Page 115 of Stars in Aura

Her face was still sexy, soft, and sensual in the morning, unaware of the conflict raging inside him.

Fokk. He hoped this was not going to be a disaster.

She laughed, rolling out of bed, bare feet padding across the ebony floors as she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

He turned, cupping her face, his thumb tracing the edge of her jaw. ‘I’ll be fine. I’m justfokkin’ chaotic that we must return to duty.’

‘So am I,’ she murmured, pressing a slow, open-mouthed kiss to his lips.

Ki’Remi closed his eyes and savored her.

‘We need to get going,’ she whispered.

Yet neither of them moved.

Not until the soft chime from Ki’Remi’s chrono reminded them of reality.

Packed and dressed, they exited his home and jumped in a fly cab to the spaceport.

Inside, they held hands and watched Eden II rush by outside the windows.

Halfway there, in the darkened cabin of their transport, Ki’Remi couldn’t take it anymore.

He reached for her.

Issa met him midway.

Their lips crashed together, a slow, deep kiss that promised more, that whispered of a thousand more nights just like the ones they had just shared.

She sighed into his mouth, fingers gliding into his locs, and he groaned, pulling her onto his lap, his hand sliding up her thigh.

The flyer’s AI interrupted them with a soft alert.

They were approaching the dock.

With reluctance, he eased back, forehead pressing against hers as they caught their breath.

Her mouth was red and swollen, pupils dilated.

Fokk.

He wanted to drag her back to his suite and never leave.

Instead, they straightened their uniforms, pulled professionalism over themselves like armor, and stepped out into the busy port.

They didn’t touch, linger, or let a single ounce of what had just passed between them show as they walked toward the loading docks of Perseus Prime.

The moment they boarded the dreadnought, they were back to business.

Ki’Remi greeted his crew with a curt nod, slipping back into work mode.

So did she in an unspoken agreement that the past three days were theirs alone.

The massive vessel launched.

Their next destination was the planet of Falasia, to one of its smaller, poorer coastal cities with no major hospital facilities.

The residents of New Madi had no access to available and reliable health specialists. Diseases and congenital disabilities often went untreated.

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