Page 21 of All for the Beast

V smirked while still staring at the road.

“Other than the obvious, of course,” Katy quipped.

He chuckled, making Katy’s heart feel like mush.

“It’s mostly just climate adjustments. My kind was born and raised near the sea, so we are better swimmers and understand the ocean like a poem. Ice Mountain wolves understand the colder weather and mountains.”

“Like a poem?”

She smiled at him as she said it, and he turned briefly. His smirk had morphed into a beautiful grin, his handsome face appetizing in the double suns’ glare.

“Yes, exactly. Like a poem.”

Katy wrote the phrase in her notebook. It was a lovely way to think of the connection to nature that an animal might have, which a common human may not understand. She felt the impulse to dig deeper but halted herself, thinking the topic may be too intimate.

It was one that she would rather discuss in bed, completely naked.

A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination for the day.

V was taking Katy to visit the museum, which was created only about a century ago on Nova Aurora. When they climbed out of the hovercraft, Katy had to crane her neck all the way back to gaze up at the entirety of the architecture.

“This is …” Katy began, turning to V, “the museum?”

V had slipped on sunglasses, making him look even more naturally cool. He was grinning with amusement and stopped next to her.

“It’s extraordinary, isn’t it?”

Katy found herself at a loss for words. What she was gazing up at was what looked like a giant egg-shaped edifice connected with sweeping bridges and suspended platforms. The two dome-like buildings appeared to be made of glass and stainless steel, reflecting a cobalt blue shine that seemed to radiate into the atmosphere.

Shifters drifted past them and entered the sleek buildings without a word. V placed a hand on her shoulder, which was strong and centering, while she marveled.

“I feel like I’m looking into the future,” she muttered.

V nodded.

“I really like seeing you like this,” he said.

She turned to him with surprise, her heart slamming in her chest and her stomach fluttering with the sublimeness of the moment.

“Like what?” she blurted.

“In awe,” he said, looking up at the structure. “It’s kind of beautiful.”

Katy once again felt herself get weak in the loveliest way possible. She blushed, and that intrigued flush of gratification moved through her body once more.

She could just turn to him and kiss him if she wanted to. How romantic would it be to just touch his chin, turn him to face her, and welcome him with her lips puckered beneath the shade of something so magnificent?

But Katy surpassed her desire, lowering her neck and following the crowds inside the building while speaking in a quiet voice.

“Thank you,” she said.

V paid the fee for the luxurious all-day tour pass, refusing to allow Katy to contribute even a little. He said that her services with the cruise were all the payment he was going to need.

Because the structure was massive, floating pods were offered to patrons, which would be placed along a track of sorts to go through each section of the museum and spend their desired amount of time in each area. V and Katy planned to spend the entire day there, meticulously going through the galleries that showcased paintings, sculptures, and photographs of the bygone eras.

First, they went to the gallery of paintings and drawings created by some of the first natives of Nova Aurora. There, Katy learned about the importance of art on their planet and its use in telling stories and communicating. V told her that shifters lived quite a long time, which was why the experience of time in itself felt slower.

“Wait, time is slower?”

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