Kira glanced at him again after she finished dressing. He was still staring at her with an erection strong enough to act as a landing strut for the Rented Mule. She smiled again, knowing this time that he wouldn’t notice the redness of her face, then turned and walked out with a little extra sway of her hips. She bit back the giggle until she was out of the lockers and heading towards the passageway that circle the cargo bay. The cargo bay had been vented for this trip, but the access passage around it was the only decent option for exercise. She turned the corner and looked down the long passage.
Three dozen laps later she figured she was close to three miles in. A short run, by her standards, but life on a transport was never promised to be one of luxury and accommodation. She headed back to the locker room wiping sweat from her brow. She stepped in and saw Captain Sharp putting on some running shoes of his own. He glanced up at her and did a double take.
“ Check the display, Kira! If it says occupied you stand fast. Last thing I need is a bunch of sex-crazed men running around this ship because you walked in on them in the shower or something!”
Kira stared at him, thoughts firing off in her brain so quickly she couldn’t identify them.
“ Pick your jaw up, it’s okay. I was finished anyhow. Going to get a run in before we sack out. Looks like you already did.”
“ Sir! I didn’t- I mean, I don’t- I wasn’t-“
Sharp chuckled. “Relax, just pay more attention. This is your first run, you’re nervous. I get that, it’s okay. Everything set up all right in the nav computer?”
She nodded, finally managing to seal her lips together. “Good, get yourself a shower but be sure and hit the button on your way in. Last thing you want is Tarn stumbling in on you.”
Kira shuddered. The thought of the fat ex-Marine ogling her body made her nauseous. “Yes Sir. Sorry Captain, I’ll be more careful next time.”
He nodded. “I bet you will. Otherwise I’ll have to make sure I’m the one who walks in on you…”
Kira gasped, causing the Captain to laugh at her as he walked out of the locker room. “Never had the need for a lock but if it’s a problem I can see if Eric can rig one up.”
At the mention of Eric Kira’s eyes narrowed. “No Sir,” she growled. “It’s fine.”
He shrugged and headed out for his own run. Kira followed him just enough to turn and see the display that was now obvious to her. Letters that clearly indicated occupied or unoccupied, along with a red and green light. She shook her head at her own naivety and walked back in to the shower. She slapped her hand on the button to set the display to occupied, then went to her locker.
Her shower did little to cool the growing anger inside of her. She slipped into comfortable clothes for the cold sleep but instead of heading to the hibernation chambers she called up the whereabouts of Eric Sackman on the computer. He was in the engine room, how fitting. She hoped he was getting dirty again.
When she found him he was just replacing a panel on a console. She waited until he turned before stepping up and slapping him. Hard. Eric’s head snapped back and he took a half step away from her to catch himself. His own hand went to his cheek, but the flare of rage she saw in his face drained once his eyes met hers.
“ Oh shit, Kira! Oh no, you’ve already changed. Oh shit, oh shit! Look, I’m so sorry — I didn’t mean for anybody else to- Oh shit, who was it?”
“ Captain Sharp,” She spat at him.
“ Oh, okay, well at least it wasn’t Tarn or one of the cargo monkeys. Still, he didn’t see anything did he? Shit Kira, it was just a little joke, I didn’t mean for-“
“ Aren’t the ‘cargo monkeys’ your men?”
He nodded, looking miserable while he did so. “I was going to tell you but you just got naked in front of me I couldn’t think straight! Then you left and I realized I had to tell you, but before I could the Captain ran into me and asked me about a repair I’d told him I’d finished up, except I hadn’t really finished it yet. So I had to bust my ass to get that fixed, then I was going to come and tell you. But-“
“ But I run faster than you thought,” Kira finished for him. She shook her head and poked him with her finger in the chest. “I’m the new girl, I know. I’m going to catch some shit, I know. You can fuck with me all you want. You can make me run stupid errands and give me the shit work. But don’t act like my friend unless you mean it!”
Kira turned, still royally pissed off. She didn’t know what else to say or do. She’d hit, she’d yelled at him, everything should have been fine. But it wasn’t. With a growl that threatened to turn into a sob she started to walk away from him.
“ Kira!” She hesitated, but kept walking. The door was only a few steps away. “You’re beautiful!”
She stumbled, stopping at the door.
“ Look, I’m sorry. I’ll say it every day to you for three months while you sleep and I do nothing but stare at your hibernation chamber if you want. I don’t rattle easy, but the confidence and the sexiness you showed me just knocked me on my ass. I couldn’t believe it. And yes, I’m shallow, but you’re the hottest thing that’s ever set foot on the Rented Mule — even better than the girls the Captain’s brought back from time to time.”
Kira grabbed the hatch and slammed it shut, then turned to stare at him. She walked back over, her feet landing heavily as a message of her mood. “You fucking with me again?” He shook his head so hard she thought he might bruise his brain. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. “Because if you are and I fall for it, I’ll shove your ass out an airlock first chance I get. Got it?”
This time Eric nodded with equal fervor.
“ Good, now shut up.” Kira stared down at him for a moment, her tall figure all the more imposing for her anger. Then she leaned forward and kissed him. He gasped, giving Kira the opportunity to press the kiss deeper and move in for the kill. She crushed herself against his muscular body until she could feel his interest pressing against her leg.
“ You like confidence?” She asked rhetorically. He nodded but she had already started talking again. “Take your clothes off.”
He had to lean against the machinery to keep his balance as he stumbled to obey her. Kira removed her own clothing at a calmer pace, though inside her heart was racing. She’d never tried the dominant thing before, it was exciting. Seeing him proudly on display again made her mouth water and her thighs clench. She was tempted to toss the dominance out the window and beg him to take her, but she wanted to make sure she did it right.
“ Oh Eric, I may be the bottom of the ladder around here, but I’ve got a lot of things you’re going to be doing for me.”
Eric’s answering groan was silenced by her mouth.
Chapter 3
“ Kira!” The navigator groaned as the words filtered through the disturbing images of her dream. She’d been reliving some very pleasant aerobic activity with Eric one moment, then felt as though she’d been sucked through the wall of the ship to be immersed in the absolute zero temperatures of deep space the next. She coughed, feeling like her lungs were coated in ice water. Somebody grabbed her, helping her up and over a metal ridge that pressed painfully into her ribs. She gagged some more, dry heaving until she could hear straight. Spittle hung from her lips and chills racked her body.
“ Kira, we’ve been dumped out of cold sleep, your prox warning is going off, what’s going on?” Captain Sharp demanded.
Kira looked up slowly, wincing at the pain in her chest, throat, and head as she did so. He looked pale and miserable, but his actions spoke otherwise. She nodded and forced herself up, fighting back a wave of nausea. “C..c…cold, Sir!”
“ Walk it off, damn it!” He snapped, perhaps a concession to his own condition.
Kira nodded and pulled herself out of the pod she’d been in. The others were either doing likewise or were standing around in robes. She felt a tug and looked down, her head clearing as she realized she was still fully integrated with the hibernation chamber. The light blanket that had covered her nude body was still on her, but she’d given the Captain quite a show in spite of it. She glanced up when she heard a scuffling sound and saw Eric was struggling into a robe and trying to join them. He brought a spare robe for her. That’s nice, she thought, then
