Lost Flyght – Chapter 6

When I arrive in Carlos’s den, he’s already directing people on what to do.

“This whole pile here has to go. Recycle the lot of it,” he says, motioning to a mound of metal parts in the room’s corner. Fire twisted the old servers and singed most of them black. “I need space for the new servers.”

He turns around and catches me loitering in the doorway. “Captain!” He bounds over like a child on a sugar rush. “Oh my God, I’m so excited. Jinzo is springing for the equipment I’ve been asking for for years. Years,” he stresses, wide-eyed. “I’ll be able to do whatever you want… uh, tech-wise, that is.” His cheeks color.

I’m sure he’s thinking dirty thoughts and hating himself.

“What? No back walk-overs and spinning plates in the air?”

He laughs. “No. I’m thoroughly uncoordinated if you haven’t noticed.” He clears his throat and reaches for a bag of candy. “So, it looks like the equipment we ordered will be here in two days, and I need at least three more days to wire everything up. And another two to three days to install a new AI and test it, assuming Skylar gets us a new one by then.” He shrugs. “Jinzo says that there are AI dealers on the Lee home ship, but if we want something custom, we’ll have to go to Palo Alto or Laguna. And honestly, custom will be our best bet. Anything standard will be too simple for us, and I’ll have to patch it all to hell.”

He chomps on a red licorice and watches the workers carry out the charred remains of his previous equipment.

“We can’t just reinstall Ai into the ship?”

Carlos raises his eyebrows at me.

“I know, I know. She was annoying sometimes with all the sexual references, but it was kind of… charming, you know?”

“No, I don’t know,” he deadpans. “Captain, please. We need a real AI, not one that was shoehorned into the job because Skylar was being cheap.”

“I beg to differ,” I say, raising a finger into the air. “She wasn’t being cheap. Our family did extensive upgrades on the whole ship. She just ran out of money by the time she made it to the AI.”

“Okay, point taken. But Ai was never meant to do this job. I liked her, eventually, but ships were not her forté. Anyway, I think I’m close to restoring her.” He grabs a datapad and shows it to me. “This will be Ai once I’m done pulling files off all the remaining servers. I’ll get her booted up, and we’ll figure out what happened so I can stop it from ever happening again.”

“Then what?” I gesture at the datapad.

“Then I think I’ll put her in charge of entertainment.” He laughs. “Skylar asked for it. We’ll have a lot of Flyght clients who will need help with finding restaurants or resorts or even sexbots for when they reach their destinations.” I’m impressed he didn’t even blush when it came to the sexbots. “She can be like a concierge.”

Ai the concierge. I like it.

“Great idea. Well, keep me posted on what you find out. I’m going to go visit Jinzo.”

Carlos nods, already distracted by the workers who are back. I step away from the door and watch him work for a moment, so intent on his business. His family was right to keep him and educate him. He may not hold a lot of value as a mate for someone, but he’s more than valuable in other ways.

The engine room is cold and quiet when I arrive, a marked contrast to when we’re in transit. Off to one side of the room, Jinzo is digging through a giant shipping container of parts and holding a datapad.

“Hey,” I say as the door shuts behind me. “Are you busy?”

He looks up and smiles. “I expected you back hours ago. Is everything okay?” His smile fades away as I cross the room and plop into a canvas chair next to his crate.

“Everything’s fine. Just… tired.” I wince. “Sorry. I know you’re probably tired of hearing me say that.”

He sets the datapad aside. “I do hear that phrase quite a bit.” His smile is soft and easy, not at all weary. “Did the lunch go okay?”

It’s my turn to smile. “Yeah. It did. You were right. There was nothing to worry about. Your mom is a lovely woman. I only hope she liked me as much as I like her.”

His smile is brighter than a million stars. “See? I knew it would go well.” He offers me a hand to stand up, so I take it, but it only leads to me being drawn into his arms. I relax into his embrace, grateful for the comfort he brings. My eyes tear up as I imagine him being alone and dejected from Cressida all those years. Jinzo is a social creature. He needs this one-on-one contact, the touches, the attention. Now I truly understand why he wouldn’t go back to her.

I sniff up and bury my face in his shoulder.

“Hey, hey. What’s wrong?” He hugs me tighter, and I turn my face so I can rest my forehead on his neck.

“Nothing really. Just stress. There’s so much to do, and so little time. Every moment is ticking away, and I’m so afraid of screwing stuff up.” I take a deep breath and close my eyes. “We need to deal with Cressida. Whether we want to or not.” I pull my arms from his waist and wrap them around his neck. “I need to know you’re mine.”

“I am yours,” he whispers. “We should leave Cressida be. Live our lives.”

I won’t argue with him, but I’m not going to give this up. This is the time to deal with her. I just need the right strategy.

Jinzo pulls back. “I have a great idea.” He leads me across the room and directs me to sit on a locked storage compartment. Hooking his hands under my knees, he draws me forward, so he’s between my legs.

Hello.

His eyes reflect the engine room lights and look deep into mine.

“I’m going to send you on vacation.”

“What?” I throw back my head and laugh. Then I pull his face towards mine with both of my hands on his cheeks. “Not on your life.” I kiss him, even though he protests under my lips.

“No, no, no.” He shakes his head to release my grasp, so I rest my arms on his shoulders. “Hear me out. Mom mentioned that she thought you could use a break.”

“When did she say this?”

“A few hours ago. She vidcalled right after your lunch. I don’t know where you’ve been for the last few hours.” He raises his eyebrows and laughs.

“Nowhere really. I wandered the ship and spent some time thinking.”

“Well, you should be thinking about your health. It’s been non-stop stress for you for the past couple of weeks, and I’m sure your life before this mess wasn’t a breeze either.” His fingers trace the shape of my face. I lean into his touch. “I want you to go to Laguna for a few days.”

I roll my eyes. There’s no way I’m going to Laguna. He’s nuts.

“I know what you’re thinking. You don’t have time for it. You don’t have the money for it. Et cetera, et cetera.” I pout, and he swipes his thumb over my bottom lip. “You have four or five days to kill in which most of the Amagi will be off limits while we do repairs. Your seeds will grow fine without you. You can’t take any Flyght clients. You’re out of hot sauce making supplies. There’s nothing for you to do but sit here and be bored.”

I sigh, slumping forward and dragging my hands down his arms. He talks a good game, and I can’t disagree with any of it.

“Go to Laguna. Take Skylar and Gus. Stay at the Lee villa. Oh, you’ll love it. White sandy beaches. Unlimited food and drinks. An amazing restaurant and bar. You’ll be waited on hand and foot.”

The Lee villa? Uh oh. That sounds like a lot of wealth, something I’m not naturally comfortable with.

“Rest and relax and then come back and go to Gus’s sister’s wedding.” His lips twist in a wry smile.

I huff a laugh. “You put him up to that, didn’t you? I saw you talking to him. Jin, you know what Marcelo said.”

He grabs my hips and pulls me closer. “Listen. Not all of your connections need to be based on money. They can be because you’re attracted to someone. Or because that someone is good for you and everyone else.” He leans in and kisses my neck. “I disagree with Marcelo, and I think you should give Gus the chance he needs to show us what he’s made of.”

He peppers kisses up my neck to my ear, and I inhale sharply, drawing my hips forward and encircling him with my legs. Here is my number one man, intent on loving me, living with me, and still thinking about the long term for us with other men added to the relationship network. He’s kind and thoughtful and open.

I pull back, take his face in my hands, and leap.

“I love you.”

The words feel natural, not forced or awkward. They feel right. I’ve never said them so soon. It took months for Ken and me to even admit it to ourselves and even longer to say it.

He draws in a great breath and takes my hands from his face. “I’ve loved you since you ran after Sonia, jumped on that bike, and sped off on a city-wide chase. It was literally the hottest thing I had ever seen.”

I burst into a hearty laugh and throw my arms around him. He squeezes me hard, and my giggles of happiness make us both shake.

“Now, my love, while you’re gone to Laguna to rest, I’m going to call up that guy from Rio and sell the Taurus. That way, when you return, the money will be in the bank.”

Words I love to hear.

“And I believe that tonight is my night, but I have conceded to Ken since he’s leaving tomorrow morning. So…”

He begins to pull away from me, but I don’t want him to go.

“Wait.” I grab a fistful of his shirt. “It’s not evening yet.”

I drop my chin and look up at him through my lashes. Oh yes, sex in the engine room. Why not?

“Here?” he asks, looking around. Well, it is my ship, and the door is closed.

“Right here.” I reach for the bottom of my shirt and peel it off.

Jinzo, seeing the opportunity, shucks off his own shirt, and the pants and underwear go straight with it. I let my gaze slip down his body. Mmm, I am so happy.

He reaches behind me and removes my bra while I fumble at my pants.

“Lift your hips.” He inches his fingers into my waistband. With my hips raised, he removes my pants and underwear in one swift motion.

My breathing speeds up as his hand glides up my stomach to my breasts, and he reaches around with his other hand to draw me against him.

With his lips hovering over mine, he says, “No toys. No bed. Not even a blanket. It’s just you and me.”

“You and me.”

Sex may not take the stress away, but his body on mine, the slip of our skin together… it does make things a little easier.