Page 36 of In a Dangerous Orbit
And a good man.
She cupped his face, felt the scrape of the stubble on his cheeks, his blue eyes were locked on her.
“Li’s in a cell. With Westin.” A muscle in Hunt’s jaw flexed. “Relda, the people here, they will protect your secret. And I’ll protect you with everything that I am.”
Tears welled in her eyes.
“Relda, I want you to stay.” He pulled in a long breath. “For a long time, I’ve been dead inside. Losing my family, then so many men and women under my command…it all eroded bits of mysoul away until I was filled with dark spaces. I’ve been surviving, but not really living.”
She bit her lip, wanted to pull his head to her chest and hold him. “Hunt?—”
“Shh, not finished yet.” He pressed his hands over hers. “You brought me back to life. One look at you and all this vibrant color crashed into my gray world.”
She sighed. Could the man be any more perfect?
“Every conversation with you intrigued me. Every time I’d see you from a distance in the market, laughing or flirting, you drew me in. Watching you with those girls you say you don’t love, made me start to slide just a little bit in love with you. And then when I finally had you in my arms, well—” he smiled “—I really felt like you’d brought me back to life.”
Her lips twitched. “You’ve completely shattered my image of the strong, silent soldier. You say such wonderful things.” She clutched at him.
“Stay.”
Just one simple word, but it was filled with so much. For Relda, it was the ultimate risk, the ultimate act of trust.
And she did trust this man. With her body, her life, and most importantly, she knew she could trust him with her heart.
“Yes.”
With a wild smile, he yanked her forward, his mouth taking hers. The kiss was hard and frantic, tongues sliding, like they were trying to devour each other.
Then it softened, Hunt’s hand sliding into her hair. She moved, straddling him, holding him as close as possible. She didn’t plan to let this man go. Ever.
When she pulled back for air, she saw his aura shining bright around him, all those blues she could stare at all day. And at the heart of it all, she saw a new color—violet. The color of a deep and true love. A warm glow filled her.
Then she felt the prickle of energy as a foretelling closed over her.
It was just a flash. A tiny, brief image.
Of Hunt sitting on the same sofa. Cradling a baby girl in his arms. A girl with a wild tangle of brown curls and ice-blue eyes.
The sweetest pain pierced Relda’s chest. Her deepest, unspoken dreams were coming true.
Hunt straightened. “What is it?”
She started undoing the buttons on his shirt. “I just had a little vision of the future. Our future.”
“And?”
“Well, first off, I can tell you that you’re about to get very lucky, Marshal Calder.”
He helped her pull his shirt off, leaving his muscled chest bare for her hands. “I already am, Ms. Dela-Cruz.”
She pressed her lips to his. “And our future looks pretty amazing.”
~ OFFICIAL DOCUMENT ~
Galactic Broadcasting Corporation (GBC)
Daily News Update - #3456798011
Subject: Starship crash at Souk Spaceport
The crash of a luxury cruisership at the Souk Spaceport has many confused. The cruiser’s engines apparently overheated while the ship was attempting an illegal take-off from the spaceport.
An escape pod did eject from the ship and attempt an escape, but strangely, the pod suffered some kind of malfunction and crashed back to the surface. Even more strange, the pod appeared to suffer no impact damage [click here for exclusive images of the crashed pod]. Witnesses, most of them stall holders at Medina’s market, were interviewed by GBC. All confirmed that the pod simply made a lucky landing and nothing extraordinary was involved.
The Marshal’s Office refused to comment on the event except to confirm that the cruisership’s owner, a Mr. Timothy Li, was arrested and taken into custody on charges of assault and kidnapping of a female stall holder at the market.
Stay tuned to GBC for more updates on Soukan news and for the first in breaking galaxy news.
~ END DOCUMENT ~
