by Sabrina Kade
I swallow hard and turn my chin towards Azan.
“Ready to go back to our room?” He beams, still loving how much that it’s no longer just his lair. It’s ours. A space we share.
And though I want to approach Ellis, demand to know who’s touched her and made her so frightened, one glance at Hujun lets me know now isn’t the time. For the time being, Ellis needs to be with him. Despite his appearance. Despite being an alien. She depends on him like he’s the oxygen she needs to stay alive. And I don’t want to ruin that by butting in where I don’t belong. Hujun is right. Ellis is strong. And when she’s ready to talk, she will. And I’m willing to bet she’s going to talk to Layla or me. It shouldn’t matter who she talks to first. It doesn’t even matter if she never feels comfortable enough telling me what’s happened.
Someone knows. And he’s doing everything he can to put the shattered pieces of her confidence back together again.
Azan wraps a thick arm around my shoulders as he leads me away without another word and Ellis doesn’t bother with a goodbye. Does she stay outside of the Gathering Room with him all night? Do they sleep there together since Hujun won’t invite her to his room?
“How is your Christmas room coming along?” Azan asks. He squeezes me more closely to him and I inhale deeply, trying to focus on the scent of pine and cinnamon that radiates from my alien’s scaled skin. “It looks as though you have made a bit of progress.”
“We have,” I say, my mind still a million miles away. I’m sure Azan can tell my mind’s drifting and it’s only a matter of time before he asks why. I don’t even know I’ll tell him. What can I tell him? I don’t know anything, so there’s nothing to share. “The tree you picked at the lagoon looks amazing, you know. I don’t know if I told you that.”
“You’ve told me many times.” Azan smiles. “But I love hearing it every single time.”
I swallow. “Azan, seriously. Why are you so fucking amazing?”
“I’m not,” he admits. “Not in general, but for you—”
“What if anything ever happened to me or…” I trail off, not even sure where I’m going with this, but Azan jerks to a halt.
“Happened to you?”
“Nothing’s happened.”
“You are mine. No one should do anything to you.”
“No one’s done anything!” I try to smile, but Azan’s clearly grown hysterical. “It was only hypothetical—”
“Has someone touched you? While outside has someone found—”
“No!” I yelp, trying to get him moving again, but my alien is almost four hundred pounds of solid muscle, so that’s not happening. “I was just wondering…”
“Wondering if I would kill someone for touching you without consent?”
“That’s a hell of a conclusion, Azan.” I want to laugh, but the heaviness in the air is too much to bring a smile to my voice. “But would you?”
“You are my Chosen. I’ll kill anyone who hurts you. Brother or not, blood Brother or not. My prince or not, you are my first, York. My only.” He leans in and presses his full lips against mine, kissing me deeply and swiping his scaled tongue across mine. A moan escapes as I wrap my arms around his neck, enjoying how lucky I am to have found this incredible man before me.
“I’ll need a little reminder about that,” I say between kisses.
“Are you sure you would not rather speak on what is bothering you?” He frowns. “The reason why you needed to speak to my brother in private?”
I pull away slightly. “Maybe I wanted you to take time to get to know Ellis.”
He cocks a thick eyebrow, not believing me for a moment, and I slump.
“Alright, I’ll admit I needed to talk to Hujun about something, but it’s over now.” And that’s the truth. Sort of. It is over until Ellis decides to talk to me, or anyone else about it. Whatever it is.
Azan still looks doubtful, but thankfully he eventually shrugs and continues the way back to our lair.
“I will consider letting this go one of your Christmas packages,” he says quietly, pulling the curtain aside. “Did I say it right this time?”
I flush. God, I love him so much.
“You said it perfectly.” I press my hand against his chest and gently shove him back towards the bed. “And thank you.”
His eyes light up as I crawl on top of him. “Does this mean I’m getting a gift now as well?”
“You’re getting better with the sexy Christmas puns.” I lower my lips to his ear, dropping my voice to a whisper. “But your package in my box is more like another gift for me.” I snicker to myself as Azan cocks his head in confusion.
“We’re going to have sex. Now.” I purr, leaving no room for miscommunication.
CHAPTER FIVE
York
“Did something happen to Ellis?”
I snap my attention towards Blythe. We’re in the Gathering Room again, but Blythe needed to take a break because of some Braxton Hicks contractions. At least I hope that’s all they are. She doesn’t look too comfortable, and as much as I want to help the other girls wrap makeshift presents in leaves, Blythe’s pregnant and apparently that means I’m the most responsible for her other than Korben, of course.
“What… what do you mean?” I ask.
As if to prove her point, she juts her chin towards the opening. And it’s empty. Hujun and Ellis, who have become permanent fixtures there, are nowhere to be found.
“Did Hujun finally admit his feelings?” Blythe’s face lights up. Poor girl. She’s planning to live vicariously through other people’s sex lives until she gives birth. “Maybe he’s finally taken her back to his room.”
“I doubt it,” I say slowly.
“Why not?” She pouts. “They’ve been spending a lot of time together lately. Maybe Hujun finally realized how lucky he is to have her.”
“He does know that, Blythe.” I lower my voice when a few girls not-so-casually step closer. I’m sure they want to know what’s going on with Ellis too, but I still can’t get Hujun’s warning out from my head. Something happened to her. And Ellis will talk about it eventually. There’s no reason to spread lies and rumors. “They’re building a friendship right now. You know, something most people create before mating?”
She frowns, assuming I’m trying to offend her. But pregnant or not, Blythe is the last person who needs verbal comfort. Compared to most of us here, other than morning sickness, Blythe has it made in the shade. In fact, she’s the only girl who’s truly safe because her mate is the prince with access to all his money.
“Whatever. So what’s the deal with Celeste and Glykoran, then?”
“Seriously?” I frown.
“Yeah. What are they planning to make for the Christmas celebration?”
Oh shit. Yeah. That. “Celeste said Glykoran told her that not a lot of animals live on this part of the planet. Further south? And further north? There are a few species that would work as a turkey, but the game here is pretty tiny. Plus, you know these guys don’t care for meat. Enormous fangs or not.”
“No Christmas ham, I guess?”
“You would be correct, Blythe.”
“What about Christmas cookies?” She sighs deeply. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m pregnant, or I’m missing home for the first time in forever, but I would kill a man for a chocolate chip cookie.”
My eyes light up at this. “There is something similar to cocoa here. Celeste mentioned that.”
“Really?”
“I’m sure it’s not the chocolate we’re used to, but it’s something. Celeste says she and Glykoran are going to mess around with the recipe for a few days. You’re not alone in wanting Christmas cookies.”
“And… Did Celeste say this all to you? Directly?” Blythe looks a little hurt. But she can’t be upset with Celeste for not wanting to talk to her. The two of them have a sorted past – in that Blythe was high rolling at one assignment and Celeste was hung from the ceiling by her hair, naked, for days simply
so aliens could look at her body and touch her openly. And Blythe did nothing. She didn’t even talk to her or check to see how she was doing.
I shrug, reminding Blythe of all of this with one look.
“All you have to do is talk to her.”
“I’ve already said sorry.” Blythe’s lower lip pops out. “What else does she want from me?”
“Like I said, talk to her.”
“And say what?”
“Talk about cookies.”
“Cookies?” Her frown deepens. “What the hell is talking about cookies going to do?”
“I don’t know, Blythe, but your sorry plan doesn’t seem to be working any better. Either talk to the damn girl about cookies or accept the fact that she doesn’t like you. Why do you care so much anyway? You’re good to go. You nabbed the prince. You’re carrying what is going to be considered royal offspring. What do you care if Celeste still resents you for the shit you pulled a few years ago?”
She blushes. Her cheeks deepen to a dark red and she nibbles on her lower lip. I’m not even sure what part of my statement offended her more. Honestly, I don’t even care. I stand and fix my top.
“I should go back and help the others. This whole Christmas celebration thing was my idea and I’m not supposed to be taking breaks.”
“You’re pregnant too, you know. No one’s going to be mad if you take it easy.”
I frown. Now I know I’ve had enough for now.
“I’d be upset.” I turn away from Blythe and all but jog towards the others. She’s struggling to stand again, but I don’t stay behind to help. I know Blythe’s miserable, so I’ll give her a free pass, but I’m not going to lounge around and let others do the work.
“What happened now?” Layla asks as soon as I’m standing next to the Christmas palm tree. “More contractions?”
“Yeah.” I smile. I don’t feel like talking shit on Blythe right now. She’s going through her own battles just like the rest of us. “Her pregnancy is a little more difficult than mine.”
“I’ll say. You’re handling yours like a fucking boss.” Layla smiles widely as Sloane saunters up to us, clutching a sloppily wrapped shape in purple leaves.
“I’m not good at this,” she mutters. “York, didn’t you say there was some special way to wrap gifts with leaves?”
“The better question is, who’s the gift for?” I snicker at the petite redhead. Has she finally realized Exer has a thing for her? That would be good and bad. Good for Exer and Sloane – bad for Layla.
“It’s for one of the girls.” Sloane lowers her voice to a whisper. “It’s for Lacey. Kind of like a peace offering. To make her feel better.”
I narrow my eyes. “You found a gift for Lacey? You know she hates all of us, right?”
Sloane shakes her head. “No, she doesn’t! She doesn’t like this assignment.”
“She’s a Human Whore like the rest of us,” Layla grumbles. “I didn’t know we could be picky.”
“It’s more than that,” Sloane promises, not saying anything else about Lacey’s supposed feelings. “And it’s not even that special of a gift, but she’ll appreciate not being left out of everything.”
“Whose fault is that?” I ask.
Sloane shrugs. “I wanted to give her something.” She holds up the collection of poorly looped leaves. “Seriously, York? Can you help me with this or not?”
I roll my eyes. Got to love Sloane. She’s not the smartest, but she’s one of the nicest. It’s probably one of the reasons Exer is so interested in her despite having the reputation of being a loaner. I smile and take her elbow.
“Come on,” I say in a low voice. “Lacey’s on the other side of the room so it’ll be easier to keep it hidden from her over there.”
“Thanks, York,” she chirps.
Despite the heat from the sun rayers, it’s really starting to feel like Christmas in the Gathering Room. For the rest of the evening, all the girls continue to work, and though I feel bad that Blythe’s left and Celeste and Ellis are still nowhere to be found, most of the girls remain. Even Renee and Devyn help out. Even Arizona and Alaska can’t hide their excitement about sharing a little Christmas cheer with one another, bragging about the gifts they found for each other with their mates.
I can’t remember the last time I was this happy while on assignment.
“Oh gosh,” Sloane whispers, eyes widening towards the doorway.
I lift my head. “What?”
“He’s here today.”
I follow Sloane’s excited look and sure enough, Exer’s standing in the doorway. He couldn’t make it more obvious he has no intention of stepping inside, but he also makes it obvious what he’s looking for. His eyes land on Sloane, and a small smile quirks on his lips.
Another moment passes before Layla’s standing next to him. Sloane wilts.
“Do you like him?” I ask, feeling strange for asking, but wanting to know. For weeks Exer has been interested in Sloane, but she’s kind of brushed the whole thing off. Is Layla’s pursuing him finally grating on her?
“We’re friends.” Sloane tightens the wrapping on another gift. It’s odd how quickly she figured out how to make leaves look like legit wrapping paper with only a few lessons. Sloane isn’t brilliant, but she seems to be a quick study. “They’re friends, too. We’re all friends.”
“It’s more than that,” Phoebe squeaks, surprising both Sloane and me. I didn’t know she had the slightest idea what was going on with our little love triangle, but Phoebe’s also proving to be a quick study. “Layla likes him.”
Sloane’s shoulders bunch together. “Yes, well. That’s fine.”
“Do you like him too?” Phoebe tries.
“I like everyone,” Sloane says. “I like it here. I like this assignment. It’s fun.”
My heart pulls for her. It’s obvious she has a thing for Exer, but there’s no way she’s going to ruin things for Layla. I don’t know why everyone can’t talk about it. Dolan’s not terrible, but there’s no way Sloane’s going to say, take the pushy know-it-all and I’ll take the sexy loner.
“Are you getting him a gift?” I try, hoping this will give Sloane the push she needs. “I’m getting Azan a few things. Blythe’s—”
“Exer’s not my mate,” Sloane interrupts. “It wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“But you’re friends,” Phoebe tacks on. “I got something for Iriel.”
“Eww… seriously?” I can’t help but blurt. But seriously? Iriel? Phoebe’s only eighteen, but Iriel seems more like he’s coasting towards thirty, at least as far as aliens can age. Not to mention he’s pushy like Dolan, grumpy, and rude.
“I like him,” Phoebe says. “He’s nice to me.”
Well, I guess that’s that. Letting that go for now, my attention drifts back to Sloane who’s watching Layla and Exer talk quietly in the opening where Ellis and Hujun are usually stationed. It’s an odd change, but not in a weird way. From a distance, Exer almost looks human. His hair is several shades darker than most of the Sidyths here, and his skin almost looks tan. He has next to no scales on his chest or face. Most of them are on his back, so from the front? Damn, he just looks like a seven-foot-tall model.
My heart aches for Sloane. I don’t know why she doesn’t tell Layla to back off. I see the heated looks Exer keeps sending her way. He may be friends with Layla, but it’s obvious who he wants to have sex with.
More time passes with lazy conversation, but Sloane never leaves her spot next to me. Eventually, Exer grows bored and pats Layla on the head before leaving the room. Still no sign of Ellis or Hujun. Blythe’s probably pouting in her room. What-the-fuck-ever.
“Should I get him a gift?” Layla asks, taking a seat in our growing circle.
“Who?” Phoebe asks, eying Sloane.
“Who? Did you not see who I was talking to? Exer! What do you think he would he like?”
“I don’t know,” Phoebe asks, elbowing Sloane. “What do you think Exer wants for Christmas, S
loane?”
Her pale skin flushes. “How would I know what Exer wants?”
“You have a better idea than anyone.”
Layla’s eyes narrow. “Okay… anyway. I know there are some stalks here that function like pencils. Maybe I should draw him a picture on a rock or something? Embrace the whole cavewoman thing.” She snickers. “Hey! Why don’t we all work on making something for the Sidyths?”
“What?” Phoebe asks. “Like a craft session? My mom used to do those.”
“Craft session?” Layla’s eyes light up with interest. “You mean like…”
Phoebe rolls her eyes. “My mom was a stay-at-home, so she was always looking for ways to keep herself entertained. Craft sessions are when a bunch of moms either went to someone’s house or a pottery place downtown and made crafts for their husband’s. I don’t even think half of them gave the damn things to their husband’s, but it was a way to pass the time when we were at school. Mom made me an ashtray once.”
“An ashtray?” I can’t help but smirk, the wholesome image of Phoebe’s mom making crafts shattered.
“She wasn’t good with pottery at the time.” Phoebe shrugs. “But it was fun! And there are lots of things here we could learn to work with. We could find materials and make bowls and cups and stuff.”
“All of that stuff can be ordered in,” I say. “Blythe only has to ask Korben—”
“And what happens when Korben says no one day?” Phoebe asks quietly. “What if all the Sidyths go back and we’re stuck here? What happens then?”
The small group falls silent. It’s a legitimate concern, so of course no one wants to think about it. But Phoebe isn’t afraid to voice it and now that she’s dropped the verbal bomb, we’re forced to consider it.
“It would be kind of fun to explore this place,” Layla admits. “Beyond the lair or the open field.”
“Yeah, we’re not all York, heading out to a privacy cave for pleasure,” Phoebe teases.
This time, I’m the one who blushes.
“Shut up,” I grumble, annoyed I’ve been thrown off my game. Phoebe only laughs. Damn, Arizona really has brought her back to life. In fact, she’s acting like Arizona. Thankfully, Azan provides the perfect distraction. I start to stand, but Phoebe beats me to it.