The Bond That Consumes Us Part 4

Those two simple words were all the dismissal she got from him. Taber moved to the side so she could slide out from the booth seat. Taking a deep breath to calm her overheated body, she pulled herself out, stood as straight as she could and began to walk away. A large hand lightly gripped her elbow, causing Fallon to gasp, snapping her head around to look at him.

"Please send them over one by one, and don't say anything to them about what we discussed."

Taber's grip was gentle, as his hand totally engulfed her arm. She normally wore a sleeveless s.h.i.+rt because of the heat that usually kicked out from behind the bar. Now she was thankful because she got to revel in the feeling of his hand against her bare skin. When she nodded her head, he released her arm, but not before rubbing his thumb across her skin. The touch was so quick, so gentle, for a moment she thought she'd imagined it.

"Thank you," his voice was steady as he dropped her arm.

"Can I get you anything?" b.l.o.w.j.o.b? Mind-blowing o.r.g.a.s.m?

"Just the first suspect."

Fallon spent the next hour shuttling her customers from their tables to Taber, and then out of the bar once he cleared them. Most of the men were scared s.h.i.+tless of Taber and the few women who'd been there seemed just as infatuated with him as she was.

Not that he responded.

She learned a lot about him in the hour it took for him to question everyone. She watched from behind the bar, fascinated by his every gesture and what it said about him. When he got annoyed, usually when one of the drunks tried to joke around with him, Taber would let out a single deep breath and clasp his hands behind his back.

23.

When he was trying to discourage one of the amorous women, he would cross his arms across his chest and raise his eyebrow. A small part of her was pleased that he hadn't done that with her.

Soon there was no one left in the bar but the two of them. Lance had called earlier to tell her that Donaldson had cleared him and he had returned to his quarters to sleep off his fast-approaching hangover. The bar would be closed until they finished their investigation, so that meant she'd have at least a few days off to rest.

But what the h.e.l.l was she going to do with a murder on board and her unexpected fascination for a man she couldn't have?

A fascination that was quickly becoming an obsession.

"It seems you've run out of suspects," she said and smiled at him after the last person left. "Not a very productive night for you."

"You're wrong with that a.s.sumption. I've eliminated all people at the site of the crime and have gathered information on both Mr. Keaton and several parties of interest."

Something in the way he said the last part made Fallon put the gla.s.s down she'd been cleaning and look at him. Taber was standing as he had when they'd first met, hands behind his back, legs spread wide. But something was different. He seemed more relaxed somehow. Fallon tilted her head toward the bar.

"It's really late on s.h.i.+p. I doubt you'll find anyone else to question until the morning. Would you like a drink?"

When he didn't answer right away, she took that as silent permission to go ahead.

Grabbing a gla.s.s, she flipped it up in the air, spinning it high before she caught it easily in her other hand. She grinned and set it down lightly on the bar.

"As this is your first time in The c.o.c.kpit, you get our house special-The Afterburner."

Fallon had learned how to tend bar from her uncle back on Earth. She'd spent years as a kid flipping bottles of water in the air until she learned how to do it with style and accuracy. She enjoyed the fun and challenge, the showmans.h.i.+p of the activity. Grabbing each bottle in turn, she put on her practiced flying bottle routine for her one and only customer. Occasionally, she would look up at him and smile but found the eye contact to be a distraction. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin the show with a stupid accident.

When she was done, Fallon slid the half-full gla.s.s across the bar toward Taber and place her hands on her hips, waiting.

"Impressive." The single word rolled off his lips like a seductive caress.

"But you haven't tried it yet. And you'll break my heart if you don't take at least a sip."

She held her smile in place until he reached out and gripped the gla.s.s in his ma.s.sive hand. Then she held her breath as he lifted the gla.s.s to his full lips and took a 24 sip. Her heart was pounding as she waited for the verdict to cross his face. When he didn't move for a moment, Fallon thought she was going to burst from not knowing.

"Well?"

"Potent."

"I hope that means you like it."

"I do."

And then he tipped the gla.s.s back and finished the contents in a single swallow.

The Afterburner was a powerful drink, but after the way he swallowed what most people would have coughed up, she doubted it had much of an impact on Taber. He held the gla.s.s a moment longer than she'd expected before setting it down and letting his gaze find hers once again.

"Until we find whoever murdered Mr. Keaton, I'm going to ask that you don't walk the hallways alone."

Fallon took a step back and frowned. "I doubt anyone would come after me."

Taber held her gaze as he leaned forward, pressing both his hands on the edge of the bar. "Please Ms. Reist."

"Fallon-"

Taber closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. "Please let me escort you to your quarters."

The l.u.s.t that had been building in her belly all night instantly sprung forth at the thought of Taber being in her quarters. Her p.u.s.s.y grew wet and her nipples tightened, which only deepened her desire. It was probably a good idea to be a bit on the cautious side until they caught whoever killed Nate. And she could tell by the look on his face he wasn't going to give her any say in the matter anyway. Taber pushed away from the bar and made his way over to the door where he waited for her to join him.

Tossing her towel into the laundry slot in the wall, she walked out of the bar and waited for him to follow before she put a security lock on the door.

"No one will be able to get in now. My place is this way."

The corridors of the Damara were never completely empty, no matter the time of day. Even after all of the partiers were asleep, there was usually someone on duty, moving about completing some task. But with the s.h.i.+p on lockdown, the corridors were dead, making the normally jovial atmosphere of the s.h.i.+p eerily silent.

"The crew quarters are on the far side of the s.h.i.+p," she said after a few minutes of walking in silence. Taber didn't say anything, so she rushed to fill in the lull with conversation.

"Damara is pretty much a party s.h.i.+p most of the time. When we're in orbit around a planet you won't be able to move in these halls, no matter what time of day it is. I hope you catch the person who did this to Nate quickly so we can bring some life back to this place."

25.

There was a few seconds of silence before she heard Taber draw in a short breath to speak. Fallon waited, antic.i.p.ating the tingle that would race down her spine when he did.

"I would normally never visit a s.h.i.+p of this nature."

Somehow that didn't surprise her.

"Any particular reason why not? Do Briel not know how to have fun?"

She partially turned her head so she could get a better look at her overly serious bodyguard. For his part, Taber seemed more interested in making sure no one was lurking in the halls than looking at her. At least she thought so until he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her out of the path of a man who practically ran out of a service doorway.

"s.h.i.+t!" she squeaked, her fingers closing around Taber's ma.s.sive forearm.

"Oh, hey," a clipped drawl came from the man. "Watch where the f.u.c.k you're going!"

Turning her startled gaze from Taber's arm, she saw Lukas Ross standing here.

When he realized it was her, his body relaxed and he leaned against the doorframe. His engineering uniform opened at the neck, exposing a large portion of his naked chest.

His dark brown eyes narrowed on Taber for a moment before he returned his gaze to her.

"Sorry about that, Fallon. I didn't mean to startle you." Lukas stepped out into the hall. "Are you okay?"

Taber tighten his grip ever so slightly around her waist before releasing her. It wasn't until he stepped away that she realized her hip had been in direct contact with the side of his thigh. Looking over her shoulder at Taber, she smiled and flipped her ponytail back over her shoulder.

"Lukas, this is Taber. He's here from the Eurus colony investigating Nate's death."

Flas.h.i.+ng his prizewinning grin, Lukas held out his hand. "Lukas Ross. I'm one of the head engineers here on the Damara."

Taber merely looked at his outstretched hand before nodding once. "Ms. Reist, we should get you back to your quarters."

"Is there a problem?"

Lukas wasn't as protective as Nate or even Captain Zane had been, but she'd always been able to count on him in the past. That said, he tended to overreact whenever he thought there might be a chance someone was giving her grief.

"It's all good. Taber wanted to see part of the s.h.i.+p and I said I'd point out all the highlights before we parted company tonight."

Not exactly a lie. Surprisingly, Taber didn't contradict what she'd said and instead began to walk away. Fallon couldn't stop herself from following him, waving to Lukas before she went.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she called to him as she jogged to catch up to Taber.

26.

Fallon began to smile as they walked through the brightly lit corridor of the s.h.i.+p.

The bright blue lights that ran along the inside of the wall along the top cast a soft glow on Taber as they moved.

"It's too bad you weren't here under better circ.u.mstances. I could show you how to have a good time, give you a bit of a vacation."

Taber stopped in the hallway and for some reason, crossed his arms across his chest.

"I don't need a vacation."

Oh boy.

"I wasn't implying you do. However, it's been my experience that the people who need to have vacations the most, deny it the loudest." Fallon did her very best not to smile at him, but she couldn't stop the faint twitch of her lips as she stood there looking at him.

He didn't move or make any comment to continue the banter. Fallon reached up and played with the end of her ponytail when he continued to stare at her. The intensity of his gaze did strange things to her body, things she really wanted to explore.

"I'm sorry if I upset you," she said when the silence got to be too much. Without thinking, she took a step closer to him. "I guess I've been on board this s.h.i.+p too long. I tend to tease everyone about everything. This is my room up here."

Not wanting to prolong things and say something really stupid, Fallon marched up to her door and punched in the security code. She didn't immediately go inside, instead turning to lean in the doorway so she could stare at him some more. f.u.c.k, he was one prime specimen of male.

"Do you know where you are staying?" She tried to keep her voice light, friendly.

From the look on his face, the last thing she figured he wanted right now was to deal with a h.o.r.n.y woman. "I can give you directions if you'd like."

He surprised her when he walked up directly in front of her and looked inside her quarters. His exotic musk washed over her again, making her head buzz.

"I'll find my way back. Sean will be waiting for me."

Fallon's lungs stopped working for a moment when Taber reached down, took her hand in his, and brought it up to his mouth. The brush of his soft lips against the back of her hand was more erotic than had he sucked her nipple into his mouth. When her body screamed for air, she let out a soft gasp. He lifted his gaze to hers and she forgot to breathe again.

"You are a most interesting woman, Fallon."

Hearing him say her name unprompted was almost enough to make her come on the spot. His deep voice felt like silk on her skin.

"And you are the most attractive man I've ever met." That d.a.m.n blush returned, prompting her to get the h.e.l.l out of there. "I'll be around if you need me for further questioning tomorrow."

27.

He nodded, but this time it was a slow, deliberate motion. "I'm sure that will be necessary. Until tomorrow."

Running his thumb along the underside of her wrist for a moment, he gently released her hand and walked away without a look back. Fallon stepped inside and secured the lock on her door. Walking to her bed, she knew that despite how exhausted she was, there was no way in h.e.l.l she would be sleeping tonight.