Part 39 (1/2)
”She's right, big guy. You're crus.h.i.+ng her for no reason.”
But instead of letting go, Fain pulled his helmet off and let it fall to the ground. Then he did the same with hers.
Galene was completely unprepared for the ferocity of his kiss. It was demanding and hot, and left her breathless.
”All righty, Andarions. I'm going to... uh...” Darling cleared his throat. ”Give you the room and leave you to that. Little uncomfortable for the rest of us.”
Fain pulled back with an adorable, unabashed grin. ”You ever risk your life like that again and so help me...”
”All you have to do is not risk yours.” She pointed to the rank patch on her hardsuit. ”Remember, I outrank you, soldier.”
Smiling, he nuzzled his face against her braids. ”Why did you come back?”
”Because I love you. I've always loved you.”
Those words made his heart sing. Did he dare hope that she meant what he thought she did? ”Am I finally forgiven?”
Cupping his head to her shoulder, she wanted to both beat and hold him for eternity. Why couldn't he make loving him easy?
But then that was part of his charm. ”Yes. You're forgiven.”
Fain closed his eyes as he savored the words he'd waited a lifetime to hear. If he died right then, he'd be content.
And all he wanted was to carry her back to his s.h.i.+p and make love to her for the rest of the month.
If only he could.
Sighing heavily, he hated responsibility. d.a.m.n adulthood. He wanted to send it back for a full refund. ”We still have one more device to locate.”
She nodded. ”I know.”
Fain tapped his link to unmute it. ”Hey, Kere. Any luck on finding the third charge?”
”Working on it.”
Fain picked up the box and carried it while Galene led the way to the hall. Hermione and Ven waited at the end of it. As he neared them, Fain handed the box and exploded device off to a Hadean Corps officer.
Hermione stood up on her tiptoes to kiss Fain on the cheek. ”I owe you. Thank you for what you did.”
”No problem. I'm just glad I overheard the slag bragging about setting it, and got here before it went off. What happened, anyway? How'd you find it?”
Hermione sighed. ”We were talking. I got up to get a drink and I heard the release spring. Since we didn't know what tripped it, we didn't dare move for fear of setting it off.”
Hermione had barely finished speaking before Ryn showed up and grabbed her into a fierce hug.
”I'm all right, Ryn.”
”I know. I'm just not ready to be an orphan yet.”
Fain scoffed. ”Aren't you a little old to be an orphan?”
He glared at Fain over his mother's shoulder before he set her back on her feet. ”Considering the fact that my mother bottle-fed me until I was thirty? No.”
Fain laughed at something that was practically true. Hermione did tend to dote on and overprotect her only child like he was the most sacred creature in the known universe.
Hermione rolled her eyes at Galene. ”The lies our children tell about us.”
”Don't I know. My son horrifies me daily.”
Ryn sobered as he faced Venik. ”We lucked out with Fain discovering this one. But we're not going to get that lucky with the next one. You've got to figure they're either going after defense or family. Where are your kids located?”
”Most of them are on their own s.h.i.+ps. Only Kareem is currently in port. Even my wife is out on my daughters' s.h.i.+p.”
”That's not true,” Fain said. ”I saw Stain come in earlier.”
Venik scowled at him. ”No. He's out with his crew.”
”No, he came in. Check the logs. He told me he was on his way to see you and Kareem when I met him.”
Ven pulled out his link to look.
While he did that, Galene fingered Fain's eye. ”Does that hurt?”
”What?”
She sighed heavily. ”You've got a nasty black eye.”
He touched it, then hissed as he realized it was tender. ”Ow, d.a.m.n. I didn't feel it until now. Guess the p.r.i.c.k got a shot in, after all. Must have been when he broke the chair over me.”
”Oh my G.o.d, Fain! He hit you with a chair?”
”Yeah. A few other things, too. He even lobbed one of the smaller humans at me.”
Galene covered her face and groaned. ”I wish I thought you were joking and making that up. Unfortunately, I know better. G.o.ds, you are your son's father. What did I do to deserve two of you?” Shaking her head, she met Hermione's gaze. ”Is it easier with human sons or males?”
”Not really. I never know what horrifies me more the stories Ryn tells me, or the ones I know he withholds out of respect for my maternal sensibilities, or fear of what I'll do to him should I ever learn the true nature of his innate recklessness and brazen stupidity.”
”For the record, it's definitely the latter.” Ryn stepped back to tap his ear. ”Yeah, this is Dane. Go.”
About a minute later, while Galene and Hermione were still comparing war stories about raising stubborn sons as single mothers, Fain frowned as he watched Ryn stumble and go down to one knee. Unsure of what had happened, he moved to kneel by Ryn's side to see if he could help.
”Were there any survivors?” Ryn's voice was barely a whisper. His breathing turned ragged and pain-filled.
Scowling, Hermione joined them. She rubbed at her son's back.
Ryn held his hand to the link as he nodded. ”Keep me posted.” He hung up.
Hermione's frown mimicked Fain's and Galene's. ”Baby? What is it?”
Ryn stared straight ahead as if he were in a trance. ”The League hit Hinto's west fleet while they were en route to rendezvous with us.”