Page 14 of Cozy Prisons
“I’ll monitor the situation," Palathum assured Falkilm.
He sounded a rumble of agreement. “Thank you, Admirus Citizen Palathum.”
“You don’t need to use my full title here,” she reminded him.
He didn’t respond except for another rumble of agreement. She held back a rattle of annoyance.
“I’m going to spend my spare time researching Nataly’s medical history," he said, moving to the door.
“Certainly, that—”
He was gone before she could finish the sentence. It was only then that she realized she’d missed her opportunity to ask him for stimulants. Getting up, she rushed to the door to call him back, but when it slid open, Utharium was standing there.
He let out a startled rumble. “Going somewhere?”
“I was going to chase down Falkilm,” she explained, grabbing hold of Utharium’s belt and pulling him into the room. “But this is better.”
Letting go of his belt, she pushed him against a nearby wall as the door slid shut, cutting them off from the outside world.
Grabbing the back of his head with both hands, she pulled his face to hers and started rubbing her scent glands against his. Their combined scents filled the air. They pulled the perfumed air deeply into their lungs, relaxing into each other.
“It's only been four marks, but it feels like solars,” Utharium growled, wrapping his arms around her and caging her against him. He took over and rubbed his scent glands all over her face, head, and neck.
“Four marks are too long,” she grumbled.
“Agreed.”
It wasn’t hard to understand why their ancestors had outlawed scent bonding. It was powerfully addictive. If she had to choose between Utharium and anything else, it would always be Utharium. Even if the entire colony was at stake. The Talin Empire could be under threat and she’d still save Utharium and let everything else burn.
These feelings scared and intrigued her.
“Do you want to join the humans or retire to our domicile?” he asked, holding her tight and sounding a low, sensual rumble.
“At the moment, I can’t do either,” she admitted. “I need to at least finish the report to the Committee for Pet Welfare. If I don’t send it tonight, it won’t reach them before the deadline.”
“This is ridiculous," Utharium grumbled. “You need help.”
“Everyone needs help,” she countered. “There simply aren’t enough of us to do everything that’s needed. There are more settlers arriving on the next delivery. That might help.”
“How many?” Utharium asked.
“Five Talins and one human,” she answered.
Utharium sounded a rumble of surprise. “A human?”
“The human was found by chance,” she explained. “Iris and Damascus docked to have some work done on the ship, and the human was sent with the crew. It wasn’t hard to purchase the human's labor contract.”
“How long is the contract for?” Utharium asked.
“Six more solars,” she answered. “The human seemed upset, but won’t explain why.”
“They’ll probably settle once they realize they aren’t going to a worse fate than being worked half to death under a labor contract,” Utharium said.
“Hopefully,” Palathum agreed.
Utharium and Palathum fell silent as they held each other. She didn’t want the embrace to end, but she needed to finish her work. She started to pull out of Utharium’s hold, but hetightened his arms around her. She didn’t fight the embrace and half hoped Utharium continued to insist she stop for the night.
“I have an idea,” Utharium said.
