Page 15 of Hainn

Windblown, she brushed her hair away from her face as the ramp was closed and she and Hainn made their way to their seats. “I get it now, the allure of doing this. Why don’t we surf today? There’s still daylight left.”

Hainn laughed, a deep sound inviting her to share his good mood. “I like your attitude but it was decided by the Alphas the first day we arrive on scene is for observation and setting up camp. No one needs to try their luck surfing after sitting in a flyer for all these hours. The ocean demands our best and we have to respect the challenge.”

She guessed the answer made sense but she was impatient as the flyer made its way inland, over the coastline and landed in a canyon fairly close to the beach. The group debarked and quickly fell to work unloading supplies under Skoron’s direction. Vindy was the only one not carrying containers and packs and boards. Jezari was pleased to be treated as an equal and given a full set of duties.

She followed the others into a nearby cave and wasn’t surprised to find the inside had been adapted to be a camp, with a big table, a seating area and other amenities. A row of bunks lined the far wall.

“Put the stasis containers over there, by the kitchenette,” Hainn said, “Grab your pack and let me show you to your chamber.”

“I’m sleeping somewhere else?” Not sure she liked the idea of being too far away from her brothers in this environment, Jezari stayed where she was.

He slung his own backpack onto a bunk at the end of the row and then came to take her hand again, which she found sheliked a lot. “When MARL came up here to do the renovations, of course it meant Jill came too which meant Aydarr was here. If she’s outside the valley he doesn’t let her out of his sight.”

“Was that when he surfed?”

“Oh yeah and he absolutely nailed it even though he says he doesn’t much like to swim and hadn’t surfed before. Guy’s not the Supreme Alpha for nothing.” Hainn led her across the big chamber toward a side wall with several openings. MARL’s artificial lighting made the place as bright as day. “But Aydarr insisted there had to be a place for his mate and him to be private, and for any other Alpha who might come up. Although Daegan and Flo camped out the first trip as I understand it. So MARL created a separate room, which you get to use. We all thought you might be more comfortable with privacy.” He looked at her face and added, “It’s no reflection on your status as a Badari. We were trying to be considerate.”

“I appreciate it,” she said truthfully. She was thinking it’d be nice to have a private space if she and Hainn decided to sleep together while they were here, which was a distinct possibility in her mind. “Where does Vindy sleep? Am I going to share with her?”

“She sleeps in the flyer, which can be reconfigured to have a bed in there,” Hainn said. “She might want to borrow your refresher chamber though. We have a communal one out here.”

“Of course, no problem.” She was relieved she wasn’t going to have to have the human woman in her space.

When she followed Hainn into the adjoining chamber, Jezari was amazed at how nice it was. MARL had clearly done his best work in here. There was an actual bed, large enough for a Badari and his mate, a small chest of drawers, a desk and as Hainn had indicated another smaller chamber was fitted out as a bathroom, with a refresher. “I guess MARL made it special for Jill, right?”

“You got it. But anyone who uses the place gets to benefit,” Hainn pointed out, seeming a bit puzzled by her tone.

Jezari wasn’t a fan of the alien AI, not after what she’d found at the bottom of the lake in the wreckage of his owner’s ship but she had to admit the accommodations were better than she’d expected. “What’s the agenda for the rest of today?”

“Help Vindy cover the flyer with camouflage, eat dinner, play cards no doubt and sleep. The surf boards need waxing too.”

“Why?”

“To provide better traction and grip so we can keep our balance and stay upright. There’s a whole technique to doing the job and you’ve been assigned a surfboard obviously, so prepare to spend a good chunk of time tonight on the task. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

“Can’t we simply dig in with our talons?” she asked, surprised by the information.

Hainn shook his head, amusement glinting in his eyes. “Oh no, only in the worst case scenario. MARL made exactly ten boards and then declared he wasn’t a manufacturing robo and he was done. So each individual who comes out here uses one of those ten boards and we have to keep them in good shape for the next contingent of surfers. I’d rather have my own—who wouldn’t? But it’s one of the conditions of doing this activity so no one complains.” He surveyed the room with a practiced eye and seemed satisfied. “Why don’t you stow your stuff and then come join us? We’ll be outside working on the flyer.”

“I’ll be right there.” She wanted to freshen up a bit but moved quickly so as not to be shirking her fair share of the work outside. This whole experience was proving to be more fascinating than she’d expected and she didn’t want to miss a minute.

She slept wellafter the evening’s activities and in the morning joined the others for a quick breakfast in the main chamber. The valley’s three star chef Sandara had indeed sent along a huge selection of hearty, nourishing food and it was clear she understood what a Badari needed to fuel him or herself with to face a day of surfing monster waves.

“Go change into your swimsuit,” Hainn said as they were finishing up breakfast and the four Badari assigned to cleaning duty for the day began clearing away the mess. The group had been divided into three four-person teams, each of which had the ‘housekeeping’ duties for one day of the trip, none of which were particularly onerous as far as Jezari could see. Vindy was assigned to a team as well since she was eating with them. “We’ll be leaving in about fifteen minutes so join us at the flyer when you’re ready.”

Jezari had gone to see Kelli at Stores once she’d been notified of the impending trip and the Storeskeeper had found her a selection of bathing suits. Normally Jezari swam in a plain black one piece but for the trip she’d wanted something different. When she strolled out of the cave in her two piece red bikini with the hot pink and orange tropical flower print, there were a few dropped jaws and appreciative male stares. There had been a matching coverup too, which Jezari was wearing and she was quite satisfied with the effect. Hainn wasted no time coming to her and she enjoyed the view. Like all the others he was wearing a skimpy, tight black suit that did nothing to hide his physical endowments and she had only eyes for him.

As he approached she caught a whiff of his unique scent, enticing her senses with its clean, fresh, slightly citrus-y note, underlined with a dash of the rich essence of a rare tropical wood perhaps. Danger and sex all wrapped up in one attractive male Badari package. Her inner core throbbed and she had tolecture herself about what the day’s planned activities included and what they did not.

“You look amazing,” he said as he got closer, pitching the words for her ears alone. “Ready for a day on the ocean?”

“Absolutely. Bring it on.” She was eager and not too nervous. Her inner predator was sitting up and taking notice of Hainn and determined they’d do well today and earn his praise for her surfing.

As she entered the flyer and took her seat, he said, “It was decided the best thing would be for me to teach you the rudiments of surfing in a little cove we know of, nearby. It has good waves, about ten feet and you can practice. The boards are engineered for the big waves at the sea mount but hopefully you can get the idea and train your muscle memory.”

Disappointed, she tried not to pout. “I’m game to go straight to the monsters.”

“But I’m not okay with the idea. A morning of practice in the cove and if I decide you’re ready we’ll get you on the big waves once or twice this afternoon.” It was clear from his attitude Hainn wasn’t going to back down and she assumed he had the final say when it came to her surfing so Jezari swallowed her annoyance and didn’t protest further.

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