Damon's POV
"It's fine," Serena said, though I could smell the irritation beneath her composed exterior. "You know I've never been the type to obsess over material possessions."
"That's right," I said automatically. "You're a decorated military officer. These items are just symbols to you."
But my mind drifted somewhere else, to the image of Kira in combat gear during our early mating, when she'd still occasionally mentioned her Eagle Strike service. The memory of her discussing drone warfare tactics with military contractors, speaking with authority about systems I didn't understand.
Compared to Serena's carefully cultivated military image, somehow Kira's actual expertise and combat experience had left a much deeper impression, one I'd deliberately ignored because it threatened my pri
