“Ray? Yeah, he does…did…does? He’s not really my boyfriend anymore.” She unfolded the clothes and half studied them as the urge to blatantly announce her availability shot through her. “I mean, besides the fact that I don’t do long distance.” She chuckled at her own joke, but Auzed only watched her. “Uh, well, I was going to break up with him anyway.”
Auzed crossed his arms over his chest. “Why?” As soon as he’d asked, he appeared upset with himself. “No, never mind. I don’t need to know—just go change.”
“Okay,” she chirped, hiding her disappointment as he stalked through the front door.
Muttering to herself, she headed to her room. What the hell am I doing anyway? Even if I did get him to flirt with me, what then? Alex didn’t know what she wanted to happen with Auzed. She was attracted to him for sure. She liked his hard outer shell and wanted to dig deeper. But did she want that because she actually liked him? Or because it was a challenge and she was curious? All of this, from her abduction to her harrowing adventure through the forest, felt just like a movie. And Auzed was the broody male lead you couldn’t help but be intrigued by.
After changing into the multicolored shirt and pants, she pouted at her reflection in the mirror. “I look like MC Hammer.” With a sigh, she joined Auzed by the front door. He tipped his chin as he quickly took in her appearance but said nothing. “Who picked this stuff out for me?”
“Don’t like it?” The question was innocent, but his lips twitched.
“If I were a foot taller and had a tail and a skin tone that didn’t clash with these particular colors, then sure.” The hole in the back of the underwear provided to her had been enough to indicate these pieces were not made for a tailless wearer. She fiddled with the flap opening near her rear, making sure it was closed.
He leaned toward her, drawing her attention back to him. Damn, he smelled good.
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t particularly like my outfit either.”
“Yeah, but you look sexy!” she said in exasperation. “I look like…”
Auzed flinched like she’d insulted him. He stood frozen for a moment, still leaning toward her before stretching and clearing his throat. She could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he shuffled in place. “You need to remember what we talked about. About how we should act together.”
Forgetting her own ridiculous appearance, she smirked. “Oh, I forgot. You compliment me, I don’t compliment you, right?”
He muttered a sound of agreement but still seemed perturbed.
She stretched her arms wide to show off her outfit. “Well, Auzzy, maybe you should practice before we go out in the real world. I could use an ego boost too, ’cause I feel like someone just tossed me into a bin of fabric and sent me on my way.”
“Very well. You…” He looked her up and down with scrunched brows. “No. Ah, your…” He gestured to the shoes she’d slipped into that were a size and a half too big, then shook his head.
Alex wanted to laugh at how flustered he’d become. “Nothing good about my outfit?”
He took a deep breath and smirked, seeming to alight on something. “Well, if you fall off our transport platform, at least you’ll float down to the net.”
Alex’s chin dropped in stunned humor. “Was that a joke, Auzzy?”
His eyes widened at her broad grin. He frowned and turned on his heel.
“Not just a joke but a sick burn too. Oh man. Auzed is funny.” She trailed after him, badgering his retreating form.
With the patience of a saint, he guided her to a new floating platform and waited for her to step on and grip the handlebar before joining her.
Turning within the circle of his arms, she peered over his shoulder and searched for Wilson. “Should we wait for Wilson to come with us?”
“No. Tueys have lived in this forest forever and are excellent gliders and climbers. She can find you if she needs to.” To illustrate his point, he guided the platform away from the hanging house with a lurch.
Facing the wrong way, her hands shot out to steady herself on his firm arms. He let out a grunt. And pulled the board to a stop so she could spin toward the bar.
Incrementally she rotated her body, gripping his right bicep to steady herself. As she turned, she ran her hands down his thick forearm until she faced forward again. He let out a low growl from behind her then steered the platform forward again.
“I know. No touching, sorry.” He’d outlined again last night how odd it was for Clecanians to touch one another out in the open. Even when they were alone together, it was uncommon for a woman to touch her husband unless she was seeking sex.
“Maybe I could show you how to operate one of these on your own.” His voice was husky when he spoke. He may not want her to touch him out in the open, but he liked it.
She peered at him from over her shoulder. “Why are we following all these rules, though, anyway? Everyone knows I’m not Clecanian. Won’t they assume I’m going to act differently? Humans touch their partners. I’m not going to start sucking on your neck at the mall or anything. I don’t like that much PDA, but surely me touching your arm isn’t going to be the end of the world.”
He growled and abruptly steered their platform out of sight behind a low-hanging branch laden with leaves the size of hula hoops. She was about to ask what he was doing when he moved behind her. Stepping close, he placed his right hand on her stomach and pulled her back against him.
Alex’s breath caught in her throat, and her sex clenched. She could feel something large and hard pressing into her back.
“This is why,” he breathed into her hair. “Touching may be normal for you, but it isn’t for me.”
Alex’s breaths picked up speed, and her grip on the handlebar grew slick. God, she hoped he wouldn’t move away now that he’d proven his point. She held back a whimper when he replaced his hand on her belly with his forearm and plastered her more tightly against him.
He took a step to the side, bracing his feet apart, and let go of the handle altogether. He swept her hair off her neck and dipped his head. His warm breath brushed over her ear as he rumbled, “How do you expect me to concentrate when you talk about sucking on my neck?”
“I… It was an example…” Her words died in her throat as his nose brushed the curve of her shoulder and he inhaled deeply. She felt her core growing hot and slick.
He ran his large palm down her arm, and she shivered. “When a Clecanian female touches someone like this and calls them sexy, it means she’s looking to be pleasured. Is that what you want?”
Fuckin’ A, right now it is! Pride and a little fear of floating high in the air kept her from shouting her agreement. At the brush of his lips against her ear, she moaned aloud.
The sound seemed to rouse him, however, and she immediately clamped her mouth shut.
He pressed his nose into her hair and let out a frustrated growl. “Give me a moment.”
Alex held the handle tightly as Auzed leapt onto the nearby branch and paced. God, she wanted to help him with his problem. Instead, she took the time alone to calm herself down as well. Slow breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth helped, but she knew herself, and without any relief, she’d be hot and bothered for a while.
She bit her lip and daydreamed about how good he probably was in bed. Husbandry school. He’d explained it last night and she’d let it go without too many questions, but now she burned to know what kind of grades her big, grumpy, fake fiancé had gotten.
Chapter 11
This was going to be harder than he’d thought. Why couldn’t this female just do as he asked and behave the way a Clecanian would? Why did she have to push him until his sense fled? Auzed ushered her through the crowded market tree and glared at anyone who gawked.
He’d never been to the market in Sauven before, but he would bet his bhadsit suit—which hadn’t been returned to him yet—that the market had never been this crowded before. Shoppers stood together under the glowing storefront signs o
r on platforms transporting them to one shop façade or another, whispering as Alejandra passed. The more polite of the bunch at least feigned interest in the plethora of products being hocked, while the brave stared openly.
“This place is incredible,” she whispered, gazing up at a window snack bar with customers a couple floors above. The Sauven market consisted of thousands of establishments all stacked on one another against the side of the great market tree. The layers and layers of stores formed a vertical wall of options for market goers. The snack bar she was still studying had diners seated on cushioned stools that were floating over nothing as they faced into the small restaurant.
The shops on the floor level were the oldest and most valuable pieces of real estate, as they were the most easily accessible. Above each building on the first level were floors of ramshackle boutiques, showrooms, and stands, each growing newer and newer as they climbed their way up the side of the tree. The same way one could read the age and prosperity of a tree by its rings, one could tell the age and prosperity of Sauven by studying the layers of the market wall.
Out of sight far above, the signage for the higher-level stores—and thus the newest stores—were more ostentatious and eye catching, while the floor-level shops were regal and relaxed, if not a bit squashed.
The scents of roasting meats, syrupy-sweet pastries, and tart citrus fruit hung in the air below the many snack bar restaurants and mixed with the earthy smell of the damp wood walkways beneath their feet. The day was a bit cooler than it had been yet no less humid. Though he felt ridiculous in his tight clothing, he enjoyed the relief the thin material provided from the heat.
“Would you like something to eat?” He motioned toward the snack shop she’d been eyeing, then to the platform station to the left.
She watched the market goers zooming about above her head on the platforms and bit her lip. “Uh, maybe in a few. I think I need to get more used to the idea first.”
He nodded, and they continued on, stopping every so often so she could press her nose up to the amber, cured-sap windows of the floor-level stores and marvel at the items for sale. They’d both decided to work their way through the ground level once as the regents had suggested, but at this pace, they’d be here all day.
He pressed closer to Alejandra when he noticed her bunched shoulders and fidgety hands. She was twirling that ring around her finger again the way she did when she was truly uncomfortable. When she gave him a small but grateful smile, his heart pinched. He cursed inwardly.
This was exactly why he’d wanted there to be no touching between them. No personal conversations. And certainly none of whatever had happened on their way here. He could still smell her on his clothing, and it was ratcheting his baser instincts to a new height.
And now, after smelling her arousal—her arousal for him, no less—he was supposed to just let other interested Clecanians speak with her? The Traxian in him was raging that he hadn’t pushed for more on that platform. She’d wanted him, he knew it, and if he’d worked her up, used his mouth on her neck, he felt she would’ve let him take her right there.
An older Sauvenian male—handsome and well off, by the look of his clothing—stepped up to Alex and greeted her with a graceful swipe of his tail. His pointed ears were larger than most, and Auzed wondered if he’d had them altered—large, pointed tips being particularly attractive to the Sauvenians. “Hello, beautiful. You are the human Alejandra?” He framed it as a question, though it hadn’t sounded like one.
“Yes.” Her voice was tight, and she looked away as though only half listening.
Good.
“I would love to visit with you sometime.” The male stepped closer to her, and his nostrils flared. Auzed held back a growl.
The male was being more relaxed about it than Noito had been, but he was attempting the same thing. It was common knowledge that smell was often the catalyst to recognition. Clearly he was trying to urge his marks forth by smelling her.
Auzed wanted to bellow with satisfaction when she stepped back toward him, seeking his comfort and showing everyone watching whom she wanted near her.
For the first time, the male acknowledged Zed. He gave a quick tip of his chin and backed away.
As they continued on their way, it happened more and more. Clecanians of all genders waited to speak with Alejandra. She acted exactly as he’d asked her to. Remaining aloof yet polite and waiting for each person to linger for a moment before moving on.
It cut at his insides to see the weary tightness around her eyes when she thought no one was looking. None of the people attempting to speak with her actually cared to hear what she had to say; they only wanted to get close enough to induce recognition. They were treating her as she’d said they would. Like an object.
“Alejandra!” a female voice called from behind them.
She turned, and a smile lit her features as she watched Relli push her way through the crowd. “I’m so happy to see you!” she cried.
A few passersby shot dirty looks toward Relli, but they vanished into the crowd with a single deadly glare from Auzed.
Relli peered around her and grimaced. “This is…a bit much.”
Alex exchanged a wide-eyed glance with Auzed, then muttered, “Ya think?”
“Come with me.” She guided Zed and Alex to a small storefront a short distance away and motioned for them to wait outside. As they did, three more males approached Alejandra. At this point, Auzed’s teeth must be no more than dust.
Relli popped her head out and waved them through, then closed and locked the door behind her.
Inside, they found a small clothing café. Bright gold-and-navy fabrics draped the walls and ceiling, making the room cozy and muffled against the outside bustle.
“I told Fenut here that if he closed his shop for us, Alejandra would meet with him and his sons.”
An older male stood behind a rack of sample fabrics and grinned over to them. He raised his tail and nodded toward Alejandra first but then, to Auzed’s surprise, did the same to both him and Relli. At least this gawker was respectful.
“What do you think, Auzz—Auzed?” She’d just stopped herself from calling him Auzzy and made him wish he hadn’t discouraged her from using it. Although uncommon, the use of the nickname would show anyone within earshot whom this female preferred and whom she would be leaving with.
“I’m enjoying the silence, and if you’re comfortable meeting this male and his sons, I’d be happy to stay.”
She let out a long, pent-up breath. “Oh, good! I need a break.”
Realizing he was about to get an opportunity very few ever would, the male bustled over. “Hello, incredible human! I’m Fenut. It’s so wonderous to meet you—please have a seat. I’ll retrieve a viewer for you at once if you’ll provide me with your measurements.”
“My measurements?” Alex looked to Auzed in confusion, and he cursed himself for not realizing he’d need her sizing if he were to buy her clothing. He was so out of practice with husbandry etiquette, it was laughable.
“To make you clothing. They need to know your size.”
Understanding lit her eyes.
Relli chimed in, “I can help if you have a scanner and a privacy room.”
Fenut nodded, clearly relieved, and returned in an instant with a small measurement scanner. “Through the black curtain in the back.” He motioned toward a narrow hallway and, with a fleeting glanced toward Auzed, she followed Relli.
The café owner watched her retreat with rapt curiosity, his tail twitching while curling and uncurling around his leg. When she was finally out of sight, he seemed to remember Auzed existed. “Oh! And will you be ordering any clothing?”
He hated the clothing he’d been provided. It was too tight and didn’t cover nearly enough skin, but Alejandra’s compliment echoed in his mind and kept him stalled, unable to decide between comfort and vanity. Finally, he grumbled, “Yes.”
Fenut rushed away after writing down his measurements, happy to be a
way from Zed. When he returned with the viewer and a food menu for the table, Auzed scrolled through the clothing choices, only half paying attention, as his gaze kept drifting to the curtain Alejandra had disappeared through.
Maybe he could purchase a few traditional vests…to honor the culture, of course.
***
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you!” Alex breathed when she and Relli were alone.
Relli’s brows lifted in surprise, and a tremulous smile crept over her mouth. “Really?”
“Yes, really.” Alex laughed; her brows scrunched. Why was Relli so surprised by that? Alex now knew that as a demskiv, Relli’s life was hard. Harder than it should’ve been, but surely she didn’t think everyone disliked her…did she?
A true smile transformed Relli’s appearance, and she let out a breath. “It’s very nice to see you again as well, Alejandra.”
“You can call me Alex if you want,” she said as she turned and examined the room. It looked like a typical fitting room, although the large floating bench was new.
“The news that you’d be staying for a few days spread so fast. Everyone has been talking about it,” Relli whispered. With a glance toward the curtained door, she added, “Fierad is still upset. He’s working day and night to prove Auzed’s lying.”
“That Auzed’s lying? What about me?”
Relli shrugged. “Well, he now believes you’ve been coerced into this whole situation…” She shot Alex a sudden concerned look, her light-teal brows creased, and she leaned forward, dropping her voice even more. “You haven’t, right? Is that male forcing you to claim him?”
Alex muffled a bout of laughter with her palm before whispering, “If it were up to him, I’m sure he’d love nothing more than to drop me into a room with the other humans and never speak of this again.”
“Oh.” She let out a relieved breath but then raised her brows in question. “Good?”
Alex sighed. Was it good that Auzed wanted to be rid of her? “I guess. He’s starting to grow on me, but I’m not sure how well we’d work, you know? He’s so uptight, and I’m…not. And also, marriage here is weird, and if things worked out, I’d probably end up doing what you do and become a demskiv, and I’m not certain I could handle being treated the way people treat you—which is just terrible, by the way. I’m so sorry you have to deal with all these chismosas. It’s your business, not theirs.”
Tempting Auzed: The Clecanian Series Book 4 Page 10
