disappeared. “She still has a thing for you?”
“It looks that way. I’m hoping she’ll get over it soon.”
“Hmm…” Kayla crossed her arms and studied him. “I guess I can’t blame her. You’re kinda’ nice to look at.”
Carl chuckled, returning her assessment with a long look of his own. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I could definitely say the same.”
He brushed her hair behind her ear and trailed his fingers down her cheek. When he rubbed his thumb over her lower lip, her cheeks flushed and her mouth parted slightly. Although he wanted nothing more than to pursue her, he recognized the need to give her some time to adapt to her new surroundings. Summoning his willpower, he took a step back, giving her a long perusal.
“I need to go take care of a few things. If you need anything, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll see you a bit later.”
* * * *
Kayla watched him walk away, trying to ignore the familiar flutter in her stomach she seemed to get every time he was around. Leaning against the wall for support, she mentally kicked herself. Damn, damn, damn. Get it together, Kayla. He’s a trader .
Forcing herself to turn away from his retreating figure, she looked at the packed box with disinterest. The thought of unpacking wasn’t appealing. Instead, she headed over to Veridian’s private area.
Shoving a box aside, she sprawled out on his bed.
Veridian cocked his head at her and then gave it a slow shake. “I haven’t been here for an hour and you’re already taking over my area.”
“Oh, shush. If you really minded, you’d kick me out.”
He chuckled but didn't argue with her. Taking that as a victory, she fluffed up his pillows behind her. “So, what did Leo say? Was he pissed?”
He shrugged, but Kayla noticed his shoulders tense. “It’s probably for the best you didn’t come back last night. I got stuck listening to a Leo rant that should have been directed at you. He’s worried about Ramiro though. To be honest, I think he’s going to miss you.”
Kayla frowned. She'd known Leo was going to be upset and she felt guilty for letting Veridian take the brunt of it. More than anything, though, she was worried about how the camp would fare without her. She guessed that was Leo's main concern too. She hoped Carl would keep his word and allow her to transfer some credits back to them. Until they found a replacement scavenger, it would be difficult on them. “I doubt that. He’ll just miss having someone to argue with.”
“That’s probably partly true. You know, he wants us to come back when we’re done after the year. He wanted me to tell you that.”
Kayla propped herself up on her elbows to see him better. She was normally pretty good at reading Veridian, but she couldn't tell how he felt about the turn of events. When they were younger, he had joked about joining a trader camp but he hadn't said anything about it in recent years. In fact, he'd always supported her anti-OmniLab campaign, especially after the situation with Ramiro.
“We’ll see. You know, we could always take off and start our own camp or something. We could even leave OmniLab territory. There are other places where we could start over.”
Veridian gave her a sharp look and she barely managed not to flinch. “You better be considering options for a year from now and not thinking what I think you’re thinking. We’re not breaking the contract. We'd be blacklisted by every single OmniLab trader. There’s no going back from that, Kayla.”
Kayla groaned and fell back on the bed in frustration. So much for her fantasy. Staring up at the ceiling, she declared, “Fine. Have it your way.”
Satisfied that she wouldn’t do something crazy right that second, Veridian turned back to the box. “Carl and his crew seem like decent people. You said yourself he wasn’t a bad guy.”
Kayla couldn't stop the silly grin from spreading across her face. “He’s too damn pretty to be a
“It looks that way. I’m hoping she’ll get over it soon.”
“Hmm…” Kayla crossed her arms and studied him. “I guess I can’t blame her. You’re kinda’ nice to look at.”
Carl chuckled, returning her assessment with a long look of his own. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I could definitely say the same.”
He brushed her hair behind her ear and trailed his fingers down her cheek. When he rubbed his thumb over her lower lip, her cheeks flushed and her mouth parted slightly. Although he wanted nothing more than to pursue her, he recognized the need to give her some time to adapt to her new surroundings. Summoning his willpower, he took a step back, giving her a long perusal.
“I need to go take care of a few things. If you need anything, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll see you a bit later.”
* * * *
Kayla watched him walk away, trying to ignore the familiar flutter in her stomach she seemed to get every time he was around. Leaning against the wall for support, she mentally kicked herself. Damn, damn, damn. Get it together, Kayla. He’s a trader .
Forcing herself to turn away from his retreating figure, she looked at the packed box with disinterest. The thought of unpacking wasn’t appealing. Instead, she headed over to Veridian’s private area.
Shoving a box aside, she sprawled out on his bed.
Veridian cocked his head at her and then gave it a slow shake. “I haven’t been here for an hour and you’re already taking over my area.”
“Oh, shush. If you really minded, you’d kick me out.”
He chuckled but didn't argue with her. Taking that as a victory, she fluffed up his pillows behind her. “So, what did Leo say? Was he pissed?”
He shrugged, but Kayla noticed his shoulders tense. “It’s probably for the best you didn’t come back last night. I got stuck listening to a Leo rant that should have been directed at you. He’s worried about Ramiro though. To be honest, I think he’s going to miss you.”
Kayla frowned. She'd known Leo was going to be upset and she felt guilty for letting Veridian take the brunt of it. More than anything, though, she was worried about how the camp would fare without her. She guessed that was Leo's main concern too. She hoped Carl would keep his word and allow her to transfer some credits back to them. Until they found a replacement scavenger, it would be difficult on them. “I doubt that. He’ll just miss having someone to argue with.”
“That’s probably partly true. You know, he wants us to come back when we’re done after the year. He wanted me to tell you that.”
Kayla propped herself up on her elbows to see him better. She was normally pretty good at reading Veridian, but she couldn't tell how he felt about the turn of events. When they were younger, he had joked about joining a trader camp but he hadn't said anything about it in recent years. In fact, he'd always supported her anti-OmniLab campaign, especially after the situation with Ramiro.
“We’ll see. You know, we could always take off and start our own camp or something. We could even leave OmniLab territory. There are other places where we could start over.”
Veridian gave her a sharp look and she barely managed not to flinch. “You better be considering options for a year from now and not thinking what I think you’re thinking. We’re not breaking the contract. We'd be blacklisted by every single OmniLab trader. There’s no going back from that, Kayla.”
Kayla groaned and fell back on the bed in frustration. So much for her fantasy. Staring up at the ceiling, she declared, “Fine. Have it your way.”
Satisfied that she wouldn’t do something crazy right that second, Veridian turned back to the box. “Carl and his crew seem like decent people. You said yourself he wasn’t a bad guy.”
Kayla couldn't stop the silly grin from spreading across her face. “He’s too damn pretty to be a
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