Page 23 of Return of the Nine

Rothaway blinked and then grinned at Ziggy. “You didn’t tell her?”

Ziggy was blushing. “There was no opportunity.”

“Shall I?”

“No. That’s fine. I will tell her. Tier, do you remember when I said that I met a member of the Nine and he had some men with him and they escaped from the ship I was on?”

Tiera blinked, “Yes, you said he was unwell so you stuffed him in the pod and hit the button.”

Rothaway arched a brow. “Unwell?”

Ziggy’s face was on fire with a blush. “Well, he wasn’t sick. I needed to get him out of there, so I kissed him, mugged his mind and shoved him into the pod while he was stunned. That is what started the bond. He has been waiting for me since that day.”

Tiera nodded as she absorbed the information that her friend had molested a wounded man. It was Ziggy from top to toe. She never did anything in the right order and this was proof.

Tiera grinned. “Congratulations on the end of a long wait, Rothaway. She was worth every second of it.”

He lifted Ziggy’s hand to his lips, and Tiera teared up at the genuine affection in his eyes. “I would have waited until the stars burned out for this woman, though I may have gone mad in the process.”

Tiera sipped at her tea and felt her world settle around her with another mental click. She just needed to know a little more of the customs of the place that she found herself, and it would be like being on a holiday that someone else had booked. Fun, but out of her control.

Chapter Three

“What do you meango mad?” Tiera was eating some of the snacks that Ziggy had coaxed out of the dispenser in front of her eyes.

Rothaway sighed, “Tonos would be a better person to question. He is a medic.”

Tiera waved her hands. “Explain please. I don’t want to make any social gaffs.”

He straightened, “Right. Well, our parent race mated via pheromone triggers as many do. We have evolved to determine our mate via contact. When we find a woman ninety-eight percent compatible, and we touch, our body keys itself to that female. Depending on our race, there are a variety of effects which occur after that initial contact.”

Ziggy reached over and snagged a cracker, “Aggression toward other males is one of those side effects. Apparently they get horny and then they get deadly.”

Rothaway looked upset for a moment, but then, he nodded in agreement. “It is an unflattering but accurate assessment.”

“What stops it?”

Ziggy sipped and munched. “Well, Rothaway went to medical for several years and got suppressing shots.”

Rothaway’s dark skin darkened further. “I will leave you two to catch up. I will return in an hour with some more appropriate clothing for dinner. Don’t fill up. There is a council dinner in three hours.”

He got to his feet, kissed Ziggy in the most passionate embrace that Tiera had ever witnessed and escaped.

Tiera laughed, “He lasted longer than I expected him to.”

Ziggy grinned, “I know. He has stamina. Let me just confirm that. So, what do you want to know?”

“What was your wedding like?”

Ziggy’s gaze got far away. “There is a private area in the central garden, the air is filled with the scent of flowers and everything is so soothing.

“We stood in front of the altar stone, and I pulled the knife—”

“Knife?”

“I pulled the knife, and Rothaway put his wrist against it, breaking the skin. He bit my wrist, and we pressed the wounds together. This transferred his rut to me, and the first moment that we had alone, I jumped him.”

Tiera laughed and then sobered. “A knife? You are serious?”

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