Page 24 of DaR (Darverius, House of DaR #1)

Chapter Twenty-Three

DAR

I have never felt like this. I have commanded hundreds of successful operations and I always looked forward to the next battle.

Now with her here, I am torn. I have a planet to guard and a fleet to command, but all I want to do is be with her.

The inner peace she gives me is disturbing considering it is something I did not know I needed.

My mind must be in the right place. I cannot be torn or distracted, especially when my life and thousands of others rely on me being sharp at all times.

I stand in the middle of my bedroom, as Kira calls it, and it feels as empty as I do inside. The only warmth in my world is with her or near something she has touched. I am more shocked than anyone else at how much I enjoy the atmosphere she has created in the outer dwelling … or home now.

I fight the pull to knock on her door, and I make myself head toward the bathing chamber. As I stand inside the ion cleanser, my mind replays the emotions I saw on her face this evening.

“ Master DaR ?”

“ Yes , SAGE ?”

“ Sir , I believe there is something wrong with Kira’s cleansing unit. I keep picking up saltwater droplets.”

“ She seemed upset when I told her I was leaving, so maybe she is leaking again.” I step out and pull on my pants. “ Open the viewing screen.”

SAGE opens the screen, but I do not see Kira immediately.

I turn all the cameras on only to find her still in the cleansing chamber, the outline of her body showing through the fogged door.

My body hardens at the sight of her silhouette.

She runs her hands through her long hair as it hangs all the way to her knees.

I know I am breaking every rule; I should never invade her privacy like this.

No excuse would work if she knew I was watching her right now, but I cannot take my eyes off her.

I watch the light turn green, and she opens the door, reaching out for her robe. She has her back turned toward me and I catch a peek of her bottom cheek as she slides on the robe that hides her body from me. Then I hear her talking to SAGE .

“ SAGE , I need a razor.” I watch as she raises her leg up against the counter, rubbing her hand up and down.

“ What is a razor, Mistress Kira ?”

She flips her long hair over to the side. “ It’s a hair removal tool; all this hair is driving me crazy.”

Before I can think about the problems I am about to cause myself, I press the button for my wall to open.

“ There will be no razor! I will absolutely not tolerate you shaving all that beautiful hair off your head.”

Kira jerks her leg down and screams. The moment she realizes it is me, I see her fear turn into anger.

“ How dare you barge in here like that! Damnit DaR , you took ten years off my life. Haven’t you ever heard of knocking, and how the hell did you get in here?

I thought you said no one but me could open that door.

But you didn’t come through the door, did you?

Nope , you just opened the damn wall up. ”

I wince at the tone of her voice. “ Kira I am sorry, and I do apologize. I had no right to barge in here like that. I reacted before I thought about it. Also , I never want to do anything to shorten your lifespan. ”

Kira looks up at me and bursts into laughter. “ DaR , you take everything so seriously; that was just a figure of speech. Now why are you talking about me shaving my head?”

“ You just asked SAGE for a razor. I am not sure exactly what it is used for, but I will not permit you to remove your hair!”

“ Why … I just want to shave my legs and my underarms. I feel like a man with all this hair on me. I don’t want to shave my head, I love my hair.”

I swear I can feel my cheeks heat up, and this is probably one of the few times in my existence I have ever been embarrassed. “ Are you telling me you have unwanted hair on the lower parts of your body you want to remove?”

“ Yup big guy, not that it’s any of your business. You’re the one who told me to ask SAGE for anything I needed. I didn’t know you had to personally approve it, though.”

“ I asked SAGE to run any request by me. Once again, I apologize for my misunderstanding. We have hair removal creams that can achieve the same results as your razors did back on Earth . Except be very careful with the application of this cream, because whatever hair it touches will not grow back.”

“ You mean permanent hair removal? That’s wonderful. The best news I’ve heard in a while. Where do I get it?”

“ I will have SAGE order it for you. Do you need anything else? ”

“ A hairbrush and some scrunchies would be great.”

“ How have you been grooming your hair? I thought all of that was already available in the necessary drawers.”

“ What drawers? I can’t find anything in here.”

“ SAGE , would you open all accessory cabinet drawers, please?”

I laugh at Kira’s reaction as almost the whole room opens up with drawers and cabinets full of toiletries.

“ Well , I’ll be damned.” I watch her pull a few items out of a drawer. “ I have no idea what half of this stuff is. Now , if you had running water for a long bath or a hot shower, I’d feel almost human again.”

Kira pulls a brush out of one drawer and then flips her long hair over her shoulder.

“ Here let me.”

She gives me an odd look, then hands me the brush.

“ Do not give me that look. I will take any opportunity I can to play with all that gorgeous hair.”

I set her in front of me on the lounger she had installed in her room and gently run the brush through her long hair, starting at the bottom and working my way up.

When we first sat down, Kira was tense in front of me, but she soon relaxes with each gentle stroke of the brush.

She pulls her knees up on the bottom of the chair and leans her head down onto them, closing her eyes.

“ You act like you’ve done this before. Is this special treatment or something you give all the ladies?”

I smile and shake my head. “ No , you are the first female to receive this award-winning brush treatment. SoL had extremely long hair when he was little. He would not let me cut it because he was convinced it would hurt. I had to get creative in styling little males’ hair, so I learned all kinds of braids.

He still wears his hair in the same fashion, but it suits him. ”

“ I can hear it in your voice how special each one of them are to you. Being a good dad is great on the application process you know.”

“ Do I even want to know what you are talking about now?”

“ It’s silly really; one of the girls I worked with and I came up with an application process.

What I mean is … there are things that every woman looks for in a husband or a boyfriend, and then there are things you definitely don’t want in one.

So , we both had specific things that were a yes or no on the application. ”

“ Now , I am very curious. What were some of the things on your list? ”

“ My top two were, he had to be taller and older. Even though I’m short here in your world, on Earth I’m tall for a female, and I wasn’t going to put him on a step to kiss him.”

“ Nice to know I have made the list so far.” I finish braiding her hair and then place it gently over her shoulder. My hand brushes her skin where her robe has fallen off her arm.

She raises her head up and looks back at me. “ I didn’t know you were applying for the job.”

I kiss the naked skin on her shoulder and then unwrap myself from behind her. “ I will see you in a few rotations. Try to behave.”

I watch her hand drift up to where I kissed her.

She looks away from me and I could kick myself for making her uncomfortable.

I reacted without thinking. I start to say I am sorry, and it will not happen again, but I cannot make that promise.

No one is more shocked than I am when she climbs off the lounger and puts her arms around my waist.

“ Please be careful, DaR .”

I embrace her back tightly. I love the feel of her wrapped around me. Swinging her up into my arms, I walk her over to the sleeping platform, or bed as she calls it, and I lay her down gently.

“ Rest Kira , I will be back before you know it. ”

I have to fight with myself to walk away. I want to lay down in that bed, pull her robe off, and hold her next to me all night. Just the pleasure of her skin on mine would be a dream come true at this point.

The wall closes behind me and I head toward my bed, my body hard, but there will be no release for me. I lay awake all night fighting my attraction to her. She is not ready for what I want, and if I push her too fast, I will never have her fully. But patience is not my strongest virtue.

I have never sought for any kind of permanent relationship in all my years because that person would become a liability.

Or possibly, even worse, she would be my one weakness.

In my line of work, I cannot afford to get attached.

If the wrong people find out I marked Kira as my mate, her life would be in constant peril.

I just wish my head, and my heart were on the same page.

I am packed and ready to go before the rising. Sleep never granted me its presence throughout the night. I pause for a moment in front of Kira’s door, contemplating what I need to say. Just as I start to open the wall, Tordan comms me that they are ready to head out.

I turn and walk toward the shuttle and, for the first time in my life, I leave my heart behind. The battle is no longer the mistress of my heart. It now belongs to the little human I am leaving behind.