Page 481 of Fated Mates of the Titan Empire

“You haven’t seen me dance.”

She grinned at me.

“Then you must be a singer,” I said.

She almost choked on her drink.

“Correct,” she said. “Boy, you’re good. Remind me never to play twenty questions with you.”

I slid my drink along the bar toward her, so close I could smell her perfume. It filled my senses and made me feel like I was flying.

“Where are you from?” I said.

“A little out-of-the-way place called Earth,” she said, looking up at me through her eyelashes.

“Earth?”

I’d studied many star maps over the years but I couldn’t remember ever hearing of a planet or moon with that name. I would the moment I got a chance.

“It’s not well developed yet,” she said. “It’s still going through its first real technology phase.”

“What’s that you’re drinking?” I said, motioning to the funny little colorful drink on the bar.

“Translator,” she said, addressing the translator strip on her neck, “allow original pronunciation. It’s called a mojito.”

“A mojito,” I said, practicing the sound on my lips. “Translator strip, save pronunciation under ‘delicious Earth drink.’”

“Whoa. You don’t want to do that.”

I frowned.

“Why not?” I said. “It’s not delicious?”

“It is to me. But maybe it doesn’t suit your taste buds.”

I looked the drink over. It was brightly colored and I could smell the alcohol from over here.

“It looks plenty delicious to me,” I said.

A smile spread across her gorgeous wide mouth. I was so embarrassed. I’d actually looked her in the eye when I said it. I must have come across as a seedy pervert.

“Here,” the girl said, sliding the glass over to me. “Try it.”

“I can’t,” I said. “It’s yours.”

She pushed it further toward me.

“I insist,” she said.

“Do you want me to use a different glass?” I said.

“Do you have any diseases I should know about?”

“No.”

“Then drink.”

The glass was thin and dainty in my hands. I raised it to my lips, careful not to spill a drop or break the glass when I put it back down.

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