Still, Rem glanced around to be sure theywere alone. No other vehicles were in sight, but on the far side ofthe roof he could see two Malaran pilots locked in an eroticembrace.
“Hey . . .” He stared in confusion, thenturned to Zia, who had stepped up beside him. “That looks likeGannor. And Maryak.”
Zia’s eyes danced. “Come on, Rem. Let’s givethem some privacy.”
“I can’t believe he’s this casual about whathappened. Carrak’s furious. Doesn’t he realize neither of ushas a chance at participating anymore? How can they just—well, justhave fun? I guess Maryak’s trying to make him feel better.”
“You’re such an idiot,” Zia said with agiggle. “Can’t you see? She’s excited because it was sooooexciting!”
“Huh?” He stared in confusion. “You mean thebattle?”
“It was the most exciting thing I’ve everseen with my own eyes. And heard with my own ears, because thatcrash was sooo loud.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.“Really, Rem. It was so exciting.”
“Yeah?” He glanced from her flushed face overtoward Gannor and Maryak, who were literally crawling all over oneanother. “That’s crazy. I mean . . .” He grinned weakly. “It wasfun, I guess. But it ended my career, at least on Malara.”
“Well, it was an exciting way to end it.”
He chuckled. “You keep using that word. Areyou trying to tell me something?”
She laughed. “Stop talking so much and let’sget in the transport.”
He rested his hands on her hips and pulledher against himself, and was shocked by how quickly she responded,plastering her mouth over his. Then they kissed fervently, theirtongues sparring like two hoverbots in heat.
Finally, he moved his mouth to her ear,nuzzling her for a moment. “You’re right. We’d better get in thetransport. But don’t lose the mood.”
She giggled again—a throaty, sexy sound hehadn’t heard her make until today. When she dashed for the vehicle,he sprinted after her, remembering he needed to check for Vekzoribefore he could safely let her on board.
Fortunately, it was empty except for thepilot, who had already started the jets, lifting off as soon as thepassengers were both inside. Rem pulled Zia to a seat that waspartially blocked from the pilot’s view. Then he planted her on hislap and kissed her again.
Her body felt so good, it was almost enoughto make him forget how bad he really felt. But not even Zia coulderase the knowledge that he had destroyed his own career, so hegathered her close and murmured, “You’re amazing. Thanks forhelping me forget about that.”
“Forget it? Who wants to do that?” She gavehim a frustrated smile, then hopped away and sat in a seat facinghim. “Okay, let’s talk about it. For one thing, ignore what Carraksaid. That was the best battle ever. For the first time, Iunderstand why you guys like this stuff so much! It’s so exciting.Dangerous but fun, right?”
Rem grimaced. “Carrak wasn’t just angry, Zee.Didn’t you get it? She was disgusted. No way will she ever trust mewith a mech again, even at practice. And definitely not in a realchallenge.”
“Rem?”
“Yeah?”
“Carrak loved it. Every thrilling minute ofit. I guarantee you that.”
He stared. “Didn’t you listen to her—”
“Yes. I heard it all. You’re a disgrace.You’re prideful, you’re arrogant. You ruined Malaran property.You’re the worst pilot ever. On and on and on. But guess what? Iwas there. I saw her face when you guys had that huge crash.She practically moaned out loud. And not about the high cost ofreplacing mechs either. She loved it.”
His head was spinning. “I had it won—”
“We know! That’s the beauty of it,” sheinsisted. “Yeeeesh, you’re dense.”
He grinned. “I am?”
“Think about why you did it. What possessedyou at that moment. Was it really ego? Pride? Arrogance? It didn’tlook like that. It looked like you were having so much fun, younever wanted it to end.”
He nodded slowly. “It looked like that,because it was. But her point—or what I thought was her point—wasthat it was unnecessary and reckless. Which it was.”
“So don’t ever do it again,” Zia said with ashrug. “Especially now that you know it won’t work. You fell down,”she added teasingly. “It was soooo loud, I think the groundactually shook.”
“It did,” he admitted, remembering thebone-bruising aftershocks. “But I learned something. If it happensagain, I’m pretty sure I can correct for it, so I don’t topple.” Heexhaled sharply. “So? You really think Carrak will give me anotherchance?”
“She loves you so much, she wants to haveyour furry babies. Trust me.”
He laughed, then cleared his throat. “Howabout you? Are you still impressed by the battle?”
She nodded. “Unfortunately, I’m not supposedto distract you. So I’m going to sit up front with Humber’s nephewwhile you review the battle and figure out what you did wrong.And what you did right,” she added proudly. “Because therewas a lot of that too.”
“Wait!” He caught her hand as she movedtoward the pilot’s seat. “What do you mean, you’re not supposed todistract me?”
“Carrak’s orders. She wants you toconcentrate on piloting, so you’ll be ready. Not for the firstchallenge, or the second. But after that, if you practice andpractice . . .”
“She said that?”
Zia nodded. “It’s the only thing she and Iagree on. That you’re a great pilot and you need to do whatever ittakes to earn a spot in the challenges. So . . .” She bit her lip.“We should probably find me another bodyguard—”
“No. That’s out of the question. I’m the onlyone we can trust. Period.”
He expected her to argue, but she smiled andnodded. “Good. Because I don’t want anyone else. But I also don’twant to interfere with your training, so don’t expect any moreslutty behavior from me, at least for a while. But if you fight ina challenge, and topple a giant . . .” She flashed a mischievoussmile. “Well, then we’ll see.”
He let his gaze wander from her pretty faceto the rest of her body before assuring her, “I’ll definitely takethat deal.”
* * * *
The Malaran prime minister’s office hadarranged for the dinner party to be held in a restaurant on
