C. J. Barry - Unearthed 02 by Unraveled

Author:Unraveled
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-02-09T00:01:36+00:00

Chapter Ten

“I’ve been thinking.”

Rayce eyed her sitting next to him at the helm. Thinking. Always a dangerous thing with Tru.

He entered the commands to bring the ship out of hyperspace. “About what?”

She rubbed her hands along the tops of her thighs and stared out through the viewport as the galaxy streaked to a halt around them. “I made a mistake on Rostron.”

“How do you figure that?” he said, glancing up to find the spaceport directly in front of them. Home.

“I didn’t know the Sleewl were violent. I should have done more research. I failed on my end of the bargain. I’m sorry.”

He shrugged and checked the readings. “If you say so.”

Then he noticed her hands were trembling on her lap and he looked at her serious expression.

She shook her head. “I’m supposed to be the alien-cultures expert. I didn’t do my job. I could have gotten us killed.”

“You didn’t, so don’t worry about it. None of us is perfect, Tru. We all make mistakes.” He grinned. “Even I, occasionally, screw up.”

She frowned. “I don’t.”

He leaned back and crossed his arms. Huh. “Never?”

“Never.”

“That’s a lot of pressure, to be perfect all the time.”

She stared at him for a moment before replying. “There’s no excuse for mistakes.”

“Does that apply to the rest of us mere mortals?”

“My rules apply only to me,” she said steadily.

“Well, normal people screw up all the time. It’s called life out here. Didn’t you ever make a single mistake at the Institute?”

“Just one,” she said sadly. “Odell.”

Rayce humphed and entered the ship’s landing procedure. “I wouldn’t call him a mistake. More like a prick.”

His hands froze for a second over the controls. Shit. He knew he’d erred the minute he said it. He also knew she wouldn’t miss it.

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t beat yourself up over picking the wrong man.” There, that should throw her off.

She stared out the viewport pensively. “My mistake was thinking that there was a right man.”

Rayce laughed. “Tru, you are hell on a man’s ego. Every man likes to think he’s just right.”

She said softly, “Right or not, it just wouldn’t work.”

“What about sex?”

Her gaze swung around to him. That got her attention. “Sex?”

“You know, sex. A man, a woman, lots of heavy breathing and grunting.”

She opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and finally said, “Not every woman needs sex.”

He grinned. She didn’t sound at all convincing.

“What about making love?”

A slight frown crossed her face. “Same as sex.”

He shook his head. “No, not the same. Sex is the act. No attachments. No strings. Making love is a bond, a connection.” He leaned toward her. “Risk.”

She backed up a little. “I don’t take risks.”

“You hired me.”

“My synapses misfired,” she muttered.

He hummed. “So you are saying that if you really cared for a man that you wouldn’t want to have sex with him?”

“I’ve never cared that much for a man,” she said coolly. “Have you ever cared that much for a woman? To risk?”

“No.” He gave her a wide grin. “But I still like sex.

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