Page 33 of Kiss of Steel

“You’re a better wife than I deserve.”

It was an odd thing to say, and she would have probed deeper, except they’d reached the mess hall. Whatever they were serving tonight smelled roasted and savory. She ordered and paid for her dinner, and then Jason stepped up to the cashier. He held up three digits. “Three meals.”

The cashier swiped his card and then frowned. “I’m sorry, but you don’t have the credits on your account.”

“What?” He blinked.

“You’re out of credits. You have one credit left. It won’t cover one dinner, let alone three.”

“Put his on mine.” Honoria handed her card to the cashier. She’d been expecting this.

“No,” he protested. “You can’t do that. You’ll run out. Skipping a meal won’t hurt me.”

“I won’t run out. Three meals,” she told the cashier.

The cashier deducted the credits from her card, and Honoria grabbed his arm and pulled him along. “We’re holding up the line.”

“I can’t let you do this. You’ll run out of credits and go hungry,” he said. “I’ve gone long periods without eating.”

And had to eat three times as much to catch up! “I don’t wantyouto go hungry. I got paid for the partial day I worked, so I have enough credits to get us both through the week.”

“Those are your credits.”

“They’reourcredits. We’re a team. We’re in this together.”

The server passed them two trays, one laden with triple meals. They moved down the line and collected their dessert and drinks.

“You really have enough credits to purchase my meals and yours until the end of the week?”

“I do.” She nodded.

“How do you know?”

“I did the math.” She’d added up the cost of the meals.

They were forced to squish into middle seats on a long table, the lack of privacy putting a crimp on conversation—and thankfully, argument. He had no choice but to accept the situation.

“Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome.”

He was herhusband. Agoodhusband. She would not allow him to go hungry if she had the ability to feed him. Her feelings went deeper than common decency or goodwill toward her fellow humans. For a tough and gruff man, he had a vulnerability about him, and she had a strong desire to take care of him. She’d developed a soft spot for her man of Steel.

A soft spot called love?

Maybe.

* * * *

After dinner, they strolled to the cabin. Steel was glad they’d been surrounded by other diners, which had limited conversation. He had no idea what he would have said. He’d been too choked up to talk. He’d eaten because he needed energy and nutrition, but it had been difficult to force down the meal over the lump in his throat.

Honoria had used her own credits to pay for his meal. She’d expected nothing in return. She’d just done it. Nobody had ever done anything like that for him in his entire life, except maybe Fury, who’d come back for him and gotten him off the ship bound for Hell’s Gate. He missed his friend. He hoped he’d fared well, and his Cosmic Mates match turned out to be as remarkable as Honoria.

She called him a good husband.

He wasn’t, but he vowed he would do everything he could to be the best he could be.

He reached out and clasped her hand, tucking it into the pocket of his coat. She smiled at him, and his heart stuttered.She deserves better than me.He felt a surge of gratitude for Cosmic Mates. Without the program, he wouldn’t have met Honoria or been able to marry her. Cosmic Mates had brought them together when life circumstances would have kept them apart. Those same circumstances could still separate them. If she learned what he was, what he’d done, she could claim bad faith and annul their marriage.

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