AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That smile is a good sign, right? he thought, his hands suddenly clammy. Despite everything, she hadn’t run away. She’d come to find him. Maybe he had a chance.
Feriq patted his arm. “Give her what she needs in this brave new world, watch her back, and she’ll come around. You’ll see.”
“Mind if I join you?” she asked, sliding onto the stool beside him. She wore a loose silk caftan covered in purple flowers and dark green foliage, her light hair falling in loose waves around her heart-shaped face. A swirl of sweet berries and freshly clipped grass pushed back the bar’s ingrained scent of stale beer and late nights as she reached past him to grab the untouched pint.
The weight of her unbound breasts brushed against his arm, and a spike of heat stabbed through him. He drew in a shaky breath, resisting the impulse to wrap an arm around her trim waist and pull her onto his lap.
She didn’t notice his struggle as Feriq fussed over her.
“Darling, you sit right here, and let me take care of you,” Feriq said, giving her forearm a gentle squeeze.
Nox’s fingers twitched. Taking care of his mate was both his responsibility and his pleasure. But Lis deserved all the kindness she could get after her shitty introduction to Cinzia. So, rather than grab Feriq by his hair and shove him away from his mate, he took a large swallow of his beer.
“Thanks, Feriq. And thank you for the loan of the caftan. It’s so pretty and soft.” She stroked a hand over the silky fabric.
“I do love all things soft and pretty,” Feriq said, shooting a smug look at Nox. He leaned closer to her, his tail twitching. “And you keep that. Consider it a ‘welcome to the galaxy’ gift. It’s gorgeous with that pale coloring of yours.” He reached out and twirled a lock of her hair around his finger.
Nox growled, a low rumble from deep in his chest.
Like a typical cat, Feriq took his time heeding Nox’s warning. “You must be starving,” he said, before finally pushing back from the bar. “How ‘bout I have a poke around the kitchen, and find you something yummy to eat, hmm?”
She nodded, rubbing her stomach. “That sounds great. My stomach’s been making noises since I woke up.” She hooked a thumb towards him. “Nox’s, too, so whatever you bring out will get eaten.”
His eyes sparkling with mischief, Feriq said, “I don’t think it’s food Nox wants to eat.”
Lis blushed and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Asshole,” he growled at Feriq’s retreating back before turning to Lis. “So, you didn’t run screaming in the other direction.”
She eyed him over the rim of her glass. “I prefer to address things head-on.” She pondered her drink before draining it. “Which means we need to talk.”
Hope and fear warred in his heart.
8
LIS
That alien beer was a sneaky brew. The first one went down fast and reminded her of a Spotted Cow from her favorite brewery in Wisconsin. The second one paired well with the deliciously spicy meat dish Feriq served them. By the third, her cheeks were numb and her inhibitions loose. Damned. Sneaky. Brew.
She hadn’t planned on getting tipsy when she walked in. She wanted to talk to Nox more about the whole mate thing, how it worked, and what it meant for her. Maybe get some questions answered about this planet and the galaxy as a whole. Basically, she was on a fact-finding mission, determined to gather information in order to make an informed decision about what in the actual fuck she was going to do now that she was stuck in this sector of the universe for the rest of her natural life.
And she completed that mission. Mostly. They chatted over dinner, getting to know one another. Nox patiently answered every question she lobbed at him from how occupied the system was (trillions of people living on five central planets, a myriad of space stations, ships, and terraforming colonies) to how long it took to get around in space (depended; on average, a trip took anywhere from months to only a few days with enough of the correct fuel and upgraded jump tech) to how he ended up a privateer (she first called him a space pirate, but he stiffly informed her that he was a legitimate privateer, with stamped and verified papers and everything, though that didn’t mean all his dealings were all aboveboard. Man had to make a living).
Despite the good conversation, there was still an air of awkwardness, what with the whole mate situation crouched between them like a gargoyle. But the talk flowed and so did the beer, so what ended up happening was her drinking enough to make her chatty and to reignite the burning embers of piss-offed-ness at the absolute gall of those trolls. Feriq’s potent brew shifted from an easy social lubricant that eased her tension to more of a slip-and-slide down a steep hill and off a cliff.
Leaning forward, her sandal-clad feet braced on a stool rung, she waggled a finger in Nox’s face. “And how dare those rock lobster assholes think they can just swoop in, stick me in a net, and take what’s rightfully mine. I want my stuff back, Nox.” She jabbed her drink towards him in emphasis, forgetting about physics and her mostly full glass. Beer sloshed over the rim, spilling down the front of his crisp white shirt. “Oops,” she said, unhelpfully swiping a hand over the wet spot and knocking free several of the fastenings.
His shirt gaped open, revealing a wide expanse of torso complete with a set of yummy washboard abs. Heat pooled in her belly, and she lost her train of thought.
Ignoring the state of his shirt, he rescued the glass from her, setting it on the bar, and took her hands in his, stilling them. Giving her an intense, heated look that sent sparkles of desire careening through her system, he said, “I agree, Lis. They had no right. Those troll gangs have no respect for others’ property.”
The more she got to know him, the more he reminded her of the guys she grew up with. Rough and tough on the outside, not someone to mess with, but when you needed help, they were there for you. Like Nox, a lot of them joined the military young, filled with grand ideals, wanting to help people and protect their country, only to wind up on completely different paths from where they started.
“See, you get it.” She leaned close, the slow stroke of his thumb across her palm making it hard to stay focused on what she was saying. “I’m going after those trolls, Nox,” she said, not taking her eyes from his. He needed to know how serious she was about this. Granted, she had zero idea how to accomplish that, considering she had no money, supplies, or any idea of where the trolls might be. It didn’t matter. “In my neighborhood, we don’t let others get away with pulling this kind of crap. They need to pay for what they did.” She yanked a hand free to jab at his chest. “Period.”
He made a sound of what she interpreted to be agreement.
A thought popped into her brain, and she bounced in her seat. “Oh, and pluswich, those dicks have other captives. There are people locked away in those trailer boxes. I saw them. We can’t leave anyone in the hands of those trolls. It’s not right.”
