Page 16 of Touch the Stars
“That is also fair.”
There it was, that little upward twitch of one corner of his mouth and a glint of humor in his striking eyes.
“Ha.”She propped her elbows on the glossy, white table and rested her chin in her palms.“So, Warrior is your first name?”
“Warrior is my rank, my title.Baatar is my given name.”
“Do you have a last name, Warrior Baatar?”
“Some societies on other planets have clan names, if that is what you ask.”He returned his attention to the pot.“The answer to your question is no.Undetans do not have more than one name.”
“Okay, so how does anyone distinguish you from, say, Shoemaker Baatar?Or Senator Baatar?”
“I am the only Baatar.”
“On yourentireplanet?There’s no one else named Baatar?”How was that even possible?
“No.”
“That’s crazy.”She waved one hand in the air.“How many people are on your planet?”
He ladled golden liquid from the pot into a bowl.“Twelve point five billion.It is one of the largest and most prosperous planets in the empire.”
“Twelve point five billion, and you’re theonlyBaatar?”She moved her elbows off the table as he approached.
“I am.No living souls on Undet shares a name.”He set the steaming bowl of broth on the table in front of her.“Now, perhaps, you will tell me your name.”
“Kaitlyn Bergh.You can call me Kaitlyn.”
She wrapped her hands around the bowl, then raised it to her lips and sipped.The liquid slid down her throat, warming her from the inside.It was like chicken broth, only smoother, richer, with an almost creamy texture.But not as thick as the cream soups on Earth.
Another loud growl came from her stomach as the heat hit it.This was getting old.
Baatar watched her with a pleased expression, and her heart did a funny double beat in her chest.“We called ittakhi soi.It is a broth native to my world.”
“I call itfucking delicious.Thank you.”She raised the bowl again.
Several metallic taps of a utensil hitting the edge of a pan drew her attention to Baatar’s leather-clad back.Dayum, his smooth, confident movements at the stove were as mouth-watering as whatever he was cooking now.She inhaled the aroma of what was sizzling in front of him.It sort of smelled like bacon, with a hint of pumpkin.Weird combo, but it had a ninety-nine percent chance of being better than her almost-week-old leftover meatloaf.
“Where’d you learn to cook, Baatar?”
“My father,” he replied.
“Your dad cooks too?”
“Naturally.I have a mother and three sisters.Keeping the females of our family happy is important.”He met her gaze and gave her a wink before returning his attention back to the alien culinary delight in the pan.
“So, you and your dad do all the cooking?”If he was from a matriarchal society, she might be moving.
“Not at all.As with all chores, cooking was a shared duty.”He rotated his arm, and the swish of food swirling around the bottom of the pan was like music to her ears.“Caring for one’s family is the highest of honors.”
An invisible band tightened around her chest.Family.If her parents had lived, would her family have been like Baatar’s?Caring for each other like he cared for his.
Speaking of…
“Where’s my sister?”
He met her gaze.“I tell you again, Kaitlyn, I do not know of your sister.”
