I squeak, holding onto his horns for balance. "Adiron!"
"Right. I know what you're thinking, focus." He presses a kiss to the fabric over my pussy, gives a little sigh, and then turns back to the panel. "Then I was thinking, keeping this whole ship powered up and cycling all the air and water is a big drain on resources. What if we locked down most of it and kept just one hall—or even one or two rooms—with life support and full power? We could potentially keep this old girl running for months longer."
"Will that matter if we end up being sucked into the ice field?"
"One problem at a time," he says with a grin. "Maybe if we have enough time, we can overwrite some of the programs that keep us locked out and figure out how to turn on part of the engines."
I blink in surprise. "You're just full of ideas this morning, aren't you?"
"I slept great," he admits, hugging my hips and beaming up at me. "Do you know how long it's been since I slept? Really slept?"
I play with his damp hair, smoothing it back from his face. "Judging by your excitement, I'd say a while?"
"Years," he agrees. "But I figured out the cure for insomnia." He looks up at me and winks. "It's between your thighs."
I bite back a laugh. He did warn me that he had a bit of a one-track mind. "I made you breakfast. It's not between my thighs, but maybe you'll want to eat it anyhow."
"You made food for me?" Adiron looks absurdly pleased. He lets go of me and jumps to his feet.
"Well, sure. You take care of me, I'll take care of you. It's not that hard."
Adiron pulls himself up to his full height and immediately crushes me against him, my face pressed to his pectorals. His tail tickles at my backside. "And did I take care of you? Last night?"
"Are you fishing for compliments?"
"Absolutely."
I arch an eyebrow at him. "I think you know the answer to that, considering I was crying out your name."
"You were, weren't you?" He gets a dreamy look on his face. "Good times. Good times."
I snort and pry my way out of his grip. I take his tail in hand and tug on it. "Come on. Let's go eat so you can get back to whatever mad science you're doing here."
He makes a short, coughing sound and covers my hand. "You, uh, don't want to pull on my tail like that unless you want to head back to bed."
I drop the thing as if it's on fire and then burst into giggles at the odd look on Adiron's face. "Noted."
Instead of hurrying to the mess hall, though, he takes my hand in his and rubs his thumb across the back of it, his expression changing to something more thoughtful. "I should have asked you, maybe, before I got started with all this stuff. Are you okay with re-wiring a few things on this ship to make sure we stay powered up? I don't want a repeat of last night."
"I don't either," I tell him softly. It's sweet that he's so determined to make everything work just right for me. Well, not JUST for me. I'm sure he likes to breathe, too. Except I know that if it was up to him, he would have left this ship behind already. He'd have climbed into an escape pod and followed his brothers out into space. It's because I won't leave that he's here with me. "And you're welcome to do whatever you like to the ship as long as it doesn't endanger anyone on board."
"What about the ship's passenger?" he asks in a playful voice. "Can I do whatever I like to her, too?"
I eye him as he lifts a finger to the fastener of my ill-fitting jumpsuit. "Is all you think about sex?"
"It's absolutely on the top five list."
"And let me guess, you just won't say where on the list?" I tease back.
Adiron laughs.
50
ADIRON
The power fizzles again a short time after we eat. It comes on again in a heartbeat, with a low, ominous pop.
Jade blinks up at the ceiling. "Well, that's not good."
"It's fine," I lie. "I'll take a look at things after this." I point at her bowl. "You going to eat all that?"
She clutches her bowl and holds it against her chest, which is the cutest thing ever. It puts me in a good mood, even when we head out together to the maintenance rooms, where the computer's hardware is located. I get to work…and try not to show my concerns.
The more I dig into the ship's hardware, the more I'm shocked the damn thing's still running at all.
This is not good. Not good at all.
The ship we had before the Little Sister was an older model. We used to joke that the Vanora was held together by spit, crusted-on axel grease, and determination. She also died while in the middle of a very tricky piracy run and nearly cost Kaspar his head. We ended up letting the Vanora rot at a station impound and traded away our savings for the Little Sister, instead.