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She stripped and threw on a set of lounge clothes. This would have to do for today.
Giving herself a once over in the mirror, Delaney stuffed her comm into her pocket and headed out into the colony.
The nasty, nagging feeling she was being followed started the moment she left the safety of the building. She looked around but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Just a few women talking by the bench, and two guys walking toward the NCH office. She continued along the path and down to the main street.
She’d have more luck finding clothes that fit her and her budget at The Shops rather than the market. The market was an old-style bazaar with lots of little stalls. It was a terrific place to find handmade goods, one-of-a-kind trinkets and treasures from across the galaxy, and a wide selection of specialty foods and ingredients. Set inside a huge building, it still had an open-air feel since the two massive doors at the ends were always open.
The Shops, on the other hand, was a one-stop retail establishment for everything the average colonist could need on a daily basis.
Hewas leaning against a tree where the NCH path joined the road, waiting for her.
Not Craig. Ulrek.
He wore a captain’s jacket over a dark shirt despite it being very warm out. This one was plain and didn’t have any insignias on it proclaiming him as belonging to any particular ship. His disguise was still in place, and with his salt and pepper hair, he looked quite distinguished. He wore thick-soled boots with his claws extending out the opening at the front—all Tallean footwear was open-toed, to accommodate their claws.
Delaney cursed under her breath as flashes of yesterday evening teased at the edges of her hungover brain. At the time, sitting in his lap and eating from his hand had felt completely natural. Especially after the way he’d chased off Craig. She’d even rubbed her butt all over his crotch, which apparently had been the only way her drunk ass knew how to flirt. She was mortified.
He was probably here now because he thought he had a chance.
“Listen, Ul—Uzzar,” Delaney put a hand up to block the Rekan 5 sun, which was much too bright this morning. “I was drunk. It was a mistake. I didn’t mean it.”
“I know.”
So why the fuck was he here now?
“Okay then, what do you want?” She decided she didn’t need to be nice now that Angie and her mates weren’t around. This was still Ulrek after all, even if he did come to her rescue.
His mesmerizing green eyes sparkled in the sun as he looked her up and down. His mouth lifted on one side.
“I want you.”
She felt the husky sound of his voice all the way down to her toes. He caught her gaze with his and trapped it there. And despite the distance between them, it felt like he was right there, touching her with his eyes. Butterflies fluttered in her belly; for a moment, she didn’t trust herself to speak.
“My ship’s greenroom is in horrible shape, and my crew deserves better. They signed on even knowing who I am and the danger that comes with working for me, so I promised to give them the best I could.”
Delaney blinked several times. Oh,shit. This was about his ship. He wanted her as part of his crew, nothing more. Good, because she wasn’t interested in anything more either. Not one bit.
You lying liar. Admit it, you’re a hussy, Delaney Torres. A hussy who wants to jump his bones.
Delaney hushed the little voice inside herself, squared her shoulders, and faced the much too sexy for his own good captain. “My answer hasn’t changed. No.”
She tried to walk past him, but he pushed himself off the tree and blocked her way.
“Any way I can change that answer to a yes? What if I increase your pay?”
For a nanosecond, she considered it. “No.” There. That was the right answer. Negotiating with Ulrek was the equivalent of making a deal with the devil, as far as she was concerned.
“What about if I pay you to only work on it while we’re docked on Reka 5?”
“No.” She didn’t trust him not to just take off with her on board. Not to mention, she’d already signed that contract saying she’d work for him for a year, and he was liable to throw that in her face when she wanted to leave. She made the turn toward The Shops.
“Just a diagnosis of what’s wrong, then. You don’t need to fix it.”
“I’m not getting on your ship, and that is final.”
“If you’re worried I’ll leave Reka 5 with you on board—”
“Precisely.”
