Read Among Galactic Ruins for Free Online

“Dathan.”
    Damn, Damon didn’t want the kid to be behind
this. He’d thought he’d read a need in the young treasure hunter to
prove himself the old-fashioned way. Not by taking shortcuts.
    Lexa snapped her fingers. “And Brocken
Phoenix.”
    Hmm, that made more sense. “We’ll check with
Dathan in the morning. In the meantime, we need to be careful. No
wandering off alone, always keep your Sync in reach.”
    “They took my Sync.”
    “Damn. At least they can’t get into it.”
    Her lips quirked. “Not with the new
encryption you put on it.”
    “That you bitched about endlessly.” He
pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear. “We’ll get you a
new one tomorrow.”
    “I doubt we’ll find one with a 4D scanner
built into it like mine.”
    “We’ll see. Here, take this.”
    She took the laser pistol. Her touch wasn’t
hesitant, like he expected. She examined the weapon like a pro. He
raised a brow.
    “Standard self-defense training for
astro-archeologists. Never know when you might be on a dangerous
dig…or a deadly treasure hunt. Plus, that brother thing again.”
    “Do you have another copy of the map and its
clues?”
    “Yes. It wasn’t all on the Sync.”
    Clever girl . “Where is it?”
    She grabbed the chain around her neck and
lifted the purple pendant. “The thief was closer to it than he
knew. I saved images of the map and the text, as well as my
translation, onto a memory chip and had it made to look like
jewelry.”
    He fingered it. “Not bad, Princess. We might
make a spy out of you, yet.”
    She grinned. “I have my talents too, Mr.
Malik.”
    His fingers brushed hers and something arced
between them. He suddenly realized she was wearing only tiny sleep
shorts that left her slim legs bare, along with an equally tiny
tank top. One strap had been torn, revealing the top swell of one
full breast.
    Her eyes stayed on his face. “We don’t like
each other.”
    “Right.” Unable to stop himself—him, the
king of control—he brushed his fingers over her bare shoulder. Her
skin was so smooth.
    She shivered. “You think I’m a trouble
magnet.”
    “And you think I’m arrogant.”
    “An arrogant ass.” She lifted a hand and ran
it down the side of his face. Her nails scratching over his
stubble.
    “That was it.” He brushed some of her hair
back from her face. Then he touched her now-healed neck. “Does it
hurt?”
    She shook her head, her lips parting. “Not
anymore.”
    “This is probably a really bad idea.”
    “Yes. Really bad.”
    Thinking about those angry red marks
reminded Damon she’d been attacked and hurt. She was vulnerable.
For all his faults, taking advantage of a woman wasn’t one of
them.
    He took a deep breath and pulled back. “You
should get some sleep. You need to be rested to start our hunt
tomorrow.”
    Her eyes flashed and her lips pressed into a
line. “You’re just going to ignore this?” She waved a hand between
them.
    “Like you said, we don’t like each
other.”
    “That’s all you’re going to say?”
    God, if she kept pushing him, he’d crack and
push her back on that uncomfortable bed, strip her naked and put
his mouth on her. “You’re high maintenance. I don’t need the
aggravation.”
    With a sniff, she got to her feet, clutching
the torn strap of her shirt. “I’m remembering why I don’t like
you.”
    Reluctance sat heavily on him, but he forced
himself to move away from her to the window. He slammed the
shutters closed and pulled a multi-tool from his pocket. He flicked
on the mini-welder, watching as it shone bright gold. Quickly, he
welded the shutters closed.
    “Damon! You’re damaging someone else’s
property.”
    “I already broke the lock on your door to
get in here. I’ll pay Stellar. I’m sure she’ll be more than happy
to take my e-creds.” And Lexa would be safe.
    He strode to the door and glanced back. Damn . Just looking at her—her hair a tumbled disarray, the
creamy skin of her arms and legs