Sheba leaned back, the confession leaving her breathless.
Rina chuckled at her best friend’s blushing face.
‘Girl, if I weren’t so obsessed with my own man right now, I’d be screaming with jealousy. This is peak romance, honey. Lock him down; he’s a rare find!’
As her friends chatted among themselves, Sheba’s gaze locked onto her lover across the terrace.
He was speaking with Kainan; she assumed theKhanwas giving him the once-over.
When the Rider’s leader shook hands with Idan and clapped him on his back, Sheba sighed with relief.
She had to admit she’d been nervous about those two meeting, given their shared unhinged alpha energy and scorching brand of menacing dominance.
A few minutes later, Kainan stepped away, and Idan’s gaze tracked to her.
He gave her a chin-raise, and she rose, going to him.
He intercepted her mid-stride, steering her toward the quiet sanctuary of a stone alcove on the far end of the terrace.
His hand slid to the small of her back, pulling her flush against the heat of his chest.
Under the arch, the city’s frantic energy faded into a muffled hum.
‘Got the all clear from thebosskhan?’
Idan inclined his head. ‘Seems I pass muster. We think alike, Kainan and I.’
‘I can believe that. What about the talk with Mo,’ Sheba murmured, her fingers tracing the glowing, intricate sigils along his forearm. ‘How did it go?’
‘It was productive,’ he growled. ‘He’s a soldier of honor with a warrior spirit I can respect. We’re on the same page. We’ll map out the tactical variables together, then pitch a strategy to the Riders. We need a united front if we’re going to take on Sulfiqar.’
‘What do you think of the Riders then?’ Sheba asked.
Idan’s gaze shifted to the men gathered by the grill, his internal sensors gauging their threat level.
‘They’re elite operators, soldiers who’ve seen the worst of the world and came out the other side. There’s a ruthlessness to them, but I sense a strong core of loyalty and honor. I’d trust any of them at my six in a firefight.’
A ghost of a smirk tugged at his mouth as he turned to her, arching a brow. ‘And the women? I assume the conversation revolved around me and my ‘sexy bits’?’
Sheba let out a soft laugh. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know, Commander?’
‘I’ll get it out of you later, Nurse Munene,’ Idan rasped.
He leaned down, pressing a lingering, tender kiss to her mouth.
‘Sante,salkia, for standing with me now and through the coming fire,’ he murmured into her skin.
Sheba fisted her hands in his shirt, pulling him in as her lips grazed the rough line of his jaw.
‘Always.’
When they returned to the group, the atmosphere was a symphony of chaos, food prep, and friendly grumbles as hunger took over.
The Riders moved, dragging three heavy timber tables together under the velvet sky.
They set the joined surface with plates, glassware, and cutlery, the mood light and frothy, interlaced with jokes and laughter.
Above them, Alphetraz cast a fractured radiance over the sprawling lights of Eden II.
