Page 55 of Golden Darkness
He got dressed and carried her down to the audience chamber, sitting on the throne with her in his lap. “I don’t like to leave you like this.”
“You shouldn’t have knocked me up then.” She yawned and leaned against his shoulder.
“If I had known how ill you would get, I would have waited.”
She shrugged. “Better now. So, are you going to go on your grand tour?”
He sighed. “Yes. I will be gone three weeks.”
She swallowed. “Right. Maids. A fruit budget and bonuses for anyone who cleans the halls.”
“Done. I will leave today.”
She nodded and clutched at the vest he had put on after the shower. “Okay, go put me back in our room now that the staff have cleaned up... again.”
“Is this common in your people?” He got to his feet.
“Every pregnancy is different. My body is trying to get into the nurture portion of the big event and accept the baby as part of it rather than a parasite. Sometimes, the body catches on quickly; sometimes, it does not.”
The bed was pristine and very inviting when he tucked her in. He called and made arrangements.
He leaned over her and kissed her softly. “I will return as soon as I can.”
“Fine. Don’t let them give you any ladies as tribute. I can and will just use a blast weapon to take their heads off. I am too weak to do anything else.”
He grinned. “Not going to take it out on me?”
“Oh, yeah. I think a few more years of abstention would do you some good.”
He kissed her again. “Not needed. You are the only one I need.”
“Good. Keep that in mind.” She rubbed her belly slightly, and his eyes went gold. “And get that out of your mind right now. You have to catch a shuttle.”
He huffed. “Cruel, Pet.”
“Yup, and you want me anyway.”
He grinned and left after one more toe-curling kiss.
Chapter Eleven
Since she was in desperate need of a distraction, she used her clearances as transport minister to search shipping logs off the education station. Janessa was pleased that she had taken a hacking course. It took a while to get the download of all the Terran export information, but after two weeks, she had it all down pat.
Her days had a routine. She bolted to the bathroom, took a shower, got dressed, had a sip of water, yacked, and then had some fruit for breakfast. After the fruit, her body had about ninety minutes to absorb what it could before she threw up again, and she would take a nap, shower, and dress again. It was afternoon by then, and she ate dry flatbread to get her through the day.
She smiled slowly when she found the manifest she was looking for. Iris’s name was there. They had been a colonizing purchase by a Hmrain named Yavor.
She stared at the date on the manifest and checked the current date. Two years. It had been nearly two years since the mining shipment left the station. The manifest for her own shipment indicated that they were travelling via drone. The amount of time that they had been cruising through space was undetermined. She couldn’t contact theGolden Darknessfor the records. She was pretty sure that Kethen wouldn’t approve of her skulking around in cyberspace.
“Pet, what are you doing?” Kethen’s voice made her jump. He liked to pop in via projection.
“Um, I am just checking on some old shipping records. How is your trip going?”
He smiled. “Nearly over. Just one more thing to do, and I am home again.”
She looked at him, and the slight scent of strawberries hit her. She set her tablet to one side and got to her feet.
Janessa wobbled over to where he was standing and pressed her hand to his chest. “You’re home.”