“Ah, okay.”
She cleared a small pile of rubble and began to join Grish in his task of separating out and returning undamaged goods to the shelves in the storage units lining the large facing wall. As they worked side by side, Grish turned an amused glance in her direction. Scooting closer, he dropped his voice into a hushed whisper.
“I applaud your attempt, but did you have to do something so dramatic as attempt to destroy the replicator?”
She rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t trying to destroy the replicator,” she whispered back.
Grish frowned slightly. “I do not think poisoning him would be a way to endear him to you either.”
“I wasn’t trying to do that either,” she hissed. “I honestly thought if I improved on the crap that thing spewed out that maybe it would put him in a better mood.”
“You plan on seducing my brother through food?” Grish raised a horned brow ridge in her direction, his look so utterly skeptical that she wondered if she was entirely on the wrong track.
His lips suddenly quirked, and he leaned forward to press a kiss against her lips—too fast for her to even respond. Heated eyes trailed over her as his tongue stroked over his full bottom lip. She leaned forward, her belly warming with excitement, hoping that he would repeat the kiss, but he shrugged good naturedly and drew back, his eyes sparkling with mirth.
“Eh, no harm in trying, katna. But maybe go about it in another way.”
With a mental groan, Crystal got a hold of her eager libido and strangled it back under control. It was a bad time to entertain the idea of getting freaky with the alien when the house looked like an explosive had been detonated within it. Even if the earthquake hadn’t happened, she would still be back to square one. Grish was right; she was going to have to approach the matter from another direction. She wasn’t the Martha Stewart of Antari Minor, or even a very basic imitation of one.
Shit, if Martha Stewart were there, she could probably have taken some of those root things that the guys grew for Matida to chew on, worked some clever culinary magic with the slop from the replicator, and turned them into a gourmet meal. No doubt it would have been better than Crystal’s attempts to fry the hell out of them in a desperate bid to satisfy her craving for french fries.
Good idea or not, she wasn’t going to be able to win over Borth through his stomach. So much for doing things the easy way. She sighed morosely at the thought.
“Yeah, that idea was definitely a bust,” she agreed, her eyes fixing on Both’s broad back at the other side of the room. He hadn’t bothered to look her way even once since his last exchange of words with her. He was determined as hell, that was for sure.
Little did he know that she was stubborn too. It was time to get creative. He couldn’t ignore her forever.
Chapter 10
Grish frowned at the small stretch of flattened, limp agrim. The thick red stalks that bore clusters of grain fared worse than any of the other crops. It was also the most felt loss. Agrim grain was a staple throughout the Intergalactic Union and brought the highest yield of credits. The crop did not suffer much damage—without a doubt, it could have been much worse—but the losses were still felt. He sighed and swiped a hand down his face.
The agrim still had another week or two to finish maturing while they finished the harvest rotation among the other fields. The damaged grain would have to be cleared out to get anything at all for it, but the best they would get for the slightly immature grain was trading it as livestock feed. If they were fortunate, they might get a few paltry credits for it, but most farmers bartered for supplies instead. Few had the extra credits to expend before the harvest was brought to market.
At least the damage was contained mostly there. The vegetables, beans, and melons they had spent the morning inspecting appeared largely undisturbed. There were a few fallen limbs in the orchard and a few of the weaker trees had toppled, but fortune was with them in that they had harvested the fruits just days earlier.
Borth grunted and kicked at a clump of agrim nearby. “Could have been worse.”
Grish nodded. “We will collect the grain and take it with us when we take the saprili fruits to sell at the market. Crystal should enjoy it,” he added with a fond smile. “She has been restless. It will be good for her to meet some of the other females in our community.”
His brother frowned at him. “Do you think it’s wise to expend any more time than necessary at the market? An earthquake is unheard of. This activity reminds me of Fantan City. It seems foolish to linger in town with this new activity, especially to entertain a female who is only here for a short time.”
As if to emphasize his point, a light tremor ran beneath their feet. There had been several since the quake yesterday, and each of them made Grish’s skin prickle with a nervous energy.
Fantan City had been obliterated when a series of quakes preceded a massive volcanic eruption from the fertile mountainside in their home province. Although they had been young and didn’t live close to the city, he still remembered the ash that coated his family’s farm. They had complete crop loss that revolution, and it had taken a considerable amount of his family’s wealth to restore the farm the next season after that.
The only thing that kept him from worrying excessively about it was that the tremors were light and occurring further apart. There were no further incidents, and it seemed that they were on their way to ceasing altogether. If anything was going to happen at all, it didn’t appear to be happening yet. He couldn’t say with any certainty if they were dealing with the same sort of problem. It was possible that they were projecting their fears on an unknown situation. It was nothing that he felt inclined to worry their female over by insisting she remain at home.
Besides, he wanted their mate to find things about their world that she enjoyed. He saw how restless she was. He wanted her to feel like she belonged there with them, not like a visitor trapped in their home.
“We will take precautions, but I do not see any reason to worry yet. The tremors are subsiding. Nothing to get excited about… Not yet.”
Borth gave him a doubtful look but reluctantly nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line as he looked toward their domicile. “Will you tell her?”
Grish shook his head. “What do we tell her? We do not have enough information. I do not wish our female to worry needlessly about something that may never happen. She is already anxious enough now that you are hiding from her.”
“I am not hiding. I am reinforcing the separation and avoiding temptation,” Borth replied firmly. “I do not see any reason that it should make her anxious.”
“I suppose it’s natural that you, intended mate or not, keep to the shadows and darkness like a thief at all hours. All to avoid one small female.” Grish’s lips tipped upward in amusement. “But perhaps she should not take it that personally, yes?”
“And I should not take personally that I cannot figure out what she did to the lights in my room?” Borth shot back. “She is fortunate that I decided on this course of action, because I would have happily wrung her neck for the way she programmed them to go on and off every time I enter the room.”
“That sounds very distracting.”
“It is more than distracting. It is maddening,” Borth gritted out, a dark scowl on his face.
Grish chuckled. “Maybe if you had asked her nicely, she would have fixed it for you, and you would not be suffering from it.”
Borth’s scowl grew fiercer. “I would rather endure than give that female the pleasure,” he snapped. With violent swing of his tail, he spun around and stalked off in a foul mood. It was more entertaining than Grish had anticipated, and he could not resist shouting out after his brother.
“Maybe if you did not fight your attraction as you do, you wouldn’t be engaged in a battle of wills with the female!”
Borth did not respond except to shoot a crude human gesture at him as he went to retrieve the separation processor. Grish grinned after him but didn’t at
tempt to cajole his brother into a better mood as they worked silently beside each other.
During the heat of the midday, they stripped off their shirts and the thick leather coats they wore while operating harvester machines. With the amount of work ahead of them, it was obvious that they would not be getting to the machines that day. Chests bared to the warm air, they cut the large clusters of grain free from the stalks and cast them into the machine settled in the space between the rows of grain. They had nearly cleared the entire mess when a voice rose in greeting, attracting their attention from the loose straw they were binding into tight bales.
“Borth, Grish… good day!”
His head turning to the voice, Grish squinted and broke out into a welcoming smile as he spotted the Wanit male striding between the rows. Despite his gray skin, his brilliant red braid and characteristic red cloak clasped around his shoulders were clearly visible among the greenery.
“Nargis, good day. How are you faring, friend?” he called back cheerfully.
Borth raised a hand in silent greeting to their neighbor before returning his attention on his own bale.
“Well enough,” the male said, his eyes resting on their work with a little frown. “I see you suffered some loss from the earthquake as well.”
“Not too bad,” Grish replied. “It was worse in the house, but at least our female was not injured.”
Borth let out a noncommittal grunt, but thankfully did not volunteer his opinion. No matter how much he detested the situation, Borth was just as private as Grish and wouldn’t contradict him in front of others.
Nargis gave him a confused glance, but the male’s expression cleared, and he gave them a relieved smile. “Ah. I heard that you have a strange alien in your home, but I was not aware it was your mate. My Talimia will be relieved to hear that. She had come by to propose a barter but was very concerned when she noted the stranger on your property. She hurried home to tell me in case you needed any help disposing of it, but with the earthquake I completely forgot about it until now. A good thing you were not in any danger,” the male chuckled.
“That explains why we saw her fleeing from our home,” Grish replied. “She appeared to be in a hurry, and Crystal had no knowledge of why she was running from our property. Be sure to tell your mate that we appreciate her thoughtfulness and not to worry. In fact, she would be welcome to come any time to visit with our female. Crystal gets a little bored and would enjoy the company, I think.”
Nargis appeared a bit surprised at the idea, but he regarded him thoughtfully. “Perhaps. Talimia misses her female relations and friends from our home world. Time with another female may be welcome.”
“The earthquakes are worrisome. Maybe once things settle down. You don’t think that there is something to them, do you? In all the revolutions here, I have never felt even the slightest tremor until now, and even a day later we are still feeling them.”
Grish frowned with uncertainty. “Difficult to say what it was, but we will remain cautious.
“If you could keep us informed, we would be indebted,” Nargis replied quietly, clearly just as disturbed as they were by recent events.
“You said she came to propose a barter. What did you have in mind?” Borth broke in.
The other male immediately perked with the discussion coming around to business. “Talimia has some baked goods and preserved fruits she’s been working hard on over the last several rotations. I hope that will make a suitable trade for some help updating our new watering systems. I had them replaced, but the programming is off.”
Borth suddenly smiled as he threw the last bale into the transporter cart. “We have just the person for the job.”
Although Grish didn’t approve of Borth offering their mate’s services without consulting her, he could not wait to see the look on her face when the food was brought to the house. He knew that she tired of the fare from the replicator. They didn’t care for it themselves and enjoyed such rare treats from their neighbors, but not knowing how to do much with ingredients had prevented them from filling their house with much in the way of foodstuff. He was determined to remedy that when they went to town, but that wouldn’t happen for a few rotations yet. There was little doubt she would appreciate the exchange, even if it cost a small amount of labor. He knew she would be better equipped to handle it than either he or his brother blundering their way through basic programming with a datapad until they hit on something close.
He squinted at their own fields as they finally retired for the day, the sun already beginning its descent. Perhaps he should have Crystal look over their own watering and feeding systems from their crops. The auto-start often malfunctioned, and they were forced to manually start the systems.
He turned to ask Borth his opinion only to find that his brother had already disappeared. No doubt the male made use of the door nearest to their own quarters to enter without their female being aware. He wondered how well that was working out for his brother. Clearly, regardless of whether he was near her or not, their female was more than capable of making her presence known. Just how long would Borth hold out?
Not long, he would wager.
Grinning with amusement, Grish entered their domicile in a cheerful mood despite a long day of dealing with the damages to their farm. The kitchen was empty, as to be expected, but it didn’t take him long to find their mate sprawled in the common room with Matida, dark curls falling over her face from where they escaped her hairband as she bent over the datapad.
“Katna, here you are. Good. How was your day?” he rumbled as he wedged himself onto the high-backed bench behind her.
He dropped his nose into the crook of her neck and breathed in the perfume of her skin. There was a trace scent of the cleansing gel that they used clinging to her, but it did little to cover her delectable scent. His tongue stroked the flesh, and she immediately squirmed back against him, her rump nudging his cock enticingly. A low growl vibrated through him as his hands tightened on her hips, holding her in place. He ground against her, letting her feel the length of his stiffening cock, refusing to let go of her until she giggled and slapped back at him with one hand.
“Hold that thought, handsome,” she murmured, smiling as her fingers skimmed over the pad. “Did you know that your house is absolutely amazing to me? We have certain programmed features in our homes on Earth, but literally everything in your house is routed through a central system. It’s so high-tech that anyone on Earth would say that your farm is, outside of that replicator, the height of luxury, and very susceptible to manipulation if one knows what they’re doing.”
He chuckled and nuzzled her, gratified when she leaned back into his touch, welcoming it. “Most would say that the domicile’s tech advances make it not only safer, but also more secure from those without access clearance. And more comfortable… Though I’m not so certain of that after I heard what you did with Borth’s lights. Very clever.”
He didn’t say that it was also disturbing how much power she had should she choose to use it against them outside of the harmless prodding at Borth.
She glanced back at him over her shoulder. “Not so impressive when you consider that you did half the work for me by giving me complete access to your home. I’m not so sure I could hack through your security systems. Maybe if I had enough time,” she said with a small laugh.
He peered over her shoulder at what appeared to be a schematic of their domicile with various systems highlighted. “What are you doing now?”
A smile played on her lips. “You’ll see.” She held up a finger. “Wait for it.”
An enraged bellow echoed through their home, making the walls shake. Rather than cower, their female chortled gleefully and set aside her datapad. Her hands no longer occupied, she turned in his arms, draped her legs over his thighs, and grinned up at him.
His brow ridges rose as he heard another roar echo. “What did you do?”
“I may have changed his access clearance on his room. Kinda hard to hi
de in there if he can’t get in.”
She twitched as a third enraged bellow issued, followed by the sound of a fist hitting metal.
“Don’t worry. It won’t last long. I put it on a timer, so he should have access…”
The sound of something heavy falling vibrated through the domicile. Grish was certain that he knew what—or more accurately, who—fell.
“Female!” Borth roared enraged.
“Now,” she said. She cocked her head, listening, but when Borth didn’t storm into the common room, she sighed in disappointment and leaned forward against him, her lips feathering against his bare chest in a brief, playful caress. “I don’t think I mentioned how much I like this look,” she observed with an appreciative look.
“It is a good look for me,” he agreed, provoking laughter from his little female.
“Not one for modesty, are you?” she teased.
He feigned confusion. “What good is modesty when one’s desire to please their female is far more important than their vanity? I take pride in being pleasing for my mate.”
“Not quite your mate,” she corrected, her fingers skimming over the bulge in his pants.
A shiver ran through him, and he drew in a harsh breath at the delicate contact.
“Not quite,” he agreed. “But I look forward to the day that I may claim you.”
“If Borth agrees,” she said with a wan smile.
“If Borth agrees,” he confirmed with a light kiss before drawing away from her seductive touch, his fingers roaming at the covered seam of her sex and the swell of her breasts until they were no longer within range of contact.
He immediately missed the intimate contact between their bodies. He was close—so close—to throwing away the promises that he made himself to wait for his brother to be ready to take things to the next step. It was only with great determination that he was able to pull back.
He would not lay with her until his brother was ready.
Her breath escaped her in a ragged sigh, one that he felt down to his bones. Running a hand against her cheek, he kissed the silky skin. He could at least give her one small thing to look forward to.
Teril's Fire: A Mate Index Alien Romance (The Mate Index Book 12) Page 8