“Right.” She felt a little disappointed that he wasn’t sticking around for long. Talking to Cavas distracted her from being in this strange place, alone. “Well…thanks for that. Cudda is good, and now I can have more if I want since you showed me how to work that machine.” It sounded like a good idea the moment she said it. She deserved to get a bit drunk after everything she’d endured.
“Sleep well.”
“You too.”
He stepped around her and headed toward the door. He almost reached it when it chimed. A low growl came from him, and he advanced until he’d almost smacked right into the door.
It auto opened, revealing Crath.
They stared at each other for a few silent seconds.
Cavas spoke first. “That was fast. Are the authorities sending teams to the surface?”
“Yes. They are combining resources and should be able to coordinate a sweep in six or seven days. It’s the best they could do, considering where Flax Colony is located.”
“Understandable. Were you looking for me? I was on my way to my cabin after checking on Jill.” He glanced back at her. “We’ll leave you.”
She opened her mouth to tell him goodnight, but Crath pushed past him, entering her cabin. “It is you! I’m very glad that you weren’t caught with me when we fled together.” A big grin curved his lips as he walked toward her.
“I did get caught. Cavas and Dovis found me.”
“I’m going to hug you. I’m familiar with Earth customs. I’d say we’re good friends, after what we’ve been through together. I was certain our guards might make meals of us. Weren’t you?”
He gently wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her into his tall, broad body. She hesitated before lifting her arms to pat him on the back awkwardly.
A snarl had them both startling. Crath let her go and turned his head. Jill took a step back, releasing him, too.
Cavas stood close to them now, glaring at his brother. “You shouldn’t touch Jill that way. You also shouldn’t be in her cabin.” He grabbed Crath by the arm, hauling him toward the door. “Sleep well, Jill.”
She watched open-mouthed as Crath almost tripped, but Cavas kept a tight hold of him. The doors closed behind them, leaving her alone.
Jill shook her head. “That was weird.” Then she turned, deciding it was time to see if she could use the food replicator on her own. A few more drinks would help her sleep like a baby.
Crath tore out of Cavas’s hold near the lift and got in his personal space. “What was that?”
“Jill is tired. She was just freed earlier today, then went on a mission with me to retrieve you. It might be a custom to embrace on Earth, but you aren’t human. You shouldn’t touch her. She needs time to learn how to trust us. An alien bought her to be his sex slave, and she suffered a beating before I’d found her. It’s probably left her fearful of males.”
His brother stared at him, crossing his arms, before saying, “You were visiting her.”
“I was making sure she didn’t incur any injuries earlier. Your piloting skills didn’t make for a smooth takeoff. She was thrown around on the floor.”
Crath scowled. “We lifted off, and we weren’t brought down when they fired at the shuttle. Don’t complain. I’m used to piloting a solo flyer. I had the same model that Raff used to own, before he had to abandon it on Gluttren Four. Cathian’s shuttle is larger and tougher to fly. I would have been happy to let you pilot, but you threw the forcefield control at me before taking off.”
“To get Jill.”
“I would have gone back if I’d noticed she wasn’t following. I’m thankful that you were able to find her.” Crath grinned. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
Cavas felt every muscle in his body tighten as he studied his younger littermate. “She’s human.”
“A beautiful human. I almost got her to my shuttle before Yorl’s people realized we’d escaped.” He grinned again. “I was looking forward to spending time with her in my solo flyer. She would have had to sit on my lap, in my arms.”
Anger began to spread through Cavas. His brother had no idea that he resisted the urge to hit him as he kept talking.
“I’ve always imagined what it would feel like to touch one. I’m eager to find out exactly how much pleasure it brings, being with a human. I’ve looked for one ever since Cathian found Nara. Now I’ll have my chance with Jill.”
His hands were on Crath before Cavas even realized his control had snapped. He slammed his younger littermate against the wall, pinning him, and got in his face with a snarl.
“Stay away from Jill! She’s been through enough without you wishing to use her body to curb your curiosity. Tell Cathian to drop you off at a brothel or pleasure house if you need amusement with a female. It won’t be her.”
“What is wrong with you? I want a life-lock.”
The words acted like a punch to the chest. Cavas released Crath and backed off. “What?”
“Look at how happy Cathian and Raff are with humans.” His brother rolled his shoulders as he growled low at him. “York and Dovis, too. I’m not dishonorable like our father. I’d never use other people for my selfish gain. I plan to win the human’s heart and talk her into life-locking with me. Jill is beautiful, and it was lucky that I found her on Flax Colony. I’ve been searching for months for one of her kind.”
Cavas shook his head, stunned. “But you don’t want to live on our home world.”
“I don’t have to. Humans travel. Look at the ones on this ship. I’m having a family-size cruiser custom built. It will be completed within a year, with all the specifications I’ve ordered. It shall be comfortable, have plenty of room for our litters, but armed for battle. Only the best for my future family. I am more than aware that humans are targets. No one will be able to take away my life-lock or our young.” He smiled, glancing toward Jill’s door. “Now get out of my way. I have a female to impress.”
“No!” Cavas lunged forward and put his hands on his brother again.
Crath’s eyes widened. It was only an instant before he recovered and shoved Cavas back, breaking his hold. “You can’t tell me ‘no.’ She’s not yours. You just met her. I saw the logs while I was on the bridge. You haven’t even known her for a full day! Get your own human if you’ve decided to find a life-lock, now that your military service is over. That one is going to be mine.”
Cavas’s mind flashed to Jill on his lap, touching him. He couldn’t forget the feel and scent of her…
The rage he felt wasn’t reasonable, it didn’t make sense even to him. Yet he couldn’t deny wanting to beat on Crath for speaking about Jill and the future he planned with her.
“Did you hear me, Cavas?” Crath growled. “You aren’t taking my human.”
That angered him more. “Jill is not yours.”
They glared at each other.
Cavas calmed first. “I don’t wish to fight with you. But…something happened between Jill and I.” He wanted to be honest with his brother. “I feel strangely protective of her, and drawn to her. I won’t simply step aside and allow you to life-lock to her.”
“You just met her. What could have possibly happened?”
He hesitated, not wanting to share the details. It probably hadn’t meant anything to Jill, he’d felt confused about his strong attraction to the female. “She had to pretend to be my sex slave to access the arena to reach you. We had to get a little…intimate.”
“Did you put your dick inside her?” Crath hissed the words, looking ready to attack.
“No. But I know what her flesh feels like against it.”
His younger littermate snarled ferociously. He spun away, pacing. A long minute passed before Crath turned, watching him with hooded eyes. “Did you taste her hormones? Kiss with mouths?”