“Freckles, you mean? They are common among human redheads.”
“Freckles,” I replied, loving the sound of the word. “Even the name for his dots is adorable.”
“I’m going to go do a prisoner check,” he said, stepping into the corridor. “Otherwise I’m going to get a toothache from the sweetness you’re extolling.”
I laughed, settling down to keep an eye on the monitors while reading today’s duty brief.
Just wait until it’s his turn. Besides, once he comes to dinner, he’ll see I’m right.
CHAPTER14
MITCHELL
“Wedding?”I asked, unsure I’d heard correctly. “Um, sure, yeah, but maybe we should wait a bit until we know each other better.” That must have been the wrong thing to say because Jolar suddenly looked like a kicked puppy. “It’s just that at a wedding, we exchange vows that talk about how much we love each other and I think we’re in like with a lot of lust. Love is on the horizon,” I added hastily. “I’d just like our wedding to truly celebrate the occasion of us having reached that milestone.”
His sad look vanished, replaced with one of excited calculation. “Yes! That would be truly something to mark.”
His scales had spread down the side of neck on both sides and were now creeping up the side of his face to reach his temples. They had also begun manifesting down his arms and along his spine. They were surprisingly sexy. Who knew I had a fetish for scaly aliens? Until now, not me. According to him, in a few more days he’d be as fully plumaged as far as he could go without sliding into his feral battleform where he could end up lost to mating fever. We’d arranged for Neal to go to Larry’s for another sleepover once that happened so he could fully claim me and finish cementing our mating bond. I found myself looking forward to it, more with each passing hour. We just fit, as if he was a piece to a puzzle I didn’t know was missing until he was slotted in, then bam! Full picture.
He leaned forward, putting down his sandwich. “But we can plan what we’d like to do, yes? Where to have it, who to invite, and where to get honey during the correct moon phase.”
I laughed. “Honeymoons have nothing to do with either phases of the moon or actual honey,” I told him. “It’s just what we call the little getaway the newlyweds go on to spend some private time together somewhere nice.”
“Klora says nearly everyone in the Fleet goes to Hawaii. Commander Gundar even went with Marla.”
I wasn’t the sort to want to do something just because everyone else did, but I could see plain as day that he wanted to have the experience he’d heard about. I thought about what I might like though and thought of a compromise.
“Mmm, when we flew up seeing the size of the ship made me remember this one time I saw a cruiseliner up close. I wanted to get to go on one after that,” I admitted.
“Instead of Hawaii?”
“Some go to Hawaii. What if we caught one that could take us there, then we could stay. Or maybe do it the other way around?”
He nodded. “Put our own touch on it. Yes, Klora said it was important to do that.”
I laughed. “I’m glad Klora would approve.”
“So, that would be our honeymoon? To go on the ship that goes on water?”
An idea formed then. “Captains can marry people out in international waters. What if we did that and then honeymooned in Hawaii after getting off the ship in Honolulu or wherever it docks there?”
“Klora said we have to pick out rings and that Neal could hold them on a pillow.”
“It sounds to me as if Klora has missed his calling as a wedding planner.”
Jolar snorted. “He also likes to try being a detective. His head is full of human true crime shows and detective shows.”
“I’d love to meet him sometime.” I meant it, too. I wanted to get to know Jolar’s friends.
“I told him he should come to dinner soon so he could meet you.”
“How about if we have him over the evening of your last day of work?”
He nodded. “I’ll ask him, but he will not be able to stay long.” He took a bite of his sandwich, waggling his eyebrows comically.
I smacked his arm playfully. “Perv,” I told him, smiling to let him know I was joking.
He swallowed his food. “I can think of plenty of perverted things to do, but having my friend over for dinner was not one of them.” He looked at me in mock innocence as he stuffed the last bite into his mouth before getting up to go, his lunch break all but over.
