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“Get off of me, you big oaf.” Now that I could speak again and free my arms, I pushed against his unyielding chest and scooted out from underneath him. His frantic eyes darted back and forth before he flopped on his back, directing all his pent-up desire at the pin-holed black ceiling. One thick finger ran over his plump lip where I’d bitten him. The hurt flickering in his eyes before he snapped his gaze away made me want to smooth my tongue over the angry swelling I’d left behind.
He focused on the ceiling. “But those are the signs…”
When he met my eyes, the expression on his face held so much shame I wanted to reach out and hug him. That probably wouldn’t go over well after shoving him off me though.
He cleared his throat, and pink bloomed above his strong jawline. “Rock Dweller younglings are taught that when a female desires a male, she will compliment him, gift him with a small token and care for his well-being.”
I swallowed hard. Oh. My. Gosh! What have I done?
“But you are human, not a Rock Dweller. It doesn’t mean the same to you. Please accept my sincere apology.” His gaze flickered everywhere except my eyes. “It will not happen again.” He shoved a blue cucumber thingy at me. “Eat.”
“Wait…” I called after him. But he’d rushed off before I had a chance to apologize.
I’d behaved like the biggest brat ever. Not only that, but I hadn’t even said anything when he’d apologized so much more eloquently than me. Growling at my inaction, I threw the blue cucumber things straight through the vine-covered door. Ishould follow him, but it was better this way. He was clearly embarrassed.
A big, strong Rock Dweller blushing like a little boy. I planted my face in my palms, groaning. “You’re the worst, Ginger.” I’d crushed his King Kong-sized heart. I absently picked up another blue cucumber and bit into it. My eyes widened at the sweet juiciness. Of course, it was delicious.
7
Of all the blantingidiots in the world, why was I the biggest? Conditioned to step lightly, I strolled across the bouncing moss floor with ease. If only I could be so sure-footed around Ginger. So similar were the lush cave’s surroundings to the jungles on my home planet of Yagras. I should’ve been at peace, but calm was a distant friend whenever my thoughts veered to Ginger.
“Why would she want a male like me?” Ferociously plucking the tinga fruit, I rucked up the hem of my shirt and filled the makeshift pouch. The fabric stretched to its limit, and the seam split along my collarbone. I hadn’t kept her safe from thehellsna. I’d left her unprotected in the cold. She’d had to remind me to send a com to Sisip for help—something that should’ve been second nature but had slipped my mind.
The tinga in my hand turned to pulp. “She fixes my clothes because I’m an incapable male, not to demonstrate her care.” I huffed, then planted my ass in a swing of intertwined vines that hung in ropes from the black ceiling. The long blue fruits tumbled into a bruised heap at my feet.
Her rejection stung, but I did not need a mate, did not deserve one, and had never heard of a human mating a Rock Dweller. It was time to rein in my instincts.
“You fool. Why didn’t you ask before kissing her?” I’d obviously performed the act incorrectly. The fact that she’d had to bite me to get me to back off left the bitter tang of disgust in my mouth. Rock Dwellers didn’t even kiss, but once my lips had landed, my brain had emptied, and I could’ve remained happily attached to her mouth forever.
My seat swung as I kicked the ground, and I grabbed the vines to keep me upright. Humans enjoyed kissing. This I was certain of. Geo and Makir had embraced far too many times in front of me, and at no time did they shove each other away. I’d thought she would like it.
The gift, the compliments, her careful tending of my clothes…it had all filled my head with a static so loud that when Ginger had licked her dark pink lips, I’d jolted forward. The force, so incredible in that moment… Nothing short of tasting them would quiet my instincts. Why had I lost control like that? I needed to stay away from this human female.
I pressed my finger against the deep gash behind my ear. It hadn’t sealed yet, and I found comfort in the pain. A subtle vibration shook the vines of the swing. To my amazement, a reclusive dorat spiraled down the twisted ropes toward me.The smile that tipped my lips, followed by a rush of pleasure, surprised me. Another reminder of home.
I coaxed the purring dorat closer. My fortune held—it landed in my lap, starved for affection. How could this same creature live on both Tern and Yagras? My fingers threaded through its coarse fur and along its bushy tail. The fruit and flowers in the volcano were the same as on Yagras, the hellsna too, only mutated, yet everything outside was an unfamiliar pink wasteland. What was I missing?
I rubbed over the points of its velvety ears. Soft electric-blue sparks lit up the long, silky fibers as I stroked her ear. “Pretty girl,” I hummed. Dejection eased away as she circled on four short legs in my lap, rubbing her whiskered face wherever possible.
My wristport dinged. Beyond telling the time, it was useless inside all this rock. Two suns had passed, and my shoulders slumped. Time to stop avoiding Ginger. I turned toward our little hollow, reluctant both to leave the dorat and to return to Ginger’s side.
On my home planet, the rocks of Nara resembled the world inside the Starry Volcano on Tern. A place of silence and meditation. To be trapped where the spirits were strong, combined with the unexplained emotions that surfaced whenever Ginger came to mind, wreaked havoc on my mental state.
The dorat jumped to the mossy ground, creating no ripple or sound. After stacking the tinga fruit back into my torn shirt, I braced for the conversation ahead.
The dorat followed, winding herself between my legs. On occasion, she stopped to munch on the fungus that grew in stacked columns along the cavern walls, then scampered back.
When we arrived at the room Ginger and I had claimed, my sharp ears picked up her short, shallow breaths before I pulledopen the vines. The dark shadows under her eyes had grown. My clothes sat folded in a neat pile beside one plant-covered wall. With plenty of tinga left from earlier, I silently piled the new harvest alongside the old. Maybe I’d gone a little overboard.
My eyes snapped to her when she groaned and clasped her leg in a restless sleep. What was wrong? I rushed to her side, surprised to find her forehead bathed in sweat. An overwhelming urge to care for her coiled in my stomach. Although bone tired and wanting nothing more than to curl around Ginger and go to sleep, I’d never ignore her need for help.
I jogged toward the cave entrance, tipping back a flower and taking a long drink of its sweet nectar. My body ached. The rocks and sticks that had pelted me while attempting to find safety for Ginger had taken their toll. The dorat wound itself up my leg and propped itself on my shoulder proprietarily.
“So, you’ve claimed me, it seems.” I patted her head, pleased to be enough for at least one female. A dorat’s claim was not a small gift. “How long have you been alone, little thing?” Chattering to her as I sped up a slight incline helped ease my worry over Ginger’s health. Without Ginger to slow me down, it took no time to reach the entrance. Sure enough, a com came through from Lead Enforcer Sisip where I stood tucked just out of the hellsna’s reach.
JayJay, at your suggestion, I’ve reached out to Bonic, and as I send this, he’s attempting to retrieve the bloodroot fungus from your contact on Yagras. As this may take some time, I’ve deployed two crews to create a diversion for the hellsna. Be ready at the coordinates you relayed, two rotations from now, at seven suns.
One further note. Geo and Makir couldn’t be dissuaded from coming.
