Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“Ohhh…” Kara sagged in relief. “That was rough.”
“Yes it was—makes me wonder if that wormhole is in the process of destabilizing,” J’orn growled. “You okay, baby?” he asked her.
It was the second time he’d called her the endearment, but this time Kara didn’t protest. She was grateful he’d been kind enough to hold onto her during the turbulence, which always scared her to death when she was riding in a plane.
“I…I think so,” she murmured. “I’ve just never—”
“Excuse me, Ma’am, Sir—would you like a beverage or a snack?”
It was the voice of the flight attendant. She was peering over the seat divider, though Kara could only see the third eye in the center of her forehead.
“Er, no thank you,” she said politely. She was afraid she might have to pee if she drank anything and it would be so awkward to ask J’orn to lift her over Mr. Oatmeal and then lift her back into his lap again.
But J’orn said yes.
“Yerba juice would be good if you have it,” he added.
“We do, Sir. Chilled yerba juice coming right up,” she said sweetly. A moment later she passed a chilled cup over the seat divider. J’orn reached for it and Kara found the tray table on the back of the seat in front of them and let it down so he would have a place to put the juice if he wanted to. She also noticed, as she did, that there was no holo-screen for any in-flight entertainment.
“Excuse me,” she said to the attendant.
“Yes—have you changed your mind about having a snack?” The third eye—which was bright blue—blinked at her.
“No, thank you,” Kara said politely. “But I was wondering where the holo-screen is for the in-flight entertainment?”
“Oh, I’m afraid that’s not available in our Ultra Economy section,” the attendant told her. “However, we do offer an Immersive Dream Experience which will help to pass the time instead.”
“A Dream Experience? What’s that?” Kara asked, frowning.
“We give you a tiny puff of Dream Gas mixed with a mild relaxant,” the attendant said. “This enables you to drift into a soothing dream state where you have lovely, vivid dreams and don’t wake up until we reach Paradise Prime. Many of our customers prefer it to the in-flight entertainment,” she added. “A little nap always makes you feel so refreshed and ready to start your vacation.”
“Oh, well…I’ll think about it,” Kara said uncertainly.
“You do that. We’ll be coming back around with the Dream Gas cart as soon as we finish the snack and beverage service.”
The attendant moved on, leaving Kara to wonder if she ought to try the Immersive Dream Experience or not.
4
J’ORN
“So what do you think about the Dream Gas? Are you going to take some?” Kara asked, as soon as the flight attendant moved on down the aisle.
“Don’t know—I might,” J’orn said. He didn’t usually like being drugged but Dream Gas was fairly mild and honestly, anything that helped him forget he had the woman of his dreams on his lap—a woman he knew he could never have—might be a good idea.
Gods, he couldn’t believe he had his arms around her and her soft little bottom was pressed against his shaft. He only wished this was happening in different circumstances—and that Kara actually wanted him to be holding her instead of just tolerating his presence.
From the moment he’d first been introduced to Kara Landing, he’d known the curvy little Earth woman was the only one for him. It had struck him like a blow between the eyes the first time he’d seen her and took her hand in his to greet her.
He hadn’t cared that she was his boss—or that she was more than ten years older than him. She was the woman he was destined to be with—he was sure of it. Everything about her drew him like a moth to a flame—her full, curvy figure including her wide hips and deliciously large ass…her long brown hair which she always flicked over her shoulder when she was distracted or concentrating on a problem…her big brown eyes that looked exactly like melted dark chocolate, which also happened to be her favorite Earth confection. There wasn’t a single thing about her that J’orn didn’t love.
His devastation when he’d learned that she already had a mate had been total, because it was an unwritten rule that a Kindred never came between an already Bonded couple. But as he learned more about the humans who had come to live aboard the Mother Ship, he realized that their idea of Bonding wasn’t at all the same as the Kindred idea.
The Kindred mated for life and formed a mental and emotional connection—a Soul Bond—that couldn’t be severed by anything but death. The humans, on the other hand, never formed such a connection. They simply signed a piece of paper and said some vows. Which meant that they were able to dissolve their union any time they pleased.