Well, those who supported did.
Tellis, however, snarled.
“Why did we have to have all this drama to do this?” Erzo asked. “Seriously, we could have taken care of this years ago.”
“You weren’t here,” Hornse said. “And I didn’t see you with this mate before. You passion showed me that I was forcing Breal into something that she didn’t want. That neither of you wanted.”
“Father,” Breal said, and ran to him. She stopped, though, and didn’t hug him.
Erzo shoved her forward. “Hug him.”
Breal did.
“Now,” Hornse said. “Report, Clan leader Breal.”
Breal cleared her throat as she stood straight. “Clan Indigo has been captured. They’ve been rounded up and taken to cargo bay three, and from there, we can decide the proper punishment for their insurrection.”
“I have friends here. An entire clan, even. A clan that respects me!”
“Is that what this is about? Respect?” Erzo asked.
“It’s more than that! The honor and respect of the Clan! It is our everything!”
Erzo shook his head. “But it’s not, though.”
32
“Good morning,” Erzo said as Polly emerged from his bed.
She could smell the breakfast food he was cooking. Savory, and close to bacon and eggs, but not quite. She couldn’t say it tasted the same, but it was good, and that’s what mattered. She’d been getting used to the foods here, and finding that while a little different, much of it didn’t seem to bother her too badly.
As long as it wasn’t too spicy. Erzo liked his spice, and she had to watch it every once in a while.
She pulled out a pair of socks, because her feet were cold from the drawer in the wall and slipped them on.
Unlike on Disguised Serenity, Erzo’s residence on the ship was small, and felt like every studio apartment back on Earth. Small sleeping area, bathroom, kitchen, and a living area. Designed to optimize space, there were storage drawers hidden in walls and even inside the floor.
It had surprised Polly at the amount of storage tucked away in the place. And because there were so many bins, it was like there was an extra barrier between apartments, so there wasn’t a lot of sound bleed.
Which was good. Because no one needed to hear the noises that she and Erzo made every night.
Or every morning. Or whenever they could. Could she admit her desire for sexual pleasure consumed her? Maybe not sex in general, but sex with Erzo? Absolutely. She would take him whenever, wherever he wanted to take her.
And that tail of his.
He would sneak out and do the naughtiest things when no one was looking. Or sometimes, when someone was.
She came out, wrapped in a shirt of Erzo’s, and went straight over to him. Even though the shirt was clean, she could smell his personal scent on it, and it soothed her.
And enticed her. Not helping with her sexual cravings for him.
She wrapped her arms around him and put a kiss on his shoulder.
“You already got up.”
“I assumed you were hungry. You worked very hard last night,” he said, his voice low.
“I suppose I am,” she said, rocking her hips into him. “But I’m not super hungry for that.” She gestured to the food cooking in the pot.
