Chapter 7

Chigs hurried away, trying to ignore the enormous bed as he strode toward the balcony and prayed fresh air would help clear his head. You're on a quest to rescue your mate. Yet all he could think about was getting Emmy naked and into the warm water of that jacuzzi tub. Of pressing his mouth to hers while he slicked soap along her luscious curves…

Uminaq!He needed to get a grip on himself before he did something rash. How could he even think about being with Emmy when his mate was out there, suffering at the hands of Syndicorp? And what might Emmy think of him if she suspected his thoughts? The suite's AI was going to make it hard to hide the direction of his thoughts if it kept ramping up the mood music.

The balcony doors slid open at his approach, revealing a cozy loveseat upholstered in sensual swirls and a small table with two padded chairs. Even the furniture seemed to beckon a couple to sit and stare into each other's eyes. Sheer curtains fluttered in the cool evening breeze, muting the city's sea of twinkling lights stretching out toward the horizon, while romantic music played in the background.

He shoved the curtains aside and stood at the railing, taking slow, deep breaths while his hearts continued to beat out a complex rhythm against his ribs. The air carried the scent of jasmine, reminding him of Emmy's delicate perfume. He groaned. Was there no escape from this torment? The pressure of his cock inside his slacks was growing painful, and the guilt roiling in his gut was making him nauseous.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his destined mate. I'm going to rescue her. But all he could see were Emmy's warm brown eyes and the way her smile made him feel lighter inside. The pretense of a relationship must be affecting his rational thought. That was it; he'd been so focused on finding his mate, even pretending that he was in love with Emmy was confusing him. He rolled his shoulders. The sooner he and Emmy contacted Dafari and ended this charade, the better.

Looking at his brown hands gripping the rail, he realized he was still disguised as a human. He should charge the holo projector to full capacity before the meeting with Dafari. He was about to lift the chain from around his neck and go in when he heard Emmy say from behind him. "Are you hungry? I programmed a meal for us."

She stood in the doorway holding a tray like a peace offering, her delicate features bathed in moonlight. His hearts constricted again. It's only a meal with a fellow crew member, he reminded himself. Just think of her as one of your iluq. "Sounds good," he said, forcing his attention to remain on her face instead of the curve of her breasts. "Just let me set this to charge."

He retrieved the charge unit from their luggage and put the projector in it, then returned to the balcony to find Emmy sitting at the small patio table. She lifted the lid from a covered dish on the tray she'd brought, releasing a savory smelling steam. "I wasn't certain what you liked, so I brought several options." The dish held chunks of meat in a golden sauce arranged on a bed of grain. Another dish held a roasted fowl and small, herbed tubers.

His stomach growled, and he realized he hadn't eaten since this morning. "It smells delicious." Taking the seat opposite her, he helped himself to the food. His first bite was salty with a hint of a kick, and before he knew it, he was reaching for seconds.

She held up her fork and examined a small piece of beige tuber on the end. "I wonder what it would cost us to get this programmed into the replicator on the Icarus. It's nice to be eating something besides kemeg stew."

He swallowed another bite of meat and licked his lips. "We'll have to ask Doug if he can download a copy."

"Mm-hm," she nodded, closing her eyes in obvious pleasure as she placed the bite in her mouth. The move was innocent enough, but the way her lips pursed around the fork got him thinking about other things her mouth might do. The music drifted into a sultry beat, and he clamped down on his thoughts. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

Pushing away from the table, he twisted away from her, gazing out over the city lights. "Are you ready to contact Dafari?"

"Oh." Emmy's fork clinked against her plate and she cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable. "I think it will look suspicious if we contact Dafari this soon after our arrival. We probably ought to spend a day or two holed up here—we're supposed to be on our honeymoon, after all."

Chigs stifled another groan. The longer they took, the more danger his mate could be in. But more importantly, what the hell were he and Emmy going to do to pass the time? His cock certainly had some ideas. Stop thinking about that. He forced himself to nod. "That makes sense."

A few moments of silence passed between them until Emmy said, "My father used to say that every person we meet has something new to teach us. I feel like we hardly know each other. Tell me something about yourself. Something few people know."

He considered her question. Nobody had ever asked him that before. He thought back to his childhood on Denaida-daru, before he'd joined Syndicorp or met any of his current iluq. "When I was younger, I used to enjoy carving small sculptures out of wood," he said. "I'd give them to the younger kids in the village to play with."

"Really?" Emmy smiled. "I never would've guessed. Do you still like to carve?"

"I haven't in a while." He reached down and drew his combat knife from his boot, recalling the feel of a blade biting into the grain of the wood. "Not many stray branches lying about on a spaceship. What about you? What did you enjoy doing as a kid?"

"Oh, I loved to dance." Her eyes lit with excitement. "Ballet, jazz, anything." The ambient music's beat kicked up a notch, as if in invitation, and Emmy tapped her fingers in time to the rhythm. "There's something so freeing about losing yourself in music and movement."

"I don't believe I've ever danced," Chigs admitted.

She gaped at him. "Never?"

He shook his head and noticed a worried look cross her face before she practically jumped up from her seat. "You need to learn how."

Chigs stared at her. "Now?"

"Yes. Now." She extended a hand to him. "Dafari will never believe our story if you don't. He knows how much I love it."

Swallowing a sudden knot in his throat, he reached up and accepted her grasp, allowing her to pull him to his feet.

"It's easy once you get the hang of it." Drawing him closer, she swayed her hips to the sultry beat. "Just let the music guide you."

Chigs found himself mesmerized by the graceful way she moved her body.

She stretched her arms up to place her hands on his shoulders. Her subtle perfume filled his senses, and her eyes sparkled as she craned her neck to smile up at him. "Damn, you're tall. This'll be interesting. Put your hands on my hips."

As if in a trance, he settled his palms against the curve of her waist.

She began swaying her hips in time to the music. "Now try to follow my lead."

Stepping left, then right, she showed him how to bring his body into sync with hers. Her hair brushed his arms like silken feathers, and her full breasts pressed against his lower ribs with distracting frequency. He stumbled, stepping on her toes. But when he tried to apologize, she merely laughed and insisted they keep going. Uminaq, he could listen to her laugh for hours.

Before long, they were twirling around the balcony. This was more fun than he'd expected, and Emmy felt so natural in his arms. As the song faded to a close, he picked her up around the waist and spun, eliciting another peal of laughter.

Emmy pulled away. "Wow, I'm thirsty!" Her voice shook slightly from exertion. "How about some champagne?"

Before he could answer, she disappeared inside, then returned with the bottle on a tray. She popped the cork and poured two fizzing glasses, handing him one. Raising her glass, she said, "To finding your mate."

The reminder was a sobering slug to the gut. He raised his glass in salute before emptying it in one swallow. It wasn't Kantarellian rum, but hopefully the champagne would be strong enough to dull the ache in his balls. "To finding my mate," he said.

Before I do something stupid.

* * *

Emmy's heart pounded from more than the dancing as she settled back into her chair on the balcony, glad for the small table between her and Chigs. His human disguise had created a barrier of sorts between them, but now that he'd turned off his holo projector, she wanted to run her hands over his beard and explore the hard planes of his gleaming copper skin. He was making her feel emotions she simply couldn't allow herself to feel, especially for him. He's taken, she reminded herself. Devoted to another.

She cleared her throat, uncomfortable with the tension filling the air. Just steer the conversation to safe topics. Her counseling job was mostly getting people to talk, after all. "So, do you have any siblings?" she asked. A pained look creased his face, and she immediately realized her mistake. His world had been destroyed, his family was likely dead. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking?—"

"It's okay," he said. "I had a sister. She was a lot older than I was, and we weren't very close."

He went on to tell her about growing up on a farm, of long days spent in the fields tending crops and animals. "I used to stand in the fields near our house and stare up at the night sky for hours, imagining what it would be like to travel to all of them. My father thought I was crazy, but when a Syndicorp recruiter came along, I jumped at the chance to get off-world."

"That's why I joined, too," she said, pouring them both more champagne. "To get off world. My parents lived in dozens of colonies on many planets before I was born, but once I came along, they decided they were done with traveling. I always envied their adventures."

"What places have you visited?" he asked.

"Just two moons around Aleigh," she admitted, remembering the city perched on the edge of a mining crater where she'd done some temp work. "I thought I'd have time and money for travel once I finished school. But then my internship kept me so busy..." She turned to look out over the city. The lights from street signs and buildings nearly blotted out the view of the stars, but one particular pinpoint of light could still be seen to the south. She pointed to it. "I think that star is in the Posungi system. It always seemed so close, like I could visit it over a long weekend. But I never carved out the time."

Chigs huffed in amusement. "You're not missing anything there. I had a couple of missions on Posungi. Nothing but swamp."

She laughed. "Well, it still would've been someplace to visit that wasn't my own home planet. Maybe now that I'm with the rebellion, I'll get to see new places."

He raised his glass. "To traveling the stars."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, lost in thoughts of travel, until Emmy's eyelids began to droop. She startled awake at the feel of Chigs's powerful arms lifting her from her seat. "What?" she said in a daze, quickly slipping one arm around his neck for support.

"You need to get to bed," he answered as he made his way to the bedroom, carrying her like a child.

She blinked, suddenly wide awake. There was only one bed, and she couldn't help but wonder if he planned to sleep together. Oh god, yes. Wait—no! That absolutely could not, would not, happen. She pointed with her free hand towards the chaise lounge as they walked past it. "I can sleep on the sofa."

Chigs ignored her and continued straight to the bedroom. "You'll take the bed," he said, setting her down on the edge of the springy mattress. "I'm sleeping outside, on the balcony."

"Outside?" Emmy repeated in surprise.

He nodded slowly. "Under the stars." He took a step backward, looking uncomfortable. "I really enjoyed talking to you," he muttered softly before turning away. "Goodnight."

Emmy gulped as she caught herself watching his sexy, retreating ass.

"Goodnight," she called after him. Trying to ignore the sudden heat settling low in her belly.

She changed into her pajamas and slipped under the covers, knowing she'd be dreaming of Chigs tonight.