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we reach Aga?” He tightened his grip on the steering mechanism. How long would the reactor core hold up if they burned through everything they had now?
    “Using full hyper-light, a few hours.” She jerked around in her seat, pinning him with an intense stare. “Can we make it?”
    Stratton shrugged. “Don’t know, but I’m willing to go all in if you are.” He shot her the grin that had always won him favor with the ladies. Unfortunately, she didn’t so much as blush. “My promise still stands. I’ll get you to the platform. All I want from you is insider information on Chaf.”
    One feathery, arched eyebrow inched toward her hairline. “Why are you so interested in him? What did he do?”
    “You’re on a need-to-know basis, kita . Right now, you don’t need to know.”
    “I thought you weren’t going to call me that anymore?”
    “I never said that.” His grin widened. “Does it bother you?”
    “Like you don’t know.” Fire smoldered in her gaze.
    “Good. I’ll keep calling you kita until we hit the first-place spot. Better make a decision.” Baiting Willa was fast becoming one of his favorite games. “I’d hate for you to disappoint someone else.”
    “Damn you, Sin. I hope you rot in a dark cell.”
    Her using his nickname sent hot pulses straight to his dick. Maybe her armor was cracking after all. “Don’t worry. I probably will sooner or later.”
    Willa’s fingers worked so quickly over her controls, he could hardly keep up. “Computer, follow new coordinates into open space. Prepare for hyper-light in ten.” She yanked her helmet from its hook, turned to him and said, “Let’s see what this bird can do.”
    “You’re on.” He caught the tail end of her grin before she hid her face behind the visor. Those lips would haunt his dreams. “Hang on. This rally is about to go viral.” He slammed his fist down on a circular button. Instantly, the Anomaly hurtled into the top grade of hyper-light speed. Tickles filled his stomach, as much from excitement as from accelerated momentum. “After the winner’s podium, drinks on me.”
    Then, he’d have to turn his attention to tracking Chaf. After all, passing time in space with a sexy woman was one thing, but capturing Chaf was another. Money would always win out over companionship. If life had taught him anything, it was that cash stuck around when people didn’t.

Chapter Three
    Hours later, Stratton maneuvered the Anomaly smoothly into the designated bay and spent several anxious minutes waiting as the dock monkeys flagged him into a slot. Couplings slammed into place, securing the ship, and hoses were clamped into the underbelly to collect EM waste, as well as biological waste accumulated on the journey.
    Stretching cramped muscles, he released the life-support line from his slick suit and stood. Willa had already gone into the hold to prepare the quad rover. They’d take that from the moon base to the first marker of the race and then to the mandatory rest area. “Willa, are we ready?”
    She popped up from the rear of the craft as the back door slid soundlessly open. “Yup. The sooner we leave, the better chance we have of getting first digs.” Her eyes sparkled like lake water. “Everything good?”
    “As far as I can tell.” Stratton took a few steps toward her, then stopped. He swallowed hard, but his throat remained dry, partly due to interstellar travel and partly from finally seeing Willa fully for the first time. The black suit hugged her curves with the possessive care of a lover, every dip and swell of her body on display for his hungry inspection. She’d even unzipped part of the suit—not enough to show off indecent cleavage, yet far enough that he could fantasize about what it would look like. “Why are you”—he gestured at her, for once at a loss for words to describe that portion of the female anatomy—“almost undressing?”
    Willa shrugged, and the slight movement lifted her breasts. Her expression