Page 22 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Heart

"Yeah, well, he wasn't sure with all of Aru's answers. Some were evasive." Kian reached for one of the scones Okidu had made for dessert. "That's not all the drama either. I just got a call from Toven, and he implored me to allow Mia's friends to join us on the cruise. I agreed since they are potential Dormants and the cruise is short."

Amanda clapped her hands. "That's fabulous. There is no better way to spark romance than a cruise vacation. A couple of clan males will be very thankful."

"That was why I agreed. I also told Toven that he was in charge of erasing their memories after the cruise."

Syssi tilted her head. "But what if they find their truelove mates by then? What's the point of erasing their memories? You can just bring them straight to the village. Anyway, the plan was for them to start working as beta testers for the Perfect Match scenarios. Since Toven will be paying their salaries, that's a win-win all around." She smiled at him. "Isn't that your preferred way of doing business?"

"It is." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head. "And speaking of business, I should get back to it. I have a pile of work waiting on my desk."

Aru

Aru tried to slip out of bed without waking Gabi up, but she opened her eyes as soon as he pulled his arm off her.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to do something. I'll be back before you are ready to wake up."

She frowned. "What is it about?"

He leaned closer so his mouth was on her ear. "I need to contact my commander, and I don't want to do it from here."

Despite Kian's assurances that there was no surveillance equipment in the penthouse and despite the fact that Kian and his people most likely were not familiar with the language of the gods, Aru wanted to make the call outside, where he was sure no one was listening in on it.

"What happened? Did he contact you?"

Aru nodded. "I got pinged, and I have to respond within twenty-four hours, or they will assume that something has happened to us."

Nodding, she lifted her head and kissed his cheek. "Come back soon. And if you want to be my hero, bring me some pastries from the café downstairs. I'm craving sweet things."

"No problem." He kissed her forehead. "I'll get us coffee too."

Her smile was dazzling. "You are the best. I love you."

He chuckled. "You are easy to please, my love."

It had been almost a week since she'd completed the first stage of her transition, and during that time, Gabi's appetite had been ravenous in more ways than one. She couldn't get enough of him and his venom bites, for which he was thanking the Fates daily and often more than once. She was also eating quantities that exceeded what Negal and Dagor combined consumed in a day.

She'd been worried about gaining weight, but Julian had reassured her that a ravenous appetite was common for newly transitioned Dormants. Since Gabi had grown a little over an inch, she needed to replenish what her body had used to make her grow taller.

When dressed, Aru walked into the living room and was relieved that Negal and Dagor weren't up yet.

Their relationship had been strained lately, probably because the males resented him for their being stuck in Los Angeles instead of searching for the missing Kra-ell pods.

He should remind them how much they had complained on the trek through Tibet.

Down in the lobby, he waved at the guards. "Getting coffee and sweet things for the lady," he said, knowing they were reporting to someone who was reporting to Kian.

Without meaning to, Gabi had given him the perfect excuse for his early morning outing.

As he stepped outside and walked around the corner of the building, Aru glanced over his shoulder to ensure no one was following him and then lifted his gaze to the sky, searching for a drone.

The irony of what he was doing wasn't lost on him.

He'd been peeved at Kian for bringing Edna and Andrew to test them because he didn't trust them, but he wasn't trusting Kian either.

Leaning against the wall, he pulled a cigarette box out of his pocket, took one of the cylinders, and put it in his mouth. He wasn't a smoker, but it was an excellent cover for spending several minutes outside, presumably doing nothing other than puffing on the stick.

His communicator was in his ear, which was covered by his chin-length hair. As he gave the verbal command for the connection to be made, he lit the cigarette and puffed out a plume of smoke.