Page 33 of Return of the Nine

He leaned next to her and his wings fluttered slightly. “How do you spend your evenings on Gaia?”

“We go to dances, I spend a lot of time at the library, watching vids and preparing for events. Normal stuff. What do you do on the ship?”

He leaned out to watch a person below gather a basket of tubers. “I exercise, watch the entertainment unit, go drinking with friends and I fly. The People of the Air have monthly events to gather and compete here on the ship.”

She smiled. “It sounds like a summer fair.”

“Here, it is summer all year round. It is quite a pleasant environment.”

He was smiling in the most charming manner. His wings lazily opened and closed, and she shivered as she started to catalogue the most likely sexual positions that a man with wings would have to use.

Blinking furiously, she straightened, “Shall we continue the tour?”

Tonos nodded. “Of course. Next stop is the transport pod. We will see all of the living zones that we missed on your first day. What happened there, anyway?”

They moved at a leisurely pace toward the pod and rail. “I am a little sensitive to new environments. My emotional reactions shut down, and it takes a while to process all the new information. As soon as I catch up and orient myself, I am usually fine.”

She tucked herself into the pod and smiled as he adjusted himself until his wings were settled comfortably. The pod slipped off, and in no time, they were off into the interior of the massive ship carrying thousands of warriors, their families and support staff into space.

It was a fun way to spend an afternoon, and by the end of the day, just a look from Tonos and she was wishing that the barrier against touching didn’t exist.

Chapter Eight

When they entered the Wilder zone of the ship, she looked around curiously. “So this is where Ziggy lives?”

He laughed, “No, this is where the Wilder live. The Councillor Rothaway and Signy have their quarters in the VIP zone near where you are staying.”

The pod cruised through on a slower track than the commuter units that whizzed past.

“Ah. But these mock forests are their environments?”

“Yes. It makes each race more comfortable to have the environment they were born in represented on the ship. It keeps us grounded, so to speak.” He reached out to touch her cheek, but he pulled his hand back at the last minute.

She bit her lip. “It is difficult, isn’t it?”

“It is the hardest thing that I have ever endured.” His lips twisted in a rueful smile. “To think, all those years of flirting and the woman I was destined for was going to walk right up to me.”

The pod continued on its little tour, stopping at the VIP zone and opening to let them out.

When they stood to leave the pod, she had to ask. “Are you sure? I mean really, really sure?”

“I have never been surer of anything in my... mmphff.”

Tiera lunged toward him, slid her hand into his hair and pressed a kiss to his hard mouth before he could say anything else.

His body trembled and his wings flicked restlessly. He wrapped his arms around her and crushed her to him while she continued to stroke his lips with her own, occasionally flicking her tongue against the seam of his lips.

Tonos dragged a deep breath into his lungs, and the hands on her back gripped her, pulling her back to create a distance between them. His chest was rising and falling rapidly as he struggled for control.

“Step away from him, Tier.” Ziggy’s voice was calm, and she was standing next to her mate.

“I believe you have something to ask me, Tonos.” Rothaway scowled at him.

Tonos helped her out of the pod and down the steps of the platform with one hand holding hers.

Tiera looked earnestly at Rothaway, “Please tell me that he isn’t it trouble. It was all my fault. I kissed him.”

Rothaway nodded. “We know. We saw. He still has to ask me something. He knows the protocol.”

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