Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

S ex was the best sleep aid out there. At least sex with Dash was. Despite all the stress of the day before, Ro was ready to spring out of bed and meet the day. Or to snuggle back up against the warm man next to her and enjoy a few more hours together.

But it had to be option one. They were due to approach Earth soon and she had to be ready.

The shower was at the other end of the hall and Ro was sure she looked well-fucked, with messy hair and a grin on her face as she made a break for it in rumpled clothes. But none of the crew saw her. Not that she cared. Ettie already knew that she and Dash were together, and she wasn’t sure how sex worked on the planet the other crewmembers were from, if it worked at all. A lot of aliens were surprisingly compatible with human biology, or so she’d heard, but then there were some who were repulsed by sex or thought it sounded inefficient.

She’d take all the repulsive inefficiencies she could get with Dash.

By the time she was clean, though her hair was still a little damp, Dash was awake and had thrown his clothes on. He had that same sated look she was sure she’d woken up with and she wanted to throw her clothes back on the floor and ride him.

No . Later.

Something had shifted in her the night before. At first she’d been certain they’d have to part ways once this trip was over, but now she couldn’t imagine it. They had to at least try . Things had never been this good between her and another person, and giving up Dash just because it was a little complicated seemed like the coward’s way out. And Ro was no coward.

“Shower’s free,” she said, practically pressed against the wall to keep from throwing herself at Dash.

He grinned as if he knew exactly what she was feeling, and when he stood he loomed. He couldn’t help it, there wasn’t enough space in the room to breathe. And she wondered if they could stay there forever. He cupped her cheek, his fingers playing with the edges of her hair. “Thanks.” He bent down and kissed her, and it was no gentle peck.

But before Ro could get caught up in it, well, any more caught up in it, he pulled back. “I’ll see you in the galley for breakfast.” He slipped away before they could kiss anymore.

She was smitten. Completely freaking smitten. She couldn’t stop grinning, and she wanted to follow Dash to the shower and see how much trouble they could get up to. Instead she pulled her clothes on and headed for the galley to hunt down some food.

As promised, Jeero did something to make protein paste taste like actual food, and while Ettie gave her a knowing grin, she didn’t give Ro any shit. Good. Ro wasn’t embarrassed about having sex. She was an adult, it was something adults did , and no one had to pretend it was anything special.

Except with Dash, it was.

And she was going to find a way to keep it.

A few minutes later, Dash joined them and he paused next to her, wrapped an arm around her, and kissed her in front of everyone like they’d been doing it for years.

That made Ro blush. Her past boyfriends had been wary about showing affection in front of others, and it wasn’t like she had insisted on it. Now here was Dash, claiming her as casually as he claimed a piece of whatever Jeero had made. Maybe she should have bristled, but Ro kind of loved the easy affection.

She kind of loved everything about Dash.

“We’ll be docking in Orlando in three hours,” Ettie informed them. “Right near one of the oldest human launch sites, if you’re interested in a bit of tourism.”

Right, Florida. She’d heard something about that, but she’d been so happy they were going to Earth that her mind had stopped reeling for a moment and she hadn’t planned out the next step. “We need to get a shuttle up to Minnesota. Or some sort of vehicle. There might still be enough time to drive.” She often forgot how big the Earth was. How populated. Everything on Mars was concentrated in an area the size of a small city. Terraforming was difficult and life support even more so. But Earth settlements were everywhere, all spread out with hours or days of travel between them.

Ettie and Dash shared a strange look before Ettie and her crew got up to go see to their approach.

“What was that about?” Ro asked.

“I… have a way to get us there,” Dash said, uncharacteristically hesitant.

“Great!” She wasn’t going to get caught up in his caution. “Tell me about it.”

“When we get planetside,” he promised. “It’s better to show you.”

Well, that was cryptic. But he hadn’t failed her yet, so Ro would give him this.

The final three hours rushed by and before she knew it, Ro was strapped into a seat beside Dash as they blasted through the atmosphere. It took another two hours to get through customs and do all the paperwork that happened when entering a planet like Earth, and Ro just wanted to be done. She was on Earth . She was so close to her family she could taste it in the still warm Florida air. It would be cold in Minnesota, she knew that, but she didn’t care. That was what coats were for.

She tried to call her sister, but May didn’t answer. It didn’t matter. She was going to make it, even if she had to walk.

It took Dash a bit longer to get through customs, and when he did, he didn’t have their bags which he’d promised to take care of.

“Don’t we need our luggage?”

He turned so she could see the small pack on his back. “I’ve got a few changes of clothes for us, but the rest I sent on to your sister. We’re traveling light for this part of the journey.”

“Okay, can you explain the cryptic words yet?” She’d been patient, hadn’t questioned him since he declared he had a way to get her home, but now they were on Earth and Ro was ready for some answers.

“It’s too crowded here,” he said, “come on.”

And so she followed him again. They were outside and it was just about dusk, the sun getting ready to sink below the horizon. The space port was a bit out of the way from anything else, and the air smelled of salt and water. Dash walked them down a sidewalk and then found a dirt path and followed it. If she trusted him just a little less she might have thought he was going to murder her. But she trusted him.

She was almost certain this walk wouldn’t end in murder.

But as the sky got darker, she found herself casting backward glances down the trail as it got more and more dense with foliage.

“If this is some elaborate serial killer plot, I will find a way to make sure I’m avenged.” It was a joke. Mostly.

Dash laughed and came to a stop. “I’d never kill you,” he promised.

That was probably something a serial killer said right before he struck.

“I said I can get you to Minnesota, and I can.” Dash rolled his shoulders as if he was about to start a race. “But it’s a bit unconventional. Please don’t freak out.”

Famous last words. Ro didn’t know what to say, so she nodded and waited for him to do whatever he was about to do.

For some reason Dash took off his clothes and then stuffed them in his pack. Ro enjoyed the view, but it only made her more curious.

Nothing happened for a moment until the air seemed to shimmer. Ro squinted, as if that would put everything to rights. But it only got worse. For a blink, Dash disappeared completely, and then something else filled his space. A reindeer?

No. What? No.

Ro blinked, shaking her head all the while. Dash was a reindeer ? That wasn’t possible.

But what came out of her mouth was: “How are your antlers glowing?”

In a flash, the naked man was back and he was beaming. He scooped her in his arms and swung her around with a whoop before setting her back down and kissing the daylights out of her. Ro clung on and sank into the kiss, even if most of her mind was still stuck on the reindeer thing.

She should be freaking out more. And probably upset. But mostly she was just confused.

Dash finally let her go and Ro stepped back. “You’re an alien.” She’d been sure he was human, and yet, humans didn’t shapeshift.

“We’re called reilendeer,” he replied with a nod. He grinned as he touched his forehead, rubbing where his antlers— antlers! —would have been. “We spread good cheer and shift into reindeer.”

“Good cheer? Like… are you telling me that you’re one of Santa’s reindeer?” That was a kid’s story, and it grew less and less believable the farther away from Earth that humans strayed.

He laughed. “Not quite, but maybe that’s where the myth comes from?”

“Those reindeer can fly.” It felt a little strange to be breaking down the specifics of a child’s story, but Ro was clinging to sense by the tips of her fingers.

“Why do you think I brought you here? I said I could get us across the country.”

“You can fly ?” She’d had a mental breakdown somewhere along the way. There was no way the man she was halfway in love with was a magical alien reindeer who said he could fly her across the country. Nope. Not a chance. “And so are the glowing horns where the red nose thing comes from? They light your way.”

He opened his mouth and clicked it shut, taking a moment to think. “No, they’re something else. But it’s a lot to explain, and we’ve got a lot of sky to cover. So are you with me?”

Well, she might be going crazy, but she was definitely on Earth. “Take me home, reindeer man.”