Chapter 16 #2
I grab one of the bags before turning to fully look at Banjo.
He’s wearing another new outfit from his shopping trip with Oliver—some sort of light blue, one-piece outfit that shouldn’t look good on anyone.
Unsurprisingly, Banjo pulls it off. The short sleeves are rolled up to hug his biceps, and the snaps down the front—which should make the entire outfit look childish—are undone so low it’s borderline obscene.
My eyes can’t help but follow the V of exposed skin as it dips lower and lower and lower…
“You like it?” Banjo asks. I jerk my head up to look him in the eyes. I have to swallow the pool of saliva in my mouth before I start literally drooling over him.
“It’s…” I struggle to find an appropriate word. The outfit on its own is downright hideous, but on Banjo, it’s nothing short of a work of art. I can’t very well tell him that, though. “Abhorrent.”
Years of controlling my expressions are the only thing that keeps me from wincing at the lie.
There are so many other words I could use to describe how Banjo looks right now, though it has little to do with the outfit.
It would definitely look better on the floor.
Or thrown down the garbage shoot to the incinerator.
Banjo laughs, knocking his shoulder into mine as he grabs the rest of our things.
He’s gained quite a few belongings in the handful of days we’ve been here.
I don’t even want to think about how much he must have spent with Oliver.
Thank the stars the Despot has deep pockets and will do anything to make his little human happy.
“Whatever you gotta tell yourself, Tav,” he teases. He heads into the holding bay, swaying his hips as he goes. Of course, the movement draws my attention straight to his backside. “Just remember, the only person you’re lyin’ to is you.”
I trail after him, unable to do anything else. He’s heading to my ship, after all.
An hour later, we’ve managed to get far enough away from Qauvela that I’m no longer concerned about running into any UFO ships.
Banjo is in the kitchen, singing and rhythmically banging on anything within reach while he prepares our mid-day meal.
I’m in the cockpit, closely studying the map of our route to Dhamoirs.
Stells used her remaining connection to the main UFO system to mark every UFO ship in the area.
The direct route is completely clear. Nothing but smooth sailing.
“Do you know which UFO ship was poking around Qauvela?” I ask.
Stells is quiet for a long moment. I imagine both of us crowded around the screen, watching the large, blinking dot that represents the Triumph move closer and closer to Dhamoirs. They’ve made surprisingly good time. I didn’t expect them to be so far ahead of us.
Not that it matters. Since we know Remington will be on Dhamoirs, we don’t have to hurry. It’s actually better if there’s more time between the UFO dropping him off and me capturing him; it means the UFO is no longer actively monitoring the area, allowing an easier escape back to Earth.
“I believe it was the Vanquishing,” Stells replies after taking several long moments to sort through all the available information.
“Ah.” The Vanquishing is one of the few UFO ships with a powerful enough tractor beam to capture us. They’ve done it before. Luckily, Ba’elentat, the captain, was willing to listen to reason and let me go. The dirt I have on him means that the Vanquishing hasn’t come anywhere near me in years.
“Would you like me to start the auto navigation now?” A dotted line lights up on the screen between our current location and Dhamoirs.
“Yes, that’s acceptable,” I tell her, smiling softly. It feels good to not argue with her for once.
“Perfect! This means that you can spend more time copulating with Banjo!” I nearly choke on my own saliva at that.
I should have known she had an ulterior motive.
She never agrees with me that easily. “The two of you should have plenty of time to continue exploring one another’s bodies while we’re en route. ”
I groan, head falling back. I bang it against the headrest a few times in my frustration. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you instigated the UFO sending Remington all the way to Dhamoirs so I’d be forced to spend more time with him.”
“Alas, you’ve discovered something outside of even my control,” Stells says sadly. “It does not seem like the time you spend together is a hardship. Yesterday, the two of you were so loud I could hear you all the way in the ship. I believe there’s a recording, if you’re in need of proof.”
She’s lying. She has to be lying. There’s no way that we were that loud, or at least, I don’t remember being that loud. Looking back, the night is just a blur of hot, steamy pleasure. The connection between me and Banjo is simply unbelievable.
“As much as I’d like to call your bluff, I’d rather pretend you never said that.” She’s right though. Spending time with Banjo is far from a hardship. Speaking of. “I suppose I should check to make sure he’s not about to burn down the ship.”
I begin to stand, pausing when Stells speaks again.
“If you’re really so keen to be rid of the human, I found something you might find interesting.
” I sink back into my chair, motioning for her to go on.
“While the two of you were gallivanting around Qauvela, I familiarized myself with the Relocation of Existing Adults to Lawful Extraterrestrial Planets Treaty. There’s a clause of the treaty that provides monetary support for families when their primary provider is selected to participate in the program. ”
I frown. Where is Stells going with this? When she doesn’t continue, I prompt her. “And? Why are you bringing this up?”
“Banjo has implied that he is the sole provider of his family. He’s also stated he was set to gain a large sum of money after winning the singing competition. His family may be able to request the government compensate them for the money he’d earn, which means they can pay for Banjo’s return.”
Oh. Right. I run my fingers through my hair as I consider it. From the stories Banjo’s told, it sounds like his family gets by on very little. I know what it’s like to have nothing, which means I know exactly how important this money is to them. How much it could improve their everyday lives.
Am I really just going to take it away from them? I’m sure they’d pay it happily, too, if it meant ensuring Banjo’s safe return.
Now that’s something I can’t relate to at all.
“That won’t be necessary. Banjo has more than earned his trip back to Earth through the help he’s provided.”
Stells snorts. “I’m sure he has.”