Page 37 of Bela's Bounty
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Treto
My hails to theShadeand Sone have gone unanswered, and they have yet to arrive. I can’t wait any longer.
My muscles twitch involuntarily as my fingers dance across the controls. My heart thunders beneath my breast from a sense of dread that licks up my spine. I’ve waited too long already.Too long too long too long.
Gnashing my teeth until I worry they might shatter, I guide the shuttle toward the station, trying to keep an even speed when I want to come in screaming with lasers blasting. The closer I get, the worse the sense of dread becomes. When I slide into a bay close to the exit, my guts feel like they’re twisted into tight knots, and all the oxygen is being wrung from my lungs.
What if I’m too late?
Forcing myself to lean back in my seat, I cover my face with my hands, digging my palms into my eyes until galaxies explode across my vision. I remind myself there is notoo late. As long as she lives… that’s all that matters. Nothing else.
Taking a deep breath, I do my best to force a sense of calm and remind myself that going in there halfcocked will only make things harder. When I exit the shuttle, I put a swagger into my purposeful stride, forcing myself to smile and nod to those I pass. I exude nothing but relaxed belonging while every muscle and tendon is stretched taut beneath my skin.
The station is busier than it was when I was here last, and I find myself sharing the lift with two other males on my way up to the floor my female is trapped on. Each floor we pass, I will the car to stop so I can shove the males off, but they remain with me all the way to the top.
We fall into a line and wait our turn at the desk with the elder female. The whole time, I keep my fisted hands at my side to keep me from grabbing the males in front of me and tossing them aside so I can take their place in the short queue. My teeth remain clenched to keep from snarling and growling at the males who woulddaretry to take my female for their own.
When the male in front of me takes too long, a growl starts deep in my throat, and I shove my tongue to the roof of my mouth to quell it. When he turns a questioning look on me, I cough into my fist and lift my shoulders in a shrug.Just a tickle in my throat, mate.
I’m imagining tearing every male that stands between my Bela and me limb from limb when it’s finally my turn at the desk.
“And how may I help you, good sir?” the green elder asks without looking up from what she’s doing.
“I wish for an hour with the human female,” I try not to snarl the words.
When she looks up at me, I smile at her. Or at least I hope that’s what my lips are doing. Her brows drop low over her eyes, and I begin to worry.
“I recognize you. You asked for her a few rotations ago.”
“Yes.” I try to keep the smile plastered on my face while my heart trips behind my ribs.
“I’m sorry. The Madame has a strict rule about repeat customers for her humans.”
I pause a moment, because I could have sworn she said—
“I see.” I want to reach across the desk and grab her silver braid. Wrap it around my fist and pull her so our faces are nearly touching, before asking her to rethink thisstrict rule.Instead, I force myself to nod. “Is there anyoneelse—” the word sticks behind my teeth, “—available?”
The elder squints at a screen I cannot see, and her lips press together. “Well, no. Not for several hours, I’m afraid.”
“But the human female, she is available now?”
She quickly inhales through her nose when she scans whatever list she’s looking at. “Yes.”
Some of my tension releases, and my heart settles back into a somewhat normal rhythm. “And there is no way around thisstrict rule?”
The elder female looks irritated. Silver brows knit tightly over her small nose, but when she looks up at me, I see there is a chink in her armor.
“It is averystrict rule, sir,” she says slowly. “But…perhaps with enough credits, themadamecould be persuaded.”
Ah, this female is greedy. Greed is something I can work with. I know I have her. It’s going to cost me, but that doesn’t matter.
A smile, my first real smile since leaving my female rotations ago, slides across my lips, and I hold out my wrist for her to scan.
* * *
Bela
