Keirth had tried to negotiate for Monthow to give them the papers before they left, but Monthow wouldn’t budge. He didn’t know them, hadn’t worked with them before, and despite the fact that Gordic vouched for them, he wanted insurance that they wouldn’t take his money and run. Or so he said. So they had to play it his way.
“What could be off?” Ariana asked, coming over to peer into the crate of guns over Keirth’s shoulder.
Keirth shook his head. “I don’t know. Nothing, I guess.” He shut the crate and turned to Ariana. “Maybe I’m the one who’s nervous. I mean, here I am, planning out the rest of my life with the daughter of a duke. This is not exactly what I thought my life would turn into.”
“I make you nervous, Keirth?” Ariana teased.
“Always, sweetheart.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, settling her on the gun crate. Then he leaned down and kissed her.
Ariana ran her hands over Keirth’s shoulders, thinking of the time they kissed in the ship, when touching him had been such a new experience. He was still so solid and firm under her fingertips. She ran her hands up and down his chest, comfortable touching him now.
Keirth pulled back, gazing down at her, one hand on her cheek. “We’re really doing this, aren’t we?”
“You don’t want to back out now, do you?” She grinned up at him. “Maybe I make you too nervous.”
“Of course I don’t want to back out,” said Keirth. “Are you sure you don’t want to? You sure you want someone like me? Someone rough around the edges?”
“Keirth, don’t be ridiculous. I’m in love with you, rough edges and all.”
He rubbed his thumb gently against her jaw. “Yeah.” His voice was husky. “I’m in love with you too.” He pulled her to her feet. “Maybe it’s time to stop being nervous.” His eyes searched her own.
She was right up against him, her hands in his. “Do you mean...?”
He raised an eyebrow. “What do you think? You wanna make love in hyperspace?”
Ariana felt a kind of giddy thrill go through her. Underneath, panic stabbed at her stomach. “Yes,” she said, but she couldn’t deny that the thought was scary in all kinds of big ways.
They kissed again, but their kissing seemed a little sloppy, a little hurried, a little frightened.
Ariana looked around the cargo bay. Did he mean to do it here? “Should we, um, go somewhere else?”
“You mean like a bedroom or something?” he said. He wasn’t looking at her either. He was studying the gun crate.
She looked at it. “Unless you want to do it on the crate?”
His gaze snapped back to hers. “Uh, no. Let’s...” He tugged on her hand and led her out of the cargo bay.
Ariana’s heart thumped in her chest as they walked. She wasn’t sure why everything suddenly seemed so awkward. There hadn’t been any awkwardness all those nights they’d slept in each other’s arms. This was a natural progression, so why did it frighten her? She’d wanted this, so why was she feeling so unsure of herself?
The beds on the ship were narrow. They both sat down on it and looked at each other.
Well. Someone should do something, right? Ariana started to reach over to touch Keirth’s shoulder again.
At the same moment, he leaned over to kiss her.
They stopped short of colliding with each other.
They both laughed.
“Uh, yeah,” said Keirth. “Guess it’s one thing to say you won’t be nervous. It’s another thing entirely to stop being nervous.”
She giggled. “Yeah.” She scooted closer to him on the bed and lay her head on his shoulder. “I guess I’m not sure what to do. Are we supposed to start ripping each other’s clothes off or something?”
He put his arm around her. “I doubt there are rules, exactly. There’s no way we’re ‘supposed’ to do it.”
She turned her face up to his. “Yeah, and neither of us really has any experience, so I guess we should just...”
He put his lips against hers. They fell back on the bed.
Ariana hit her head against the headboard. “Ouch.” She sat up, rubbing the bump.
“Sorry,” said Keirth.
“No, it wasn’t your fault.” She lay back down more carefully, so that she and Keirth faced each other, both lying on their sides. She put a hand on his chest and kissed him again.
This time, they both seemed to relax a little more. The kiss deepened. Keirth’s tongue eased its way into her mouth. She loved that, the way it made her feel consumed by sensation. Her hand traveled over Kierth’s arm, feeling his taut muscle, his chest, and his back.