Page 59 of Sway’s Peace (Delivery Service #2)

“Are you hungry?” He asked, that rough, musical hum present in his voice even though he was only speaking. He didn’t sound like that before except when he was whistling.

It sent a thrill through her. Like pure honey poured into her ears. The stress, the despair, the overwhelming sense of inadequacy all seemed to fade away in the wake of that sound. She’d never heard anything so beautiful in her life.

Grace didn’t realize she had taken his hand until he was helping her stand.

The others around her were smiling, but their faces were just colorful blurs in the background as he led her away from them.

Each step they took from the crowd helped ease the pressure in her chest as she instead focused on Sway.

On the soft smile on his face. On the warmth in his eyes.

He took her right back to their hotel. Up to her room.

Then locked them inside. Or, probably more accurately, locked the rest of the world outside.

The quiet, the isolation, was a relief as he led her by the hand to the table that was sitting in a bright alcove with tall, wide windows that looked out over the bay of the Song.

He set her down before placing the tray in front of her with a flourish. He began detailing his offerings. She wasn’t even paying attention to the food though. The delightful hum of his voice was hypnotic in the best way, stealing all the meaning from his words.

It must have shown on her face because, after a moment, he grinned before sitting down beside her. He grabbed her by the waist and, after checking her face to make sure she was okay with it, picked her up and brought her over onto his lap instead.

Grace was used to being around aliens at this point.

She was accustomed to the fact that, as a human, she was smaller and weaker than basically everyone else.

But it was still thrilling to feel the casual strength in his arms when he picked her up.

One of her arms went around his neck. The other hand reached for his crest. She barely touched the soft feathers before focusing back on his face.

“Is this my mating meal?” She asked, her voice soft and breathy. Hopeful.

“Will you accept it if it is?”

Grace nodded quickly. Eagerly. “Yes. I do. I mean, I will. I… Do I sing for you now?”

Sway chuckled, one of his hands rubbing down her hip, her thigh. “Do you want to?”

“Will you accept it if I do?” She tossed the question back at him, heart fluttering rapidly in her chest, up in her throat. After spending the entire day being told how she wasn’t good enough, she was more desperate than ever for his affection and acceptance.

“I always want to hear you sing,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “I love the sound of your voice. Even when you’re talking, it’s like music.”

That close to her ear, his voice was even more powerful. The delicious, rumbling quality, the warmth of his breath, the vibration transmitted directly from his chest into hers. She shivered as she fought back a moan. He really spoke like that and called her voice musical?

“I spoke with my father,” he said, changing the subject as he leaned back so he could look her in the eyes.

“Was it a better conversation this time?” She asked, tilting her head as she looked him over carefully. He didn’t seem as bothered as he had after their uncomfortable dinner together.

“I think so,” he said, and he sounded almost hopeful as he looked back on the memories. “He’s actually not that bad. I thought he was pushy, but he was just trying to be welcoming. To remind me of who I am. Of what I am. This place…” He let out a long breath, looking out the window. “…it’s nice.”

Grace smiled, the last of her tension fading. She could put up with some discomfort if it meant bringing him peace. She leaned in close, snuggling into him. “It is nice. Peaceful.”

“Yeah. I wonder who I would have been if I had been raised in a place like this. I never would have had to do the things I did. Make the choices I did. I would likely be a completely different person.”

“Are you thinking about staying after all?”

“No.” He said immediately, shaking his head, his grip on her tightening. “My place is with my crew. My… friends?”

She chuckled. “Is that a question?”

“Feels strange,” he admitted with a chuckle. “But I guess it would be true. They’re who I belong with. But that doesn’t mean I can’t come back here. I can make a relationship with my father. Learn about my people and my culture. Is that alright?”

“Of course,” she laughed, running her hand down his chest. “I’d really like that.”

Sway hesitated before saying. “He offered you a job here.”

“Hm? Who did?”

“My father.” He caught her eye, his expression neutral. “He said that your skills would be very useful in his line of work. They always need people to help coordinate and manage things behind the scenes. There’s a lot more to this operation than just finding people.”

Grace made a face. “Admin work, you mean.”

“Yes,” he chuckled. “I know how you feel about that. But I thought I would offer. Just in case.”

“No way.” She shook her head. “I told you. I don’t want to be stuck doing administrative work for the rest of my life. As beautiful as this place is, I…”

Her voice trailed off. Sway cocked his head, looking at her. Waiting for her to continue. She felt her cheeks heating under his gaze.

“Grace?”

“Erm,” she licked her lips hesitating. “I’m definitely staying with you, right?”

“What?” He frowned, like he was confused.

“I just mean, if we’re, like, talking about mating and stuff, it’s safe for me to assume that we’re going to be together.

Right? I mean, we have to. Well, I guess we don’t have to.

U-Unless yours is a species that, physically, can’t be far from your mate.

Though, I guess if you were, someone would have said something by now. I guess that’s not what I-”

“Grace.” He cut her off, amused. His hand went around her neck, tilting her head back so she was forced to look up at him.

“The captain determines whether someone is welcome to stay on his ship or not. But he will let you stay. You will probably have to work. But he has no reason to deny you the right to live with me. And if he does… Well, I have an open invitation to live here instead.”

She reared back, surprised. “You’d-… but you love your crew!”

“Is that what that is?” He made a face. “I wouldn’t call it that.”

“But it’s true. They’re your friends and you love them.” She touched his cheek gently. “That’s not an easy thing to give up, you know?”

“Maybe,” he conceded. “But you’re my mate, and you mean more to me. The captain won’t deny you the right to stay with me. I know he won’t. But if it comes down to it, know that it’s not a choice. I am happy to go wherever I need to in order to stay with you.”

Grace laughed, throwing herself at Sway. Kissing him happily. She didn’t know why she’d suddenly become so nervous when the idea of where she would go in the future was brought up. He said that he wanted her to be his mate. Naturally, that would mean they’d be together.

But they’d never talked about it, and her future had been nebulous and uncertain since that last moment in Covor’s office. And while she followed Sway here, chasing his past, she hadn’t given any thought to her own future. Far more focused on him. On exploring this thing between them.

But now, with this mating meal that he began offering to her by hand, they finally started talking about their future. About what they wanted it to be.

Sway didn’t have much in the way of dreams or plans.

He’d already achieved everything he had set out to do in his life – namely, getting away from Rik-Vane.

Even finding his father was something that happened to him by coincidence.

He hadn’t planned on ever tracking him, or anyone else from his past, down.

Sway, and likely the others, weren’t like normal people.

Grace knew that intellectually, but she didn’t really internalize it until just now, talking to him.

They didn’t have five-year, ten-year plans.

They didn’t have dreams. They didn’t even really have goals.

Not in the way that she would think of it.

Where someone like her mother would have had her entire life planned out, contingencies in place, and multiple futures to work towards, Sway and the others really only had one purpose.

Survive.

It was likely something inherited from Rik-Vane.

A habit they couldn’t break. They couldn’t plan far ahead when even tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed.

The next meal was the only purpose, the next victory their greatest aspiration.

And while the next ‘victory’ might just be a successful delivery, and the next meal was practically guaranteed, but it didn’t break the mindset.

Sway had everything he needed, therefore he had nothing he wanted. And she imagined it would take a long time for him to change that way of thinking. If it ever changed at all.

But then he asked what she wanted in the future, and she had so many answers.

She wanted to go skiing on pink snow. She wanted to swim in a purple sea.

She wanted to sing in a place where her voice would echo back to her a hundred times.

She wanted to dance among the stars. She wanted to get high on alien liquor, then make love until the sun rose.

She had a hundred dreams, small but beautiful dreams. A life of adventures that would only bring her joy.

It was as she was listing everything that she noticed Sway staring at her, a strange look in his eyes, and she realized how childish it all sounded.

Sway was trapped in a survivalist mindset where he couldn’t see past the coming night, but she was describing how she wanted to bath in moonlight on golden desert sands.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed, cutting herself off, embarrassment making her cheeks burn.

Sway cocked his head. “Sorry?”

“It’s silly, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“All of that.” Her face burned. “I say I want adventure, but I really only want safe, touristy things. It’s stupid compared to what you’re going through.”

Sway frowned. “Don’t stop though.”

“Huh?”

“I want to hear it.” He pressed his forehead against hers, the softness of his feathers tickling against her skin as his glassy, black eyes filled her vision.

“It is silly, but I wouldn’t call it stupid.

I want to hear more. All of it. Every silly little adventure you want to go on.

I can do those things. I can make those things happen for you. I want to.”

“You don’t have to. It’s not important.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just… I mean, it’s all so useless. Swimming in a purple sea? Moonbathing on desert sands? There’s no value in any of that.”

“Depends on what you value.” He swept his arm up her back. “I used to think like that as a youngling.”

Her face burned. “So, you agree. It is childish.”

“It’s wonderful in the way of innocence possessed by younglings,” he corrected gently. “I’ve forgotten what it was like to dream the way you still do.”

“Sway…” She breathed, focused on his closeness as his lips hovered over hers.

“Will you let me borrow your dreams?” He asked on a whisper.

She shivered, stunned by the power in those small words.

Her dreams were such little things. The aspirations of a rich girl with too much time in her hands with only vibes to chase.

They brought her joy, but she understood that, in the grand scheme of things, they weren’t really that impressive or important.

It made her happy, and that was the extent of it.

For him to ask to chase those dreams with her, to hear him plead for the chance like it was some great honor, made her heart race in her chest. Dancing in the rain in an orange forest wasn’t anything groundbreaking or exciting…

But if she imagined Sway there with her, dancing alongside her…

“I’ll make your dreams come true,” he breathed, his lips teasing over hers. “No matter how silly or small or ultra specific you can make them. If you just let me stay by your side, if you let me experience them with you, I would do anything.”

“Please,” she begged, running her hand up the back of his neck, into the large feathers of his crest. “I want you there. Explore the universe with me.”

“For the rest of our lives,” he vowed, closing that last distance between them.