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Ki’REMI

Ki’Remi sensed Sheba’s gaze settle on him as the Riders carried on their banter with Issa.

She hadn’t spoken much since the introductions, but as Issa continued conversing with the Riders’, she slid into the booth beside him.

Wistfulness flitted in her dark, knowing eyes as she studied Ki’Remi. ‘You like her.’

Ki’Remi turned his head, gaze locked on the woman across from him.

Issa, radiant, laughing at something Riv said, her curls tumbling over one shoulder, her fingers toying with the stem of her glass.

He forced himself to look back at Sheba. ‘I do. Does it bother you, given our history?’

She huffed a quiet laugh. ‘Nada. Not at all.’

Sheba leaned in, voice softer now. ‘We would have been good together once, but our time passed.’

He exhaled, tilting his tumbler, watching the amber liquid shift. ‘Indeed.’

‘We were never meant to last.’ She smiled, nostalgic, affectionate. ‘You and me, we’re better as friends, Ki’Remi. We always were.’

Emotion in his chest uncoiled, not in relief or sadness, but just an acceptance and gratitude that his former friend-with-benefits wasn’t holding on to what had never existed between them.

Sheba smirked, nudging his arm. ‘Means you’ve got a stunning girlfriend in your life now.’

‘Not sure I’m even close to that status quite yet.’

‘You will be.’

Before he could respond, she slid out of the booth, smoothing her sleek dress. ‘I’ll leave you to it,’ she said with a teasing lift of her brow. ‘I’ve got friends waiting. Enjoy your night, Commander.’

With a wave to the group and a kind glance to Issa, Sheba left, gliding toward the upper levels of the lounge.

Almost as if on cue, Kainan, who perched on the edge of the banquette, now stretched, cracking his knuckles.

‘Alright, let’s allow Remi to court this stunning woman before he broods a hole into the floor.’

Riv snorted. ‘Let’s also feed Kage before his stomach growls transform into all-out roars.’

Kage flipped off the silver-haired Rider as the rest of the Riders chuckled.

Ki’Remi stood, clasping each of them on the shoulder, an unspoken bond that was unbreakable and unquestioned.

Kainan leaned to drawl in Ki’Remi’s ear. ‘She’s a good one. You’d be a fool to let her slip through your fingers.’

Ki’Remi chose silence, his gaze on the Riders as they filed out, heading for The BirdKage, the restaurant Kage owned on the upper level.

He swiveled his head to lock eyes with Issa’s, jolting with a now familiar lurch of desire.

He wanted this woman.

More than he should.Fokk, he yearned for her.

A line of ancient poetry glimmered in his mind, and he murmured it under his breath. ‘It is not a subject for indignation that Trojans and well-grieved Greeks endure hardships for a long time on account of such a woman. In countenance, she is wondrous. She moves a goddess and looks a queen.’

‘What did you say?’

Issa’s husky intonation cut through his craving and he took a deep inhale.