The work in the systems room was not difficult, not for him, in any case. Though he had stabilized the life support, the climate controls required more repairs, keeping the temperature at a blistering level. Soon, he soaked through his uniform. Celene had already peeled off the top of her uniform, so that she wore her tank top and uniform pants. He couldnt help but stare as sweat gleamed on the sleek muscles of her arms and in the valley between her breasts.
Analyzing my systems? She turned, putting her hands on her hips. Seeming to dare him to look at her.
He would have blushed if he wasnt already overheated. I might be a fellow 8 thWing officer and I might be NerdWorks, Im also a man with perfectly good vision. He turned away to adjust the torque on a valve. The only way I wouldnt notice you was if I had already crossed to the Starfields of Eternal Bliss.
You want an inspection? Go ahead.
He studiously avoided glancing at her.
Come on, she chided. Consider it a research and discovery mission.
Mission accepted. He turned back to face her. And swallowed hard.
She stood with arms wide, her chin tilted up, daring him to look. And he did, because once he caught a glimpse of her he couldnt look away. Her dark hair had come loose from its sleek ponytail and damp tendrils clung to her neck and her bare shoulders. Back in SimCom she had also worn a tank top and uniform pants, but hed been too busy fighting for a place on this mission to truly see the tight, lean wonder of her body. His gaze followed the lines of her collarbones to the hollow of her throat, and lower.
Gods, he couldnt believe he was staring at Lieutenant Celene Jurs breasts, but by the Ten Hells, how could he not? For such a slim woman, her breasts were surprisingly full. His hands were the perfect size to cup them, feeling their silky weight as he lowered his mouth to hers
Thorough inspection. Her voice cut through his thoughts, and his gaze snapped back to hers. He expected to see anger or amusement on her face. Instead her dark, wide pupils nearly eclipsed the silver of her irises, and her breaths came shallowly.
Was shearoused? He certainly was. And, as a pilot, she had excellent vision. She couldnt miss the fact that an erection tented the front of his uniform.
He almost groaned when she ran her tongue over her lips, moistening them. The Laws of Galactic Equality state that in all transactions, reciprocity must be observed. She eyed his uniform. So
You want me to disrobe? He stared at her.
Its hotter than the two suns of Lamia Zed in here. This way, you can honor the Laws of Galactic Equality and get more comfortable.
Impossible for him to get comfortable in these circumstances. But he saw the gleam of challenge in her eyes, and that goaded him on.
The 8 thWing is all about equality, he murmured, and began to undo the fastenings to the top of his uniform. He never took his eyes off of her, observing her as she watched him slowly undo the gray material.
He didnt consider himself a prude. Though he hadnt participated in the fertility rites each Green Solstice, which involved sexual acts performed before a crowd of celebrants, he had seen the rites and found themvery enlightening. He might not be the most daring lover, but he had never been given complaints, and, in fact, received a fair number of compliments. An engineers mind could be very creative, given the proper motivation.
But hed never undressed in front of anyonenot deliberately, leisurely. Yet he couldnt seem to stop himself from carefully undoing each fastening beneath his collar and then along his shoulder and down his side. Celenes gaze followed his every move.
The front of his uniform gaped open and he pulled his arms free from
the sleeves, then let the whole top hang from his waist, as she had done with her uniform. After cleaning himself in the UV stall earlier in the solar day, hed put his uniform on, but in his haste to get back to the tracking device, hed neglected to don the tank top he always wore beneath. Which now left his upper body completely bare.
Great Lady. Celene sounded breathless. Thats not what comes to mind when someone mentions NerdWorks.
Self-conscious, Nils glanced down at himself. He knew what his body looked like, but he tried to see it through her eyes. Though all members of 8 thWing had to do PT, most in Engineering got by with the bare minimum. That wasnt enough. You never knew when PRAXIS might come calling, which meant you had to be ready to fight. When others in Engineering spent their off hours watching vids or playing crypt-marauder games, he was in the training chambers, listening to tech journals on his headset while boxing or practicing H2H combat maneuvers.
Seems like my time in the training chambers paid off. If the look of pure feminine appreciation in her gaze was any indicator.
Oh, yes. Yes, it did.
He was a Xalian, which meant the males of his homeworld did not have hair on their chests, as some other species did. So she could see every ridge of musculature on his chest and abdomen. He would never be thickly muscled like Commander Frayne, but Nils could take care of himself. The round he had gone in SimCom showed that.