Page 22 of Loaned to the Leonid Knight

Guest: Gideon: That’s right, I was. Would you like some company? I hear there are many games and media from throughout the Sapien-System and Felix Orbus Galaxy available in the lounge. We could have a game and some tea.

Some tea. Was that the proper thing to offer a human Queen? Tea was a traditional, stately beverage to serve a revered guest. Did that make it sound as if he was trying to be like Farhet? Too formal?

Guest: Sasha Cordovair: I would love that. Meet you in the lounge in a few minutes.

A few minutes!

Gideon glared at his erection. “This is not the time or place for you. Be gone.”

Of course, it didn’t listen. If anything, thinking about Sasha’s warm honey and wine scent made him harder. Thinking about feeling her warmth next to him again made his breathing uneven, and a low, soft purr started in his chest.

He had time to go spray himself down with cold water before meeting her. It was a necessity.

SASHA SAT IN THE LOUNGEaboard theComet Stalker, looking over a strange game she’d never heard of before, a game with tiny goats and Knights— Felid males—as electronic players. “How does this work?” she muttered.

“It’s a game of maneuvering, speed, and strategy,” a delicious, warm voice explained, its low, pleasant timbre instantly putting a smile on her face.

“Hi, Gideon. So, am I right in thinking the Knights capture the goats, and the goats need to evade the Knights?”

“Ah, yes, but it’s a tricky task, because the Knight can go after any goat, or more than one. You have to keep an eye on all pieces, at all times. It’s a fun game, I promise, once you get the hang of it. I used to play it with my sisters all the time,” Gideon said with a wistful note in his voice, sitting across from her.

For her, the table was at just the right height for a tabletop game. For him, it was surely meant to be a coffee table, something round the knees. “We could move to the tables over there?” Sasha suggested, pointing to the taller tables with high barstool-like seats.

Gideon considered, then sat on the floor, graceful and cross-legged. “This is better for you. Those seats are too tall for a human.”

She had the ridiculous urge to go over and crawl in his lap, to let him cocoon completely around her in warmth and fluffy, velvety fur. “Okay. So, uh...” She followed Gideon’s lead and started setting pieces in designated spaces, hearing them whir to life in the tiny electronic tracks in the board. “What’d you do today?”

“Study,” he said, taking Knights as she set up the goats.

“Oh, studying wh—” Sasha’s lips sealed over the rest of the question as she remembered.

Studying what? Studying me. Ways to make me feel comfortable, safe... even pleasurable.

Human guys, at least the ones she knew, wouldn’t study. They’d assume they knew everything, and they’d learn as they went, dragging her along with them in their clumsy attempts.

“That was sweet of you,” she finally said.

“Well, thank you. It is my duty, of course. I... I found various pieces of information, from several sources. Some of it conflicted.” Gideon stopped touching the pieces on the boardand put his huge paws on the table. Behind him, Sasha noticed the fluffy tip of his black tail was twitching, little flutters that made her think of nervous gestures.

To imagine that this huge, hulking beast of a being, the one she had literally worried about mauling her, was shy and nervous, instantly gave her sweet, gooey feelings that weren’t supposed to be anywhere near her.

“You can ask me,” she suggested, finding out that Gideon’s worry turned her braver.

“Oh, that would be most helpful,” he let out a relieved sigh. “But not now. When the time is better for you. Let me teach you the rules of the game.”

“NO! NO, NO, OOHHH.Shoot.” Sasha crumpled over in laughter as her last goat was lost to Gideon, almost an hour later. “I thought I was getting better at the end!”

“You were, honestly,” Gideon chuckled, and his paw patted her hand. “You made me work for a victory.”

“Yeah, well, at least that’s something,” she sighed, stretching. “We never did get that tea. Now I’m hungry. Want to see if Kamau will feed us?”

“From what I understand, Kamau will never refuse. We could go to the kitchen, or we could go down to the agricultural bay.” Gideon’s voice dropped. “I hear there are plumcotta and even citrine trees. We could pick the fruit ourselves.”

Sasha’s eyes twinkled up at him. “You’re like a naughty cub who’s planning some mischief, huh?”

Gideon looked bashful. “I thought it would be nice to walk in a garden with you.”

Oh. Oh my ooey-gooey melting center.Sasha bit her lip and realized that there was going to be no denying a crush on a being so handsome and so imposing-looking—who also acted so sweet and timid around her. “I would love that. And I love that you were thinking of something so sweet. You are like... Not to make you uncomfortable, but you are the sweetest person I’ve ever met, here or on Sapien-Three.”