Chapter Eight #3
“He’s my boss’s, boss’s, boss. Probably a few more layers in there. We are a subsidiary so that he could watch Reebee videos early.”
Ford laughed. “That was his logic.”
Sern nodded. “Sensible.”
She walked over, wearing the quilt, and got a hug from Rhymbia. Ladies just loved to hug her.
“Kern, you are going to have to explain to my boss that I am going to be popping in and out for a week because I am not going to be able to get paid if I can’t clock in.”
“Can’t you clock in and out before you go to the rescue?”
“That will add two hours to my workday.”
Kern blinked. “And? The cost isn’t arduous.”
“Yeah, but I am about to consummate a relationship with Sern, and that is a lot of extra steps.”
He blinked. “I see. I will arrange a remote check-in while you gather footage.”
“Sensible. I am not going to feel like sprinting around a lot until I get used to him.”
Kern grinned, and Sern’s arm snaked around her waist. “That is more information than he needs, Eudora.”
“Well, come on, for a guy, you have really wide hips and thighs. Well, wide everything.”
Kern waved a hand. “I do not need details.”
Rhymbia grinned. “I wouldn’t mind a few.”
Sern casually and carefully put a hand over Eudora’s mouth. “And that is enough of that.”
Eudora took out her phone and texted Kern. “I will let my boss know when the remote visits will start.”
Kern chuckled. “Fair enough. I will warn him of the charity donation that his department has just made. It will drive you up in the company rankings.”
She gave him a thumbs-up.
Rhymbia laughed.
Eudora turned to Sern and typed. “Let’s go. Bring the cake.” She showed him the screen and wagged her eyebrows.
He looked at her in astonishment, released her mouth, and picked her up in one arm, wrapped in the blanket, and the cake in the other. He looked toward Polly. “Good fundraiser.”
Laughter rippled through the room, but Eudora didn’t care. Sern was humming.
* * * *
Likon watched them go, and he shook his head as he grinned.
He would not have thought to do any of that with Eudora.
She had always seemed so decorous to him, like a sixty-year-old matron in a twenty-something’s body.
He wished her well. He had always wished her well.
He just hadn’t known how to start a relationship with someone who looked like she could see through his soul.
Sern was a good match for her.
He looked around and saw Nessa on the prowl for another partner. He smiled at something Eudora had said. He wondered what Nessa was going to do when she got to X, Y, and Z.
Likon looked around and saw one of the servers tidying up the station, and to his astonishment, he recognized her. He walked up to her. “Khira? Khira Lenser?”
The woman looked at him and nodded. “Hello, Likon.”
She continued working, collecting discarded items.
“What are you doing here?”
“Working. Mom lost everything in one of her boyfriend’s schemes, so I got a job.”
He frowned. “What do you mean by ‘everything’?”
“Everything. House, money, jewellery. She’s got nothing left.”
“What about you?”
“Oh, that was never mine to have. I had to go back to square one just to get her an apartment. She’s not really a useful sort of woman. This is my third job.”
Likon frowned. “Do you need anything?”
“I need to get moving before the chef comes out. She’s super protective of her servers.” Khira took the tray and moved through the crowd, staying away from the guests. This was her crowd. Her community. Now she was serving, and Likon didn’t like to see her expression that blank.
Likon made a call and gave an order. He wanted to know what happened to Merideth Lenser and what she was doing to take the weight off her only daughter.
Eudora had once told him that he had a knight-in-shining-armour streak.
He had been looking for a princess to rescue, and Eudora just needed a port in the storm.
Watching Khira emerge with an empty tray and continue her work, he smiled.
He had just found his actual princess, and she was going to fight him every step of the way.
* * * *
Their clothing was strewn across the room, and the cake was on a bedside table with neat slices taken out of it, as well as one large handprint from when she was groping for a grip.
Eudora was lying across his chest, his hands stroking her back. “Yeah, that’s gonna change my gait.”
Sern laughed.
“Thanks for using protection.”
“I don’t want you marrying me because you get pregnant. I want you marrying me because I bring home cake.”
She lifted her head and smiled up at him. “Is that a proposal?”
“Yes. I will get down on my knees again later.”
“Yeah, the first time you did that, I got distracted.”
He smiled. “I am glad. You distract me by breathing.”
She squirmed up to reach his head and kissed him.
She smiled and continued the kissing as the light outside surrendered to the night sky and the spray of stars.
She lifted her head. “So, what is the wedding going to be? Event seven?”
“Three. It will definitely be event three. The invitations go out on Monday. I am ordering flowers and arranging catering with the hotel. You just show up on the day.”
“And you will make sure that I get there.”
“Absolutely. You come from a society where pair bonding is important, as do I, so I am not wasting time, nor am I letting you find a small male who needs your strength for defense.”
“The little ones don’t appeal to me. My strength can be used, or it can be given. It can’t be borrowed.” She felt an intriguing enticement growing against her thigh.
He smiled. “May I borrow it?”
She grabbed him and pulled him over her, her legs wrapped around him in a sudden move that happened in the blink of an eye. “I would like to give some to you, if you are interested.”
He slid into her, and she moaned and arched so they were in sweaty contact. He thrust, she held him in, and they did it again.
They were burning a lot of calories. It was a good thing they had the cake.