Page 20 of Avery

"We smell different than you. I can tune them out. You? You're different, and it's loud. Go jerk off or something so we can talk," Holoth says it all like he's serious, but we both know he's the one who dragged me out of my moping on the ship while I waited for Avery to finish her alone time.

I was perfectly content to sit in the kitchen, eat food, and stare at the wall until Avery pinged my comm, saying I could return to the room. Not that we've been doing much together.

We used to watch different planets' reality shows together, but that's been put on hold since neither of us knows how to act around the other now that she knows I want to admire her while she soaks through more undergarments for me.

"Why did you make me come out if you're only going to complain about how I smell?"

It's not like Holoth doesn't have plenty he could be doing right now. His mate is pregnant with their first child, and she's probably around here somewhere. Honestly, I'm more surprised to find him without her than I am that he's in a foul mood.

"K'Vella is busy with Essa and Sloane doing girl things, as Sloane puts it." Holoth frowns as he crosses his arms over his chest. "I needed to kill some time, and you seemed bored, too."

"So now we can both be miserable at this table together?" I ask, looking around at his friends, who are no longer part of our conversation.

I don't know when it happened, but now there are more females here. More than I'm comfortable with, considering there is only one I want. I especially don't want to be near all these females when the skies begin to darken, and they all start stripping from their clothes to fornicate with the closest male they like the smell of. I inhale deeply, hoping I don't smell like arousal still because it isn't a smell for anyone here.

"Look, I didn't realize they were going to ditch us as soon as someone approached them," Holoth says, looking over at his friends and pressing his lips into a tight line. "It's not even dark out."

"Well." I clap my hands together and begin to rise. "As much as I would love to sit here and watch your friends fuck, I think I'm going to go back to the ship."

"Wait, just wait a second," Holoth says, standing to join me.

I don't wait, not even a little bit. If one female is getting undressed many more are soon to follow. I've yet to be stuck out in the great hall at night, and tonight won't be any different.

I might not be telling anyone that Avery is allowing me to pleasure her, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go looking for someone to do that, not in secret.

No, this is not a planet for me. I enjoy being with my female in the privacy of our own space. Preferably a glass dome that I've filled with blankets and pillows and a thin layer of my own feathers as I shed them.

"Phial, come on." Holoth grabs my arm as we leave the great hall.

It's not a moment too soon either because the sounds of pleasure are already starting inside, and I don't want anyone from the crew catching either of us in there. Holoth can be caught in there with his mate, but not without her. Nope. I'm too good of a friend for anyone to think my copilot could be anything but faithful to his mate.

Not that anyone would ever think that he would. He loves K'Vella more than anything. He bares the mark of her teeth in his neck to prove it.

"We need to talk about it at some point," Holoth says, not releasing my shoulder even as I try to shake free of his hold. He's stronger than me. Of course, he is. Every male on this mother forsaken planet is stronger than me.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I shrug and pretend to be entertained by one of the planets softly visible in the sky above this planet. I do know what he's talking about, but I don't really want to think about it—not yet, not while he's still technically part of the crew.

"You need to find a new copilot, Phial."

He lifts his head to the sky, admiring the same planet as me. Holoth's planet is above average in beauty. Much of its plant and wildlife has remained thriving even though they're classified as advanced as most other civilizations in the Intergalactic Alliance.

Unlike so many civilizations whose planets have failed and rioted against them, they worked with the planet to rebuild a thriving ecosystem. They live in modest housing and still hunt and farm like their kind probably did long before they made technological advancements.

They remain separated into smaller clans that only interact when the need to procreate arises. All of their technology is kept in designated areas, open to anyone who needs it, and runby those voted on by their own clans. It's not perfect, but it's allowed their planet to retain its beauty, diversity, and quality.

"We're not leaving yet, so I don't need a copilot."

Holoth isn't leaving with us to go back to Earth. He and his mate have already decided to stay on Rythar and start a family. I'm happy for him. I am. But that doesn't mean he's not my copilot anymore.

"You know Jovi's shit at copiloting," Holoth chuckles as he says it and then hits my arm just enough to have me hissing my displeasure. He wants my attention, though, and he has it. "You need to find another Rytharian who wants to leave and is a fast learner like me, or you need to start training someone already on the ship."

"Sloane won't want to, and Essa already told me she has no interest." I relent and talk about this with Holoth. He's not wrong about me needing a new copilot, and he's extra not wrong about Jovi being the worst copilot in the universe.

I don't know how Alik puts up with him copiloting life. He takes nothing seriously, always wants to make a game of playing around with all my controls and settings, and doesn't even attempt to hide his laughter when he comms other ships and tells them our ship's name.

We're not supposed to laugh at Essa's chosen name because she was proud when she came up with the Jolly Folly. So we bite our tongues and hiss at anyone who jokes about it to protect our golden friend's feelings. We never tell her we do this to protect her because that would hurt her even more.

Holoth looks over at me, one of his brows raised in a manner that makes me think he's in on something I'm not. When I frown at him, he gives me an exasperated sigh.

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