Page 17 of Revenge (Warriors of the Drexian Academy #6)
Chapter
Seventeen
Sasha
M y plan was brilliant, even if I did say so myself.
Announcing a fake engagement to Deklyn had been pure inspiration born of desperation, but the more I thought about it, the more perfect it became.
If word got out that the rescued Earth pilot was getting married to the Drexian who rescued her, it would indeed draw attention from across the galaxy.
All the people who might have been involved in the decision to abandon me would have a perfect excuse to travel here.
And once they were here, in a controlled environment, I could find the guilty party.
“You’re insane,” Deklyn whispered as Serge continued his enthusiastic rambling, but I just smiled that wicked smile I knew drove him crazy.
Then I noticed Reina watching us, her eyes slightly narrowed. “Congratulations, though I have to say, you two don’t exactly look like an engaged couple.”
“My big, hunky Drexian is a little shy.” I moved closer to Deklyn and slipped my arm through his with casual possessiveness. The solid warmth of his bicep beneath my fingers sent an unwelcome flutter through my chest that I ruthlessly ignored. “You know these tough Inferno Force types.”
I felt him tense under my touch, saw the way his jaw tightened as he fought to maintain his composure. Good. Let him be uncomfortable. He was the one who’d tried to cut me out of my mission.
“Oh, we know Inferno Force,” Serge said, giving me a knowing wink.
If only he knew that we’d spent half our time together arguing and the other half trying not to get killed.
“When were you thinking of having the ceremony?” Reina asked, her expression still placid.
“Soon,” I said, leaning in to Dek, “Very soon. We don’t want to wait any longer than necessary.”
Serge began leading us out of the hangar bay, babbling about wedding options and gesturing wildly with his hands.
The space station was even more impressive once we’d left the utilitarian hangar bay.
It was all sleek white surfaces and curved walls, with clear panels overlooking the towering center of the station crisscrossed with walkways and zooming inclinators.
“Oh, this will be magnificent!” Serge chattered as we walked down the corridor. “We’ll make it the social event of the year! Maybe even the decade! I bet I can get it televised on Earth!”
This was exactly what I wanted to hear, but I kept my expression simply pleased rather than triumphant. Beside me, Deklyn leaned close enough that his breath tickled my ear.
“You’re insane,” he whispered, his voice so low that only I could hear it over Serge.
“You didn’t want me getting in trouble on Earth,” I whispered back, not looking at him as I maintained my bright smile. “Now I’m not, so you should be happy.”
He glowered at me but didn’t spoil my ruse as we approached an open inclinator compartment and stepped inside.
As we shot up and diagonally through the station, instrumental music played a version of the vintage Earth song “Karma Chameleon” softly in the background, and pink light pulsed gently from above.
Through all this, Serge continued to brainstorm our wedding out loud.
When the inclinator came to a stop, the doors slid open to reveal another corridor, this one with a wooden walkway and a strangely balmy breeze.
“Here we are!” Reina announced as we stepped out. “The Bali Hai fantasy suite level.”
The teakwood walkway beneath our feet was warm and smooth, polished to a gleaming finish.
Paths veered off, leading to tiki bars and white sand beaches.
I’d heard that the Drexian space stations used holographic technology to create unbelievable settings, but I’d never known how real they could seem. Even the air smelled tropical.
“And here’s where you’ll be staying until the wedding,” Serge said with a flourish, when he stopped in front of an ornate door carved with patterns of waves and palm fronds.
The door slid open despite looking like it should swing on hinges, and Serge led the way inside.
I followed, not bothering to hide my shock at the sumptuous suite with a high ceiling, sunken sitting room, and an over-water balcony that took up one entire side of the space.
And in the center of it all was one enormous bed covered in white linens and piles of inviting pillows.
My mouth went dry as I stared at it, my brain suddenly catching up to the implications of what I’d set in motion. A fake engagement was one thing, but actually sharing a room and a bed with Deklyn was something else entirely.
“Together?” I asked, my voice coming out slightly strangled.
Before I could say anything else, Deklyn’s arm slipped around my waist, pulling me against his side with a casual possessiveness that sent heat racing through my bloodstream.
When I looked up at him, he was smiling down at me with such sweet affection that for a moment I almost believed it was real.
“Well, we are engaged, sweetheart,” he said, his voice tinged with just the right amount of loving exasperation.
I bit my tongue to keep from snapping back at him, aware of the solid warmth of his body against mine, the way his thumb was tracing small circles against my hip through the fabric of my uniform.
“I need to talk to the captain and get approval for the media coverage,” Serge said, bustling toward the door with obvious excitement. “But don’t worry about a thing! Everything will be handled. You two just focus on being madly in love!”
As he disappeared into the corridor, Reina lingered for a moment, giving us both a curious smile that made my stomach clench with worry. “Congratulations again.”
There was something in her tone that suggested she suspected something wasn’t quite what it seemed, but she followed Serge out saying nothing else. The door slid closed behind them with a sigh, leaving Deklyn and me alone in the romantic suite.
And suddenly the full magnitude of what I’d gotten us into hit me.
We were in too deep to turn back now. But as I looked at that enormous bed and felt Deklyn’s arm still around my waist, I couldn’t help wondering if I’d leaped from one type of danger directly into another.