What exactly would happen? How far was Marshall willing to go? Did she want her first time with him to be in the cramped cab of a beater conveyance in the middle of the frozen tundra?
She sighed. “I guess we shouldn’t shirk our responsibility. Somebody probably desperately needs a table.” She desperately needed to have sex with her husband. She hoped they were thinking the same thing.
“The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave.”
“How fast can this conveyance go?”
“Not fast enough to suit me.” He grasped her hand and brought it to his mouth. His lips were soft and warm as he kissed her knuckles. “Hold those thoughts,” he said.
Her face heated at how transparent she was, but she’d always worn her heart on her sleeve. Perhaps that’s what had scared off other men—she cared too much too soon. But why hide the fact she wanted to get horizontal and naked? Her husband seemed to want the same.
“I will, if you will,” she said.
“I’ll think of nothing else.”
Chapter Eight
“You guys didn’t wait for us,” Bragg complained when he and Faith appeared at the table, trays in hand.
The best-laid plans…Marshall stifled a groan of frustration and glanced at Amity. She kept her face expressionless. Their plan had been to finish dinner and vacate the mess hall before the others showed up.
“Yeah,” he said.
“We got back a little earlier than expected,” Amity supplied, scooting over so Faith could slide onto the bench. Reluctantly, he made room for Bragg.
“You got the furniture delivered?” Bragg asked.
“Yeah.” He continued to eat, and Amity did the same.
After their kiss, he’d pushed the speed to the max, burning through two solar batteries. They’d arrived at Fair Shake probably in record time. While Marshall and two alien men unloaded the conveyance, Amity had dashed into the mercantile, returning with gloves and pants—a set for each of them—just as he closed up the bed of the empty wagon.
“Perfect timing,” he’d said.
“Ready to go?” she’d asked with a bright smile.
“Ready.”
They’d hopped into the conveyance and hightailed it to Artisan’s Loft. He parked in the motor pool, and then they raced to the cabin to shower and then rushed to the mess hall to beat the crowds and avoid their friends. If they hadn’t missed lunch, they would have skipped dinner, but they hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and they were going to need energy for the night ahead.
“What is Fair Shake like?” Faith asked.
“All right, I guess,” Amity said. “I didn’t see much.”
“Why not?”
“We left as soon as the wagon got unloaded.”
Faith scowled at him as if he’d been responsible for the rush and then asked Amity, “So, you didn’t even get to go to their mercantile?”
“I popped in.” She shrugged. “Got some pants. Gloves.” She finished off the last bite of her meal.
Bragg glanced between him and Faith. “You two had another fight, didn’t you?”
“No,” he said.
“No,” Amity said. “You want my dessert?” She pushed her gooey cake toward her friend. They’d had it before; it was quite delicious.
“You don’t want it?” Faith said.
