“Right,” I agree. “Logistics.” Like how we will manage to stay together when our lives pull us in such separate directions. Like what we will do and where we will go. My head is filled with cotton and my eyes are drooping fast. It’s a miracle I didn’t fall asleep mid-sex. Or maybe a testament to his skills… “Tomorrow,” I say agreeably.
I close my eyes while his own are still open. A beat of silence passes. Jari’s hands still trail along my skin, as if he is determined to explore every inch. “Don’t you have better things to do than stare at me while I’m sleeping?”
“You’re awake,” he points out.
I scoff as I roll over, turning away from him to face the wall. It is a tight fit on the small shelf of a bunk, even when Jari curls up close against my back. He cannot seem to stop touching me. Despite my exhaustion, I do not fall asleep for a long time. I lie pressed against him, cataloguing each soft kiss, each brush of his skin against mine. I would like to remember each moment of this night.
I am not used to things that last. In most cases, I do not believe in luck, but for this, I will cross my fingers.
12
Epilogue—Jari
Tess and I cannot sit together during the meeting between the two planets at such odds. As a commander in the Velorian military and an occasional advisor of the Prince, I must stand in for him. This means that I must sit at the front of the room and speak with politicians and strategists from both sides as they discuss how best to prevent more carnage and more bombing attempts. No one wants another war, least of all the Xzerg, impoverished as their planet still is in the aftermath.
Tess sits with Vince and a few of my soldiers who have been talked into making an appearance. It is boring work, but it looks good to have soldiers of both sides present. Allies of other species look good as well, and both Tess and Vince were willing to assist by sitting and doing their best to look attentive. They had been called upon give a brief recounting of what they knew of the cult, but that had been hours ago and they each seem to have lost motivation to remain awake. Vince appears to be seconds from falling into a doze, while Tess is keeping herself awake by ripping a piece of paper into increasingly skinny strips. I resist the urge to shake my head and finish up by discussing contingency plans with the leader of the Xzerg. Theirs is a military based society, with a complicated system of government that I have never before bothered learning much about. If this more benevolent relationship between our two planets is to continue, I should really try. In the end, my voice is beginning to fade toward hoarseness and we have agreed to share information and resources to help bring the cult down. It is personal on both our parts now.
In two weeks, Tess and I have not managed to leave one another. There have been a few quick trips between the Xzerg home world and Veloria, but we were only separated for the length of the journey once, when she had chosen to accompany Vince in delivering information to Daru while I stayed behind to procure a replacement ship that would be viable as a military vessel. Vince had been kind to lend us the use of his ship, but I had no urge to inflict the company of 12 large soldiers on the vessel any longer. It wasn’t made to house such numbers. We were apart for scarcely three days, but it ached almost like a wound. Looking back, I can remember a similar, lesser feeling that had always dominated when Tess and I parted ways before. This too would likely fade with time, especially for Tess, who, as a human, would have less intense side effects from the bond, but I did not want to let it. When I saw her again, after the endless stretch of three days, she had wrapped herself around me on the landing strip, heedless of the countless eyes, and kissed me as though she would drown if she didn’t.
As the meeting closes, I exchange various nods and pleasantries translated by the recipients’ implants. I am relieved when the follow-up introductions and questions end, and I am able to wade my way through the bodies to where Tess waits. She is standing now, leaning against the wall to take the pressure from her leg. However good a prosthesis she gets, she always says, it never feels quite right.
“Hurting again?” I ask.
“Fine,” she answers. “Had it crossed during the meeting and it’s itching, but it’s fantastic. I’m fine” There is frustration in her voice, but she smiles through it. “Are we good to leave?”
She is antsy already. A week bouncing between the same two planets is still much too stationary for Tess.
“Yes,” I answer carefully. “There’s a bit of news about that,” I say. “But I was hoping we could wait a moment.”
“As long as it’s not more than one,” she says. There is an edge of nervousness in her voice now. In the past days, we have spoken of our next step quite often. I have attempted to convince Tess to leave bounty hunting behind, to take up a job on Veloria in something else that she is good at. She could be a weapons broker or a guide or a bodyguard even. As my mate, she could quite easily be given clearance to live on a military base and we could see each other each time I returned from a mission. Tess, in turn, had done her best to talk me into leaving my position and the soldiers with it. I could retire from the military, she said, on my own terms, without an injury forcing me into it, and the two of us could go into business as partners. Admittedly, I had been torn, but as it turned out this morning, it was not going to be the obstacle I worried it would.
“Vince will be leaving,” she says. “He’s gonna finish up his visit, and then he and his friend Vohx are running a job together, something about delivering medical supplies to a community on the rim. Let me bid him farewell, and I’ll catch you at the docks.”
I have discovered that I cannot give Tess a quick kiss. They always turn lingering. She turns away as my lips move down her neck. “We’re attracting stares,” she says.
“I thought you liked stares?”
She shrugs. “Not adverse to stares, but given the importance of your standing with their people, you might not want to damage their sensibilities.”
She’s right, as she very often is. I force myself to pull away and watch her chat with Vince. As I reach the door, I look back once more to find her smiling at him widely, discussing some future meeting.
I head back to the landing zone without waiting, taking the spare time to prepare the ship for take-off. Most of the soldiers have made their way back at this point, as milling about in the awkward aftermath of an official meeting was no one’s preferred way of spending their free time.
The ship is roughly the same size as the old one, but equipped with more guns along both the front and flank, in addition to sporting a better cloaking device.
“You tell her yet?” Jeyal asks.
I shake my head. “Not yet. So keep your mouths shut.”
“What are we shutting our mouths about?” Tess asks, appearing from thin air at my back. Jeyal doesn’t answer. He and the rest of the men mill about with the air of children trying very hard not spill a secret.
“You didn’t take long,” I say, in a bid to change the subject, to delay until I can present the news in some spectacular manner. I had planned to wait until dinner, before we left, to announce it with all the men present and celebrate properly. Tess loves to celebrate.
She shrugs. “Vince and I vid-call all the time. He’ll last three days before he caves and calls me to see what I’m up to. Speaking of,” she says. “What am I up to?”
I tell her in private, in the room set aside to house the commander, that will also house her. She looks around at the décor, sits on the mattress, testing its softness. I tell her that Prince Takkan has granted her special clearance to work in tandem with the Velorian military as a mercenary. “He said it’s the least he could do for the mate of such a good friend,” I explain. “He also said to thank you for keeping me alive.”
As I have spoken, a slow smile has spread across her face, warming the room like sunlight. “He sounds very intelligent,” she says. I agree wholeheartedly. Her initial, typical reaction fades to one of pure wonder. “I get to stay with you,” she says, still searching for c
onfirmation. We have considered so many alternatives, so many possible ways of communication, of arranging meetings, that to have such a simple solution presented seems impossible.
“I get to stay with you,” I retort.
“Stuck with me, more like.”
I kiss the top of her head, and then pull her close, resting my chin there. “Very happily stuck.”
Her hand slips downward and her lips search for my own. Tess loves celebrations, and this is most certainly an occasion to rejoice in. Later perhaps, we will share a lesser version of this joy with the soldiers scattered throughout the ship. We fall into bed together, into each other, in the same manner we have spent these past weeks. We already know each other’s minds from years of friendship, but I have discovered unknown joy in discovering her body. I do not think I will ever grow tired of hearing her say my name in new tones and cadences. I do not think that she will grow tired of hearing me doing the same.
When we are lying side-by-side, sleepy and sated, we discuss our next assignment—a village on an ice planet that needs to be evacuated before a predicted storm hits its coasts. Tess is already discussing how well she will settle in aboard the ship.
“Admittedly, I did like having my own space,” she says. “But I kind of missed the chaos. I miss having a family, of a sort. I hope you don’t mind me stealing some of yours.”
I smile at her gently, my fingers buried in her hair, rubbing against her scalp. “We can share.”
“How generous,” she remarks.
Neither of us is built for something normal, for staying in one place and building a stable life, but with Tess, I feel like I could be settled regardless of the constant movement. It may be a different sort of family, but it will be ours.
“I have a very important question.” Tess rolls onto her side, looks up at me suddenly with laughter and lust in her eyes. “Did you happen to keep that pair of handcuffs?”
Need More Primal Planet?
If you loved reading this book, please consider leaving a review to let me know your thoughts. It’s always great to hear from my readers <3
Don’t forget to check out the Ice Shifters of Veloria series of linked books, starting with Primal Planet Guardian!
And book two, Primal Planet Dragon, is also out now!
Then read the third book in the series right away!
Join Skylar’s email list here! http://eepurl.com/dBsx3T
Follow the brand new Facebook page here! www.facebook.com/SkylarClarkeRomance
Follow her on Amazon here! http://amazon.com/author/skylarclarke
Primal Planet Captive: SciFi Alien Fated Romance Page 12
