Page 27 of Saving the Sautiitions

My feet slide across the ground as he keeps walking, pushing me along with him. I stomp my foot and slap his chest, ready to throw my own tantrum. I will not be ignored like this! He stops, his eyes closing as he takes a deep breath in, his nostrils flaring.

I study him as he gets his emotions under control. His shaking arms as his fists clench tightly, his angry frown, the horns curling from his head. If I didn’t know him, I’d be terrified of this sight. When he’s calm and happy, he’s sexy as hell, but when he’s angry, he’s downright terrifying. I suppose it’s a good thing I don’t scare easily. If I did, I would never have gone into space.

“Don’t run off and ignore me, okay? I’m your mate, dammit. We are a team, no matter how hard things get. Do you hear me?” I clench my jaw, my face stern as I glare up at him, awaiting an answer.

His eyes open and his nostrils flare again as he takes a breath, his jaw grinding as he stares at me. “Yes, I hear you.”

“I know this must be hard for you-”

“Hard for me!? Don’t presume to know how I feel!” he roars, his chest heaving as his anger takes over. He closes his eyes and tries to calm himself once again.

I take a deep breath and respond as calmly as I can. “You’re right. I can’t presume to know what you feel. I’m just trying to understand and relate. To help you. I can understand how hard this must be for you, how you’ve idolized someone who’s turned out to keep secrets. But you arenotin this alone. Not by a long shot. I know how it feels to learn that those you love are not what you thought. I know this is hard, but in time, you’ll see things differently, you’ll understand things better. Sometimes you need someone to help you see things differently. Sometimes you need a distraction to process. That’s what I’m here for! Let me help you!”

I look up at him with wide eyes, practically like a puppy dog begging him to let me in. He stares at me as he sighs, his shoulders drooping. “I don’t want to talk about it now, Kari. Don’t even want to think about it. I want it to have never happened, and I know that may be childish of me, but I can’t deal with this now.”

I grab his hand, pulling him as I turn to tromp up the path home. After me pulling and not getting anywhere like a child trying to pull their father, he relents and lets me tow him along. “Distraction it is! I know just what you need.”

He sighs, “Kari, as much as I love your cunt, now is not the time to eat.”

I laugh, nearly stopping in my tracks to double over. “That’s not what I was thinking, but good to know.”

He sighs again, his head falling back as he groans but continues to let me pull him along. I giggle at his immature display and keep going, grinning when I see his vehicle around the side of the house. I let go of his hand, stepping around behind him to shove him toward the vehicle. “Get in.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Far, far away, princess. Get in!” I shove at his back, but it’s like trying to move a brick wall until he takes a step with a huff and I fall on my face. “Ass,” I grumble as I stand, wiping myself off. He chuckles but gets into the passenger seat.

I rush over and jump in, grinning to myself as I take off out of the forest. I have no intention of telling him my plan. It’s another part of the distraction. If he’s busy wondering what I’m up to, he’s not thinking about Criido’s lying ass.

I admit I feel for Criido too. I understand he was just a kid, barely an adult by human standards, when he was asked to rule a village, to put other lives in his hands. He was basically forced to marry and start a family, and he didn’t even know if he wanted to. That was a hard pill to swallow, I’m sure. I can’t imagine that kind of pressure.

At the same time, I can see Vahru’s point of view. Criido was young and reckless and made a poor choice rather than just taking responsibility. He probably feels that Criido should have been smarter than to let himself be seduced by a pretty face.

But Vahru being angry over something that Criido would never have thought was important. It’s just ridiculous. I understand being angry about a dirty secret or even a lie, but Criido had literally no way of knowing he had a daughter. Vionelle never contacted him, and no one came after him for child support. Vahru just needs to realize that this is all just a crazy surprise for everyone and try to help us figure this out instead. He’s wasting his energy on anger.

The cool night air whips at our faces as we drive along, the other planet no longer visible to us in the sky. A bright purple moon is in its place, glowing in the cloudless sky. The immense amount of stars visible to us here will never fail to take my breath away.

When we pull up in front of his lab, he glares at me. “I’m not doing more research. That is not a distraction for me. Not when I have to focus on my father’s mistake.”

“All right, stop being a damn baby and just roll with me here? I said I was distracting you. Do you really think that’s what I’d choose!? Come on! Now quit being a grumpy ass and get out of the vehicle.” I raise a brow at him and stick my tongue out. He scoffs, but does as I say.

He follows me to his office, where I lock the door behind us. He throws himself down in a chair and raises his brows, waiting for me to do something. I huff at him and roll my eyes. His attitude is really getting on my nerves, and I’m just trying to help!

I walk over to the little bed and start pulling it into the center of the room, tossing the pillow to the other side so the bed is facing the giant computer screen. I then shove him away from me, his chair rolling across the floor as he chuckles at my dirty look thrown his way. I type on the computer until Nara Jido pops up in front of us, and I instantly relax at the image of the beautiful planet.

I turn to him and cock my hip, pointing at the bed. “Lay down, and chill the fuck out. Now.”

He chuckles, a smile beginning to tug at his lips as he gets up, shuffling over to the bed and flopping onto his back. I walk over and settle onto the edge of the bed, slowly inching over until I’m lying beside him, curled against his side. His arm slides around me, and I sigh as I relax against him.

“See, this was all I wanted. You, me, a beautiful view.” I rub my hand across his chest, smoothing out his shirt. His other hand lifts and slides behind his head as he watches the screen.

“It is a nice view. What do you suppose happens on that planet? Think it’s warm and tropical?”

His voice vibrates his chest against my ear, and I grin, loving the sensation. “I think it would be comfortably warm. Sunny and happy. You could probably listen to birds sing while standing on a beachfront. I bet it’s absolutely lovely.”

“Maybe when it isn’t protected anymore, we’ll go find out, hmm?”

I bolt up, propping myself up on my elbow as I stare at him. “Really!? We could do that!?”

---