Page 67 of Ren: Warlord Brides
He had been a fool to let her go. Never again.
Chapter 16
Ren
Tholla offered the best place to meet the rest of his team without garnering too much attention. Registered as a civilian cargo vessel, the ship easily acquired clearance to land on the surface.
“We’re not staying in orbit?” Emmarae asked.
“The settlement is small, but the trading post is comprehensive,” Ren explained. Interstellar ship building was the foundation of the planet’s economy, but the ports offered much in the way of maintenance and repair. Shops stocked almost anything a long-haul vessel required. “It is a good stop on a long journey.”
“I know. I’ve been here before.”
He had not considered that all the amenities that made the planet appealing to him also appealed to one such as Pashaal. “The high volume of travelers must obfuscate her business.”
“If that’s a fancy way of saying that no one noticed her, then yes. Lots of people coming and going and no one paying attention. She did a lot of business here.” Emmarae frowned. “I’m sure most of it was actually import-export.”
“It is difficult to enforce tariffs so far from the system core. Officials are more willing to look the other way with compensation. Fasten your safety harness. We are entering the atmosphere.”
“I double-checked, but sure.” Emmarae checked the harness just as the ship shuddered.
A newer vessel, one with a sleeker design and better shielding, could slip into the atmosphere with hardly a whisper. Ren preferred to feel the change in pressure in the bones of the ship. It made him feel like he was actually piloting an interstellar vessel and not confined to a suite of rooms for days at a time.
“We will have dinner on the surface,” he said.
“Like a date?”
“I intend to court you.”
Her expression blanked, mirth and curiosity shuttered behind a neutral expression. This was the face she wore while on Pashaal’s ship. It distressed him then, and it distressed him now.
“That sounds great,” she said. Nothing in her tone supported her words.
He did intend to court his mate. He would win her affection. There was no alternative.
Emry
Courting.
Emry hadn’t expected to feel all fluttery when Ren stated his intentions to court her. Yes, they had sex. Yes, it was amazing and if she was being strictly honest, it was tender and—gasp—loving. Yes, she enjoyed talking with him. He was funny, clever, and was the master of offhand comments that made her laugh. Sure, he was good-looking, but he was also kind. She saw it in the way he babied his monster of a cat. And babied the ship, too.
She liked him, the one thing she never expected. She liked her randomly selected, contractually obligated alien husband.
And he wanted to court her.
Emry thought she was too much of a grown, sensible adult to squeal with glee in front of him, so when she got to her cabin, she grabbed a pillow and squealed into it.
She squealed so hard.
She dressed quickly in stretchy black pants and a sarcastic t-shirt. Her wardrobe was limited to work clothes whose entire existence was to get grubby and stained.
Tholla’s market district sprawled in all directions, radiating from the spaceport like a sunburst. On past trips, she had been limited to shopping for her job and not exploring all the market had to offer. A mix of pop-up stands, carts, and buildings, Emry allowed interesting aromas to pull her through the maze. Eventually, they grabbed a table at an outdoor patio.
A large umbrella shaded them from the afternoon sun. A warm breeze stirred through the crowded market, but the temperature was tolerable in the shade.
“You know, I had a theory about dumplings,” she said when the server placed a large platter of dumplings smothered in a creamy sauce in front of her. “It’s a universal food. Dough filled with something. Simple and delicious. Everyone has a dumpling.”
Ren ordered a similar dish but fried and served with sauteed vegetables. The plate sizzled as it was set on the table. He must have noticed her eye-fucking his dumplings because he nudged the plate toward her.
