Page 13 of Devin (Warriors of Etlon #5)
Val tried to parse all that information at once.
It didn't exactly jive with what the rest of the group had said, but she'd only known them for a day.
This Charlette at least seemed to be reasonable with her comments.
Kave did seem to be a-fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants boss to the rest of the group, and everyone had also hesitated about his plan to request a mate for Devin when he didn't want one.
But she'd probably draw the line short of calling him an incompetent idiot, at least until she had adequate time to observe him.
"He looked fine to me," Val stated. She'd seen Devin walk across the quad. He didn't have a scratch on him.
"Oh, that's the beauty of these monsters. They've got like mad healing skills. You could slice them up and whack them super hard and then the next day, they’d be back to perfect health. They are genetic super soldiers, after all. Let me tell you, it was quite the beat down."
Val definitely didn't want Devin beaten into submission in order to marry her. No. A broken husband was no good.
"And trust me, don't even try to contradict any of that little clique.
They are thick as thieves, covering for each other.
If I were you, and still free," Charlette said as it as if she were a prisoner here, in a hushed and wistful voice, "I'd not do anything more than I had to to get Devin's attention.
They'll have to ship you back before long, especially when Athen finds out what Kave did. He's the one who's really in charge."
"I don't want to go back. I've got nothing to go back to."
"That's even better. I hear Etlon is crawling with eligible bachelors with well connected families. I mean, you'd probably be a guest at the planetary palace and have guys dripping over you, not just Mahdfel greenies, even."
Val wasn't sure that would be her bag either.
Marrying for money was a pretty wacky thing to do, but security was security.
Surely on a planet with a few cities, they'd have at least a few job opportunities for unemployed Earth girls with few skills except being quick on her feet and willing to work hard.
A large green form approached. By the pleading look and the obvious adoration in his eye, Val identified him as Haxit, Charlette's husband. Charlette clearly didn't share his adoration. She sighed.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I got it!" He unraveled a cloth to reveal two bright orange, pear-shaped objects. Val assumed they were a fruit of some kind.
"Only two?"
"That's all I could find. The likidi plant puts up a grand fight." He showed her the large tears in his arms and his lower right leg.
"Oh, holy shit," Val said. "Are you okay?"
"He's fine. Like I said, he'll be good as new tomorrow." Charlette stood up and rolled her eyes. "Come on, then. You better not bleed on me," she said to Haxit then started walking toward a nearby cube.
"I'll see you later, when this thing is done with his bump and grind," she told Val.
Haxit didn't seem to mind being called a ‘thing’. Instead, his face lit up as he followed her like a puppy, still holding the fruit outstretched in his hands.
Val had seen some frigid behavior before, but this woman kinda put them in their place.
She was literally trading herself for some fruit with the cold calculation of a seasoned pro.
Val tried not to judge. A woman had to do what she had to do to survive.
But Humility had just told her that sex was a thing that a Mahdfel wouldn't push, wouldn't forcefully take from his mate.
A pit formed in her stomach. For her, it was the other way around. He'd been forced to put up with her. And she was no prize. Would she be forced to trade something every time she wanted a little affection from her husband?
No, it didn't work that way. The Mahdfel were naturally attracted to their mate.
Only Val could find herself so resistible to hers.
Maybe it would just take a few tries. Once he got to know her, surely he'd overcome his misgivings.
After all, this situation wasn't what Val had in mind for her future.
Honestly, she hadn't thought much of the future.
The money from waitressing gigs had always slipped out of her fingers just as soon as she made it.
Out of the corner of her eye, Val caught a bit of green moving past one of the cubicles. It was Devin. Strangely enough, she already could distinguish him from the other greenies. Start simple, she told herself. Introduce yourself again. Have a conversation.
"Hello!" she called and sprinted forward. He turned and flashed her a deer-in-headlights look. He was already about to bolt again.
"Wait a second!" she cried out.
He turned away and Val sped forward, overlooking the tree root that was sticking up right in front of her.
She knew she was going down, but there was nothing to stop it.
Val threw her hands out in front of her and braced herself for the pain.
Her knee scraped against the ground as her wrists jolted as they dug into the forest mulch.
Without looking, she knew she was bleeding.
Again. She took a deep breath as she rode the wave of pain.
Before she could get up, Val found herself up and in Devin's arms, being whisked off across the compound.
Her cheeks burned. This was not what she had intended. It only proved that she was a useless klutz.
Once again, she found herself on the med table with him standing over her, but this time, he was examining her knee with great intent.
"I'm okay." She sat up and examined the heels of her hands. The left one was fine, but the right had a small slice under her thumb.
"Your thin Terran skin has torn with the slightest friction. Even your hardened hands have sustained damage. Lie down."
"I'll be fine."
"Lie down."
Val thought about objecting, but the pain in her knee gave her second thoughts. "Seriously. It's nothing."
Her knees began to tingle and her palm buzzed. Whatever medical magic he was working on her made her pain melt away. In a few more seconds, it was as if she'd not hit the ground at all.
"Thank you," she said.
"Terrans are such- I do not understand why they prefer such-" Devin started.
"Such...? Such what…?"
He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. It was a handsome chest, and the tattoos still made Val want to trace them, but even if his body language might differ from humans, it was clear that touching would not be acceptable right now.
"My mother always told me negative thoughts should remain thoughts," he chastened himself.
"We've got an expression like that on Earth. ‘If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.’"
He nodded.
"Do you get to see your mother a lot?" Val asked.
"Not as often as she'd like."
"I hear all mothers are like that."
"Is yours?"
"She's been dead for a long time. I've been on my own for as long as I can remember. You should call your mother." Val didn't mean to let sadness leak into her voice, but she took a deep breath and smiled. At least he wasn't fleeing from the very sight of her.
"She has important business to conduct," Devin explained.
"I didn't mean to stick my nose in. Really. None of this was my idea. I mean, you don't have to marry me if you don't want to. I just think we should make the best of a bad situation. You don't have to run away every time we cross paths. If you want, I’ll keep away from you."
"Mahdfel do not run away."
Great, now she'd insulted his manhood. She hopped down off of the medical table. "I didn't mean it like that."
He was much taller than her and she could feel the heat radiating off of him as she grew closer.
His skin was fascinating. And smooth as a baby's butt.
Not a hair to be seen. At first, she thought it was just a fashion statement that all the men shaved their heads, but no, they simply lacked any hair follicles at all.
And he smelled good. Like a nature walk, but not in that funky mushroomy way.
Val tilted her head up. He was staring at her. It wasn't anger, but something akin to a man who couldn't make up his mind and was pissed off about it.
"Really?" she asked. She'd forgotten what she had said before, but now, she just wanted him to lower his head a few more inches and explore her mouth with his.
"No. I have work to do."
He turned and walked away, slow enough to prove he wasn't running.
Val accepted that as progress.