Page 24 of Devin
"Her name is unimportant."
"Is she pregnant?"
"No, mother."
"Is she mated?"
"Mother."
"You are not telling me the truth."
"I have not lied to you."
"That's not the same thing as telling me the truth. Who is this woman that you're talking to? This not-pregnant, not-mated woman? Is she ugly? Is that what you are afraid of? I'll look up some pictures of Terrans and prepare myself."
"There is nothing to prepare yourself for. You are not going to meet her because I am not going to-"
"Oh, muffin. That's my ride. The Grand Admiral sent his personal transport for me. Wasn't that sweet? Got to go. Now, I'll do some research and see what Terran ladies like and give you some pointers. Bye!"
Without giving him a chance to respond, the vid screen blinked off.
He did not need pointers. He needed something to ward him against the images of her lips raised and waiting for him. To ward off this desire, this need to feel her fingers on his skin.
Chapter 13
Devin
"Ibelieve that I have made myself very clear," Kave said as he held his hands up in the air. "If you want her gone, you're going to have to take her yourself. I am not going to face Athen to tell him that you are making the same mistake that he nearly made. You are going to have to do that yourself. It is for the best. Perhaps, you will accept his word that sending your mate off to give her to another warrior is simply untenable."
"I don't have time in the schedule to-"
"Either make time to speak to Athen, or she stays."
Devin bristled. Kave surely thought he was going to back down. A large delivery was slated to arrive in the next few days and if they lowered it from orbit without guidance, the entire project could be set back a week or more. Devin was not going to get behind unless there was no helping it.
He stormed out of the command center. There was no more to be said. He would have to risk taking the trip while the Terran females plotted to make his mate... no, his un-mate... no, that wasn't right either... the female assigned to him. While they figured out a way to let her stay. No, it was better to make a clean break now rather than wait any longer into the build schedule. It was only going to get busier from here on out.
He walked over to his cabin. Val was standing in the doorway. She smiled at him. He did not smile back.
"Get your things. I'm taking you to the main camp. From there, you'll take a larger ship to Etlon or wherever you want to go."
Her smile faded, but she didn't argue. She got her pitiful bag of things, all of which had been given to her since her arrival, and followed after him. Devin had expected to run into resistance from Jane or Zenik, but everyone was absent from around the shuttle. He climbed up into the back and motioned for her to follow.
Devin sat in the cockpit chair and began the warm up sequence.
"Where do I sit?" Val said.
Devin looked around. There was a chair beside him and benches on either side of the craft. For his sanity, it would be better if she didn't sit beside him but he didn’t want to tell her that.
"Wherever you want."
She put her bag down and joined him up front. Devin ignored his hardon as her scent began to close in on him. This was going to be a very long flight. Even the flight home was going to smell of her.
"I'm sorry I'm not what you wanted," she said, quietly. "It's not like I had much of a choice either. It was either take a chance in space or probably die in a day or two back home. And believe it or not, I want to live."
Devin sighed and maneuvered the craft into the air. Val stared at the ground through the windscreen. She was naturally curious about what the jungle looked like from above. It wasn't surprising that she'd want to see the alien vegetation so different from her home. Devin remembered his first trip in a shuttle,though he'd been a child at the time. He'd practically glued his nose to the window pane.
"You are not... objectionable. But marriage is not what I want. I just don't want any mate right now," Devin explained.
