Page 59 of Right on Time

The black door was open. Revealing a worried-looking Vrixiel.

“Lady Hloe. Subcommander. Commander Siriniel of the Swirling Horn Clan will see you now.”

CHAPTER 28

Blah

Chloe breathed in deeply. She had to calm down. Now was not the time to start cursing the Commander for interrupting what might be her last kiss with Nitiel. She meant her feather-plucking threat, but it should be a last resort. Politeness and reason was what these aliens respected, so she had to start from there.

To her relief, Nitiel did not distance himself from her upon their entry in the Commander’s quarters. He kept their hands linked and his wing shielding her from behind. He had a determined look on his face as they followed Vrixiel inside, no sign of the nervousness from a moment ago.

Chloe took another deep breath. They could do this–

“Aaah, look how cute they are, holding hands! Finally!”

Chloe did a double take. What was Trixie doing in the Commander’s quarters? And perched on the edge of his desk in a bright red gown, no less?

“My bean, now is not the right time,” Vrixiel whispered and went to stand guard next to her and the desk.

Trixie snickered. “Sorry, you know how patient I am… I’ll wait a bit longer.”

Chloe took in the small room. It was a typical director’s office with two seats on one side of the desk and a single seat on the other. The only difference was that the desks and seats were floating over the bare metal floor, and the single window to the right offered a view at Jupiter. “Um, where is the Commander?”

“Vrixiel?” Nitiel turned to his friend, confused himself.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” a male voice sounded from behind the bare wall to the left of the desk. A voice Chloe had heard before over the communicator.

A moment later, that wall slid aside to let a bulky Gaenthian with a wine bottle and glasses in hand pass through. He was so tall he had to duck to prevent his horns from scraping the head jamb. “I decided some Terran champagne was in order.”

Chloe stared as he went behind his desk, put the five glasses and bottle beside Trixie, and sat down on his clamshell of an office chair. He met Chloe’s gaze head-on as she kept staring, unable to take her eyes off him.

Commander Siriniel had strawberry-blond hair in a single thick braid resting over the right side of his chest. Brown horns swirled like a ram’s from the top of his head, both big and thick enough to break down a fortress gate. Big ochre-colored eyes drew the gaze in like shining gold. His beige skin tone somehow underlined the perfect proportions of his very masculine face, softened by a dimple as he smiled. The bulging muscles on his arms seemed barely contained by his uniform – a stretchy long-sleeved bodysuit like Nitiel’s but brown in color. His built, even when seated, commanded attention and respect.

“Nice to finally meet you, Lady Chloe.” He bowed his head low.

She kept staring.

“Loe?” Nitiel whispered next to her. The concern in his tone was palpable.

She bit her bottom lip. Hurtful or not, she had to say it. Looking at the Commander further would not change what she had felt upon seeing him, and everyone in the room was waiting for her to speak.

“I’m sorry, but… Uhhh…”

Nitiel sighed and let go of her hand. “I understand. He is your niel and–”

“And nothing!” Chloe laughed, relief making her feel lighter inside. “I feel nothing when I look at him, Nitiel! He’s blah!” She bit her lip as soon as she realized how rude that sounded. Oops. “Uh, I mean… Commander, you’re a stunning guy, don’t get me wrong. But as much as I may stare at you, I find nothing that draws me to you. I feel nothing!”

“Loe, are you certain?” Nitiel asked hesitantly, as if afraid to believe her.

“Absolutely. There are no sparks flying, no attraction making me lose my words, no anything.” She grinned at him. “Told you the ASI was glitching.”

Nitiel did not smile back; he cast a worried look Siriniel’s way.

Chloe looked too; in her relief, she had forgotten that her lack of interest in the Commander did not mean a happy future for her and Nitiel. What if Siriniel still wanted her because the ASI had declared her his? What if her rudeness had pissed off the guy commanding all of Gaenthia’s troops in the Solar System?

He turned out to be smiling. His beige lips were stretched into a satisfied smile. “Good.”

Chloe blinked.

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