Page 120 of Tempting Cargo

“I will call on you in due course, Captain. As you may have heard, I am expanding my operations, which is why I have taken Coerril to my side,” Anandri said.

She was willing. I’d made sure of that.

“Well, then,” I said. “I shall await your comm. And perhaps next time I shall see your fabled auction ship.”

“Perhaps.”

I crossed the small distance to the ydouir and clasped her arm. “Thank you, Coerril, for your assistance.”

She gave me a stately incline of her head. “In the end, I did nothing, Captain.”

“Ah, but you could have,” I said, “and that made all the difference.”

So many small factors, I couldn’t tell which had been the final piece to yield our victory.

“As you wish,” the ydouir said. “I shall see you again, Captain, I am sure.”

And that was it.

Maughnis could wait. Getting Airida settled was my only priority—other than making up for lost time with my mate. The weeks of travel to Vadias would give us nothing but time, and we hastened back to theDorimisa.

THE DAYS PASSED. As we did much of the time we weren’t working or in bed, we lay on the sofa, Garrison between my outstretched legs, his back to my chest, my arms around him. I pressed a kiss into his soft mane, breathing in his fresh, comforting scent.

His hands trailed over my arms. “I’m going to burn off some energy in the gym.”

“Or you could save it for later.” A purr rumbled in my chest.

He kissed my headspines and straightened up. “I’ll have plenty left for later,” he said, and gave me a wink before heading off to the training room.

I admired the sway of his pert arse as he walked away, but more than that, I let the joy of his presence wash over me—until thoughts of the other male in my life crept in.

“Sister, you look troubled.” Airida meandered into the galley, hand braced on the wall for support.

My heart hurt at how much he suffered as the drugs worked their way out of his system. I’d second-guessed myself so many times, convinced I’d brought on his suffering even though, logically, I knew that wasn’t the case. This was part of a process. But a process I had to trust Tokoran and Daiytak about; we were reliant on them and their knowledge, and that rankled.

Airida sat heavily on the sofa next to me, his breath coming in short pants.

“Just thinking,” I said.

“About?”

“Everything.”

“Well do I know that feeling, dear Ohri.”

I let a faint smile touch my lips at the childhood nickname and his very Orithian way of speaking. “I always dreamed of getting to this point, but I never thought about what comes next,” I said.

“At leastyouhad an inkling it was coming. And you are still kri’ith, even if you are a heretic.”

I started at the bitterness in his tone, tugging on my headspines for comfort.

Shamefully, I hadn’t considered how he might feel after being rescued. We’d not been able to speak properly in years. Had I known he’d thrown himself into our traditional teachings about the gods? Had I realised how much his kri’ith identity was a part of him, and had I even considered how it might feel to have that taken away?

I’d only wanted to save him, and I knew I’d done the right thing, so why did it feel so hard?

I couldn’t remember the last time I argued with my brother, but today it was all we seemed to do until he ran out of energy, shrugging off my help as he shuffled back to his berth.

THE DAYS MEANDERED on in a holding pattern.