“Isn’t this your mother’s domain?”
“My mother thinks it is a waste of time.” He swept his hand. “She thinks I am odd for bringing home different clippings and making them grow.”
The admission startled. “Wait, this is your garden?” She eyed him, this big warrior man who admitted to liking flowers.
“Growing plants is my hobby when I’m not doing other stuff.”
“I don’t have a hobby. Not anymore.” On Earth, makeup, boys, and meeting up at the local fast food joint were her thing. The Zonians only believed in work. No play.
“In our society, it is recommended to have a pastime that is calming. Some choose to follow the culinary arts, others crafting or painting.”
“And you grow flowers.” She traced the delicate pink edge of a bloom that shivered. The incongruity of it had her whirling to face him. It was strange how she no longer saw his bronze skin as so different. Rather more exotic, especially against the lush backdrop.
What she liked less was the tingles she felt. Arousal for him, and after she’d said no sex.
“I am capable of many things.” He purred the words, and she shivered.
To her surprise, they spent the day together as he performed his job as leader. He was respected by his people, who eyed her askance but said nothing.
He proved himself that day to be not only possessed of a green thumb but handy with tools as he helped with some repairs. Smart as he dealt with folks needing his input on supplies and the protection of what he called his tribe.
That evening she said, “People were eyeballing me.”
“They’re curious.”
“Because I’m different.”
“Yes.” He didn’t say anything, so she was forced to.
“But in many respects, we’re not.”
She eyed the remnants of the food on her plate. She didn’t recognize it, but it tasted delicious. Of course, she didn’t eat the plate his mother handed her. Rather she waited for Thyos to take a bite of his then reached over and swapped their dishes. When his mother didn’t protest as he kept eating, she figured she was safe from poison. For now.
His mother said nothing during dinner, but she did stare a lot at Ishtara, who’d arrived with her usual stomping grace just as they were sitting down.
Ish wasn’t one to let a foul-tempered mother bother her. “You overcooked the meat,” Ish declared, wrinkling her beak. Given Zonians liked it raw for the most part, any kind of heat applied to it was too much.
“I agree,” said Thyos, smirking in his mother’s direction.
Which led to said woman standing and declaring, “Are you a barbarian who has no idea how food should be prepared?”
“Perhaps you should show me,” Ishtara replied.
The next thing Clarabelle knew, Ish had joined Thyansa in the kitchen for an exchange of culinary techniques, leaving Clarabelle alone with Thyos.
Which shouldn’t have mattered. She’d been with him all day, though mostly in the company of others. But there was something different about this, with the sunset, dim lighting, and her belly full.
When he rose and said, “Shall we go sit somewhere more comfortable?” she agreed and prepared herself to foil his next move. Because surely seduction would come next.
Instead, he grabbed a tablet from a low-slung table, indicated she could grab the other, and ignored her to read.
Or so she assumed, given when she slid her finger across the tablet screen, she was shown covers and titles that changed from gibberish to English when she pressed on one.
A book. She hadn’t read one since her abduction from Earth.
Next thing she knew, she was leaning against the arm of the divan, feet up on the cushions, toes pressing on his thigh. It was the most relaxing thing she’d done in ages.
When he declared, “Bedtime,” she only stirred slowly.
Was this when it would finally happen? The day but a sham for what he’d try next?
He led her up the stairs and pointed to a door. “Those are your quarters. See you in the morning.”
He did nothing else. Didn’t try to kiss her. Or ask her to join him. He simply went into the room across the hall and closed the door.
She stood, staring for a moment at the closed door. Waiting.
Annoyed with herself.
Annoyed with him.
Which might be why, when she wakened a while later after spending some time tossing and turning and heard the whispered, “I can break the sykyrah bond,” she overreacted.
Ten
It was only a squeak of sound, and yet Thyos woke instantly. Then paused to listen. Nothing marred the deep silence of night, and yet unease gnawed at him. It took a moment to discern why.
Belle!
He didn’t pause to think, or dress. He crossed the hall and threw open the door to Belle’s room. It remained mostly in shadow, but the hall light shone inside enough for him to see Belle sitting atop his sister Thyara, holding a knife at her throat.
Curse his meddling family. He should have known they’d made things too easy thus far. Still, to attack his sykyrah while she slept… He was almost tempted to leave his sister to her fate. But then he recalled how when she was a child she always held up chubby arms for him to lift her.
It caused him to utter a resigned, “Don’t kill her.”
His intended growled. “Give me a good reason why.”
“Because she’s my sister.”
“She’s in my room.”
“Which is rude. I agree,” he soothed softly. Inside, he silently raged. He’d thought his mother would be the worst hurdle, and yet his guilty sister was the one on the floor, intending what exactly? Murder?
“I just wanted to talk to her,” Thyara groused. “She attacked me.”
“You’re lucky that’s all she did. What were you thinking?”
“Can’t you guess? She doesn’t think I’m good enough for you,” Belle snapped.
“The goddess wouldn’t shame our family by mixing it with the blood of an outsider,” Thyara insisted.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Because I have spoken to Karma, and she was rather insistent that my sykyrah wouldn’t come from our world or even our star system.”
“You guys and your stupid goddess.” Belle shoved off of Thyara to her feet, but she didn’t sheathe her knife.
“Do not blaspheme the goddess!” Thyara sounded most shocked.
“Your goddess can—”
He ushered his sister out before Belle could finish the insult then shut the door and leaned on it. “My apologies your rest was interrupted.”
“It’s like being at home. The Zonians have this thing about making sure we can act the moment we’re wakened so they drill us all the time for preparation.” For some reason she sounded weary as she said it.
A few things occurred to him in that moment. The first and foremost being that the main reason she wanted to find a human settlement wasn’t just for the species factor but because she wanted a life that was more than just being constantly ready for battle. It would be hard to convince her that the life in his tribe would be calm most of the time, given that, since her arrival, two of his family members had attacked her.