“Once I meet up with Venna, my scientific officer, we’ll be heading to Trakis Seven. Why don’t you come along? There’s Meridian on Trakis Seven.”
He was the devil tempting her. He even looked like she might imagine the devil looking, with his black wings, his almost inhuman beauty. “I can wait,” she said. “I’ll soon have enough money.”
“Hmm, maybe. But most likely not. Are you aware Meridian has become scarce in the recent years?”
“I know the price went up. I just presumed you were getting greedy.”
“No—it appears there’s a finite supply. Oh, I’m guessing, given time, the planet would produce more, but not in your lifetime. In the first years, we found the caches easily. There were so many. But for the past fifty years, only two have been found. One has been used. The other is sold, but the buyer hasn’t yet taken possession.”
“And it’s on Trakis Seven?”
“The Meridian doesn’t leave Trakis Seven. The buyer goes there for the treatment—it loses its potency away from the planet, turns into so much useless crap. We tried in the early years because Trakis Seven is not a pleasant place to visit, even for us.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Are you telling the truth?”
“Would I lie?”
“Hell, yeah. You’re a politician—you probably find it easier than telling the truth.”
A smile flickered across his face. “Maybe, but in this instance I’m not. You could always check with Skylar—she can confirm what I’ve told you—at least about the treatment. Nobody but the Council is aware that it’s running out.”
Tannis thought for a minute. The flask was still in her hand and she reached beneath the table, pulled out two glasses, and emptied the last of the whiskey into them. She handed one to Callum and took a sip of her own while she thought through what he had told her. The whole Meridian treatment was shrouded in mystery, so she couldn’t know for sure whether he was telling the truth. But as he’d said, she could always check with Skylar.
Anticipation bubbled up inside her. She tamped it down and told herself to be cautious. It wasn’t in her nature to be careful, maybe never had been, but she’d spent too much time around Rico for caution to hold any appeal. This was her dream, to get the Meridian treatment and live forever. Once she had that, she could stick her finger up at the memory of those bastards at the research center who had taunted her with promises of an early death in the Meridian mines.
“Tannis?”
“Give me a minute. I’m thinking.”
Once she had the Meridian treatment, she could relax and think about what she wanted to do with the rest of forever. Go after the people who had run that center. Maybe she would get over it, finally put the past behind her once she had found and punished those responsible.
But she also knew that was only part of the reason why her blood thumped in her veins. If she said yes, Callum would stay. Just a little while longer. She sipped her drink and studied him, trying to work out what drew her to him. He was utterly gorgeous, all high cheekbones, arched brows, a full sensual lower lip, those mesmerizing eyes. What was he really doing on her ship?
“I don’t understand why,” she said. “Why are you here? Why don’t you just get your own people to pick you up and take you to Trakis Seven?”
“I don’t trust them. They want to shut all the research down and pretend this isn’t happening. And they’re scared, and scared people make rash, stupid decisions.”
“What about this Venna? This scientific officer you’re meeting up with—do you trust her?”
“She’s been researching what we are since we started to suspect that Meridian wasn’t what we thought. She wants to know the truth as much as I do.”
“Hmm. There has to be more.”
He studied her speculatively for a minute, head cocked on one side as though he didn’t know what to make of her.
“What?” Her tone was belligerent.
“You’re right, that’s not everything.” He smiled and his teeth were very white and even. “I want to explore this thing between us.”
“There’s a ‘thing’ between us?”
He nodded.
Holy freaking moly. There was a thing between them.
“Do you know how long it is since I’ve been with a woman?” he asked.
“Yeah, of course I do. How the fuck would I know that?” But she was interested, and she had no clue where he was going with this. Well, actually, she did have a clue, but it seemed pretty damn unbelievable.
“Well, it’s been a long, long time.”
And why did that comment make a little glow start low down in her belly, where she’d never had a little glow before? She shifted in her seat.
“And I’m betting it’s been a long time for you as well.”
Yeah, that was right.
A frown formed on his face when she didn’t answer. “You’re not a virgin are you?”
“No,” she scoffed. It was a lie but none of his goddamn business.
“Good.”
Good? Did that mean he was looking for an experienced lover? Well, no one under that description in here.