Export Duty

by Cassandra Chandler

  “That’s…nice, I guess,” Lily said. “But why would altruistic activities be an obstacle to anything?”

  Nana snorted again. “Because they’re not legal. I’ve been helping Barbara with her trade operation for a while now. The High Council calls it ‘smuggling’.”

  “What?” The skin on Lily’s back prickled. “How can the High Council make it illegal to help people?”

  “Because the Coalition are the bad guys.”

  Lily turned to see Rin standing in the open doorway, his expression as grim as his pronouncement. She’d never seen him look so serious.

  “The Coalition of Planets?” Lily’s feeling of dread increased. “But you’re one of their soldiers.”

  “And that’s exactly why I know what I’m talking about,” he said.

  Chapter Ten

  The look on Lily’s face felt worse than the burrs Rin had picked out of his feet and the cat attack. But she needed to know the truth. They all did.

  He walked past a pair of Antareans—who the hell knew why they were here—and nodded toward them. “Sisters.”

  They nodded back, then straightened, their antennae twitching in his direction. No doubt, they were trying to sort through his pheromones to see if he was friend or foe.

  “The Earthlings are calling me Sis,” the shorter one said. She pointed to the other. “And she is Sister.”

  “I guess that saves on confusion.” Rin plopped down in the closest chair to the door and rested his feet on a footstool. “It would be nice if the Coalition invested more resources in fine-tuning Antarean translators so we could actually hear the differences in your names. Oh, but wait. They’re all assholes.”

  “You are Sadirian,” Sis said. “Part of the Coalition.”

  “I am.”

  She tilted her head toward her shoulder farther than most humanoids could manage without it popping off. “Are you also an ‘asshole’?”

  Rin let out a deep laugh. “I try not to be.”

  “Then maybe we should avoid labels.” Lily crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him again. He was kind of starting to like it when she did that. At least it meant that she cared.

  Sis took a tentative step closer. He hated that she seemed afraid of him, but couldn’t blame her for it.

  “You are injured,” she said.

  Rin waved his hand dismissively. “I had a run-in with the cats earlier.”

  Sis shook her head. “This is more recent. Your chemical trail is laced with pain.”

  “Did you hurt yourself again?” Lily stalked over to him.

  “I wouldn’t call being attacked by a bunch of feral cats and then walking through some sort of torture field ‘hurting myself’,” he said.

  “Torture field…” Lily looked at his feet, then let out an exasperated sigh. “You ran around outside barefoot.”

  “A mistake I swear not to make again,” he said.

  She dropped to her knees next to the footstool and started inspecting his feet, muttering “Tourists” under her breath. Her touch was gentle as she ran her thumbs over the surface of his skin, pressing different spots as if checking to make sure he hadn’t left any parts of the burrs behind. He’d been careful not to when he removed them, but he was enjoying her touch too much to say anything.

  “We can also assist,” Sis said. She moved closer, but then balked, her antennae straightening briefly as she stepped back. “Or…not.”

  “Don’t worry about him,” Nana said. “Rin’s one of the good guys.”

  “That is not why… Um…” Sis stammered, her translator failing to make sense of her string of clicks. “There is a rather strong pheromone field around them.”

  He didn’t doubt it. The level of attraction he felt for Lily was…

  “Wait,” Rin said. “‘Them’? As in both of us?”

  Sis’s eyes glowed a rosy pink and she angled her head away.

  Lily looked up from her inspection of his feet. “What does that mean?”

  Rin grinned at her. He sidestepped Lily’s question with one of his own. “So, Nana, do you run a boarding house for aliens or something?”

  Nana laughed. “No, but—”

  “Don’t give her any ideas.” Lily stood, hovering close to Rin’s side. She even rested her hand on the back of his chair. “The Antareans think Nana can help them with something. What is it that you need?”

  There was an earnestness in her tone that made Rin’s heart skip. Most people would be freaking out about now, but Lily seemed to be taking all of this in stride. More than that, she sounded like she wanted to help.

  He reached up and gripped her hand, giving it a squeeze before bringing it down to rest on his shoulder and holding it there. He heard a little intake of breath from her, but she didn’t pull away.

  “Thank you for hearing us,” Sister said. Her eyes pulsed a dull yellow—an Antarean biosignal for anguish and fear that made Rin’s heart ache.

  Sis stood a little straighter, her translator pausing intermittently as it processed her communications. “An outbreak of fungus is spreading rapidly among our colonies. It weakens the joints of our carapaces to the point that our limbs are easily broken off. Though we have many limbs, those afflicted often lose enough that they must be reassigned to less strenuous tasks, lest they lose all they have.”

  “Well, crap,” Nana said. “You don’t have to tell me more to convince me to help. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to have to sit around all day hoping my arms wouldn’t fall off.”

  Lily’s voice was calm and focused when she spoke up. “How is my Nana supposed to help you? I mean, she’s one Earthling and it sounds like you’re talking about helping a huge amount of people.”

  “There is a substance on Earth that is known to strengthen the chitin that makes up our shells,” Sis said. “From the few transmissions we have been able to analyze from Earth, we believe it is undesirable for you, but it is especially effective on the softer sections that make up our joints. It is a binder protein that is common in your food but rare on our planet.”

  “A binder protein?” Lily asked.

  “Yes.” Sis nodded. “I believe it is called gluten.”

  Lily let out a brief laugh. “I’m sorry. Did you say ‘gluten’?”

  “Barbara has confirmed that its molecular structure is compatible with our physiology,” Sister said. “It has a long-term effect. Your advertisements often speak positively of foods being ‘gluten-free’. We do not have much to offer in trade, but were hopeful that you might be willing to part with some of your discarded gluten.”

  “I don’t think that’s how it works.” Nana’s voice was gentler than Lily was used to hearing it. “Those foods are made from substances that just don’t have that particular protein in them.”

  “Oh,” Sister said. “We thought…” Her antennae slumped against her head, the lights in her eyes dimming.

  Sis rested several of her hands on Sister’s back. “We appreciate you hearing us—”

  “Hold on.” Lily’s grip on Rin’s shoulder tightened. He squeezed her hand back, hoping to encourage her with…whatever she was doing.

  “That doesn’t mean we can’t help you.” Lily looked over at Nana, who nodded at her.

  “Our family runs an import/export company,” Lily said. “This is what I do. I’ve seen gluten for sale in the baked goods aisle. With our resources and contacts, it should be a simple matter to set up a supply stream, depending on how much you need.”

  The Antareans exchanged a glance, then turned back to Lily. “As I said, we have limited resources with which to trade—”

  “I don’t care,” Lily said. “Just tell me how much is required to treat everyone right now, and then we can work together to figure out a plan going forward.”

  Rin felt his heart pounding in his chest. She was speaking with utter conviction. If it was possible, he fully believed she would find a way to help them. He wondered if she would even bother negotiating for anything in return.

>   In all the years he’d served the Coalition, all the stations and planets he’d visited and sentients he’d met, he’d never heard such a generous offer. He’d never felt as keenly someone else’s desire to help others, no matter what.

  Except from his own heart.

  Sis pulled in a breath with a whistling sound. She held it for a moment, then said, “Two thousand pounds.”

  Lily stilled. Rin didn’t know anything about gluten. Was that a lot?

  “Two thousand pounds,” she repeated. “Are you certain you understand our measurements correctly?”

  “We will be able to mix the gluten with materials that we have on our planet, but trace amounts of the protein are vital in creating a treatment. In order to assist everyone in the colonies who have been afflicted, it will take one ton, based on this country’s system of communicating weight,” Sis said. “We know it is a great deal to ask for.”

  “It isn’t.” Lily was beaming when Rin looked up at her. “I can transport that much in my truck.”

  Nana pulled out her phone and started tapping on the screen. She let out a laugh. “We can cover the purchase with petty cash. Heck, I have enough to pay for it hidden in the filing cabinet in your mom’s office.”

  Lily did a double-take. “You have money hidden in mom’s office?”

  “You think you’re the only one who plans for unexpected eventualities?” Nana laughed. “Cash is the least of what you should be worrying about stumbling across. The point is, this stuff is cheap, compared to what we’re usually dealing with.”

  Sis shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  Lily squeezed Rin’s shoulder tighter. “You’ll have what you need by the end of the day.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Lily pulled into the parking lot behind her loft that was reserved for tenants. Her palms were sweating. She didn’t think it was just from the heat, especially when she cast a quick glance at the dark haired man sitting next to her.

  “You could have stayed back at the bungalow,” she said.

  Rin smiled at her. “What kind of gentleman would I be if I made you take care of this all yourself?”

  “An alien one?”

  He laughed, and the smile she’d been fighting finally won.

  “‘An alien gentleman’,” he said. “I like it.”

  She did, too, not that she was about to admit it.

  “We have some time before Julian arrives with the gluten,” she said. “Apparently, it wasn’t quite as easy as I thought to find a source for a ton of the stuff. He’s gathering up what we need and will meet us here in a couple of hours.”

  “Are we just going to sit here and wait?”

  “Of course not.” She turned off the truck, then opened the door and hopped to the ground. Rin joined her.

  Options ran through her head. Where should she take him? What should they do?

  There were plenty of restaurants within walking distance. Stores and cozy spots that she could show him.

  “Let’s go inside.” The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them.

  That had not been one of the options she was considering. That was the start of the fantasy that she’d been fighting ever since they climbed into the truck and drove off by themselves.

  They would walk into her loft. He would close the door, staring meaningfully into her eyes, and then…

  “Lily?”

  “Huh?”

  “You weren’t responding.”

  She shook her head. She had to stop zoning out. “Sorry. There’s just a lot on my mind at the moment.”

  “I don’t doubt it.” He gestured for her to lead the way.

  As they entered the building, he leaned over her shoulder and said, “By the way, I think you’re handling all of this amazingly well.”

  I can think of other things I’d like to handle.

  She kicked herself inwardly. Where were these thoughts coming from?

  Sure, he was gorgeous and kind and funny. And he was walking really close to her. When he’d leaned down to talk to her, she could feel his breath on the bare skin of her neck. But she had just met him. And he was an alien.

  He’d probably be flying off into space after they were done delivering these supplies. Which meant there was no chance of attachment.

  Sparks kindled in her belly.

  No attachments. No complications.

  Maybe this was her chance to finally do something spontaneous and crazy, to give in to what she wanted instead of constantly thinking out all the possibilities and coming up with ridiculous amounts of contingency plans. A momentary connection that they could both enjoy and then walk away from.

  The risks involved seemed minimal.

  She couldn’t believe she was even considering this. She had responsibilities. Obligations. She was trying to help an entire species, for crying out loud.

  She led Rin up the stairs quickly, then stopped in front of the door at the top. As she unlocked it, she said, “This used to be Nana’s loft, but she gave it to me when she moved out of town. There’s only the roof above, and the people who live below me are on vacation.”

  Why was she telling him that?

  “I guess we don’t have to worry about being interrupted, then.” He laughed, but her mind immediately jumped to distracting scenarios.

  The door swung open, and her gaze fell on the large bed that dominated the alcove to their right. “Yeah.”

  He walked into her home, pausing in the center of the space and looking all around. His shirt pulled against the muscles of his back, emphasizing the strong lines of his shoulders and the muscles on his arms. She imagined coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his narrow waist, reaching to the front of his cargo shorts…

  “Lily?” he turned around to face her, which meant, for a moment, she was staring right at his crotch.

  She quickly looked up at his face. It was just as stimulating, though. Dark eyes, strong jaw, and a chest she wanted to explore so much that her fingers curled at her sides.

  “You were kind of blanking again,” he said.

  “Yeah. I need to stop doing that.”

  He laughed. “No worries. I do the same thing. Are you going to come in? You do live here, after all.”

  “Right.” She pushed herself across the threshold, angling away from him as she shut the door.

  Her place was actually pretty small, and she didn’t entertain…ever. The area that was meant to be the living space was taken up with her home office. There was nowhere to sit.

  Except the bed.

  She shook herself. There were barstools lining the counter just behind him. That would work.

  Out of habit, she kicked off her shoes, then pulled off her socks. Rin watched with one eyebrow arched.

  “I usually go barefoot at home,” she said.

  “Okay.” Rin bent down and unlaced his boots. He slid them off, then took off his socks as well.

  Great. Now they were getting undressed together. Again.

  She felt her cheeks heat at the thought.

  She gestured toward the barstools as she approached them. “Have a seat, if you’d like. My place isn’t really designed for company.”

  “I’m good standing after the ride in.”

  Damn, she had already crossed most of the room and was standing right next to him. It would be awkward if she sat while they talked, right?

  “You don’t have people over often?” he asked.

  “I don’t have people over ever.”

  “That sounds kind of lonely.”

  “I socialize plenty at work.”

  “That’s not the same.” He tucked a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail behind her shoulder. His thumb grazed her skin as he pulled his hand back.

  Fireworks ignited low in her belly. Tingling pleasure shot along her nerves and gathered between her legs. They were standing so close that she could feel the heat radiating from him.

  “Camaraderie is great, but it�
�s not the same as companionship,” he said.

  “I don’t really have time for relationships.”

  “Relationships?”

  She needed to steer the conversation back to safer ground. What had she been thinking, indulging in those fantasies before?

  “Some connections form quickly,” he said. “They don’t require that much time to develop.”

  “They probably end just as fast.”

  “Not necessarily.”

  “Relationships take time to cultivate and nurture.” Her voice grew stronger. She wished her resolve would as well.

  “That’s true. But it’s worth it to be surrounded by people who appreciate and support you.”

  “I have people who appreciate me.”

  “Let me guess. At work?”

  She glared at him in response.

  Apparently, he wasn’t cowed. “Work relationships probably feel safer. You can’t get too intimate, or there may be complications. Your family owns the company, so you’re also in a position of power, and I’m betting you’re the kind of person who would never cross that boundary.”

  “I thought you were a field medic, not a psychologist.”

  “I’m a—” He cut himself off, then shook his head with a sigh. “I’ve studied many human cultures, including yours. And I’m as close to being a human as you’re likely to find among my kind.”

  “Among a bunch of Sadirians who’ve had their emotions turned off?”

  “Only a few of them have, and that was on my previous ship, the Reckoning.” He flinched when he said the word.

  Lily was sure the person behind his own trust issues—Clara—was stationed on that ship.

  “Have you made friends on your new ship? Formed any…relationships?”

  He smiled. “A few. Superficial at best.”

  “Sounds lonely.”

  He was quiet for a moment, then said, “There’s a reason I understand you. At least, I think I do.”

  She couldn’t deny it. Instead, she said, “You just met me.”

  “Some connections form quickly.”

  “Not this quickly.” She didn’t want complications. She didn’t want anything she had to think through. Did she?