didn’t detect any. She honestly seemed okay with jettisoning her possessions before jumping into the Grab. Something she’d said earlier about only poor women being pulled into the lottery came to mind. Perhaps she hadn’t had much in the way of worldly goods in the first place. The desire to shower her with pretty things hit him hard. “Anything you need or want I’ll find for you.”
She shot one of those dazzling smiles his way. “Thank you.”
As she set aside her bag, he lifted the tabletop attached to the bed into place and secured it. He picked up the trays of food and explained, “I wasn’t sure what you liked so I got a tray of hot things and another tray of cold things.”
When he lifted the lids she sat forward with interest. He started to drag a chair closer but she pointed to the foot of the bed. “Why don’t you sit there? I’ve got my legs crossed, so there’s plenty of room.”
He considered her suggestion and figured it would work fine. Bending down, he removed his boots and made a mental note to see the uniform shop about another pair. He had a backup set in his closet but would need to break in another pair just in case.
Hopping up onto the bed, he realized that sitting with his legs crossed wouldn’t be as easy for him as it evidently was for Dizzy. The nimble little sprite seemed awfully flexible. The sight of her so comfortably contorted spurred some terribly dirty thoughts. He was suddenly very glad for the table between them that shielded the obvious hard-on pressing at the front of his uniform pants.
“I think you’re going to have to drape your legs on either side of the mattress, Venom.”
He loved the way she said his name in that gentle, sweet voice of hers. “I think you’re right, sugar.”
One side of her mouth lifted to form a quirky smile. “That sugar thing seems to be sticking.”
He picked up one of the cutlery sets and handed it to her. “You don’t like it?”
“I didn’t say that.” She opened the protective packaging and tugged free a fork. “The first couple of times I thought maybe you couldn’t remember my name.”
Her mischievous grin sent little darts of excitement right through his chest. The more relaxed she became around him the more of the real Dizzy he glimpsed—and he really liked her. “Your name isn’t an easy one to forget.”
She made a little laughing sound. “My real name is way worse.”
He’d been tempted to dig through her bag and peek at her official paperwork while she’d been sedated but it felt wrong to go through her things, even if they technically belonged to him now that she was legally his property. “What is it?”
She shook her head. “You first.”
“My name is Venom.”
“No,” she said. “The name you had before the academy.”
Before the academy? “I take it Risk filled you in on our naming conventions.”
“He mentioned that you lose your birth name when you enter the academy and earn another name when you graduate.”
“It’s a way to build unit cohesion and brotherhood. The boys we were when we joined the academy disappear at the front doors. We’re all the same and all on equal footing. No one is richer or poorer. We’re just numbers.”
Her expression turned sad. “That sounds terribly hard for a little boy.”
He shrugged. “It’s not easy but it’s our way. Someday our sons will climb the same stairs to the academy’s front doors that I climbed and my father climbed and his father before him.”
Dizzy went perfectly still at the mention of someday having his sons. It wasn’t a secret that Grabs were meant to promote procreation of strong, healthy boys to fill the ranks. It was one of the reasons why only the bravest, toughest soldiers were granted the right to take wives by earning valor points. It weeded out the weak and the less deserving.
But he had only just Grabbed Dizzy that morning and already he was talking about sons. What the hell is wrong with you? You’re going
She shot one of those dazzling smiles his way. “Thank you.”
As she set aside her bag, he lifted the tabletop attached to the bed into place and secured it. He picked up the trays of food and explained, “I wasn’t sure what you liked so I got a tray of hot things and another tray of cold things.”
When he lifted the lids she sat forward with interest. He started to drag a chair closer but she pointed to the foot of the bed. “Why don’t you sit there? I’ve got my legs crossed, so there’s plenty of room.”
He considered her suggestion and figured it would work fine. Bending down, he removed his boots and made a mental note to see the uniform shop about another pair. He had a backup set in his closet but would need to break in another pair just in case.
Hopping up onto the bed, he realized that sitting with his legs crossed wouldn’t be as easy for him as it evidently was for Dizzy. The nimble little sprite seemed awfully flexible. The sight of her so comfortably contorted spurred some terribly dirty thoughts. He was suddenly very glad for the table between them that shielded the obvious hard-on pressing at the front of his uniform pants.
“I think you’re going to have to drape your legs on either side of the mattress, Venom.”
He loved the way she said his name in that gentle, sweet voice of hers. “I think you’re right, sugar.”
One side of her mouth lifted to form a quirky smile. “That sugar thing seems to be sticking.”
He picked up one of the cutlery sets and handed it to her. “You don’t like it?”
“I didn’t say that.” She opened the protective packaging and tugged free a fork. “The first couple of times I thought maybe you couldn’t remember my name.”
Her mischievous grin sent little darts of excitement right through his chest. The more relaxed she became around him the more of the real Dizzy he glimpsed—and he really liked her. “Your name isn’t an easy one to forget.”
She made a little laughing sound. “My real name is way worse.”
He’d been tempted to dig through her bag and peek at her official paperwork while she’d been sedated but it felt wrong to go through her things, even if they technically belonged to him now that she was legally his property. “What is it?”
She shook her head. “You first.”
“My name is Venom.”
“No,” she said. “The name you had before the academy.”
Before the academy? “I take it Risk filled you in on our naming conventions.”
“He mentioned that you lose your birth name when you enter the academy and earn another name when you graduate.”
“It’s a way to build unit cohesion and brotherhood. The boys we were when we joined the academy disappear at the front doors. We’re all the same and all on equal footing. No one is richer or poorer. We’re just numbers.”
Her expression turned sad. “That sounds terribly hard for a little boy.”
He shrugged. “It’s not easy but it’s our way. Someday our sons will climb the same stairs to the academy’s front doors that I climbed and my father climbed and his father before him.”
Dizzy went perfectly still at the mention of someday having his sons. It wasn’t a secret that Grabs were meant to promote procreation of strong, healthy boys to fill the ranks. It was one of the reasons why only the bravest, toughest soldiers were granted the right to take wives by earning valor points. It weeded out the weak and the less deserving.
But he had only just Grabbed Dizzy that morning and already he was talking about sons. What the hell is wrong with you? You’re going
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