“What’d Hammer do then?”

“Nothing to me, but when he found out Celeste was an orphan and ward of the station, he decided to, ah, put her into a different line of work.”

“What kind?”

Jeth grimaced. “Oh you know, one that involves young girls and rich older men. Celeste always has been a looker.” Jeth had been furious about it. Even now the idea made him want to hit something.

He felt Sierra give a little shudder next to him, and thoughts of what had almost happened to Celeste vanished from his mind at the reminder of Sierra’s close proximity. She smelled good, flowery and entirely female. He turned his head and realized she was looking at him.

She glanced away at once and started twisting the wrench again. “That’s horrible.”

Jeth stared at her misshapen hands grasping the tool. She held it awkwardly as if the position hurt. “Are you sure you’re all right doing this?” He had a sudden urge to take the wrench from her. He didn’t want her to be in pain. In his mind’s eye he saw himself running his fingers over hers.

Sierra glanced at him again, surprise on her face. “I’m . . . I’m fine. Really.”

Jeth nodded and returned his attention to his work. What was wrong with him? He shouldn’t let her distract him so much. She wasn’t a lost, helpless kitten in need of protection or sympathy or whatever this thing was she made him feel.

“So how did Celeste end up on the crew?” Sierra asked.

Jeth clenched his teeth as he struggled with a particularly stubborn screw. “I managed to convince Hammer that she would be useful at distracting marks. We’ve been together ever since.”

“You mean together, together?”

Jeth’s grip on the screw slipped and he almost hit himself in the forehead. “No, nothing like that. At least not for a while.”

“I see.”

They fell into silence for a couple of moments. Jeth searched his mind for something to say, but everything sounded stupid or too personal. He felt an insane urge to tell her about his dream of settling down on Enoch, but he didn’t dare. Why would she even care?

Finally, Sierra broke the silence for him. “So, did Hammer recruit you through an aptitude test, too?”

He exhaled, relieved to be talking again. “No. I wasn’t quite eleven when I started working for him. I don’t think I remember how it all started, but I first met him after Milton lost Avalon to him in a card game. When I found out about it, I snuck into the casino and tried to attack Hammer with this pathetic little pocketknife. I thought I could force him into giving us back the ship. Yeah, it worked about as well as you can imagine. But I started doing odd jobs for him not long after. He must’ve been impressed by my bravery or attitude or maybe my sheer stupidity.”

“It’s not stupid to fight for what’s yours,” Sierra said, quietly.

Something moved in his chest again. What’s yours. Like the right to live your own life, the way you want to live it.

“And she’s a great ship,” Sierra went on. “An entire world unto herself.”

Jeth’s breath caught at the compliment, a pleasant shiver going through his body. He cleared his throat. “Are you finished with that other wrench?”

“Yeah.” Sierra reached down beside her, picked up the wrench, and turned back to him. “Well, I suppose Ham—uh!”

Jeth rolled toward her. “What is it?”

He saw the answer at once. A big drop of system coolant had fallen on her face, right beneath one eye. “Crap, let me get it. Keep your eyes closed.”

Sierra dropped her hand from her face and held still. Jeth reached for her, but he couldn’t quite manage it in the tight space.

“We’ve got to do this out there. Can you scoot out?”

“Yes.”

Jeth slid out from underneath the station and then helped her do the same. He pulled her into a sitting position. Then he cupped her face in his hands to hold her steady as he wiped away the coolant with his thumb, being careful not to push it into her eye.

Sierra smiled. “That tickles.”

A flush of heat enveloped Jeth, and he shivered again. Somehow he managed to make his tone playful as he said, “Shhhh, don’t tell me that. Or I might have to tickle you on purpose.”

Her lips parted. “You wouldn’t dare. I’m a highly-trained ITA agent. I can hurt you with nothing but my big toe.”

Jeth chuckled, the sound huskier than normal. “Okay. I think we got it.”

Sierra opened her eyes, and Jeth realized he was still holding her face. He ought to be embarrassed by the intimacy of it, and yet he wasn’t. Her mouth was still open, her eyes locked on his, and her expression unwary. She made no move to pull away from him. He once again realized how pretty she was. Beautiful, really.

He felt a wild urge to lean forward and kiss her. He fought it back.

But then she leaned forward and kissed him.

He was so surprised that his whole body went rigid for a moment. In the next, instinct took over, and he pressed into the kiss. Tingly heat, so intense it almost hurt, burst over his lips. An onrush of sensation spread over him, obliterating all thoughts. His mouth parted, and he inhaled, breathing her in as he savored the feel and taste of her.

Then someone coughed from behind him, breaking the spell.

“Am I interrupting something?” Lizzie said, close to giggling.

Jeth pulled back, dropping his hands from Sierra’s face. He stood up. “No. I was just helping her get some coolant out of her eye.”