Chevon's Mate (6 page)

“I’m glad you approve,” he
said. Smiling, he got up from his seat to tidy up the
dishes
and set the tray by the door.
He would take it back to the dining hall later that night. Returning to her
side, he held out a hand. “If you’re ready we should get started.”

“Should I change clothes or am I okay like this?” she asked,
her hand sliding into his. She was nervous, that much he could tell by the way
her hand shook in his.

“You are perfect.” Pulling her
into his arms, he hugged her
tight
and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Let me confirm with Malek that all is ready,
and we’ll head out.”

He watched her walk away from him and slip her feet into the
soft slippers she
’d
had on when she had arrived in the pod. He would need to
get her more clothing and shoes, soon. He needed to take her shopping so that
she could be more comfortable on his ship.

A quick check-in with his
first, then Chevon tucked the earpiece into his pocket. Moving behind
Laura,
he slid his arms around her
waist
and kissed her neck. He gave her a hug
before shifting around to take her hand, then led her out of their quarters.

Chapter Seven

When he had told her that he’d
arranged
some time
around the ship for
them,
she had been surprised, to say the least. She stood there at his side, however,
and smiled up at him. “I’m ready.” She trusted him with her life. “So, what’s
the surprise? Other than being able to get out of our rooms, that is?”

“You have to wait to see.”
Pulling on her
hand,
he led her down the corridor to the lifts. Inside he gave the AI a floor, then
stood there waiting patiently. Here she was, practically ready to crawl out of
her skin, and he looked calm as could be. The fact that he knew where they were
going was in his favor of course.

Reaching their floor, he guided
her through the empty corridors and stopped before a large set of doors. Chevon
punched in a code, and when the doors slid
open
she knew exactly where she was. The
scent of flowering bushes and humid air rushed out into the corridor.

Laura closed her eyes and
inhaled deeply. She had never
smelled
anything so sweet before. She knew they were in some sort of hydroponics bay
but she wasn’t sure what kind. Opening her
eyes,
she looked at the lush greenery in the
massive space and smiled. “This is really lovely. Thank you for bringing me
here.”

He urged her inside, the doors
sliding shut behind them. “The entire floor is for hydroponics. A little under
half is this public space where the crew can come to relax among the various
trees
and flowers. The other half is where
our
vegetables
and fruits are grown. It allows us to keep them fresh and unstored. It also
provides some of the crew the relaxation therapy of gardening.”

Laura nodded. “There’s just
something fabulous about getting your hands dirty and watching something grow
from the fruits of the labor that you put into the dirt.”

Tucking her hand through his
arm,
he led her deeper into
the space.
“There are
some
benches among the trees where you can
settle in to relax, or read, too. Any areas like this one that is cordoned off,
do not go into. Either the plants are endangered or they are mildly poisonous.
We don’t have any that are truly dangerous, but there are a few that can cause
minor skin rashes and so on.”

“I’ll be doubly careful because
I
’ve never been around any of
your greenery or flowering plants before.” The last thing she wanted was to
have a sudden allergic reaction to something that was in a space created for
peace and tranquility.

“The doctor will have run the
full screen of possible allergens. I’ll check the report to see if there’s
anything we need to be worried about. I should have looked beyond
foodstuffs
but it wasn’t a concern until
now. You have no known allergies to any Imarian foods or spices. Come, I want
to show you my favorite spot in here. I don’t get here nearly as often as I
would like
anymore
,
but
I
spend time down here when I
can.” He led her deeper into the room to a spot where a waterfall tumbled in
such a manner that it appeared to come through the hull and down into a pool of
water where fish darted around. A little beyond the pool was a swinging bench
seat he settled down onto, with her in his lap.

She shifted slightly so that she was more comfortable,
sighing when she leaned back against Chevon. “I could get used to this.” The
sound of the water, the slight breeze created by the hidden fans, all of it was
utterly perfect and so romantic. “I can see why this would be your favorite
spot, Chevon.”

“All the better now that I have
you to share it with. This is one of the few places on the cruiser where all
the sounds the ship makes are completely drowned out. There’s a constant hum,
mainly from the engines, that fills the
ship
at all hours. Down here there’s
nothing but the sound of water.”

“And the breeze from the silent
fans that are blowing. It’s perfect. I’m sure that many
of
your crew have claimed this as their
favorite spot.” Hanging suspended as they were was perfect. It was comfortable
and relaxing, the gentle sway as Chevon pushed his foot against the ground to
set them into motion from time to time.

“Thank you for sharing your
space with
me,
”
she told him as they rocked. “And if you ever need time here away from
me,
you’ll tell me, right?” She looked up
at him. “Because I don’t want you to feel like you have to do something or
share something with me all the time if you
don’t feel like it.
”

“I will never need time away
from the one person who makes me feel whole. You are my world, little one.
Never suggest I will not want to spend every moment I can with you.” Pressing a
kiss to her
cheek,
he held her close. “Now, shall we continue on with our night of surprises?”

“There
’
s more?” She moved so that she was just a bit closer to him
and gave him a hug. “I’m ready for more surprises if you
’
re ready for us to go.”

“There’s more,” he said.
Helping her up, he led her out of the hydroponics bay and back into the lift.
They
had gone
down a few more floors before he led her through the corridor to another heavy
door. He walked inside with her, and she discovered it was a small ante-room.
Beyond it, through the window in the second
door,
she could see a large, empty room with
handles at various spots on the walls, floors, and ceiling. “Our anti-gravity
chamber. The crew have to train in here on a regular basis for space walks. We
don’t do many over the course of a career, but when it becomes necessary it is
training we are all grateful for. It’s also a fun place to mess around in. Are
you willing to give it a try?”

“Yes.
Oh,
my heavens yes.” She couldn’t wait.
“I’ve never done zero gravity. I can’t wait to try
it,
” she admitted. “Now, do we change
clothes or is what we are wearing okay?”

“Take off your shoes, and as
long as you don’t have any loose items in your pockets you are fine.” Chevon
toed off his own
shoes
and went to the control panel. The inner door slid open, and he stepped
through. “Once you have hold of the railing, I’ll turn off our artificial
gravity. And then you can float and push yourself around. There’s always a
little gravity because of the ship, but not enough to affect our movements.”

She moved to do as he’d
instructed, walking inside and grabbing one of the railings. She looked
at
him and
gave him the nod
and watched the door close
behind him. When he asked her if she was
ready,
she nodded again and told him
yes. He switched off the gravity and she began to laugh as she was lifted off
the ground.

He followed her around for the
first little bit until she got the hang of it. Then he floated around watching
her doing
spins
and flips.

After flipping and turning in
every possible way she
could,
Laura made her way back to Chevon. There in the center of the room, both of
them floating freely, she wound her arms around his shoulders and wrapped her
legs around his hips. “Hey there.” She rubbed her nose to his.

He circled one arm around her
while he used his other one and his legs to keep them from bumping into walls.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” He grinned. “You were laughing enough I wasn’t sure
if you were not slipping into hysteria.”

“I really did. I had such a
great time. Thank you so much for this.” She brushed her cheek to his and
sighed in contentment. “I really hope that my surprises for the night aren’t
done already. Please tell me that tonight we’ll be able to make love?” He had
been so careful of her, making sure that she had all she needed in every way,
but now that
she
felt healed she wanted her mate. She needed that bond.

“There are still a couple more
surprises to share with you before we head back to our rooms,” he said with a
wink.

Laura beamed. “I don’t know
what you can do to
top
this part of my night so far.”

“I’m not sure if it will
top
it, but we have two more stops.”

“I’m ready to move along to the next if you are.” There was
only so much tumbling and flying one could do before they got bored or their
stomach decided it didn’t like the actions going on.

“When I turn the artificial
gravity
back
on, take a moment to regain your legs. Flex your knees, and relax.” He pushed
off a wall they’d floated toward and got them back to the door.

She let her legs down from around
his waist and when he had them in
position
she grabbed the railing as well as his shoulder. “I’m ready now, Chevon. Go
ahead.”

He tightened his hold around
her
waist,
then hit the button. A good
thing, too, because even though she’d thought herself ready, she wasn’t really.
“Steady. Flex and straighten your knees, little one. Keep hold until you feel
steady.
Then we’ll move to the outer
room where you can sit down to put your shoes back on.”

“Holy smokes, that took a lot
more than I expected. It is so odd to go from weightless back to our
solid
weight. Although now my stomach is
protesting the gravity.”

“It takes some getting used
to,” he said. Pulling her
closer,
he led her into the outer
chamber
and helped her sit down on one of the benches. “Lean back against the bulkhead
and focus on a point while you breathe slowly. Each breath you pull in for a
count of three, hold for
three
and release on three. The focus will help to settle your stomach.”

Once she was feeling
better,
he held out a hand to
her and
tugged her up into his arms.
Chevon winked as he drew her out of the room. “To the next surprise. This one
will be
fairly
quick. I want you to have lots of time
for
the last of this
evening’s
surprises.” On the
lift,
he took her to another
floor,
then led her through the
quiet, semi-dark corridors. Opening a
door,
he ushered her into a room that appeared to be filled with stars. Laura quickly
realized it was an observation room of sorts, lots of
heavy
glass allowing the occupants to feel
like they were among the stars. “I had to share this with you.”

“Chevon,” she whispered,
stepping closer to the massive glass that was between them and the stars. “This
is incredible.” Tears filled her eyes, then spilled down her cheeks. “It’s so
beautiful.” She pressed her hand to the glass.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry,
little one.” His
arms
closed around her, his warmth at her back and his reflection in the glass.

“These are good tears,” she told him with a grin and turned
in his arms. “It’s so beautiful. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in all
of my life. It’s as if we could reach out and touch them. Amazing.”

“It’s nothing in comparison to
you, little one.” Resting his forehead
to
hers, he rubbed his hands over her
back. “One last surprise before we return to our rooms for the night.
Hopefully,
this one doesn’t elicit tears.
I’m man enough to admit they make me uncomfortable and seriously out of my
depth.”

“I can’t seem to help myself when it comes to you. You are
too good to me. The fact that you
’
re willing to do this for me, I love it. Everything, all of
it. I’m keeping you. I refuse to let you go, now or ever.”

“Glad to hear that since I had
no plan to ever let you go either.” He held her close as they stared out at the
stars for a little longer. Then he took her hand and led her from the room.
This time,
Chevon took her down into the
cruiser to a section she knew held the landing bays and storage areas for dry
goods. To say she was confused was an understatement.
Chevon
led her to a door, punched in
a code, and stepped aside. The lights flickered
on
a moment after the door slid open and
before her Laura saw rows of racks holding clothing. Civilian clothing. “I
thought you might want a little shopping trip. And this was the least painful
way I could think to make it happen for you while being at your side.”