Page 14 of 20% Stud 80% Muffin
“Big enough for two?” I’d meant to say it in my head.
Makir wrung his hands in front of his stomach before firmly placing them on his hips. “For one.”
“I…I didn’t mean anything by that.” I frantically rubbed at the prickles needling under my skin. “Fuck, I think I might be allergic to something in the air.”
JayJay scrolled through his wristport, all smiles, likely looking up human allergies, and Makir eyed me dubiously. The tingles increased as he faced away from me and continued chatting with JayJay.
Makir’s jumpsuit pulled taut over his curvy ass. In my mind, the plump globes were tight, with just enough give to sink my hands into. Occasionally, part of their discussion would surface in my mind. Wastelands…lamar…hover trailer… But the subtle sway of his tail as he talked—tick tock, tick tock—hypnotized me like a cobra’s dance to a snake charmer’s tune.
JayJay’s “Right, boss man?” snapped me back to reality. Once again, I’d missed half of the conversation. I rolled my shoulders, realizing JayJay was expecting a reply to something about the wastelands…maybe? Nodding firmly would show I’d been paying attention, so I did. I was professional and in charge of the situation.
I am calm. I am controlled.
“Good, it’s settled. You will accompany Makir to collect lamar. In exchange for the materials, we will install his third bay and storage system.” If Rock Dweller brow ridges could smirk, his were.
Accompany Makir?
With the lamar stacked, Makir stood near the wall, toeing the ground awkwardly. Clearly, this was not part of his plans.
What’s JayJay thinking?
“Have you traveled in the wastelands?” Makir asked, not meeting my eyes.
“No.” There was no way I was admitting that I couldn’t fly a hoverbike. I’d explored our settlement, Yurstille—the only one on Tern—by foot. A tacky statue of Yurst stood in the village’s center, and I’d learned he’d named the town after himself.
Makir thumbed something inside the satchel on his hip. “The unexpected can happen.”
Like finding myself on another planet attracted to a blue alien?
Makir turned toward JayJay. “I cannot guarantee the human’s safety. He said he might be allergic to the air, and it’s not a good idea for us to spend time to—” He snapped his jaw closed as if he hadn’t meant to say that much.
I thrust out my chest. “I can take care of myself.” All the excuses I’d formed to stay back vanished. The tingling vibrations battled with my ego. I would prove myself to Makir. How hard could it be to collect plexiglass?
In the minutes it took for my pride to determine my course of action, JayJay had packed my duffel bag, thrown it at my feet, and would have picked me up and lifted me onto the trailer if I hadn’t leveled him with a glare.
“Bish, don’t you worry. I know the drill. Check on the progress with Tino’s crew”—he lifted one thick finger—“follow up with Sully”—then a second—“and meet with Mrs. Towhee about the plans for her nursery.” Then he waved us off. His rumbling voice carried over the loud hum of the hoverbike as we slowly flew toward the wastelands. “No need to hurry. Take all the time you need.” His ear-to-ear grin vanished in the dust.
6
With Geo sitting onthe hover trailer behind me, I flew well past the stash of lamar I’d found on previous scouting missions. To avoid thinking about his presence, I let my mind drift to my brother and how proud he would be of me as we passed the shells of empty buildings below us. I’d extended the hover field around the trailer late last night when I couldn’t sleep. We had taken weeks to accomplish it as younglings, but the magnets I’d found in the wastelands had done the trick. Working with what little was available had become my specialty, and I’d awoken with renewed confidence and an operational hovertrailer.
My confidence blew away like a flower heavy with feathered seeds in a windstorm when I couldn’t put off landing any longer. The puny Earthling would likely fall in a hole, get lost or, um…run his fingers down the length of my tail. I stopped that line of thought. I wasn’t responsible for him. This was a mutually beneficial work arrangement. Bay doors and storage for me, and lamar for him.
Debris was scattered around us in rickety towers too tightly packed to navigate the hoverbike and trailer through. Forced to land, I lowered us into unfamiliar territory.
“Blant,” I muttered under the engine’s whine. “Blant. How did I let this happen?” I groaned, leaning forward on my handles. The archbuilder would be with me all rotation.
This is it, I mouthed. Time to face the unavoidable. He still sat on the wide, flat deck, but his presence loomed so large he felt glued to my side. I turned off the ignition, leaving the air devoid of sound. The silence heightened the tension between us. Heat from the sun, now high in the sky, radiated off the tin and steel, adding weight to the moisture in the air. Like the inside of an oven, we would slowly bake in it throughout the day. I lowered tinted goggles over my eyes to protect them from the glare.
“This the spot?” His deep voice sent a shiver through me. The archbuilder eyeballed the busted concrete slabs interwoven with wire mesh. They were piled high, a teeter-totter of twisted steel and crumbling rock all that remained of skyscrapers long gone.
I fanned my face with my tail. This spot is fine. I wished I didn’t second-guess myself whenever the archbuilder came close. “I’ve never been here before, but today’s about finding new stashes of lamar, and this place seems likely to me.”
Geo squared his broad shoulders as he approached. I thought he sucked in a breath to hold his belly in as well. What odd behavior. Could that be how humans kept themselves cool? My nerves skittered as he neared, but we were going to be working together all rotation, so I needed a strategy. How close could I get before his pheromones turned me into a mindless omega?
One step…two steps… Too close! My knees weakened, and heat spread low in my belly. I grabbed my tail to stop it from reaching for him. A sheet of dislodged metal a few steps away caught my eye. It should prevent my omega from taking control. I retreated behind it.
From my safe zone, I pointed in the opposite direction. “Why don’t you start over there?” I winced when my chest rumbled. The archbuilder advanced, inching his way forward, drawn in by my omega purr. But he would be the perfect height to tuck under my chin. Past alphas had told me I had an irresistible purr.
