The Ruins of Karzelek (The Mandrake Company series Book 4) (44 page)

Kalish padded through the tube and onto the mercenary ship, uncertain as to whether she would be allowed on uninvited. The
Divining Rod
remained clamped to the bigger vessel’s side, and there was no guard standing by the airlock, but should she roam around? She wanted to visit Sedge and thank him for all of his help—without him, her father would not be back, safe on her ship—but had no idea where his cabin might be, or if he was presently in it. She could comm him, but she had put on her fanciest undergarments and had a notion of surprising him.

A clunk came from the side of the cargo hold. Val Calendula was loading a couple of crates onto a hover pallet. Kalish smiled, hoping the lieutenant might help with her mission.

“
Val?” she asked.

“
Oh, hello.” Val directed the pallet to the door with a hand control. “Just resupplying my shuttle. Gregor insists that this be done before we consider ourselves off-duty. I tried to convince him that it could wait until after we had a good night’s sleep—” she smiled mischievously, “—but he’s a stickler for procedure.”

“
Yes, I’ve noticed that. I’m, ah... I’d like to visit Sedge.” Kalish had spent three hours dining with the family and enjoying having her father back safe, but it had not taken her mind long to stray back to Sedge. She did not know yet how they would get out of this mess, but there was something she wanted to ask him, preferably in postcoital bliss. An image of his bare chest flashed into her mind, along with the way she had caressed his hard length in the back of that shuttle, bringing him to a release she still longed to find. The thought made her flush. She hoped Val did not notice.

“
Oh?” Val asked. “I think he’d like that.”

“
Could you help me find his cabin? I’d like to surprise him.”

Val smirked. “I think he’d like that too.”

Kalish was glad she had run into Val instead of her superior. Thatcher would either stare, mystified at her request, or he would deem it inappropriate.

“
Let me drop off these supplies, and I’ll take you up there,” Val said.

Kalish trailed her dutifully around for fifteen minutes, getting an impromptu tour of the bowels of the
Albatross
, even as she itched to run off and explore on her own. Judging by the hungry looks she received from some of the men they passed, that might not be a good idea. She did not see many women in the corridors, and the hardened mercenaries looked like they were all too aware of that lack.

“
Computer,” Val said, as they headed for a ladder well, “location of Lieutenant Thomlin?”

“
Lieutenant Thomlin is in the mess hall,” her comm-patch informed her.

“
You’d prefer to surprise him in his cabin, right?”

“
Ideally.” The thought of flinging herself into his arms in front of a bunch of strangers intimidated Kalish, and the idea of greeting him with a chaste, “Good evening,” would be a letdown, at least for her.

“
Hm.” Val led them down a corridor with numerous doors to either side. Crew quarters? “Gregor,” Val called on her comm. “Do you have the ability to access Lieutenant Thomlin’s cabin?” She covered the patch and whispered to Kalish, “I didn’t know him that well before this mission, and I’ve never been to his cabin. As a paranoid security type, he probably doesn’t leave the lock programmed to allow random people in, but most of the senior officers can go anywhere on the ship.”

“
Yes,” Thatcher said.

“
Mind opening it for us?” Val tapped the door beside a plaque that read
Sedgwick Thomlin.

“
Us?”

“
Specifically for our guest, Ms. Blackwell. She wants to surprise Sedge in his room.”

“
That would go against ship’s protocol, Val.”

“
Surprising him?”

“
Letting her into Lieutenant Thomlin’s quarters,” Thatcher said. After a brief hesitation, he added, “I’m less certain about the other.”

Kalish snorted.

Val rolled her eyes. “He’s serious, you know.”

“
Yes, he seems to be an interesting and unusual man.”

“
Interesting and unusual men make appreciative lovers,” Val said.

Kalish smiled back.

Thatcher cleared his throat. “You are aware that your comm signal is still engaged, Val?”

“
Yes, I’m waiting for you to open this door.”

“
I already told you—”

“
Remember that new list you were showing me earlier, Gregor? And how I told you that Number Seven isn’t very dignified for a woman?”

“
Yes,” Thatcher said warily.

“
Do me this favor, and we’ll engage in Number Seven tonight.”

An instant later, the door slid aside. Val held it open with her hand, nodding for Kalish to go in.

“
Thank you,” Kalish said. “But I hope you won’t be put into an uncomfortable situation on my behalf.”

Val cut her comm. “Not at all. I’m not a dignity kind of gal. I
love
Seven. You just can’t let the man know. It’s good to have bargaining chips.” She winked, then headed back down the corridor.

When the door slid shut behind Kalish, she explored Sedge’s room with her eyes, feeling naughty for her intrusion. She kept herself from opening drawers or peeking into his wardrobe, though judging by the tidiness of the bedspread, she suspected everything from shirts to pairs of socks would be perfectly hung or folded. Not surprisingly, there was not a single plant in the cabin. She grinned when she spotted the air purifier and his other bedtime appurtenances lined up on a shelf near the pillow. Kalish had showered before coming aboard, scrubbing herself clean with unscented, hypoallergenic soap. She hoped he approved.

As much as she longed for his touch for her own satisfaction, she wanted to please him too. He had been so much help on her mission, even when she had been prickly and standoffish with him, and she wanted to let him know how much that meant to her. She had chastised him for his snooping when it had ultimately brought her father back to her. Now, she felt guilty about her harsh words, even though she was certain he forgave her. With nothing left between them, she hoped they would have the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company tonight. Indeed, she wanted
more
than a night, but she did not know if Fate would grant them that.

Voices sounded in the corridor, just audible through the door. Reminded of her intent to surprise Sedge, she peeled off her clothes and folded them neatly on the desk. She left her shoes and socks on the deck next to them and walked to the bed in her favorite lacy red bra and panties. With a brush of her hand, she could make them turn translucent, not that she’d had a reason to play with such features for some time.

She lay on the blanket, which was surprisingly soft and fluffy for something in a military man’s quarters. Good, she hated that scratchy wool the Fleet liked to inflict on its soldiers. Maybe a family member had sent it. She hoped silky sheets had come in the box too.

The door opened with a hiss, and there was no more time to speculate on Sedge’s sheets and blankets.

More voices sounded in the corridor and, as she lay provocatively posed on the bed, she envisioned Sedge walking in with several other people for a game night or some such. She was on the verge of leaping up and grabbing her shirt, when he stepped inside, thankfully alone. The door slid shut behind him. His hair was combed, his clothes pressed, and his jaw clean-shaven. The effect was striking.

Kalish bit her lip, meeting his eyes and suddenly feeling shy at her brazenness. By now, she knew Sedge was attracted to her, but she always felt that twinge of self-consciousness at the extra inches around her hips and thighs, worrying that her figure wasn’t perfect enough to attract anyone as handsome as Sedge.

“
We never got to finish our Crucible game,” Kalish said, forcing herself to put thoughts of inadequacy out of her mind. “I thought you might want to do that.”

“
Kalish,” he whispered, staring at her body, then jerking his gaze to her face, as if he had been caught peeping. She was relieved he wanted to peep.

“
It’s all right.” She slid her hand up her waist to her bra, then brushed the seam of the fabric. The rich red shimmered and grew translucent. “You can look.”

“
I—uhm.” He hesitated at first, biting his own lip, then finally seemed to figure out the invitation was in earnest. Slowly, he let his gaze roam down her body, taking in every inch of her. “You’re beautiful,” he croaked.

His avid interest, and the naked honesty caused a lump to form in her throat. How could she have come to care so much what he thought in so few days? Especially after she had dismissed him as an oddity upon their first meeting? She was not sure, but she could not deny the stirring of heat between her legs, the longing to feel his hands upon her, and her desire to touch him as well. The last time she had held his bare flesh had left her so unsatisfied. This time, it would be different.

“
I’m glad you think so,” she said, recovering enough for nonchalance. Someday she might let him know how much his words meant to her, but she did not know if they would have another night together, and she didn’t want to say anything that would make the parting harder. For tonight, she just wanted to be with him and not think too much. Kalish let her fingers drift down to the waistband of her panties, turning them translucent as well.

Sedge swallowed visibly, then stepped toward her, lifting a hand. As much as she wanted that hand upon her body, she smiled and said, “Now, now, let’s be fair. I want to look at
you,
too.”

Sedge looked down at his clothes—the trousers, shirt, boots and jacket were entirely too much. “Yes,” he declared, and took off his jacket so quickly she would have thought it was dusted with some virulent pollen. “That’s fair. And easier. For touching. And, uhm, things.”

“
I look forward to things.”

“
Me too.”

He hefted the jacket, as if he would chuck it into the corner of the room, but grimaced and opened the wardrobe instead. In what was probably a galaxy-wide speed-hanging record, he placed it neatly amidst a dozen other jackets and shirts. Kalish propped herself onto her elbow to enjoy the spectacle of a man hurrying to disrobe while still folding everything and putting it away. For the most part, he was adept at these tasks, though he did forget to take his boots off before yanking his trousers down, which caused him to trip and catch himself on his desk.

“
You’re sure you’re in the top ten percent of the company when it comes to physical fitness tests?” Kalish asked, grinning.

“
Yes, but I may be in the bottom ten percent when it comes to agility displayed while undressing in front of sexy treasure hunters.” He finished disrobing and started across the room toward her, but snapped his fingers, and spun back toward his desk.

She got an eyeful of a tight, cute butt and a few other things as he bent to withdraw a small injector. He jabbed it against his bare forearm, returned it to the desk, and sprinted the three steps to the edge of the bed.

“
I used non-scented shampoo, so you wouldn’t sneeze,” Kalish said.

“
Which I appreciate very much, but there’s no need to take risks.” Sedge sat down, resting his weight on his hand, but not touching her yet. Men never seemed to share her insecurities about displaying their bodies, whether they had extra inches or not. Of course Sedge, as she had noticed on a couple of occasions already, did not have any extra inches. “Mandrake Company has grow rooms full of plants. And many of the crew members keep small gardens or fruit trees in their cabins.” He wrinkled his nose. “It’s understandable and even admirable that they grow fresh produce for the men, but sometimes stray pollen wanders in my direction. Although I do appreciate that the captain installed the upgraded air filtration system I recommended—I sold it to him on the suggestion that we would want to avoid any enemies hurling biological agents into the ship’s ducts. It’s quite efficient. It incinerates all germs, bacteria, pollen, mold spores, and other floating debris larger than point five micrometers in length.” He was mumbling by the end, maybe realizing he had been burbling on. He looked down at his crotch sheepishly. There was nothing sheepish about
it
. Judging by its eager state, it wasn’t that interested in further discussions of mold spores either.