Page 4 of Gairo

“It’s from a set, and I’m glad that you want to be a part of me. If you steal any of the rest of the set, though, I’ll need to punish you in bed.”

With spanking or shibari? I felt my face go as red as a tomato. I guessed that not all of the omega injection had worn off.

“You amaze me,” I told him softly. “In the colony, I would be confined for taking a man’s belt knife. I felt too constrained back home. All I’ve ever wanted was the freedom to be myself.”

“I don’t even have memories of being back home. I was found in a valley as a teenager.”

“I’d rather have no memories of home. The men didn’t like my rebellious streak. I just got out of things because my mom and aunts made sure that I was an in-demand apothecary. My dad made sure that I felt like a disappointment every day, because I never fit into the colony. My mom and aunts did the best they could.”

“You could never disappoint me, and I’ve felt like a disappointment before, too. I worry about fitting in here, because of my amnesia.”

He touched my heart, being a misfit, too. He might turn out to be too lovable to leave. I didn’t want to leave my heart here. I had watched space marines come and go in my home colony. Sometimes they never came back to their wives. I didn’t want to catch feelings here. I needed to enjoy the time that I had with Gairo during the contract without shame or regret.

* * *

“I want to go for a ride.”

“I’m too sore to ride you.”

His cheeks flushed. “I meant my actual mount. The seat should be comfortable for, ahem, other kinds of riding.”

“I brush and care for my aki, which is my mount.”

“I’ve never ridden a creature since it was considered unfeminine in the colony.”

“Let me introduce you to my mount.”

“How about you go out to the stable and get your aki, and I’ll swing by the main facility and transport station?”

“Done.”

I had plans when it came to the transport station.

* * *

“Are you hungry at all?I have the credits to buy some hot soup with cheese ravioli in it.”

“Sounds divine.” I hadn’t had cheese ravioli since I came here. I guessed that the replicator didn’t do the same kind of cheese ravioli he was trying to buy at the transport center.

He bought two bowls of a steaming hot creamy soup. The ravioli was in a soupier version of Alfredo, and it tasted great.

“Can we not get this from the replicator?”

“I can get pasta with Alfredo sauce on it, but the consistency of the soup is hard for the replicator to do. We have it from scratch here in the transport center.”

Gairo scratched his head. “Even without your omega injection, I’m drawn to you. Do you know that? I keep thinking about the end of the contract, and I don’t want it to end. I want to figure out a way to convince you to stay with me here.”

“I don’t know how you’ll manage to do it. I already warned you about how I felt about the colony where I grew up.”

“Tyrlyn!”

Someone was noisy in the central transport center.

Some woman bowled into Gairo, grabbing him from behind.

“I thought you were dead. I should have known that you were too stubborn to die like they said you did.”

Gairo released himself from the new woman’s grip. “Who are you? Why are you calling me a different name?”

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