Temporal Shift (Entangled Select Otherworld) by Nina Croft Page A

“I’ll be there.”
    “And if you know where the girl is, fetch her. Her guardian is getting twitchy.”
    “She’s here.”
    “Is she? Fast work—I’m impressed.”
    “Piss off,” he said again, obviously ending the conversation. He glanced over to where Saffira leaned against the wall, his eyes lingering on the open jumpsuit. With a wry smile, he reached across and tugged up the fastener. “We are going to have to postpone this until later. Pity.”
    “It is?”
    “Yeah, my dick is so hard I could bash my way through a blaster shield.”
    Her eyes dropped to the telltale bulge at his groin, and she blinked as a wave of heat washed over her skin. No doubt turning her a light shade of blue.
    “Seems a shame to waste it,” he murmured. “I don’t suppose there’s a chance of a quick blow job—I reckon it would take all of thirty seconds.”
    She didn’t say anything, but her expression must have said it all.
    “I guess not.” He sighed, then winced as he fastened his pants. She watched in silence as he pulled a clean shirt from a cupboard on the wall, pulled it over his head, strapped on the weapons belt, and sat down and pulled on his boots.
    “Let’s go.” He strode across to the door. “Open.” The traitorous thing slid open and he gestured for her to go first. As she inched past him, he reached for her and she almost flinched. But he just ran his thumb along her lower lip.
    “By the way,” he said. “You really need to learn to open your mouth when you kiss.”
    She turned and glared at him. “Piss off.”

Chapter Five
    This time they didn’t take the transporter thing. Instead, Devlin led her through a wide corridor, down a sloping ramp, and along another.
    Maybe, like her, he needed time to pull himself together.
    Saffira followed him back, happy to stay behind so she could gather her wits and watch the ripple of muscle as he strode ahead. His ass in the khaki pants was something to behold, as were his broad shoulders and long legs.
    He’d kissed her.
    And he’d wanted her. But maybe he just wanted a woman and any woman would do.
    A blow job?
    She was pretty sure she could guess what he meant, and she was also sure he’d never asked for one of those in her visions. She imagined what it would be like and wasn’t quite convinced she found the idea appealing.
    The conference room seemed almost crowded as she entered behind Devlin. She glanced around, taking everyone in. The same people as before with the addition of the blond woman who had been carried onboard by Rico and another girl who was…green.
    Totally green. Hair the color of summer leaves, eyes like emeralds, and skin like…like nothing Saffira had ever seen. She came forward with a grin on her face—at least her teeth were white—and held out her hand.
    “I’m Daisy,” she said. “I’m the copilot.”
    Saffira took the woman’s hand and smiled back—it was the first genuine sign of friendliness she’d encountered on the ship. And she liked Daisy immediately. There was an openness about her, a lack of guile totally missing in the other members of the crew, who she reckoned all had secrets they’d rather not reveal.
    Daisy was dressed in black—black pants, black boots, and a black shirt, her green hair pulled into a long ponytail.
    “I’m Saffira.”
    “And this is Skylar,” Tannis said, introducing the blond woman. “She’s our security officer.”
    The blonde was tall and moved like a fighter, her hand resting on the pistol at her thigh. She held out her other hand and Saffira gazed up into the violet eyes of the Others.
    Rico came up beside Skylar and slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her against his side as he gave Saffira a lazy grin. “And so, did lover boy here live up to your dreams?” Rico nodded toward Devlin, who’d slumped into one of the chairs, long legs stretched out in front of him, a brooding expression on his face. “He doesn’t exactly look mellow,” Rico continued, “So I’m