billion book
23
Rain
pov.
I watch Morgan as she sniffs a bunch of roses, her smile soft, eyes closed and looking more relaxed than I've seen her look in the month that I've known her. It's crazy to think I've only known her for a month, thought about running away from her, ran away from her and then came back knowing I never want to run from her again. Her chocolate skin looks like it's glowing underneath the sun and in the white dress she's wearing it makes her look even more beautiful. Her hair is done up in a messy bun, showing off her neck that's thankfully bare of any marks.
"For now." Remi gives his every unasked comment, but I ignore him, in favor for watching Morgan move on to the next set of flowers. She grins wide at the smell of the daisies and looks at me, waving me over to come smell and I do so, despite my senses being on overload just standing in the middle of all these flowers. When she suggested we come out to the market I almost wanted to convince her otherwise but this, this has been the best day between us.
"How about we have some delivered home?" I ask and her eyes widen. "Or not." She shakes her head and places the flowers down, gently resting one hand on my chest, the other grabbing onto my wrist.
"You said home. When we met you said the Glaze wasn't your home." She explains, looking almost hopeful and at the same time scared of getting her hopes up. I tilt her chin up gently and lean down to kiss her. She smiles into the kiss, and I do the same, I don't think I'd ever get tired of kissing this woman.
"Things have changed. I met this feisty little human who changed my mind." She grins, giggling a little and it might be the cutest thing she's ever done.
"Yeah? You think I can steal her away from you?" I run my hand through my hair and pull my face.
"I think she'd give you a run for your money. She doesn't like to share what's hers." She pulls me down and kisses me, pushing her tongue into my mouth, taking control of the kiss entirely. I grab onto her waist, pulling her closer to me and she pushes her hands into my hair. Fingers scratching behind my ear causing me to growl softly at the pleasure.
"Don't you forget that." She mutters against my lips before kissing me again. Someone behind us clears their throat and Morgan pulls away from the kiss, resting on her feet again and turns to another human standing there.
"I thought you were sick." The blond-haired woman says, face pulled tight.
"I'm on DND, I never said I was sick." I see the tension crawling back in Morgan's shoulders and she stands between me and the blond woman like she's protecting me.
"Generally, you take DND when you're sick." The blond woman insists causing Morgan to blow out an inpatient breath.
"I don't have to explain to you why I'm on DND while I'm on DND. You can set a meeting with me on Monday if you have questions. For now, excuse me Sinclair, I have a wolf that I need to pay attention to. I'm sure Rames would like you to get back to him as well, you know, instead of forcing him to hide." Morgan looks over her shoulder and I notice a black-haired man standing behind a stall filled with tulips trying his very best not to look over here every few seconds. The other woman's face flares red and she opens her mouth to say something, but Morgan turns away from her, grabbing my hand to make sure I follow her, not that I would have stayed behind.
"Who are they?" She sighs and shakes her head.
"Parasites. Would you like something to eat?" I allow her to change the subject and just nod my head. We make our way to the other side of the giant outdoor market where various food stalls are. Morgan makes us get a huge bowl of stir-fried beef with soft buns, a six-piece chicken strip serving with chili dipping sauce and bottles of water. "Tell me about your family, Rain." She demands as we sit down at a table.
"What about my family?" She dips a chicken strip into the sauce and shrugs her shoulders as she bites into it, licking the extra sauce from the corner of her mouth.
"Anything. Where's your parents? Why does your sister live on Teranian and you in the Bio-Glaze." I rub the back of my neck, wishing we didn't have to talk about this. "Okay, I'll go first." She offers, probably having sensed my discomfort. "I was born a tier-two human. It's not bad but we didn't have nearly the number of coins I have today so sometimes things were tough, especially when my parents had two children to feed and put through school. My dad died when I was six, in a factory accident and we got a very big pay-out from the Glaze, so we lived a little better. I worked my ass off to be able to enter Bio-Glaze security one day. So, I could make sure everyone was safe when my father wasn't. Anyway, the war came, and I lost my mother, right after it ended, I got accepted into Glaze-Control and I've worked my ass of again to become a head programmer. My sister is stationed on the Space sector. She might still be pissed at me for working for Glaze-Control or she might still be broken hearted. It could be both." She shrugs.
"I lost my parents in the war too. Not the one that was four years ago. The one about thirty years ago, when we were still trying to figure out how to live in harmony. Before that we never really got access to the Bio-Glaze. Humans had sealed themselves off from the other sectors, stating that we needed to all stay in our places to ensure survival. I'm not sure what changed, but one day they decided to open the gates between the sectors for more than just business and things went wrong. Species started feeling like they were owed more than they we dealt and the whole things caused unrest. Anyway, my parents disappeared during that war and when it was over I had to take care of River. She didn't want to come and live in the Bio-Glaze, I couldn't blame her. So, I came and tried to make a better life for her." She nods, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as a frown appears between her eyes.
"Your parents just disappeared?" I slowly nod. "So, they night not be dead?" I shrug my shoulders.
"Haven't seen them in more than thirty years. If they're not dead, I can't imagine why they'd let us suffer through thinking they were." Morgan looks unsure but doesn't press it, just allows us to eat in silence and I'm glad for that.