Chosen by Swift by Lolita Lopez

Author:Lolita Lopez [Lopez, Lolita & Lopez, Lolita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, SciFi romance
Publisher: Night Works Books
Published: 2023-02-24T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Swift stood back and watched as Alys fussed around the table. She had been grumbling about the lack of table linens and proper dishes and silverware for at least ten minutes now. He sensed she was embarrassed to be serving dinner to a guest on a bare table on the utilitarian dishware stocked in each kitchen.

“Alys, Rampage will be perfectly happy to eat off the floor if that’s where you decide to serve dinner,” Swift said, trying to be reassuring. Instead, his remark earned him a scowl.

“I would never!” Her eyes narrowed with irritation. “Being a gracious hostess to any guest in our home includes preparing a beautiful meal on our best table linens and dishes.” She cast a baleful glance at their table. “My mother would be so upset if she saw this.”

“Your mother would understand that you’re a new bride in a new home without a hope chest,” Swift insisted. He crossed the space between them and drew her in for a soothing embrace. “Rampage will be thrilled to get a home cooked meal and to get out of the bachelor wing for a few hours.”

“What’s so bad about the bachelor wing?” she asked, her voice muffled against his chest.

“It’s loud and crowded,” he said, choosing not to tell her about the wild antics that often went on over there. Horny, frustrated men with too much testosterone and not enough access to women were a constant problem, especially in the lower ranks of young men with only a handful of valor points. “Rampage has his own quarters, but they’re very small.”

“But he was a prisoner!” She glanced up at him with concern etched into her face. “Why would they put him in a small home if he’s been in a prison cell?”

“Because it’s what we have available,” he said with a helpless shrug.

“Does he have as many points as you?”

“Probably more,” Swift said, thinking of the various battles Rampage had fought in and the dangerous missions he had undertaken.

“So, until he has a mate, he has to stay in the cramped side of the ship?”

Swift nodded. “That’s the way it goes.”

“That doesn’t seem fair. I was reading the section in the guide about Grabs, and it said there aren’t enough slots available for the men who have points. So—what? They have to wait indefinitely?”

“There are other ways to get a mate.”

“Such as?”

“Matchmaking,” he said. “My parents were in an arranged marriage.”

“I suppose mine are as well. My grandfather practically sold my mother to my father when she was sixteen.”

“How old was your father when they married?”

“Twenty-nine.”

Swift grimaced. “That’s a bit much.”

She shrugged and echoed his earlier remark. “That’s the way it goes.”

He grunted at that, but their discussion of age gaps was cut short by the chime of their doorbell. He glanced at the screen mounted on the wall and saw Rampage waiting in the hallway. He gave Alys another kiss, this one lingering, and then said, “You look beautiful. The table is fine. The food smells delicious.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.