Page 34 of On a Rogue Planet
He thought he heard bitterness in her tone. He gripped her chin and lifted her eyes to his. “When we get back from Rhage, I want more than a kiss.” He paused. “If it pleases you to show me more.”
The voices had almost reached the cockpit.
Her gaze raked his face, something in her expression softening. “Yes, it pleases me.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
As Dathan and Nik strode into the main cabin, Mal reluctantly pulled away from Xander.
Holy stars, her entire body was vibrating.
Simply from a kiss.
She could not believe the transformation in him. No way would she pick him as an emotionless CenSec now.
His bare chest was oiled and shone under the cockpit lights. The amazing temp tattoo covered the left side of his chest. Eos had outdone herself. It was an interlinked design of cogs that incorporated and hid his implants. It snaked up his neck, right up to his temple.
He looked so hot.
Mal dragged her gaze off him and looked at her cousins.
“Right, we need to—” Dathan came to an abrupt halt. “Holy hell, Mal.”
She shifted uneasily and held her arms out to the side. “I’m thinking of making this my new salvage yard uniform. How do you think it’ll look with a tool belt?”
Dathan blinked. Niklas was frowning.
Lala sashayed in with Eos. “Sexy cyborg, you look deeeelish.” Lala shot Xander a wide grin and licked her lips. “Hubba hubba, where were you hiding all those muscles?”
Dathan and Nik pulled their gazes away from Mal to frown at Lala. She shot them an innocent smile. Then she winked at Mal.
Eos bustled forward. “Okay, let’s talk plan of attack before we hit orbit around Rhage.”
Dathan reluctantly moved toward the holo-table. “I’m thinking Mal needs a coat.”
Mal scowled at her cousin.
“She does,” Xander added.
Her head whipped around to face him, her scowl deepening.
“Stop it, all of you,” Eos touched the holo-table. “Malin’s a grown woman. Get used to it.” Eos tossed her long braid over her shoulder. “Now, let’s talk about what you need to do once you set foot on Rhage.”
“Prime objective is to find out who has the information on the Antikythera,” Xander said.
Mal noticed his gaze was locked onto her bare legs, and she suppressed a smile.
“You’ve been scheduled to fight later in the night,” Niklas said.
Mal growled. “What do you mean, fight? He can’t fight!”
Xander’s gaze flew up to hers. “I won’t lose.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m more worried about you being hurt.”
He blinked. As though no one had ever worried about him before.
She shook her head. “No. We need to get the information and get outbeforeyour fight.”
