He shifted her so her back was against the cushions, and his body pressed into her, one of his legs sliding between hers, all without breaking the kiss. She clasped his shoulders, then slid her hands around his neck and into the silky softness of his hair to hold him tight against her.
The kiss was more insistent now and his body was hard, his hip thrusting against her, so she could feel the length of his erection pressing against her. Now was the moment she should start to panic, but it never came, and a sense of wonder filled her.
Tentatively, she stroked her tongue against the velvet of his and he went still, a groan rising up in his throat.
“Hey, flyboy, I told you to apologize. I didn’t tell you to stick your tongue down her throat.”
Tannis nearly jumped out of her skin at Rico’s drawled words. She drew away from Callum, turned quickly, and found Rico leaning against the open door with an amused expression on his face. His words slowly penetrated her brain.
“Shit. You told him to apologize. I can’t believe this.” She ran a hand through her hair. Callum still held her, but loosely, and she pulled away. For a second, his fingers tightened on her arms, but then he let her go.
Her brain was slowly starting to function, but it wasn’t making much sense. Rico had told him to apologize? Why the hell would he do that when he’d been so vocal about wanting Callum off the ship? Why would he help him to stay? And what else had he told him? That she wanted the Meridian treatment, no doubt. The one thing she wanted more than anything else.
That was why Callum had known to make the offer.
But what about the other stuff—the wanting her? She needed time to think this through.
In the meantime, if Rico had told him all that, what was he doing here now? “So why are you here?”
He shrugged. “I thought I’d better check up on you.”
“Why the hell would you need to check up on me? I can look after myself.”
Rico actually looked a little discomforted. “Well, flyboy has already tried his luck once, and it occurred to me that he might try again. And you did say you were scared of sex.”
Tannis glanced at Callum, who now stood with one shoulder leaning against the wall, an expression of avid curiosity on his face. He raised an eyebrow when she caught his gaze, but she turned to Rico.
“Jeez, thanks, Rico. I really wanted to share that bit of information!”
“Mind you—you didn’t look scared. I was going to tiptoe away, but I thought I’d better be sure. Hard to tell with those wings in the way.”
He crossed the room and picked up his flask from the table, shook it, and pursed his lips when he realized it was empty.
“So I take it the job is back on?” he asked as he shoved it in his pocket.
“Yeah, I guess so.” She nodded toward Callum. “Your new best friend over there just made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Rico grinned. “I thought he might. How much did it take?”
“Not money.”
“No?” A frown flickered across his face. “Hey, he’s not paying you in kind is he?”
Tannis ignored the comment. “He’s paying me in Meridian.”
Shock flashed across Rico’s face. He glanced between the two of them. “And you said yes?”
“I hadn’t yet. I was just getting round to it.”
“Well, I think—”
“If you tell me one more time that I’m making a huge mistake, I swear, I will shoot you.”
“I was going to say I think Daisy is readying for takeoff. So I suppose I’d better go and let her know there’s a change of plans, though it might be an idea to get off this planet anyway. Arrange a new rendezvous.”
“Oh.” Suddenly, she didn’t want to be left alone with Callum. “Maybe I’ll go tell Daisy myself.” She needed time to decide whether she wanted to take this thing with Callum any further. She’d told him she didn’t mix business with pleasure, but the truth was, she’d never been even the tiniest bit tempted to. She cast Callum a quick sideways glance and found his gaze fixed on her. A slow, knowing smile curled his lips, and a wave of heat washed over her. Her breasts ached, and her nipples tightened. He could do that with just a look?
Beside her, Rico coughed, and she swung around to face him.
“You sure you don’t want to stay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure. But we need a meeting, say in half an hour, to decide how we’re going to do this. ” She strode across the room, but paused in the doorway to peer over her shoulder at Callum. “See yourself out.”
Chapter Seven
Tannis knew he was behind her, but she didn’t turn, just stayed where she was, gazing at the blank screen.