by Layla Stone
“Uh, what are you doing?”
“I’ve thrown away more salad than an herbivore farmer. You only eat one of these and then you leave the rest to rot.”
“Well, I’m home now. I will eat them.”
“No, you won’t. You don’t even like salad.”
Okay. Rude.
Also, true.
“First of all, you don’t know me.”
He looked over at her, scratched under his eyes and then told the tour guide to go on and held her hand when she tried to make it go back. His voice not sharp, but it was firm. “No salad.”
She didn’t like salad. He was right, but she had to eat it to maintain her size so she could get another job. Then again, why would she look for a job that told her how much she could weight?
She wouldn’t.
Damn, she didn’t have to stuff anymore of that crap down her throat. Relief rushed down her toes. She couldn’t be mad about Cabute’s ban on salad. She couldn’t exactly tell him she was happy with him so she asked, “Is there anything else I’m not allowed to have?”
Cabute looked at the screen when the automated tour guide introduced the next section. Holding her hands with one of his hands, he pressed next on the screen and did so until the tour was out of the leafy green section.
When the tour moved to the dry foods he sat back down and said, “These won’t go bad.”
“So, you’re not here to help me pick better food, you just don’t want to have to clean out the refrigerator if I don’t eat the food.”
“No, I don’t like that you waste food,” he said and then pointed to the screen, “You want to pick a fight with me? Or are you going to shop?”
Her mouth dropped. “I’ll give you one guess which way I’m leaning right now.”
Cabute’s lip quirked. “I won’t mind fighting with you, Mali. But I doubt you’d like the way I’ll win.”
Despite her earlier fears of Cabute’s temper and the mystery of being his life partner, she honestly wanted to know how he would win – and why he could possibly think he would. A part of her wanted to find out, it sounded provocative.
But if it was what she thought it was, she did not want it inside a cab that had cameras.
Hell, she was a professional for Seth’s sake.
Speaking of being a professional, she went back to the screen and watched the tour and pushing for several samples because she was hungry.
When the automated voice stopped, she told Cabute, “I don’t know if you are worried about me paying the rent, but I have plenty in savings. I can cover my side until I find another job.”
When he didn’t respond she looked back.
He still didn’t respond, but he gave her a bland look.
“You’re not going to say anything?”
“You haven’t paid rent in two years. Why would I expect you to pay it now?”
Turning fully around she hooked a hand on her hip. “I have it automatically withdrawn from my account every month. Did you give me the wrong account number? Have you not been getting my direct deposits?”
Who had she been paying? Seth of Stars how much back pay did she owe him?
“I gave you the right account number and I see your payments. And then I return it to your second savings account.”
Her second savings account? She never checked that account. Her parents opened it when she was a kid and use to put money in there for her to pay for school over ten years ago. “How did you know about that account?”
He raised his eyebrows as if to say, why wouldn’t I know?
“Why would you give it back?” Why was she so upset? She had been living with him rent free for two years and she didn’t like feeling indebted to him. “I’m going to transfer the funds back into your account.”
“No, you’re not,” and this time his voice was firm.
“I am,” she challenged.
She expected him to come back and threaten her, but he didn’t. He just said, “We’ll see.”
“Yeah, we will.” She went back to shopping, but couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he paid their rent for two years.
Shopping took another hour before she was done and checked out. At the final screen it read Thank you for shopping with us, Cabute.
“What?” Why didn’t it say her name? Touching the screen again she selected to review order. Scanning to the bottom she saw that the payment account had been changed to Cabute. “How the hell did you change the funding account without me seeing?”
Turning to him she saw an honest to Seth smile. He covered it up by finishing his drink and walking out of the cab that returned them to the entrance/exit.
Following him out he used his fingerprints to confirm her order and the large basket of her stuff hovered behind them as they walked to his parked vehicle.
The transportation pod had all their groceries in one large silver hover craft, with an oval front with a thin tail. They loaded the bags in silence. When she stepped inside the hover vehicle, she was spitting mad. “Why would you do that?”
He rubbed his shoulders against the back of the seat, as if he was getting comfortable enough to sleep. “You know why.”
“No, I don’t. And if you’re going to say because you’re my mate, you should know that it takes both of us to agree to that.”
Cabute folded his hands over his chest and interlaced them. “The term is Life Breeder. And no, it does not take both to agree.”
“Are you going to force me?”
“You’re mine. Past tense. Present tense. Future tense. Always.”
Mali raked her fingers through her hair and pulled. “This is insane. For two years you didn’t say a word about even liking me. Why now? Why claim me now?”
“Because I’m ready now.”
Ready? Her stomach dropped. “Ready for what?”
Please don’t say kids. Please don’t say kids.
“Ready to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“That you’re mine.”
Mali just stared. Confused, irritated and another emotion she didn’t want to name. As much as she wanted say, “you can’t claim me” there was nothing in the law that would step in and say he was right or she was right.
The crux of the issue was Marnak was founded by the Terrans who had a desire to live freely among the other races. A perfect utopia kind of planet. All races were told that they could keep their culture, that everyone would learn to accept them.
Except no one wanted to abide by different races rules and traditions.
Case in point, she didn’t want to agree to be a life mate without her consent. Being raised by a practical Terran mother, and a passive Sennite father allowed her mother run the house, Mali expected her future husband to woo her. And she expected she too would rule the house.
Then again, Cabute would never be charming, never take her out somewhere nice to eat or bring her flowers. She knew that and still wanted him. Seth, she had been attracted to Cabute at first sight.
“I’m Terran and you have to know it doesn’t work that way.”
“I know plenty of Terrans, and I know it does. Plus, you’re only half.”
“You’re right, I’m only half Terran. My other half is Sennite. And they don’t mate at all. So, I hate to be rude, but there is no way this will work,” she said, crossing her arms.
Cabute leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I like how you said, I hate to be rude, because if you think that was rude, you have not seen or heard rude.”
“What do you consider rude?”
“Rude is telling you what I want to do to you, in my bed, in graphic detail in front of an audience. Rude is telling you what I will do to another male who touches you. Rude is…”
“I get it. I get it. Wow, you’re an intense male wrapped in a blanket of snuggliness aren’t you.”
He lifted his head off the back of the seat to get direct eye contact. “Snuggliness?”
She pointed to his body, “You alway
s look snuggly.”
Cabute sat forward. “I look snuggly?”
“Well, not now,” she snorted, “But usually you do. You’re always leaning against a pillow and looking like you need a hug.”
“Are you messing with me?”
She wasn’t before… but she like seeing him off guard. Leaning forward she got into his space, and whispered, “You’re like a massive gray snuggly beast.”
A pause, then, “Said the female who was worried I was going to hurt her earlier.”
“From day one you’ve been a snuggly-
“Do not call me that.”
She grinned. “Do you need a hug? A belly scratch?”
Cabute sat back and just stared. Then all of a sudden, his face lightened, and she watched his lips pull back as he laughed. The bottom tusks looked like two large pillars against his open mouth.
His laugh was deep, and genuine. When he finished, he wiped one eye and said, “I’ve never been so insulted and amused in my life.”
“You’re welcome,” she said with a smile of her own. Mali’s chest warmed. She already missed his laugh and wanted to hear him laugh some more.
3
Mali grabbed the first item in the bag and turned to toss it in a cabinet.
“Stop,” Cabute said shaking his head and taking the box of green algae pasta out of her hand.
“That is not where that goes,” he said reaching up and putting on the top self.
“I’m never going to be able to reach that.”
“You won’t need to.” Before she could ask what that meant he bags and said, “Hand me the next item and I’ll put them away.”
She picked up a box and tossed it. He grabbed it with one hand and put it in the bottom cupboard. Before she tossed the next one, she asked, “Why won’t I need to reach the pasta?”
“Because you don’t cook.”
“Yes, I do.”
He cleared his throat. “The last two times you boiled water to make pasta you burned the pot. It’s better than you leave the cooking to me.”
Mali couldn’t stop the smile, “You’re going to cook for me?”
“Yes.”
“Anything?” Because she would take herself right back to the store if he would make her hand made Terran bread. She loved that stuff.
His eyebrow rose. “Sure, anything.”
“If I wasn’t already your life partner, I would marry you for that.”
His head tilted to the side, and before he could stay anything she said, “But that would have to include the dishes too.”
To her pleasure she got to watch him laugh at her. “I cook, but I don’t clean.”
Sweeping her hand out she said, “I hate to point out the obvious lie, but the clean apartment says different.”
He smirked, “It’s not a lie. We have a paid cleaner.”
Floored she asked, “We do?” Seriously, how much did she not know? “So, I don’t have to do the dishes?”
“The paid cleaner comes once every two weeks. So yes, you will do the dishes if I cook for you.”
Taking another item, she tossed it to him and thought about how clean their apartment had always been. But then she stopped. “How can you afford all this?” She winced a bit worried she might have offended him. He was a fighter, and they didn’t make great money. Mali had been an executive, if anything she should have been paying both their rent, the paid cleaner and for their food.
Cabute put down the item in his hand. “Because I needed to.”
“Explain.”
He put the item away and moved towards her, pushed the food bags further down the counter, grabbed her by the hips, lifted and set her on the counter. At this height she was as tall as him. His dark eyes held hers when he said, “And that was why I didn’t tell you; you were my life breeder. I needed to make the kind of money a female like you would understand. A female like you would expect a partner to make more money than her.”
The words curdled her blood. “That’s not the kind of partner I wanted.”
“Too bad, because that’s what you got.”
“I grew up poor. I don’t want to live lavishly, and waste money. That’s not who I am.”
Cabute rubbed a thumb over her lips, and the rough texture of his skin gave her lower belly a flutter of tingles. His voice rumbled, “You’re not poor anymore. Even before you came to me, you lived in comfort. So, I had to make sure I could give you what you needed. You deserve luxury.”
He was so off she was insulted. “If I was living in luxury, I wouldn’t have rented a place in the cheapest part of town, from a scummy bastard that tried to get me to blitz with him.”
“I know the places you stay when you travel for business. Lavish hotels.”
“Yeah they are, but I don’t live in places like that because I don’t need it.”
“Let me rephrase then, I want to give that kind of life to you.”
Was it rude to point out that they were not living in extravagantly? That they just lived in a newly renovated apartment?
Plus, if she brought it up and he ended up paying for rent at a luxury apartment she would feel like scum.
Looking behind him she checked the time. “When to do you fight next?” The few times she asked in the past two years, she remembered him saying he fought at night. It would be dark soon, and she wanted to know how much time she had with him.
A part of her worried that she would not like what she saw when he came back from his fight. She didn’t want to see him hurt.
He run a thumb over her bottom lip again. “Babe, I’m not a fighter at The Pit. I’m the owner.”
4
Without taking his thumb from her mouth he inhaled. The low grunt teased her senses and she felt a low pulse in her sex.
The Minky pad pinged in his pocket. He withdrew the device and looked at the alert and scowled. “I need to get that, but I don’t want you to move. I like you right here, perfect height.”
“Perfect height?”
He leaned in, closing the distance and nipped her lip. “I had the counters remodeled to match your height to mine.”
His little nip made her belly clench. How could he do one simple thing and make it hot as hell?
Cabute pressed his forehead to hers. “Always wondered what you would taste like.”
The pinging stopped and Cabute didn’t move to answer it. When it started to ping again, she thought he would go. But instead his hands gripped the top of her thighs and squeezed. Another shot of desire shot down to her sex.
Good Seth she was wet and ready with just a few touches. Mali tipped her head and nipped his thick lips back, wanting more of what he was doing. Pushing her back as he took her offering, he covered her mouth with his and thrust his tongue inside. The tusks made it a little difficult, but she took his kiss and angled her head to kiss him back.
He pulled her closer, making her legs open wider and she could feel the friction on her lower sex. She needed more of that. She tried to pull him closer.
Cabute growled, grabbed her neck and the Minky pinged again.
He cursed and pulled back, kissed her again and then said in a dark voice. “Don’t move.”
She didn’t. Mostly because she was still catching her breath. What was she was doing? Did she really almost dry hump him? Embarrassed didn’t even begin to label what she was feeling.
She heard talking behind her but couldn’t focus on that. She was trying to remind herself she didn’t want to be his life breeder.
At this moment she couldn’t think of a good reason against it.
Cabute was back, hooked a hand around her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. She didn’t even try to fight it off. Not even a little.
Almost before it started. the kiss was over. Cabute said, “I have to go in, another fighter has gone missing. I will be back as soon as I can, and we will finish this.” The way he looked at her when he said this was unmistakable.
“I…” she started but didn’t know where to start.
He squeezed her neck just hard enough to get her attention. “You are mine. And that kiss of yours says you know it, too. I planned to keep you in my bed for days. Lucky for you I’m giving you a warning to prepare for what’s going to happen when I get back. And I will be back. I don’t know when, but I will. I just need to talk to my contacts and find out where Troll could be. It’s not like him to skip on a fight.” He pulled her close, nipped her bottom lip. “Put away the food that needs to be refrigerated. I’ll do everything else later.”
“Okay,” she whispered, curious why he talked to her as if they had been together for the past two years instead of less than a day. And yet she couldn’t deny that his touch and his kiss felt right.
Cabute leaned his head against hers. “Be back as soon as I can. Don’t leave unless I’m with you, and don’t bother getting undressed. I plan to do that.”
5
Mali’s stomach was tight for hours. Every creak in the hall outside the apartment made her nerves cut her stomach to ribbons. She wanted him, wanted this but had no idea what a future with Cabut would mean.
Cabute was no longer a fighter, that was good. But he ran a fighting arena, and that was… weird.
When the sun rose the next day, she didn’t care about Cabute’s job title anymore and started worrying about what Cabute was doing to find the fighter. Was he roaming the streets all night?
Did he tell the Federation security guards?
By the afternoon, she paced the apartment unsure if his absence was normal.
By the evening she couldn’t stand it and placed a video call to his Minky. The call was accepted on the second ring by a male she didn’t recognize. A male with dark hair, dark eyes and in a grey pin striped suit. “Hello.”
“Where’s Cabute?”
The male’s eyes narrowed. “Busy. How do you know him?”
She didn’t get a good feeling from the male on the call. Which is why she felt no obligation to give him any information. “I will call back later when he’s free.”
“He won’t be free later.”
This male didn’t know her. So, he probably didn’t know how wrong he was, because Cabute would be free at some point. She knew that being his life breeder Cabute would come home to her.