Page 33 of Breakaway
"Everything," I confirm, though I'm not nearly as worried about it as she is.
The things we've heard from all manner of species are something else entirely, and that's just accidental. The number of clients I've had to fire for purposefully sending sexual thoughts about one of us isn't a lot, but it's way more than it should be. If anything, Kolos and Isha won't even care what Reese is thinking about because it's not like she can help it. Though that won't stop Kolos from reminding me that he can hear her thoughts, and I can't.
I lead Reese down a short hall while she has her little panicked moment about Kolos being a terror. But she seems resigned to this being her life for the next little while if it means she'll be safe. Once it's just her and the two other Sombrans up here, she'll realize it's not bad at all.
"This is my ship," I tell her as the compartment into the airlocked portion of my ship hisses open.
"I thought the whole place was your ship," she says as we wait for the secondary door to open after the first closes.
"It is, but we each have smaller ships attached. The big ship has a decent-sized hull for transporting goods because we've had to do that a few times, a dining area, and a larger navigation control center. Everything else is a part of one of our smaller ships."
The door opens and reveals a single-room ship. They're more compact than the larger ones, but they have everything we might need if we go for a few weeks at a time. Reese steps inside, eyes bouncing around the space as she takes it all in.
There's not much, if I'm being honest. A bed large enough to fit both of us, so long as she doesn't mind cuddling, a bathroom, a food synthesizer, a cockpit, and a small storage space. One of the walls functions as both a window and a larger comm if I want to watch any kind of media. I'll show her how to use it before I leave, so she isn't bored.
I move to set the luggage on the bed, pull out a few of the drawers the bed sits atop of, and begin to clear space for Reese's belongings. We haven't talked about sharing a bed, but we were about to fornicate. I think sharing is well within a reasonable assumption.
"Is this your family?" Reese asks, standing near a wall where I have a few framed pictures hanging. I smile and walk over to her, standing right behind her and letting my shadows curl around her.
"So, that's my brothers and me. Yryff, me, and Wyn. And then one of the crew. Kolos you've met, and Skia and Isha are the other two." Reese leans into me, and for a long moment, I want to just stand here with her in my arms, but there's work for me to be doing. "And of course you know Mauve," I say toward the last framed photo. "And my father. They all actually live really close to you, same city and all."
"I can't believe Mauve has three kids," Reese says more to herself than to me. I cough to cover my laugh, and Reese must think I think she's insulting my mother, so she keeps going. "Not that she's not wonderful, I'm sure she's great, but she's so…"
"Cold?" I ask, laughing when Reese's cheeks burn bright. "She's not the warmest of people, but her love is solid and never-ending. You've met her. She'd go to war for the people she cares for, and she was the same way when we were growing up. It's different when you're Sombran. Family is in each other's thoughts unless we keep one another out. There was never a doubt in our minds about how much she loved us, the endless ways in which she was proud of us. She thought it constantly, even if she didn't always voice it."
"If I'm being honest, I thought she didn't like me for a long time," Reese says, and then she adds something that makes me hate her family even more. "Thought she stuck around for the money, you know?"
"You were family," I tell her. "None of us knew your real name, but she told us all about you. The only one who would've known is my father, but he kept those secrets locked up tight for Mauve."
"Too bad we didn't meet sooner, huh?" Reese says, tilting her head back and resting it against my chest.
"My brothers will want to meet you," I tell her, enjoying the way her eyes go wide in slight panic. "I'm surprised Mauve hasn't already set something up, but she's probably waiting until after you're officially done with being Empress before overfilling your schedule with family events."
"You're serious?" Reese asks, something like fear and anticipation lacing her words. What I wouldn't give to be in her head right now.
"I am." I look down at her, at the flush across her freckled cheeks, the sparkle in her eyes. She's been through a lot, but she's strong. I take a deep breath and remind myself that I have to be strong now, too. And being strong for me means leaving her here, even though I want to do nothing but stay locked in this room with her for weeks, no months.
If we were on Sombra, we'd have a good, long chunk of time where nothing was expected of us other than strengthening our bond. Seeing as we're not on Sombra, and there's still someone out there who wants my soulbond, I step away from her.
"Want to come with me to get the ship ready to switch ports?" I ask her, loving how she follows after me, lifting my arm and tossing it over her shoulder like she wants it there as much as I always want it to be there.
"I've never ridden in a spaceship before," she says excitedly.
I peer at her out of the corner of my eyes, asking her something that will actually have a great deal of impact on me depending on her answer. "How do you feel about space travel being your life?"
She shakes her head, and for a moment, I start planning on how I'm going to transfer ownership of the company over to Skia. Instead, she lets out a contented little sigh. "That sounds wonderful."
My arm tightens over her shoulder, and though it's much too soon to be planning forever when she hasn't even accepted my bond, it's hard not to think about the future when it looks like it could be amazing with this woman by my side.
CHAPTER 13
REESE
Breaking News! Where is Empress? Our best guesses on what's happened and where the pop star is now.
"Where is she?" A panicked-sounding Mauve is not who I'm expecting to hear in my dream. "I'm not playing. You let me in to see if she's okay or I'm getting your father involved."
Wait, am I dreaming?
