Page 23 of Master (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #3)
Clara
I looked good.
The dress fit me like a glove, showing off the curves of my breasts and hips without flaunting. Made in an alien fabric akin to silk in a deep crimson red that brought out the golden sparks in my hair and skin tone.
The wonderful contraption to thank for the frock was something Mei called a fabric replicator.
All one needed was to imput a few measurements, an image, punch a few buttons, and presto!
Mei stood beside me admiring the little black dress she wore, fashioned from a holo image of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
I wasn't privy to the image Mei uploaded for my dress.
The body-hugging silhouette, sweetheart neckline, and cap sleeves made me recall Sophia Loren's fashions from the sixties.
My makeover didn’t stop with the dress. Mei insisted on doing my hair and makeup. The navy eyeliner she used turned my eyes into a deep amethyst, and she'd corralled my waves into a messy topknot—a style I didn't normally wear.
I felt sexy and beautiful.
Satisfied with her handiwork, Mei ushered me from the cottage toward the village square where the potluck dinner took place. The idea of Tarook seeing me like this caused a quiver of excitement low in my belly.
Where the hell did that come from?
I know where.
I liked him.
Dammit!
He made me laugh, the deep, soulful kind of laughter I‘d thought gone forever.
I would love Curtis until the day I died, but the last years of his life were... difficult. He was so sick, and anytime we found something to laugh about, it always held an undercurrent of sadness and the fear this laugh might be his last.
It wasn't just Tarook's humor and easygoing charm that got to me.
He made me feel safe. The only man other than my husband to earn that distinction.
Not just physical safety—although it's pretty hard not to feel safe with a nearly seven-foot warrior at one's side.
The security I felt in Tarook's presence was deeper.
The safety one feels knowing that everything they are and everything they will ever be is accepted and protected by another.
Of course, I hadn't come clean to Tarook about my past as a stripper. It was easier to let that part of my life stay in the past. Part of me didn't think he'd mind... while another part felt terrified he would.
Mei and I turned the corner, bringing us out onto the main thoroughfare, and the sight before me pushed my musings to the background.
The dozens of awnings and booths were gone, and strands of twinkling white lights created an illuminated pathway leading toward the village square.
A white gazebo sat under a towering tree I would have mistaken for oak, save the purple leaves.
The edge of the village square boasted flowering shrubs in a myriad of colors against which sat table after table, laden with every casserole known to man and alien, as well as salads, desserts, veggies, cheese, meats, etc.
Damn, I wish this dress wasn't so form-fitting.
I felt attention turn as Mei and I approached on the cobblestone path. Several people greeted us, some whose names I remembered... some I didn't. I raised my hand in a wave, regardless. So far, I liked everything I'd seen about Tau Ceti.
Except him.
I'd caught his attention earlier when I’d worked at the farm booth with Lula, but ignored his obvious attempts at making a connection.
He was short and portly, with thinning brown hair, brown eyes, and lips curled in a resting sneer.
Mei told me he was the mayor, which was shocking in and of itself.
My notice of him now came only because he'd nearly knocked someone down to change the trajectory of his stroll to pass us.
He caught my gaze, pursing his lips and giving a flourished nod.
Seriously, did he really believe he was charming? I inclined my chin in a curt, unemotional acknowledgement. The last thing I wanted to do was give this guy any ideas. I'd have to put up with this joker after Tarook left.
A creep of discomfort travelled along my nerve endings that had nothing to do at all with the mayor and everything to do with the idea of Tarook leaving.
Mei groaned when the mayor passed by.
I started to ask about her obvious dislike of the man when squeals of laughter preceded a group of children crossing the path.
Most were human, but a couple weren't. A little girl sported deep red skin with hair like molten gold ringlets hanging over her shoulders.
Another little boy possessed human features save for pale green skin and two tiny horn nubs on either side of his forehead.
"Vardus, get back here!" A woman around my age chased behind, trying to corral the children.
The woman handled the children easily, save for the girl with red skin... she was most definitely a handful. I saw my own daughter in her willful but playful personality. A deep sigh broke from my lips, heavy with regret.
“Did you leave someone on Earth?” Mei asked softly. Her dark gaze saw the sixty-odd years of my soul instead of the twenty-something appearance of my body.
"My daughter and granddaughter." I tore my gaze away from the mother capturing her wayward child, already close to tears.
“I’m so sorry.” Her tiny hand landed on my forearm with a comforting squeeze.
“We weren't close, unfortunately," I said with a sad smile, heart tightening from the empathy on Mei's face. "You know, I'm okay with never going back to Earth. I just wish I could talk to them one more time."
“Maybe you can one day,” she said as we started down the path again.
“Did you leave family behind?”
Mei gave a shrug. "My parents. We weren't close either. I didn't have a boyfriend or anything." She shrugged again, but I noticed a flash of regret cross her features. "I was too deep in my studies to think about dating."
"There appear to be many eligible bachelors on Tau Ceti," I teased, gesturing to where the mayor stood with a group of men.
Other than Parlow, the men were human and attractive.
Which left Bartholomeus the odd man out.
It hadn't taken long to notice he seemed smitten with Mei.
I wondered if Mei knew how he felt. I thought the handsome alien man quite obvious.
Perhaps Mei wasn't open to interspecies dating.
"No, thanks." I caught Mei's eyes flicking over the mayor, and she made a soft, gagging nose that made me giggle.
"I don't need a guy… at least not in the short term.
" The petite Asian woman turned her head to look at me, the smile on her face absolutely breathtaking.
“I’m adopting one of the children miners arriving on the Bardaga.
"Congratulations!" I squealed, throwing my arm around her shoulders in a hug. Mei stood a few inches shorter than me, with a more delicate stature.
"He's the cutest little thing," she gushed. “He's kind of a cross between a cute little devil and a hedgehog. The human women on the Bardaga thought we’d be a good fit.”
"Those are my friends Emmy and Daisy," I told her. "They're great judges of character."
"They must be to count you a friend like I do." Mei smiled.
It felt strange to think Mei and I bonded so naturally in one short afternoon.
Until the Outlander girls, making female friends never came easy for me.
Being a foster child coupled with the cut-throat competition in the strip club wasn't conducive to having female buddies.
Perhaps the immediate bond formed because Mei and I shared the common ground of being humans in an alien world.
Not to mention, both being science nerds, but I truly felt I'd met a kindred spirit in Mei.
Even Tarook commented on our fast friendship when we showed him the lab earlier.
Speaking of Tarook... where the hell was he?
We'd been in the middle of a cottage tour when Craig Munroe showed up, asking Tarook to accompany him to check out a wild animal issue of some sort. But that was hours ago, and Munroe promised they'd be back in time for the potluck and dance.
I couldn't pout for long. Mei moved us through the crowd, making introductions.
We stopped near the gazebo in an impromptu meet and greet, the question of ' How were you abducted?
' apparently the Tau Ceti version of ‘ Where do you hail from ?
' If you accused me of looking over the shoulder of each new person I met for a sign of Tarook, I’d deny it.
Even though I totally did it.
"My, aren't you two the loveliest ladies here tonight?"
I felt my skin crawl and knew who the voice belonged to before I turned. He moved as sneakily as that rat-snake thing.
"Hello Atkins," Mei issued an unenthusiastic greeting.
"Mei." His head dipped in a curt nod, making his double chin more pronounced. His dark eyes flickered at me. "And you must be Clara."
I nodded and, not coming up with any viable excuse to ignore his outstretched hand, slid my fingers into his grip.
Instead of shaking my hand, he lifted it to his lips.
The touch on my skin was moist and clammy.
The smile he gave me intended to charm, I guess, but it came off as creepy, especially since he tried to hang onto me.
It was all I could do not to wipe the back of my hand on my dress after I finally freed myself.
"Are you ladies alone this evening?" Atkins' eyes darted about as he asked, and I thought I noticed a hint of trepidation cross his portly features.
Where the hell was Tarook?
"We're waiting for my mate, Tarook. He should be here any minute.
" I interjected before Mei could tell him that Tarook was off with the peacekeeper.
For some reason I couldn't fathom, I didn't want the mayor to know Tarook wasn't nearby. He might be human, but the man creeped me out more than any alien I’d come across… except maybe the Kerzak.
Just as I expected, at the mention of Tarook’s name, Atkins’ dark eyes glanced around nervously.