Page 34 of Chosen By Swift

She laid it out so simply, but he knew it was much, much worse than that. No wonder she had such strong, toned arms. All that hauling and scrubbing and stretching! She must have been dead on her feet by the end of the night. Which made him wonder...

“Alys, how much do you sleep?”

“I only need six hours or so,” she assured him, as if worried he would find her lazy for sleeping longer. “I can get by on less when it’s necessary.”

“Absolutely not,” he said, slashing his hand through the air. “Alyx, as long as you live with me, you have to sleep properly. I want you in bed and sleeping at least eight hours a night.”

“But what about—?”

“Alys,” he interrupted forcefully, “this isn’t a farm. We don’t have children. There’s no reason for you to be exhausted all the time.” He closed the distance between them and grasped her hips. “You’re mine to care for now so let me.”

Alys gazed up at him with wide eyes. “Yes, sir.”

“Good girl.” He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. She tasted of the sweet dessert, and he wanted nothing more than to tumble her right back into bed. Instead, he tamped down his lust for his new mate. “Do you want to investigate the entertainment console with me?”

“Sure.” She smiled, and her eyes twinkled at the excitement of experiencing something new with him.

They settled onto the sofa, and he showed her how to use the household tablet to control the lights, temperature and the entertainment center. He handed the tablet to her and slung his arm across the back of the cushions. He played with her hair as she tapped at the tablet screen and activated the larger screen across the room. She marveled at the moving pictures, as she called them, and he enjoyed the way she treated everything with such wonder and curiosity.

It didn’t take her long to settle on the educational channel that was created for mates. There were multiple episodes of informational content about the history of the Harcos people, the structure and hierarchy of the Land and Sky Corps, the layout and functions of each sector of the ship and basics like accessing medical care and where to shop.

“Is he your boss?” Alys asked as Orion filled the screen and greeted his audience.

“Yes.” Swift wrapped long strands of her hair around his finger. They were so soft and silky. “His second-in-command is Noble. Below Noble, there are a handful of officers in command of various departments. Below that is pilots like me.”

“Back on Calyx, you told me you wanted to be part of command. Is that what that means?” She gestured to the television.

“Yes. Ideally, I would promote to the level below Noble and serve there for a set number of years before promoting to Noble’s level.”

“Would you stay on this ship?”

“Probably not. It’s more likely I would be shifted to one of the newer ships in this sector of the fleet.”

As Orion lectured about the zero-tolerance policy for domestic violence and his high standards of safety and wellbeing, Swift focused only on the novel experience of sitting next to a woman—his woman—in his quarters. Policies about women in areas of the ship reserved for bachelors were strictly enforced. What companionship he had enjoyed with poppies was short-lived and limited to the sky brothels or private rooms in the officer’s club.

But this? Just sitting here, together, on a couch? It was more intimate than sex. It shouldn’t have been, but it felt that way to him. That realization drove home the point about how starved for affection he and his fellow soldiers and airmen were. He understood why their culture required men to literally fight for the right to have a mate and a family, but he didn’t like it. More and more, he wondered if that was something else that needed to change.

His troubled thoughts were interrupted by a blaring klaxon. Startled, Alys clutched at his hand. “What is that?”

He pointed to the ceiling as Orion’s recorded voice calmly said, “Now here this. Now here this. This is a drill. Please proceed to the nearest evacuation point.”

The instructions looped, and Alys winced at the alarm. “Why are we having a drill?”

“Because it saves lives,” he said matter-of-factly and stood. Holding out his hand, he said, “Let’s go.”

“But I’m not dressed for public.” She rose from the sofa and anxiously tugged at her dress. “They can see my legs!”

“So? Let them see your gorgeous legs.”

“Swift,” she said, her eyes pleading with him. “Sir, please.”

“You have one minute.” He held up a single finger. “Go.”

She fled from the living area into their bedroom. He glanced at his watch, fully intending to hold her to that time limit. Even though this was only a drill, it was expected they treat it like a true emergency.

In fifty-one seconds, she emerged from the bedroom wearing a long dark blue skirt and a pair of simple leather slippers. She still had the wrap dress on underneath the skirt, using the top as a blouse. It looked rather nice, and he had to admit, there was something beguiling about her hidden legs. He had been thinking he would need to ease her out of her strict modesty, but maybe he was wrong.

“Did I make it?”

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