Page 12
Story: Ghost Ship Numenon
“What’s wrong?” His voice was gentle but firm, and he wiped a tear from my eye. “Did I hurt you?”
I shook my head. “No, silly, I’m just thinking about all the time we wasted.”
“Hm.” He frowned and gave me a gentle squeeze. I’d never felt as safe as I did in his arms, nor as loved. “Beloved, the past is the road we walked to become the people we are now. I would not change a thing, for fear I’d spoil this moment.”
“Not even theAvir?”I knew how much he’d loved his ship, but he chuckled and shook his head.
“Avirdied a hero’s death. I’ll honor her, and I’ll miss her, but not enough to risk this.”
“You may change your tune when you’ve had a look at theMagpie,” I warned him, snuggling in close. My eyes drifted shut as I nuzzled against my mate’s chest. After the day I’d had, that didn’t surprise me. Kahdrex’s words seemed to arrive from far, far away.
“Then we will need to upgrade. I demand a ship with a bunk large enough to share, and one that isn’t haunted.”
It took me a moment, then I snorted a laugh on the very edge of sleep.Oh god, I forgot I had Halloween decorations up.
EPILOGUE
The ship hung in its anti-gravity cradle, battered by years spent plying the less safe spaceways. Bare metal showed through where micro meteors had stripped the paint away, one comm antenna had sheared off, and laser-burns scarred the drive housing.
I grinned. She was perfect.
TheHalloweenwasn’t much to look at, but she had it where it counted. Powerful engines, holds twice the size ofMagpie’s, and three times the living space. That was going to get important.
Kahdrex gave it one last walk around before pressing his hand to the datapad, sealing his share of the deal. A loud beep signaled acceptance, and just like that, the ship was ours.
“Expensive,” he grumbled. I smacked his perfectly formed ass hard enough to sting my palm.
“None of that, mister. We agreed we needed the extra space.” I shook my stinging hand and tried to ignore his smirk. “Now that we’ve sold my ship and bought this one, it’s a bit late to worry about the cost.”
His rumbling laugh made me shiver and blush. “That’s fair. We’ll just have to find a big score on our first time out, so we can afford more than Maker-mush to eat.”
I snuggled in under his arm and leaned against his perfect chest, listening to thethump-thumpof his heartbeats. “Some actual food would be nice, yeah. So we’d better get looting!”
“I already have something in mind for our first trip.” He didn’t give me a chance to ask what he meant before picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder.
“Hey, wait a minute!” My demand went unheeded, as did my squirming. “I’m not some prize for you to walk off with.”
With a laugh loud enough to shake theHalloween,he carried me up the gangplank and aboard our new home. “Now that we’re partners and I’ve claimed you as my mate, it’s a bit late to worry about that.”
My face flushed bright as he turned my own argument back on me. After three tries to come up with an objection, I defaulted to, “Nobody likes a smartass.”
“Maddie, that’s just silly. After all, I likeyou.”
I groaned and stopped fighting a battle I didn’t want to win, relaxing into his infuriatingly sexy embrace. I needed to conserve my energy, after all. We had a new home, and if I knew us, we’d want to test drive every room before we did anything else.
The End
I shook my head. “No, silly, I’m just thinking about all the time we wasted.”
“Hm.” He frowned and gave me a gentle squeeze. I’d never felt as safe as I did in his arms, nor as loved. “Beloved, the past is the road we walked to become the people we are now. I would not change a thing, for fear I’d spoil this moment.”
“Not even theAvir?”I knew how much he’d loved his ship, but he chuckled and shook his head.
“Avirdied a hero’s death. I’ll honor her, and I’ll miss her, but not enough to risk this.”
“You may change your tune when you’ve had a look at theMagpie,” I warned him, snuggling in close. My eyes drifted shut as I nuzzled against my mate’s chest. After the day I’d had, that didn’t surprise me. Kahdrex’s words seemed to arrive from far, far away.
“Then we will need to upgrade. I demand a ship with a bunk large enough to share, and one that isn’t haunted.”
It took me a moment, then I snorted a laugh on the very edge of sleep.Oh god, I forgot I had Halloween decorations up.
EPILOGUE
The ship hung in its anti-gravity cradle, battered by years spent plying the less safe spaceways. Bare metal showed through where micro meteors had stripped the paint away, one comm antenna had sheared off, and laser-burns scarred the drive housing.
I grinned. She was perfect.
TheHalloweenwasn’t much to look at, but she had it where it counted. Powerful engines, holds twice the size ofMagpie’s, and three times the living space. That was going to get important.
Kahdrex gave it one last walk around before pressing his hand to the datapad, sealing his share of the deal. A loud beep signaled acceptance, and just like that, the ship was ours.
“Expensive,” he grumbled. I smacked his perfectly formed ass hard enough to sting my palm.
“None of that, mister. We agreed we needed the extra space.” I shook my stinging hand and tried to ignore his smirk. “Now that we’ve sold my ship and bought this one, it’s a bit late to worry about the cost.”
His rumbling laugh made me shiver and blush. “That’s fair. We’ll just have to find a big score on our first time out, so we can afford more than Maker-mush to eat.”
I snuggled in under his arm and leaned against his perfect chest, listening to thethump-thumpof his heartbeats. “Some actual food would be nice, yeah. So we’d better get looting!”
“I already have something in mind for our first trip.” He didn’t give me a chance to ask what he meant before picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder.
“Hey, wait a minute!” My demand went unheeded, as did my squirming. “I’m not some prize for you to walk off with.”
With a laugh loud enough to shake theHalloween,he carried me up the gangplank and aboard our new home. “Now that we’re partners and I’ve claimed you as my mate, it’s a bit late to worry about that.”
My face flushed bright as he turned my own argument back on me. After three tries to come up with an objection, I defaulted to, “Nobody likes a smartass.”
“Maddie, that’s just silly. After all, I likeyou.”
I groaned and stopped fighting a battle I didn’t want to win, relaxing into his infuriatingly sexy embrace. I needed to conserve my energy, after all. We had a new home, and if I knew us, we’d want to test drive every room before we did anything else.
The End