Page 19 of Kranow (Brides of the Mylos #4)
Kranow eyed the happy couple ensconced within his shuttle. Midshipman Talik had found his mate and the pair were headed down to Earth for a ceremony and honeymoon in the Seychelles. His mind flicked to the conversation he ’ d had with his own mate the evening before.
“ I feel like I ’ m holding you back, ” Marley said as she carried their dishes back into the kitchen. “ Can you honestly tell me that if I hadn ’ t been involved with The Human Right that you ’ d be passing up this promotion? ”
Kranow frowned. “ I do not know the answer to this, as you were involved and this promotion came after our mating. I can tell you that my refusal is not because I do not trust you, but because I worry. ”
“ About what? ” Marley asked him, turning to face him. He saw tears glistening in her eyes.
“ I worry that you will encounter someone who treats you poorly because of your past. That you will have a bad day, homesick for your planet perhaps. I worry that you will feel lonely once you are at home, and your friends have gone for the day. I worry about all of these things happening and not being able to hold you within my arms to comfort you. ” he glanced away, setting his jaw. “ And, ” he said in a near whisper, “ I worry that you will be fine, while it is I who feels the lack of your presence deep within my bones. ”
She gawked at him, the tears now spilling freely down her cheeks. “ God damn it, ” she cried. “ You just had to go say something incredibly romantic, didn ’ t you? ”
He swallowed. “ It is true. You are everything to me. ”
She turned away from him, placing the dishes upon the counter before speaking once more. “ And you are everything to me. Can ’ t you see? That ’ s why you not doing this is tearing me apart. ”
He banked through the clouds, admiring the view of the sunlit sea upon the viewscreen. Closing in on their destination, he initiated contact with local flight authorities. Once landed, he accepted the thanks from the couple and wished them well. Watching them depart, an idea came to him.
I could take the promotion and while away on my training assignment, plan a surprise wedding. I could speak to the commander about it first, when informing him of my decision to accept the promotion, and he can find out where we can go on Earth without incident. His face wrinkled. And maybe see if he can arrange for us to not have the ceremony a media circus like our matching was. Perhaps once the commander has the information, Darla could liaise with Marley ’ s family in secret so they can be there. And if nowhere on Earth, then on my down time, I can book us somewhere romantic within Mylos. There are plenty of worlds with beaches, after all. He imagined the look on Marley ’ s face when he returned from training and whisked her away for a short vacation, only to find it was a celebration of their mating with family and friends also present. He smiled to himself the entire flight back. Marley would never guess the truth about it all, especially as we more or less shelved it at the time with a vague agreement about waiting a year. I could see the sadness within her at the time, but with everything else going on, it simply wasn ’ t the time to do anything about it.
He docked within the shuttle bay and jauntily strode from the craft. “ Good flight? ” called out one of the other pilots.
“ It was indeed, ” he called back. “ I ’ m off to speak to the commander. I ’ ll return shortly. ”
“ Everything okay? ” the flight deck chief asked him, overhearing.
“ Yes. I ’ m just going to let him know my decision regarding the promotion. ”
“ You taking it then? ” the Chief asked.
Kranow gave a meaningful smile in response and continued on through the door. He had things to set in motion, the sooner the better. He hurried down the corridor, not thinking to notify Gundar of his impending arrival until he was in the elevator. Fortunately, the commander was able to see him and instructed him to meet him in his ready room just off the bridge.
When he arrived, Kranow saw from Gundar ’ s expression that he was expecting Kranow to turn down his promotion, and that he was unhappy about it. Kranow gave his commanding officer a tight smile. “ I wanted to talk over a few things with you, sir, ” he said, saluting before taking the seat he was pointed to opposite Gundar ’ s desk. “ First, I wished to let you know that I am willing to accept the promotion, along with its requisite training. ”
Gundar ’ s eyes lit up. “ Excellent! What else can I help you with? I assume it relates to the promotion? ”
Kranow quickly explained his idea. Gundar grinned. “ I ’ m sure Darla would be happy to help you plan this. I agree with you, moving your human ceremony and taking a honeymoon together to give yourselves more bonding time after being apart will only serve to make her feel more treasured. I think the trick will not only finding a place to hold the ceremony and spend your honeymoon, but to keep Darla from accidentally letting Marley know about it. As for the press, well, I can forget to reach out. ”
“ Will that be okay? ” Kranow asked worriedly.
“ Seeing as you mated without a ceremony and they were anticipating a ceremony first, right after matching, yes. I ’ m certain I will hear grumbles later, but nothing I cannot handle. ”
Kranow nodded. “ Thank you, sir. ”
“ I ’ ll speak to Darla tonight. Do you have any further scheduled flights for today? ”
“ No, sir. ”
“ Then I suggest you take the rest of the day off. Take Marley out to one of the restaurants and have a romantic meal. You can tell her about your acceptance. Xeranos will inform the crew chief about you having the rest of the day off, and I ’ ll send your paperwork through so we can get your place in the course secured without delay. The next class starts in three days, so you can expect to leave no later than the day after tomorrow. You left very little time to get things squared away. ”
Kranow stood and saluted. “ Yes, sir. ”
“ Dismissed. ”
Kranow hurried away. Things were moving fast and he had his own role to play to make sure everything went smoothly.