Don't Make Me Love You (Club Release 2)

by Pixie Moon

  “Thanks.” This is starting out to be a good first day.

  “Get to work,” Zima yells.

  “Don’t start screaming at Din Ryk’s seema so soon. Human’s need time to adjust,” Din Tymor says.

  Zima snorts. “She’ll adjust just fine.”

  I watch Zima in stunned silence. She winks at me and then turns and starts in on Tymor.

  As the couple start fighting about the menu, I remember them fighting a lot the last time I was here. This must be normal.

  Kaksie comes over and bumps me with her full hip. “Don’t mind them. They love to fight. It’s their dominant natures. They can’t help themselves. After working here Sten is sure to get some other being to mate.”

  “Kaksie go show Skyla how to take orders,” Zima says as she stirs the food in a massive metal pot.

  Kaksie grabs two square silver devices and hands one to me. “This is an o-line.” She puts hers in one of her apron pockets so I do the same. She grabs two towels and hands me one. “For the tables.”

  We tuck our towels into the other pocket on our aprons and then I follow Kaksie through the kitchen door and into the dining area. A few zaphinians are already walking in. I recognize them as the older warriors that called Ryk over.

  Kaksie leans down to me. “They always come in early so they can get one of two tables they prefer. Din Fry ShapLe is going to stare at your big boobs. Don’t be offended. He only looks. No touching.”

  I tug up on my shirt and Kaksie laughs. “Be proud of those things, Skyla.”

  Heat touches my cheeks. Kaksie is going to be something else to work with. This is so much better than being at home alone. We follow the males and let them get settled. Kaksie shows me how to use the o-line device that takes orders and sends them to the kitchen.

  I look the impressive device over. “I love this technology. These things speed up the ordering process. I wish we’d had these on Earth.”

  “You worked at a food service place before?” Kaksie inquires.

  “Yes, I love it. Food comforts people and guarantees they live another day.”

  Her light blue eyes widen. “Prel, Earth didn’t have food trees that produced year round?”

  I shake my head. “No, and global warming killed a lot of the plants that fed us.”

  “Looks like being here is much better for you,” Kaksie says as she leads me to the guys’ table.

  She’s right. Life here is a lot better. Especially since Ryk is here.

  At the table, Kaksie points to each male. “Skyla, these nice males are Din Tiv MarSi, Din Lat SavPe, and Din Fry ShapLe.”

  Din Tiv nods and shakes a finger. “We remember you. You belong to Din Ryk WavTe. Now he’s a good warrior.”

  Din Lat nods. Nostalgia fills his eyes. “Yes, I wish I could be young again so I could fight by his side.”

  “Now that would be nice,” Din Fry agrees. He looks at my boobs and grins big enough for me to see his fangs. “Don’t forget about all the females that were glad to see us come back from missions.”

  Din Lat hits Din Fry on the shoulder. “That’s enough staring at her breasts. They belong to Din Ryk. Order so we can eat and then start our game.”

  Kaksie has me take the order. They all have the special but each wants a different drink. Come to find out, including water we only have four drinks. Stros, norlec, and gritlo. I’m glad we don’t offer a ton of options. I send the order in and we move on to get their drinks.

  “Do we have menus and how do they pay?” I ask Kaksie.

  “The menus are attached to the tables.” She points at an electronic tablet attached to a table. “Those devices are new. But the regulars never use them.” She digs into the pocket of her flowing pink pants and pulls out a thin triangle shaped device. “This is how they pay. Insert any of these points into the slot on your o-line device and then select their order number. It’s easy. Most businesses use the o-line device.”

  Relief ribbons through me. I’m so glad I don’t have to learn a complicated currency system. This job just gets better and better.

  Kaksie shows me the station we get all four of the drinks from and then we deliver the retired warriors their drinks. I barely stop myself from rolling my eyes when Din Fry stares at my boobs and then at Kaksie’s. Her white blouse is lower than my tan one and shows some nice cleavage. Stares don’t bother her at all. I’ll have to be more like her to handle Din Fry.

  “Thank you,” Din Tiv says and then hits Din Fry. “Stop staring at their lovely female bits and thank them so we can get back to business.”

  The males thank us and we move on. “What kind of business do they have?”

  Kaksie chuckles. “When they aren’t eating or playing a board game, they are strategizing for an invasion of Zaphin.” She shakes her head causing her bangs to bounce about. “Warriors.”

  While Sten is waiting on another customer, we wait on the next one in the door. He’s a zaphinian male that appears to be just a little older than Ryk. He doesn’t carry himself the way my big guy does. He looks nervous.

  I glance at Kaksie as we follow him to the table of his choice. She widens her blue eyes just enough to let me know she’ll fill me in soon.

  When he takes a seat, I ask him if he’d like the special. He shakes his head and then nods. His green and silver gaze darts around. “Why did I do that?” His right leg starts bouncing and his gaze locks with mine. “Who are you? Din Zima never mentioned hiring anyone new.”

  Kaksie smiles down at him. “Shel DarPe, this is Skyla. She’s Din Ryk’s seema. She’s part of Din Zima’s family. You can trust her. Would you like some stros with the special?”

  His knee stops bouncing. “Yes, please.”

  I send his order in and we head over to get his drink. Kaksie leans close to me and says, “Shel is the son of one of Din Zima’s parents’ friends. He was born with a nervous disorder. This is a safe haven for him. He’s great with numbers but not with people. He works from home and to my knowledge rarely goes anywhere other than here.”

  Aww, my heart aches for him. I hate to hear about people having a lifetime of trauma. It’s so unfair.

  “He talks to himself a lot. And he’s colorblind so sometimes he worries about not having on matching clothes. When he talks to himself about his clothes I always tell him he looks nice. That calms his nerves.”

  I need to remember not to whine about my life. Shel is someone I can help through kindness and caring. This is why I like waiting on people. Food is comforting and healing. And when served in a good environment, peace is established.

  The sound of Zima and Tymor yelling at each other makes me cringe. When I give Shel his drink he doesn’t seem upset by their fighting. His knee bounces as he thanks me.

  I let him know I’ll be back as often as he needs me. As his gaze darts nervously around the room we go about delivering food and waiting on newcomers. This feels like home. Nobody’s perfect but we are all tied together by food. This environment is a great place to feed our souls as well as our bodies.

  When we get a break, Kaksie hands me a mug of stros and gets one for herself. We sit at a table near the kitchen door. “You are doing well, human.”

  “I love this kind of work. It’s not much different than the bakery I worked at on Earth. Except for the new technology…and the mixed beings.” Seeing different beings eating in one place is strange in a good way.

  I watch Din Zima take care of a few customers with Sakmor on her hip. She’s a powerhouse. I can see why Din Tymor is drawn to her.

  Kaksie takes a big gulp of stros and then says, “It’s a good place to live. It’s safer than most but you still have to be watchful. More than one person has gone missing and never been seen again.”

  My head jerks back in surprise. “What?”

  Zima passes near us and calls out, “Kaksie, stop gossiping.”

  As soon as Zima enters the kitchen, Kaksie whispers, “Just keep your eyes open. Every planet has bad people.”

  Zi
ma comes out of the kitchen and stares at my new friend. “Kaksie, do I need to have a talk with Din Graf?”

  Kaksie shakes her head and Zima nods before going back into the kitchen.

  “Who is Din Graf?” I ask.

  Her light blue eyes glaze over. “Din Graf SolTe is who I belong to. I’m his seema. I used to be a live-sex-plaything at Club Release and then I met Din Graf and the club lost its appeal.”

  Looks like Din Ryk and his friends are just as good as I’d hoped. They don’t force people to work at their club. That makes my heart soften toward him even more. No. That can’t be good. I need to keep a shield around my heart. I’ll just admire his good business ethics and acknowledge that he’s a good guy.

  Sten passes by and Kaksie leans in close. “Sten RonDe is training to be a Din. He’s the son of Din Lon RonDe.” She shakes her head making her bangs bounce. “Din Lon was a friend of Din Tymor until he was killed on a mission. He died two years ago. Sten and his mother, Jenri, are taking it well. Zaphinians are tough.”

  My heart sinks. That is why I can’t get too close to Din Ryk. Warriors are too dangerous to love. My heart just can’t take it. I wish I wasn’t so dang attracted to him.

  As the midday rush hits hard, we go back to work. The rhythm of working here is exhilarating. I can’t learn enough about the crowd. Most are zaphinians but there are a handful of others here as well. I like the way many of them stay and hang out after their meal. I’m not the only one that feels at home here. I feel many eyes on me but I don’t mind. I am new here and I’m a human. Soon I’ll be old news.

  My stomach rumbles as the crowd starts to thin. I head to the kitchen to snack on a few crackers. Two steps into the kitchen is all I get before strong arms wrap around my waist. I yelp and then giggle and gasp when fingers tickle my sides. Ryk.

  “You scared me.” I turn in his arms and look up into his amazing three-tone eyes. I could look into his eyes forever.

  “You should be more alert, seema.” He pulls me in tightly to his firm body and sniffs. His soft growl has my core heating up.

  “No mating in the kitchen,” Zima yells.

  I jump and my cheeks heat up. Dang it. Why do zaphinians have to be so sensitive to emotions?

  Ryk tightens his grip for a second and then releases me when his stomach rumbles. “It’s time to eat, seema.”

  Kaksie breezes into the kitchen and takes her apron off. “I’ll be back.” Her pretty pink lips curl into a wide smile as she heads out the door.

  “That smile says she’s about to mate,” Tymor informs with a grin.

  “Oh.” I look at Ryk all dressed in his dark combat clothes and feel my center heating up again. I’m a little jealous of my pretty maroon friend.

  Ryk growls softly into my ear. “I’ll take care of your needs this evening, seema.”

  At Zima’s wink, I feel my cheeks heat up again. When am I going to get used to their open way of thinking?

  As we set the table just outside the kitchen, I see Din Tairin walk up. I stop and look into his gold and purple eyes. He searches my soul which makes me antsy. I’m starting to think I’ll never get used to that. Movement has me looking to Tairin’s right. I gasp when I see Tairin. My gaze switches back to the male I just addressed.

  The male grins at me. “I’m Din Zairin GyRol. Din Tairin’s twin. Your scent tells me you belong to Din Ryk.”

  I nod in stunned disbelief. Zaphinians can have twins! I look from one to the other. They don’t have any scars that I can see. Both have deep dimples in their cheeks and soft curly collar length black hair. They are pretty boys! Pretty boys that I can’t tell apart.

  A finger gently pressing my jaw up has me looking up into Ryk’s eyes. I flush when I realize that I just got caught staring open mouthed at his friends. Worry whips through me. Will he think I’m sexually interested in them?

  Ryk inhales and his vents flutter. “Stop worrying, seema. I know you were just surprised to see the twins. It happens a lot. Now let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

  I look around the restaurant. Should I wait to eat? I look at Zima who is dishing out a huge amount of food for Sakmor. His highchair allows him to go at it without restraint.

  “Should I take care of the customers while you guys eat?”

  “No,” Ryk, Tymor, and Zima say at the same time.

  Okay. I scoop up some nayhew grosh and grab a handful of spicy grulet crackers. I crumble a couple of crackers into my grosh and take a bite. Mmm, the nayhew meat, ground nuts, veggies, and touch of sweet from the cronbe fruit are blended perfectly.

  I get a few bites in when Tymor leaves to help a customer. I frown because I know he needs more food than me since he only eats once a day. “I think I should help out.”

  “No, he is used to eating and working.” Ryk touches the back of my neck sending tingles down my spine. “You are with me right now. Eat.”

  The order wasn’t nice but it’s sweet that he wants me by his side. I finish my bowl and sit back. The others are still going at it, even Sakmor. Tymor is back and making a dent in his second bowl. Sten shovels another bite into his mouth and then goes to help a customer.

  I feel bad about not helping out when they need me.

  A finger smoothing my brow lets me know I must have been frowning. I look up at Ryk. “It is good training for Sten to work and eat at the same time.”

  Right. That’s a warrior thing. I can’t get too close to Sten either. An ache flares through my chest. I look around the table at Ryk, Tairin, Zairin, and then over at Sten who is still with a customer. I don’t want any of them to get hurt or die. Life sucks.

  Ryk gives me a stern look. “Stop thinking what you’re thinking, seema. Accept life as it is.”

  I smile and force myself to think of how happy I am to be working here.

  Soon they are all finished with their meal and Ryk pulls me against his firm body. I inhale his delicious scent and wish we were alone. My arms wrap around his lean waist. I love the feel of him in my arms.

  He growls softly and then brushes his lips across mine. “Soon, seema.” He kisses me again. This time it’s a deeper kiss. I sink into his arms and kiss him back. The touch of our tongues sends a shiver through me. I can’t get enough of him.

  “I’m back and just in time to see the show,” Kaksie says.

  Her humor filled voice is right behind me. I jerk and silently groan. Ryk makes me forget where I am. That can’t be good.

  CHAPTER

  28

  ~ Skyla ~

  ♥

  Ryk pulls back and looks me over. Desire crackles in the air between us. “We’ll finish this at home, seema.”

  His gaze rakes over me one last time and then he leaves with Tairin and Zairin. I have no idea which twin is which. And possibly never will.

  Back to work it is. Kaksie’s glow has me grinning. She definitely got some on her break. I’m both envious and happy for her.

  When a couple more customers come in, we take one and Sten takes the other. As we wait for ours to choose a table, I notice Sten’s customer looking me over with interested blue and gold eyes. He scans my body and then asks Sten something that I can’t hear.

  One day soon everyone will be used to seeing me.

  “What’s the name of the customer Sten is with?” He’s glanced at me a few times.

  “Rap SenTa.” She lowers her voice even more. “Some say he’s a grounfos.”

  “A what?”

  “I’ll tell you about them in a bit.” Kaksie nods at our customer and then leans down and whispers, “This one is here on Zaphin doing some business. His name is Len Po Dee.”

  I nod as we slowly follow him to a table. After he’s settled we head over to him.

  I bump my hip on a table that got shifted during the rush. “Ow.” I rub my hip and mentally note that I’ll have to watch out for shifted tables after the rush. I move it back into place and then turn to see Kaksie waiting on me and the customer watching me.

  Heat bl
ooms across my cheeks. I must look clumsy as all get out.

  “You all right?” Kaksie asks.

  “Yes, I’ll just have to be more careful.” I ignore the burning of my hip as we go up to our customer.

  His purple eyes are sparkling. They draw me in. Kaksie nudges me and I snap out of it. Dang it. I can’t stare at the customers. It’s rude. I have to get a grip.

  I hold up my o-line. “Hi. What can we get for you today?”