Page 38 of Double Cut

The port city of Ush’Hadar teemed with a cosmopolitan array of species and genders. Shops and restaurants served males and females alike. A standing army of armed Ahn’hudi guards strategically positioned throughout the city enforced civil interaction and polite manners.

No males stared rudely at their mate, if only because some females of other species went about entirely unclothed but for their fur or scales. The lack of curiosity or covetousness aimed at their mate frustrated them, because that lack supported her contention that she did not need their protection. They saw several Ahn’hudi females—all escorted as expected—but none was garbed in the traditional and revealing dress of ribbons and only three wore a collar and leash. The seeming independence of these cosmopolitan females also refuted their insistence that their mate needed protection.

As expected, no males dared approach the obviously protected female under armed escort or challenged either Horas or Sarus for the right to their mate. No one offered insult or rudeness. Instead, their dainty mate gazed about her with blatant interest and fascination, drawing more than a few stares of rebuke at her impolite gawking.

Further confounding the two males was the mix of genders working and serving the city’s fluid, shifting populace.

“See, you worried all for nothing,” Evangeline crowed when they returned laden with shopping bags containing her new wardrobe. Unfortunately, none of the bags contained underwear.I wonder if that’s because the Ahn’hudi have tails?“Icango out without being accosted.”

“You were under our escort,” Horas pointed out. “Few would be so foolish as to challenge either Sarus or me.”

She nodded, acknowledging the point. “All right, I’ll accept that. I’ll even accept that having a male escort made me feel safe from being importuned. But even you have to admit that there were a lot of women … er … females wandering about who didn’t have armed escorts—or even any escorts—and they were just fine!”

“Those females are notourmate,” Sarus said, lowering the multitude of shopping bags to the floor with a grunt as Horas headed for the kitchen to start cooking supper. Who knew a female could buy so much in such a short time? He was certain his finances had taken a hard hit and was glad he’d lived a frugal life.

Oh, but the jewelry he and Horas had insisted on purchasing would look so beautiful on her!

Evangeline’s snort disrupted his thoughts. She stooped to pick up her cat and cuddle it against her chest and said, “If you insist on escorting me, then I suppose I can deal with that until I get used to the place and find my way around.”

“Where do you plan on going?” Horas inquired.

“Well, I need to find a job.”

“A job?” Sarus echoed in horror. Before he could forbid her employment, he rephrased his objection. “Why do you need a job?”

“So I can contribute to the household income,” she replied as though it were obvious. Seeing their frowns, she said, “I guess you two don’t approve of women working.”

Sarus tried to choose his response carefully. “If you were not our mate and were forced to survive on your own, then we would understand your desire and need for employment.”

Evangeline started to seethe. “So, you’re saying that, because I’m female, I have no right or need to work and earn my own income?”

In the kitchen behind their mate, Horas turned around and shook his head in warning, silently bidding Sarus not to pursue that line of conversation.

Aware that they’d already had a conversation regarding females and vocations and that it hadn’t gone well, Sarus took a deep breath through his slitted nostrils and said, “Horas and I are well able to support our mate. You need not earn an income.”

“And if Iwantto work?” she asked, her voice turning thin and strained. The cat squirmed and she released it.

“Why would you want to work?” he countered.

Horas shook his head again.

“I have a degree in horticulture. I’m a certified horticulturist,” she replied, biting off each syllable. “I have valuable education and experience that should not go to waste.”

“Your advanced education will be more valuable applied to the instruction and management of our children.”

She glared at him and pointed her index finger. Had she been closer, she would have poked him. “If you think I’m going to be your happy little housewife, then you’ve got another think coming, buster. I have a good brain and a good education, andI’m gonna use ’em.”

Horas pressed the spot between his eyes where a headache now throbbed and muttered in that ultra-low audial register, “You fool. You’ve angered her, and now she’ll deny us again.”

Sarus looked helplessly at the other male as their mate, muttering under her breath, picked up a couple of shopping bags and stomped into the bedroom. He took in another deep breath and exhaled, then replied, “We live to make her happy and she thinksshe’sthe slave?”

“I do not understand this female,” Horas admitted. “Nor do I condone this liberty she demands.”

“I detect no deception in her,” Sarus said as he gathered the remaining shopping bags and carried them to the bedchamber. He set them just inside the doorway, pausing a moment to listen to their mate mutter slanderous words against them under her breath.Horas is correct; she’ll refuse us again tonight.He joined Horas in the kitchen and commented, “I truly believe she is accustomed to such freedoms.”

Horas sighed and nodded as he chopped vegetables and glanced at a recipe to make sure he was following the instructions properly. “These Earthlings … I wonder if there’s an instruction manual available to direct us in better managing our mate.”

“She’s not human anymore, or at least not fully human,” Sarus pointed out.

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