figure out that the alarm was a test. Antonio noticed Jessie Odell making notes and he followed behind the other two to confront Thor.
“This is our day off,” Izzy said. “I don’t mind tests—I think they keep us all sharp—but on our day off? That’s not right.”
“Normally I’d agree,” Thor said as Antonio joined the threesome. “But Cronus isn’t like other missions. There are so many variables to be considered. Emergencies in a long-term mission might happen on your downtime.”
Izzy put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “I get what you’re saying, but that means that we can never let our guard down. That we are all effectively training 24/7.”
“That’s a big ask, Thor,” Velocity said.
“I don’t agree,” Antonio added. “Some of the candidates are fresh recruits who have never been on a mission before. This test shook some of them and it’s better to find out on the ground if someone can’t cut it.”
Izzy gave Antonio a hard stare over her shoulder. He had forgotten how fierce she could be when she was challenged.
“That’s exactly why we are running these tests. You three are more experienced, but there are some candidates here who, frankly, are a gamble. We don’t know yet what they are made of. They all passed rigorous qualifying tests, but stuff happens. Things go wrong. We need to know how each person will react. You three showed your mettle today,” Thor said. “Now go and clean up and meet the team in the main area of Bunkhouse 1 at 1600 hours.”
Thor walked away from the group and they all turned to head to the bunkhouses together. Velosi was in Bunkhouse 3, a new addition to the facility now that there were more candidates coming in. Velosi and Izzy had been on the Bar T Ranch for over six months. He’d volunteered to switch to the new bunkhouse in order to mentor a few of the newer mechanical-engineering candidates.
Antonio wanted to touch her and make sure she was okay. Pull her away from the others and hold her for a few moments. The emergency hadn’t given them a chance to regroup after they’d made love.
“Izzy—”
“Don’t. I am not ready to talk about anything,” she said. “Except, why didn’t you have my back when we were talking to Thor?”
What had happened between them had been hotter and more rare than a comet snaking past Earth, and she wanted to discuss a difference of opinion? Fine. He could do that.
“One of the guys in my group freaked a bit as we were leaving. It made me realize how inexperienced some of these candidates are. We were lucky to have our training before coming to this program,” Antonio said. “Which is exactly what I said to Thor.”
“Sorry. Finding Molly like that put me on edge. She was slumped over on the floor. That was so scary,” Izzy said. She stopped walking and turned to face him, her gray eyes full of conflicting emotions. He reached for her, but she shook her head.
“No. We can’t do the personal thing. We had sex. That’s it,” she said. “We’ve seen how intense it is here, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t going to be too happy if we start something.”
“That’s it? Don’t I get a say in this?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said. “But I don’t think you want to risk your chances of going on this mission. You know there are no guarantees for who will be chosen. And no matter how incredible we are together, we’ve both worked our entire lives to be on a mission like this.”
She was stubborn, but he’d already known that. And she made a good point. The hot sex they’d shared had served to whet his appetite for her, but maybe it had cooled hers for him. Maybe that one time was all she needed.
It didn’t seem possible that she could feel nothing for him when he wanted her so much. “I think Ace was freaked, too,” Antonio said at last, following her change of subject. Retreat wasn’t really his style, but if she needed time to process things he’d give it to her. He put his doubts aside. One time wasn’t going to be enough...for either of them. And work was easier to discuss.
“He was,” Izzy admitted. “She’s not a candidate and doesn’t have the training we do. I’m glad we got to her when we did.”
“I agree,” Antonio said. “I think it proves Thor’s point that you can never be prepared for anything. They planned this drill but didn’t know she’d get caught in the middle of it.”
“Probably. It’s just that we follow so many procedures and regulations with the program,” she said. “We’re in the same bunkhouse, right?”
“Yes.”
She gave him a sideways look. “Why haven’t I seen you in the common room?”
“That answer is complicated,” Antonio said.
A SECRET.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to know any more of Antonio’s secrets. She already knew the way his body felt pressed next to hers and the sound he made when he came inside her. The way the scent of his aftershave mingled with sweat on his body and how easily he rattled her self-control.
The smart thing to do would be to walk away. But she was still on edge. Finding Molly had rattled her. The risks associated with space missions had always been high, though sometimes Izzy felt that modern innovation had made spaceflight safer.
But the explosion of the test rocket a few months ago had reminded her that those risks hadn’t lessened. The stakes were high, so maybe, just for the moment, she could do something fun with Antonio.
Still, she wasn’t sure if what he was offering was fun.
She had her guard up now. She had thought that it would be like blowing off steam, but it had been more—just like everything with Antonio was. Which was why she found herself back in front of the bunkhouse after showering and changing into jeans and a T-shirt.
“What’s this secret?” she asked as he walked over to join her.
He’d changed, too, and looked like the cowboy he was. He had on a pair of faded denim jeans that clung to his thighs and rode low on his hips. His boots were worn but good quality and he had on a button-down ranch shirt. He held a straw cowboy hat loosely in one hand and a bandanna was tied around his neck.
“Come with me and find out,” he invited. He held his hand out to her and led her not toward the bunkhouses but away from the Mick Tanner facility and onto the path that led to the Bar T.
“Why are we going toward the ranch?”
“So I can show you why I haven’t been hanging out in the common room,” he said.
“And it’s on the ranch?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
She smiled to herself. He sounded like the ranch hands on the Bar T. They all had good Southern manners, and it was sort of amusing to hear Antonio talking like them in his Spanish accent.
“I
