Tight-lipped, her ever-protective assistant favored the much bigger Case with a single corneal caveat before backing out and closing the door behind him.
Case promptly parked himself on one corner of the desk and grinned down at her. Despite her exhaustion, she was uncomfortably aware of his proximity. Not for the first time she wondered if it was pheromones or simply sweat.
“Greetings and good things a’coming at you, good-looking.” He extended a hand toward her.
She flinched back. “Stow it, Seth. I just finished some verbal sparring with our resident AAnn and I’m really bushed.”
Nodding, he pulled out a small stim stick and casually sucked it to life. “Yeah, I saw the hiss brothers being led away. They didn’t look any too happy.”
A hint of a smile played across her features. “I’m having them held for a while, so we can keep an eye on them until this mess with the Sakuntala and the Deyzara is settled. They’re being treated for a theoretical infection.”
He laughed. It was a wonderful laugh, deep and rich and booming, and it filled the room. “That’s one way to keep ’em out of circulation. They’d better be glad my friends and I don’t work in Medical. We’d leave no scaly orifice unprobed.” He leaned toward her but kept his hands back. “I have been known to play doctor on occasion, however.”
Shaking her head, she turned away from him so he wouldn’t see how her smile had widened. “Sethwyn Case, you are incorrigible.”
He inhaled aromatic smoke. “Actually, I’m very corrigible, when the right person comes along.”