Farthest Space: The Wrath of Jan Read Online Free PDF Page B

thing that had ever kept them apart was the distance required by their professional relationship, which was no longer a factor.
    That wasn’t quite true, she admitted to herself.   There was still a possibility that they might be rescued, and then there would be a certain awkwardness between them if she gave in to her baser desires.   She knew Steven well enough to realize that he would never in a million years commit to her.   He regarded women as a sort of pleasant diversion, a hobby, and she had no reason to believe he’d think differently about her.   If they returned to the Arisia after having sex, things would be… uncomfortable.
    Besides, she reminded herself firmly, Steven was an ass.   Perhaps, if she were to be totally honest with herself, she did feel a tiny tug of attraction to him, but it was merely a physical reaction to a good-looking man.
    Okay, an incredibly gorgeous man.   But still, it was only lust.
    She gave a long sigh of frustration, and Steven rolled over.   His deep voice rumbled in the darkness.
    “Having trouble sleeping?”
    “Not at all,” she said stiffly.   “I’m marooned on a strange planet, lying in a cramped lifepod, on a cold, metal floor with nothing but a blanket for a mattress.   Why in the Stars would I be having trouble sleeping?”
    She heard his low, sexy laughter.   “I’m betting that’s not the only reason you can’t sleep, Vaish.”
    She heard the amusement in his voice, and it made her bristle.   She’d always loathed his self-confident assurance that every woman wanted to have sex with him.
    Or maybe she’d just loathed the women he had sex with.  
    “I’m not lying over here thinking about you, if that’s what you’re implying,” she snapped, aware that it was totally untrue.   “I’m worrying about the crew of the Arisia .”
    He sighed.   “Yeah,” he admitted in a more serious tone.   “Me too.   But we have to believe they’ll be all right, Vaish.”
    “There is no reason to assume that.   They may have been thrown out an airlock, for all we know.”
    “Stars, you’re just full of positive thoughts.   The truth is, Vaish, we don’t know what happened to them.   We don’t have any way of finding out,   But lying here awake isn’t going to help them any.   If you don’t get some sleep, you won’t be alert tomorrow, and you might wind up as kitty chow.”
    “As if you’d care.”
    There was a long silence.   “Oh, I’d care,” he said at last, very softly.   “Trust me, Vaish.   I’d care.”
    She swallowed, unreasonably flattered by the solemn tone in his voice.   Naturally, she thought, he would care.   If she died, he’d be alone on this planet, with only Fred for company.   That was what he meant.   It wasn’t that she was anything special as far as he was concerned; it was simply that she was the only female available to him.   Besides, he must realize that two people had better odds of survival than one person alone.
    He shifted in the dark, and she started violently as his arm slid around her.
    “What are you doing?” she demanded.
    He chuckled.   His warm breath tickled the pointed tip of her ear, and she shivered.
    “Just thought I’d help you get to sleep,” he answered softly.
    “I thought I told you—“
    “Take it easy, Vaish.   I promise not to do anything you don’t want me to do.”   His big hand splayed out over her abdomen, warm and slightly rough, and she shivered again.
    She balled her fists up in the dark, trying her best to ignore his touch.   But it wasn’t easy.   She’d longed for him to touch her for so long.   And yet she didn’t want it to be like this, him touching her because she was literally the only woman on the planet.
    She didn’t want him to desire her simply because she was the only available warm body, but because he truly admired her.
    He pulled her toward him till her back pressed up against the warm expanse of his chest and abdomen, and she felt