Page 58 of Lorran
“When the Suhlik patrols move on, we will return to theJudgment. It is only a matter of days.”
Even as he spoke the words, he knew them to be misleading. The Suhlik had a skilled hunter’s patience, endless and tireless. He would determine the nature of Ulrik’s research, take the female and child to Sangrin, and he would never have to deal with that male again.
Chapter 12
Wyn
“Haunted amusement park.”
Wyn dropped the tablet into Lorran’s lap.
“Careful,” he said, adjusting himself to protect his vulnerable bits.
“Well, wear pants. Also, good morning. Also, put on some damn pants.”
“I hear no complaints,” he said.
Wyn threw a pair of wadded-up trousers at his head. Lorran reached up and snagged them before they could hit. He grinned, fangs peeking out over his bottom lips and his eyes bright with mirth.
No one had a right to be that gorgeous, all silvery lavender in the morning sunlight. It almost hurt her heart to look at him, let alone realize how quickly she was falling for him.
In the two weeks, they’d spent a fair amount of time together. From her understanding, with the shuttle as repaired as it could get, there was nothing to do but wait. During the first days, they scavenged a spare mattress, pillows, and linens from the empty bedrooms. Usable pieces had been cycled through the sonic cleaner in the shuttle to sanitize, as the cleansing units in the facility no longer operated.
Carrying out multiple loads had been a pain, especially with the rain, but it was better than beating it against rocks down by the river, so to speak. Any washing with water would have to be done by hand in the bathtub. No thanks. She’d happily cart out loads of laundry to the shuttle. It’d be just like going to the laundromat in college, only this time she didn’t have to scrape up the credits to run the machines.
With no network, entertainment was strictly do-it-yourself. She had her watercolor set, but only so much paper. The last she saw her art supplies, they had been packed up in boxes, ready to ship. They were probably already waiting at Lorran’s place.
Rain limited exploring outside. During the brief breaks in the rain, they walked the beach. Well, she walked. Lorran patrolled. It wasn’t exactly a romantic hand-in-hand stroll, but she appreciated the chance for her toes to dig into wet sand. Using sticks, she carved designs into the sand. The spider web bridge had a firm grasp on her imagination. Her creations stood for a moment before being erased by waves.
Shells were particularly interesting. She had an art professor obsessed with the golden ratio, a mathematical concept that could be seen in the spiral of a nautilus seashell and the seeds in a sunflower. She wondered if the same principle held true on this planet, if the golden ratio’s appearance was a design feature of carbon-based life and the rule held the same, regardless of gravity or atmospheric conditions. Particularly interesting specimens were scrubbed clean and decorated their room.
When it did rain, however, she was stuck inside that room. Only a few areas of the facility were deemed safe. Much of it was a no-go zone. Just as well. She didn’t mind Mylomon, even if he was too quiet and sulky, and Mikah never stopped asking questions, which could be exhausting. She wanted to avoid the other two, Saavi and Caldar, which meant hiding out in their room.
Lorran had a reader. She expected to find it full of adventure and military story, maybe military history, but instead found a boggling number of novelizations of a soap opera.
That’d teach her to make assumptions.
“Endless Hope and Sufferingis a classic program. Venerable. A touchstone of Sangrin culture,” he said in a lofty tone. Apparently, his sister-in-law got him hooked. He’d read out loud to her, which was great, and she loved the sound of his voice, especially when he read the kissing bits, when he got all low and rumbly.
Yeah, especially then.
But it had been a week since they made out and Wyn knew what she’d like to be doing to pass the time on what was technically their honeymoon, but Lorran slept on a mattress on the floor. He kept making noise aboutdoing this correctlyandbeing a responsible mate. While all of that was sweet and reassuring the first week, they were coming up on two weeks now and Wyn was ready. More than ready.
She needed to move this business to the next level.
“You. Me. Date night,” she said.
“To this location?” He shielded the tablet from the sun with one hand and read. “A disused recreation zone.”
“Haunted. Amusement. Park. This will be the greatest date ever.”
“No. It is unsafe.”
“Did you or did you not drag me to a haunted ghost ship, whichcaught fire, and called it our first date?”
He nodded. “I was careless. You are too precious to risk again.”
Oh boy, this was not going how she wanted. Not that Wyn had her heart set on a haunted amusement park—okay, she did—but the rain finally let up and she wanted to do something. For all of his meditating in the buff, Lorran’s behavior was remarkably chaste. They kissed, yes, but he always seemed to hold himself back. Sure, being too precious to risk sounded good, but so far it had just meant sexual frustration.
