by Rena Marks
She shook her head. She needed to stop fantasizing and getting herself all excited. It made the fear hit that much worse in the evenings when the safety of the gates were behind her.
A few others waved at her as she hurried down the path to where the houses were. At the edge of the trees, she saw a man with bluish-green skin and dark black hair waiting. It was one of the twins—no, triplets. She’d had the twins in her class, but at the end of the night, one more arrived with his mate. Pax and Serena. They’d been the two to drive her to the gates that fateful night and she realized they were triplets, not twins.
“Hi, Leah. I’m Envy.”
She heaved a sigh of relief as he took the box from her arms. “I’m so glad you told me which one you were. I didn’t see a single distinctive mark distinguishing you from Impatience last time.”
A small smile smirked at his well-formed lips. “That’s because we’re not twins. We’re Xeno Sapiens.”
She wasn’t quite sure what that meant, so she just assumed it was a connection stronger than twins. The world knew they’d been through a lot.
“You have a lot more ingredients this time,” he said, looking into the box.
“I remember how Pax and Serena showed up for dinner last time. We’d made a lot since you’d requested spaghetti for six. So this time I brought enough to make a meal for eight. If you don’t want to make it all, we can use half the ingredients and then you can try to replicate it yourselves in a couple of days.”
“What are you showing us this time?” he asked, looking into the box as if he could decipher what the ingredients would blend into.
“It’s orange-chicken with celery. We’re making a Basmati rice with butternut squash as a side. You’ll love it.”
“I’m sure I will,” he said. “It already sounds delicious.”
They began the trek to his home—the trail she barely remembered. She tried to memorize the path. She had to take care of herself next time. She couldn’t depend on anyone.
“I understand you’re a little sick of spaghetti?”
He winced. “It’s still a delicious recipe. But yes, we have been banned by the others from making it.”
She snorted. “How many times did you recreate it?”
“Um, fourteen,” he mumbled.
In two weeks? Her jaw dropped. As he focused straight ahead, she started to laugh.
He grinned, looking up at her. “It got so bad, Rena finally forbade us from cooking. She said she’d eat out at the mess hall until you were healthy.”
“I don’t blame her.”
“I tried to change it up, but she didn’t appreciate the effort,” he said. “I used fettuccine noodles once. Angel hair noodles the next time. Both added slight taste variances to the dish. Very slight. It made my…brothers have constant arguments as to which was better.”
“Funny how one little thing like the shape of pasta can change up an entire dish. Pasta is pasta. It should taste the same no matter how it’s cut. But the cut definitely does change the flavor.”
They reached the home and Impatience flung open the door for them. As she entered the living area, she saw another person seated on the sofa.
A gorgeous, stunning specimen.
Trance.
“You remember Trance, don’t you?” Impatience asked as he set the box on the counter.
It was hard not to remember someone with that much beauty wrapped up in a package. Yet he carried himself with an aloofness that spoke of loneliness, like he wasn’t aware he could be the center of someone’s world if he tried.
“I do,” she said softly. “How are you?”
Working on Xenia, she’d seen a lot of different looking Xeno Sapiens. Purple people, green people, red. Striped. Scaled, horned…the list went on and on. Coming from a world where it was popular for everyone to be blended and nondescript—well, it was shocking at first. As time went on, shock at someone’s appearance wore off and one just noticed the person, not their looks. But not Trance. She didn’t think she’d ever not notice his looks. The man was gorgeous. His face was hard angles and sharp, masculine sexy features, framed by black hair. A lot of his human DNA pushed through, because he even grew facial hair, stubble shadowing his jaw and accenting his bedroom look. His eyes were unusual and marked him as other—a deep, royal purple with irises of pure shocking gold. His lips were full and deep red and so kissable it was hard to ignore him.
But ignore him she must.
“I’m fine. But how are you? I hear you’ve been sick.”
“I’m fine. Just a little bug. I was more exhausted than anything. I understand you signed up for lessons also?”
He nodded. “Two nights from now. I can hardly wait.”
“Any preferences? You’ve had two weeks to think about it.”
“Anything will be fine. I’m just excited to learn.”
Envy snorted from the kitchen where he was unloading the box. “How many will you be cooking for?” he called out, his tone goading. Next to him, his brother, Impatience, snickered. The two usually liked to jab at each other, but now there was a new person to pick on. A lone person.
“Just me.” Trance narrowed his eyes at the pair. “I figured start easy before I start cooking for others. Before I bore them with endless mounds of spaghetti.”
Well played.
She smiled at him to show her support. It was just him here and with the way the others picked on him, he needed someone on his side. She’d balance out the scales a bit.
“I can teach you to cook for one or two people,” she said. “Sometimes it’s more of a skill to cook for less than more.”
“If I can get my lessons earlier in the day, maybe I can cook for two? And you can help me eat the second portion before you leave for your next appointment? No point in me eating leftovers when we have the mess hall.”
That saved her from packing a lunch and eating in the park. She was welcome in the mess hall, but it felt odd to be on the receiving end since she cooked most mornings and planned meals for them. And there was no way she’d do anything to take food from Xeno Sapiens. Hell, they were already feeding homeless people outside their walls. Eating with him in his home saved her time, too, since sometimes cooking lessons did run a bit behind as people became comfortable and laughter flowed. She couldn’t be late. He was asking innocently enough, there was nothing flirtatious in his question. She didn’t have to worry about that, as Brock had drummed into her head with his fists many times.
She nodded. “I’d like that.”
A smile broke out on his face and she felt sucker punched right in the belly. Damn. To be on the receiving end of one of those smiles. If he was handsome before, that smile brought him up to devastating.
She looked away quickly. That was no way for a married woman to think. No wonder Brock always got upset with her.
Chapter Three
Trance:
TODAY WAS GOING TO be a great day, indeed. His cooking lesson was finally here, and she was back. The gorgeous human he’d met the dreadful night he started working at the gates. Worst day of his life, being ordered to keep guard at the front gates. But a silver lining had occurred when Pax—the Xeno Sapien scientist—sent him a telepathic communication asking him to allow him to bring Trance to work at the gates. He had a human worker—a cook—who needed a ride and he didn’t think she’d accept one for herself only. So hell, yeah, Trance pretended to need Pax’s ride. And once he saw her? He signed up for her cooking lessons.
He didn’t let the fact that the female hardly noticed him deter him. Obviously, she wasn’t feeling well that night since she’d called in sick for the next two weeks. But now, she was back.
Now he would woo her. She wouldn’t be able to resist. Trance knew he was handsome and some of the uglier Xeno Sapiens had gotten human mates. Not that looks mattered because he had a bigger problem.
The only reason why he didn’t have a mate—or friends—was because of his power. But Leah, being human, should be unaffected.
She had no telepathic abilities like his Xeno Sapien brethren and it would be impossible to form a mind link with her while she slept. She’d be a safe mate for him.
He couldn’t invade her dreams—her privacy—her life. It was a match made in heaven. Let the other Xeno Sapiens avoid him. He’d be happy with his human mate.
The computer notified him that she requested entry at his door. He flung it open, trying to tamper his excitement at such a gorgeous creature coming to see him.
“Hi.”
Her lips turned up. “Hi yourself. Help, please?”
He reached for the box in her arms. “You know you can get a hover cart to load and let it tag effortlessly behind you, right?”
“I know. But the exercise will do me good.” She followed him into the kitchen. “I’m a chef. I’d weigh in at the same weight as your fridge if I didn’t get exercise.”
“Curves aren’t a bad thing,” he muttered and forced his eyes from her rack.
Fortunately, her eyes were on the array of sculptures he had banked on shelves and coffee tables.
“Nice place.”
“Thank you.” He liked to collect small pieces that didn’t come standard with the apartments. A framed piece of art on the wall. A metal sculpture he’d seen in a magazine. Wooden pieces he’d carved and sanded himself.
“What are we making today?”
“Comfort food. Tonight’s a rain night, so we can pretend it’s the start of winter.” Xeno Sapiens had figured out how to force rain in the city over the fields of growing produce. It was a technology the floating cities had and the rest of the world scratched their heads that Xenia was able to command clouds without the covering of a dome. The clever Xeno Sapiens remained silent with their secrets.
“Winter is around the corner.”
“Which is why I thought we’d experiment with some comfort foods. See which ones you prefer.”
“I’m sure I’ll like anything you make.”
She smiled tentatively. A one-sided smile, which curved the left side of her lips. A smile just for him. He’d seen her in her cooking element, of course. He’d been present while she had a lesson at Envy and Impatient’s house. She was so professional she bordered on stand-offish. She wasn’t that way with him. It was a good sign. It showed of their connection with each other.
“Of course you will. I have a couple of different options for today. We can make chicken and noodles or chicken pot pie. We have the ingredients for both, it’s just a matter of rearranging them. Also, the chicken pot pie has two different versions. We can make it the traditional way with a pie crust or with a variation of a buttermilk bread topping. Either way, you also get a serving of vegetables. Carrots, celery, peas, corn. Those are the standards I brought, but we can always change those up for variety’s sake.”
“I wish I’d have signed up for tomorrow, too,” he said wistfully.
“Well,” she said. “I work tomorrow. But this stuff will keep in the fridge an extra day. We can whip up the next stuff the day after, if you like?”
“I thought you were off? Wasn’t I your last appointment?”
“I am, but I volunteered for the mess hall. Just a few hours in the preparation in the morning. So the day after, if you like, I’ll come visit and show you how to put the next dish together. I won’t be on the clock so you don’t have to worry about payment. It’ll be my free time.”
He’d just scored. That was like a date, surely. She just offered to visit him. On her day off. But what response would endear her to him more? Should he offer to pay?
“Are you sure you want to waste a day off on me?”
She smiled at him. “It’s not a waste of a day, Trance. I won’t be doing much anyway.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll leave a visitor pass for you at the front gate since you won’t be on the work logs.”
“Works for me. Let’s wash up.”
They washed their hands together at the sink and he couldn’t help but feel like they were already a couple. Completely comfortable with each other.
“Next we’ll wash the produce,” she said, handing him the ear of corn. “I brought a veggie wash, but when we use it up, I’ll show you how to make one to refill the bottle.”
“I volunteered at the front gate for the close of the day,” he said. “That way you have someone to walk you back and not waste any time making you wait for shift change. I know you were in a hurry last time.”
She looked surprised at his observation. “Oh. No bother. I probably wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t even aware of my actions.”
She showed him how to chop the corn and shuck the peas. When they had all of the vegetable preparation complete, the fun began. Though to be fair, every minute she was in his house was fun for him.
“You know,” she said. “If you want, I can find another one of my clients willing to come over and share a meal with you so you can experiment with your cooking skills.”
“I thought you were going to eat with me?” Did he misread the situation?
“Oh, I will,” she assured him. “You just seemed…I don’t know. A loner?”
“I am.” His voice was matter-of-fact. “I don’t get along well with others. I make friends easy enough, but lose them even easier.”
“Why? You’re a personable guy.”
“I invade their space.” He shrugged. “It’s the way I’m wired. I make people uncomfortable.”
Something in her eyes softened. “You don’t make me uncomfortable, Trance.”
“If I did, would you promise to tell me? Instead of just freezing me out?”
“Definitely,” she promised. “That’s what friends should do. I’m not sure why the others are not remaining friends with you. It’s their issue, not yours.” She was adorable in her ferociousness at defending him.
“It’s not really their fault. I can be intense.”
“If they hurt your feelings, it is their fault.”
He laughed. “You’re worth ten friends, Leah.”
She laughed ruefully. “Too much? I’ve always been good at defending others.”
He caught the way her voice changed on the word others. He’d just have to make sure he was there to defend her.
“I’m sure that’s going to go over real well when word gets around that no one can mess with me or my new friend will refuse to cook for them.” His voice was dry.
She laughed. “Trust me, they’ll rue the day they messed with us.”
Like with what usually happened when one was having fun, his lesson flew by. Before he knew it, the pie was in the oven, the dishes cleaned and Leah was rubbing hand cream into her soft hands. For a moment he watched the graceful movements of her long fingers. What would it be like to have those fingers spread on his chest? His abs? Lower?
“Trance?”
“Sorry?”
She laughed at him. “Pie’s done.”
“Great. I’ll pop it into this bag to take with me to eat on my break later. Rain’s about to start, so maybe I’ll walk out through the main hub and ride the shuttle with you up to the gates. I don’t mind walking but we might end up soaked.”
“The shuttle is good,” she said. “Wouldn’t want to catch a chill after I just got healthy.”
He carefully placed the steaming pot pie into the lunch bag, dropped in a fork and napkin, and swung the strap carefully over one shoulder. “I can’t wait for people to ask me what I’m eating. I’m gonna be so casual about it. Chicken pot pie. Like I make it all the time and they’re inferior for not knowing what it is.”
She laughed. “Oh, you’re trouble, aren’t you? And I just friended you.”
He smiled wide enough to show her his teeth.
He held the door for her and together they trekked down the hallways of the residential unit, up the back way of the main hall.
“Do you mind swinging into the employee locker room so I can sign out?”
“Not at all,” he assured her. “It’s what friends do.”
; She shared his laughter. Once they were in the locker room, she affixed her credentials to the touch screen. On the wall were slots with individual’s names. Some had envelopes with their pay stubs tucked inside. She ignored the message wall, though he saw her eyes fall upon it.
“You forgot your paystub,” he said, noticing the envelope with her name on it at the message center.
“Oh. Of course.” Her smile was a bit brittle as she grabbed it.
Curious.
“Come on. I’ll walk with you.”
They walked along the front edge of the gate. He entered the back entry of the office, letting her in after him. Renegade nodded to them, putting away his things since he knew Trance was to relieve him from duty.
“Have a seat,” Trance said to her.
Leah was looking out the front window. “No one can see inside?”
“No, the windows are tinted. There’s no visibility into the office from the outside.”
She relaxed a bit, joining him as she sat.
“Do you have any special plans for your weekend?” he asked.
“No, not really,” she said, her eyes darting back to the window. “Offer’s still on for the day after tomorrow.”
“I’ll take you up on that.”
He smiled easily, but she didn’t seem to be as excited as she was during their lesson. Something about leaving Xenia’s gates turned her into a different person. A nervous person.
He went over the logs with Renegade and she slipped out, not even saying goodbye. Leaving Renegade’s side, he went to the window to notice her hurrying to a hovercar.
“Everything all right?” Renegade asked.
“Yeah. I guess so.” She disappeared into the car, so he turned to him. “By the way, she’ll be back day after tomorrow as my guest. I’ll leave a visitor pass on the bulletin board for her.”
Renegade nodded. “Troy will be on duty. I’ll make sure he sees it.”
And since Renegade was heading back to the main hub, Trance gathered up trash from the receptacles he could take back with him.