Page 10 of Stars in Aura

Her eyes tore away in a slow, sensuous move that made him almost groan, then with a slight simper, she slipped through the doors and disappeared.

Ki’Remi inhaled, his grip on his tumbler flexing.

That was one infuriating, intriguing woman.

His heightened meta senses also told him she was up to somefokkin’ game.

He didn’t like being played.

He lifted his chalice again, downing the rest of his rare rum in a gradual, measured swallow, the burn doing little to flame out the exasperation curling through him.

‘Sable,’ Solano drawled, amusement lacing his voice. ‘You appear irritated.’

Ki’Remi set his empty glass down with a quiet clink.

‘Never.’

So why was his skin crawling, his heart racing, and his mind churning with an emotion that ran counter to his stoic preference?

3

Ruinous Oaths

Ki’REMI

The Perseus Prime was the crown jewel of the United Planets’ medical fleet.

The floating colossus of steel and precision was outfitted with the galaxy’s foremost advanced surgical, diagnostic, and emergency care units.

It was the most sizable and technologically state-of-the-art relief dreadnought in Pegasi; its sleek layout and cutting-edge amenities set a new standard for interstellar healthcare.

Every corridor and patient wing was crafted to foster impressions of well-being and healing.

From the bio-philic design that mimicked planetary landscapes to the ambient lighting that adjusted to circadian rhythms.

However, Ki’Remi didn’t give a damn about the aesthetics.

He was not one to be distracted by the sophisticated surgical suites, sleek trauma bays, and the best disease research facilities in the cosmos.

He also had no time for its chic, ready rooms and breakout spaces, nor for the officer’s quarters with their general sense of dissolute luxury.

The fact was he was most at home in a spare environment.

He’d worked in derelict hospitals on the edge of the globe, where he got acclimatized to the grubby, malodorous whiff of frustration and professional disappointment.

To him, the perfection of the Perseus Prime felt as authentic as any over-the-top cosmetic intervention.

The only things that mattered were the dreadnought’s reach as a hyperspace-ready fortress of science and medicine, the ever-changing challenge of new missions, and the caliber of care he now had the power to share.

Which he did with the utmost gravity and commitment.

As Head of Surgery, his standards were exacting, his expectations unrelenting, and he planned to run his department with meticulous perfection.

Today was his first weekly multidisciplinary case meeting, where teams of practitioners from various departments convened to discuss complex cases.

Every branch of healthcare converged tosave lives.

Ki’Remi strode into the amphitheater chamber and found a seat in the far rear of the room’s tiered seating.

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