Page 12

“Oh, so you do not care that I have her waiting in your room, then?” I try to keep the smile out of my voice so it sounds as though I am being very serious.

Simone tries to bolt out from between my legs as soon as I ask, but my reflexes are much quicker than hers. I wrap my free hand around her waist and keep her seated right where she is.

“Let me go,” she says through gritted teeth. If I were to look at her face, I am sure one of her eyes would be twitching.

“Why? So you can go see if I was telling the truth about having someone waiting in your room?” I know it is what she wants to do, but I am curious if I can get her to admit that she is a jealous little mate.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“How about I tell you if she is there or not if you tell me why you came back?” I move on to a new section of her hair, letting my claws scratch gently at her scalp as I move. She would never tell me this, but she enjoys it very much. I can see it in the littlebumps that appear over her arms when I do it and then way she lets out a barely audible sound of contentment.

“I came back because this is where I’ve been staying during the storms.” Simone once again lies to me. “I decided I didn’t want to be in the great hall because I don’t know any of them.”

“Ah.” I pause, trying to figure out the best words to use to get under her skin. “So it was not because you saw another follow me out?”

“Why would I care about that?” Simone asks, her voice breathier as I continue to work her hair.

I think she very much enjoys having someone dote on her. I wish she would tell me because then I could tell her I would dote on her in everything that I do. Yes, it could be what bonds us, not this bickering we are so good at. I know I would very much enjoy getting to help with her moisturizing, as she calls it, where she rubs oil all over her skin.

“I do not know why you would care since you have made it clear you are unhappy that you lust for me.” I shrug. “But you did return to my home, soaked through, and the first thing you asked about was where she was. I think that means you care at least a little about someone else being here.”

Simone makes a sound that I am sure is meant to be her rebuttal, but it is much too pleasured to sound even remotely like she is upset. Yes, I have found a way to tame my vicious little mate, and it is with head scratches. It is strange, but I am keeping this information with me always so I can get her this relaxed in my presence again. Maybe I can convince her that every night, she should allow me to scratch her scalp. Maybe then she will warm to the idea of mating with me.

“You could just admit that you are a jealous female,” I whisper after long moments.

She has not spoken in so long that I am starting to wonder if she has fallen asleep. When she does not tense at my teasingof her being jealous or immediately refute it, I am sure she is finding her rest. She snuggles closer to me, though, making sure not to turn her face closer to the center of my chest.

It would be unfortunate for her to smell from my chest and find out she is, in fact, my mate. It is why she does not cuddle closer to my chest but instead curls herself into my arm that is holding her. It leaves me enough space to continue working on her hair, and she is not in danger of lusting after me.

“Not jealous,” Simone says, the only sign that she is awake as she nuzzles closer to me. “Not even a little.”

“Of course not.” I keep my voice light, letting my fingers fall from her hair and down her cheek.

I do not move my body and instead decide that this will be how I sit forever if she sleeps like this. Maybe I can also convince her to share my bed with me every night after I have calmed her by giving her head scratches. Yes, this is a wonderful plan. I will tell her when she wakes next.

For right now? I will continue to dry her hair until I know it is as dry as if the rains never touched it, and I will bask in the warmth of knowing that Simone was almost certainly jealous that another female was in my home.

6

Vex

“You are sure you want to prepare a house?” Ralleth, the tribal leader and soon-to-be blood to Simone if he’s not already, asks me. He stands in the living room of the house he offered me when I told him I wanted one to share with his brother and Simone when they return.

To say I was unhappy when I first arrived on this planet and found out Simone had found companionship with one of the creatures of this planet would be an understatement. My plans all hinge on me being accepted into this tribe, so after three days of destroying everything in my room on Earth, I returned to speak with Ralleth almost daily about my plans to bring the humans here.

I’ve already gotten permission from the elder in charge of Unit A, which means I only need to finish the work on this planet to allow more women to come through.

Ralleth and the other males of the tribe seem more than happy to make the tribe welcoming for new additions. They’ve even agreed to allow males from another tribe to move here to help with rebuilding. Their acceptance of doing what needs to be done has been astounding, even though I hate that it was my fated who decided to put herself at risk to tell the other tribe of humans.

If I’d known Simone planned on putting herself in so much danger, I would’ve sped up the timeline of my plan to get here sooner. The only reason I haven’t gone for her is the storms, which stopped me from being able to travel, and the fact that everyone here has assured me Rallan will keep her safe. I wish it were me keeping her safe, but she will be here soon enough, and then I will continue being the one to protect her.

“They’ll need somewhere to live,” I answer Ralleth’s question as I come out of one of the bedrooms.

The house is one of the larger homes in the tribe. I need the extra space because I hope to make one of the rooms a place where I can do checkups on humans and his kind alike. I have a vast knowledge of the human species after being their doctor for the last couple of years, and I’ve learned much about Ralleth’s kind while studying their compatibility with humans.

I might not be completely trusted, but I’ll still do my best to keep them all healthy. My success in being with Simone for as long as possible and my ability to leave the collective mind depend on integrating into this tribe. I’ll do it to the best of my ability. Keeping them all healthy should be a good start.

“And you think they will want to live with you?”