com.
“I’ll obey your orders while on the bridge.” Kirek grinned, and by the heat in his gaze she suspected he was remembering exactly who had been in charge in her quarters. That would most definitely have been him. He’d been determined to have his way, determined to give her pleasure. She hadn’t minded then, but that was play, and this was work.
“Just on the bridge isn’t good enough,” she complained.
He cocked a brow haughtily then spoiled his scowl by winking at her. “You can always fire me.”
She glared at him over the weld. “I never hired you.”
“Three minutes,” Leval reported.
Kirek gave the chain a yank. “Looks good.”
Angel began to repack the welding gear. “This conversation isn’t over.”
“There’s no time.” Kirek grabbed her wrist, and the welding gear tumbled into space. Before she could grab it, he blasted them toward the Raven with his booster.
“Hey. Welders cost credits.”
“I’ll buy you a new welder.”
She snorted, turned on her booster, and recalled how he would only obey her on the bridge. “As if I can rely on you to keep your word.”
“You just insulted me.” Shock and amusement entered Kirek’s tone, and she had the feeling that he hadn’t been insulted often, revealing just how loving a childhood he’d had. He’d grown up so differently from her. She’d been insulted on a daily basis, and kids could be cruel—especially those whose parents doled out charity.
With both boosters blasting on full, they sped back to the Raven.
“One minute.” Leval counted down. “Captain. You aren’t going to make it.”
“Bring the Raven to us,” Kirek suggested, this time not waiting for her to ask his opinion. But as the Kraj ship in the black sky grew from a glinting dot to a shiny streak and then braked in a flashing glow, she didn’t argue over who was in charge.
Frie’s worried tone joined the conversation. “If the Raven advances, you won’t be able to calculate the proper vectors to fly into a moving ship’s cargo bay.”
“Yes. I can. Do it.” Kirek’s voice snapped with authority.
God. Were they going to die out here? She didn’t know which was more likely, the Raven running them down or the Kraj shooting them out of space. Tension grabbed her by the throat as they soared into what appeared to be the wrong direction.
The Raven’s engines kicked in. At first, it appeared that her ship was about to abandon them. But then Leval turned starboard, leaving the bay doors open so they could aim for them.
Kirek had to factor their speed, their trajectory, the Raven’s velocity and direction, and make them all come together. If he erred on the side of caution, they wouldn’t reach the ship before the Kraj arrived. If Kirek erred the other way, they’d end up like bugs splattered against the bay’s far bulkhead. Or they could simply miss the Raven altogether, and the engine’s flare could burn them, or they could tumble away into space, easy targets for the Kraj.
Angel broke into a sweat, held her breath, and kept her doubts to herself. If there was any chance Kirek could perform the complicated calculations in his head, she didn’t want to distract him.
That his brain could work as well as a computer was awesome. To get her pilot’s license, she’d had to perform simple calculations with a computer to back her up. Not even her professors could perform such complex calculations in their heads. In under a minute, with their lives on the line, the task seemed impossible. Crazy.
Kirek adjusted their boosters, and they finally aimed straight toward the bay, wobbling only once, which he corrected with a steady hand and a slow grin. Her heart was pounding, her mouth was dry, and he was … smiling. The big Rystani warrior was showing off.
And then the Kraj fired a shot.
Chapter Seven
ANGEL AND KIREK jetted into the shuttle bay. Leval tried to raise the shields behind them, slicing off a burst of Kraj fire aimed at the Raven.
“I’ll obey your orders while on the bridge.” Kirek grinned, and by the heat in his gaze she suspected he was remembering exactly who had been in charge in her quarters. That would most definitely have been him. He’d been determined to have his way, determined to give her pleasure. She hadn’t minded then, but that was play, and this was work.
“Just on the bridge isn’t good enough,” she complained.
He cocked a brow haughtily then spoiled his scowl by winking at her. “You can always fire me.”
She glared at him over the weld. “I never hired you.”
“Three minutes,” Leval reported.
Kirek gave the chain a yank. “Looks good.”
Angel began to repack the welding gear. “This conversation isn’t over.”
“There’s no time.” Kirek grabbed her wrist, and the welding gear tumbled into space. Before she could grab it, he blasted them toward the Raven with his booster.
“Hey. Welders cost credits.”
“I’ll buy you a new welder.”
She snorted, turned on her booster, and recalled how he would only obey her on the bridge. “As if I can rely on you to keep your word.”
“You just insulted me.” Shock and amusement entered Kirek’s tone, and she had the feeling that he hadn’t been insulted often, revealing just how loving a childhood he’d had. He’d grown up so differently from her. She’d been insulted on a daily basis, and kids could be cruel—especially those whose parents doled out charity.
With both boosters blasting on full, they sped back to the Raven.
“One minute.” Leval counted down. “Captain. You aren’t going to make it.”
“Bring the Raven to us,” Kirek suggested, this time not waiting for her to ask his opinion. But as the Kraj ship in the black sky grew from a glinting dot to a shiny streak and then braked in a flashing glow, she didn’t argue over who was in charge.
Frie’s worried tone joined the conversation. “If the Raven advances, you won’t be able to calculate the proper vectors to fly into a moving ship’s cargo bay.”
“Yes. I can. Do it.” Kirek’s voice snapped with authority.
God. Were they going to die out here? She didn’t know which was more likely, the Raven running them down or the Kraj shooting them out of space. Tension grabbed her by the throat as they soared into what appeared to be the wrong direction.
The Raven’s engines kicked in. At first, it appeared that her ship was about to abandon them. But then Leval turned starboard, leaving the bay doors open so they could aim for them.
Kirek had to factor their speed, their trajectory, the Raven’s velocity and direction, and make them all come together. If he erred on the side of caution, they wouldn’t reach the ship before the Kraj arrived. If Kirek erred the other way, they’d end up like bugs splattered against the bay’s far bulkhead. Or they could simply miss the Raven altogether, and the engine’s flare could burn them, or they could tumble away into space, easy targets for the Kraj.
Angel broke into a sweat, held her breath, and kept her doubts to herself. If there was any chance Kirek could perform the complicated calculations in his head, she didn’t want to distract him.
That his brain could work as well as a computer was awesome. To get her pilot’s license, she’d had to perform simple calculations with a computer to back her up. Not even her professors could perform such complex calculations in their heads. In under a minute, with their lives on the line, the task seemed impossible. Crazy.
Kirek adjusted their boosters, and they finally aimed straight toward the bay, wobbling only once, which he corrected with a steady hand and a slow grin. Her heart was pounding, her mouth was dry, and he was … smiling. The big Rystani warrior was showing off.
And then the Kraj fired a shot.
Chapter Seven
ANGEL AND KIREK jetted into the shuttle bay. Leval tried to raise the shields behind them, slicing off a burst of Kraj fire aimed at the Raven.
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