Page 16 of Lorrd
“Well, we’re happy to have you here for as long as you need to say,” Emmy said as she placed a napkin on her lap with a flourish.“I’m afraid we don’t have any extra beds, but since you’re assigned mates, I assume you were planning to sleep in the guest bedroom together anyway.I’m afraid the bed is a bit too small for a big Vaxxlian fellow like yourself, Lorrd, but I will find some extra blankets and pillows for you, and hopefully you can get comfortable on the floor.”She grinned, then winked at Wren.
Heat engulfed Wren’s face.She hadn’t exactly discussed tonight’s sleeping arrangements with Lorrd, but it made sense that even though they were no longer leaving Earth today, they would still share a bed.
Lorrd shifted in his seat.“I appreciate your offer of the guest bedroom, but my mate and I can sleep on my ship tonight.The environmental controls and life support systems are working just fine and so are all the other basic systems we’ll need for our comfort.”
Emmy took a sip of wine, then leaned back in her chair.“Well, I suppose that spaceship of yours will be a lot more comfortable than the guest bedroom floor.”
Wren really wished they would stop discussing tonight’s sleeping arrangements.She concentrated on her meal and started eating, though she doubted she would manage to clear her plate.Lorrd had given her generous portions of everything.
“So, Lorrd, tell me, what do you do for a living on New Vaxx?”Myles asked.“I mean, what is your profession?Vaxxlians have jobs, don’t they?”
Wren glanced at Lorrd, suddenly curious about his life on New Vaxx.They hadn’t gotten a chance to talk very much today.Not really.Before attempting to depart Earth, Lorrd had busied himself with strengthening Myles and Emmy’s security system.Then, after discovering the virus on theKerrla, he had spent several hours trying to repair his ship.
It occurred to her that Lorrd had asked her more questions about herself than she’d asked him in return, and she felt guilty for not engaging him more.They were going to become mates very soon, and she should probably make a better effort to get to know him.
“I design and manufacture deep space probes, just like my father and my grandfather before me,” he said, a note of pride in his voice.“In fact, it was one of my probes that discovered the Eshunna Passage.”
“Really?”Emmy said.“That’s incredible, and it was quite the discovery from what I hear.You must be famous among your people.”
“What’s the Eshunna Passage?”Wren asked.Oh, how she wished she knew more about the outside world.Her lack of knowledge was starting to feel embarrassing.
Lorrd, to his credit, didn’t glance at her as though she were stupid.Instead, he placed a hand on her thigh and turned to face her, and his expression was one of understanding, and thankfully, she didn’t see any pity in his eyes.She didn’t want him to feel sorry for her.
“The Eshunna Passage is a wormhole that is large enough to accommodate Vaxxlian cruisers, and it vastly shortens the travel time between our planets.Before the discovery of the wormhole, it took about three months for a Vaxxlian ship to reach Earth, then another three months back to New Vaxx.But now, thanks to the Eshunna Passage, it takes less than a day to travel between our planets.”
“Less than a day?Wow.That’s impressive.”She appreciated that he’d taken the time to answer her question, but she knew she needed to do a lot of reading and studying so she could catch up with current events.She didn’t like knowing she’d missed a lot of important happenings on Earth and beyond.
“It was a fortunate discovery,” Lorrd said.“It also felt a bit like… fate.Years ago, when I was still in warrior training, it was one of my father’s probes that found Earth.”
At some point during their conversation, Wren had placed her hand atop Lorrd’s.She was very aware that his huge fingers rested close to her crotch.Heat pulsed in her core, and she had to force herself to remain still.She didn’t want Myles and Emmy wondering why she was squirming in her chair.
Tonight.Her heart beat faster.
Tonight, she would sleep aboard Lorrd’s ship.They would share a bed, and they would consummate their mating union.Anticipation spread through her, a fierce longing that knew no bounds.
“Do you have a factory in New Vaxx where you manufacture your probes?”Myles asked.
Lorrd’s eyes glowed brighter as he continued looking at Wren for a few more seconds, then he finally turned to answer Myles’s question.But he kept his hand on Wren’s thigh, and she kept her hand atop his.It was a simple thing, touching hands, but it felt intimate and comfortable.
She was starting to feel more at ease in Lorrd’s presence, and she was glad for it.Because tonight, they would repeat the mating vows of his people and join their bodies as one.She would belong to him forever.
“I don’t have a factory on New Vaxx, no,” Lorrd said, “I wouldn’t call it a factory.But I built a large work building behind my home in Starzzia.It contains all my current projects, and I work on them in between warrior training and helping neighbors construct their new homes.”
“Do you have any employees?”Emmy asked.
“No, I usually prefer to work alone, though I do take on apprentices every now and then,” Lorrd replied.“We lost a lot of brilliant minds during the war—like my father—and I feel duty-bound to help educate the next generation of engineers.”
“Oh.”Wren squeezed his hand.“I am terribly sorry about your father.”Then she considered that he’d probably lost even more loved ones.How many other family members had he lost during the war against the Irrcons?What about friends?She wanted to ask, but she didn’t want to upset him.
“Thank you, little star.When the Irrcons destroyed Vaxxlia, the devastation to my people was immeasurable.Only the warriors who were already off-planet fighting the Irrcons survived, as well as a few Vaxxlian females who happened to be off-planet.”His visage darkened, and she suspected he was reliving that terrible moment in time.
“I can’t imagine what you went through,” she said, and her heart went out to him.Had he loved his father and the rest of his family members?Given his somber expression, she was starting to think he must’ve cared about his family very much.
“I… am still struggling with the loss of my entire family, and the knowledge that millions of my people died, most of them females and children.It was a catastrophic loss.”He turned toward her again, and he placed his other hand atop hers, then he leaned closer.“But just being near you, Wren, I must confess that just being near you has filled me with hope for the first time in a long time.”
Her throat abruptly burned, and Wren found herself blinking back tears.His entire family… they were gone.Along with millions of Vaxxlians, most of them women and children.How utterly tragic.
But she was glad that he found comfort in being near her.She was glad that she had given him hope.He must be very lonely, she realized, but he was about to claim a mate—her—and they would likely start a family soon.
