Thankfully, as Lerix introduced her, most of his cousins kept their tongues in check. A few of them a bit boisterous, and plenty of odd looks with the occasional haughty sneer, but it was nothing that Cara couldn’t handle. The last male he introduced, made her skin prickle with unease.
“Ashol,” Cara blinked, because that couldn’t really be his name, “let me introduce my mate, Cara. Cara, my cousin, Ashol.”
Cara swallowed back a snicker.
“Ashol, Lord of the noble House Voyruhl,” the wine-red male corrected as he peered down at her. He carried a ridiculously ornate and obviously fashionable cane that he didn’t need in one slender hand. She fidgeted as he scrutinized her and made a sound with his tongue. It almost passed for the disapproving clucking that some humans did.
“I must say, when I heard that you were mating, I didn’t think it would be a… human,” he said with a sneer. “I understand that you were engaged in a reprehensible occupation, but still I’d have imagined you would do better than a species whoring its females out to the highest bidder.”
The male leaned forward toward her as Lerix went deathly still.
“Still, she is not a total loss, I suppose. I wouldn’t mate you, female, but I do wonder if I offered you enough credits in payment and set you up with your own rooms, if you would abandon Lerix and this entire ridiculous farce of a mating.”
Cara’s jaw dropped. Did he just call her a whore? He did! Wait… Lerix!
“Lerix, wait, no!” she shouted just as Lerix jumped at his cousin.
The male went down with a shrill scream as Lerix slashed at him with his claws and tail between pounding him with his fists. Everyone who’d been watching in shocked silence scattered when blood began to fly and splatter on the floor.
“Lerix, stop! Don’t you dare kill him,” she demanded.
He looked up just as Gordix, Kaval, and Sovuul pulled him off the wheezing bloodied male. Lerix continued to growl low in his throat when Esha helped Ashol off the floor. Ashol screamed curses at Lerix as her mate attempted repeatedly to whip him with his tail-blade until Esha finally dragged the male out to pack him into an emergency shuttle to take him to the local med unit.
Just as they left, Lerix shouted, “Ashol, if I see you here again I will k—” he glanced at Cara’s disapproving scowl, “Break every bone in your body!”
Well, that was at least an improvement.
***
Lerix paced their room as Cara sat on the bed watching him. She really didn’t blame him for being upset; she was mad too. But Lerix was really mad. His tail whipped, carelessly striking furniture as he stalked back and forth across the room. The entire family was nervously awaiting word on Ashol’s condition, and Cara didn’t think her mate would calm down until he was convinced that he’d appropriately maimed his cousin.
“Lerix, sit down and relax. It’s okay,” she said irritably for the fifth time. She was certain he was going to ignore her as he did the previous four times, but this time he looked right at her and scowled.
“It is not okay. They are coming to our mating ceremony, enjoying our hospitality, and then think to insult you at every turn. It is unacceptable. We should just throw the lot of them out,” he growled.
Cara winced. Okay, so the entire experience hadn’t been one fun-filled adventure for her, but she wasn’t about to let Lerix throw his extended family out because of a few bad apples. While she’d received plenty of snide looks, most of his family had the self-control to not say anything. And after Lerix’s display, she doubted any of them would even be tempted to even whisper anything disparaging in fear that it would get back to her mate.
Everyone had family from hell that they had to deal with at weddings. Lerix was just exceptionally blessed in that department. With that in mind, she supposed she ought to take one for the team.
“Lerix, we can’t just throw them out,” she sighed, grabbing his tail as he stalked once more past her. Her male stopped short and looked down at her in surprise.
“As you humans say—why the fuck not?”
“Because,” she slid her fingers up his tail and began to finger-walk up his spine, making her mate shiver, “most of them have kept their bad attitudes to themselves. Still, they’re your family, and we have to learn to get along with them.”
Lerix grunted but didn’t argue.
The door chimed just before Mokav let himself in. The male threw himself down into a chair and scrubbed his hands over his face and brow horns.
“Well,” he said at long last, “Ashol isn’t going to press charges with the Birol guard. I believe his exact words were that it was beneath him to acknowledge that you even had an opportunity to hurt him. He doesn’t want gossip to get around and harm his reputation… so congratulations on that. Several of his siblings left just an hour ago to accompany him home. I doubt we will hear from them for the foreseeable future. Not after you broke his tail, fractured two ribs, busted his nose and his left arm, and broke three of his fingers.”
Lerix shrugged. “He dared to insult my mate and tried to grab ahold of me while I was beating the filth out of him. He is lucky my mate saved his hide, or his siblings would be leaving with his body.”
“Lerix, please try to get along with our family. Just for a couple more days,” Mokav pleaded.
“I won’t allow them to insult my mate.”
“Of course not, but let’s at least try to limit it to just a broken nose next time if you could.”
Lerix let out a long-suffering sigh and Cara smothered her laugh behind her hand at just how desolate he sounded at being asked to behave.
***
The arrival of Viri with her family the day before the ceremony was a much-needed relief. It was nice to have another Kadesh female in her corner when so many of the females in Lerix’s family seemed to dislike her on sight, even if they were intelligent enough not to say so. At least not within earshot.
When she shared her concern about it with Viri and Mahuura, the older female had merely hugged her and said, “Don’t worry yourself over it. Believe me, half of them are sucking bitterroots because they wish they’d found mates who cared for them even a fraction of how much Lerix adores you. They are just jealous. Leave them to their bitterroots and show them all by being happy.”
Cara noticed how Mahuura’s expression seemed to fall at that. With a quick jab at Viri, who immediately blanched and apologized, Cara changed the subject. It didn’t take much to get her new friend laughing again, but Cara wondered just how much of that was just on the surface. She couldn’t help but suspect that Mahuura already felt disillusioned with her mating with Ben. Even the sparkle in her eyes that had been present during the early days of her planning seemed to slowly dim as the days passed.
Despite the occasional disagreeable relative, the general mood around the estate was one of cheer. Except for Ben. Sovuul and Kaval did their best to keep the male within their sights, but more than once he’d managed to sneak off and was discovered trying to worm his way into the graces of one female or another. It was bad enough that some of the guests were starting to treat it like a joke, yet it was behavior expected enough of captured mates that no one was taking offense to the light teasing.
No one, other than Kaval and Sovuul, seemed to find anything amiss with Ben other than being another ill-mannered mate trying to get out of his responsibility. Even Lerix, who disliked Ben on principle, didn’t think much of it.
Therefore, she was surprised when, as they sat together on the garden swing, Lerix shared his misgivings about Ben.
“I think something is going on regarding Ben,” he said after they rocked together quietly after several minutes, his tail wrapped around her.
Cara lifted her cheek from his chest and frowned up at him.
“What do you mean?”
Lerix pursed his lips thoughtfully.
“I don’t know exactly. It is just a feeling. There are many times I see Kaval, Sovuul, and Esha talking quietly together, far quieter
than what is polite in mixed company, as they watch Ben. I suspect they are up to something.”
Cara felt a giddy sense of relief bloom in her chest but managed not to show it. Instead, she stared up at her mate.
“Do you think they will interrupt the mating ceremony? Should we tell someone?”
Lerix, not the least fooled, gave her a sideways glance that had her blushing.
“You and I both know that the male’s unfortunate disappearance would probably be the best thing that ever happened to Mahuura,” he muttered.
“Ah-ha! So you agree with me,” Cara crowed.
Her mate leaned forward, his eyes gleaming.
“Ever been seduced in a garden?” Lerix whispered in her ear as his hand skated down her front.
“Ah, no. You’re changing the topic though,” she said as she squirmed. “Why do you ask?”
“I think I just discovered a new fantasy I wanted to fulfill,” he said with a naughty smile.
Cara didn’t even regret it an hour later when she was picking the leaves out of her hair and plucking a few stubborn thorns from her backside.
Chapter 28
Cara glanced at Sovuul, who’d been trying over the last hour to get her attention. Thankfully, she looked over at him just in time to prevent him from chucking a tiny fruit missile he held between his fingers. She arched her eyebrows at him, and he gestured for her to come over.
She groaned to herself. If Lerix was right, this male was determined to put her in the middle of whatever he was plotting behind her mate’s back. Although she was all for getting Ben off Kaidava, she hoped she could avoid being roped into it. She tried glaring at the male, but he merely repeated the gesture with more energy.
Glancing over at Lerix, his attention was being occupied by several cousins. They had cheerfully insisted that he join them just minutes earlier, right after Mahuura pulled her away to have a drink with her. Mahuura currently had her back to her as she argued with the male serving the drinks. Cara’s eyes darted to Sovuul again and she nodded. There wasn’t going to be a better opportunity to find out what he wanted.
Making a show of mingling and pleasantly chatting with their guests, Cara slowly made her way over to Sovuul. Once at his side, she leaned against the wall as if resting and fanned herself. That part didn’t take much acting. With the heat of well over two hundred bodies, it was stifling hot despite the best efforts of the cooling systems.
“What do you want?” she hissed between her teeth.
“Aren’t you pleasant?” Sovuul groused quietly. “Do me a favor and keep Lerix distracted and focused only on you tonight.”
She jerked her head around and stared at him.
“What? Why?”
“We are just clearing up a little problem and don’t want any complications,” he replied.
“You realize he’s going to want to murder me if he finds out I knew you were up to something,” she whispered. Okay, that was an exaggeration. But he wouldn’t be happy with her.
“Do it for Mahuura.”
Damn. That got her.
“What exactly do you expect me to do? I’m terrible with covert stuff.”
“Absolutely nothing. Just keep him focused on you.”
***
Lerix watched Kaval and Sovuul talking quietly between themselves in a corner of the room away from the other guests. While he no longer wanted to attack the males nor worried about them trying to steal his mate away, he couldn’t ignore their odd behavior.
He’d been concerned earlier in the evening when he saw Cara chatting with them, but it seemed like nothing more than an exchange of pleasantries as she cooled herself before she waded back through the crowd to enjoy a drink with Mahuura. Nothing seemed to have changed since then.
In fact, Cara didn’t even seem remotely concerned over the brothers and refused to allow him to grumble about them. Instead, she pulled him over to talk to all of his relatives and several guests of Mahuura. He didn’t mind so much since that meant she was with him the entire time. At that moment, she was safely tucked in at his side, laughing at one of his uncle’s jokes. Unable to help himself, Lerix again focused on the troublesome pair.
There just seemed to be something furtive about the way they stood there. Lerix was prepared to admit that it could have been paranoia on his part, but when Mahuura approached them at that moment, the males’ entire demeanor changed and they suddenly became loud and cheerful until she passed by. Lerix narrowed his eyes. Something was going on; he was certain of it.
“Quit glaring,” Cara whispered at his side just before she took a drink from her cup.
He smiled down at his mate. She was going to do a fine job as hostess and mistress of the house. Although she had her odd moments, she allowed very little to truly bother her. Since he acknowledged that he was a vile-tempered bastard who was more likely to strike first and then ask questions later, he also had to recognize that she was his perfect complement. He hadn’t realized just how close he’d come to crossing the line he had toed for revolutions into becoming a cold-blooded killer.
He was ruthless, and he still wouldn’t hesitate to kill to protect his family, but he felt at peace. And if anyone tried to take that peace away from him, he could kill them. It was a reasonable middle ground as far as he was concerned.
“I am telling you—they are plotting something,” he whispered.
She arched a slender gold eyebrow at him.
“And if they are? What exactly are you going to do about it?”
“Put you in their path and hope you trip and completely disrupt anything they have planned?” he teased.
Cara rolled her eyes.
“Ha, ha. Go ahead. Poke fun at the clumsy person.”
Lerix chuckled down at his mate. He was still laughing when he returned his attention to where Kaval and Sovuul had been standing. They were gone. Lerix craned his neck to look around the room. He didn’t see them anywhere.
“Lerix, so sorry I missed all the excitement with your cousin,” Viri called, distracting him as she walked over, holding her youngest offspring in her arms. “I sure would have loved to have seen it. Why do you do all your impressive maiming when I am absent taking care of babies? I had to hear of it from Mahuura,” she scolded playfully.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” he said. “I merely objected to the way my cousin was treating my mate.”
“Lerix, you broke his tail of all things,” Viri said with a bark of laughter.
He gave his friend a lopsided grin.
“That was pretty impressive, even for me,” he conceded.
“You see what I have to put up with?” Cara moaned to the other female. “My mate looks at the world in terms of hit points.”
Viri gave Cara a confused look, which launched his mate into a whole explanation of something called video games that Lerix only half paid attention to. From what he caught, it was some sort of system that determined the survivability of a virtual character after so many strikes.
The concept was intriguing and sounded like something he might want to try. Especially the thing she mentioned called Mortal Kombat. If his mind wasn’t otherwise occupied, he would have been suggested that they go onto the Intraweb to find the system and games necessary for playing at their home on Kaidava.
Yet he was understandably distracted by his persistent need to locate the brothers. Their disappearance troubled him.
“Lerix, are you okay?” Viri broke in.
“Lerix is being paranoid,” Cara said.
“I am not being paranoid,” he corrected his mate patiently. “I am just trying to locate Kaval and Sovuul.”
“That pair? Oh, they told Mahuura that they were going to keep Ben occupied tonight. Something about wanting to spend the night impressing upon him his duties to the family. I think she was just so eager to get him out of her sight that she was happy to let them take him. That male has been doing nothing but sulk and flirt with every female who comes near him. I imagine he
does it specifically to torment her.”
“Talk about a toxic relationship,” Cara commented with a moue of disgust. “I’m so glad I didn’t end up with him.”
Lerix clenched his jaw and talked himself down from his murderous rage at the very idea of Ben publicly humiliating Cara in such a way. Of course, imagining Ben with Cara at all was enough to ruin his mood, so he tried to not even think of it.
Once he calmed, he turned the offer made by Mahuura’s brothers over in his mind. He’d never heard of any Kadesh males he’d known doing such a thing, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible. Kaval and Sovuul clearly loved their sister; it was possible that they could have felt sorry for her and decided to give her a night to herself.
But Lerix couldn’t ignore the little suspicious voice in him that insisted otherwise.
***
Val’ee’na tapped a claw impatiently as she paced on the other side of the garden. She should have convinced the males to allow her to lure Benjamin away. She disliked their plan. How could they believe they could get him out of the estate with the flimsy excuse they’d put together? Val’ee’na certainly wouldn’t have believed it if she were Mahuura. It defied reasonable belief that Kaval and Sovuul would actually want to spend all evening with Benjamin.
It wasn’t like her to worry so much, but at least a hundred things could go wrong, and Val’ee’na was never good at trusting others to do their part well. This is why she normally plotted alone, but in this situation, it couldn’t be helped.
Everything was arranged. Even the Gida starship had already arrived and sat hidden from sight just behind a nearby outcropping, prepared to take off as soon as they received the male. The Gida on board were waiting patiently for Val’ee’na to deliver. She only prayed that the males would accomplish their task. The Gida were a fair and reasonable species, for the most part, but didn’t take kindly to their time and fuel being wasted.
A rustle of greenery drew her attention as Kaval pushed through the gardens hauling a bound and gagged human while Sovuul occupied himself watching his brother’s back. Val’ee’na breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them. Benjamin thrashed as they tossed him at her feet.
A Kiss on Kaidava Page 20
