Watching them via the reflection in the shiny surface of the cabinetry, I could tend the meal and keep an eye on them at the same time. Oz Morgan, the physician, had been the first to emerge from the pod, as well as arrive in the kitchen. The calm façade he wore at the moment did little to belie the way he’d clutched at my hand when I’d tried to help him to the chair outside his pod and then insert the tubing for his IV drip.
Dehydration was a significant factor in recovery from using the lifepod. The surgeon, however, had wanted me to stay, even when it was clear he needed a pain reliever. “I will be fine,” he assured me. “I need all my wits about me more than I need an analgesic. Trust me, it will pass.” Odd as the request seemed at the time, it seemed odder still when he’d strode into the community kitchen and faltered the moment he saw me standing there.
“I hope your presence means you are hungry.” While he might have excuses for being off balance, I had no such luxury. I’d been awake and functioning a whole day longer than the rest. It was up to me to take care of them.
“No, but I will be,” he said, recovering nicely from his surprise. “What are you preparing?” He’d dressed in a long, white button-down shirt that contrasted beautifully with his dark skin. The lights gleamed off his bald head, but it didn’t make him look older or distinguished so much as sexy.
Putting a pin in that thought, I cleared my throat. “I’m not cooking per se, I was preparing what I found in the refrigeration units. Poisson cru and poe. After Dirk settled, I came in to marinate the fish in a lemon and lime mix.” Now I was babbling, all together unlike me. “They are from—”
“Tahiti.” Oz smiled, and it softened his expression. “It’s one of my favorites.”
“Not mine,” Andreas Kenton grumbled as he walked in. Where Oz was put together, Andreas looked disheveled and out of sorts. Then he paused, his eyes widening and his scowl vanishing behind an expression of incredulity. “Are you making coffee?”
The man had a talented nose. “Yes, with cinnamon and orange—it’s brewing. I’ll put it in the French press shortly.” The idea sounded both tasty and odd, but considering they needed a good infusion of immune boosters and caffeine, the coffee would be both sweet and spicy. “I couldn’t find piloncillo, but there was brown sugar. I hope that’s all right?”
Andreas raked a hand through his dark hair which fell to his shoulders, then looked at Oz, who merely shrugged. “Of course, it’s fine,” he said, though his tone said anything but. “You didn’t have to prepare anything.”
“Bite your tongue, priest,” a deeply masculine and very British voice called from the corridor, and my heart double-timed. “I don’t care where we are, we still need to—” Hatch Benedict broke off as he slid through the door, freshly showered from the dampness of his hair and shaved, as well. No stubble decorated his cheeks, whereas Andreas’ facial hair had nearly grown out to a full beard. “Hello, gorgeous. You’re here.”
I couldn’t help it. When his lips softened into the most pleased grin, I had to smile back. “Don’t stare at me with those blue eyes that way, rake. You will still need to wait your turn.” Pivoting back to the stove, I’d missed his response. But I didn’t want to burn the coffee, as it had been simmering for nearly ten minutes. If they’d been five minutes later, I’d have had it ready.
“I have no problems waiting for you,” Hatch said from behind me. Then he settled his hands on my shoulders. The brush of his chest against my back warned me of his increasing nearness just before he pressed a kiss to my cheek. Then he left me, and I wasn’t sure what rattled me more—how natural it felt when he’d done that, or how at a loss I was after he withdrew.
The guys didn’t speak to each other, they just lined up on the other side of the island. Despite the lack of conversation, I couldn’t miss the way Hatch and Oz shared a very significant look, or the weight of Andreas’ stare as it bored into me. Their odd behavior aside, I didn’t detect even a hint of malice in their subterfuge.
Though I wasn’t looking at the door when he arrived, I felt it. Dirk Rossi entered, the army jerk who’d nearly fallen when the lifepod opened. The man was huge and all muscle. We’d gone to the ground together. It had been his fist against the tile that kept us from collapsing all the way. His arm around me had tightened, and then he hugged me.
All the hair on the back of my neck had stood, and the tingles had radiated along my spine. As cold as he’d been, I’d still held onto him. Then he’d tucked his face against my throat and sucked in a deep breath. We’d both shuddered, and then as now, it seemed momentous.
Andreas and Hatch had both been a little groggier, but no less happy to see me. Dirk though, his greeting had felt raw and intense, with an almost a desperate quality.
“You’re cooking,” he said, and all the air seemed to leave the room. Was he annoyed?
Turning off the heat from below the coffee, I used a slotted spoon to remove the cinnamon and orange rinds before I answered. “I am making coffee, and yes, I’ve prepared a meal. I thought something cold and refreshing for food.” Also, it would keep for those who hadn’t been up for a meal immediately. After pouring the coffee into the press, I pushed the plunger slowly to remove the grounds.
Still, Dirk hadn’t moved from the doorway.
“Is that a problem?”
“C’mon, bloke, sit. Valda’s done something lovely for us, the least we can do is be polite.” Hatch’s cajoling tone failed to match up to the hard look he gave the AJ.
“Why are you cooking for us?” Dirk didn’t take the hint, instead, he prowled across the room right into the kitchen.
“She’s doing something nice,” Oz tried to interject, but the AJ merely held up a hand to silence them as he damn near loomed over me. The intensity in his green gaze wasn’t forbidding, but he seemed to demand answers.
“We’re forever. Believe that.”
Pursing my lips, I continued to exert pressure on the plunger. The coffee was hot, but I wanted to give it a little longer with the grinds. Finally, I raised my eyebrows. “Captain, I believe I’ll do as I damn well please. Now stop trying to intimidate me, and take your seat.”
I don’t know who was more surprised by the order, me or him, but he sucked in a breath and studied me for three heartbeats longer. Each one seemed louder than the last, until he finally took a step back. “As you request.” Oh, I won that one. My victory was short-lived, for he added, “In the future, however, we will separate our chores. You have work to do, and we shouldn’t be interfering.”
Interfering? The coffee was ready, so I carried the press over to set it on the island and looked at each of them until they met my gaze, one at a time. Finally, I returned my attention to the captain, who had only withdrawn to the end of the island and hadn’t circled around to sit with the others.
“I’ll thank you to let me decide what interferes with my work or not.” Not waiting for a response, I pulled a mug toward me and then filled it with coffee. “Or perhaps you haven’t been updated on the work we’re supposed to be doing.”