“You’re insane,” he whispered, his voice so low that only I could hear it over Serge.
“You didn’t want me getting in trouble on Earth,” I whispered back, not looking at him as I maintained my bright smile. “Now I’m not, so you should be happy.”
He glowered at me but didn’t spoil my ruse as we approached an open inclinator compartment and stepped inside. As we shot up and diagonally through the station, instrumental music played a version of the vintage Earth song “Karma Chameleon” softly in the background, and pink light pulsed gently from above. Through all this, Serge continued to brainstorm our wedding out loud.
When the inclinator came to a stop, the doors slid open to reveal another corridor, this one with a wooden walkway and a strangely balmy breeze.
“Here we are!” Reina announced as we stepped out. “The Bali Hai fantasy suite level.”
The teakwood walkway beneath our feet was warm and smooth, polished to a gleaming finish. Paths veered off, leading to tiki bars and white sand beaches. I’d heard that the Drexian space stations used holographic technology to create unbelievable settings, but I’d never known how real they could seem. Even the air smelled tropical.
“And here’s where you’ll be staying until the wedding,” Serge said with a flourish, when he stopped in front of an ornate door carved with patterns of waves and palm fronds.
The door slid open despite looking like it should swing on hinges, and Serge led the way inside. I followed, not bothering to hide my shock at the sumptuous suite with a high ceiling, sunken sitting room, and an over-water balcony that took up one entire side of the space. And in the center of it all was one enormous bed covered in white linens and piles of inviting pillows.
My mouth went dry as I stared at it, my brain suddenly catching up to the implications of what I’d set in motion. A fake engagement was one thing, but actually sharing a room and a bed with Deklyn was something else entirely.
“Together?” I asked, my voice coming out slightly strangled.
Before I could say anything else, Deklyn’s arm slipped around my waist, pulling me against his side with a casual possessiveness that sent heat racing through my bloodstream. When I looked up at him, he was smiling down at me with such sweet affection that for a moment I almost believed it was real.
“Well, we are engaged, sweetheart,” he said, his voice tinged with just the right amount of loving exasperation.
I bit my tongue to keep from snapping back at him, aware of the solid warmth of his body against mine, the way his thumb was tracing small circles against my hip through the fabric of my uniform.
“I need to talk to the captain and get approval for the media coverage,” Serge said, bustling toward the door with obvious excitement. “But don’t worry about a thing! Everything will be handled. You two just focus on being madly in love!”
As he disappeared into the corridor, Reina lingered for a moment, giving us both a curious smile that made my stomach clench with worry. “Congratulations again.”
There was something in her tone that suggested she suspected something wasn’t quite what it seemed, but she followed Serge out saying nothing else. The door slid closed behind them with a sigh, leaving Deklyn and me alone in the romantic suite.
And suddenly the full magnitude of what I’d gotten us into hit me.
We were in too deep to turn back now. But as I looked at that enormous bed and felt Deklyn’s arm still around my waist, I couldn’t help wondering if I’d leaped from one type of danger directly into another.
Chapter
Eighteen
Deklyn
“Ihope you know what you’re doing,” I said once the two aliens were gone.
“I do, and it’s brilliant.” Sasha pulled away from my grasp.
I waved a hand at our luxurious holographic surroundings. “And this is part of your plan?”
Sasha swept her gaze around the suite. “Okay, I didn’t know the station was this over-the-top. I also didn’t know we’d have alien wedding planners that were so enthusiastic.”
“Maybe because you didn’t think it through,” I grumbled. “I think we had a better chance of escaping the Kronock than we will of avoiding Serge’s plans.”
Sasha glanced at me, and it was clear she was trying not to laugh. I maintained a solid scowl.
“Come on,” she teased. “You have to admit that some of this is funny.”
I huffed out a breath even as a grin twitched at the corner of my mouth. “You have a strange sense of humor, sweetheart.” I rapped one toe on the polished floor. “Explain to me how letting a lunatic Gatazoid plan a fake wedding is going to exact your revenge.”
Sasha eyed me as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe. “I’m going to get every potential guilty party to come to us, right here on the Island. They’ll come willingly, eager to be part of the publicity.”
