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I stay secure in my cocoon, knowing all I’m wearing beneath it is a flimsy sleep shirt and underwear. It shouldn’t matter, because he already peeled me off the floor in this outfit. For all I know, my ass was out.
“Where’s Nisi?” I ask, patting the spot she’s been occupying beside me.
“It’s late morning now,” he tells me. “She’s probably roaming the ship, causing chaos… She has too much energy to laze in bed like us.”
“Oh no,” I groan. “Don’t you have meetings today? You’ll be late.”
He stretches leisurely. Since his eyes are shut, I figure it won’t harm anyone to enjoy a few glances at some of his best features—the toned stomach, the flexing arm muscles, and the tantalizing place where sharp jaw meets neck.
“I’ll move them back,” he says without offering further explanation. “Tell me what I should do. Do you need me to stay or go?”
That earnest expression combined with the unkempt hair make him look much younger. His brows have a pleading bend as he awaits my responses. I’m not quite sure. I’ve quickly learned that Mak has been putting my needs first at every opportunity, and the last thing I want is to appear ungrateful. He helped me last night, and I slept so peacefully.
I asked him to stay, and he did.
“I’m feeling refreshed,” I say, donning a bright smile for him. “So you should get on with your day. I really appreciate what you did. I mean, this blanket wrap is so expert you’d think you’re a dad of three. Maybe what I needed all along is a restraining swaddle to fix my nightmare problem…”
I’m babbling.
He chuckles as I trail off. “Then call me whenever you need my services, wife.”
“Sometimes I feel it coming on. Not that it’s always a correct instinct, but there are days when it’s clear that my mind is rattled and sleep won’t come so easily,” I say. “I could give you a heads up, so you don’t have such a scare.”
“May I make a suggestion? Keep in mind, you can reject this idea if you hate it.”
“Yes, that’s generally the definition of a suggestion,” I say, my head swaying to one side with curiosity.
“If you anticipate you’ll have a difficult night, sleep with me.”
I blink.
“I mean, sleep in my bed,” he quickly amends his phrasing. “We’ll get a nice long pillow to lay between us. Nisina and I can act as your bumpers, if you will. That way you can’t climb off the bed without encountering a hairy, grumpy, drooling beast or… a sleeping kaia.”
I chuckle at his lame joke. His efforts to cheer me up have me charmed.
“I don’t believe you drool,” I say. “But it’s not a bad idea. And it’s better I get used to proximity between us anyways. We’ll have to travel together without this luxurious ship and presumably share a bed at other times.”
“Travel without my ship?” He wrinkles his nose. “But you have a point. I had planned on putting off diplomatic visits for quite some time. But it will happen in the future.”
“Go ahead and get that pillow,” I tell him. “Next time I feel a difficult night coming on, we’ll try your suggestion.”
We need to get closer, and this seems like a reasonable way to start off on a good note. He was my rescuer last night, and every awkward moment from the interaction was worth exchanging for hours spent face down in a cold sweat reliving my worst memories. It clearly makes him feel good to support me in this way. But one thing I’ll be adding to my list will be the purchase of many pajama pants.
I pass the day with Kaye and Raina for once, as time with either one of them has been hard to come by recently. I might be the one who acquired a political position, but I have nothing to do. Meanwhile, Kaye is in a delayed honeymoon period with her man that doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. She’s on a mission to get pregnant, which makes me all the more grateful that I moved out of the guest room next door to her and Kalla. As for Raina, she’s been focused on completing training to become an official Kar’Kali warrior. It’s exhausting work, so she mostly lays on her back with a cold pack while regaling us with comedic stories about her young adult classmates. She’s the oldest person on the team, and she’s having a ball kicking all their butts.
But even during the much needed catch up time with my girls, my mind drifts to Mak and what might become of our nascent partnership. Even though I know he’s busy with matters that he had to push back for me, I decide to check on him when the dinner hour comes around.
I glance down at Nisina. “He’s gotta eat, right girl?”
She licks my glove in agreement.
Together, we head to his office, The captain’s den, as they call it. But as I approach, I hear my name uttered in conversation. I stall near the door command to listen out of curiosity, because it sounds like an argument.
“What’s the harm in asking?”
“Things are going well right now, and it’s the last thing I want to discuss with her.” Mak’s voice is strained.
“There has to be another solution,” someone else says.
