This wasn't good.
Rhade scanned down another page of Beka's 'Dirk Sprocket' holo-novel and was surprised that it wasn't like he thought it was.
Trashy? Kind of.
Romance? A little.
Action and adventure? Oh yes, a lot of it.
It was quite entertaining.
And it was by admitting that that led Rhade to conclude something he hadn't before realized.
A few years ago his eldest brother had stopped complaining about the Sprocket novels, leaving just Telemachus and his other two brothers to whine about them.
The only conclusion therefore was that either Ozymandias Rhade had finally decided to read the book or his wife had finally beaten the hell out of him for making fun of it too many times. The first being more plausible than the second; for while Jenna could sure pack a punch when she wanted to, she was human and a bit smaller than Rommie.
Rhade flipped another page. This really wasn't good. The book was, but his admittance of that fact, wasn't.
For it meant that Beka was right.
He heard the door slide open and quickly shoved the holo-novel under his pillow and picked up his copy of 'The Odyssey' that lay open on his lap.
"Uhhhhhh...I am so sore..." complained Beka once she saw that he was awake.
Rhade smiled sympathetically.
His shift had been before hers and he done nothing but slip-piloting, she had taken over from where he had gotten the Andromeda to. She threw herself in bed beside him and leaned against his shoulder.
"You should take a hot shower, it'll relax your muscles." He kissed her head.
"Is there a backrub offer in there somewhere?"
"After your shower."
"Are you gonna be joining me?"
"I'll rub your back when you get out."
"How about you rub my back when I get in?"
"You're tired and sore, I'm trying to relax you, and what you're thinking of isn't relaxing."
"I'm limp as a rag doll afterwards," said Beka, "How is that not relaxing?"
Rhade snorted, "Go."
"You know, on second thought I'm not that tired..." she trailed a finger down his chest.
"Beka?"
"Yes?"
"Go shower."
"Do I smell?"
"What happened to complaining about how sore you are after slip-streaming all that time?"
"I got distracted."
"Go shower. Nice and hot."
She shrugged, "Fine, whatever turns you on."
>>>
Beka sighed happily as her husband kneaded the skin on her back. His strong hands moved over her tired flesh. It was very relaxing, so what if he was right?
She smiled with glee when he started placing kisses up her shoulder and along her neck, even more-so when he rolled her over and pressed his mouth to hers.
One of her hands trailed the elastic of his boxer-briefs, while the other stretched above her head and under a pillow.
She paused.
Her hand had hit something cool and hard.
She pulled it out as Rhade was moving down her body and let out a triumphant yell.
"You're reading it!"
Rhade's head snapped up and he watched in horror as Beka flashed the Dirk Sprocket holo-novel in front of his face.
"I can't believe you're actually reading it."
"Uh...no, I uh, uh..."
Beka couldn't help but giggle at his speachlessness. He was staring at the novel like it was two mating magogs.
The look on his face was priceless.
"Mr. Those-novels-are-trashy-romaces is actually reading one."
"Hey! You were the one who said..."
"So is it any good Mr. I-only-read-epic-books-with-too-deep-of-meanings-that-Beka-can't-understand?"
"Would you just..."
"I told you it was good."
"I didn't say..."
"You like Dirk Sprocket," she sang.
He growled and rolled off of her and the bed, "I'm sleeping on the couch."
Beka's smile disappeared, "What? Telemachus don't, oh come on..."
He ignored her.
She watched him walk over to the couch and fall onto it, she could hear him slam a pillow over his head.
And now she felt bad.
She might have over done it just a little, maybe gloating over the fact that he was reading her holo-novel had dented his pride.
Men.
She wrapped a sheet around her. There was a knot in her stomach and it didn't feel good. He was supposed to be here, in bed, with her.
She chewed on her bottom lip while she thought.
>>>
Upon hearing the silence that filled the room, Rhade moved the pillow off his head and tossed it to the floor.
He hated the couch.
And in the last four years he only slept on it three times. All of which occured during Beka's pregnancy, she had been complaining about every little thing, blaming him for it, and kicked him out of bed; it always ended the same though, she called for him to come back, close to tears because of the hormones, and cuddled him the entire night.
But this time though, that was not going to be the case.
She just had to find the holo-novel didn't she?
And she just had to rub it in.
That's why he hid it in the first place.
Because he knew exactly what she'd do.
Women.
She just couldn't have cut him a break and ignored it now could she?
Rhade sighed, and then raised a startled eyebrow as he felt a weight settle on top of him.
"Beka...what are you doing?"
"Sleeping on the couch."
"No...Beka, I'm on the couch...you're on my back."
"Only because there's no room beside you."
Rhade buried his face in the couch cusion and laughed before getting up and going back to the bed, carrying Beka piggy-back style.
Annoying, crazy, bewildering, confusing, funny, sexy, amazing woman.
By the Divine how he loved her.
>>>
A/N: I think this might have been my favourite chapter to write;)
Thanks to: Ryua Malfoy, Jade Rhade, jeff, Miikka, Donna Lynn, Vana Telcontar, Jamieson Z, and prin69 for reviewing last chapter.