come up with something easier than a financial transaction.”
She blinked. “Financial is pretty easy.”
“But far less fun. You apparently need to hide from someone, and I have an offer to make you. Let’s adjourn to a secure channel.”
She grimaced but opened the locked channel when he made contact.
Tydella smiled. “You mentioned an offer?”
“How much do you know about Kiidars?”
She shrugged. “A bit.”
He huffed. “Do you know about rut?”
She cocked her head. “I have heard of it.”
“Well, I am about to begin my cycle, and I am not a fan of the choices my mother would make for me if she knew that it was occurring.”
“You don’t know me. How do you know I am a better choice?”
He smiled, and the smile was slow and bizarrely seductive. “Your scent alone was enough to get me hard. You are the best candidate I have come across, and I have been looking.”
She cocked her head. “How long does it last?”
He shrugged. “Two days to ten. No one knows.”
“I have to leave in four. Non-negotiable, and I can’t be recorded on camera or any other device. I don’t want a record of my time with you.”
He narrowed his eyes, and then, he brightened. “Agreed. So, you will be my lover for the next few days?”
“Sure. I need to get some practice in anyway.” She pressed her thighs together; the heat was rippling through her as she tried to think of what she was embarking on.
“Excellent. When we have entered the atmosphere, you will be given coordinates, and I will meet you there.”
She nodded. “Wait. What is your name?”
He smiled. “Ador. What is yours?”
She thought of a dozen options and opted for something she would answer to. “Tydella.”
He smiled. “I look forward to our physical introduction, Tydella.”
She nodded and disconnected the call. A call to her father and she would be out from under the crown prince in a matter of minutes. But, if she did that, she would have to explain how she ditched her security detail... again. Spending a few days with the Rasha Kiidar was a very enticing option. If she was gone too long, her detail would contact her father for her. So, it seemed like she was going to follow in her mother’s footsteps, straight to a mattress.
The coordinates and planetary clearances came through the moment they were above the capital city, complete with palaces and grand manor houses. Tydella felt her ship come free, and she followed the directions toward the coastline. The countryside was pretty and lush. The fields were bright colours, and all seemed fairly well organized. She snorted that her training had taught her to look at agriculture first and the people second. People could lie. Crops needed tending and monitoring. People could be moved from a more affluent area to a less affluent one simply for the sake of appearances.
She guided the ship to the coordinates and noted that the manor facing the beach was fairly sizable, and based on the life signs, it was occupied. She grumbled and winced at the witnesses that she was about to pass.
Inside her ship, she had a few minutes before the guards showed up and either welcomed or threatened her, depending on how efficient Ador had been with his communication. She went to her wardrobe and pulled out a veil that would obscure her features, and it hung from a web of chain that held her hair down. That would do. It didn’t particularly match her flight suit, but it would keep her from tripping any cameras that were seeking her biometrics. The metal of the veil shimmered and shifted as she moved her head. Her dad kept confiscating them, her mom kept laughing, and Tydella ordered more.
She was watching for the greeting party, and she laughed out loud when she saw the decontamination chamber being trundled toward her ship. It was sensible, considering.
When the unit connected over her airlock, she walked out, wearing only the clothes on her back. She wasn’t going to need much to wear if she gauged Ador’s progress correctly.
She was a little nervous. She hadn’t managed to slip her guards for this purpose before, but if she wanted to get them out of trouble, she was going to have to do this. After spending time with a Kiidar in rut, her father was going to be too busy locking her up in the east tower to worry about her guards. She would have proven her rebellious character, and her deceived guards would be