Page 12 of Klora (Mates of the Mylos #6)
CHAPTER 12
ADRIAN
I unwrapped the taco, the strong scent of the spices alerting me that the name Flamin’ Hot might not simply be for cuteness. I took a cautious bite and my eyes immediately began to water as my tongue was bathed in lava. I swallowed hurriedly, desperately trying to blink the burn away and soothe the inferno that was my mouth by leaving it open and gulping in air. That didn’t work at all and I found myself staring at an opened bottle of water.
“Take it,” Klora said in an amused tone, smirking. “Too hot for you, right?”
I eyed the water. I knew from a previous unfortunate experience that water would only increase the burn, not wash it away. Only milk would do that.
“I’m fine” I croaked stubbornly.
“Yeah?” he challenged.
“Uh huh.” I stubbornly ignored the offered water and took a second huge bite. I knew immediately that hubris had found me. Still, I doggedly chewed, eyes and nose both now streaming.
“Perhaps it would be best to wait until we land,” Sachuu said, shaking his head. “The hotel can send up room service or we can go get something to eat at one of their restaurants.”
I swallowed the offending dynamite laced meat, vegetables, and tortilla. “Hotel?” I managed to croak. Oh, God, now my chest was on fire too. Klora wiggled the bottle from side to side enticingly and I grabbed it, guzzling it down as if my life depended on it. As expected, it made things worse at first but to my surprise, the pain began to recede. Huh. Must have been because I’d only eaten two bites. My tongue and inside of my cheeks still tingled a bit, though.
“Yes, hotel,” Klora replied, as if I should have known that. He sighed as if put upon at having to explain. “That’s why you didn’t go on the shuttle with Tyrone and his family. They’re going back to their ship. We’re going to Hawaii.”
“Where I’ve had Xeranos add you on as Klora’s plus one as he’s in charge of your personal safety,” Sachuu added. “You’ll be sharing a room, and I’m afraid there’s only one bed. It was too late to upgrade.”
“What?” Klora burst out, beating me to it.
“Do I have to repeat myself, or were you actually paying attention?” Sachuu rebuked him.
He looked chastened, then mumbled. “I was just shocked about the whole one bed thing.”
“Me too,” I chimed in. “Can’t they get me a roll away or something?”
Sachuu merely raised his eyebrow. Damn, he was better than Spock at throwing shade that way. I sighed, my shoulders slumping.
“Guess not,” I mumbled. “Okay, we’re both adults and it’s just sleeping.”
Klora let out a breath in annoyance. “I only ever expected to share my bed with my mate, but I can deal with it for a few days.”
The Lieutenant Commander gave us an enigmatic smile. “Good. I’m glad to hear it.”
“Hold on,” I said, realizing something. “Hawaii, plus one - you’re taking me along to a wedding?”
“Yes, two of our good friends are having a double ceremony with his best friend. They met and were matched during the same appointment and thought this would be fun.”
I smiled despite myself. That did seem like a really cute idea.
“And they won’t mind me suddenly appearing and coming along?”
“Not at all,” Sachuu reassured me.
“Chris is going to be far too thrilled about getting Jimmy back,” Klora chuckled. “I don’t know what will excite him more - the sudden reunification with his brother or his wedding.”
“He doesn’t know his brother is coming?” I asked, feeling lost.
“No. He was hoping to challenge their parents for custody, but their activities with Humans First came to a head tonight when Jimmy ran off from his babysitter and called the police to let them know his parents were part of the kidnapping plot. We got an emergency order to remove him and one of Chris’s mates went to pick him up a short while before we got to you.”
Wow. I didn’t even know where to start with that. It was like a movie or something - two investigators on their way to a wedding, respond to a kidnapping, save the victims, and their best friend is the one marrying a guy whose parents helped lead the plot . And only one bed? Oh no no no. Klora was hot, don’t get me wrong, but he was rude. This was not going to devolve into the ‘only one bed’ romantic trope. Nope, nope, nope. Then I remembered that was impossible anyway, because didn’t they have a fated mate? That’s what the mate match test was for and I definitely had not done that.
I stole a glance at him as I recapped my empty bottle. He was too busy paying attention to the taco he’d taken out of the bag for himself to even notice I was looking at him. He was beautiful, though kind of a twink compared to the bulkier Mylos I’d seen. If you could call a seven foot something guy a twink, that is.
For a Mylos, I reminded myself firmly.
Why was I even thinking about that? I looked away, my face reddening in embarrassment as I discovered Sachuu was watching me, a thoughtful expression on his face. His eyes flicked over towards Klora, who was now idly rubbing his bare shoulder against the back of his seat as he chewed, as if he had an irresistible itch. Huh. He’d been scratching his jaw earlier too. Probably dry skin or maybe popping those scales in and out gave him a scale rash or something. I suppressed a giggle at the thought. Whatever it was, it probably was part of the reason for his mood. Hopefully, we’d get to Hawaii and he could take care of it and be a far more pleasant person. It certainly would make attending a stranger’s wedding and sharing a bed and room far more bearable for the both of us.