Gamble by Viola Grace Page B

snorted. She lifted her hands and pointed at the walls. “I thought the fact that this ship and I are joined on a biological frequency was rather a large clue.”
    He shrugged. “I was blinded by your beauty.”
    She touched the tangle of her hair. “I believe that blind might be the operative term. I am heading for a shower.”
    “I will join you.”
    She laughed. “Until we get into the advanced acrobatics, we are going to have to take turns in the shower. It is designed for one person only, and I always get to go first.”
    “Of course. I shall wait my turn.”
    He was as good as his word. He waited for her to step out of the solar shower, and then, he took her place. In a few minutes, they were both clean, and she was sitting on the edge of a chair, combing the two meters of hair that she sported.
    He had finished his own grooming, and he slid a cup of caf in front of her. “How is it that your body was broken but your hair is so long?”
    “It was the only thing that wouldn’t break, so I kept growing it, braiding it and wrapping it around my head. When I go on disciplinary pickups, I put a weight in the end of the braid as a last-resort weapon.” She chuckled and kept working on the length of hair.
    She paused when she got to her waist and sipped at the caf. “Thanks for this.”
    He grinned. “I asked the ship what your beverage vices were and got some surprising answers.”
    Kora snickered. “I bet. I have eclectic tastes.”
    “Your fruit juice fetish is fascinating.”
    She laughed out loud. “I like fruit juice, no matter the result. Sure, some of them have side effects but most of them don’t.”
    “Like the juice served at the brothel.”
    She snorted and gave him a look under her lashes. “Yes, like that.”
    His eyes were gold again, and he winked at her.
    She finished her hair and felt the excitement building in the ship. They were nearly home.
    He cocked his head. “What am I feeling?”
    “You can sense that?”
    “Yes, what is it?”
    Kora was shocked. “It is the ship. She’s excited to be home.”
    “We are heading to your home?”
    “Not my home, her home. The transport ships were all launched from this station.”
    “Where are we?”
    She laughed. “I have no idea, the station travels in the empty spaces. The ships know where it is, and they can run home if they have to.”
    “Why would they run home?”
    She smiled and leaned forward, whispering in his ear, “If I died, she would go home or run to one of her sisters.”
    The lights dimmed a little.
    “Damn, she heard me.”
    He placed his hand over hers. “I will keep you safe, and I will keep her safe in return. We are bound now. Your life is mine and mine yours.”
    “That cuts both ways. Don’t think for a moment that you are going anywhere without me or a monitor courtesy of Star Fairy . You are not alone anymore, either.”
    He paused for a moment as that sank in.
    She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “You get used to it.”
     

Chapter Ten
     
     
    Kora waited in the scanner as the team did a full workup. Each of the transport specialists had their own issues, so each exam was carried out with their own litany of equipment.
    Iomas was watching and asking the team questions as they took blood, tissue and bone samples as well as checked on her power exchanger and the containment field that kept her bones from shattering at the lightest touch.
    After the scanner, she tried to shoo him out of the room, but he stayed for her internal exam and asked more questions of the physician who was administering it. Ah well, by this point, he knew her lady parts better than she did, so what the hell.
    She could feel the ship’s interest as the team swarmed over her and made some alterations. Kora knew exactly how that felt. The physician giving her the internal exam felt like he was installing an additional family room in her body.
    “I apologize, Transporter Knox. We have to reset your birth control. Your body is attempting