Page 105 of Right Next Door
Misty jumped, surprised. She leaned back, looking up at him. Shocked he’d even make that suggestion after everything.
“We can’t call it off,” she frowned. “Everyone is counting on us. You went through so much to convince Boktare to go through with it.”
“Yes, but none of that matters if you’re not actually happy.”
Misty balked at the suggestion of calling off their wedding, but she wasn’t actually surprised to hear the reason for it. Of course, he was putting her feelings first. He always did. Even if he didn’t know exactly what he was doing, he considered her feelings about it. Because he cared for her. Because she just meant that much to him.
She smiled, snuggling back into him. Putting her arm around his chest and pulling his robe open so she could put her face directly on his furry chest.
“No. I don’t want to call it off. I want to be mated and bred and happy. That’s all I want. They’re just getting on my nerves. You’d think they could mind their own business.”
“This is their business,” he said, nuzzling the top of her head. “We’re changing things. Of course, they’re going to be interested. Especially as it relates to them. That’s why they have their opinions, and why they’re so free with them.”
Misty sighed dramatically. “Oh, the burdens of the rich and famous.”
He chuckled. His chest rumbling deliciously under her. She smiled, snuggling further into him. This was nice. She should do this more often. His fur was so warm and soft, but he also smelled really good. Like a man, not an animal. Fresh and clean and woodsy.
It couldn’t be cologne. His people all wore nasal filters. They kept their bodies clean, but they certainly weren’t out here sniffing each other. So, this had to be his natural scent. The soap she used was unscented, so she imagined his was as well. Whymake them scented at all, no one would smell them? She loved the smell of him though, so she was glad for it.
“Did you get everything done today?” She asked, thinking of the list of things he’d needed to take care of on top of all his regular duties. Some of it had to do with the wedding. Nothing that she could help with, so he’d insisted she keep her client appointments. She was doing a few last ones before she took a break for the ceremony.
And the rut.
Tsok was going to be her last client. She would be doing his braids the day before their wedding, so they’d be fresh and tight the day of. She spent her free time sketching designs and planning what she wanted to do on his fur. It was a surprise to him though, and she was looking forward to the time they’d spend together doing it.
“I finished most everything,” Tsok answered her as he put his arm around her waist. “The Imperium is going to be there for our wedding. I had to make some adjustments for them.”
“Did you tell Vigo about them messing with the servers?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“He’s not concerned.”
“Of course, not,” she rolled her eyes.
Tsok chuckled. “Vigo looked through the True Match servers. If the Imperium did something, he can’t find it. And it’s not affecting their operations at all if there is something. Maybe the Imperium just wanted to look.”
“I’m not going to get an answer to this, am I?”
“Trust the Imperium.” Tsok nuzzled the top of her head. “They are the leader of all the Coalition for a reason. And it will be agreat honor for us to have them there for our wedding. It really will make the entire event that much more official.”
Misty almost argued further, but after a moment, she just gave up with a sigh. The Imperium didn’t seem willing to talk more about it, and no one else seemed very concerned. Maybe it was her human-ness that didn’t want to trust people doing shady shit, especially people in power. But if no one was even willing to look into it, what more could she do?
Worst case scenario, he just took down the whole True Match system. But even if he did, that wasn’t her problem, and she couldn’t stop it anyway. She gave it up as one of those things she’d probably never have an answer to as she instead focused on her soon-to-be-mate.
“Did you and Boktare finally get those details ironed out you were arguing about?”
“We did. The ceremony is going to take place over two days.”
“A two-day wedding?” She smiled. “Goodness. It’s Kree’s very first wedding and we’re already trying to go all out.”
“Nothing but the best for you,” he countered, nuzzling her head. “We think, based on what we studied and what you told us, that we’ve combined things fairly well. You and I will not see each other at all the day before the first ceremony, in accordance with your customs. Boktare really likes that one. He said it’s a good way to make sure that the couple can handle being apart. And it proves during the ceremony that neither of them has scented the other yet.”
“I feel like you could look at the male to determine that,” she mumbled, running her hand thoughtfully down his chest. “Are you going to get huge immediately after you scent me?”
“Yes.”
