Page 75 of Needed in the Night
His eyebrows rose. “What conditions?”
“You’ll find out,” I said with a smile. Chuckling, he kissed me.
The ferry’s engines powered up, sending a strong vibration through the small ship. I activated the screen in front of my seat to watch the exterior view during our flight up to the cruiser.
The ferry launch was so smooth and the stabilizers so advanced that I might not have known we were in flight other than the way my stomach lurched when the ship rose from the docking bay and the exterior view.
“Goodbye, Fortusia,” I murmured as Onat’ras grew smaller and smaller on the viewscreen. “Or maybeula’nagora.”
Mikas rested his chin on top of my head and cooed softly. With a sigh, I snuggled against him and listened to his hearts.
CHAPTER 26
ISLA
Midway through Fortusia’spink atmosphere, the ferry’s viewscreens switched to a forward view.
Several enormous cruisers orbited the planet. Other than its name, I had no idea which was our destination until the ferry’s flight path turned and headed straight for a magnificent luxury cruiser.
“Oh, gods.” I gaped at the screen. “I’ve never been on one of these.”
“Me either.” Mikas cradled my head against his chest. “It is certainly a far cry from military transports and cargo carriers.”
I watched in awe as our ship entered the open docking bay on the side of the cruiser, rotated, and landed precisely on the pad. The viewscreen switched to the cruiser’s logo as the ferry’s engines shut off.
Once we disembarked via a walkway, hosts escorted us into the cruiser and divided passengers by assigned decks and sections. Only then did we discover our cabin was located on a secure level.
Mikas, Brae, and I followed our escort into a private lift accessed by biometric scanners. It rose smoothly sixteen levels before opening to reveal an enormous multi-level artificial conservatory filled with colorful rain forest flora from a dozen worlds, walkways, small waterfalls, and several pools.
Wide galleries ringed the atrium, providing three hundred and sixty-degree views of the rain forest on the inside. The cabin doors lined the outside of the galleries.
I would have liked to spend a few minutes admiring the atrium, but our host guided us directly to our designated cabin, Epsilon 42. We scanned our wristcomms to open its doors. My mouth fell open.
“There must be a mistake,” I murmured to Mikas. “This is some kind of royal suite.”
“With your pardon, Emissary, it is no mistake,” our young Engareni host warbled. “Your booking agent was quite clear about which suite would be most appropriate for you. This level is reserved for diplomats and others needing secure accommodations.”
“Thank you for escorting us,” Mikas said. “And for the explanation.”
The host dipped his feathered head. “Please contact me via the comm panel in your suite with any and all requests.”
“We will.” With his hand on my lower back, Mikas urged me into our suite.
I’m going to explore the ship while you two get settled, Brae said in my head.Let me know when it’s safe for me to come back.
My face heated.Thank you. Be careful.
Always. His shadow flitted away in the direction of the atrium.
Without warning, Mikas swept me up in his arms in full view of our host and a dozen other passengers and carried me through the doorway into our cabin. The moment the doors slidclosed, he kissed me with enough heat and hunger to make my toes curl in my boots.
“What is this?” I asked breathlessly when he drew back.
“You blushed so prettily at whatever Brae said to you that I lost all control,” he said, eyes twinkling. “And you encouraged me to be spontaneous, as I recall. I believe your exact words were, ‘You never know what might happen.’ I await the consequences of my spontaneity.”
“The consequences could be dire,” I warned.
He kissed my forehead. “I very much hope so.”
