Chapter 30 #2
“They’re heavily conflicted,” Minan explained kindly.
“People forget the CPS is part of the military. The CPS rarely admits when they make mistakes. In the official organizational structure, the CPS operates as a branch equal to Air Div, Space Div, and the rest. In reality, the CPS is the biggest by far. They have their own budget, their own headquarters, and they play politics better than the lobbyists for pharma and exploration combined.”
Arco nodded. “Not only that, but the CPS has absorbed a lot of stray mission areas over the years, including disaster response. If the CPS current budget cuts hold, the Galactic Search and Rescue division will definitely lose out on any new funding.”
“Of course.” Rustom let out a sarcastic laugh. “Spendin’ the budget on vengeance raids during a feckin’ century snowstorm is a much better investment.” He turned to take a tablet to read when Murtazo walked up and handed it to him.
“Plus,” added Arco, “the CPS is also trying to fight off top-trending rumors about a non-CPS-sourced cure for waster’s disease. I think the rumors are organic, not one of the CPS’s standard distraction campaigns. They’re too busy handling their own self-created disaster.”
Murtazo took the tablet back. “I hope there really is a c-c-cure.”
“Me, too,” said Rustom as he stood up and began collecting empty mealpack containers for the ship’s recycler.
Arco caught a silent exchange of looks between Josh and Soleil.
They seemed to have a lot of secrets. Certain comments over the past few days had already led her to suspect the pair had read Davidro’s stolen diaries, as she had.
She blew out a breath and made herself turn her focus on Murtazo as she limped away.
It wasn’t nice to use her finder talent on her friends.
Josh picked up his empty drink pouch. “You could run a research service, like the ones you said you used to hire.” He stacked it on his empty mealpack and handed it off to Rustom. “You could start by researching new places to land for people who don’t want to go back to Mabingion.”
Arco added her mealpack to Rustom’s pile, then slid off the bench once Brenner stood up. Josh’s idea was interesting. Between her extensive travels and Brenner’s, they could add personal experience to her research. But that could wait.
Right now, the galaxy could spiral on its own for a while. She simply wanted to retreat to their cabin with the man she was in love with.
In the quiet confines of their cozy space, Brenner toed off his heavy boots and stretched out on his narrow bunk.
He laced his fingers behind his head, letting out a long, slow breath.
The movement pulled his drapey tunic taut, throwing the hard, defined lines of his chest and abdominal muscles into sharp relief.
Arco draped her coat on the pull-down desk. She kicked off her own boots, climbed right up and over his long legs, and planted a scorching kiss on his mouth. Then she collapsed, sprawling across his solid body like a contented cat.
A soft snort of amusement rumbled in his chest. He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. “Comfortable?”
“Very.” She savored the sound of his amusement. Getting an actual laugh out of him felt like a worthy purpose in life.
He stroked a hand down her spine. “Are you okay with all this?”
She gave herself a moment to sift through the tangled mess of her recent emotions.
A bone-deep need to shine a light on injustice.
Shame twisted in her gut over leaving a city-wide disaster when she could be helping.
Guilt lingered over the collateral damage her friends had suffered.
Layered over all of that was the profound, breathtaking wonder of falling in love.
“Being with you is a gift,” she murmured. “As to everything else, I’m still in the dark, but I know the dawn is coming.” She rested her cheek against his chest, comforted by the rise and fall of his chest. “How are you doing?”
He tensed beneath her. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. She let the silence stretch. Finally, his muscles unlocked. He took two deep, measured breaths.
“I’ve spent half my life lying to nearly everyone about anything personal. I was going to tell you I’m fine, but I’m not. My leg hurts. I can’t relax when I’m near more than about four people. My talent is still sluggish, and I have bad dreams.”
“I love you.” She pushed herself up just enough to kiss the smooth point of his chin, then snuggled back against his chest. “I meant emotionally. Your old asshole boss left you for dead, you suffered through months in rehab, you got taken advantage of by a new asshole boss, you killed a fucking spider mech, got kidnapped, and had to abandon everything on Ridderth to go with me. That’s one hell of a year. ”
He let out a heavy sigh. “Sounds bad when you put it like that.” He threaded his fingers through her hair, tilting her head up.
His mouth covered hers in a slow, deliberate kiss that fired her senses and sent a rush of heat straight to her core.
“In my defense, the fucking spider mech had it coming.”
Arco laughed. “It absolutely did.”
She shifted her weight, sliding down his body just enough to push the hem of his tunic up toward his ribs. She trailed a line of soft, fluttering kisses across his muscled chest and down the chiseled ridges of his abdomen. “Let me show you how much I appreciate what you did.”
Brenner’s groan of pure pleasure swelled her heart. The spark of her desire transformed into a roaring wildfire in her blood.
The CPS still hunted them both. The Concordance still whirled into chaos. They still needed new names, a new home, and a new purpose. But right now, none of that mattered.
For now, she’d pretend they had all the time in the universe.
Thank you for reading Spark Transform.