Lone Wolf

The Reunion

"My turn?" Kella asked.

"Your turn," Mando confirmed. "But you better hurry. We're due to drop out of lightspeed in an hour."

She pursed her lips in thought, then said, "Oh, I've got one. When is your birthday?"

"It was last month," he mumbled against her neck.

"Rats, I missed it," she moaned.

"There's always next year," he offered, brushing her hair aside.

"If we live that long." She tilted her head, allowing him better access. His stubble was rough across her skin.

"When's yours?" he asked.

She sighed before giving her answer. "I was born on Empire Day."

He made a sympathetic sound. "That's unfortunate."

Kella nodded. "Yeah, it always felt wrong to celebrate. If you're partying on Empire Day, people suspect you're nostalgic for the Imps."

"Hmm," he mused. "That's coming up soon. We should do something." He grinned. "And if anyone gives us trouble, they'll answer to me. Or don't you think we can manage to survive until then?"

Kella giggled. "I'm cautiously optimistic."

"We do seem to get into a lot of tight spots lately," he said huskily.

She smacked him on the arm for the innuendo. "Back to the topic of birthdays, how old are you?" she asked.

"Thirty-five," he said, letting it slide that she'd stolen his turn to ask a question. "And you?"

"Twenty-five."

"I'm practically robbing the cradle," he muttered.

She rolled her eyes. "Hardly. Besides, I'm the one sleeping with someone who never even kissed anybody before."

He laughed at that. "Kissing isn't exactly feasible with a helmet. I simply bypassed that step to do other things." Kella tried not to think about him doing 'other things' with other women. Sensing her discomfort, he nuzzled closer and asked, "My turn?"

She nodded. His mouth tickled behind her ear and she swatted him away with a laugh.

He pulled back to meet her eyes. "How many others have there been before me?" Blush crept into her cheeks, and he started to dread her answer. Maybe she fell for someone new on a weekly basis.

She shook her head. "None," she murmured and looked away. "I actually never got past that kissing step we were talking about."

He gave her an incredulous look. "You must be joking."

She dropped her eyes and shrugged. "I was eighteen when I started living on Paraluxe. There wasn't much of a pool to choose from."

"What about before that?" he pressed.

"I had a boyfriend for all of two months when I was seventeen. That was the extent of my romantic experience," she admitted.

"Huh," he said and stared at the ceiling with furrowed brows.

Kella gathered the blankets under her arms and tucked her hair behind her ears. She wanted to kick herself for being so honest. Why couldn't she have answered with something more vague?

He reached out a hand and caught hers mid-tuck. "You do that when you're nervous or feeling self conscious," he said, placing her hand against his cheek. "But you don't need to feel that way with me." He tugged the blankets so he could pull her against his chest. His face was inches from hers. "Before today, I never let anyone in. I thought that was the way it would be for the rest of my life. Then, while you were in the possession of those slavers—" He ground his teeth at the memory and his arm squeezed tighter against her back. "I knew I couldn't lose you. I knew I had to do whatever it took to get you back. I have no regrets."