Stars Dancing [Dreams-To-Lovers Romance]

NAYTH

Borden: I'll meet you in conference room 1 in 5 min

Nayth: goody

Borden. Borden wasn't the man I wanted to see. I stopped pacing and sat down in one of the conference chairs, attempting to focus on my "Read This" folder that Rahel had stacked with things I didn't care about: summaries of the press about me and Dr. Nova. Inquiries from ministers all over the galaxy wanting to know what I was doing with a Shurwinn woman.

Rahel always handled all of that without me, but kept me informed with this folder. So at my leisure I was supposed to read it. Which I was doing. Without seeing any of it.

Finally Borden came in. He paused, looking a bit wary and sat opposite me.

Where was Ren? I needed my little buddy in my ear to whisper things to make me happy again. Madrano! Madrano had sent me one message: "We're on our way." Nothing else. No dates. No starliner itineraries. Radio silence; they weren't answering!

They lived on the other side of the galaxy, and he expected me to just wait here for them to fall out of the sky and catch them? I'd strangle him with my bare hands, if he ever got here. My hands on Peydran's neck.

Ah, there it was: a smile on my face.

"Cripes, Carmidee. You're a scary bastard today. First scowling, now bliss? Do I want to know?"

"Strangling. Try it, Borden. Instant mood fixer."

"Florians," he rolled his eyes then continued, "I know neither of us really wants to talk about this—"

He cut off as I accepted an incoming video transmit.

"Thank the clouds. Wait— are you naked on a starliner?"

"Florians!" Borden cursed.

"We have no shame," Ren said.

"We're not Florians! Shurwinn hotels are normal," Peydran pronounced.

Laughing, Borden got up to come around and see my Shurwinn friends.

"Wait," Ren teased. "Naaaayyyth are you with a maaaan? Does Ryst know? Is she into it?"

I stood up, hugged Borden, and kissed his cheek.

He shoved me, hard saying, "Oh, hell, no. Florians are disgusting. Get off me, you pig!"

"Feisty," said Ren.

Peydran laughed along with me. My mood was instantly better. I kinda wanted Borden to hit me. Maybe we could go down to the dojo and smash each other around for a bit.

"So, naked and unashamed, I'm glad to see you are at least on a starliner. You know I couldn't get itinerary information from Shurwinn, no matter my galactic connections? Do you know what you've been doing to me? Radio silence, Madrano?!" I scolded.

"Aww, honey," Peydran said. "Nayth missed us so much he got his undies in a twist. What're we going to do about it?"

"Let's tell him I asked you to marry me, and you said 'Yes!'"

"HO! HO! GUYS!" I shouted at them. "GUYS! Congratulations! Wait, wait. Ryst isn't here. I gotta—"

"We already told her," Peydran said.

"Does she know you're coming here? I didn't tell her."

"No," Ren shook his head. "We want to surprise her. I wrote her a love song. We just need somewhere to sing it for her— ahh. Just you and Ryst, though. Not everybody."

"Okay, okay," I nodded. "There's apartments, conference rooms, the dojo. Any of that sound right?"

"Dojo," Peydran confirmed.

"How's your falsetto, Nayth?" Ren asked.

I smiled and sang out, "Kiss me always, never stop, baby. Don't you stop."

Grinning, Ren instructed, "Call me back for rehearsal when you finish that tryst."

When the screen went dark, I felt at peace inside. Borden could say whatever the hell he wanted to me now, and I wouldn't care.

"Alright Borden. What's so urgent?"

"Ryst can see the future."

"I believe we've established that. Or something like it. Threads of reality. Things that could be but haven't been chosen. It's rather confusing. Possibility is not certainty. It's madness if anything. She's remarkable to even be sane. Did you need something?"

"Nice, Nayth. nice. Way to serve that with a side of guilt."

I smiled my strangler smile.

"Fine, we'll go to the dojo and work this out. But if there's something she can do to help us. . . It isn't about me. We want children, Nayth, and you know what I am. This is about family and taking care of Nika and our kids. I have no idea what traits I could pass on."

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I gave up. "Borden, I don't think this is optional for Ryst. I don't think it's something she can turn on and off. You saw what happened to her when she met you and Nika. She told you that just looking at you— at that green light that you give off, or whatever it is that she sees when she turns her senses towards you; it hurts her. Even if she wanted to try and decipher all of that, do you think she can tell you more about your own life than you can tell yourself?"

He put his hands up in a backing down motion. "Alright, alright Nayth. Just— will you tell me? If she sees something about me or Nika? Will you tell us? Even—even if it isn't good?"

I sighed. "Borden, Ryst is the most honest person I've ever met. I don't think she's capable of lying. She has to hide a lot, and I think she hates that. She just wants everyone to be open and genuine. I'm confident that if she sees something you need to know, she will tell you. Okay? Does that help?"

He nodded. "Thanks. I'm glad you know."

"Me too. I appreciate the trust you and Nika are showing us. Now, the dojo? Are you going to spar me without tearing up the foundation of my villa? Will there be earthquakes?"

"Burying people in molten rock, Nayth. Try it. Instant mood fixer," he smiled.

Play Kiss Me Always by Nayth Carmidee.

"Kiss Me Always"

alone like the tide

questions of a storm

tear in the moonlight

and always you, baby.

besame siempre

nunca dejes.

skin on skin

hips on hips

lips on lips

and

always you, baby.

besame siempre

nunca dejes.

kiss me always

and never stop

don't you stop.

File name: Untold Stories

Passcode: 8675309

I could stay like this forever. And ever. My right arm was around my Methela's waist, holding her to me, our legs entangled. Tonight she was looking at me, not resting her cheek on my heart like usual.

I had my eyes closed, and held back the smile that wanted to break out while she traced my cheekbones, my jaw, my neck, looking at me with tenderness and love. She held back a smile too, knowing that I was holding back my smile and knowing that she knew. It was a lot of knowing.

But mostly she knew I loved her. She finally really knew. And I knew that she loved me back. There had never been any doubt about that. So, I was just lying there letting her love me tenderly, and she was finally ready to.

She'd finally figured out that this is all I wanted in the world. That I'm a big, soft fool who just wants to lie here smiling at her and feeling her loving me.

She did love me. Ryst Nova was made of love. She'd asked me if I thought her incapable of hate. I did. I didn't think Ryst could hate anyone. Be angry? Yes. But she didn't hate her ex-husband. She'd be genuinely upset if something bad happened to the bastard.

If Ryst hated anything it was suffering. She loved everything and everyone so much that she couldn't stand the thought of anyone suffering. She was made of love. And I got to be the one she aimed all that love at.

Her hand traced down my shoulder and her lips followed. Yeah, Ryst, just like that. Kiss me anywhere and everywhere.

I saw an image that kept running through her head. My dad, holding her against him, pelvis to pelvis, teaching her the wedding dance. Freya had threatened me with bodily harm if I told Ryst anything at all about the wedding. "Swear it on your left nut, Iqui."

"I obediently swear on both my testicles and my manhood to not tell Ryst anything about this wedding. Shall I repeat it on my knees, sister?" She'd just smirked.

Freya was loving the fake power of being our wedding planner. Freya didn't know that Ryst didn't need me to talk out loud. Ryst had been pulling things out of my brain for four years. And maybe longer.

I couldn't tell why Ryst kept thinking about dancing with my dad, though. Was it bothering her? She didn't feel bothered. It was a lot of pelvis, if you weren't used to dancing Floreno. So, yeah, I supposed I could've been a bit weirded out to dance like that with her grandfather, Denten, if I weren't Florian.

I decided to test the waters and held an image in my mind for her to pick up. Freya had only needed to show me the dance once. And Ryst probably didn't know that it was a variation of a traditional Florian Bride and Groom dance.

So, I thought really hard about dancing the whole thing through with Freya. Ryst's head popped up. I smiled a big smile then wished I hadn't stopped her from kissing my shoulder.

Her eyebrows were raised. Then she got an "Oh" look on her face as understanding fell into place. She just nodded, "I thought so." So, Freya must've sworn her to secrecy too, but she'd obviously figured out that my dad was teaching her a bride and groom dance.

"Is dancing with Dad making you uncomfortable, Ryst? I keep seeing snatches of it in your mind."

"Oh," she shook her head and screwed up her eyebrows. "No, no, not bothering me. Klear is an excellent dancer, and a great teacher. And his mind is— umm. Hee, hee— his mind is clear. He is full of love and affection and kindness. He's a big softy in a stodgy suit."

Yeah, that was my dad. Ryst had him figured out pretty quick. Perceptive, my Methela.

"But, well. I danced in Shurwinn. I learned all the dances. They have amazing music and dances, Nayth. You'll love it. Love it! Bhangra! The drums. I got private lessons."

She showed me her memories of Shurwin. How in her martial art, Tindin, sparring was called dancing. She showed me learning the Tindin forms with Denten and sparring as a master of the flow. She showed me her dance teacher and how she'd learned Shurwinn ballroom dances, line dances, and more.

She'd been nervous because of the Talent, and her teacher had been great with her. Ryst loved Tindin, and she loved dancing.

I felt it, felt how much she loved those memories. She loved to dance because that was how she felt free and boundless— like she could stretch out beyond her body, beyond the vast desert, and beyond the night sky when she moved through the flow and through the dance steps.

"Then I danced with Jasen at Alen's wedding," sadness entered my Methela's face as she remembered that night. "And I went home and wrote you a letter saying maybe my Talent wasn't bothering me as much as it used to because I didn't really want to connect to other people that intimately. That really, I only wanted to be close like that with you."

It was time for the naked portion of the evening to be over. My Methela had danced twice with my dad. She'd danced with a teacher on Shurwinn. She'd danced with Jasen.

"Then I had the best dream, Nayth." She showed me the dream in her mind, and my soft heart melted even more.

"I think I might even like that dream more than the first dream I had where I met you. Or maybe it's just the continuation of the first dream. It was us. We danced. We danced, and we were starlight. It was the best thing I've ever felt."

"Let's get dressed, baby," I said pulling on my lounge pants. I led her out to the garden, cuing up a sexy boy band song I wrote called "Kiss Me Always." I played it on repeat— a syrupy song that had a good beat underneath the sappiness. One that encouraged Floreno pelvis rocking.

In the moonlight, I danced Floreno with my Methela for the first time. She already had the steps from dancing with my father. She knew how to rock her pelvis and sway in time with mine.

Our bodies already knew the dance. Our hearts already knew the song.

We'd done it before hadn't we? We'd always been dancing like this— me and Ryst, with the stars watching and the light of two moons kissing our skin.