Page 27 of K'Vella

"I know you don't want Alik to kill you, but you could at least look at me," Sloane laughs as she draws my attention away from setting up this event.

I look at her from the corner of my eye, making sure I'm still pressed as far away from her as possible on the couch because Alik looks like he's going to murder someone tonight.

I'd feel bad for Avery since he's supposed to be talking to her right now, but she's managed to find her voice after an awkward half-hour talking with me and is chatting away to Alik. He grunts and nods at the appropriate times, but his attention is on Sloane and sometimes on me, just enough to make it clear that I'm not to move an inch closer to his mate.

"I think if I were to look at you, he might come over here and rip me apart," I tell Sloane with a laugh.

I love Alik like a brother. He allowed me onto his ship with barely any questions asked, paid me fairly for my work, and never once made me feel unwelcome on this ship. However, he's also dangerous, and he warned us before we set up this whole thing that he might ruin tonight because of how much he hates even thinking about Sloane wanting to be with anyone else.

"Pretty sure your female would stop him," Sloane says.

I can't help that I'm a simple male. Someone tells me the female I want more than anything else in the universe would tryto protect me, and I have to look at my female to confirm. It's not like it's hard to look at K'Vella. I want to do it all the time, every single day.

K'Vella has done a good job of paying attention to each male she's been with throughout the night, playing the role of a female going through the housing ceremony like a pro. This only irritates me because it makes me wonder how many males housed her before she got sick.

I don't care that she was open in her affections. I don't think one can be a Rytharian and care about that, considering how we're all raised and act once we're adults. No, what I care about is that she was obviously good at this, and no one mated her.

How could they not when she's obviously perfect?

Sloane's right that K'Vella looks unhappy, but it's only for a brief flick of her eyes toward Alik. Phial notices and throws something at Alik's head, hitting him in the temple and causing the vitriol he's staring me down with to be turned to Phial, who's laughing. At least he's done being upset that Avery's talking to other people. He probably realizes it's good for her and her growth not to be scared all the time.

"Pay attention to your female, Alik," K'Vella tells him with a voice dripping with too much sweetness.

She's trying to play nice but not because she wants to. Oh no, I think my female might be just as territorial over me as I am over her, but she's much better at hiding it.

Alik inhales deeply through his nose, his nostrils flaring like he's keeping himself from making a face at K'Vella. He better not. No snarling, no teeth snapping, nothing like that. We're so close to the end of this thing, and then he can take Sloane back to their room and do all kinds of weird Varon stuff to her, but right now, he needs to pay attention to Avery and not stare down my mate like he's about to snap at her.

"Now, Alik. This isn't how you were raised," K'Vella says, shifting from sweet to stern.

It does two things. One, it has my dick hardening in an instant because there's a chance that I might want her to get all stern with me like that. The second thing is that Alik's demeanor changes. He might not like being called out like he was, but it seems K'Vella hit the nail on the head because he's giving her a hard nod before turning to face Avery.

"Oh, are Varon women all take charge?" Sloane asks.

She's way too close now, leaning across my lap to peer over at where K'Vella is smiling as she talks to Phial. If Alik were watching or if he was still in the same foul mood from only moments earlier, I'd be a dead male right now. Thankfully, Sloane moves back to her side before anyone notices.

"I don't know," I tell Sloane honestly as I rub the back of my neck. "I think maybe in some ways. I think you'd have to be if you were in charge of two males. You tell your mates what to do often. I think they're used to following their females' lead."

"I do get away with a lot." Sloane taps her chin and purses her lips as she thinks.

Thankfully, I don't have to sit here and listen to her muse about how she's about to use this newfound knowledge to her advantage in her grouping because the timer is going off, and I'm finally going to get to be with the female I've wanted all night.

I say a quick goodbye to Sloane, who's barely paying me any attention since Jovi is already pushing her long across the couch and taking up the space between her legs. His lips are on her, his hands tangled in her hair and wrapped around her waist before any of us can object.

Essa grumbles something about not getting her one-on-one time because Alik is now watching as his mate and partner try to devour one another.

I don't care.

I have one thing on my mind, and it's the pretty Varon looking at me from where she's sitting on the loveseat filled with blankets and furs I provided her with. I'm sure they smell like the others on the crew since they all sat on them, but I can get over it since K'Vella looks so happy.

"I can't believe you did this," she whispers to me when I'm close enough that she can grab my hips and tug me close to where she's sitting.

When she pulls me between her legs, with me standing and her sitting, my mind goes to inappropriate places. Well, one specific scenario where I'd also have to be looking down at her.

I close my eyes and suck in a gulp of air. Nope, even a deep breath isn't helping things. I can just imagine K'Vella on her knees, looking up at me as she tugs on the strings of my leathers until my cock is free. I've been too eager to be inside her that I haven't felt her lips around me yet.

Her eyes go wide as the purring in my chest picks up. I imagine she's piecing together how much I like looking at her from this angle. If I were to strip her of her dress right now, she'd be nice and dark for me. I want her back in the nest now. I want to undress her, wrap my hand in her hair, and help her to greedily suck me into her mouth.

"Holoth," K'Vella whispers my name with humor in her voice. "As much as I'd like whatever you're imagining, that's meant to happen after you've decided you want to house me."

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