Page 47 of Saved By the Servali

“There’s a manhunt out for Merton since he disappeared from the MWIP. Surely your father understands now why he had to travel here? You’re really the only one who can help tie all the pieces of Merton’s dirty work together—you and Abigail. He would be a target.”

“I don’t think all of that sunk in. I struggled just to make him understand that he had to go to the MWIP to collect my things and then catch his designated shuttle. Thank God for Layla. She was so good with him, so good at helping him get his booking onto the shuttle and his hypersleep clearance forms from the nurse...” Nessa put down her fork and licked her lips.

In the last week, she had slipped into her new role easily. Instead of sinking under the weight of a new life with a hundred new challenges, she was swimming, even floating, worries seeming far away. She had done what she could to help stop Merton and his wicked cronies. She had made fast friends with Jade, Abigail, Wendy, and Layla. Kaylie was still on bed rest, but Jaxson seemed to have made it his mission in life to look after her and help the frail woman recover, just as Kamau had done for her.

With Jaxson often busy playing nurse, she and Lycen, the stunning Wolfi Canid, had bonded over shuttle repairs and helping Kamau lay the groundwork for mecha and terraforming the spare bay.

“I like this job better than any of the others I’ve ever had,” Nessa sighed. “And not just because the captain gave me time off before I even earned it.”

“Is it because you like your new roommate?” he teased.

“That’s the best part.” Nessa rolled her eyes. “Roommates don’t do the things you’ve been doing to me,” she whispered.

Kamau scooted his chair closer to her, his tail sliding up her crimson skirt to squeeze between her thighs. “Do you mean when you were riding me this morning, and I decided both holes needed to be full?”

“You’re wicked!” she hissed, hurriedly grabbing her ice water. The water! She would never get tired of the simple joy of tasting water that didn’t have a metallic or chemical aftertaste. And she was going to need a thousand gallons of it to keep on hand because her sweet, tenderhearted King loved to test her limits in bed the way he loved to test out new ingredients in the kitchen.

“We have a few hours before the solo shuttle attaches to theComet Stalker. We can meet Marcus at the end of his lecture at Bastet Mercy, see if we can find Ru and Layla with the cubs at Thoth Park, just across the square, or we can get some limona and goat’s milk at that market we passed so I can make you more cloud cakes.”

Nessa bit her lip as his tail tip circled firmly over her swollen nether lips, zeroing in on her permanently puffy clit. “I know you said you were going to make Dad a special welcome dinner tonight. Don’t you need time to prep?”

“I suppose it would look bad if my future father-in-law found out I had been bending his daughter over my desk and neglecting my work and the nourishment of my crew. We’ll stop by the market, then prep.” He swiped his credit account disc in the server’s device before rising and taking her arm.

If the stares were mixed, some awed, some excited, a few envious, and more than a few disapproving, Kamau didn’t seem to care. He held her on his arm as though he were carrying a priceless jewel. She snuggled up close to him, wondering when she could let her final bit of armor fall and tell the Servali thatshe loved him. It had only been three weeks now, but already it seemed like too long a wait to pour out her heart and confirm what he must surely have guessed.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked, wondering if he already knew. Kamau was so intuitive. He anticipated so many of her needs and made sure to fulfill them before she could even ask. Maybe now he would provide the perfect opening.

They stepped outside into the lazy purple and golden afternoon. Kamau leaned over, pressed his lips to her hair, and whispered, “I’m thinking about how perfect it is that you’re shorter than me—and that if I bend you over far enough, I can part your cheeks and press my paw right against—”

“Kamau! We’re in public,” she elbowed him.

Well. Itwasabout an opening. Just not the one I expected.

“TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT. I can feel it.”

Talos put another chair at the long table, placing a bottle of wine in front of it to mark the guest of honor’s seat.

“Tonight? Nessa will be with her father for several days straight, don’t you think?”

“I know, and I do not mind. I will help her with John’s care. He sounds like a good man, worthy of a wonderful daughter. A beautiful, caring, wonderful daughter.”

Talos snapped his fingers in front of the Servali chef’s vacant eyes. “Caring for an elderly man with a fading mind doesn’t sound romantic. Why do you think she will say she loves you today of all days?”

“Because Nessa is content here. She likes her new home, her new contract, the work she does, the people she is with. She likes me enough to call me her King.”

“You don’t need the words, Kam. Anyone with eyes can see that you two are in love. You have been almost since the first second her eyes opened.”

“Before,” Kamau admitted softly.

Talos groaned. “You are hopeless. I have to go and do the final docking sequence for the solo sleeper capsule. You were lucky Nessa had so many MWIP staff credits saved up to use for her father’s travel and that she could afford concierge care for him.”

“Go, go.” Kamau placed the finest dishes around the table and waved his crewmate away.

I don’t need to explain myself to him. I know it. I feel it. Nessa is so close to saying it. Her father’s care and well-being, his safety—those are the final pieces. Once he is here, safe with us—she will see that she can be mine. Our lives can truly begin together.

Tonight, I will tell her how much I love her.

Tonight, I know she will say it back.

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