Accepting (The Return of the Nine book 2) (5 page)

With him herding her along, they ended up in a shop that held clothing in a vast array of configurations. “Rikkait. I need a morph suit for the new Gaian representative.”

A man made of shadows drifted forward and bowed. “I see. What sort of colouring do you have in mind. Her skin will take to almost anything dark and strong.”

When a tendril of the darkness touched her hand, she blinked in surprise. “What the hell.”

“Rikkait. Stop that, or you will infringe on my claim on her, and a challenge will be in the air.”

The tendril immediately retreated. “I apologize, Tonos, but you understand that I had to try.”

“Understood, but try it again, and you will be looking at the stars through a pierced veil of darkness.”

Tiera had to ask, “What is going on?”

Tonos moved toward her, and the shadow receded. “Rikkait was trying to see if you were a compatible female, and when I informed him of my claim, he did the polite thing and ceased his efforts.”

“I thought that after your treatment you…” She lifted her hands in a helpless gesture.

“That I would no longer be affected by you? You are very mistaken. In fact, proximity to you has been wearing on my self-control since I first saw you this morning.”

Rikkait extended his shadowy arms, and a deep purple suit was draped across them. “This should fit the bill. It is one of my newest and is very flattering to anyone who wears it.”

Tonos took it from him and handed it to Tiera. “There is a changing room in the back. You can try it on in there. Rikkait will remain out here with me.”

It took all of the tricks that Ziggy had shown her last night, but she managed to do up the closures until she was in a skin-tight suit that rippled and clasped her body faithfully until it was no longer a piece of fabric but was now her second skin.

The collar was high, and all of her skin was concealed. The cuffs extended down across the back of her hand in a sort of fingerless glove. It would allow her to do everything that she needed to do without getting in her way.

With an armload of folded clothing, she returned to the front of the small shop. “I think it fits?”

Tonos had been speaking quietly when she emerged, but he fell silent and simply stared at her.

Rikkait made a small laugh. “You look lovely. Shall I have those clothes sent to your room?”

“Can you do that? I don’t even know where it is.”

She assumed that he smiled, but he pulled forth one of the ubiquitous hand pads. “Please press your hand in the centre, and I will have your address to have the clothing returned to you so that you may continue your tour.”

She handed him the clothing and shadows wrapped it as he took it behind the counter, sealed it in a bag and entered her address into the computer before placing the parcel on it and letting it slip away.

“Is the whole ship rigged like that?”

Tonos smiled and bowed for her to precede him from the shop. “More or less. All the habitation areas are linked for deliveries of that nature. Our uniforms do not have pockets and the belts that we wear are for devices relating to our work.”

She nodded and tried not to rub the surface of the fabric. “Are you sure it looks all right?”

“It looks lovely. You simply look like a crewmember on their day off.” He smiled, and they left the shop. “Now, we will continue our tour.”

She loosened her hair, and it flowed around her, covering her breasts and her spine to mid-back. “That is a little better. I don’t feel so exposed.”

Tonos looked distinctly uncomfortable, but he smiled, “Your hair is lovely. Do you wear it down often?”

They passed a number of other couples on a promenade, and she gasped when she saw the expanse of the gardens. “Oh my.”

She processed his question and smiled. “I wear it down when I feel like I am running around naked.”

He cleared his throat. “I see. Do you like gardens?”

She smiled and walked to the railing that looked out over what appeared to be the vegetable garden. “I love gardens. I spend every moment I can in our garden growing food for the events. I almost like gardening more than cooking.”

He leaned next to her and his wings fluttered slightly. “How do you spend your evenings on Gaia?”

“We go to dances, I spend a lot of time at the library, watching vids and preparing for events. Normal stuff. What do you do on the ship?”

He leaned out to watch a person below gather a basket of tubers. “I exercise, watch the entertainment unit, go drinking with friends and I fly. The People of the Air have monthly events to gather and compete here on the ship.”

She smiled. “It sounds like a summer fair.”

“Here, it is summer all year round. It is quite a pleasant environment.”

He was smiling in the most charming manner. His wings lazily opened and closed, and she shivered as she started to catalogue the most likely sexual positions that a man with wings would have to use.

Blinking furiously, she straightened, “Shall we continue the tour?”

Tonos nodded. “Of course. Next stop is the transport pod. We will see all of the living zones that we missed on your first day. What happened there, anyway?”

They moved at a leisurely pace toward the pod and rail. “I am a little sensitive to new environments. My emotional reactions shut down, and it takes a while to process all the new information. As soon as I catch up and orient myself, I am usually fine.”

She tucked herself into the pod and smiled as he adjusted himself until his wings were settled comfortably. The pod slipped off, and in no time, they were off into the interior of the massive ship carrying thousands of warriors, their families and support staff into space.

It was a fun way to spend an afternoon, and by the end of the day, just a look from Tonos and she was wishing that the barrier against touching didn’t exist.

Chapter Eight

When they entered the Wilder zone of the ship, she looked around curiously. “So this is where Ziggy lives?”

He laughed, “No, this is where the Wilder live. The Councillor Rothaway and Signy have their quarters in the V.I.P. zone near where you are staying.”

The pod cruised through on a slower track than the commuter units that whizzed past.

“Ah. But these mock forests are their environments?”

“Yes. It makes each race more comfortable to have the environment they were born in represented on the ship. It keeps us grounded, so to speak.” He reached out to touch her cheek, but he pulled his hand back at the last minute.

She bit her lip. “It is difficult, isn’t it?”

“It is the hardest thing that I have ever endured.” His lips twisted in a rueful smile. “To think, all those years of flirting and the woman I was destined for was going to walk right up to me.”

The pod continued on its little tour, stopping at the V.I.P. zone and opening to let them out.

When they stood to leave the pod, she had to ask. “Are you sure? I mean really, really sure?”

“I have never been more sure of anything in my…mmphff.”

Tiera lunged toward him, slid her hand into his hair and pressed a kiss to his hard mouth before he could say anything else.

His body trembled and his wings flicked restlessly. He wrapped his arms around her and crushed her to him while she continued to stroke his lips with her own, occasionally flicking her tongue against the seam of his lips.

Tonos dragged a deep breath into his lungs, and the hands on her back gripped her, pulling her back to create a distance between them. His chest was rising and falling rapidly as he struggled for control.

“Step away from him, Tier.” Ziggy’s voice was calm, and she was standing next to her mate.

“I believe you have something to ask me, Tonos.” Rothaway scowled at him.

Tonos helped her out of the pod and down the steps of the platform with one hand holding hers.

Tiera looked earnestly at Rothaway, “Please tell me that he isn’t it trouble. It was all my fault. I kissed him.”

Rothaway nodded. “We know. We saw. He still has to ask me something. He knows the protocol.”

Tonos nodded and stepped in front of Tiera. “Lord Rothaway, may I have the hand of your charge in legal and moral bonding?”

Ziggy was grinning.

Rothaway inclined his head. “Provided that you honour her and keep her safe.”

Rothaway winced as Ziggy drove her elbow into his side. “And you will have to allow my mate unlimited access to your lady.”

“Of course. So, it is approved then?”

“It is.”

“You will act as my second?”

“My mate and I will witness and guard you.”

Tonos grinned. “Thank you for the honour.”

Tiera poked him. “What is going on?”

Ziggy snorted, “Tonos just proposed to you via Rothaway, and my darling husband accepted due to your confirmation through the initialization of the kiss with Tonos in front of witnesses. You said yes, so he has the right to wed you. It is backward from the Gaian standard, but everyone gets their say.”

Tiera blinked. “Just like that?”

Ziggy laughed. “Come along. We will get you dressed for your mating and by then Tonos should have finished the chemical flush at medical that will allow him a normal wedding night.”

The blush that fired her cheeks made her friend laugh. “Wait. What will I tell my mom?”

“Tell her that you are getting married to one of the Nine. She will be upset and probably want to cater a reception on Gaia, but she will get over it if you are happy.” Ziggy grinned. “Shall we go and make that call?”

It went surprisingly well until Tiera mentioned that she was marrying a Fairy.

“He’s gay, dear?”

“No, Mom. He has huge wings like a Terran dragonfly. I have never actually seen him fly, but I have seen others of his race zipping around the mother ship.”

“I don’t know what the hurry is.”

Tiera debated how to tell her mother and settled on, “It is a tradition of the Nine. We had dinner and a date and now we are getting married.”

“Why can’t you wait?”

“It isn’t the way they do things, Mom.” An image filled Tiera’s mind of her mother meeting Tonos for the first time with his wings deadly silver and his eyes red. Oh, that would go over well.

“Can we at least meet him?”

“After the wedding, Mom. I will have him make arrangements to come for a visit. Is that okay?”

Her mother sighed heavily. “If you are happy, then I am happy. I just wish I had made his acquaintance before you decided he was the one for you.”

“He is a good guy Mom, and a medic, so he has a good job.” Tiera had no idea if that was true, but it sounded plausible.

To one side where Teva could not see her, Ziggy was chortling silently. Tiera looked around for something to throw at her friend and then got an idea. “I can stay up here with Ziggy. She is so lonely, Mom. It’s sad really.”

A cushion flipped and landed squarely in Tiera’s face. Teva grinned on the other end of the connection. “Well, if you girls are having fun up there and you are sure that this is the man for you, we will wait until you can make it down here to have a party, but we will have a reception for you, Tiera, make no mistake about that.”

The threat was in the air, and looking into her mother’s determined face, she knew that if she and Tonos did not make it down to Gaia in short order, Teva and Renault would make their way up to the mother ship, and they would bring the whole neighbourhood with them.

“I love you, Mom. Never doubt that. Thanks for wanting me to be happy.”

Teva smiled, “And if he doesn’t make you happy, Nine or not, we will come up and kick his ass.”

It was Teva’s standard
I love you,
and Tiera, with tears in her eyes, waved goodbye to her mother.

As the screen went blank, a chirp near the lav got her attention, and she saw the box provided by the delivery chute. The moment that she removed the parcel, the slot closed and became almost invisible against the wall.

“What is this?”

Ziggy took the box from her and put it on the bed. When she opened it, her smile ended in wobbling tears.

“It is a bonding gown for the People of the Air. You get into the shower, and I will lay out the pieces. It will go on better if we can get the layers on in the proper order the first time.”

Bemused by her friend’s knowledge of the clothing, Tiera went into the lav and took a quick shower of light and air.

It was her wedding day, and she wanted everything to go right.

Chapter Nine

The knock on the door froze both ladies in place.

Tiera looked up at Ziggy, and her friend since grade school smiled. “At least you know what you are getting into. I am learning more about Rothaway’s ways with every day, but it is still an adjustment. It will be nice to have another Gaian to share the fun with and even better to have my best friend with me in this new world.”