Page 17 of Jorhee

“Fate has indeed smiled upon the Empire this day,” I said, holding his gaze. I dropped our hands, keeping them linked.

“Wha-at?” he stammered, now looking shaken. “You mean it's true? The AI didn’t make a mistake?”

I ran my tongue over my tender gums, throbbing now as my venom sacs began to prepare for the production ofkasha.

Ah, so he wasn’t trying to reject me. He had doubts about the accuracy of the mate test. Understandable.

“There’s been no mistake,” I reassured him. “You are mine, as I am yours,Coramelis.”

He swallowed, reddening. “So, that’s it then? We’re mates, and according to the treaty terms and the stuff I signed, we’re married?”

“Legally, yes,” I replied, studying him. His natural scent was enticing, though at the moment more pungent than was proper. “Come, let us take a walk.”

“Where?”

“Just through the corridors. Just you, me, and my two guards. They’ll hang back to give us privacy.”

“Okay.”

I gave a nod of dismissal to the ambassador and his aide. “We’ve got it from here.”

“Do you wish his belongings transferred to your Corsair?” Helkhor asked me.

It was a reasonable question, given I’d elected to fly to whereThe Taloned Wingmaintained orbit, too large to land upon the surface. Despite this, I found myself disliking that they were asking me, instead of Jesse. I did not want him treated as secondary to myself - I wanted a mate who would be my partner, as Pata was with Father.

“Would you like them to do so?” I asked him gently.

“Uh, yeah, I suppose so.” He looked down at our linked hands. “Except for my clothes and Buster’s stuff, everything is in my truck, I think, which is in the cargo hold.”

“They were removed and safely repacked,” Helkhor informed him. “We did not wish anything to become lost or damaged while your vehicle underwent power conversion. The maintenance crew responsible for doing the work also refreshed your paintwork, the rest of the exterior, and the interior as a mating gift to you. It now looks new, and while you operate it the same as before, the engine has been replaced so it operates using our crystal technology.”

He looked startled. “That must have been a lot of extra work, and we were there only for two days!”

He inclined his head. “The shop stopped all other work and put all of their employees on it. They worked around the clock.”

“Please tell them thanks,” Jesse said, looking touched.

My hearts melted at the sight. He might be brash, and occasionally defiant if he felt wronged in some way, but he was showing that underneath it, there was an honorable male who was appreciative. I found myself already smitten, something Hulomin would tease me mercilessly about if he were to discover it. Which he would, as soon as he heard me speak of my Jesse.

Turnabout is fair play,I reminded myself.I did the same to him when he kept mooning over Jusrvi after he first met her.

“I already took the liberty of doing so. They will have their company prominently listed as one of those presenting a gift on the official palace node site.”

He looked startled. “Is that like a website?”

He glanced over at his aide, who nodded.

“Wow. This is crazy," Jesse muttered. He glanced over at me. “Can we go for that walk now? I’d like to introduce you to Buster and take him over to your ship myself.”

“But of course.”

I led him out into the corridor, Kiprr and Fethri following, falling back to a discreet distance.

Jesse squared his shoulders, the motion causing our joined hands to swing. I was gratified to see he didn’t pull free.

“I think I should tell you straight up that while I signed on the dotted line to get tested, I honestly never thought it would happen. I really wanted to be able to claim some land to start a ranch.”

I regarded him steadily. “I will be equally forthright. My fathers decided I should sign up to be tested, in a show of good faith in our new treaty. I, too, thought it highly unlikely that I would be matched, but was not opposed to finding my mate.” I pressed my lips together. “Though I was not entirely comfortable with the whole ‘unless you are already mated, you must get tested if you want to be permitted a claim’ portion.”