Page 20 of Alien Mine

“Aren’t most customs?”

“True. So why did you get a tattoo using this special ink?”

“To honor my mother. She was a soldier before she mated my father and came to live with him on my…in his land. It’s a way ofremembering her contribution to my heritage.”

Rachel’s thumb stilled on his arm. “But you could’ve used regular ink instead of this stuff.”

“Domorian ink.” At her blank expression, he added, “The people who make the ink reserve it for my mother’s people. It seemed fitting to use it.”

“Oh. Right.” She tapped his arm and frowned. “How do these people link emotions to the ink?”

“No idea.”

“Right.” She dropped his arm and stepped away. “I shouldn’t have been so nosey.”

“You asked honest questions. I gave honest replies. I truly don’t know how the Domorians do what they do. I know how it works, though.” He lifted his arm, exposing the edge of the tattoo on the interior of his biceps, and pointed to a section halfway between his shoulder and his elbow. “Blow here.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see.”

She eased hesitantly forward and blew gently on his skin. Sensation rippled through him, amplified by the ink, and he shuddered. The tattoo changed colors, from dim greens into a bright, blazing red and, Wode help him, his half hard manhood stiffened to rigid attention as if she’d breathed on it instead of his arm.

He shoved down a sudden need to have her there, controlling it ruthlessly. “Strong emotions, strong colors.”

Her gaze was locked on the tattoo. “What kind of emotions?”

He blew out an exasperated sigh. She couldn’t be that naïve. “Your breath touched a sensitive area. What kind do you think?”

“Oh.” She blinked once, twice, and the natural color in her cheeks deepened. “Sorry. You shouldn’t have let me do that.”

“I enjoyed it.” And he wanted her to do it again, maybe sooner than was wise. They’d explored enough for one day, though. He dropped his arm and held his hand out for the sunscreen. “Has Kelly talked to you about staying up late tonightto study the constellations?”

“She mentioned it in passing.”

“And?”

“We’ll see how tired she and Tiny are after supper.” Rachel squirted sunscreen in his hand, then leaned her firm ass against the porch railing. “We’ve got about thirty seconds before Kelly comes out looking for me, just enough time for you to tell me all about those Domorians.”

He coated his skin with sunscreen under her watchful gaze and chose his words carefully, sharing what he could of the alien culture as desire faded along with the bright colors of his tattoo.

The day zipped by in a fit and flurry of activity. Kelly settled down long enough to help Rachel start making goat cheese, then slipped out of the workroom before lunch for study time with Dyuvad and Tiny. By the time Rachel had finished what she’d set out to accomplish that morning, he’d settled himself and the girls on the porch steps with sandwiches, like it was the most natural thing in the world for him to take care of them.

Juan had never taken care of Kelly that way.

Rachel bit the thought off and plopped onto the bottom step next to Kelly in time to catch the tail end of Dyuvad’s story.

“Tyornin was unhappy with his sister’s feat,” Dyuvad said, “and like brothers will do, he pulled Tyel’s hair.”

Kelly wrinkled her nose. “I’m so glad I don’t got no brother.”

Dyuvad winked and tugged the ends of her messy ponytail. “You should be.”

“Catch me up,” Rachel said. “Who’s Tyornin and why was he mad at his sister?”

“They was having a contest. Tyornin hit his hammer into the ground and made a big crater.” Kelly bunched her hand into a fist and smacked it into her thigh. “Then Tyel said she could do one better. She pushed the land into mountains with her bare hands, just like that. She’s better’n Wonder Woman and Storm combined, Mama!”

Rachel pressed her lips together, hiding a smile. “Sounds like it. What happened next?”

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