then, it was around.The Hydraens have a detailed oral history about ships that were already using the route and visiting them.”
“The Hydraens?”
“A humanoid race who live on a planet here.” He tapped the screen. “Hydrae is a caravanserai world.”
“Caravanserai?”
“Old Earth word. Caravanserais were roadside inns or camps offering respite to travelers on the trade routes.”
“You’re thinking theNeromight have used the Colony Route?”
“Maybe.”
Silence once again reigned, both of them mulling over their respective thoughts. Unable to stop himself, he penned another short message.
If you were naked, I’d lay you back on the table and put my mouth on you. I want to watch you come and hear those little cries you make.
When her Sync chimed again, he saw her shoot him a suspicious look. He kept his face blank as she opened it. He watched a beguiling mix of outrage, desire, and temptation cross her face. It made him want to push her back against the table and do as he’d written.
She made a choking noise. “Justyn…”
“Nissa.” He mimicked her tone. He didn’t move closer to her, just watched her face. That face he could stare at all day, with her stubborn chin, generous mouth, and beautiful scale pattern. “It’s true. I can’t get the memory of you out of my head. I relive that moment in your cabin a hundred times a day. The sweet curve of your ass, helping you thrust your fingers inside your tight, hot wetness?—”
“Stop it.” Her smooth-as-sin voice was shaky.
“No harm in a little fun, Nissa.” And damned if he didn’t want to be the one to loosen her up a bit, make her smile more.
“Focus, Phoenix.”
He heaved a sigh and turned back to the map. The line they’d extrapolated as the route of theNeroglowed. “If they knew they were headed out of charted space, into the black unknown, they would have stocked up on supplies.”
Nissa cleared her throat. “Um, yes…no food printers back then. The only printers they had then made items from plas to make parts and goods. They hadn’t worked out how to manipulate protein.”
Justyn smiled to himself. Oh, he liked seeing the captain overwhelmed and off balance. “Right. So where did they take on supplies?”
She straightened, her mind fully on the map now. “Enterprise Station.”
“Right. So, based on the size of theNero’scargo bays, by the time they were here—” he touched the red mark where theNeropassed the galaxy’s edge “—they were running low. They would have needed to re-supply.”
Her eyes sparked. “Right! So, you know the convoy route. Where’s the most likely place they would have stopped?”
He tapped a finger against his mouth. “Maybe Uurin. It’s a temperate planet but there’s not much civilization there. The humanoid species that call it home aren’t very advanced.”
“Where else?”
He snapped his fingers. “Hydrae! That’s got to be it.”
“The caravanserai world. Did they offer respite to travelers back then?”
“Yep.”
