“So what, are you going tonight?” Axle asked, not taking the hint and following her.
“Yeah! And Kez is coming too!” She remembered Kez, her delicious mate, and the photo he had let her keep that morning, and smiled, her heart buoyed back up by the thought of him taking her to the Christmas party.
Axle’s expression stiffened. He didn’t approve of Kez, ever since he’d caused a scene when she’d burned herself, and now if he ever came into the café, Kez watched Axle with open loathing, and Axle only avoided returning it out of professionalism. “Oh. Kez.”
“Yes, Kez.” Bia didn’t let Axle’s lack of enthusiasm for the topic stop her, plowing on. After all, who else could she talk to about Kez? Not Kez, or Ro. Maggie, sometimes, but Bia knew she had to watch what she said because Maggie might tell Ro, and Bia knew males didn’t like to know too much about each other. She pulled her Gadjit from her pocket. “He let me take this photo this morning! Look, isn’t he gorgeous?” She held the screen up for Axle, but he rolled his eyes and walked away.
Hmph.
Bia didn’t let that get her down though. She just took a moment to admire the photo enough for the both of them, grinning.
Someone cleared their throat, and Bia looked up, hastily putting her Gadjit away and bringing up her warm, welcoming smile. It grew a little brittle when she saw who it was.
Rajax was a young Balor who worked in the Teissian market with his father, Lyen. Lyen was a woodworker, and had fixed Bia’s colour wheel when Kez had broken it earlier in the year. Rajax had started a tailoring business, making the Balor robes Kez wore. Kez did business with both of them, and Bia knew they weren’t as stuck up as most Balor, but she liked to keep her distance anyway. Months ago, she had gone on a date with Rajax at Kez’s insistence. He’d thought she would be better off with a male her own age, her own race. She’d hated every minute. Now, Rajax had a solid reputation as a relentless flirt. For a while, his business had made him the most eligible bachelor in the Balor community, and it had turned his head completely.
Rajax and his father weren’t as flamboyant as other Balor, dressing in simpler robes. Rajax was purple with red markings and his crest was riddled with gold piercings and chains. He also tipped his claws in gold. His colours made him a good match for Bia, who was purple herself, but not as good a match as Kez.
“Hello, Bia,” he said in Balor. His smile was polite, but his eyes always twinkled as if he was making fun of her.
She wouldn’t glare at him, but she tried to make her manner cold and unyielding. She had a mate now, and had only met with him under duress. She didn’t want him getting any wrong ideas. “Hello, Rajax. What are you doing here?”
“I have a message for Kez.”
“Oh, yes?”
“Yes.” He reached out and fiddled with the wrapped snacks on the counter, reading their labels and arranging them to his liking. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“How’s he?”
“Also fine.”
Axle was watching from the counters, presumably because he couldn’t understand what they were saying.
“Should you be here?” Rajax asked.
“What do you mean?”
He met her eyes. “I can smell your heat is coming.”
Bia shifted uncomfortably. She’d thought it wouldn’t be a problem. The café was not as popular with Teissians as it was with humans, and the majority of Teissians in the building were not from Bala. Only a handful of her customers would be able to smell her and know what it meant, and no one had any reason to linger long enough at the till to separate her scent from the overpowering smell of coffee. Unless, of course, they had come in just to talk to her.
She opened her mouth to reply, but over Rajax’s shoulder, she saw Kez come into the café as if he’d known somehow that she needed him. She grinned. “I wouldn’t mention that if I were you,” she muttered smugly, her eyes on her mate as he stepped up behind Rajax.
“Oh good, my mate is surrounded by males, just as I like it,” he deadpanned, using Balor too. Bia ducked her head at the faint thread of chastisement hiding under the sarcasm, as if he was telling her ‘I told you so’.
“Kez! I bet I know why you’re here, I was just saying to Bia that I can smell your heat is close.”
Kez’s lip curled in a snarl and he put his hand on the back of Rajax’s neck, claws wrapping around his throat. Rajax jumped and straightened.
“Why are you talking to my mate?” Kez asked.
“I had a message for you.”
“I am coming to see you and your father later, you know that.”
Rajax huffed. “Jealous, Kez?”
Kez’s hand tightened on Rajax’s neck. “Don’t test me, Rajax.”
“Why not? Afraid you won’t stand up to the competition?”
“No,” Kez met his eyes and brought their faces close together. “Because you are Earth-raised and soft, and you might not survive the lesson on approaching other males’ mates if I have to teach it.”
Rajax threw Kez’s hand off, and Kez let him. “You need to lighten up, old man.”
Kez jerked his head to the exit. “You need to leave my mate alone. I’ll find you when I’m done here, unless your message for me was just an excuse?”
Rajax sighed and rolled his eyes. “No, no. I’ll let my father know you’re coming,” he said before tucking his hands in his long sleeves and leaving.
Bia waited for him to be out of earshot before switching back to English and saying, “You shouldn’t have done that, you’re in business together.”
Kez’s eyes were on Axle, watching him suspiciously, then he leant across the counter. “Kiss me.”
Bia smiled and gave him a quick peck. She’d get in trouble for any more than that, and even that was dangerous if her manager was around, but she didn’t care. She knew Kez needed it.
“I don’t care about Rajax, or any male that comes circling around you,” Kez hissed, looking at Axle again.
Bia preened a little, loving it when Kez got possessive of her, since he wasn’t naturally a very effusive or emotional male. She liked to see that he cared about her, wanted her, but he didn’t have to worry about Axle of all people. He was human, and so young. He was nice, but Bia would never trade Kez for him.
“What are you doing here, anyway?” she asked.
Kez grunted, tucking his hands away and dodging her eyes. “I came to make sure you’re alright, under the circumstances.”
“You being here won’t make me any better,” she teased. If her body knew her mate was right there, it might speed her heat up.
“If you want to go home, I can take you.”
“I’m fine, Kez. I still want to go to the party.”
He sighed and rubbed a hand over his crest. “You don’t make it easy. Fine. I’m staying close by though. I’ll be at the market for the rest of the afternoon, and I’ll be here at five to pick you up, and if you want me to come before then, message me and I will.”
“Okay. Go get back to work.”
“Bossy.”
“Love you.”
“You too,” he mumbled as he turned away.
Bia watched him fondly as he left. She didn’t mind that he didn’t say “I love you” as often or as freely as she did. He said it when it mattered, and she knew that was a big deal for him, her grumpy, stern mate.
“What was he talking about?” Axle said. “Are you sick or something?”
“No,” she shook her head and smiled. “He just worries about me.”
“Yeah, I remember…” he replied, but Bia let his tone slide, lost in thoughts of Kez, the party, and the knowledge that afterwards he would be taking her home and making love to her until she could barely move. Other Balin and Balor complained about how frequent living in California made their heats. As far as Bia was concerned, they weren’t frequent enough.
2
Kez reappeared at 4:30, sitting at one of the tables and just watching her, the chair
turned to face her, his legs spread and a look of barely restrained hunger on his face. It made Bia shiver with anticipation, electrifying her even when she wasn’t looking at him. Her heat was close now, she could feel it. Kez was right, it would hit her at the party unless she left early, and she didn’t actually want to be fucking in the halls or a supply closet somewhere. Knowing Kez was just as horny as she was wasn’t helping. She chanced a glance at him, wondering in spite of herself if his dick was out and hard for her. His long folded robes made it impossible to see. Damn.
Bia hurried through the jobs she had left before she could go. It was the last day before DETI’s holiday period when most people left to spend time with their families. No one was stopping off for a coffee at the end of the day. Some staff were working to keep the offices open over the holidays, but the majority of them were as eager to leave as she was.
At ten to five, she turned to Axle, mouth opening to make her case, her eyes imploring, but he just waved her off, barely looking at her. “Just go.”
She squealed. “Really?! Thank you, Axle!” She quickly untied her apron, running into the back to hang it up then dashing out again.
As she ran past, Axle called out “Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas, Axle! I mean, merry Hanukkah!” She heard him chuckle at her, but she only had eyes for Kez, who got leisurely to his feet just in time to catch her when her claws couldn’t stop quickly enough on the tiles.
“Merry Christmas, Axle!” he mimicked her quietly with a clenched jaw, his hands on her hips. His eyes sparked with jealousy, and the hot, half-smoky, half-spicy scent of his heat filled her nose and made her knees go weak.
“Oh, shush.” She grabbed his hand. She didn’t want to stay there debating her friendship with her colleague, she wanted to go to the party! And then go home and get his cock inside her. “Let’s go!”
She pulled him after her to the conference room she knew the party was being held in. Once outside the café, Kez slowed her down, putting his arm over her shoulders, almost leaning on her as if to press his ownership into her. She took hold of the hand that dangled on her chest, lacing their fingers together. The prospect of being around other males just then gave her a little flutter of anxiety, and she was glad to hide under his arm.
It wasn’t far to the ground floor conference room, and when they got there, they saw a handful of humans standing outside the door, whispering to each other, and glancing inside. It was clear they wanted to go in, but felt that they couldn’t.
“What’s going on?” Bia said to Kez. She didn’t want anything to be wrong with the party, especially nothing that would delay it. They couldn’t afford a delay.
Kez frowned. “I don’t know.”
As they reached the open door and looked in, however, they saw the problem.
The room was beautifully decorated, with large snowflakes cut out of silver and white card and decorated with glitter dangling from the ceiling. Tables lined two of the walls with food and drink, and fluffy white tinsel and fake snow ringed every surface. The floor had been laid with smooth wood on top of the carpet to make a dancefloor, and across the room in the place of honour was a Christmas tree with coloured baubles twinkling and fairy lights flashing. It was almost hypnotising. It was everything Bia had hoped for.
But Maggie and Ro were standing in the middle of the dancefloor, their arms around each other, muttering sweet nothings and staring at each other with love practically dripping off them. As Bia watched, Ro bent to kiss his mate.
Beside her, Kez huffed and shook his head. “Those idiots,” he said under his breath, then pulled Bia in after him before she could object. They were clearly having a romantic moment, they shouldn’t interrupt.
But Kez hissed as if he had seen something distasteful. “There is a line of embarrassed humans forming outside, you know.”
Ro looked up, a look on his face as if he was ready to meet a challenge, but Kez grinned.
“Oh my god…” Maggie said, tidying her lips and dashing past. Bia heard her outside, telling everyone to come in.
“You have something…” Kez indicated his mouth.
Ro wiped his face with the back of his hand. He had smudges of Maggie’s red lipstick on his lips like blood. It wasn’t a good look for him, Bia thought. Red was much too harsh and violent for his black scales. Pink was an excellent complement. Red should be left for males with more muted scales, like Kez. His colours were perfect, the red just a hint of the passion Bia knew lived inside him.
“It’s not a good look,” Kez continued, voicing her thoughts exactly, and Bia smiled. He did that more than he knew.
Ro glared. The two friends saved their sweetness for their mates, and treated each other with at best a grudging acceptance, but more often it was with simmering, territorial antagonism. It was all an act of course, they were male after all. They couldn’t admit to liking each other, or needing each other’s company. They had known each other since they had left Teiss, years longer than Bia had known either of them. If that was how they chose to play with each other, she would just watch without comment. She knew they didn’t take it personally.
Then Ro evidently caught their scent, forgetting what he was going to say, and rubbed his nose. “You decided to risk it then?” he said.
Bia was a little embarrassed to know her friend could smell her heat, but she knew she was safe with Kez. She didn’t see Ro that way, and she knew Ro only had eyes for Maggie. She leaned into Kez a little more, feeling his hand tighten on hers.
“We won’t be staying long,” Kez answered, and Bia could hear in his voice his frustration that they were there at all.
She changed the subject. “It’s good to see you, Ro.” She tried to give him a hug, since it was Christmas, but Kez pulled her back.
“Touch him and I’ll kill him,” Kez warned, meeting her eyes and raising his crest.
“He’s your friend!”
“That won’t stop me.”
The look on Kez’s face, the promise in his eyes that he would fight for her, melted her. It was probably her heat, but still. She loved her mate. He never stopped impressing her.
“You teased me for kissing my mate and you come here smelling like this?” Ro interrupted.
Bia remembered their audience and averted her eyes, but she couldn’t help her small smile. She made Kez like that, it was all for her.
Kez made a noise and pushed his crest back down, working at it. Bia reminded herself that his heat was close too and scanned the room for any females who might be getting ideas about him. “Bia wanted to see it. We’ll go soon.”
“If you start a fight, Maggie will be upset,” Ro said.
“I won’t as long as this one stays right where she is,” Kez replied, looking at Bia and tightening his arm around her. “Isn’t that right, shalzai?”
Bia met his eyes, dark with his shaded lenses, and felt a tremor of anticipation go through her. She could see the glimpse of the pressure inside him, a preview of what would happen when it built up and he exploded. “Yes, enur,” she almost purred, her body going slack as if delivering itself into his care already.
Ro walked away, but they barely noticed.
She wondered if Kez would kiss her, deeper than he had in the cafe. She didn’t get her answer, because he seemed to come back to himself, blinking and looking away from her.
“You need to eat,” he said. “It won’t be a proper dinner for you, but it will be better than nothing, and we… we probably won’t have time to cook when we get home.”
Bia grinned. She knew what that meant. She pushed herself up to kiss his cheek. “Okay, but you need to eat too. You act like it’s just me, but it’s not. You need to take care of yourself as well.”
He led her over the catering tables, finding where the Teissian snacks had been laid out.
Bia eyed the big bowls of punch excitedly. “Do you think that’s alcoholic?”
Kez slanted a look at her from the corner of his eye as he started
putting things on a plate. “You can’t drink alcohol before your heat.”
“What? Why not?” she complained, trying to pout with her bottom lip out and her eyes big. She was still working on her pout. It was easier for humans with their soft malleable faces, but she’d get there eventually.
“Because I don’t need you drunk when I’m trying to mate with you.”
Kez was always trying to come up with excuses to stop her from drinking alcohol. She didn’t know why, but she knew she had won in the past, and hadn’t suffered from drinking it. “What difference does that make?”
“You’re hard enough to keep still as it is.” He turned to her, putting his lips to her ear, then mimicked quietly in a high voice, “Ooh, Kez, more, Kez! Kez, it won’t go in! Kez, let’s do it like this, this is how celebrities do it in Hollywood!”
She elbowed him sharply. “So what if I want you? I can stop,” she sniffed.
He snorted. “No, you can’t.”
“No, I can’t,” she agreed, slinging her arms around his waist to squeeze him in a hug.
He ran his hand down the back of her head, squeezing her neck affectionately. “It’s not that I don’t like it, I just don’t want to hurt you,” he said, his voice soft. “It’s better to be careful at first, and if you’ve been drinking… I know you, you won’t hold back. You’ll be all over me.”
She sniggered, her mind playing over memories of past heats. “How is that any different from usual?”
He smiled, half-sweet, half-wicked. “I suppose it’s not, but I don’t need you clawing my dick off by accident.”
Bia’s smile soured, her eyes widened. “Could that really happen?” she squeaked.
“Until you learn that we can’t do everything you hear about humans doing, it’s only my constant vigilance that’s kept it from happening already,” he said, rubbing over her scales again.
“I’m sorry.”
He bent his head to kiss her briefly, answering her earlier question. “It’s okay. You know I wouldn’t change anything about you, in bed or out of it.”
An Office Alien Christmas Collection (Office Aliens Book 5) Page 8