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“Then we must go shopping for the perfect ring,” Torus said decisively. He looked at Commander Sylvan. “I take it we’re done here?”
“Oh yes—go ahead and go shopping,” Commander Sylvan said, with just a hint of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. “I’ll get in touch with you later about the thought/emotion transference devices.”
“Er, thank you for not firing me,” Molly said, as she rose from her chair to follow her boss…who was soon to be her husband.
“Why would we terminate your employment for something that isn’t your fault?” Commander Sylvan asked.
Lizabeth Paige was more direct.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” she said firmly. “And neither did Commander Torus. I just have to convince a jury of that.”
“But…what will happen if you lose?” Molly asked, feeling her stomach twist into a knot. “I mean, they can’t throw Commander Torus in jail—can they?”
Lizabeth made a shooing motion.
“Certainly not—Kindred enjoy Diplomatic Immunity all over the Earth for the most part. That’s the reason this is going to be a civil case rather than a criminal one.”
“Oh, good.” Molly felt a rush of relief. She couldn’t be more grateful to her big Kindred boss for everything he had done for her and she certainly didn’t want him to get punished for it.
“The worst that could happen if we lose is that they might try to use the ruling in the civil case to open the matter of Rage Killings again before the World Court—which might make it more difficult for the Kindred to call brides from Earth,” Councilor Paige went on. “But hopefully things won’t get anywhere near that far. Not if you two play your parts well.” She pointed a finger at them. “We’re counting on you to really look and act like a married couple—all right?”
Molly swallowed hard.
“All…all right,” she murmured.
“We won’t fail you,” Commander Torus said firmly.
Then he took Molly by the hand and pulled her out of the office and into a whole new life with him.
18
MOLLY
“Oh my goodness, doll—you look absolutely gorgeous!” Kat—the wedding planner that Commander Sylvan had lined up for them—took a step back to admire Molly in her wedding gown. “What a beautiful bride!” she sighed happily.
Molly looked at herself in the 3D viewer and felt like she was looking at a stranger. The white gown was deceptively simple. It had a rounded neckline and lace cap sleeves and it hugged her curves all the way down. A beautiful, diaphanous veil perched on her hair—which Kat had twisted into a fashionable up-do—and floated around her shoulders and arms like a delicate mist.
“I don’t know,” she said, looking at herself in the viewer. “Don’t you think it shows my freckles kind of a lot?”
Suddenly a deep, male voice spoke in her head.
“You should show them off—I like your freekles.”
Molly gasped and jumped, putting a hand to her pounding heart. She and Commander Torus had only been fitted with the thought/emotion transference devices, (or TETs as Commander Sylvan called them for short) that morning, and she was still getting used to hearing her boss’s voice inside her head.
“You’re going to have to stop thinking of me as your ‘boss’ and begin to envision me as your husband, sweetheart,” he sent through the TET link they now shared. “And don’t call me ‘Commander’ anymore. You must call me simply ‘Torus’ or one of the other ‘pet names’ we agreed on yesterday.”
“Sorry,” Molly sent back to him. “I’m still trying to get used to all this—that’s all.”
“I know, little bird.” His deep mental voice was gentle and patient, which was a good thing, Molly thought. If he had been angry or shouty, like Zach had been, she never could have stood to have him inside her head.
“I’m glad you think I’m nothing like your ex-Mate, but you’re projecting your private thoughts again, sweetheart,” Torus’s voice rumbled in her head. “Remember Commander Sylvan told us to picture a barrier in our minds when we wanted to think privately instead of projecting. Not that I mind hearing your thoughts,” he added. “But everyone has a right to privacy.”
“Oh, sorry!” Molly sent again.
“You okay, doll?” Kat’s voice brought her back from the internal dialogue and she realized the other woman was giving her a worried look.
“Oh, yes—I’m fine,” she said quickly. “Why?”
