Stowaway by Becky Black Read Free Book Online

to find your moment.”
    The remark didn’t seem to sit well. Kit frowned and shoved the hair back out of sight. His voice seemed colder when he spoke.
    “May I go?”
    “Yes. Report here again tomorrow.”
    “Fine.” The tone said “anything but fine.” But he’d report here tomorrow, like it or not.
    “You can go, Mr. Miller.”
    “Thank you, Mr. Raine.”
    * * *
    Jon Parker, the “nice” systems officer, had been sitting lingering over his coffee after lunch for at least a half hour. Though Gracie had told Kit they usually waited for everyone to leave before they cleaned the tables and swept up, Kit got the feeling Parker wanted them to start while he was still there.
    “Why don’t you finish up here?” Kit said to Gracie, the two of them loading the big dishwashing machine. “I’ll start cleanup of the dining room.”
    Gracie leaned back to see through the serving hatch and saw Parker. She grinned at Kit. “Oh, sure. You go ahead.”
    He wasn’t fooling her for a second. He grabbed the cleaning materials and headed out there. Parker saw him come in, glanced over, and smiled but said nothing. Kit proceeded to wash off tables. This meant he had to lean over them, and he could feel Parker’s gaze on him. Oh yeah, work it, baby. Shake the old moneymaker . He rolled his eyes at himself. You’re not a stripper, dummy. You’re a kitchen hand, and you aren’t making any money.
    “Am I in your way?” Parker said when Kit came to his table.
    “Oh, don’t rush yourself,” Kit said. “I can work around you.”
    Rushing was hardly the word. The lunch sitting had ended thirty minutes ago. Kit wasn’t the only totally transparent person around here.
    He sprayed the cleaning fluid on the table and wiped it down.
    “Smells nice,” Parker said.
    “Yes, doesn’t it? All citrusy.”
    “Oh, I thought it had more of a vanilla scent.”
    He had an arch look, and Kit smiled at him. Kit had used a shampoo that morning that he suspected was favored more by the women on the crew, but he couldn’t resist. The vanilla scent reminded him of his mother. A comfort in this place when he was so far from home and all alone.
    Perhaps not alone for much longer. Could Parker help him somehow? Would he? Maybe—if Kit was nice enough to him. He could make anyone do anything for him when he turned on the charm. On the other hand, he didn’t want to cause anyone here any trouble. Aside from Raine. He’d probably get in plenty of trouble when Kit escaped. Serve him right.
    Still, even if Parker couldn’t help Kit escape, there were other reasons to hook up with him. He was cute. Kit would do him in a heartbeat. He had not only great hair and a nice face, but also a fine, lean physique, neither wiry nor bulky. Kind of like Jeff, though older. Don’t think about Jeff.
    “You okay?” Parker said, and Kit realized he must have let the surge of pain and anger show on his face.
    “Fine,” Kit said, pasting a smile back on. He pulled himself together. Focus . He had one knee up on the bench, and he slid along until he was standing close to Parker. He held up the spray bottle and nodded at Parker’s Link. “Give your screen a polish, mister?”
    Parker chuckled. “No thank you. I, ah…” He stopped, looking up at Kit, who edged an inch or two closer, giving out the invitation clearly. Parker raised a hand and rested it on Kit’s hip. Kit didn’t object. “Maybe you’d like to come by my cabin later,” Parker said.
    “Sounds nice.”
    “We could have a drink and…whatever transpires.”
    Kit liked the sound of things transpiring. He could see all kinds of things transpiring in a nice private cabin. After days of sleeping in a bunk room with a bunch of security guards, he was ready for some behind-closed-doors action.
    “I get off work around twenty-two hundred,” Kit said.
    “Suits me.” Parker slid his hand over Kit’s ass. But he froze abruptly, eyes wide, looking past Kit. He took his hand away. Kit glanced