Chapter 5
FIVE
Everything Klae had hoped he would feel for Kim was real. It hadn’t been fantasy or a dream. Even though a week after their first incredible sexual encounter had passed, being with her still felt like a dream.
They lounged naked, neck-deep in the pool. Her hair floated on the surface in waves. Her skin glowed in the blue light of the phosphorescent stones embedded in the walls. But it was the way she looked at him with a dreamy smile and soft eyes that entranced him.
He couldn’t get enough of her. It didn’t matter that they’d just made love in this pool; he wanted her again. And she seemed to crave him just as much. He was having genuine hope that she would want to stay after the two weeks were up.
And it wasn’t just the sex. She’d opened up and told him about her life before the match program.
She had loved her family, but being a full-time caregiver to multiple terminally ill adults had taken a toll on her, too.
Little wonder she’d signed up to head to the stars for some “adventure and romance,” as she put it. He was pleased to offer her both.
“You look hungry.” Her voice was a sultry rasp.
“Always,” he groaned, pulling her into his arms. “You make me ravenous.”
She chuckled and slid her arms around his neck.
“Then let me feed you.” She eased herself over to him.
Her weightless body slipped against his in the warm water and he positioned her against him, skin to skin.
His tail came around her leg and tethered her.
She kissed him, deep and slow. Klae’s mind blanked as arousal heated his blood.
It was easy to lose himself in this, in her.
He had delegated almost all of his duties to Nelo for the two weeks Kim would be with him.
His assistant accepted the burden with typical stoicism after securing a raise and a share of the profits from one of the trade deals he’d helped negotiate.
It was a tiny price to pay to devote all his attention to his female.
It was dangerous to think of her that way, but as far as he was concerned, she was his.
He was going to do everything in his power to show her the benefits of a life with him.
They’d had a few real adventures in the past six days.
They had taken one of the small shuttles down to the surface of Io, Jupiter’s largest moon, and flown inches above the volcanic surface.
He’d had his chef prepare delicacies from all over the galaxy.
At each planet they’d passed, he’d acquired a stone from the surface, or from one of its rings.
When they had visited Io’s surface, she had chosen the small volcanic stone from the selection scooped up by the shuttle’s grabber.
He planned to have a Virilian jeweler craft a unique piece as a souvenir of their time together.
The greatest gift would be the last one, when Taron and Amelia rendezvoused with them and Kim was reunited with her friend.
Every day he hoped she would bring up the idea of staying with him.
Perhaps Amelia’s closeness—and the good news that she and Taron would soon share—would seal the deal for Kim.
He had always hoped for a life partner from the match program.
More than offspring, he wanted a family.
This ship, which he’d shaped and customized and lived in for the past ten years of his life, was an empty vessel without it.
No level of wealth could buy it. No matter how many credits amassed in his accounts, he had still returned to his quarters alone.
The quiet was a sadness he could not chase off. Hopefully, that was about to change.
He was about to slide his aching cock into her tight sheath when his communicator pinged.
Klae paused. He had given Nelo strict orders not to disturb him unless there was an emergency. His assistant could handle almost anything.
“I need to answer this,” he said, alarmed.
Kim nodded and waved a hand. “Of course.”
He eased his body from hers and climbed out of the pool. Cool air chilled his nude body as he strode out of earshot of Kim. “Nelo. What is it?” He sounded brusque, but with worry, not annoyance.
“We have received a distress signal from one of our larger cargo transports,” his assistant replied. “The ship was fired upon but not destroyed. Nor was it boarded.”
That was odd. “Injuries?”
Nelo paused. “No. Good call on arming your cargo ships. They returned fire, and the attackers fled. Of course, they may have done a scan and discerned the cargo was more than they wanted to deal with.”
Dread iced Klae’s gut. “Tell me it wasn’t the ship carrying unithium.”
“It was.”
He closed his eyes and let out a curse. Unithium was an important element in certain medical procedures, but it destabilized easily, and when that happened, it released a poisonous gas that sometimes took weeks to kill its victims. If just one of the canisters was damaged by the attack, the crew of the cargo ship was potentially in grave danger. “Plot a course to it immediately.”
“Already done, sir,” said Nelo. “Taron Bando’s ship was in the vicinity and is evacuating the crew, but they lack the capabilities to address the contamination issues that come with unithium poisoning.”
“I will be at my console momentarily.”
“See you there, sir,” said Nelo. “And I am sorry for disturbing your…whatever you were doing.”
“No,” he replied. “Whoever dared attack one of my ships disturbed me, not you. They will pay. Deploy a fleet of scanning drones and find their energy signature.”
“Yes, sir.” Nelo signed off.
Klae returned to Kim. This time, they would not be resuming where they left off. “I am afraid we have a change of plans.”
“What happened?” She went tense and still. “Are we under attack?”
“No, but one of my cargo ships ran into some trouble. We have to reroute to assist them.”
“Of course.” She nodded, looking worried. “Are they okay?”
He swept up his clothes and hastily dressed. “They seem to be, for now. But the cargo isn’t something that can be left unattended. We will have to skip Neptune, for now.”
Kim blinked down at the water. “I understand. I just hope no one was hurt.”
“On the plus side, you’ll see your Amelia earlier than expected. She and Taron are with the ship now.”
“That’s…great.”
But there was no spark in the words. He paused and looked closely at her to see that she had gone pale. Her expression was closed and withdrawn. Perhaps she was thinking about her abduction and wondering if it would happen to her again.
“Kim,” he began. She looked up, but her eyes were cool and guarded. “Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise you. You’re safe here on this ship.”
She nodded. “I know, Klae. Thank you.”
Something in her face told him he’d missed something. He searched his head for a way to reassure her, even though he wasn’t sure what she needed reassurance for.
“We have forty short-range attack ships and a defense system to rival a space station. There isn’t an enemy in the known universe who would get through this ship’s fortifications.”
Her brows drew together in a tight frown. “I understand that, Klae.”
He was definitely missing something. A frisson of panic went through him.
He didn’t have time to parse out the problem.
Nelo was waiting for him with a complete report of the incident.
Perhaps what Kim needed was space. At a loss, he left.
They would figure this out later, after the unithium was secured and the crew of the cargo ship decontaminated.
It didn’t take long for the Nebula-3 Trade Cruiser to arrive at the disabled ship, which lay beyond Earth’s solar system. Klae stood on the command deck with Nelo. He rarely came here. This was his ship operator’s domain, and Klae endeavored to stay out of the experienced male’s way.
But he needed his eyes on the cargo ship. He gazed at the wreckage. The hull had been breached by heavy fire. The bulk of the ship wasn’t badly damaged, but it floated, dark and partially blackened. He ground his teeth.
“Dock us to Taron’s ship,” he said to operator Berro, who ran the Nebula-3 Trade Cruiser under Klae’s direction. “Have the crew evacuated directly to the medical unit for an exam and decontamination. Their report can wait until they’re healthy.”
“Yes, sir.” The operator began inputting his orders.
“I want to personally inspect that cargo,” said Klae. “Nelo, prepare my shuttle and exosuit. Alert Kim that Amelia has arrived and escort her to the hangar.” He paused. “And tell her I apologize.”
Nelo looked up, puzzled. “For what, sir?”
“Does it matter?” Klae snapped, annoyed with himself for not knowing the answer, and annoyed with Nelo for asking. “I think I insulted her somehow.”
Nelo’s expression turned perplexed. “Excuse me, sir? How can you not know if you insulted her?”
Klae raked his fingers through his hair. “She seems displeased about something, but hasn’t told me what. I can only imagine that something I said…” He shook his head. “I honestly have no idea.”
Berro and Nelo exchanged a look.
Klae snorted. “Like you two are experts on human females.”
Nelo cleared his throat. “We are not, but I know for a fact that if you insult someone, apologies by proxy do not solve the problem.”
“I wasn’t asking for advice,” Klae ground out.
“I won’t do it.” His assistant wagged a finger at him. “This is your first spat. Get over it and talk to your female.”
Klae sighed. He hated it when Nelo was right. It happened far too often and drove home the fact that his very competent assistant was more than capable of directing his own trading route, commanding his own cruiser. It was a discussion they’d have when this was over.
He turned and strode from the command to the hangar, stopping to don his exosuit, which would protect him from any possible contamination. Taron’s ship had just completed docking.
Klae’s shuttle sat on a pad, awaiting him. He headed for it.
A flash of blond hair caught his attention.
Kim wove through the busy hangar. Coming the other way with as much determination was Amelia, searching the crowd for her friend.
He watched, fascinated, as they spied each other, let out twin gasps of delight, and bolted toward one another.
They hugged and laughed, pulled back, let out excited streams of greeting, then hugged again. The sight made him smile.
“We won’t be seeing them for a while,” said a familiar male voice behind him.
“I’m glad she is happy.” Klae turned to Taron, who eschewed traditional Virilian chest coverings for white, human-styled garments called T-shirts.
Even after his exile, he’d stuck with them, saying they were soft and “breathed well.” It was odd.
“So it’s going well?”
“Wonderful. Better than I could have imagined.”
“Stars. In love already, are you?” Taron shook his head. “Tyaga.” Which was the Virilian word for someone who was mentally incapacitated due to excitement over a sexual partner.
Klae raised a brow. “And you’re not? I’ve met no one as smitten with a mate as you are with Amelia.”
“Ah, but I had the smarts to wait a while before falling off that particular cliff.” Taron smiled indulgently when Amelia gave him a little wave. “You may as well be holding up a sign declaring your feelings.”
Klae shrugged. “You know when you know.”
“Do you?” Taron asked. “Is she your mate?”
“She is,” stated Klae. “I’ve known that for a long time. It took this meeting to confirm it.”
“Well, that’s efficient of you.” Taron clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Not surprising.”
“How is the crew of my cargo ship?” Klae asked, changing the subject.
“No signs of unithium poisoning yet, but you know it can take time for it to show up.”
“I’m going over to survey the damage to the canisters. Maybe none were breached.”
“I admire your optimism.” One corner of Taron’s lips curled. “Speaking of which, is Kim staying on past the two weeks?”
“I hope so.” A feeling of unease moved through him. Their first spat, as Nelo had called it. He hoped it was only that, and not something bigger.