Page 25 of Solan

“I pity any woman who is forced to lay with him. I bet he didn’t declare his interest in restraints when he signed up at the agency.”

“If he did, he wouldn’t be here,” Solan said. “I tried to alert Vegas that this was a problem—”

“Vegas?” Padam’s brow furrowed. “You’re on first name terms with Miss Munro?”

Solan stiffened. “What if I am?”

Padam grinned. “She’s a cute human. Is she your match?”

“Apparently not.”

“But you’re interested?”

“It is not my choice to make, apparently. I have a chosen mate waiting for me.”

“You asked Vegas if she would mate with you?”

Solan glared at Padam out of the corner of his eye. “I made my intentions clear. And she is fertile. The opportunity seemed foolish to miss.”

“What did she do?”

“She is not certain.” Solan was not ready to admit Vegas had outright rebuffed him. She was considering her options. It was sensible of any female to determine her most advantageous match before making a commitment.

“She turned you down.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t need to.” Padam gestured at the large screen that sat on the wall opposite them. “They have guides for us to watch. I’ve been viewing them in my own room.”

“What kind of guides?” Solan was grateful for the change of topic. He had yet to determine a way to convince Vegas to mate with him.

“Information pods, if you like,” Padam said. “Perhaps we should watch one or two. It might give you some pointers as to what to do with Miss Munro.”

Solan frowned. They were still on that topic. “I don’t need pointers. I’ve never had problems with females before.”

“These are human females,” Padam said, giving Solan’s knee a friendly pat. “They are very different to what we’re used to.”

“Frustratingly so.” Solan took a long swig of his drink. It helped take the edge off the frustration he felt. “Put one on.”

Padam grabbed the remote and scrolled through the options. “Let’s start with dates. Human females are supposed to enjoy dating.” He hit the play button, and they settled back on the couch.

“This dating is a type of bonding ritual,” Solan said. “The pair goes to places together and is seen in public?”

“It’s like a declaration,” Padam said, his gaze intent on the screen. “It shows others they are together.”

“That makes sense,” Solan said. “It must mean less fighting between the males when it’s clear a couple are joined.” He tapped his fingers on the bottle as he studied the visual display. “They do a lot of feeding of animals on these dates. The feathered variety is popular.”

“Perhaps it has some symbolic meaning,” Padam said. “As must scattering those crumbs into the water for the feathered animals.”

“It might be appealing to females.” Solan would see if they had any of these creatures on board the space station and take Vegas to feed them. Or perhaps he could catch one and offer it to her.

“They spend a lot of their dating time eating,” Padam said. “That makes no sense to me. After a big meal, the last thing I want is to pound into a woman. I need to sleep and digest my meal.”

“It would make me nauseous to bed a woman right after a feast. It must be an adaptation the humans have evolved,” Solan said. “They might need to eat a huge meal to give them enough strength to reproduce. They are small, so get weak quickly.”

“That must be it.” Padam leaned forward as the image on the screen changed. “They do kiss. I was glad to learn that. It’s something I enjoy with our females. I don’t think they bite though. Can’t say I’ll miss that.”

Solan finished his drink and regarded the empty bottle. “Is there any more of this?”