Synnr's Hope - Kate Rudolph Page 0,73

The bomb disposal squad. She pulled back her wings and Solan did the same. They backed up and were led by another member of the unit to a safe distance away.

She couldn’t stop touching Solan. If they were alone she would have been doing a lot more, but as it was, she just clung to his arm. They were alive. They weren’t going to sacrifice themselves in a fiery explosion.

They ended up in the front of the palace, where dozens of vehicles were parked and more official people milled around. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted what looked like press, cameras and reporters and all of that. She ignored them. Someone else could deal with that. She just wanted to go home and lay down with Solan for a week. No bombs, no challenges, nothing but the two of them naked in a soft bed.

Heaven.

Oh, what the hell. She tugged his head towards her and laid a claiming kiss on him. She didn’t care about the audience. And after a second of surprise, neither did he, kissing her back with vigor.

A voice cleared behind them, reminding her they weren’t in private. Lena’s cheeks heated, but she didn’t let go of Solan’s hand. It was Major Ozar. She looked satisfied, so Lena didn’t expect a reprimand. “I want you both back at headquarters. We need to debrief. No detours.” She gave the order and hurried away.

“That was a warning not to sneak off and have sex, wasn’t it?” Lena asked, watching the major walk off. She was trying to calculate how long it would take to get to headquarters. With the way her blood was singing, she was pretty sure she could manage a quickie. Would the major really notice a five-minute delay?

Okay, maybe fifteen minutes.

“I think it was,” Solan said. “The sooner we get to headquarters, the sooner we can leave. I want to show you my bed.”

His bed. His house. His life. Lena couldn’t wait to see. “Then let’s get this over with.”

They found transport back to headquarters, and a few people were starting to trickle in from the palace. Lena and Solan used the opportunity to take a shower; well, two showers. If they showered together they would definitely be guilty of taking a detour. When Lena got out, Solan wasn’t in the changing room. She didn’t hear the water running in the other shower stall and figured he must have already left. Weird. She would have thought he’d wait for her. But she was a big girl, and she could find the briefing room herself.

She did find it. But Solan wasn’t there. Major Ozar sat behind a table with the commander that had sent her and Solan off to remedial training all those weeks ago. “Where’s Solan?” Lena asked.

“He’s being debriefed,” said the major. “Now please have a seat.”

Lena sat, a bit uneasy but eager to be done. “We’re doing this separately?”

“Yes.” The major gestured and the holoplayer brought up an image of the palace. “Now let’s begin.”

It took hours. The major started by going over Lena and Solan’s morning at the training facility all the way through to the last moments they spent around the bomb. Then she wanted to talk about Lena and Solan’s training.

Lena was pretty sure this was another test. Or torture. She just wanted to get out of the building. And after going over every mission in excruciating detail, it was over. Finally. Even better, Lena and Solan were being cleared for active duty—no more need for training, no more murder house. She wanted to celebrate. And there was only one person she wanted to celebrate with.

Once she was dismissed, she left the room and went on a search for Solan. No one knew where he was. She found her communicator in her locker and checked for any messages, but there were none. Then she asked the front desk officer if she knew where Solan had gone. And the officer told her that Solan had left more than two hours before.

Why? Insecurities tried to take hold. Was Solan reconsidering their relationship now that they were out in the real world? Did he need time to himself?

No. Everything was fine. Maybe he had just gone home to make sure everything was ready for her to show up. Okay, that sounded a little self-centered. But they had spent every day together since being sent off for training. She wasn’t going to begrudge him a few hours alone.

Besides, she could just call