Page 80 of Breakaway
"We'll be staying with the ship until Kolos tells us if he needs any help on Earth, but we're going to pretend as though we're already on vacation," I say, looking over my shoulder and narrowing my eyes on Zill when he opens his mouth to argue. "We're going to stay locked in this room unless we need food for at least a week, Zill. You promised me that."
"Reese," he murmurs, not wanting me to say anymore of what he promised me in front of anyone else. I give him a wicked smile, loving the way the tips of his ears flare bright red.
Isha frowns dramatically, holds her hands up, and takes a few steps back as if to leave the ship. "I won't be bothering you,but I will be keeping open lines with Skia and Kolos from my ship."
"That means you don't need to," I say, directing the words to Zill, who looks unhappy to be called out.
"You two need anything else from me?" Isha asks.
I give her a small smile as I back up a bit more until I'm touching Zill with my shoulder. "We're good. Thank you for taking on Zill's duties while he's not working." I make sure the last few words are enunciated perfectly, so maybe it'll stick in his head that he's not working and doesn't need to worry about his crew unless they call for help, in which case I will be the first to help get him whatever he needs so he can get to them faster.
Isha waits to hear from Zill before stepping out of our ship. "We're good, Isha. Thank you."
She gives us a final nod and strides through the door, letting it slowly slide closed behind her. Immediately, Zill's comm starts pinging with updates, most likely from Isha consolidating everyone's information into one place.
Zill looks to where it's pinging up a storm on the nightstand. His thoughts are conflicting between checking it to make sure it isn't Kolos already asking for help, or Skia telling us he needs someone to come up with a distraction so he can get out of his job.
I turn so we're chest to chest, "I'm going to send a message to Isha saying we're muting your comm unless it's a message from her directly. That way you can check in on updates whenever you want, but you won't be bombarded with notifications, okay?"
Zill's jaw tenses in the corners, his lips pressing tight. He's already agreed in his mind, so I could go over and send the message to Isha right now, but I want him to say it out loud. I want him to agree to what I'm asking with his words, so there's no misunderstanding.
"It's your choice, Zill," I tell him. "I just want you not to be so stressed."
"I know," he says, wrapping an arm around me and tugging me close to him. His lips find the top of my head, pressing a sweet little kiss there. "Tell Isha."
He steps away from me, spinning me around and grabbing a handful of my ass as he pushes me toward my own comm. The news is still broadcasting from it, something about resource prices that I don't really care about.
"Check it whenever you want," I tell him as I turn off the news and move to my messages. "I don't want you to think you can't check your comm at all and have to only give me attention for the next week."
"I promise you that I have absolutely no issue giving you all the attention you can handle for the next week," Zill says, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. His shadows spread across my body, holding me tight and waiting patiently for me to finish my message before they swat at my hands until I set it back on the nightstand so they can have all of my attention.
"I'm going to hold you to that," I say, spinning around in his arms, linking my arms around his neck. It isn't until he's leaning down to kiss me that I realize his towel is gone, and he's standing here in front of me all damp and gloriously naked.
You're playing dirty!
Zill's smile is so beautiful. "Maybe we can get you to stop screaming your thoughts while I'm tending to your every need."
"Mmm, I think you like it when I'm loud," I tell him. I stand on my tiptoes until our lips are just barely brushing against one another.
"Don't you?" I ask, flicking my tongue over his lower lip and kissing him before he can give me his answer. "Now be a good boy and start tending."
ZILL
FIVE YEARS LATER
Being back in my parents' home for the holidays is always nice. My mom and dad are chatting with Reese about where we've been for the last few months, and I excused myself to get a drink a few minutes ago. My shadows are all congregated on my shoulders, watching our soulbond as I sip on some spiked eggnog that Mauve swears is needed to make the Christmas vibe complete.
It's not a Sombran holiday, but she enjoys decorating the house, and any occasion to do so was always taken when I was growing up. Now it doesn't even feel right to be on Earth this time of year and not celebrate with gift-giving and spending time with the family.
As I cross my legs at my ankles, the ridiculous shoes I'm wearing jingle. I scowl down at them, narrowing my eyes as if they've wronged me. They have long tips that curl upward a few times, a bell dangling from the very end. Really, the whole outfit is a curse, but Reese made a good argument for me to wear it. And by good argument, I mean she was naked when she asked me, and I didn't properly look at the thing before I agreed to wear it.
Reese glances over at me, a taunting twinkle in her eyes. She lets her gaze drop across my body, lingering in places that have my ears turning bright red. The moment lasts maybe a couple of seconds, before she's picking back up in the conversation with my parents. I shake my head, willing my cock back down because Reese isn't going to do anything about it right now.
The front door opens, but no one moves from where they are. I'm actually not sure if my parents are even aware of anyone else getting here. I grab my glass and head toward the foyer. My shoes jingle the whole way, but Reese is right in the middle of talking about us getting to visit a conservation planet and the creatures we saw there, so they don't pay me any attention.
"I look ridiculous," Wyn says.
There's no way he looks as foolish as I do, but I can hope there's a chance I'm not the only one who was talked into a costume by a terrorizing soulbond.
