“Alejandra,” Relli greeted warmly with a grin the way any close friends might. She gestured to a male next to her who had overlarge ears and an open, curious expression. “This is Jut.”
“It’s so nice to meet you. Relli has so many nice things about you.” Alex nodded at the male, her face unnaturally blank, and reached out a hand.
Jut glanced at her outstretched hand, and his brows knit.
Alex gasped and snatched her hand back. “I’m so sorry. We shake hands on Earth when we meet new people, and I just offered it out of instinct.” She peered at Relli, her eyes worried. “I didn’t mean to touch him or anything. Damn, I was trying to be so careful.”
Relli chuckled.
Zed walked up behind Alex and placed a palm on her shoulder. He wanted the gesture to be reassuring, but part of him itched for any excuse to touch her.
“We understand.” Relli smiled toward Jut.
He returned her warm grin and nodded. “If you’re comfortable, we’d love to learn an Earth greeting. It’d be helpful in case we ever meet any other humans.”
“As would we.” One of Fenut’s sons inched closer.
Zed’s hand on Alex shoulder tightened. He didn’t like how eager the good-looking male appeared.
Alex glanced toward them and stood silent for a moment as if she were working through something. “Okay. I’ll show you first with my future husband.” She stared directly at Fenut’s sons and emphasized her words just enough so they heard her unspoken message loud and clear. Zed was impressed. She’d made it known that she had no interest while remaining polite.
She turned to face him and held out her right hand the way she’d done with Jut. He felt like an idiot not knowing what this greeting was, but he mimicked her, holding out his left hand in the same way. She gave him a small grin and gently lowered his hand to his side, then directed him to lift his right hand so it mirrored hers. A flush stole up his neck.
Would these males assume they’d never touched since he didn’t know this human greeting?
She clasped his hand with hers, squeezing, and raised it up and down before releasing it. The gesture was odd yet formal and brief enough that his bunched shoulders relaxed a fraction.
“There you have it,” she said, then turned to Relli and extended her hand.
Zed had to force himself to remain relaxed as she taught everyone how to shake hands in greeting. Though the two unattached males only gripped her hand for a respectful amount of time, Zed still found himself wanting to rip off their male fingers.
Walking a few steps away, he breathed in and out, gathering his temper. No matter how hard he’d fought against it, he’d bonded to Alex, and now his possessive side would not shut the fuck up.
***
“Wow, I love your nest.” Alex stared at the ceiling, where a soft melding of oranges and pinks could be seen. Just like a real sunset. “It’s so cool that it looks like the sky.”
“Thanks. I installed it, oh…” Jut glanced to Relli for confirmation, “three years ago.”
“Yes. I’m half Swadaeth. I need more sun than a typical Sauvenian.”
Relli gestured for everyone to sit at a large table set up in the middle of the main floor. This nest was set up the same way her and Auzed’s was except the vining plants, cluttered corners, and savory scent of cooking food gave the place a warm, lived-in feel. Her heart pinched. Relli and Jut had built a life here and filled their home with what could only be described as love. Despite the disconcerting feeling of being watched by everyone in the room, Alex relaxed.
She peered at Auzed as they approached the table, and he directed her to a seat beside him—one of the only two with a back, she noticed. She was sure Relli would sit on her other side, but then one of Fenut’s sons—Calep, she recalled—plopped down instead. Unable to stop herself, she shot a confused glance toward Relli and Jut, who were standing by the table as if waiting.
“In a Sauven house, the guests choose their seats first,” Auzed whispered, giving Calep an annoyed grimace.
The man appeared unfazed by Auzed’s glare. Both of Fenut’s sons were large with green skin, thick black hair, and gorgeous purple eyes. Calep, the man next to her, grinned at Alex in such an infectious way that she had to bite her cheek to keep from grinning back. It was unfair that she, as a woman, was supposed to appear so emotionless, but she shrugged off the feeling. She wasn’t in California anymore, and continuing to be sour about the customs here would only turn her into an unhappy person.
“Do you come from a forest on Earth?” he asked, leaning his elbows on the table and giving her a full view of his large biceps. Was he flexing?
“Contain yourself.” Gosten, his brother, whacked Calep on the arm and forced him to lean back in his seat. “You aren’t even eligible for marriage.”
“Neither are you,” Fenut all but scolded, relaxing into a chair across from her.
As soon as Fenut was seated, Relli and Jut joined them at the table in the last two unoccupied seats next to each other.
“That’s right!” Relli grinned toward Gosten, and Alex found herself once again confused. Then she recalled that Relli knew Gosten, probably had for quite a while.
“Gosten is competing for a bride this year,” Jut explained, grabbing a pitcher from behind him.
Calep, Fenut, and Relli turned over the wooden cup placed facedown in front of them.
“If you’d like a drink, flip your cup over,” Auzed instructed, turning his own over, to Alex’s surprise. The tight lines of his features told her he wasn’t completely thrilled to be here.
She flipped her cup, and Jut filled it with thick golden liquid.
“No yubskani for Gosten!” Fenut said, slapping his son on the back with a proud grin. “He needs to be prepared for opening day tomorrow.”
Gosten accepted a glass of water from Relli with a clenched jaw. He peered down at the table with a far-away expression and gulped.
Alex melted a little at the slight worry she saw in his eyes. “Are you excited?”
He turned toward her and lifted his chin, hardening his expression. “I am.”
“I competed about five years ago now,” Calep added with another broad grin, this time directed toward his brother. “I’m sure you’ll do better than I did.”
Gosten gave Calep a small smile of thanks and let out a long breath, allowing some tension to leave his body.
The unexpected sting of tears started behind her eyes, and Alex took a drink from her cup while trying to get them under control. It hurt more than she’d thought it would to see Calep and Gosten together. Her own brother, Mateo, had always been supportive of her too.
She caught Relli’s concerned gaze, and the damn goddess of a woman seemed to understand exactly what she needed. She spoke, distracting the curious gazes being sent Alex’s way. “And Calep is ineligible because he has just finished with a marriage. A successful one, from what I hear.”
Calep’s smile grew even brighter, consuming any lingering sadness in Alex. “Yes! Mageba is with child. She chose to finish her pregnancy at the Moisa Tree with other females, but she has kept me informed.”
“Congratulations,” Auzed said.
“Thank you. I wish she would’ve let me care for her at my home, but…” He shrugged, his grin dimming a bit.
“Most females in Tremanta prefer to finish off their pregnancies around other females as well.” Auzed nodded. “I’ve seen a few at the Temple over the years.”
Alex drank again, realizing that if she ever chose to get pregnant someday, her choices would be to either let her temporary husband help her while pregnant or go and live with her friends. Neither of those options included her family back home. The recognition that any child she may have would be raised without them made her doubt she’d ever choose to have children.
“Would you tell us more about Earth, Alejandra?” Jut asked, refilling her cup. She distantly wondered whether he’d continue to refill it as long as it was turned over.
&n
bsp; “Sure, and thanks,” she said, lifting the cup. What should she tell them about Earth? She didn’t want to talk about her family as she was a bit too raw at the moment, so she shoved those feelings down and described what she knew about Earth as a planet. Seven continents, five oceans, billions of people. The information was boring in her opinion, but they all seemed interested just the same.
After a while, Relli and Jut rose to retrieve dinner.
“Could I help?” Alex asked, hoping to get a break from being the human representative teacher for a little while.
Jut gave her a funny look. “Guests don’t help.”
Leaning back in her chair, she took in Calep and Gosten’s eager expressions. It was clear they wanted to know more.
“What did you enjoy doing on Earth?” Gosten asked.
What did she like doing? Now there was something she could talk about.
Chapter 15
“I still don’t understand.” Calep laughed. “How could a person who’s been dead for thousands of years and had all their organs removed return to life?”
Alex fell back in her seat and clutched at her sides, sore from laughing so hard. Who knew describing one of her favorite movies would be this difficult and this hilarious? They’d asked ridiculous question after ridiculous question. Things that’d never crossed her mind before.
“You have to just accept the premise,” Relli wheezed from across the thin table.
“I refuse!” Gosten boomed in a falsely outraged tone. “It makes no sense. Even if I believed that a male long buried could be brought back to life by a simple phrase, the whole reason he could be brought back makes no sense!”
Jut snorted as he refilled Auzed’s and Alex’s empty glasses yet again. She sipped the sweet golden yubskani, alcohol made from the sap of the trees here, and grinned wide. “Please enlighten me.” She chuckled toward Gosten.
He gave her a dazzling smile as he leaned toward her, ready to argue his point. “So, you said they buried him alive to punish him for killing their king and put a curse on him that allowed him to live forever?”
“Pharoah, yeah,” she corrected, taking a sip of her drink.
“Okay.” He lifted his brows as if about to make a killer closing statement. “Then why would they write a book with words to allow him to awaken again, knowing he would be all-powerful?”
Calep approvingly clapped his hands together next to her at his brother’s point.
Alex tried to answer through her giggling, but suddenly Auzed, who’d been silent for most of the night, beat her to it.
“They were ensuring he would suffer endlessly and never be set free. I assume they didn’t imagine anyone would be dumb enough to wake him.”
She gave him a small grin. “Exactly! He’s a cursed mummy. They took that seriously.”
“Fine. Fine.” Gosten sighed. “You win for now, but I’m still left with questions.”
“I’ll explain the rest another time.”
“I’d like that very much,” Calep chimed in from her right.
She chanced a glance at Auzed again and found him staring daggers at Calep’s elbow only a few inches away from hers. She wasn’t attempting to make Auzed jealous, but a wicked part of her brain reveled in his disgruntled expression. After an hour or so of getting to know everyone, Auzed had pulled her aside and assured her she’d passed the social line, invisible to her, that divided “strangers” from “friendly acquaintances.”
When she’d returned to the table, she begun to allow herself to smile at everyone. Her mood had been bolstered from that point on. Holding back from the emotion that came so naturally to her was exhausting; she could also admit the many yubskanis she’d drunk helped as well.
Throughout the night she’d checked in with Auzed to make sure he was enjoying himself too. When he’d continued to answer her in grunts and short nods, she’d given up and instead tried to get to know everyone else. Jut was a calm, caring man who radiated warmth. She would often look over only to find him grinning toward his unsuspecting wife as if they were newlyweds. Alex had also learned he ran a snack bar in the highest section of the market tree, a level she hadn’t yet explored.
She enjoyed getting to know Calep and Gosten better without the fear that she was leading them on. Calep was a bit younger than Gosten and built like a tank with a tail. He was one of those burly men who had a rounded stomach and love handles but could also probably lift a car off you if needed. His wide, infectious grin added to his charm. She had no trouble understanding why a woman had picked him for marriage when so few men were ever picked.
Gosten was a bit more reserved but no less charming. He turned out to have a quick wit and sly humor that caught her by surprise.
For a long while, Auzed had remained an indomitable statue in the room, but he eventually settled and even appeared to have a good time. He drank the drinks that were served to him and listened to the conversation with a restrained interest. Whenever she moved around the nest or went to the bathroom, she’d made sure to give him a brief touch. She knew he’d claimed soon-to-be-married couples didn’t do it, but she also knew his bunched shoulders and tense jaw consistently relaxed when she brushed her hand over his arm while walking past. The knowledge that her presence comforted him in any way made her almost giddy.
The night was turning out to be wonderful. She was pleasantly buzzed. She was having a great time chatting the night away with a new group of friends. And she suspected Auzed liked her. Really liked her. Puffed-his-chest-out-with-a-sort-of-satisfied-pride-every-time-she-referred-to-him-as-her-future-husband type of liked her.
“We should be leaving.” Fenut sighed as he rose from his seat. “Will you join us tomorrow for the opening ceremony?” He pounded his palm on Gosten’s shoulder and added, “We’ll be the ones cheering the loudest.”
“I’m not sure if we have somewhere we need to be, but I’d love to if we can.” She turned to Auzed and found him staring at her.
At length, he replied, “The regents have asked us to lap the arena before the games start, and they’ve assigned an area for us to sit. Apologies.”
Fenut’s sons both stood and joined their father without a word of argument. “Maybe we’ll see you after?” Fenut asked, lifting his tail to his forehead in farewell.
“Yeah, maybe!” Alex replied, though she had no idea if it was possible.
Calep shot her a crooked grin. “Do humans shake hands when parting as well, or do they kiss?”
“Calep!” Relli squeaked.
A chuckle burst from Alex’s lips in surprise. “What?”
The scrape of a bench behind her told her Auzed had risen to his feet.
“I heard it is a common human custom.” Calep looked between her and Auzed, the realization that he’d been wrong turning his smile nervous.
“It is not,” Auzed growled ominously.
She got to her feet and stepped between them, hoping to cool some of the rising tension. “I imagine the kind you heard about isn’t something I’d do with someone I just met. It’s an intimate act humans do with their partners. There are other kinds too…uh, it’s hard to explain.”
Calep tilted his head as he digested that. “If I somehow find a human of my own, will she want to save kissing for marriage? Have you two kissed yet?”
At the same time Alex shook her head and said no, Auzed very firmly said yes.
“No?” he boomed, affronted. “We did. You kissed me.”
Alex felt her cheeks flaming. “We… Not really… I mean, I guess it was a kiss.” The way he was looking at her as if the mere idea the brief peck they’d shared wasn’t a kiss made her squirm.
Turning back to the rest of the room, she saw they were all staring. There wasn’t a hint of shame at enjoying the overheard conversation to be seen of any of their eager, amused faces.
“He’s right. We’ve kissed,” she said quickly, wanting this conversation to be done with.
Relli and Jut hid their grins by clearing the table. Calep
didn’t bother to hide his.
Changing the subject, she addressed Jut. “Thank you for dinner. It was so good.” He’d lovingly prepared a feast, not knowing what foods she liked. Big surprise, she’d liked them all.
“It was our honor.” Jut beamed at Relli and twined his tail around hers.
“It’s time for us to return to the nest as well,” Auzed said from behind her. The cool indifference was back in his voice, but his movements were rigid as he helped Jut clear off the table, blatantly ignoring Relli’s hands shooing him away.
As they said their goodbyes and left, she could feel Auzed’s intense stare on her. How had they managed to end the night with him mad at her?
When he remained touchy and silent after they’d boarded a platform and made it out of earshot, she rolled her eyes and asked, “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong now?”
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and tightened his hands around the bar in front of them.
“Why did…” He let out a low breath and a short grumble. “Are you interested in either of Fenut’s sons?”
“What?” She turned on the board to face him, holding the bar behind her back. “No. Maybe in another life. They were nice and all, but not my type.” They were totally her type, but these days, it seemed that if a man wasn’t blond, sullen, and statuesque, she had no interest.
His gaze narrowed on her, and his lips twitched. She imagined he’d just stopped himself from asking what her type was. Pushing his shoulders back a bit more, he stared ahead of him. “Why else would you have lied about us kissing?”
“Is that why you’re upset? I’m sorry.” She grinned up at him. “But I wasn’t lying. I mean, that little peck I gave you wasn’t really a kiss, you know.”
He blinked ahead of him, still focused on the open air he was guiding them through while digesting that bit of information. “But you pressed your mouth to mine.”
Alex shrugged and leaned back against her hands. “Sure, but it was only for a second, and you didn’t kiss back or anything. Tight, dry, closed-lip mouth contact is not my definition of kissing. Unless you’re giving a friendly peck to your relative or buddy or something.”
Tempting Auzed: The Clecanian Series Book 4 Page 14
