Page 25 of Smuggler's Beauty

Evelyn raked her hand through her hair. Aiden was impressed that it seemed to be free of syrup so far.

“Pound for pound, I will give you that Emil bears more responsibility than I do,” she said. “But I can’t help but wonder if he would have made as much headway without me to use as a hostage.”

“Playing ‘What if?’ is the least productive thing you could be doing right now. It’s not going to make you feel any better, and it’s not going to answer any of the questions I know you have.”

“Well, don’t you know how to show up to a perfectly good pity party and ruin the vibe?”

“Party vibes are my specialty.” He took a sip of his drink, taking the moment to calculate the best delivery of his next sentence. He wanted to see that smile again.Deadpan.“This boat isn’t just a good cover. You should read our reviews.”

She let out a snort.

“Seriously, dollface. Youtried. Maybe your gamble didn’t pay off the way you expected it to, but at least you did something.”

“It makes me wonder if that was part of Emil’s plan all along. It’s seriously frustrating that there’s so little unsanitized data available. Was he watching me? Did he profile the whole family? Was I just the weakest link?”

Aiden’s blood chilled at the thought. That Evelyn had been taken advantage of for her huge heart had offended his sensibilities. That she may have been targeted for it infuriated him.

“That’s something we should poke at,” he said, his tone more measured than he felt. He took a gulp of his drink.

Evelyn scooted closer to him on the bench, hesitating briefly before she rested her head on his shoulder. Aiden took the opportunity to inhale the scent of her perfume, glad his hands were occupied with his glass. They itched to reach out and twist her waves through his fingers.

Professional boundaries suck.

“How much longer before we get to Earth?” Evelyn asked, interrupting his own pity-fest.

“About eighteen hours. Nannette has a pretty serious security briefing she wants to give everyone before we dock.” He took the last sip of his drink and popped the cherry into his mouth. The flesh burst between his teeth, sweet and sharp from syrup and bourbon. He’d prefer to taste the syrup on Evelyn’s lips, but this would have to do. Eighteen hours until she was officially no longer a job, and he could guiltlessly cave to the attraction he was battling. Barely.

“Of course she does. I wonder how many weapons she’s going to try to get me to hide on my person.”

“I’ve got twenty credits on five,” Aiden said. “But she’s got all sorts of ideas about what constitutes a weapon, so who knows. You may get a lecture on killing someone with your shoelaces.”

Evelyn laughed. “Oh, good! A refresher course.” She snuggled closer, and warmth bloomed in his chest. Aiden wasn’t used to denying himself anything, and Evelyn was making it harder to stick to his — admittedly flexible — moral stance with every movement. “It’s a strange feeling to be heading back. I know it’s not going to be the same place I left, and circumstances are beyond weird, but I can’t help feeling a little giddy to be going anyway. Corrie never understood why I loved Earth so much more than my own planet.”

“Corrie, that’s your aunt?”

He felt her head nod against his shoulder. “I always think of her as my aunt, but she was actually just my dad’s closest friend when they were growing up. And she was his arts and culture minister on Tanalia. She was instrumental in getting me the permits needed to do my thesis off planet. She understood that my passion for Earth’s fiction wasn’t going to go away just because she thought it was too low brow. She strongly preferred Tanalian literature to any other. Plays, specifically. She’s an actor.”

“Sounds like she was supportive.”

“Far more so than my parents. I think she recognized that I didn’t get the most fair hand dealt to me and wanted to mitigate it as much as she could.”

“I’m glad you had her in your corner,” Aiden said, leaning his head against hers. He couldn’t stop himself. “Not everyone has someone like her when they’re young.”

“Yeah, and some of us luck out with two,” Evelyn said. She poked him in the leg.

Aiden laughed. “Yeah, I’m spoiled like that.”

“Corrie is a big part of why I did what I did. She made me proud to do the right thing even when it was hard.” Evelyn’s voice tightened. “I’m so afraid I disappointed her.”

Aiden pressed a kiss into Evelyn’s hair, the despair in her voice smashing through his desire to at least appear like he was capable of restraint. “I sincerely doubt you did.”

She reached for the cherry jar again, swiveling her position to sit cross legged on the bench seat. He mourned the loss of the warmth of her body against his. She popped another cherry in her mouth, nestling the jar between her calves.

Don’t be jealous of a cherry jar, Aiden. Be cool. Be supportive.

She tilted her head, assessing him. “So what’s your deal anyway?”

“My deal?” Aiden swirled the ice in his glass and decided it was a good thing she wanted to know more about him. Her eyes flicked over his body, and he fought the urge to preen.