But before Ember could evac the room, Alura was already off and running with her plans for how she intended to rope the unsuspecting prince in for a wedding.
Wanting to sock her where she lay, Ember entered the hallway and almost walked into her eldest sister, Kindel.
Her sister tsked at her fury as she tucked a strand of her riotous, dark curly hair behind her ear. “Simmer down, Em. Not like the playboy’s going to settle down with anyone, anytime soon.”
She growled at the patronizing tone. “Aren’t all of you sick of her doing this?”
With a shrug, Brandy snorted. “What difference does it make? Not like you’re going to date him, anyway. You already told me how much you hate the aristos.”
Before Ember could respond, Bastien’s link rang in her pocket, as if he had a sixth sense that he was their topic of conversation and sought to interrupt them.
Without a word to her sisters, she stepped away and answered it. “Major Wyldestarrin.”
“Hey, Major, this is Cabarro. Wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. Make sure you weren’t hurt in the additional runs. And that your sister pulled through. Is the rest of your family safe? You need anything?”
It was a sad state of affairs when an aristo had better manners and heart than her useless sister. “All good. You?”
“Bored out of my mind.”
She found that hard to believe. “What? No adoring fans?”
Laughing at her question, he sent over a request for a video feed.
Ember accepted, expecting to find him with a packed ward full of admirers. To her shock, he scanned the sterile hospital room to show her that he was there all alone.
Not even a guard kept him company.
“I can tell by your expression, not what you were expecting.” Bastien turned the camera back on his features, which were scraped and bruised from his injuries, but still stunning. Even more so because he’d gotten them while doing her a favor. “You should probably never gamble with no better poker face than that, Major. Your opponent would clean house.”
She felt heat sting her cheeks at his teasing. “Sorry. I just assumed you’d be surrounded by groupies and family.”
“Yeah… no. My sa’s giving an address to the people after the bombing to reassure them and allay their fears, while the rest of my family is running around tonight stomping out other fires over it. And my øda’s at a rally for the families of the soldiers we lost to raise funds and aid for them—which is where I’d be if the damn doctor would release me. Or I’d be at the barracks.”
She scoffed before she could stop herself.
“Hey, now!” he said, offended. “Believe it or not, I spend most of my nights in the barracks with my squadron. You can check my tracer logs and see. The vast majority of those stories you hear about me in the news feeds are complete fiction. A handful of the wilder ones notwithstanding—and those I proudly own up to, and will be more than happy to tell you all about. And show you the pictures that are too risqué for prime time.” He rubbed at his eyebrow. “Anyway, so what about that dinner?”
Leaning against the wall, Ember scowled as she tried to understand this strange enigma who was talking to her for reasons she couldn’t even begin to fathom. While she wasn’t a ghastly goat of a human being, she was a far cry from Alura’s great statuesque beauty and she knew it.
At five-six, she was average height for a Kirovarian woman. And many a potential dating prospect had commented on the fact that she was a bit more muscular than she ought to be and tended to walk like she was going to war, armed for the Andarion Ring. Her only remarkable feature came from her father—a pair of sharp, penetrating green eyes. Sadly, most guys never noticed those. Except to say that the intensity of her gaze made their nuts and guts shrivel.
Though to be honest, she doubted if anyone or anything could ever intimidate Bastien. Indeed, he seemed to have an ego smelted from titanium.
“Why are you asking me out, Cabarro?”
That devilish grin warmed her a lot more than she wanted it to. There was something about this man that was way too delectable. She could easily see him charming her pants right off her. “You think I’m a spoiled asshole. I strangely find that admirable in a woman. Shows you’re a good judge of character. I like that even more.”
She laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Ah c’mon,” he teased. “You’re Gyron Force… I’m Gyron Force. We both think I’m ridiculous. We got so much in common already.”
Scoffing, she shook her head at him. “We are nothing alike, YourHighness.”
“Fine, Major. Have it your way. But my sa’s about three and a half seconds from declaring war on a neighboring empire. What if this is the end of our world as we know it? What if everything you cherish perishes tomorrow? Wouldn’t you like to say that you got to date a visir, just once, before it all goes to hell?”
Damn, he was a lot more endearing than he needed to be. And it wasn’t because he had a title. He was just an affable ass. That alone would serve to get him into all kinds of trouble. Along with those incredibly handsome features and that edible physique. It was the most dangerous combination ever created and she could see herself getting into all kinds of trouble.
Every instinct she possessed told her to run as fast as she could in the opposite direction.
