Page 45 of Avery

"Do you mean a few as in three or a few as in way more, but you don't have to give an exact number by saying a few?" Avery lifts one of his brows up at me.

I press my lips together and look up at the driver, who darts his eyes away from the mirror. Of course, my humiliation is now being witnessed.

"Look, sweet mate." I grab her hand, and thankfully, as I was hoping, the word mate does two things for me. It solidifies the lie to the male driving us, and Avery melts into me. She likes the idea of me being her mate just as much as I like it. "Maybe I was just excited to watch it with you, and I needed to make sure who the douchebag was so I didn't grow too fond."

"You're not going to spoil it for me." She turns her hand over in mine, linking our fingers and squeezing.

"Have I ever?" I ask, holding my free hand to my chest in an exaggerated show of how very much unspoilery I am.

"Yes," Avery says the word without moving her face, and I wonder if she's making a joke at me right now. When confusion mars my face, she gives me a shocked face. "Phial, two seasons ago, you grumbled under your breath that Jinn and Opha would be separated before the show aired."

"That was a guess." I wave my hand in the air to try to wave away any of her concerns. When she stares at me unimpressed, I turn to her and crank up all of my charm. This just means I look at her with wide, adoring eyes and make sure the chirping in my throat is extra loud. "Look, your mate is sorry. How can he make it up to you?"

That does it. Avery's thighs clamp together so hard I have to force my lips not to lift in a smile. She shakes her head and mouths 'you're awful' at me. To this, I do smile, and then I press my lips to hers. If I'm awful now, I can surely show her how awful I can really be. I hiss when she pulls my lower lip betweenher teeth and bites down. Maybe she's wanting to be awful as well.

The male driving our transport clears his throat as the vehicle slows. "Sorry to interrupt." He sounds much too amused to be sorry, so I hiss at him. "We're arriving at the safe house. Your protection will meet us outside. I'll need to be with you for the handoff, but then you'll be in Skia's hands for the remainder of your time on Earth."

"Very well," I say, returning my attention to Avery. She's flushing so bright right now, and I almost hate that we can't continue what we're doing. Maybe once I get her in the house and check to make sure there's no one hiding in the corners or dark places, I can get her into bed, turn on our show, and maybe work on getting her to forgive me for spoiling the show for myself.

Avery pushes my shoulders when I lean in to try to kiss her again, and I bite playfully at her fingers. "Who's Skia? What department is he from? I was working with Althin in the Senient Smuggling Department. I've never heard the name Skia before."

"He's your protection detail," the human male says from the front seat. His eyes don't lift back toward us, and his tone is clipped. "You can call Althin from your comm now if you'd like. We don't normally hire males from this species unless it's deemed necessary."

I narrow my eyes at the back of the male's head. I'm about to ask which species because there are only a few I can think of that would be strong enough to single-handedly be able to ensure the safety of someone as important as my Avery. I'd do everything in my power to keep her safe, but even I have my limitations, so whoever they chose doesn't have those same limitations. The transport slows to a stop, and the male hops out.

"Is this safe?" Avery asks, her hand squeezing mine much too tight—not that I'd ever tell her that.

"It's safe." I kiss the side of her head, loving that she looks to me for comfort and protection. "Alik checked with our contact before we even landed. All of the names line up so far. The only thing I don't know is what species this Skia's from."

The male who drove us doesn't come to our door until a second male emerges from the small house we'll be living in. I eye him through the glass of the window. He resembles a human male except for the soft blue glow from his eyes, and the dark shirt he's wearing is covered in a fine layer of smoke that flows so minuscule that most people wouldn't notice unless they're close enough or know what to look for.

The male who drove us here speaks to Skia, who remains silent for just a few minutes before he opens the backdoor and helps us out of the transport. I keep my eyes on Skia, keeping my thoughts as closed off as I can. It's not easy to do, especially when I've never been around a Sombran before. I know their ability to see into others' minds is genetic and that some are better than others, but that doesn't make this feel any better. He'll be strong if he's here, working as a protection detail for the Intergalactic Alliance.

Skia's eyes drop down to me. His arms are crossed over his chest, his gaze pinning me where I stand. My feathers ruffle at his intensity, and I cycle through what I could've done to him in the last few seconds for him to give me a look that normally takes others a few days to get exasperated enough to give me.

"We'll talk about it in a minute." Skia's voice is deep and low, and from the way the other male jumps, it's as though he doesn't speak often.

I smile at thinking I'm the one this male is willing to speak to. I really must've done something. He huffs through his nose before turning to our luggage and grabbing some of the baggage. I move around to the back of the transport to help him, not wanting him to touch Avery's nesting materials. He goes to reach for them,but just as I'm about to snap at him, he pulls his hands back and grabs a different pack.

"Do you need anything from me?" the other male asks, heading around the vehicle and getting into the driver's seat.

Skia grunts at him, which is a weird way to dismiss someone, but then again, I'm not Sombran, so who am I to judge? Skia takes the bags up to the small house, and Avery follows right behind, with me taking up the tail end of our trio. Skia sets the bags down in a small living space before turning to us. The smoke that was around his torso blending in with his shirt drops to the ground and pools by his feet.

He flops into one of the chairs next to the coffee table and waits for us to both take seats on the couch. He clears his throat as Avery takes my hand and shifts as close as she can to me. She's scared of Skia—not because he's done something, but because she doesn't know him and has never heard of him.

"Have either of you worked with a Sombran?" Skia asks.

His voice is harsh and dry, almost like he rarely uses it. He frowns at me as the thought enters my mind, and I shrug. I can't help my thoughts anymore than he can help hearing them. At least I'm not thinking about something inappropriate.

"No, your female's been taking care of that part of it," Skia says.

It takes me a moment for his words to register. Then my feathers are standing on end, and I'm hissing low in my throat. I wish I could be upset with Skia, but again, it's not like he can tune out our thoughts. At least, I don't think it works that way.

"What?" Avery asks, her face turning bright red. "What am I doing?"

I frown at Skia, who leans back in his chair and crosses his ankle over his knee. He holds up a hand as if to tell me I should explain it to her. He probably doesn't want to speak to her. It doesn't sound like he enjoys talking at all.

"He's a Sombran. Their kind has the ability to read minds. Most of them only hear the thoughts of their mates after their shadows have bonded, but some are born more powerful. Skia can hear all of our thoughts."

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