He held his arms out wide and shimmied his shoulders. “Confidence, darling. It's all confidence. Now, come here. I have an outfit I’d love to see you wear. Oh, don’t give me that look. It's not overdone.”
He had picked pants that were very similar to the ones he’d provided her when she’d first come to the station. A light and airy fabric that she would find comfortable and cool, but these were a bright orange, with little gold pieces sewn into the fabric so it shimmered as she moved. The shirt was a complete departure from the simple ones she’d been wearing so far. He’d picked a form fitting, ribbed backless top held together with delicate gold chains that swooped across her back and over the deep V in the front that showcased her fabulous, mouthwatering breasts.
When she came out of the dressing room wearing it, he’d had to stop himself from ripping it off her and taking her on the floor. The gold sandals she’d chosen wound around her ankles in a way that drew the eye to her shapely legs and he was halfway across the space between them when she laughed and held up her arms.
“Oh no you don’t! Not until I’ve gotten some coffee.”
He stopped a few inches away and glowered down at her, pouting. “Spoilsport.”
“Hey, you picked the outfit. If you didn’t want my fine self tempting you, you should have let me dress myself.”
He kissed her softly before taking her arm and tucking it through his own. “Callie, you are temping in whatever you wear. But fine, I will get you your coffee before I seduce you.”
He adored when she blushed and her scent turned shy and heated at the same time.
“Thank you,” she murmured and leaned her head against his arm.
Oh dear. She had him wrapped around her slender fingers already. He was happily doomed.
They strolled through the palace to the dining room, ignoring the many, many stares from the staff. He’d posted the wedding announcement the nanosecond after they'd finished signing the contracts and now the whole station was aware that Callie was his wife. It was going to take a while before people stopped being shocked.
He wondered what Callie would think about his announcement to the entire universe that they’d married? He’d broadcasted it far and wide, a rather boastful shout from the proverbial rooftops as it were. She couldn't really blame him though, could she? He’d finally caught his prize.
He looked down at her as he pulled out her seat at the dining room table and poured her coffee into her cup for her, adding the appropriate amount of cream until he knew it was how she liked it. His stomach clenched when she moaned softly after the first sip. If she knew how erotic he found her every move, she’d run screaming from the station.
"So,” she said, leaning back in her seat with her cup while he finished loading her plate with food, “what’s on the agenda for today?”
He made his own plate and sat down before answering her. “I thought we’d tour the gardens,” he told her innocently. Nevermind that the hedge mazes were in the gardens and he hadplansfor the larger of the two.
She took another sip of her coffee and reached for a slice of seared meat, popping the savory morsel into her mouth and licking the grease off her fingers. “Oh, that sounds awesome. I love gardens.”
If she kept licking her fingers like that, he was going to clear this fucking table and bend her over it. Truly, she tested his control.
"Doesn't it?” he said tightly, his eyes riveted to each swipe of her tongue. When the simple act turned sensual, his gaze jerked to hers and found them filled with humor.
He bared his teeth at her. “You enjoy playing with fire, don’t you darling?”
Her answering laugh was rich and good natured and she winked at him over her cup. “It's your fault. I’d have been blissfully unaware of this part of my personality if you hadn’t dragged it out of me. Suffer the consequences.”
He leaned forward, smiling in a way he knew she found irritating. “It’s you who's about to suffer consequences if you don’t quit it. Eat your breakfast while you still can, my prize.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, but did what she was told.
Miracle of miracles.
He led Callie through the labyrinth of walkways and lifts until they reached his favorite spot in the station.
A gate arched before them, tall and imposing, with glowing stylized glyphs etched into brown stone that matched the walls on either side of the gate which stretched for two klicks before curving out of sight.
Rathal pressed his hand to the gate and looked down at Callie. “When I was young, perhaps eight or nine cycles old, there were great gardens that my mother would take me to. Wondrous hanging gardens filled with every plant you could imagine and flowing streams and waterfalls around every corner. The walkways and buildings were awash in vivid mosaics made from tiny shimmering stones. It was always humid, but the fine mist from the waterfalls helped cool you and the sweet scents of flowering plants soothed away your worries as you meanderedthrough the mazes. Great pools of beautiful blue water were filled with fish of every color that glided beneath floating lily pads of pale pinks and yellows. I used to run through this wondrous place with my cousins. Our laughter would fill the air. Our mothers would sit on the terraces drinking tea and gossiping while we played in the water. It was beautiful.”
Callie looked at the gate and then at him. “What happened?”
She had the loveliest brown eyes, dark like the deep woods of his homeworld. They made him achingly homesick and brought him a strange sort of peace all at once. Rathal sighed and pushed the gate open. “They were destroyed during the Fall. I come from Ara’Ama, the ancient home planet of the Rijitera.”
Beyond the gate was not an exact replica, as that was quite impossible, but as close as he could get to the hanging gardens of his youth. The stones he had shipped in from various corners of the galaxy couldn’t match the shimmering ones from Ara’Ama, but he had matched them the best he could. They lit the pathways with otherworldly light, perfect for the denizens of the Dark who didn’t have absolute night vision. During the Light hours, they shimmered like a glittering shifting metallic liquid.
The mosaics weren’t as vibrant during the Dark, but they were still beautiful. The scenes they depicted weren’t of glorious battles past as what was the norm in the Rijiteran gardens, but rather of landscapes from different biomes. Here in the void, there was beauty to be found to be sure, but it was not the same one found in nature.
