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She nodded, trying to conceal the fact that her brain had gone on the fritz. “Yeah…”
“Good.” He turned his attention back to his tools, packing them away with a speed and efficiency that spoke of long practice. Less than a minute later, he stood, tool belt slung over his shoulder and hanging down over his broad chest. She tried not to ogle his muscles and cobblestone abs as he picked up the toolbox and basket and looked at her in expectation.
“Lead the way, my lady.”
“Uhm… okay, I’m just up here,” she replied, and they walked along the corridor. When she paused, he looked back at the panel he’d been working on.
“So I have you to thank for the power outage then?”
“Nooooo…?” she managed, trying to think back to what she’d been doing today. “If it just went out, it wasn’t me. I’ve been out all day. But it was a bit glitchy this morning. The lights in the kitchen kept flickering when I was making Ollie’s breakfast.”
At the mention of her son, the big alien warrior’s fierce expression softened somewhat. “How is he?”
He’d been one of the team of warriors who had helped Kaas rescue her sister Halle, Sadie, and her son, Ollie, from a doctor who had planned to kill them and sell their organs on the black market. Well, he had with Halle and Ollie. Sadie herself hadn’t been worth the trouble. Not even in exchange for her baby’s life. Sucked to be her, didn’t it? Even a black-market organ donor had turned her down. Which was why she hadn’t signed up for the Mate Program. What alien warrior would want someone like her? Especially someone like Vaarn, who she was sure was already signed up and would be matched any day now.
They walked the short distance to her quarters, and she was aware of the big warrior next to her. His movements were graceful despite his large frame, and she felt his attention fixed on her.
"Ollie's doing so much better now," she said, glancing up at him. "It's amazing what Kaas has been able to do for him. I'll never be able to repay you guys for all you did."
His expression didn't alter, impassive and closed off as always. "There is no debt between friends," he said, his voice a deep rumble.
She allowed a small smile. Getting more than a few words out of the big, silver-haired warrior was like pulling hen's teeth.
"Well, I like to do something to show my appreciation to Kaas and Halle. That's why I try to cook dinner for us most nights. That's what this is all for," she said, motioning toward the basket he held.
He nodded, looking down at the ingredients piled in the basket after their impromptu trip to the floor. "Kaas mentioned your skill in the kitchen. The cakes you gave me were..." He paused for a moment as if searching for the right word. "Enjoyable."
She bit her lip to hide her smile. High praise coming from him. "I'm glad you liked them. I know some Latharians have a sweet tooth, so I wanted to make more."
Her door slid open with a hiss as they approached. She turned back to him and held her hand out for the grocery basket.
"You can come in for a minute if you want." She offered a smile. "I should be able to scrounge up some tea or something."
He shook his head, silver hair falling across his forehead. "I should return to my duties."
He handed her the basket, and she took it, ignoring the pang of disappointment that rolled through her. Getting any time with Vaarn was like trying to catch smoke. "Of course. Thank you again for all your help."
He hesitated as if he wanted to say something more. But then he just nodded his head.
"Be well, Lady Sadie," he said, turning to stride off down the corridor.
She watched him go, admiring the tight muscles of his ass under the leather of his pants. With a sigh, she turned and entered her quarters, letting the door hiss shut behind her.
Vaarn wasn't interested, and the quicker she got that through her head, the better off she'd be.
2
Vaarn sat at his desk in the engineering bay, staring blankly at the reports stacked in front of him. Each one was important and required his full attention as chief engineer of the station, but he couldn't focus. His mind kept wandering back to the previous night and the look on Sadie's face when he'd left her standing at the door to her quarters.
She'd tried to hide it, but he'd seen the disappointment in her eyes. He wished he'd accepted her invitation to spend more time with her. Get to know her. Perhaps he would have been able to get her to agree to his claim.
And if wishes were kervasi…
He sighed, leaning back in his chair and running a big hand through his hair. It didn't matter what he wanted or wished for. Sadie was not his to care for and never would be. As soon as she signed up for the Mate Program, she would be matched to another and lost to him forever.
With a grunt of frustration, he turned his gaze to his surroundings, hoping to distract himself. His office was large and brand new. It hadn't been part of the original construction of the ship that had become the station, but had been constructed after the conversion.
The smooth silver walls and glowing blue accents of the low lighting irritated the draanth out of him. The wall above his desk was taken up by a large window out into the engineering bay, a transparent display screen showcasing various engineering diagrams and data sitting in front of it. Along the right side of the room was a long counter covered in his projects. An assortment of partly-constructed inventions and circuit boards jostled for room among tools, components, and the tracking bracelets for the human mates that he tinkered with in his spare time. Containers that had held field cake proved he spent more time in here than he should.
