Kira shifted to give Jin a look. “Besides, weren’t you the one who told me to treat him like a Cur? Why drive him away?”
Jin snorted. “You act like we never kept things from the Curs.”
One side of Kira’s mouth hooked up as she conceded his point. Neither of them had ever believed in sharing more information than what was necessary.
Kira turned back to the plaza. “He does have a point though. That was reckless.” And way more dramatic than necessary. This was a perfectly good balcony. He could easily have chosen a more accessible entrance point that didn’t destroy someone else’s property or cause the oshota to treat him like a threat. “What are you doing here?”
Kira didn’t think it was chance Jin arrived at exactly that moment. Right when she was contemplating doing something very foolish in Joule’s behalf.
“Information gathering. Identifying our enemies. You know—the usual.”
“Find anything out?”
Jin slunk a little closer, gently bumping Kira’s hand that held the mug. “How about you let me ride your senses in exchange for information?”
“You’re going to share anyway.”
“True but this way I get something out of it.”
Kira cupped the mug in both hands, letting the scent wash over her as she let the moment lengthen.
She’d say yes but hearing Jin beg was rare and too tempting an opportunity to pass up.
It was quite by accident that they’d discovered Jin’s ability to ride her senses. Since then, it had been an infrequent but highly coveted experience. One Kira was loath to deny him. Especially since she was beginning to suspect it was one of the reasons he’d never gone soul bound mad.
“Please. Please. Please,” Jin wheedled, the lens on his “eye” making a sound as it focused on her.
“Fine. Just do me a favor and stop with the puppy dog eye. You know it doesn’t work for you.”
“Considering it got me what I wanted, I think it worked just fine,” Jin grumbled.
Kira ignored his sulky words as she reached for the connection that was always present between them. Most of the time it hovered in the background at the periphery of her consciousness. As long as neither of them concentrated too hard, that was where it would remain.
It was only when they pulled it to the forefront, widening that connection from a pinprick that things changed.
Jin moved from the back of her mind to the forefront, intruding on the area solely reserved for Kira.
It was a stressful process for them both, leading to headaches on Kira’s end and increasing confusion on Jin’s as each of their senses of self deteriorated the longer the connection stayed open.
Normally, they wouldn’t try this so soon after what had happened on the Wanderer, but Kira wanted to give Jin an experience that didn’t center around pain and fear.
Something that was based in pleasure and comfort.
She took a small sip of the drink, allowing herself to linger on each part of the experience. The warmth still contained in the mug. The steam she breathed in right before letting the drink touch her tongue. The fascinating scent of the spices.
And finally, the taste of the drink itself.
It wasn’t chai, but it was something damn close. It tasted like a memory floating just out of reach. A feeling similar to the one she’d had the first time she tasted chai.
Hmm. Perfection, Kira and Jin thought, perfectly in sync.
His contentment filtered to her, making her choke on a laugh. Disgruntlement at her amusement came next. Quickly forgotten as Kira took another sip.
She let the liquid coat her tongue before swallowing, not hurrying so Jin could get the most out of the experience.
His satisfaction left her with a warm feeling. Such a simple thing and yet he derived such pleasure from it.
She needed to do this for him more often.
