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She’d fall hard, and it would be a disaster.
She looked around for her comm, then remembered that Scarface had taken it. Angie would be worried about her. Delaney would have to call her when she got her hands on a comm.
Her clothes were completely destroyed, so Delaney dug into Ulrek’s closet and found a top and belt that would work, sort of, as a dress. She stared at herself in the mirror. The bruise on her cheek was already starting to fade after Ulrek had applied a special salve on it. She found a comb and used it to detangle her hair.
There. She looked semi-presentable in case she bumped into some of the crew. She only made it a few steps out of the room before a Tallean female rounded the corner to greet her.
“You’re up!” The female looked familiar.
“Hi, I’m Delaney—” She hadn’t realized she wouldn’t be the only woman on board. That was a pleasant surprise.
“The greenroom technician, I know.”
Should she tell the female she wasn’t sure she was staying? No, she didn’t want to alienate her potential future co-workers.
“I’ve been waiting to meet you. I’m Tahra.”
That name was familiar. “Tahra. Are you related to Tuhror?”
“I’m his sister. I’m the medic on the ship.”
The medic? Tahra looked barely old enough to have finished high school, but then again, Delaney wasn’t the best at guessing Tallean ages.
Tahra eyed the door Delaney had come out of. “So Ulrek put you in there with him, did he? I thought he was acting possessive with you.”
“It’s, um, not what I signed up for.” Delaney rubbed the back of her neck. Great, now she was going to be known as the one who slept with the boss her first day on the job. That wasn’t a taboo thing in their culture, but it still made her uncomfortable.
“Of course it’s not. Most females want privacy. I’d hate to be hidden away in a male’s quarters unless he was my mate, and even then, I’d want some freedom.” She sniffed the air briefly and wrinkled her nose.
“I bet this is exactly how Ulrek wanted you to walk out of there to introduce yourself to the crew: smelling of sex, and him, and wearing his clothes. That would warn all the other males on the ship off you, the Tallean ones anyway.”
Delaney’s jaw dropped. She’d completely forgotten about their amazing sense of smell. How embarrassing. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll go back in and wash up first.”
Tahra peered around the corner she’d come from. “I’d let you use the one in the medbay, but you’d still be trailing that scent through the ship. I’m not sure if you—”
“No, you’re right. Thanks. I’ll use the one in Ulrek’s room.”
“You can borrow some of my clothes. I’ll go grab some.” Tahra went into a room down the hall.
Delaney went back into the captain’s quarters and washed up quickly. She was glad this ship had water cleansing. Some didn’t, and she didn’t relish being blasted with sand or disinfected with bright lights. Clean, fresh, and naked, she poked her head out the door into the hallway.
Tahra handed her a simple tunic and a pair of slim pants. The tunic was a bit tight across the chest, and Delaney had to roll up the pant legs, but they would do.
“Much better.” Tahra looked her up and down. “I think we can find you a room of your own. Ulrek won’t like it, but too bad. He’ll learn he can’t just control a female like that.”
It occurred to Delaney that maybe Tahra was being so helpful because she had her eyes on Ulrek herself. Why did that bother her? She shouldn’t care whether he had other female admirers or not.
Tahra gestured for Delaney to follow her down the hall. “You didn’t tell the bounty hunters Ulrek’s true identity, did you?”
“Of course not!” The sick feeling she’d had when they’d taken her comm and called Ulrek, claiming she’d spilled his secret, returned. “I mean, I don’t like the guy. But I wouldn’t do that.”
“I understand. I hated Ulrek too, but for different reasons. When he left the Dominion and took my brother with him, I was really angry. Especially when Tuhror came to pick me up. I told him I’d rather fly into the nearest star—” She stopped as they reached a door. “Give me your hand. I’m going to program the spare room to let you, andonlyyou, in. I can’t do it by myself; all quarter doors except for the captain’s require authorization from at least two crew members to be reprogrammed. But you’recrew now, so this should work.”
She took Delaney’s palm, held it against the panel next to the door, and entered a code. Then she held her own palm to the panel and typed in the code again. There was a soft beep, and the door opened.
“It used to belong to Groden, the old technician.”
“Thanks, Tahra.” Then, curious about what Tahra had said, she asked. “What you said about flying into the nearest star. Why you didn’t want to come along at first?”
