Callum was starting to feel as though he didn’t exist. Whose idea had it been anyway? “Five against four,” he said.
Tannis swung around to face him. “You won’t be fighting. You’ll be staying in the shuttle with that woman until it’s all clear.” He opened his mouth to argue, but she continued without giving him a chance to speak. “You’re the only one who knows how to find that Meridian—you’re too valuable to risk.”
“I don’t think so.”
Tannis smiled sweetly. “Who’s captain?”
Shit. Had he really said he’d take her orders? He hadn’t meant it literally. She stood staring at him, hands on her hips.
“You’re the captain.”
“Thank you.”
…
The shuttle was a squash with six people. Rico got the seat as he was flying. Skylar stood behind him, her hand resting on his shoulder. Jon stood off by himself, arms folded across his enormous chest, a scowl on his face. Alex had put up a fuss when she’d realized they were not taking her, and for someone so small, she knew how to make her feelings clear. Callum knew exactly how she felt.
Venna stood on the far side as though trying to keep as much distance as possible between them.
Tannis lounged against the curved wall just inside the door, and Callum inched around toward her, his wings making it difficult in such a confined space. Everyone else faced the monitor at the front, and he pulled her toward him, wrapped his arms around her, and reclined against the wall. For a moment, she stiffened, then relaxed into him.
He leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Be careful in there.”
“I’m always careful.”
He let out a small bark of laughter, and all heads turned in their direction. He waited until they’d turned back. “Darling, I bet you’ve never been careful in your entire existence. For someone who wants to live forever, you picked a dangerous way of life.”
…
Callum’s words made her stop and think. For once, his touch wasn’t sexual, it was comforting, and she turned his words over in her mind.
The truth was she’d spent her time in the research center terrified of death, every day an ordeal to be got through. But however terrible it had been, she hadn’t wanted to die—had clung to her dream of living forever.
But since then, though she hadn’t courted death, she hadn’t been afraid to put her life on the line while doing a job. In fact, she’d enjoyed pitting herself against almost impossible odds. It made her feel alive.
She decided he didn’t need an answer. Resting back against him, she closed her eyes and relaxed.
Chapter Fifteen
Callum paced the shuttle and tried to ignore Venna.
He couldn’t hear anything and the wait was driving him insane. He wanted to comm Tannis, but if they were in a fight, he might distract her.
“For God’s sake, relax,” Venna grumbled.
She’d sat down in the pilot’s seat and was studying him as though he was one of her specimens. “What’s with you and the captain?” she asked.
“What?”
“All that lovey stuff?” Her tone held intense distaste.
“Mind your own business.”
“Actually, it is my business. You told me you’d lost your libido years ago. You said you thought it was another side effect of the Meridian. It’s in my files. So I’d really like to know if it’s not the case.”
That sounded like Venna—her mind focused solely on the science. He thought back to the extremely uncomfortable night he had spent, with a raging hard-on that had refused to subside. Nothing wrong with his libido.
“Yuk,” Venna said. “Get that sick smile off you face. I’ll delete the entry from my records.”
“Good idea.” He peered into the monitor, but could see nothing in the docking bay. “Where the hell are they?”
“Don’t worry. She’s obviously impossible to kill. Meridian is wasted on her.” She got up and paced for a minute, then sat down again, and started gnawing on her fingernails. She was driving him nuts, but she was obviously stressed out, and he decided to take her mind off the whole thing.
The thought brought him up short. Maybe he was turning into a nice guy after all. He was actually feeling pretty good; things were on track, and while he was sure Tannis would never forgive him, she was starting to see beyond the past. He felt a grin tug at his lips.
“Let me repeat it,” Venna said. “Yuk.”
Back to Venna. The one thing that could be guaranteed to focus her mind was talk of her research. “Tell me about the planet,” he said. “What’s my best chance of finding anything?”
“We’ve been over and over this.”
“Tell me again.”