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As the afterglow of the Gilded Orb faded into the cosmos behind us, I strapped myself into the pilot's seat next to Tasha. My fingers danced over the console with practiced ease, setting a course for the distant planet of Crao. The ship hummed beneath us, alive with energy as if it, too, was eager to forge ahead into the star-strewn void.
"Qhix, that place was way more than I expected!" Tasha bubbled beside me, her words tumbling out in an effervescent stream as she strapped herself in. "The colors, the sounds. And all those aliens, and the one with the tentacles where a mouth should have been. That one freaked me out the most."
I laugh heartily, watching her lively expression. My chest swells with pride and elation, knowing I was the one to introduce her to this experience. "I know! The Jyrt. You nearly jumped out of your skin when he said hello."
"Jumped out of my skin? More like leaped across the galaxy!" She laughs, a sound that has quickly become my favorite melody. "And the food! I think my favorite was the Zanthi stew with the floating spices."
"Mine too. I knew it would be your favorite." I beam, overjoyed to see her so happy. "And the acrobats at the Nebulus, I don't think you blinked once, utterly transfixed with the laserline walker."
"Transfixed is putting it midly." Her verdant gaze sparkles like Thalonian gems. "They defied gravity, Qhix. I've never seen anything like it. When the female twirled and twisted in mid-air, I thought for sure she was going to fall."
A grin spreads across my face as my chest swells with an overwhelming tide of affection. It courses through every inch of my being, and I can barely recall what life was like before Tasha. This small, fragile human has become everything to me, and I worry what will happen once we reach Crao and she reunites with the other females of her species.
Our mating is to be a ruse when we arrive as she needs more time to decide whether she wants to be mine. What if she chooses not to be my mate?
I will be forced to leave her on Crao and return to my solitary life as a Maverick. My throat constricts as a hollow ache digs a hole in the center of my chest.
"Oh, and the shops! You were so right to make a pitstop even though I feel guilty as hell knowing the girls are wondering what happened to me. I hope the souvenirs will help make up for all their worrying. Can we go back soon? I could spend years there and still find new wonders."
"You want me to take you back to the Gilded Orb?" The question slips out before I can temper it with my usual cavalier swagger.
"Of course. You can steal me away again. Only next time, we'll leave a note so no one will worry." There's a warmth in her jest, a lightness that eases the heaviness in my chest.
"I would steal you away now if you'd let me," I murmur more to myself than to her. Engaging the autopilot, I lean back in my seat. The ship flies itself, the soft lull of its engines hums in my ears, a rhythmic counterpoint to Tasha's exuberance.
"Hey, are you alright? You've gone quiet on me," Tasha gently prods, leaning over to squeeze my hand.
"Just contemplating our arrival on Crao." My admission hangs between us, raw and unshielded.
"Your sivot promised not to maim or kill anyone, so I'm sure it will be fine once I explain the situation to everyone."
"That you woke my sivot who's laid dormant for millennia?" I raise my brows and turn my head to look at her with a wry twist of my lips. "Is that the situation you're referring to, or that I've spilled my mating seed inside you, marking you with my scent and you have yet to decide whether you want to claim me as yours or if I'm just a passing fling?"
I despise myself for draining the joy from her face, but I can't help how broken I feel inside. Even my sivot is licking his wounds.
"Qhix, I never meant to hurt you." Tasha gives my hand another gentle squeeze. "I was just trying to be honest about how I feel."
"I know." I slump in my seat. "I shouldn't be so hard on you for your honesty. Given my vocation, it's not often I hear it. Even my fellow Star Mavericks who've sworn oaths embellish what truly is."
"When I first saw you on Zune, there was a spark of something." She releases her seat strap and moves to sit on my lap. "I was drawn to you like no other, even unconscious. You are simply more than I bargained for, is all. It isn't as much the feelings I have for you as the concern over the unpredictability of your sivot. Even though he gave me his word, I think, if properly provoked, your beast would emerge, promise or not."
"Then my sivot and I will have to prove ourselves to you. My beast will keep his word; he is yours to command. If you tell him to stop, he will do as promised, even if it means my death."
"I would never tell you not to defend yourself, Qhix. I don't think I like having this much power over you. If the roles were reversed, I wouldn't like being under your control."
"You're a headstrong female."
My pulse quickens, my flesh tingling with the proximity of her. This voyage to Crao could well chart the course of our intertwined destinies, and I find myself wishing to the silent stars that her heart might choose to navigate alongside mine.
Seated on my lap, Tasha rests her head on my shoulder, and together we watch the galaxies outside the view port streak into ambient lines, painting a celestial path that seems to extend out into forever. It had been a full day on the Gilded Orb, and between the excitement and the warmth of Tasha's body radiating into mine, my eyelids were growing heavy.
"We should rest, Tasha. Crao is still many starleagues away."
"Sounds like a plan." She stifles a yawn. "It's been an eventful day."
I retract my seat strap and rise with Tasha in my arms, navigating the narrow corridor leading to my crew quarters. I set her on her feet and we both undress. I shuck my boots and pants, leaving my garments in a haphazard pile while Tasha takes care with her dress, laying it over the back of a chair.
We slip beneath the covers, and she settles in beside me, her back to my front, her breathing already evening out as sleep claims her.
