Page 32 of Double Cut

“How long does this last?” she muttered after a particularly vigorous session of sex.

His arm draped over her, Horas drew their mate more fully into the shelter of his body and said, “Perhaps another day, maybe two.”

“Oh, good,” she sighed as her eyes drifted shut. “I need to rest.”

Snuggling at her other side with a hand wedged between her thighs and the fingers idly stroking her sex, swollen and slick with their spent passion, Sarus chuckled. The sound was a deep clicking noise emanating from his broad chest. His loud hiss of rage woke her some hours later.

“Stay,” Horas barked at her as he leaped from their bed and rushed to Sarus’ aid. The bedroom door slammed shut behind him.

“Oh, hell no,” Evangeline snapped as she wrenched herself off the mattress. She drew a blanket around her and went to the door. The sliding door remained shut despite her presence. She put her palm against the panel beside the door. The panel remained inert; no light flashed in recognition. Frowning, she spoke loudly and clearly enunciated, “Open!”

It didn’t open.

She slapped her hand against the smooth panel. “Open, damn it!”

It remained closed.

“Maybe it doesn’t understand English,” she murmured, realizing anew that the translator implanted into her brain allowed her to understand the spoken language of her new home, but didn’t enable her to read it, write it, or speak it. “And I don’t know the Ahn’hudi word foropen. Well, this justsucks.”

Annoyed, she admitted temporary defeat and headed for the bathroom where she indulged in a solitary, unassisted bath. After drying herself off, she donned the Greek chiton that was her only garb. She wondered if she’d be allowed to reclaim her clothes from Earth and doubted it.I need clothing, an entire wardrobe.

A plaintive meow distracted her from her flirtation with self-pity. Immediate remorse washed through Evangeline. She raced to the door and leaned against it. “Oh, Poppet, I’m so, so sorry. I’ve been neglecting you, and I know you’re hungry.”

The cat meowed again.

Evangeline felt tears prickle her eyes and let them fall.

Minutes later, the door slid back.

“Little flame, you are distressed!” Horas exclaimed with worry as he stooped down to gather her into his arms.

Evangeline snuffled and buried her face into his shoulder and began crying in earnest. Appalled by his mate’s distraught condition, Horas looked toward Sarus who glared at him.

“What did you do to her?” the big male growled.

“Nothing,” Horas rasped. His tail lashed the air. “I found her like this.”

“Well, you must have done something,” Sarus accused. “She was sleeping peacefully when I answered the summons.”

“I left her safe in the bedchamber,” Horas explained.

The cat meowed more stridently than before. Sarus looked at the small furry beast. “Ah, the feline is hungry. I’ll take care of it.”

“Do you think our mate believes we harmed her pet?” Horas inquired with concern as he carried Evangeline to the kitchen. She sniffled and the occasional sob wracked her body. “Surely she knows we would not do such a thing.”

“I do not know,” Sarus admitted as he tore open a small packet of meat and dumped it on a plate. He set it on the floor. The ravenous cat attacked the meal.

“Perhaps we have been too lax in caring for the beast’s needs,” Horas mused. Then he admitted, “I did not expect the mating heat to overwhelm us like that.”

The other male’s eyes glittered. “It still burns in my blood. I taste it in my own venom.”

Horas stroked a hand down Evangeline’s sweat dampened hair. “Please do not weep, little flame. We are trying to discern what distresses you so you need not suffer it any further.”

Evangeline reared back and shouted, “Thenaskme, you big, dumb jerk!”

Both males looked stunned at her outburst. But their mate hadn’t finished.

“Stay?Stay?Youlockedme in the bedroom! I’mnota child! And I forgot to feed my cat yesterday. You’re turning me into an irresponsible idiot.” She sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “Until you, I was a fully functional, responsible, competent woman. Now, I’m nothing but a mindless sex toy!”

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