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Still wearing his human disguise, he disappeared into the darkness.
Riana leaned back and closed her eyes. She reached into her purse and found her audio-buds, which she slipped into her ears. The very last thing she’d listened to—a smooth mix of spacewave jazz—filled her consciousness.
The music was infused with chill beats and warm, mellow electric guitar. Feeling content, she floated off into a state of relaxation, knowing she was safe; knowing that Kail would return.
Funny that the only time she could drift off into this trancelike state was when she was on a Kordolian ship. Something about the impenetrable black walls and the curved cocoon-like cabin made her feel incredibly safe. She didn’t understand how they managed to do it, but she never felt claustrophobic in their ships, even when they were so dark inside, with obsidian curved walls and small windows.
Time passed.
She even snoozed a little.
Then, all of a sudden, big, warm fingers caressed her cheek, sending a pleasant ripple down her spine.
Riana removed her audio-buds.
“I’m back.”He whispered in her ear, and Riana wasn’t even surprised, because she’d been expecting this.
She looked up.
There was Kail, standing beside her, and he’d ditched his holo-disguise and human attire.
His silver features gleamed faintly in the dim light. His obsidian exo-suit absorbed everything else, becoming the darkness itself. He looked as fierce and handsome as ever. He also looked rather pleased with himself.
“Did you manage to do what you wanted to do?” Riana couldn’t help the wry note that entered her voice. She couldn’t imagine Kail wandering into some bog-standard shop in a human mega-mall andbuyingsomething.
“I did,” he growled.
Her big, obsidian-armored Kordolian warrior held up a little pink shopping bag. It was imprinted with a little silver logo of two interlocking planets—one with a ring around it.
Saturnalian,the shop was called.
Riana’s mouth formed a littleOof surprise. What could he possibly…? “Youdid?”
A soft snort of amusement escaped him. “You think I don’t know my way around a galactic trading market? There are trading centers in some parts of the Nine Galaxies that would make your humanmallslook tiny in comparison.”
“I didn’t know you were into shopping, Kail.”
“I’m notintoit. But sometimes items must be acquired at short notice, and trading centers are good places to gather intelligence. Not all of our work is fighting.”
“Huh.” She tried to imagine Kail wandering around some distant alien trading station, trying to blend in with the locals. Knowing him, he’d pull it off with ruthless efficiency. His intimidation factor alone would make people spill their secrets to him.
And then there was that crazytruth-senseof his.
Of course he’d be good at that sort of thing.
Riana shook her head as she stared at the elegant little pink bag dangling from his hand.Saturnalian.She’d never heard of that store before. What could it possibly be? The bag was small but it looked sophisticated; high-end. And it waspink.
“A gift,” Kail rumbled, as if reading her mind. “For you.”
“Agift…” Warmth spread into Riana’s cheeks. She was tickled pink. “Kail, you didn’t have to! Honestly, just you coming out with me was enough—”
“I wanted to.” There was that pleased-with-himself look again. “Go on. Open it.”
He handed her the bag. Riana took it by its silken handles, gently dropping it in her lap.
She reached inside and retrieved a little box covered in black satin. It was solid and well-made, with a hinged lid.
What could it possibly be?
