Page 49 of Etched in Stone
He'd selected to fly into Fort McMurray International Airport. They were large enough to take big jets, but there wasn't any Canadian Border Patrol presence there. He was flying without a passport, and at least Jesse had the presence of mind to grab hers. For the most part, a few dollars extra for the pilot and all those sorts of problems just disappeared. Fort McMurray was large enough to get lost in, but small enough to stay out of trouble.
From there, they would take a smaller chartered plane to Tungsten, which from all accounts. was a ghost town on the edge of the end of the world. At one point it had been a thriving mine, but it had been shut down for a few years and all the houses and buildings had been closed and left to rot. It was a great place wait for the few days to pass without any more interference from Rose Syndicate.
Ray finished his plans, and sat back with a satisfied sigh. He loved that he could just watch Jesse sleep for a long while. He smiled and relaxed until the plane began its descent.
He woke Jesse and they exited from the jet into a waiting limo.
“You were right. It is cold,” Jesse said as she slid across the seats. Ray opened the mini bar for her inspection and laughed as she ogled the contents inside. Tommy must have been one smooth talker, because no one even tried to look at their passports or question them about their intentions. The limo took them on a twenty minute drive and pulled up in front of a quaint bed and breakfast that made Jesse's eyes light up. With such a reaction to a cozy human establishment, he couldn't wait to see how she'd react to a Durassian ship with all its technology.
“Why don't you go check us in?” Ray said. Jesse actually winked at him and headed off into the lobby. If the limo driver thought it was odd that they had no luggage, he said nothing. Just nodded and left without another word. Jesse bounded out a minute or two later, clapping her hands under her armpits to ward off the cold.
“We've got the executive suite, and well, I think it's better than the honeymoon suite because it has a private entrance, and a spa tub. I mean, it probably won't be as good as your rain shower, but...”
Ray felt himself harden with the memory of the shower where he nearly mated with her. This time, he would take her and the very thought of it made him impatient to get inside. Jesse seemed to share the same thought as she grabbed his hand and took him around the side of the building. She put the key in the door and opened it with a grand gesture.
“See, it's even got a king sized bed. Why this is the executive suite and not the honeymoon suite is beyond me, because if I got married I'd want to spend that night here with that tub.”
“Jesse, mating on my world is more than marriage,” he told her seriously.
“How can it be more than marriage?”
“Because there is no divorce. You will be mine forever.”
“Oh? And what about my ‘you will be mine forever’, buddy? Because I won't tolerate any, you know, monkey business or multiple wives et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”
Ray shut her up with a kiss that she heartily returned. “Sweetheart,” he said when he broke off the kiss. “Since I met you, there has only been you. There will only be you. I just want to make it clear that there's no going back, from this point on. If you want to change your mind, I'll understand. I'll rewrite my instructions to Tommy and you'll be set for life.”
His heart ached to give her this chance, but he knew he'd regret it if he didn't and she tried to change her mind later on.
“Ray. Bite me.”
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JE SSE
“That's not quite how it works,” Ray said. The smile on his face told her that she'd amused him yet again.
“Well, then how does it work? Do I need to get naked?”
“Yes.” The amusement in his voice was slipping into a more gravelly aroused. That could definitely work.
“Do you need to get naked?”
“Generally.” Yes, he was definitely pressing out the front of his shorts now. Jesse suddenly wished she had something more romantic to change into. She'd been wearing the same secondhand dress since they'd left New York City and she hadn't even been able to grab a change of underwear.
Ray didn't seem to care as his hands explored her legs, inching the hem of the dress up.
“I think that if we have that giganto tub, we'd better actually put it to good use. Do you have bathtubs in space?”
He let out a long laugh with that remark and Jesse shimmied out of his embrace to turn the tap on.
She turned her back to him.
“Unzip me, please.” He stopped laughing and stepped up to help her with the zipper.
“We don't have bathtubs per say, but we do have hot springs on Duras. I'm sure I can build you something that would meet your needs.”
“Oh, and do you have the need to watch me bounce around in a bikini like Bunny?”
