Page 36 of Viken Command

Afterward, I dressed and left the bathing room. Leah was on the couch, watching something on the vid screen on the wall. I hadn’t paid the room any attention when I’d arrived, but now I took it all in.

Fancy, but not like Buckingham Palace stuffy. The furnishings were elegant, the décor something that didn’t exactly match what I knew of Leah, but it also was Viken casual. It had a sort of outdoor vibe that made it homey while still giving off the air of royalty.

The bed was along one wall with two floor-to-ceiling windows flanking it. Outdoors, all I saw was green. Trees, leaves… peaceful, a dark ocean crashed against the shore far below us. I’d thought Viken United was a big city, but at least from what I could see, it was a huge fortress surrounded by nature.

The room was large with a sitting area with two couches, a coffee table—or whatever it was called on Viken since I had yet to see a cup of coffee—before a vid screen, a fancy TV.

The screen went blank, and Leah hopped up. “Good! Time for ice cream.”

I had no idea how to work the S-Gen on the wall, so I plopped down on the couch, tucked my feet beneath me. She’d left me a green gown, the style similar to the others I’d worn. Viken dress for ladies. I didn’t mind it with the softest of materials, the pretty cut, the flowy style. Thankfully, the weather was mild, or it had been at the pleasure resort, and the room’s temperature was just right.

“What’s your favorite flavor?” She glanced over her shoulder expectantly.

“Mint chocolate chip.”

She fist-pumped the air, then fiddled with the machine. “Excellent choice.”

She returned with two bowls, spoons, and all. Mine was filled with the familiar pale green treat, little specks of chocolate dotting the three scoops.

My mouth watered at the sight, and I didn’t hesitate to take a bite.

“Yum,” I replied, closing my eyes and reveling in the familiar taste from Earth.

“I’ve got Butter Pecan. That’s my favorite. God, I love the S-Gen machine.” She sounded as if she were talking about one of her mates, not a computer thingy that could generate whatever the user wanted, from clothes to ice cream.

She didn’t say anything until I was on my last scoop, and I was slowing down. “So… you want a new mate.”

I flicked my gaze to her. “Yes, ma’am.”

“What they did was pretty shitty.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I repeated. I wasn’t sad any longer. Now, I was mad. A little resigned, but mad. My heart hurt for what they’d done to me, but I wasn’t going to let it get me down any longer.

“You want one mate or three?” It was a serious question, but it was accompanied by the waggling of her eyebrows and a wicked grin. “Because once you’ve had three, it’s hard to go back.”

I dropped my spoon in the bowl. “I never had three,” I admitted.

She paused. Stared. “Even after we talked?”

She was the one who’d made me see that things weren’t right in my match.

“Nope. One of them was always off doing whatever.”

“Guys are so stupid,” she muttered.

I wasn’t going to disagree with her.

“They never claimed me as you mentioned,” I told her. “I was just a convenient pawn in their scheme.”

“But their scheme was to find the bad guys. They weren’t actually the bad guys as you’d first assumed.”

I shrugged. “They still lied. They still deceived me. Used me because that Prillon asshole ordered them to.”

Leah sighed, her shoulders drooped and her gaze filled with pity. I’d seen that look one too many times back on Earth and it made my new hurt feel all the more raw.

“Remember when we spoke at Trixon? I told you my guys were working on hunting down illegal arms smugglers.”

True. She had. “Yes. I remember.” Who could forget being surrounded by space guns capable of destroying small ships?

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