Read Seven Days - A Space Romance for Free Online Page B

companionably. She’d enjoyed helping him, and he hadn’t been short or frustrated with her when she took a little longer to read a blueprint.
    She liked that about him—that he was just happy to have her there at his side. He remained cheerful throughout the work, unlike Dr. Nevis, who would grow increasingly sour the longer he worked with her, as if her presence bothered him.
    Now they were just waiting to find out if the replacement would be enough. Kaden had set up a diagnostic to cross-check all possible scenarios and was letting the computer run it.
    There was nothing to do but wait. Kaden mopped his sweating brow. It had been cramped, the air stagnant, under that massive circuit board, and Kaden’s shirt was soaked with sweat.
    Not that Zoey minded looking at him all sweaty. It just made her think of... other things.
    “I should clean off,” he said, raising his shirt and wiping his brow. It exposed his hard, rippling abdomen and made her own stomach flutter in response. “Shame all we have is the dry shower, or I’d invite you in with me.”
    Suddenly she regretted that too. “I took a bath earlier,” she blurted, then blushed at his appraising look. “Totally broke the rules. I know. I don’t care. But I saved the water. Had it cleansed and recycled.” She was babbling. God, she sounded stupid, too. “Just in case, you know, you wanted to bathe.”
    That slow, curving smile touched Kaden’s mouth. “I figured that out when you came in here and your hair was all wet. Just trying to figure out what your bathwater has to do with me.”
    Oh. She felt immediately stupid. Why was it so hard to proposition a man? “I was just saying, in case you wanted to take a bath yourself.”
    “No,” he said slowly, reaching over and tugging at the belt of her suit, pulling her forward until she pressed up against that hot, sweaty body. “What I’m saying is, why did you bring it up now? Unless you had an idea...?”
    His mouth was so close to hers. Gorgeous, perfect, hard mouth. He had stubble on his cheeks, too. He’d skipped shaving today, something that a mech never did. For some reason, she liked the sight of that. Her XO was bending the rules too. What did the rules matter anymore? They had six days left, and they were going to do as they pleased.
    She pressed a finger to a bead of sweat on his temple, fascinated by him. “I just thought, maybe... you’d want to share it. Maybe.”
    “Maybe?” he said huskily, and hauled her up by the waist, picking her up in the air as if she were a child, and starting to head to the gym. She laughed at the absurdity of it, wrapping her arms and legs around him, and let him carry her in.
     
    #
     
    He’d insisted on showering to clean off his sweat before jumping into the tub with her. Zoey waited in her clothes, drumming her fingers as the sprayers activated and she heard them hiss and hum all over his body. He stepped out of the showers a few minutes later, shaking powder out of his hair and grinning, not wearing a stitch of clothing.
    A hot blush colored her face at the sight, and she quickly pinned her gaze to his neck, since any higher would show his smug, amused grin, and any lower would be, well, obvious.
    But her embarrassment was quickly pushed aside as he strode forward, all taut muscles and lean body, and pulled her back into his arms. His mouth swooped over her own, sucking gently at her lower lip and encouraging her mouth to part for him. She didn’t need much encouragement for that—when she parted her lips his tongue slipped between, giving her a delicious stroke that was pure Kaden and pure pleasure. And oh my, she liked the taste of him.
    His hand tangled in her hair, fingers knotting in the loose locks. She hadn’t worn it in her characteristic ponytail, hadn’t felt the need. She was glad it was loose now, for him. Kaden fisted a handful, groaning. “You’re beautiful.”
    She laughed, but it carried a note of sad desperation even to her own