Page 58 of Synnr's Ride

It didn't take long for words and numbers to blur together. Hanna lost herself in the work so much so that she startled when Jori tromped downstairs.

"What are you looking at?" he asked. His hair was still damp, a drop of water clinging to one of the curls he hadn't managed to wrestle into submission. He wore a simple outfit of dark pants and a green long sleeved shirt, and completed it all with a pair of boots.

Hanna was staring and she knew it. Still, it took several seconds for her to pull her gaze away. She'd seen him naked. She'd had his cock in her mouth more than once. So how could he still light her up like this?

"I'm giving the documents another look," she explained. "Just in case there's some hint of where Kark might be hiding away." Those words tugged at her subconscious, and Hanna tried to chase the thought, but it went nowhere.

"No doubt Ozar has a dozen techs working these documents too," he pointed out.

Hanna shrugged. "I'm one more set of eyes. And we know him better than the techs."

"You could head into HQ and offer your expertise."

Hanna didn't have a response for that. She could. She probably should. But she kept scrolling through her documents, batting one aside once she was done with it to look at the next.

No answers.

"When do you have to go in?" She tried to sound light, as if her heart didn't weigh three tons. "Job's over, right?"

"It's wrapping up." He hadn't moved a centimeter, but she could feel his eyes on her. "I haven't been given new orders yet. I'm sure someone will come looking if I don't report in by next week."

"Want to find a beach and spend a few days there?" It was supposed to be a flirty joke, something so clearly outrageous that they couldn't do it. Why did it sound plausible?

Jori crossed the room in three steps and wrapped his arms around her tight. Hanna returned the hug with a desperate sob, clinging to him as if he was her only anchor to the world.

"Name the place," he said, with surprising fierceness.

Hanna had to let him go and step back, to put distance between them and regain her composure. And she would.

In a minute.

Or an hour.

She clung tighter. They breathed together, heartbeats in sync, as close as they could be while they were both fully clothed.

"I don't want this to end when we walk away." Jori had his hand on the back of her neck, the grip tight but more comfortable than controlling. "Tell me what I have to do."

That earned him an indignant laugh. "You?" Now Hanna really did have to pull away. "You're the perfect soldier, remember? I don't want to pull you down. If you... if we... I can't be your Match." It hurt to say. It was the dream of every Zulir to find their Match, to bond and fall in love and do everything the fairy tales said were true.

Jori didn't respond to that. He looked away from her, eyes snagging on the papers floating above the holo projector. Then he shook his head violently. "Damn that tobraz. I love you."

"What?" Shock ripped through her, a mix of joy and fear and denial. "What?" She had to repeat it, brain refusing to completely process the words.

Jori moved back towards her, slowly this time, giving her plenty of opportunity to move out of his way. "Is that so hard to believe? I thought..." He took a deep breath. "That doesn't matter. I love you. Match or not. I want to be with you, I want this to be real."

He reached out and cupped her cheek. Hanna couldn't help but lean into it, eyes falling closed as she soaked up the sensation. "I can't be the ruin of you." Tears threatened to fall, but she squeezed her eyes even more tightly shut. "I've hurt too many people."

Jori didn't let go.

Hanna grabbed for his arm but didn't pull it away. She held on. "Don't let me ruin you."

He kissed her. It was soft, sweet.

Loving.

Hanna had no defense against it. She clung to him, afraid that when this moment was over, Jori would come to his senses and realize he had to walk away. If this went on for much longer, she wouldn't be able to hold her words back. And if she said it to him, it was all over.

They could exist in this little house, in this time outside of their normal lives. But when they got back, when Jori was with fellow soldiers, he'd remember who she really was. And he'd hate her.

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