Last Flight of the Ark Read Online Free Page A

the wall, stepped toward the exit, coming closer. He glanced at the zipper on her flight suit. It appeared to have slipped an inch or two when he’d groped her during their kiss and now it exposed more than a fair portion of cleavage. With the top missing underneath, it was a temptation almost impossible to pass. He growled. One more step, one inch closer…. His control only went so far.
    The lift bumped and the door opened. “Come on. I need to fix that arm.” Jessica caught where his gaze had landed and blushed again. “I had to use my shirt—”
    “I know.” No explanation necessary.
    “Let’s get you a proper bandage.”
    Let’s get you out of those clothes . His knuckles cracked from having his hands balled so tight.
    She stepped off the lift, turned to him, and waited. He must be out of his mind. What man would pass up an opportunity like that? He drew in a deep breath and shoved the lever down. The door slammed shut in a surprised Jessica’s face.
    Oh, he wanted to get off. Bad. But every instinct told him it would be a big mistake. Until he knew what was going on, it was better to play it safe. To his room first for a cold shower, and then he’d attend to the injury himself and try to figure why the fuck his arm didn’t hurt.
     
    ***
     
    Damned man . Jessica stared at the closed doors and curled her hands into fists. There was something there. He wanted her. That kiss was as far from chaste as it could get. Just when she thought he was going to finally make all her deep-space wet dreams come true, he’d let the damn doors slam shut in her face.
    It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to get him to notice. The last couple of months had been pretty desperate and she’d pushed as far as she could without just coming out and saying it.
    They’d worked together for more than four years before the trip. Over time, the feelings she had for him morphed into something deeper than need. Then the six months of preflight training punched a hole in her remaining control. His smiles. They way he joked and made her laugh.
    He wasn’t perfect. He did have that coarse way of expressing himself. Perhaps he never had a mother who’d cared to teach him differently. Or it could be a defense mechanism to put distance between him and anyone who might get too close. It was another piece of the puzzle that made up Kaleb Titan and kept him from being that perfect specimen so many women thought they wanted.
    Not Jessica. She didn’t want perfect. He was a bad boy, a tasty, dangerous rebel and his mouth had worked fine when he’d kissed her. Actually, more than fine. The galaxy fell away during that kiss and everything but their bodies and the heat between them had ceased to exist. It wasn’t a schoolgirl crush and it sure as hell wasn’t missing-daddy syndrome, even though he had at least ten years on her. She didn’t need a daddy. She’d made it this far without one. And if what she’d felt in that kiss was real, his feelings were anything but fatherly.
    Jessica sniffed and her pulse jumped. That damned cologne he wore all over the place. Every time she caught a whiff, she creamed herself, but then again, that didn’t take much where he was concerned. One look would do it.
    Once, she’d walked up on him stripping off his shirt in the bay after he’d fixed the lift. He’d gotten hydraulic fluid down the front of his uniform. He held a damp sponge and was washing the mess away from his shoulders and chest, cussing and bitching the whole time.
    She couldn’t remember much of what he’d said, nor did she really care. She’d been too busy watching water droplets make little trails down his chest to his stomach. An image she’d never forget.
    It was a miracle she didn’t jump him there. Good Lord, were scientists supposed to look like that? She’d known he looked good in uniform, but her imagination had never done him justice. Without the clothes, he was a sin waiting to happen. It took all her self-control not to