Her mouth dropped open a little, then she burst out laughing. “Challenge accepted,” she said and started going through the collection on the shelves.
A few strides brought him to Gis. He spoke quietly to keep Amina from hearing him. As he gave Gis instructions, the Ossiso took notes on the information square he always had in his hands.
“I understand,” Gis said after Myrum was done. “I’ll make sure everything is as you asked. I won’t disappoint either of you.”
“Excellent,” Myrum said. “Please include your time in the bill. I want all your effort to be rewarded.”
“I’m not allowed to do that,” Gis said, and risked a quick look up at Myrum. “But I have a request for your captain. When I ask her, please back me up.”
“If it won’t put anyone in danger, then I’ll do that,” Myrum agreed. “But my word doesn’t carry that much weight with Helmen.”
“You’re the entire reason they are here,” Gis argued. “She’ll listen to you. I can tell.”
With that, he turned on his heels and strode away. Myrum returned to Amina.
“What was that about?” she asked, nodding to where he and Gis had been standing and talking.
“You’ll find out later,” Myrum said.
“Oh, a surprise!” Amina said. “I love surprises."
“Good,” Myrum said. “Let’s continue shopping, but no more kissing.”
“Yeah,” she agreed with a little sigh. “Next time we kiss I want to be in a room with a locked door and all the furniture moved in front of it so we can’t be interrupted."
“Excellent idea,” Myrum said with an amused rumble. “I’ll make sure that happens.”
Chapter 14
Myrum
By the time they finished shopping, they’d filled three cargo bots and ended up with a dedicated attendant. Myrum’s guess was anyone spending this much wealth was someone they wanted to pay attention to and urge to spend more time on the ship.
The attendant tried very hard to get them to join Teshor at the gaming tables, but Amina insisted they wanted to leave the ship now.
“Are you sure?” he asked. According to Gis, everything was ready, but he didn’t want Amina to feel like she had to leave because he was desperate to touch her.
“We did the two things I really wanted to do,” she answered. “We ate a nice meal and then went shopping. I can’t wait to give out all the gifts; everyone is going to be so happy! Since Desur is probably still watching a drama and Teshor hasn’t finished losing all her money yet, gift giving will have to wait until later.”
Ignoring the way the attendant kept talking about all the free drinks they’d get if they gambled, she moved close to him and wrapped her arm around his.
“Besides, maybe we should take advantage of the suite before everyone gets back.”
Yes, he liked the sound of that!
“Certainly,” he agreed and looked at the attendant. The male had ignored everything Amina said, but when Myrum spoke there was no more ignoring.
“We’re leaving now. Make sure all our purchases are delivered to our room on Tik.”
The attendant let out a disappointed sigh but agreed and stopped trying to delay them. Amina chuckled as she tangled her fingers with his and led him out of the massive shopping area.
His scent glands had been uncomfortable earlier, but now they felt inflamed and painful. Once they were alone he could empty them out on Amina, rubbing his oil into her hair and her skin.
It was dangerous. There was a real risk he could become scent-bonded to Amina, but it would be worth it to cover her in his scent.
Leaving the brightly lit shopping area for the softly illuminated corridor was a little jarring. He’d forgotten how dim they kept the rest of the ship.
“This way,” Amina said, leading him away from the shops. He followed, as eager as her for privacy.
