Page 44 of 20% Stud 80% Muffin
Makir stood and dried my arms with the towel. His ginger and juniper scent covered me—so good. “Calm down, okay?” he purred. My heart rate slowed, and my muscles relaxed.
Shit. I’m an idiot.
I stepped away and shook out my arms. “Sorry about that,” I muttered. With the threat taken care of and my wild side tamed, I focused on every detail of his room. Tino, Sully and their crews had taken my vision and smashed it out of the park. The warm pink walls mimicked the soft curves of Makir’s originalconstruction. The mixture of the soil, graneth stalks and water added an organic texture to the walls that I couldn’t resist running a finger over.
His nest was lined with thick white linobee furs. I swallowed hard when my mouth went dry. There was definitely room for two in there—it would be like sleeping in a cloud. My nostrils flared. Ginger and juniper perfumed the air, soft rugs warmed the high-gloss floors and a breeze drifted through the high-timbered ceilings. A slab of concrete installed as a desk added a bit of masculinity to all the curves. Along the exterior wall, a sliding lamar door opened into the courtyard.
“I’ll…get out of the way and see how things are…progressing in the hovery.” I spun on my heel and walked to the sliding door, which I stumbled through before hunting down Tino and Sully. All I did lately was apologize for snapping at people.
Makir’s voice followed me into the courtyard. “Geo, you don’t have to go.”
Hell yeah, I did. I’d likely do something else idiotic if I remained in his vicinity.
Tempted to peer over my shoulder to catch another glimpse of Makir, I forced myself to leave. He’d probably be standing there, beautiful, damp and dumbfounded, dismayed at the asshole he’d chosen to service him during the full moon. Plus, when he stood by that nest, I couldn’t stop imagining my naked skin pressed to his luxurious velvet as we sank deep into the linobee furs and each other.
Enough of that train of thought.I forced the fantasy out of my mind, stomping past potted plants and Makir’s fern-lined walkway. Where had they found the fantastic greenery?
I marveled at the tropical oasis I found myself immersed in. My eyes widened, taking in each frond and leaf. My crew had created this? JayJay’s booming voice led me to where the Rock Dwellers were installing Makir’s bay doors. “Come on, boys, I need a drink. We’re celebrating the bang-up job you did on Makir’s place and I’m saying sorry for being a shit.”
Tino, Sully, JayJay and the rest of the Rock Dwellers’ hairless brow ridges furrowed, but they stowed their tools fast as lightning before I could change mymind. “No need to apologize, boss man.” Tino slung his heavy arm around Sully and grinned. “You have a lot on your mind.”
“Just got to take care of one thing before we head out.” As I expected, when I reached the pool, Raz still lingered. No longer in the water, his scaly limbs were spread out on one of the loungers, like a vacation brochure. His tail looked obscene as it jutted from the rear of his tiny, patterned swim shorts.
Are those ducks?
“Raz! This is a construction site and unsafe for those not working on-site or who are not occupants of the home. I’ll have to ask you to leave.” I waved my hand magnanimously toward the back gate—the exit closest to his home.
Raz startled upright in his chair. He must have been dozing. “Makir invited me.” His jaw unhinged in a long yawn.
Like hell he did.
“I’m sure you understand the liability the building authority would face if any unfortunate accidents were to occur here.” My lips may have unconsciously formed a snarl. Raz had overstepped one too many times and had planted himself in enemy territory. My hands fisted at my sides, the urge to drive them into his jaw barely contained.
His wary glance dipped to my hands as I advanced toward him, and he quickly popped off the chair and scooted toward the fence. “Well, I do have a mantu roast on the grill.” He tripped over his tail in his hasty retreat. “I’ll go and check on that.”
But his sneer, combined with the slam of the gate as he exited, sent a loud and clear message.
Fuck, I hope my big mouth isn’t going to cause more trouble for Makir.
Boisterous Rock Dwellers filled the tiny cantina and transformed it. The drinks flowed so freely that I wouldn’t have been surprised if I woke up with a tattoo on my ass in the morning. Fortunately, I hadn’t seen a tattoo artist in Yurstille yet.
Tino’s elbow nearly knocked me off my stool, where I sat wedged in beside him, but I was curious about the landscaping, so I persevered with our conversation.
“The plants in the courtyard… How did you get a hold of them?”
“Well, you would know if you had returned from the rocky outcrop with us,” he teased. Beer spilled from his mug and sloshed through the knee of my overalls. “A couple of the enforcers have green thumbs and brought seeds from their home planets to propagate. Their little nursery is taking off.”
After securing a ride to the nursery with Tino the following day, I paid the tab and set my sights on the door. Thoroughly bruised after the back pats from a bunch of half-drunk giants, I departed into the cool night air with my spirits considerably improved.
I vowed to reward my crew monthly with an early day off and an open tab, but the real reason I wanted to escape pressed down on me.
Makir. The tether tugged and urged me toward him. Our brief exchange this morning—if you could call me wrestling him out of Raz’s reach an exchange—hadn’t been nearly enough to satiate my need.
16
The row of roundwindows skirting the ceiling turned my concrete table purple with the dusk’s light. White linobee fur slid softly through my hands. I pushed my strongest needle through the pelt, shaping the mittens I’d promised the enforcers. My gaze passed over the dark beams that framed the ceiling, then caught the glitter of liquid mineral under the polished floors. Thoughtfully planned and beautifully executed, my new dwelling nearly matched the quality of my rooms on Lorne.
My shoulders drooped as I sighed, settling into a state of relaxation I hadn’t known in annums. I no longer had to wrestle through a sticky door or fend off surprise visits from unwelcome neighbors, but even if I included my labor and supplied the lamar,this went way beyond a basic model dwelling. And Geo’s claim to call this a show home seemed like a stretch to justify all the extra features.
