Page 71 of Stars in Aura

Issa leaned against the viewport, unseeing eyes gazing out, heart restless.

When the Perseus docked at the spaceport, she gathered her duffel bag, locked her quarters, and moved toward the exits.

She entered one of the crowded banks of lifts that brought crowds of the crew from the inner bowels of the mighty dreadnought to the massive rear deck.

She stepped off and was about to descend the sloping ramp when Ki’Remi’s rasp slowed her.

‘Elaris.’

She turned, arching a brow.

He stood by an elevator with a sizable sable duffel slung over his chest.

This only emphasized the deep purple hue of his form-fitting tee, accentuated his sinewed body, and accentuated his shifting meta silver and gold ink.

Utility dark pants hugged thick thighs, ending his black chunky military footwear.

Her eyes shot to his locs, now in a loose wave over his deltoids.

So freakin’ handsome, his skin flippin’ glowing, and his mouth quirked.

So freakin’ unfair.

He raked those gorgeous, luminous eyes over her in her simple jumpsuit and boots as if measuring something.

‘We have unfinished business. A drink. At The Osirian. Tomorrow evening, 1900.’

Issa blinked, caught completely off-guard.

Twas no ‘invite’.

She masked her reaction, angling her head. ‘That an order, Commander?’

The barest ghost of a smirk curved his lips. ‘Nada,a request.’

This made her pause.

Issa crossed her arms, tilting her head as she narrowed her gaze at him.

‘You’re persistent,’ she drawled. ‘You don’t let go. You like the hunt.’

Ki’Remi exhaled, long and slow, his jaw shifting as he sliced eyes at her.

Then, without blinking or hesitation, he strode to her, looming so close she scented his musk.

He stared down at her with his meta-silver intensity. ‘It’s not the quest for the truth that intrigues me, Issa.’

Her breath hitched.

His voice was roughened velvet, burred and gritted, edgy and chaotic.

‘It’s your curls, the way they defy gravity, untamed as you are,’ he continued, his eyes glinting with dark and unreadable emotion. ‘It’s your lush mouth, the way it curves like you’re always about to laugh or ruin a man’s sanity.’

He took a step closer.

Issa refused to back away.

His nostrils flared, his gaze dropping to her lips before dragging back up to meet her eyes.

---