Seducing Stag
Page 15

Stag gave a sharp nod, then addressed the two other members of his crew. “Move.”
Both males exited the lift and rushed to Control. Stag entered the lift and Maze joined him. They went to the engine section and got the patches and equipment Stag would need. Stag decided to exit out a docking bay, and suited up. Maze did as well.
“You’re to stay inside.”
“Understood, but the repair would go faster if two of us worked together.”
“No, Maze. You are not to follow me out there. We both know I wouldn’t survive if a bomb attaches to me.”
“Let me go instead.”
Stag put on his helmet and turned on coms. “No.”
“I know what you’re doing.”
“Good. Hellion annoys me with his constant need for clarifications.”
“I’m the least-needed member of our crew. No one is hurt. I should be the one to risk.”
Stag wasn’t about to waste more time arguing with the male. “How much float time have you incurred in the past five years? Answer.” He already knew. Maze was his medic and had been assigned to him during that time.
Maze paused in putting on his suit. “None, but I’ve done it in the past.”
“On the Star. You were occasionally assigned visual-inspection duty when it isn’t grounded on Garden for repairs. This is different. I’m going to be working with a fusion wand to seal the patches. They can melt your suit if you’re not careful of the intense heat. I did this two years ago when we took a rock hit on a thruster. Stand down on this, Maze. That’s an order.”
Maze put on his helmet. “I’ll come after you if you’re hurt. Try to be aware of what is behind you. Can I turn on the exterior lighting in that section? It will help you see better and possibly avoid one of those bombs.”
“No.” Stag turned on the helmet lighting. “It would be too bright and we don’t know if the Markus Models entered the dead zone with us. I won’t do anything to give away our location to them.” He stepped into metallic boots, taking over the suit controls, and sealed the legs of the pants to the boots. “Decompressing. You ready?”
“Yes.” Maze gripped a handle and locked his own boots on, sealing them to the floor.
“Close the door after me. Don’t leave it open.”
“I could get to you faster.”
“Seal the door!” He was pissed as he hit the red button to shut off gravity in the small room. He turned, adjusted his boots, making sure he wouldn’t float from the floor. He gripped the two cases he needed, hooked them together, and clipped them to a line on his suit. The lights flashed red and then went solid red. The air was gone to the room, as well as all gravity.
Stag opened the docking doors and moved forward. He hated going outside but it could have been worse. At least the shuttle wasn’t in motion. He exited his ship, grabbed a handle on the hull, reaching for another one. He glanced back as the docking doors sealed. Maze had remained inside and had followed his order.
He looked forward, climbing the shuttle. The cases trailed behind him, the slight tug at his waist comforting where they were attached to the line.
* * * * *
Nala felt trepidation when the doors opened but it wasn’t Stag who stepped inside.
She stood up and her body tensed. She didn’t like the way the cyborg openly stared at her chest, then lower.
He held out a tray. “Food.”
She was leery of approaching him. “Stag usually brings it to me.”
“He’s busy.”
“What was that alarm I heard?”
“We experienced a small damage. Stag is repairing it.”
She walked forward and accepted the tray, then retreated. She wasn’t willing to turn her back on him. He was a man, and she’d learned from Stag that they had all their body parts. That made him potentially dangerous. “What kind of damage?”
“It requires an exterior patch.”
She trembled. That was bad. It was a fear to anyone in space. A breach could buckle an entire section of hull if it wasn’t patched fast, cause a chain reaction and take out other parts of a ship. “How? Metal fatigue?”
“No.” He leaned against the doorway, still taking her in from head to foot.
“I’m Nala.” She twisted and put the tray on the bed. “You are?”
“Parqel. We met before on your ship for a brief moment.”
“Sorry. I don’t really remember much of that.” So he’d seen her naked. That made her even more uncomfortable.
“You did seem a little disorientated. How are you now?”
“Better. So Stag is out there fixing it?” That was dangerous. If the section near the breach blew, he could be killed. She was pretty sure the engines were off. There were no vibrations at all that she could feel. It meant he wouldn’t float off at least, and possibly tear his suit if he were struck by any part of the ship.
“Yes. He always insists it’s his life placed in danger in these situations. He’s a good commander. I’m sure you did the same for your crew.”
She would have, if her father had allowed it. He hadn’t. “Thanks for the food.”
He didn’t budge. “I wanted to discuss something with you.” He glanced at her chest again then met her gaze. “You’re attractive.”
The fear increased. He was a cyborg. Big. Strong. Enhanced. What if he attacked her? She wouldn’t be able to fight him off. It was best to be polite and hope he remained the same. “Thank you.”
“When you’re taken off this ship, a male will be assigned to care for you. I’d like you to consider me. I have a good temperament. I’d be willing to transfer my duties to remain with you. Stag always assigns single males. I won’t be permitted to return to this duty if you accept me.”
“I’m not really sure what that means.”
He pushed off the wall but didn’t come any closer. “You will be given to a male to live with. He’ll be in charge of your care. You won’t be allowed to live on your own. We could test our compatibility.”
“I also don’t know what that means. You mean like, see if we’d make good roommates?”
He took a step closer. “Sexual compatibility. No male would live with you and not demand you give him access to your body. I would like to have intercourse, and show you that it would be a good match between us.”