Chapter 51 #2
Evelyn felt a blush creeping up her chest. She crossed her legs and squeezed her thighs together.
Who knew you could be conditioned so swiftly?
Veronique cackled, and Nannette dug what looked like ten credits out of her pocket on her way to start Evelyn’s hair.
She slapped it into Veronique’s hand and grabbed the brush off the table.
“I hate you both,” Evelyn said. She wasn’t able to keep the grin off of her face, but principle demanded she protest.
“Liar,” Nannette said. She started to brush Evelyn’s hair. “Usually Veronique and Cairn are the only ones who have to turn on privacy protocol. You can only walk in on someone bound and gagged so many times before you have to implement a system.”
It took everything Evelyn had to refrain from asking who was bound and gagged in that equation.
It’s too fucking early for this. Still, it was a nice preoccupation while her skin was prepped, primed, and painted.
She had a lengthy list for and against both of them enjoying the various aspects of bondage by the time Veronique told her to blot her lips.
Nannette had finished her wizardry with pins and had returned to the bed.
Her stack of chocolate wrappers were piled on top of her stomach.
Evelyn wondered if she’d eaten anything resembling a real breakfast.
She’s going to get a stomachache.
“There. Now, wardrobe is hanging over the back of the other chair. Go get dressed,” Veronique said, screwing the top back onto a tube of lip lacquer.
Evelyn, resigned to the day’s events, stood and grabbed her clothes. She turned toward the bathroom with the garment bag in hand.
“Oh, and darling? We take turns.”
“This isn’t too much, is it?” Aiden asked.
They’d just loaded the last of Aiden’s packages onto the jump ship, alongside the other necessities they’d picked up, the most important being the specialized fuel that enabled the ship to make a faster-than-light jump, if necessary.
It was expensive, but they really couldn’t be caught without it on hand.
Now wasn’t the time to risk having Evelyn burn herself out trying to rescue the Dawn again.
Cairn had somehow managed to talk Aiden into buying not one, but two monstera for his quarters. They buckled them into passenger seats on the jump ship before Cairn turned to close the gangway.
At least they aren’t going anywhere near Veronique. Maybe she won’t notice?
“Lad, if you’re taking to heart ‘actions speak louder than words,’ it’s fine. It’s the loudest you can get without nutting up and telling her you love her with your big boy words.”
Aiden scrubbed his hand down his face and sighed. He was a big boy. He should be able to use his words. He was also terrified he’d scare Evelyn off and make her shut down. Any hint he dropped around a future together was one she carefully sidestepped.
“You’re not giving her enough credit,” Cairn said.
“What are you, a mind reader? Branching out the skill set?”
“You’re treating her like she’s made of glass.
She’s not. And once she figures it out she’ll probably be pissed off.
Also she’s saved your life multiple times.
” Cairn blinked his eyes at Aiden coquettishly.
“I think she likes you back, mate. So she sucks at talking about her feelings. Look at her actions, why don’t you? ”
Aiden made his way to the copilot’s seat. He secured the safety harness and reached into Cairn’s pile of pineapple candies, unwrapping one and popping it into his mouth while he thought about Cairn’s point.
Aiden wasn’t used to second-guessing himself like this.
Second-guessing an operation? Sure, that was the gig.
Over orchestrate the heist, and then edit down the superfluous elements until you had a perfectly oiled machine.
But when it came to his personal life, he was a straight shooter.
Aiden didn’t see the point in playing games.
He always preferred to know where he stood in matters of the heart, and it was only respectful to let someone else know if their efforts were going to go nowhere.
Aiden didn’t want to find the end of the line with Evelyn.
Making her coffee in the mornings had become one of the highlights of his day.
He didn’t want to relearn a morning routine that didn’t involve watching her sleepy eyes clear and then spark with joy at the sight of his face.
He wanted to wander around the galaxy with her forever.
Hell, he’d be happy helping her decompress after a long day of whatever the hell planetary monarchs did.
Aiden didn’t need to wander to be happy. He needed Evelyn.
The trouble was, he wasn’t sure she felt the same way, and he was too chicken shit to ask.
He wasn’t even sure what she wanted to do after they removed Emil from power.
Would she stay in Tanalia? Or did she want to stay on the ship?
He’d seen how happy she was puttering around on the Dawn, pressing books into Veselko’s hands, promising they’d change his life.
We could go legit. Really run the Dawn the way the moms wanted to in the beginning.