Holy shit. It was real. “Jamie is in space? On Velerion?” One more time. I had to hear it one. More. Time.
“On Arturri, the moon base where Starfighter pilots are stationed. She has adapted well, by all reports.”
“You haven’t seen her?”
Kass shook his head, taking the opportunity to move his lips to the opposite side of my jaw. “Only on official reports. After her escape from Queen Raya’s warship, General Aryk sent excerpts of their debrief to all pilots so we would know what to watch for.”
“Is she well?” Any sane woman would walk away now. But I was not ordinary. I had access to things, events, reports of UFOs and other phenomena the everyday citizen had never seen. Believing aliens were real was no stretch for me. Accepting that Kassius had traveled here from another solar system to find me? Me? Well, that was the crazy bit.
“She is healthy and whole, living with Alexius on Arturri.”
“Show me the scar.” I blurted the order before I could think better of it. On our second mission I’d seen my Kass, the Kass in the game, without his shirt on. That Kassius had a jagged circular scar on the back of his left shoulder. Wide lines. Bigger than my hand. Old.
No actor could fake that.
“With pleasure.” His grin as he stepped back was not what I had expected, and the air caught in my lungs as I watched him pull the black shirt over his head. His chest was… massive. Muscled. Perfect. But a lot of men had nice physiques. Wide shoulders. Arms rippling with strength.
I’d been staring too long, and he seemed content to allow it. “Turn around,” I ordered.
He did so, slowly. When he faced away from me, I stepped forward with a gasp. The scar was there. Old. Healed. A mark of extreme pain. Exactly as I remembered. “Oh my God.” Fingers trembling, I traced the mark with a quiet sigh. “You’re real.”
“I am.”
“How did you get this?”
“That is a story for another day.” He rotated and I couldn’t bear to stop touching him as my palm slid from back to shoulder to chest. I didn’t want to give him up. Not yet.
“I actually believe you.” I reached up, cupped his square jaw, touched his lips—with something other than my mouth—for the first time. “You really are Kass.”
He stroked my hair back, watched his fingers as he ran them through it. “I am. You chose me in your beginning assessment. We have worked together all this time to get through the training.”
“Hold that thought.” I stepped away from his touch and pulled my cell phone from my jacket pocket. I had to let Lily know what was happening. If I disappeared, too, poor Lily would freak. What if she got scared or distracted or depressed and didn’t finish the game? What if Darius never came for her and she died not knowing what had happened to us. No. Not okay.
I pulled up her contact info, grateful we’d exchanged numbers, and my fingers flew over the small digital keyboard.
Lily, it’s Mia. The game is real. Jamie is on Velerion with Alexius. I’m leaving now with Kass. Finish the game. Darius will come for you.
I hit send and waited as Kass patiently watched me. Less than thirty seconds later I received Lily’s response.
WTF? Is this a joke? What??????
I was grinning now, bubbling over with anticipation and excitement and happiness. My life was about to go in a completely new direction, and I was so ready. So damn ready to do something different.
Not a joke. Finish the game. Darius will come. See you on Velerion.
I turned off my phone and slipped it back into the jacket pocket. I was about to jump all over Kassius Remeas, and I didn’t need my phone’s camera or microphone on to capture the moment. “What now?” I moved toward him and placed my palms flat on his chest. He was warm and strong and looking at me like I was his favorite thing in the universe. All things which made him impossible to resist, even if I’d wanted to. Which I didn’t.
“You cannot imagine how I’ve longed for you.” He traced my lower lip with his thumb as I took a deep breath, learning his scent for the first time.
My imagination was pretty spectacular, so he was wrong there.
“I don’t want to wait any longer. I can’t.” He rolled his hips into me, and I felt why. “Mia, please say you’ve been as crazy as me for this moment.”
I didn’t want to wait either. God, I soooo didn’t. “Yes, I’ve been crazy. God, the things I thought about you.”
His jaw clenched. “I want to hear them all. Later.”
I licked my lips, gave a little nod. I’d never been so aroused, so eager for a man. We’d only kissed and God, we’d just met. But I knew Kass. Needed him.